A reader bonus for The Black Wing Secret, Book Four in the Winifred Baxter Mysteries.

The Last Kind Thing is a bonus scene told from Augusta Praxton’s point of view. It explores the choices and secrets behind the novel.

Major spoilers: read The Black Wing Secret before reading this scene.

The novel releases November 27, 2026. Bonus download details will be added here for release day.

By Jessie Clark. A free reader bonus.

Condolences

A Jessie Clark bonus story

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I brought the casserole because that is what you do. When your sister dies on a Tuesday and the whole town decides it was an accident, you show up at her husband's door on Thursday with a nine-by-thirteen dish of chicken and rice, still warm, and you let him see your face doing the thing faces do.

Daniel opened the door in the same flannel he'd worn to identify her. He looked terrible, which was correct. He looked,...

By Jessie Clark. A free reader bonus.

The First Pot
A Crestwick Chronicles bonus scene — two years before Something Wicked This Way Brews

I came to Crestwick on a Tuesday in March with two suitcases, a box of jars wrapped in newspaper, and the firm intention of leaving again by summer.
That is the part nobody believes now, so I may as well put it down while it’s still true in my own memory. I did not come home. I told myself I had come to a town, a particular small town on the wrong side of a...

A familiar street can feel very different after someone tells a lie on it. The café is still open, the neighbors still wave, and the place everyone thought they understood has acquired a question mark.

That is one of the pleasures of a mystery with a strong setting. The town does more than provide scenery. It determines who notices a stranger, which stories travel fastest, and how difficult it is to keep a secret when everyone remembers a different version of yesterday.

Look at what belongs—and...

Introducing Feathers and Phantoms, The Winifred Baxter Mysteries, Book Three — arriving August 21.

There is a town on the coast of Maine called Pelican Cove. It is not on any real map, which is a shame, because I would like to live there. It has a harbor that smells of salt and diesel and, in autumn, of woodsmoke. It has a shop called Baxter’s Botanicals and Curiosities, where the tea is medicinal and the shelves hold a little of everything a person might need and a few things nobody has...

There’s a reason you told yourself “just one more chapter”… and suddenly it’s 2:17 a.m.

Psychological thrillers aren’t just stories—they’re experiences. They pull you in, twist your expectations, and refuse to let go.

It’s Not Just the Plot—It’s the Mind Game

A great thriller doesn’t rely on explosions or chase scenes alone.

It plays with perception.

Who can you trust?

What’s real?

What’s being hidden?

The best psychological thrillers blur the line between truth and manipulation, keeping readers...