There's no fun in dysfunctionalSmall-town laundress Josie Toadfern has her own fair share of dirty laundry -- namely the Toadfern clan! Ostracized from the family unit ever since her parents dumped eight-year-old Josie in a local orphanage, the stain-busting dynamo's stunned to find herself invited to crabby old family matriarch "Mamaw" Toadfern's Thanksgiving celebration -- and too curious to refuse.But an even bigger shock is waiting for her there: Josie's long lost mom and pop, blandly unapologetic and full of new -- probably illegal -- get-rich-quick schemes. And when a dead body is tossed into the already explosive chaos of bitter feelings, intra-family feuding, and incinerated turkey meat, Josie finds herself in the most uncomfortable position of having to prove her disreputable dad innocent of murder. But cleaning up messes is Josie's business. And sometimes blood is thicker than cranberry sauce -- and a much more... Views: 46
On a chilly morning in February, DCI Claire Pierce is called off her latest investigation—an animal sacrifice case—to a graveyard in Nottinghamshire, where a murder scene looks set to re-open an old case.Three times before, Yorkshire's Ritual Crime Unit tried and failed to catch the "Valentine Vampire," a ritualistic serial killer whose victims show up drained of blood. Fourteen years after the last deaths, it seemed the case would never be solved.Now there's another body, and if the killer's pattern holds up, there are at least two still to come. Last time, Pierce's superiors had insisted she hunt for a monster she knows doesn't exist, that can fly and turn to mist; the media had a field day, and the "Vampire" became the subject of a best-selling book. This time she's determined to find and stop the all-too-human culprit before it's too late. Views: 46
Simon 'Specky' Magee is twelve years old and mad about Australian Rules football. He's such a talented player he got his nickname 'Specky' for taking 'spec-tacular' marks. Not that anyone in his family would know - or care - about his ability.When Specky finds a baby photo of himself dressed up in footy gear he is completely confused. Why would his parents have done this when they hate footy so much? Who dressed him in those clothes, and why won't his parents give him a straight answer when he asks them about it?Determined to find out the truth, Specky embarks on a quest that uncovers more than he ever bargained for.Co-written by highly acclaimed author Felice Arena and AFL legend Garry Lyon, the bestselling Specky Magee has been shortlisted for many Australian children's book awards. Views: 46
From Publishers WeeklyMystery author Gunning (_Fire Water_) moves to literary historical with this provocative tale of a whaling widow determined to forge a new life in colonial Cape Cod. When Lyddie Berry's husband drowns in 1761, her grief is compounded by the discovery that he's willed her the traditional widow's share—one-third use, but not ownership, of his estate. Lyddie's care, and the bulk of the estate, have been entrusted to their closest male relative, son-in-law Nathan Clarke, husband to their daughter Mehitable and a man used to ordering a household around. Lyddie's struggle to maintain a place in her radically changed home soon brings her into open conflict with an increasingly short-tempered Nathan and his children from two previous marriages. Gunning infuses the story with suspense and intrigue, as Lyddie's plight brings her into the orbit of local Indian Sam Cowett; community censure then brings her an ally in sympathetic lawyer Ebeneezer Freeman. Gunning resists easy generalizations and stereotypes while the story pulls in 18th-century law and Anglo-Indian relations, but the dull period dialogue, of which there is a great deal, reads awkwardly. Yet she makes Lyddie's struggle to remake her life credible and the world she inhabits complex. (Feb.) Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. FromIn a colonial whaling village, Lyddie Berry is very happy with her husband, Edward, the home they've built together over the years, and the children they've raised. When Edward is lost in a whaling disaster, Lyddie discovers her new status as a widow is not equal to her former status as a wife. All of the property Lyddie and Edward have acquired is now the responsibility of Lyddie's tight-fisted son-in-law. Although destitute and grieving, Lyddie finds righteous anger and strength, and challenges her son-in-law when he violates the terms of her husband's will. This defiance leads her to question other values held by the community about a woman's place, and even as she loses her reputation and home, she gains a deeper sense of self. Historical fiction isn't usually known for quick pacing, but readers will be swiftly turning the pages, eagerly cheering for the strong-willed widow. The crisp prose is flavored with the stinging salty atmosphere of a New England community witnessing one individual's war for independence. A good choice for book groups. Kaite MediatoreCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved SUMMARY:In a small Cape Cod village in 1761, one woman is about to engage in the struggle of her life, defying her family, friends, and neighbors in a fight for her freedom that resonates even today. . . . When was it that the sense of trouble grew to fear, the fear to certainty? When she sat down to another solitary supper of bread and beer and pickled cucumber? When she heard the second sounding of the geese? Or had she known that morning when she stepped outside and felt the wind? Might as well say she knew it when Edward took his first whaling trip to the Canada River. . . . Lyddie has long been the wife of Edward Berry, a well-liked and successful whaler in Satucket Village, Massachusetts. Married for twenty years, Lyddie is used to the trials of being a whaling wife -- her husband's sudden departures, when whales are sighted in the bay; his long absences at sea, when she must run the house herself; the constant fear that one day Edward will simply not come home. But when the unthinkable does happen and Edward is lost at sea, Lyddie finds that she must bear not only the grief of losing her husband but also the insult of losing her autonomy. As a widow, she finds herself cast into society's cellar, her property and rights now at the whim of her nearest male relative, who happens to be her daughter's husband. With her son-in-law -- who was never Lyddie's first choice for her daughter -- implacable and hostile, Lyddie realizes she cannot live under his roof and under his decrees. Refusing to bow to both her “guardian” and the societal and legal pressures brought to bear upon her, Lyddie finds that defying one rule emboldens her to defy another . . . and another. As she moves back into the house she shared with Edward -- the house she is entitled to use only one-third of now -- and begins to figure out how she'll make a living on her own, she finds that her defiance earns her nothing but the abuse of friends and neighbors and puts her home and her family at risk. Ultimately, Lyddie must decide how much she values her personal freedom and how willing she is to become estranged from those she loves. While conjuring the hearths and salt air of eighteenth-century colonial America, The Widow's War captures a timeless human longing. With rich, realistic characters, Sally Gunning weaves a tale of a woman's journey to understand herself and her world, and her place in that world. Honest and moving, The Widow's War is a stunning work of literary magic, a spellbinding tale from an assured and gifted writer. Views: 46
Everyone suspects Park Lamonte's wife killed him for the ten-million-dollar insurance policy. But garden shop owner Peggy Lee suspects there's more to the story and sets out to dig up the truth. Includes gardening tips. Views: 46
It is Henry's third visit to the Faerie Realm, but this time in a rather different guise and to a rather different kind of place. Holly Blue is Queen and Lord Hairstreak appears to be proposing a truce between the Faeries of the Night and the Faeries of the Light. Meanwhile Prince Pyrgus has stumbled across some mysterious crystal flowers with an apparently formidable secret weapon, and there are rumours of a demon invasion led by Beleth, the Prince of Darkness.Queen Blue, wary of her uncle's uncharacteristic generosity, pays a visit to the Spicemaster's labyrinth in an attempt to divine the possible future of the Realm. She is warned to beware of someone close, little realising just how careful she will need to be - and when she is kidnapped by the most unlikely candidate, the Realm rapidly descends into chaos.In a dramatic adventure, Blue, Pyrgus and Henry will find themselves in the midst of a furious battle to protect the future of the Realm and secure the... Views: 46
One ranch. Three sons. Only one will inherit...and on one condition.
Tired of waiting for his sons to settle down, Arizona-territory rancher Angus McKettrick announces a competition: the first son to marry and produce a grandchild will inherit Triple M ranch. Now, three distinctly different, equally determined cowboys are searching high and low for brides.
If Emmeline Harding knows one thing, it's that she can't hold her liquor. And though she's not sure how she came to wake up next to a stack of gold coins in a brothel, she fears the worst. Fleeing town as a mail-order bride, she wonders: how will she ever confess her past to her handsome new husband?
Freedom-loving Rafe McKettrick is a man of strong beliefs and stronger passions and he'll do anything to win the Triple M -- even marry a stranger. To his surprise, Emmeline's charms beguile him even as the secrets he senses she's hiding ignite jealousy and suspicion. But when a visitor from the past enters the high country, the newlyweds have no choice but to give up on a marriage in name only and seek a union that satisfies them body and soul. Views: 46
"No one tells a story like Lisa Jackson," raves Debbie Macomber. Ann Major hails her "sizzling passion, fast-paced plots, and heartwarming characters." Now, from the best-selling author of Whispers comes the thrilling tale of a woman whose search for her missing sister leads her back to the seductive cowboy who loved them both...Twice KissedWhen glamorous TV star Marquise Walker vanishes from her lavish Denver estate without a trace, her identical twin, Maggie Macrae, leaves her home in the Northwest to search for her. With the police indifferent and a cryptic suicide note setting up a dreadful possibility, she plunges into a seething world of scandal, intrigue, and illicit desire...and uncovers secret after shocking secret about the sister she thought she knew.But of all the men who loved and hated Marquise Walker, it is her wickedly handsome ex-husband Thane Walker, who puts Maggie at greatest risk. Once, she desired him with all the wild... Views: 46
Introducing a major new action writer and his undeniably charismatic college student turned hero, Rex Chase. It's the spring of 1937 and Rex Chase's lazy school days come to an abrupt end. A raucous quest for answers exposes a diabolical global empire and culminate in a singular, powerful realization. Only one man stands between pure evil and the abject subjugation of mankind That man is Rex Chase Views: 46
Nothing draws a magnate like a steel magnolia... Harley Cade is back in town--and the former bad boy is downright irresistible now that he's donned a hard hat and set to work restoring the South's finest homes to their former grandeur. While wealth may have gained Harley entry into high society, it's going to take a lot more than a fat bank account to win the lovely Laney Tarrington. Laney isn't open to giving the self-made magnate a second chance--no matter how much she needs him. With her family fortune gone, Laney finally has to stand on her own two feet. The last person she'd ever lean on is Harley, the man who left her behind with nothing more than memories of the passion they once shared.... With the attraction still burning hot between them, Harley isn't above seduction--or secretly buying Laney's bankrupted family's estate. After all, he no longer has to prove himself to anyone, least of all the daughter of Mobile, Alabama's most... Views: 46
