Paranormal Fiction
Firehorse
New Fiction by Mallory M. O’Connor
Gold Award from Literary Titan
Firehorse by Mallory M. O’Connor offers readers a gripping fusion of suspense, mystical intrigue, and environmental awareness. The story follows psychic medium Epiphany Mayall as she is drawn into a labyrinthine mystery involving a stolen talisman, a mystical qilin, and the enigmatic and dangerous Derrick Rarian. Set against the lush but drought-stricken backdrop of Florida, the story weaves themes of personal loss, environmental degradation, and the clash between the supernatural and the material world.
One thing I admired about the book is how it balances intricate plotting with rich character development. Epiphany is not just a psychic on a mission; she’s a multidimensional character grappling with familial tensions, love, and a deep connection to nature. Her granddaughter Maddie, whose burgeoning psychic abilities mirror her grandmother’s, brings a touching layer of generational continuity. For example, Maddie’s visions about the qilin’s importance add depth to the story and highlight the mystical elements. The scenes with her are heartfelt, especially when she offers insights that adults dismiss too quickly—a poignant reminder of the wisdom in youthful intuition.
The book’s environmental commentary is another highlight. The recurring imagery of drought, dying landscapes, and the specter of wildfires serves as both a literal backdrop and a metaphor for the emotional dryness in some characters’ lives. Passages describing the parched Florida terrain are haunting and evocative, as when Epiphany notices the receding lakes and dried mud cracks. These moments ground the story in urgent real-world issues, adding weight to the supernatural elements.
The writing occasionally delves deeply into exposition, particularly when exploring the Chinese zodiac and the qilin’s significance. While these details are fascinating and enrich the story’s mystical elements, they can sometimes slow the narrative’s pace. Similarly, the subplot involving Derrick Rarian and his international escapades, though intriguing, adds layers of complexity that might challenge the reader at times. A slightly tighter pacing in these areas could help maintain the balance between the personal stakes for Marsha and Epiphany and the larger, global intrigue surrounding Rarian’s schemes.
The conclusion ties the threads together in a satisfying way. The resolution is both action-packed and thought-provoking, leaving readers to ponder the balance of power between good and evil, nature and humanity, and the material versus the mystical. The characters’ growth, especially Epiphany’s and Maddie’s, provides an emotional payoff that feels well-earned.
I’d recommend Firehorse to readers who enjoy mysteries infused with mystical elements, fans of character-driven stories, and those with a keen interest in environmental themes. Whether you’re drawn by the psychic sleuthing or the urgent ecological questions, this book has plenty to offer.
Xanadu’s Cavern
by Mallory M. O’Connor
What is the connection between a missing cave diver and the fossilized head of a pre-historic dire-wolf? That’s the question psychic Epiphany Mayall is asking herself in Xanadu’s Cavern, Book Three of Mallory O’Connor’s occult thriller series. A thousand miles away in Chicago, PI Maro Gaido hears about a valuable fossil that has been smuggled out of Florida by a Russian businessman. He decides to give Epiphany a call.
Once again, Epiphany and Maro team up to try to put together the pieces of a convoluted puzzle involving a shady real estate deal, illegal fossil harvesting and the shocking disappearance of an environmentalist leader in the cave diving community. When Maro and Epiphany find out that RAce Energy corporation is involved, they know who’s working behind the scenes to steal the fossils, assist in an environmentally dangerous development project and line the pockets of a corrupt lobbyist. But just how can they stop a billionaire like Derrick Rarian?
“Xandu’s Cavern, book three in O’Connor’s occult/cli-fi series, comes to life in this gripping thriller set in part in Florida’s amazing underground, water-filled labyrinths. With a hint of Carl Hiaasen’s high-rolling bad guys messing with your not-so-simple Florida crackers, Mallory O’Connor’s psychic heroine wraps her smart head around the mysterious disappearance of a pre-historic fossil and brings down an international antiquities smuggling enterprise. At the same time, O’Connor delivers an enlightening message about Florida’s most precious natural resource – her pristine groundwater – the life blood of the state’s natural environment and human economy. “
—Bob Knight, Director, Florida Springs Institute.
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Epiphany’s Gift
Psychic Fiction by Mallory M. O’Connor
For thirty years, Epiphany Mayall has worked as a psychic medium in the small Spiritualist community of Watoolahatchee, Florida. But when she returns to her childhood home in Mt. Eden, Ohio, to visit her aging mother, she finds that the rural community is reeling from a series of alarming events. The pristine world of her childhood is being destroyed. Wells and creeks are polluted, and earthquakes have become a frequent danger.
Epiphany’s former professor and mentor, art historian Dr. John Bernhardt, believes that the problems are the result of fracking operations that are being carried out by an energy corporation in the region, and that someone from the company is also connected with the disappearance of an illustration of Dante’s Inferno from the university museum. Bernhardt writes an article for the local newspaper about his theory, but the next day he is found dead. When John’s ghost appears to Epiphany and tells her that he was poisoned, she becomes determined to find the answers to several questions: who is responsible for the environmental disaster, who stole the illustration of Dante’s Inferno from the university museum, and who murdered Professor Bernhardt?
Aided by art crimes investigator, Maro Gaido, and by Blake King, an eccentric local artist, Epiphany tries to put together the pieces of a disturbing puzzle, but finds her efforts thwarted at every turn. Even a State Senator cannot help. As the earthquakes escalate, Epiphany begins to wonder if even her psychic gifts are enough to find the answers before it’s too late to save her loved ones from disaster.
“Ten years from now, twenty years from now, you will see: oil will bring us ruin… Oil is the Devil’s excrement.“
Pérez Alfonzo, founder of OPEC
“Set against a backdrop of psychic phenomena, corporate corruption and global climate change, Epiphany’s Gift is a riveting mystery from a writer who is well worth watching. A fast-paced, nail-biting tale of the perennial battle between good and evil.”
Andrew Nichols, Ph.D. Director, American Institute of Parapsychology
“Epiphany’s Gift, Book One of the Epiphany Mayall series, is a cli-fi paranormal novel that describes the chilling consequences of fracking operations in America. Read it and weep. Better yet, do something about it!”
Dan Bloom, editor, The Cli-Fi Report
Epiphany’s Gift – Book Trailer
Key To Eternity
Psychic Fiction by Mallory M. O’Connor
Psychic detective Epiphany Mayall is enjoying a lovely evening when her peaceful reverie is suddenly interrupted by a vivid mental image of a naked man sprawled on the ground surrounded by two snakes. Moments later, she realizes her vision is somehow connected to the ancient Mesopotamian story, the Epic of Gilgamesh-a legendary King Gilgamesh who left his home to search for the secret of immortality. Now she must wait for Spirit to send her another clue.
Soon, Epiphany finds herself on a new quest to solve a complex mystery. While tracking stolen antiquities and a clay tablet relating to the Epic, Epiphany relies on her psychic abilities and help from private investigator, Maro Gaido, and the FBI’s art-crimes division to help her hone in on the mysterious conspirators lurking in the shadows of the shady, global underworld of the arts and antiquities black market. Can Epiphany and her team locate the Gilgamesh tablet with its map to the flower of immortality before the treasure disappears forever into the private vault of a billionaire art thief? Key to Eternity is the exciting tale of a psychic detective’s new mission to solve the mystery of the Gilgamesh tablet as she is transported around the world in search of stolen treasures.