Mandy Ludick

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  • Launch Day! The Haunting at Blackwood Grange and The Missing Manuscript Are Here

    Launch Day! The Haunting at Blackwood Grange and The Missing Manuscript Are Here

    Today is the day! I am thrilled to announce the official launch of two brand-new cozy mysteries: The Haunting at Blackwood Grange and The Missing Manuscript. Both stories are now available for you to dive into — and I could not be more excited to share them with you!

    The Haunting at Blackwood Grange, the third in our cozy mystery series starring Arabella Grey, invites you into the shadowed halls of an old estate on the edge of the windswept moors. When Arabella Grey receives a desperate summons from her old friend Eleanor Fairchild, she quickly realizes that Blackwood Grange is not merely haunted by memories — something far more unsettling stirs within its walls. Strange whispers, ghostly figures, and a chilling warning written in ash set Arabella on a journey to uncover secrets long buried. But as she digs deeper, it becomes clear: not all ghosts are from the grave. This cozy Victorian mystery is perfect for readers who love a blend of classic suspense, friendship, and atmospheric intrigue.

    Alongside it, I am delighted to launch The Missing Manuscript, the first thrilling adventure in the Clara Everhart Time Travel Mysteries. When Clara Everhart discovers an antique clock in her Oxford bookshop, she unknowingly unlocks a path to Renaissance Florence — and to a lost manuscript tied to Leonardo da Vinci himself. Thrust into a world of secret societies, hidden codes, and breathtaking invention, Clara must navigate a city of shadows to protect a document that could alter history forever. Filled with wonder, danger, and a deep love for the past, Clara’s journey is just beginning.

    Each of these books carries a part of my heart — Arabella and Clara are characters who remind us that courage, loyalty, and the search for truth remain timeless, whether pursued in misty Victorian gardens or sunlit Florentine streets.

    Both The Haunting at Blackwood Grange and The Missing Manuscript are now available on Kindle to buy or on KindleUnlimited. I invite you to step into these two very different but equally enchanting worlds today.

    Thank you for walking this road with me, for your encouragement, and for your love of stories. I am so grateful to share this moment with you.

    Happy reading — and welcome to the adventures!

  • Only Two Days to Go! A Haunting at Blackwood Grange is Almost Here

    Only Two Days to Go! A Haunting at Blackwood Grange is Almost Here

    I’m thrilled to share some exciting news with you all: A Haunting at Blackwood Grange will be officially released in just two days (30th April 2025)! This third installment in the Arabella Grey Mysteries is one of the most atmospheric and gripping yet, and I cannot wait for you to join Arabella on her latest adventure.

    Set against the wild, windswept backdrop of Dartmoor, A Haunting at Blackwood Grange finds Arabella summoned to the crumbling estate of an old friend, Eleanor Fairchild. Strange whispers echo through the halls, ghostly figures haunt the moonlit gardens, and ominous warnings appear where none should be. While the villagers murmur of hauntings, Arabella suspects that something far more earthly and sinister is at play.

    Fans of the series will recognize Arabella’s hallmark sharp wit, keen observation, and unwavering courage as she untangles a web of family secrets, inheritance disputes, and carefully staged deceptions. Beneath the chilling surface of Blackwood Grange lies a truth that someone is desperate to keep buried — and Arabella must uncover it before more lives are put in danger.

    If you’re new to Arabella’s world, there’s no better time to catch up on her previous adventures! In The Violet Cross Affair, Arabella is drawn into a deadly puzzle involving a mysterious letter, a secret society, and a centuries-old scandal. This is where her journey as Wethersby’s most astute amateur detective truly begins.

    Then, in A Deadly Dinner Party, Arabella attends an ill-fated gathering at the crumbling Hawthorne Hall, where a toast ends in tragedy and someone harbors a dangerous secret. With tensions high and time running short, Arabella must unravel the threads of deception.

    Each story builds on Arabella’s keen sense of justice, her compassion for the vulnerable, and her refusal to let secrets fester in the dark corners of society.

    A Haunting at Blackwood Grange continues these themes but delves even deeper into the Gothic tradition: secret passages, hidden diaries, and midnight chases through misty gardens all await. It is a story of resilience, of facing fears — both real and imagined — and of trusting one’s instincts even when everyone else doubts.

    Thank you, as always, for your support of Arabella and her world. It means more than I can say. If you love richly atmospheric mysteries, strong heroines, and the thrill of secrets revealed, then prepare yourself: the doors to Blackwood Grange will creak open very soon—and once you step inside, you won’t want to leave.

    Stay tuned—Arabella and I can’t wait to welcome you back!

  • Who is Clara Everhart?

    Who is Clara Everhart?

    In a quiet corner of Oxford, behind the weathered glass of a centuries-old bookshop, Clara Everhart keeps the past alive.

    Antiquarian. Scholar. Dreamer.
    Clara isn’t just a guardian of forgotten manuscripts—she’s a seeker of hidden histories, a woman whose life is stitched between the fragile pages of the past. But when a mysterious manuscript and an ancient clock unlock secrets no history book has ever told, Clara is thrust into a world where time is not a line, but a Pattern waiting to be followed… or unraveled.

    The Missing Manuscript introduces Clara Everhart not as a heroine by choice, but by necessity. She is a woman shaped by a deep reverence for the knowledge that came before her and a profound curiosity about the mysteries that refuse to stay buried. Oxford’s streets are familiar to her; the ticking of clocks a constant companion. Yet even she cannot imagine the vastness—and the danger—hidden within the thin spaces of time.

    At first glance, Clara’s world seems safe, even idyllic. She mends spines of broken tomes, catalogs centuries-old secrets, and chats with her fiercely independent cat, Aercutio. But it only takes one discovery—the unlocking of a mechanism no one else could see—to change everything. Clara is drawn into The Pattern, an ancient, invisible network binding key events across human history. And some would do anything to control it.

    Clara’s strengths aren’t found in brute force or flashy powers. Her greatest weapons are her mind, her heart, and an unwavering belief that knowledge must be protected, not manipulated. She is an academic adventurer—someone who would rather solve a puzzle than brandish a sword, yet who rises to every challenge with grit and grace.

    As the series unfolds, readers will follow Clara through the streets of Renaissance Florence, into secret societies, and across times and places shaped by invention, betrayal, and hope. Her story weaves together historical fiction, speculative science, and the timeless human drive to understand who we are by understanding where we come from.

    But Clara is not a passive traveler. Every choice she makes reshapes the future she’s trying to protect. Every clue she uncovers raises new questions about loyalty, destiny, and the price of knowledge.

    At its heart, the Clara Everhart series is about more than time travel. It’s about discovery, resilience, and the thin, shimmering line between past and present, certainty and wonder.

    Clara Everhart invites you to step across that line—to follow the Pattern, to embrace the unknown, and to find the hidden manuscripts within your own story.

    The journey begins with The Missing Manuscript, launching April 30, 2025.
    Will you follow the Pattern?

  • Welcome

    Welcome

    Hi and Welcome to my Author Blog

    If you love cozy mysteries like Agatha Christie or enjoy time travel mysteries then I would like to introduce you to my stories. In this blog I will introduce you to the different books, provide opportunities for ARC readers and generally share other things which may be of interest to you.

    Firstly, let me introduce myself. My name is Mandy Ludick and I am married to Ivan Ludick. We live in Pietermaritzburg, South Africa and apart from writing books I also manage a guesthouse, run an accounting business and Etsy store.

    I have always loved reading and writing and had a particular interest in cozy mysteries (my husband and I love to read Agatha Christie together at night) or fantasy (my all time favorite author is JRR Tolkien) and I have also always had an interest in time travel (at the moment I am totally hooked on The Way Home TV series on FrndlyTV.)

    Now, I currently have two series of books I am developing. The first is just a cozy mystery series set in the Victoria era and in the English countryside and it follows an amateur detective named Arabella Grey on her adventures. I currently have two books in this series and am about to release the third on the 30th April. The two books I have currently released in this series are The Violet Cross Affair (this was technically the first although all books stand on their own and don’t need to be read in any specific order) and the second is A Deadly Dinner Party.

    The third book in this series that will soon be released on 30th April is The Haunting at Blackwood Grange. We will let you know as soon as this book is released.

    On the 30th April we will also be starting a new series, The Clara Everhart Time Travel Mystery series which features Clara Everhart, an antiquarian book dealer who gets drawn back into the past to help Leonardo da Vinci solve the case of the Missing Manuscript. This is also due to be released on 30th April.

    If you have any queries or would like to contact us you can reach me by email at mandyludick@mjbholdings.biz or check out our Facebook page