Vanishing Voices
A Crystal Coast Mystery
by Melissa Collins Harrell

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Some secrets do come back from the grave. When Amelia Jackson returns to Swansboro, North Carolina, after studying overseas, she expects her work at the local museum to be a quiet opportunity to preserve the memories of the town’s oldest residents. Instead, the oral history project uncovers forgotten family histories, hidden journals, and secrets that powerful people have spent decades hiding. As Amelia listens to the residents’ memories, she learns the troubling story of the mysterious death of a young woman in 1945. When another young woman is found dead by the waterfront, Amelia realizes that the past and present are connected. She embarks on a journey to solve the mystery, recruiting not only some of the town’s most animated living residents, but a few delightful spirits of women from the past as well. Melissa Collins Harrell weaves together mystery, history, and a touch of the supernatural in Vanishing Voices: A Crystal Coast Mystery. Intriguing to teen and adult readers alike, the novel explores whose stories are preserved, whose are erased, and how justice can reach through the centuries to bring resolution and peace to the souls of the departed.

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Melissa Collins Harrell is a lifelong lover of history. She divides her time between England and coastal North Carolina, where she finds inspiration for her stories in the ordinary places around her. She has spent several years working as a spirit guide for Crystal Coast Ghost Tours in Swansboro, North Carolina, bringing forgotten stories to life. When she’s not writing, Melissa enjoys traveling, practicing yoga, and spending time in nature, whether walking along the beaches of coastal North Carolina or exploring winding footpaths in England. She is also the author of Elizabeth and Stella Meet Zoe (2016), Common Threads (2022), and Grounds for Return (2024).

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Melissa Collins Harrell

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