Murder at the Wham Bam Club

Carolyn Marie Wilkins

Jul 2025 · A Psychics and Soul Food Mystery Book 1 · Kensington Books

About this ebook

As Prohibition era speakeasies and Jazz Age excitement reign supreme throughout a deeply divided country at the height of the Roaring 20s, a young psychic in small town Illinois helps the Black community fight crime and corruption in this thrilling historical mystery written by a real-life psychic medium and jazz pianist.

After the death of her brave Harlem Hellfighter husband during World War I, young widow Nola Ann Jackson returned to her hometown of Agate to live with her Aunt Sarah, a local psychic. Under her aunt’s tutelage, Nola has been learning how to tap into her own intuitive gifts and communicate with the spirits. And she’ll rely on their guidance when she’s asked to help investigate a woman’s disappearance.

Lilly Davidson was living at the Phyllis Wheatley Institute for Colored Girls where young ladies are educated and prepared to follow bright futures. But she vanished after a night at the Wham Bam Club where jazz music swings, Prohibition is defied, and other vices are encouraged. Lilly was seen fraternizing with Eddie Smooth, trumpeter and leader of the St. Louis Stompers—and a notorious pimp. Nola finds Lilly at the club alive and well, supposedly engaged to Eddie. That same night, the Wham Bam is set afire and Eddie is fatally shot, leaving Lilly on the run, a suspected murderer.

Eddie had shady dealings with Agate’s wealthy elite, Black and white, making plenty of enemies with motives for wanting him dead. He was also a notorious womanizer who left several broken hearts in his wake. To prove Lilly’s innocence, Nola must listen to her spiritual instincts to unravel political schemes and personal vendettas to find a killer desperate to cover up a scandalous conspiracy . . .

Ratings and reviews

Waitress Nola uses her psychic abilities to investigate the disappearance of a young woman from a local girls school. When the woman is found seemingly involved with a murdered pimp, Nola turns her intuition to uncovering a conspiracy among the town’s elite. This novel paints an immersive picture of life in the roaring (and segregated) 1920s. The characters are interesting and the plot fast-paced. The paranormal elements are a significant part of the plot. Thanks, NetGalley, for the ARC.

About the author

Carolyn Marie Wilkins is a practicing psychic medium, a Santeria priestess, and a professor at Berklee College of Music Online. An accomplished jazz pianist and vocalist, she has toured South America as a Jazz Ambassador for the U.S. State Department. She is a member of Crime Writers of Color and Sisters in Crime New England. When she is not writing, performing, or offering Reiki to students at Berklee, Carolyn maintains a private practice in healing and mediumship. She lives in the Boston area and can be found online at CarolynWilkins.com.