Beth Swanson was trying to organize the Downtown Players acting troupe for ideas to raise money to buy this building where they can put on their plays. In her nursing career, people listened to her voice of authority. But here, was just another actor trying to get everyone on the same page! They needed to narrow down the ideas so they didn’t spread themselves too thin and could accomplish their goal. She had asked her parents if they could donate the down payment since they could afford it. But their plans for her were adding another degree and getting a husband. They didn’t believe in her acting dream and would not support it. She slumped on the wall of a building and was startled that she hadn’t noticed the man who walked up to see if she was okay, which could be dangerous in the city. Saying she was fine, she walked away.

Trent Mulligan was here to meet his real estate agent. He was looking for a permanent home for their pop-up nightclub Grotesque and this building looked to be in good shape. His plan was that Grotesque could use the roof and the top floor for their business. If his partners agreed, they would rent out the rest of the floors and leave the existing theatre how it was.

Beth’s fellow actor Sally got her an invitation to attend a party where important people in the movie industry would be present. She wasn’t a party person, but if she wanted to be in on the new movie being filmed here, she had to mingle. The food on the tables looked odd, so she just took cheese and crackers. Kenny Rothschild came up behind her. He was a powerful producer in Hollywood and was bankrolling the movie she was interested in getting an audition for. He was sort of creepy, but asked her to meet him in the basement where there were specially equipped rooms for these meetings??? The door guy had mentioned the playroom in the basement. Was that what he meant? When he made it obvious what he expected, she ran from the room. Looking in another room, she saw a man in dark robes chanting, candles on the floor and something drawn there. She turned and ran, finally getting out of the place!

Trent was packing up the truck when a woman hurried down the sidewalk and looked up at where Grotesque had been set up that evening. She was looking for Maggie O’Grady, Kel’s new wife. He told her they just left on their honeymoon. So he offered to drive her home. She still would not tell him what happened at the party. They had breakfast, she showered, but she didn’t want to stay there alone and asked him to drive her to her parents’ house. But when they got there, the cars were gone and the furniture was cleared out of the house! Trent told her they should get out of there, it may not be safe. He offered to help her. She wanted to go to the police, but her parents were adults and there was nothing the police would do. He smelled the strong scent of goblin.

A woman walked in the open door. Trent knew she was a goblin and she knew he was a gargoyle, mortal enemies. She told Beth the house was in foreclosure, owned by the bank, and had been vacant for months! But Beth had been there just a week ago! Trent urged her to leave with him. He drove to a park and called Donal Foley who owned Foley Brothers Security. They were gargoyles and their security guy Tex could find out any information they needed. They drove to his house to talk about the problem. With all of this crazy stuff, Trent never once tried to leave her. He went calmly from one crisis to another. Beth knew there was much more to him than just being a nightclub owner. He introduced her to Donal, Declan and Sean Foley and asked her to tell her story.

With the security men insisting she was in danger, she decided reluctantly to stay with Trent since his building had tight security. She was disappointed to see how expensively decorated it was – wealth made him less attractive to her. Yet he wasn’t like the country club guys her mom always set her up with. They were just both independent types who didn’t like to be coddled when they could handle themselves perfectly fine. Both were very stubborn people! While she slept, the security men arrived to share information. They had discovered that Beth’s parents were both gargoyles! They were catching a flight to Haiti, a goblin stronghold! The goblins hadn’t come for Beth yet, but she had seen something they wanted hidden. Tex was about to search the dark web to find out about the ritual she witnessed. And Trent wanted to keep her with him, even if he had to turn to his gargoyle form to get them away from danger as a last resort. He couldn’t explain the strong protective feeling that ran deep toward her. Would they find what the goblins were up to this time? Would the goblins track Beth here to harm her?

I love this series! The characters are wonderful and the story line is full of mystery and suspense. Grab your copy and let the author pull you into a fascinating and clever story that will keep the goosebumps running up and down your arms!