A fascinating story that has attracted readers of all ages who enjoy romance, suspense and magical realism. It’s a story of a little brown poodle named Phoebe that some believe possesses special powers. Some have actually seen the image of a man wearing a brown flight jacket and floppy hat in place of the little dog when it mysteriously disappears.
A romance develops between Phoebe’s owner, Annette Rylan, who has moved from Louisiana to San Diego after the death of her father and Tony Harding, a doctor who moves into the neighborhood. Annette has the reputation of being a kid magnet and obviously has trust issues when it comes to men, doctors in particular. Tony uprooted his two daughters from where they lived in South Chicago because of the malicious gossip that surrounded them after the death of their mother. Or, perhaps the move is because of the guilt he feels for being a MIA father while his wife succumbed to the subculture of South C.
The story also contains a subplot about a newspaper reporter, Sally Samuels, who is trying to expose a large corporation called The Group that is attempting to control the minds of innocent citizens throughout the entire Southwest. The Group sends a senior tech to infiltrate her life and see just how much she knows. She fears The Group has already enhanced her husband’s mind to the point they are now in control of him and plan to use him after their managed elections have seated him in the governor’s mansion. There is also reason to believe the experiments are responsible for deaths of hundreds of homeless in the community.
M.E. Nevill admits Do You Believe In Magic? reads somewhat like a Netflix Limited Series because . . . “I took the time to allow the reader to fall in love with each character the way I did and develop their relationships.” The author also says many of the characters were fashioned after family and friends and dedicates this novel to them.