Flying by Night
by Lorna Tedder
Standalone · A Witch on the Run Mystery Thriller · Set in the 1990s (GenX Tales)
Practical Magic meets Sleeping with the Enemy meets The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo in a tense, witch-on-the-run thriller where sacred love, betrayal, and ritual murder collide under the watch of an ancient Goddess.
Description
On Beltane Eve, Kestrel Firehawk’s world is lit by fire and love — and then shattered in an instant. She has two husbands, a life woven in magic, and a hope for the child who will bind them all. But when a night of sacred ritual turns into a nightmare of blood and loss, Kestrel is forced to flee into the storm with nothing but the Goddess’s cryptic instructions and the clothes on her back. Someone has murdered the two people she loves most, and the killer may still be close behind.
As police close in and the supernatural brushes against the mundane, Kestrel must navigate a world of suspicion, spiritual power, and hidden allies. Haunted by visions, hunted by a murderer, and torn between the human and divine, she must decide whether to hide or fight — and how far she’s willing to go to protect the life now growing inside her.
Genre & Key Themes
- Primary: Mystery Thriller
- Secondary: Paranormal Suspense
- Niche: Witchcraft Fiction / Occult Crime
Tone
- Taut
- Sensual
- Suspenseful
- Lyrical
- Haunting
- Intimate
Tropes
- Witch on the run
- Found family through coven or mystical allies
- Sacred love triangle
- Ritual interrupted by violence
- Visions and divine intervention
Why You’ll Love It
This is the kind of story that pulls you in with lush, tactile magic and refuses to let go until the last page. You’ll ache with Kestrel’s loss, burn with her desire for justice, and thrill at every brush with danger. The romance is unconventional yet deeply emotional, the suspense razor-sharp, and the mystical elements both reverent and electrifying. For readers who crave both the heartbeat of a thriller and the soul of a spiritual journey, Flying By Night offers both — in spades.
Trigger / Sensitivity Warnings
- Graphic depictions of murder
- Blood and ritualized violence
- Threats and stalking
- Religious intolerance
- Sexual situations within consensual polyamory
- Intense grief and loss
About the Author
Lorna Tedder is a non-denominational minister, volunteer grief counselor, and full-time writer after a long career in public service. She writes fiction that crosses genres — from paranormal thrillers to romantic suspense to speculative women’s fiction — and non-fiction on spirituality, manifestation, grief, and personal growth. She lives in the Florida Panhandle with her family.