Whales, Witches, and Wait...What?

by Theresa Crater

When whales are endangered, a midlife psychic must outwit killers who don’t do eco-friendly.
Laurie Olsen is finally living her dream. Elated her new-found abilities enable her to speak to animals, this passionate activist works beside the man she loves trying to save the threatened orcas of Puget Sound. But her joy is crushed when she discovers the councilwoman at the forefront of environmental reform has been murdered.

Shaken but determined, Laurie joins forces with her ghost-whispering friend and a witch with serious magical chops to investigate. And if talking to the ghost of the departed and dealing with a chatty pack of canine detectives with opinions isn’t enough, uncovering a conspiracy worth billions just about pushes her over the edge.

Can Laurie and her magical crew expose the truth before “endangered” becomes “extinct”?

Whales, Witches & Wait…What? is the fourth book in the Emerald City Paranormal Cozy Mystery series. If you love found family, supernatural mishaps, talking critters, and twisty mysteries, you’ll be hooked.

Grab your copy and dive into the midlife mayhem today!

270 pages, Kindle Edition

Expected publication June 30, 2026

About the author

Best-selling author Theresa Crater brings ancient temples, lost civilizations, and secret societies back to life in her visionary fiction. Travel the world with Anne & Michael as they uncover arcane secrets and combat sinister occult forces in the Power Places series. In the Mystic Assassin series, Rainey returns from a near-death experience with a divine mission. Stand-alones include School of Hard Knocks, The Star Family and God in a Box. Her short stories explore ancient myth brought into the present day. The Star Family won best fiction in the Indie Spirit Book Awards in 2015. Return of the Grail King won the gold medal in visionary fiction from COVR in 2019 and Into the City of Light took the silver in 2021. Theresa teaches meditation and creative writing, and is married to Egyptologist, writer, and tour guide Stephen Mehler, who co-founded Khemitology with indigenous wisdom keeper Ab’del Hakim Awyan.

Reviews

[Sheila Kim · Rating 5 out of 5]

I actually had to stay up late to finish reading this. I couldn’t wait to see what happened. And it was so worth it!
This is the first book in the series that I have read. The book was easy to follow along with. I enjoyed the characters and felt their development matched the pace and flow of the story. But it is the ending that is still with me.
At times hope is all you have to keep you going. And hope was all that Laurie and the rest of the group felt they had against the evil, soul sucking, mega-corporation that was planning on ruining the environment and killing off all that need the lakes/streams/rivers/waterways and that included people that got in the way. But the soulless mega-corporation had no idea what they were up against.
This is the great thing about loving paranormal cozy mysteries. You take what you have, give it some magic and anything can happen when hearts are filled with goodness gather with a united purpose in mind.
So, if you need a bit of hope you might want to get this book. I know that I will continue reading any other books in this series.
I received an ARC copy of this book and the comments are mine.

[Diana Page · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fantastic cozy mystery that includes the metaphysical world of animal whispering and the real life effort of conservation in the Puget Sound. Theresa Crater gives us a fascinating insight into the world of orcas and how dams damage their ability to eat and survive. It also gives real world fixes if only Corporations would listen with open hearts instead of bottom lines. Kudos to Theresa, this is the first book of the series I have read, but it was very easy to follow the friendships that had developed in earlier books. I will definitely be going back to read books 1-3. I received a copy of this book from the author and I am choosing to leave this review. 5✨’s for a book full of heart.

[Maighread MacKay · Rating 5 out of 5]

Theresa Crater is one of my favourite Authors, and her newest book, Whales, Witches and Wait...What? does not disappoint. The tone is definitely Cozy Mystery and the characters are delightful. Her writing is clear and enjoyable and the dogs, cats and orcas conversations with Laura are super. Little Rosa is the best and the way Ms. Crater gives them all such different personalities is masterful. Thanks for such an enjoyable read.

[Autumn Aria · Rating 4 out of 5]

A rather enjoyable cozy murder mystery novel where a bunch of oddballs made up of an animal whisperer environmentalist, a ghost whisperer, a witch, a hacker and a lawyer as they teamup to fight a multinational corporation from destroying the ecosystem of the Pacific Northwest. Throw in magic and a talking crystal skull to complete the lot!

It was a fun read for sure.

Thank you to the author for the free ARC.

[Mel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another fun murder mystery solved by the posse. This series is always entertaining and a breeze of fresh air. The whales were such an amazing heartfelt driving force for the posse and that ending was quite the surprise. I also love that we get to enjoy rituals with the Yarrow clan.

[Anne Pyles · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed following along as the posse (Skye, Laurie,and Dana) chase the trail of Serena Cho’s murder. All while pursuing their ecological causes.