Haunted Design: A Patrick MacKenna Mystery (Paperback) (ISBN-13: 9781941402191)

Aspiring architect Patrick McKenna and his expecting young bride Kitty must leave their lakefront apartment to find a home for their growing family, while he completes the design for Joe Bohannon, a malaprop mob underboss, for an exurban casino, hotel and resort. Their search leads to the mansion of a former industrial magnate, a fading Victorian Gothic masterpiece, just right to accommodate them in style and impress Patrick's architectural clients.

While real estate agent Abigail, a similarly faded beauty, assures them there's no truth to the rumor that the house is haunted, Chet, Patrick's architectural partner in their historic Chicago design firm, sees great obstacles in their path. He fears the costly restoration of the elaborate building, its obsolete building systems, and rundown interior decor can never be achieved. When on their final inspection they discover a body in the basement coal bin, he warns them the project may be doomed. And Patrick's jilted fiancée Gloria, Chicago Joe's daughter and co-owner of the casino resort, holds a secret that could shatter not only his restoration plans but their marriage.

But Patrick and Kitty are so sold on his vision and the estate's former charm, there is no turning back. As they investigate the feasibiity of restoring the Vicitiorian mansion, the are constantly assailed by others hidden within, who may be spirits, flesh and blood criminals, or both. Although Detective Sgt. Matthew O'Malley, who is called in to investigate the crime, advises them to give it up as hopeless, they persist with their plans to acquire the time-worn estate and restore it to its former glory.