Ava Harper-Walker has it all. She's married to the world's best man, has a wonderful family with her first grandbaby on the way, and a whole band of friends to call her own. She figures the reason for all her blessings is that other things continue to go absolutely haywire in her life.

The moment she and Drew return from their honeymoon, they have to rush off to battle a raging sea monster that escaped from Hell. And of course, Luci is nowhere to be found. He's presumably searching for the last escapees, who continue to elude him.

But hey, it's okay. Ava's got this. She gets the disgusting sea monster-slime tentacles, Ew-back to its fiery prison, then returns home to find the Vikings have come to call. They want Alfred, and they want him bad.

Over Ava's dead body.

When one of her favorite people goes missing, aka Alfred, Ava goes into mama-bear mode. Nobody is going to get away with stealing her friend and butler. The immortal Vikings are the first names on her suspect list, but was it really them?

The truth stone aids in the search, but Ava begins to doubt even that as everyone who has ever met Alfred becomes a suspect.

Not to mention Winnie. As Alfred's main squeeze, Aunt Winnie is losing it. And that is putting it mildly.

When Winnie begins giving their family and friends the skeptical side-eye, Ava knows she's got to find Alfred and fast. Not just for his safety, but for the safety of anyone who crosses Winnie's path.

The Witching After Forty series is part of the Life After Magic World.