When everyone who has read Leonard Dykes's unpublished manuscript--including the author himself--is found dead, Nero Wolfe, along with his sidekick, decides to set a trap. Views: 533
The first in a series, this novella covers the origins of a centuries-old on-and-off relationship between a wealthy young lawyer and his mistress.The Duck And The Doe is the tale of two immortal beings whose eternal love has soured a bit in the last two centuries. Written as a memoir by the "hero", this novella is a musing on both what love is and how much America has changed since the early 19th century. The first volume deals with both the supernatural and the racism of the old American south. Told with humor and passion (and the occasional rant) the story of these strong characters, including a wealthy young lawyer and a clever courtesan, will change your idea of what "love forever'' really means. Views: 532
It's the vampire wedding of the century... and maybe the end of an empire. Invited to the marriage ceremony of two old friends, Carwyn ap Bryn and Brigid Connor venture south, ready to relax in the company of Marie-Hélène Charmont, the vampire queen of the Delta, and four hundred of her esteemed immortal guests. The upper echelons of vampire society have gathered in New Orleans, curious to witness the joining of Gavin Wallace, the immortal business mogul, to the human woman who captured his heart. But when Gavin asks Brigid and Carwyn to look into a mysterious man stalking his human employees, they're unprepared for the tangled web of deception they uncover. Tug on the wrong string and centuries-old alliances might fall apart. In a tenuously balanced society full of apex predators; even one slip can prove disastrous. Paladin's Kiss is an urban fantasy romance in the Elemental Covenant series by Elizabeth Hunter, nine-time USA Today... Views: 532
Finding it could cost them everything. Wielding it could mean their end.It's a secret lost in time, a myth among immortals, a relic of such power that vampires around the world have quietly harbored the hope that it doesn't really exist.It's a mystery that Tenzin and Ben cannot resist.But to obtain the Bone Scroll, they'll need leverage over the most powerful and mercurial vampire in the known world. Saba, oldest of immortals and mother of the vampire race, has returned to her homeland in the highlands of Ethiopia, searching for the scroll with a cadre of elders. In order to outsmart them, Ben and Tenzin will need to walk a literal and figurative edge through a maze of vampire loyalties, shadowy motivations, and ancient secrets.If Saba wanted them gone, she could command the earth to swallow them whole. But the mother of vampires is playing her own game, and both Ben and Tenzin are no more than pawns.Can they outsmart and outmaneuver the most... Views: 532
Five women...five dreams...a lifetime of friendship...revisit the beloved stories of the Calamity Janes by #1 New York Times bestseller Sherryl Woods!WINDING RIVER REUNIONPregnant and unmarried, she left town...now, Cassie Collins has returned to reconnect with her oldest friends, the Calamity Janes, and put her troubles behind her. But the father of her child, Cole Davis, gives her two choices: marriage or lose her son.Time hadn't dulled Cassie's anger at the man who'd betrayed her 10 years ago...nor cooled the fiery attraction between them. Could she rekindle their long-lost love, and unite Cole, herself, and their son in the precious bonds of family?Originally published in 2001 under the title Do You Take This Rebel? Views: 532
In The Angels Weep by Wilbur Smith, on a continent of breathtaking beauty and bitter suffering, two vastly different cultures clashed, mingled, and recoiled. Here, amidst mist-shrouded mountains and gold-studded plateaus, ancient tribesmen lived close to the earth, as white men dug fortunes out from beneath them and laid plans for a new civilization.
Out of Southern Africa the enigmatic Cecil Rhodes built an empire in the late 1800s and attracted the brightest and bravest of a generation--including a remarkable far-flung family named Ballantyne. But for the natives, another day was dawning: a day of retribution...
From a courageous woman doctor to a fierce, one-eyed slave trader turned soldier, the whites of Africa were buffeted by two horrific waves of war. And just when a bloody peace seemed possible, the seeds of future turmoil were sown … Views: 532
What if the person you thought you knew best turns out to be someone you never knew at all . . . ?
Andrea knows everything about her mother, Laura. She knows she’s spent her whole life in the small beachside town of Belle Isle; she knows she’s never wanted anything more than to live a quiet life as a pillar of the community; she knows she’s never kept a secret in her life. Because we all know our mothers, don’t we?
But all that changes when a trip to the mall explodes into violence and Andrea suddenly sees a completely different side to Laura. Because it turns out that before Laura was Laura, she was someone completely different. For nearly thirty years she’s been hiding from her previous identity, lying low in the hope that no one would ever find her. But now she’s been exposed, and nothing will ever be the same again.
The police want answers and Laura’s innocence is on the line, but she won’t speak to anyone, including her own daughter. Andrea is on a desperate journey following the breadcrumb trail of her mother’s past. And if she can’t uncover the secrets hidden there, there may be no future for either one of them. . . .
*NOTE FROM THE AUTHOR***
I thought you guys might want to know some of my thoughts on my new book, PIECES OF HER. First off, let me say it’s NOT a Will and Sara book (that will be next year). I hope that you’ll give this one a try even if you’re a series fan.
I’ve been writing about father/daughter relationships a lot in my standalones, but when the plot of PIECES OF HER started taking shape in my brain, I found myself thinking about how much I enjoyed writing scenes in the Grant County series between Sara and her mother . Mother/daughter relationships tend to be more fraught than father/daughter ones, and it’s always fun to play with those tensions.
Primarily, I wanted to focus on the opportunities for women now vs. the limited choices when I was growing up. Laura Oliver is older than me, but she was faced with the same messages that I grew up with. No one was telling me I could be a doctor or lawyer—us girls were either fast tracked into nursing, teaching, or library sciences. Title IX was just reaching Morrow High School and I vividly recall being told again and again that girls weren’t interested in sports, or that girls weren’t good at math and science and all those other lies that young women are told about themselves.
In contrast to this experience is Laura's 31 year old daughter, Andrea (Andy), who has so many choices that she is paralyzed. I think in many ways 31 year olds are closer to my generation’s 21 year olds. There is no stigma to living with your parents or even hanging out with them. All of the things that for better or worse furiously propelled my generation into adulthood—getting your own car, having your own apartment, making your own decisions, paying for your stupid mistakes—have ceased being motivating factors.
I think a lot of readers can relate to this dynamic, whether they are on the mother side or the daughter side. Everywhere I’ve traveled, there’s some phrase in the popular culture that describes what we in the US call a “helicopter parent.” (In Denmark, they’re “curling parents”). Laura has done her level best to make Andy’s life easy and conflict-free, and the end result is that Andy is teetering on the precipice of adulthood, unable to take the leap and with no one around to give her a gentle shove.
But don’t worry about all this character stuff. Those of you looking for a thriller should be very satisfied with the story. It opens (as all of my books do) with something really horrible happening. Andy is having a birthday celebration with her mother when suddenly, shit goes sideways. In a flash of violence, Andy sees Laura as not the gentle, loving mother she grew up with but as a complete stranger who is capable of doing terrible things.
This leads Andy into a dark place—and also into a quest to find out who her mother really is. Most kids can relate to not really knowing their parents (and some kids don’t want to know!) but Laura’s secrets are deadly, which Andy quickly finds out when she starts to put together all the pieces of a woman she has never known. Views: 532
**RECIPE FOR MURDER As Minnesota housewives race to meet the deadline for the Times Register?s meat loaf contest, an unsavory small-towner named Kirby Runbeck is blown to smithereens by a car bomb. Days later, the town?s former mayor, John Washburn, near death from a stroke, confesses to the killing. His wife and two children vehemently deny it, but when Sophie Greenway, food maven and friend of the family, happens upon an old snapshot, a bundle of letters, and a tattoo of a red-eyed snake, she wonders about Washburn?s innocence. Unlike the recipe for a prize meat loaf, this murder is seasoned with spicy secrets and a generous portion of scandal, which Sophie dares to bring to a roiling boil. . . .**ReviewPraise for Ellen Hart and her Sophie Greenway mysteries SLICE AND DICE"Mouth-watering . . . A smorgasbord of devilment."--Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine "The pace quickly bubbles from simmer to boil. . . . The complexity of Hart's novel is admirable."--Publishers Weekly THIS LITTLE PIGGY WENT TO MURDER"Strong characters and a rich Lake Superior setting make this solidly constructed mystery hard to put down. Another winner for Ellen Hart!"--M. D. Lake FOR EVERY EVIL"Another splendid specimen of the classical mystery story, nicely updated and full of interesting and believable characters."--The Purloined Letter "A dilly . . . A fair-play plot and contemporary characters that leap off the page . . . Stir in Martha Grimes with P. D. James and add a dash of Christie and Amanda Cross and you begin to get the idea: a cozy with a brain."--Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine Praise for Ellen Hart and her Jane Lawless series HALLOWED MURDER"Hart's crisp, elegant writing and atmosphere [are] reminiscent of the British detective style, but she has a nicer sense of character, confrontation, and sparsely utilized violence. . . . Hallowed Murder is as valuable for its mainstream influences as for its sexual politics."--Mystery Scene VITAL LIES"This compelling whodunit has the psychological maze of a Barbara Vine mystery and the feel of Agatha Christie. . . . Hart keeps even the most seasoned mystery buff baffled until the end."--Publishers Weekly STAGE FRIGHT"Hart deftly turns the spotlight on the dusty secrets and shadowy souls of a prominent theater family. The resulting mystery is worthy of a standing ovation."--Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine A KILLING CURE"A real treat . . . Secret passageways, a coded ledger, a mysterious group known only as the Chamber, experimental drugs, blackmail, sexual assault, betrayal: all the ingredients of a good whodunit."--Lambda Book Report A SMALL SACRIFICE"A smart and shocking thriller."--The Minnesota Daily FAINT PRAISE"Packed with mystery and scheming characters, Faint Praise is one of the year's best. It's no wonder Ellen Hart is everyone's favorite author."--R. D. ZimmermanFrom the Inside FlapRECIPE FOR MURDER**As Minnesota housewives race to meet the deadline for the Times Register?s meat loaf contest, an unsavory small-towner named Kirby Runbeck is blown to smithereens by a car bomb.Days later, the town?s former mayor, John Washburn, near death from a stroke, confesses to the killing. His wife and two children vehemently deny it, but when Sophie Greenway, food maven and friend of the family, happens upon an old snapshot, a bundle of letters, and a tattoo of a red-eyed snake, she wonders about Washburn?s innocence. Unlike the recipe for a prize meat loaf, this murder is seasoned with spicy secrets and a generous portion of scandal, which Sophie dares to bring to a roiling boil. . . . Views: 532
This isn't just another case. This is family.How far will Stephanie Plum go to protect the one person who means the most to her? The stakes have never been higher in this latest adventure from #1 New York Times bestselling author Janet Evanovich.Grandma Mazur has decided to get married again - this time to a local gangster named Jimmy Rosolli. If Stephanie has her doubts about this marriage, she doesn't have to worry for long, because the groom drops dead of a heart attack 45 minutes after saying, "I do." A sad day for Grandma Mazur turns into something far more dangerous when Jimmy's former "business partners" are convinced that his new widow is keeping the keys to a financial windfall all to herself. But the one thing these wise guys didn't count on was the widow's bounty hunter granddaughter, who'll do anything to save her. Views: 532
How did Andrea and Dick Cheney fall in love? Join Half-Moon Hollow’s favorite couple for a trip down memory lane—to a time when Mr. Wainwright was newly dead, Jane Jameson was a newbie vampire, and a budding paranormal romance was not yet uncorked…
Half-Moon Hollow’s supernatural social event of the season—Zeb’s Titanic-themed werewolf wedding—is coming up, and Dick Cheney (not that Dick Cheney!) needs a date. But Andrea’s had enough of clever, handsome, and rakish to last a lifetime, and Dick Cheney is certainly not the sort of man you bring home to mom (not that Andrea’s deadist parents are speaking to her ever since she dropped out of college and became a blood surrogate.) Shameless, relentless, roguish, with a Stetson-worthy swagger, a naughty sparkle in his eyes, and a constant smirk—oh, and fangs—no, Dick is the last person (er…vampire) Andrea wants to date.
But the infuriatingly irresistible man who lives quietly on the edge of a criminal underworld knows exactly what he wants, and once he surprises Andrea with a thrilling hot and dirty kiss behind the paranormal bookshop, she knows what she wants too: Dick. All it takes to ignite their unconventional courtship is a near-undeath experience that confronts Dick with a choice between turning Andrea, losing her forever, or tapping into his countless shady resources). Views: 532
LORA LEIGH
"Hannah's Luck" (Elite Ops #6)
When burglars try to break into her home, kindergarten teacher Hannah Brookes is lucky to have Sheriff Rick Grayson on her side. Especially when their mutual attraction leads to distraction...
RED GARNIER
"Reckless"
Police detective Zach Rivers isn't the only man in Phoenix who's obsessed with the beautiful Paige Avery--but he's definitely the sexiest and, quite possibly, the most dangerous...
ALEXIS GRANT
"Tempt Me"
R&B star Anita has beauty, talent, fame--and her very own stalker--which is why she needs a professional bodyguard. But can she resist mixing business with pleasure when the hired muscle is to die for?
LORIE O'CLARE
"Love Me 'til Death"
Homicide detective Ashley Jones hates working with the FBI. But Chase Reed is one special agent whose rule-breaking methods, razor-sharp mind, and rock-hard body make for one killer combination... Views: 532
NOTHING IS WHAT IT SEEMSA dozen years ago, the Cossack Hetmanate did not exist. Then, out of nowhere, they emerged, breaking free from both Russia and the Ukraine to form their own tiny nation, fueled by remarkable scientific discoveries.And now, it seems, they need help. The kind they cannot ask for openly. The kind that requires a certain delicacy, and a certain . . . openmindedness to the limits of reality.The kind of help only O.C.L.T. can provide.But when the team arrives, they find only secrets, mysteries, and riddles. What is really going on here? One thing is certain—there is real danger, and possibly to a good deal more than just the fledgling nation. Everything else is a swirl of lies and half-truths, but anything can be brought to clarity.With the proper focal point. Views: 532
In this next thriller in the New York Times bestselling Parker series, Spenser and his new apprentice trace the murder of a young woman to an international crime ring that has been operating with impunity because of the powerful and highly connected billionaire at its helm.Ten years ago, Spenser helped a teenage girl named Mattie Sullivan find her mother's killer and take down an infamous Southie crime boss. Now Mattie—a college student with a side job working for the iconic private eye—dreams of being an investigator herself. When Mattie's childhood friend from the South Boston housing projects, Chloe Turner, is found dead, she decides to take on the case for the family. Taking a cue from her boss, Mattie has a knack for asking the right questions to the wrong people. Soon, Spenser and Mattie find ties between Turner and dozens of other girls from poor families to an eccentric billionaire with a massive home along Commonwealth Avenue. The man... Views: 531
