Camelot West Virginia: A Magical Mountain Mystery
by Cyn Mackley
CozyAdded on January 12, 2026
Description
A body in the lake. A castle on the ridge. And a town where the new police chief showed up in the mayor’s backyard… with amnesia… riding a stolen horse.Welcome to Camelot, West Virginia—a town where the legends are old, the secrets run deep, and nothing ever goes quite the way it should.Mayor Dreama Avalon just wants to save her hometown. Once a coal-fueled jewel of the Appalachian hills, Camelot is now clinging to its crumbling castle, a run-down main street, and a tourist plan that’s mostly fairy dust and desperation. Dreama’s ready to rebuild. But when a former beauty queen turns up dead—after passing out her own funeral playlist—her plans take a sharp detour.Enter Roy Pendragon: mysterious, brooding, possibly magical… and definitely not from around here. Dreama finds him passed out in her backyard, claiming amnesia and riding her sister-in-law’s stolen horse. So naturally, she makes him police chief. Because in Camelot? That’s just how things go.As Dreama and her new white knight try to unravel the truth behind the murder, they’ll uncover tangled secrets, opioid fallout, strange visions, and a few old ghosts that refuse to stay buried. Add in a castle with more charm than plumbing, a gossip network powered by margaritas, and a community full of lovable misfits, and Dreama’s going to need more than a tourism brochure to keep things from falling apart.This is where the legend begins. And in Camelot, West Virginia, the stories might be old—but the trouble is brand new.Camelot, West Virginia is the first full-length mystery in the Camelot West Virginia Series—a modern-day Arthurian mystery saga with a Southern Gothic twist, packed with murder, found family, and just a little bit of mountain magic.Written by real-life Appalachian crime journalist Cyn Mackley, who turns true police reports into story gold and mines her own mountain roots for mischief and mystery.If you like flawed heroines, small-town secrets, a dash of romance, and a touch of the mystical—start reading Camelot, West Virginia today.*Portions of this book were previously published in the novellas "The Lady in the Lake" & "Queen's Gambit."
Reader Reviews
Fun fun bookThis is a fun story. Camelot in West Virginia had been a coal mining town. That industry is gone and the town is dying and drugs have come into town. Dreama is the mayor and doing her best to revitalize the town. Unfortunately the police are worthless and the police chief is corrupt. The corruption goes higher then the chief. The chief disappears, his erstwhile mistress turns up dead, then so does he. Dreama appoints Roy as chief of police and the investigation starts. There are lots
This was an absolutely entrancing book. It's set in the West Virginia coalfields centering around the disappearance of the town of Camelot's police chief. He up and disappeared on everyone, including his son and wife. He disappeared on his girlfriend, Gwennie, as well. Oops. We meet Mayor Drema Avalon, who took over after the former mayor went bonkers and burnt down the police station. He's doing time in the state pen for it. He burnt it down because he was married to the police chief's girlfrie
Delightfully fun and quirky!Cyn Mackley and Emma Jameson have created a cast of characters that you wish were your neighbors, loyal, brave, willing to do what is necessary to stand up to evil and corruption. They live in a once thriving town that has been decimated by theft and avarice.There are murders to be solved, retired beauty pageant royalty, mysteries from the mountains and lakes all revealed through delightful prose. Get your copy and start reading today!
