"Terrific book. Truly terrific. Tension throughout and tears at the end. What could be better than that?"—Sue Grafton "Outstanding—starts with a bang and gets tenser and tenser. Say Nothing shows Parks is a quality writer at the top of his form."—Lee Child Judge Scott Sampson doesn't brag about having a perfect life, but the evidence is clear: A prestigious job. A beloved family. On an ordinary Wednesday afternoon, he is about to pick up his six-year-old twins to go swimming when his wife, Alison, texts him that she'll get the kids from school instead. It's not until she gets home later that Scott realizes she doesn't have the children. And she never sent the text. Then the phone rings, and every parent's most chilling nightmare begins. A man has stolen Sam and Emma. A man who warns the judge to do exactly as he is told in a drug case he is about to rule on. If the judge fails to follow his instructions, the... Views: 56
Glory St. Clair is finally marrying her long-time lover. But with the wedding only weeks away, she has more on her hands than bridal showers and fitting her generous curves into a wedding dress. Her best friend Flo is in trouble and it’s up to Glory to convince her pal to take the threat seriously or there will be no matron of honor on Glory’s big night. Gerry Bartlett is the national best-selling author of the Real Vampires series. Real Vampires Take a Bite Out of Christmas continues the story where it left off in Real Vampires Know Size Matters, a December release and book ten in the series. Views: 56
Book 3 in the Legacies series. The story of Shanar. The Savage. Hotter, more intense, an adventure of danger, passion, and a promise unlike any other. Of a man who has waited a thousand years for the one woman who can melt his soul and soothe the fires that burn inside him. Shane has longed for Ariel's return. Through countless, lonely years with nothing to help him survive but dreams, tormenting fantasies and vivid memories of their brief time together. That is about to end. Ariel is alive once more and she will be his. But the Ariel who returns to him is a stranger, has forgotten the deep love that sustained him. Crushed by childhood betrayal by a vicious father, trusting neither her sanity nor those who seek only to protect her, the last thing she is ready for is a savage warrior and a love she's never believed in. But the forces she controls and the memories are just waiting to remind her. As is the Viking who has decided enough is enough. She's his woman, and now he intends to show her exactly what that means. Ariel is about to find out what the "power of love" truly means… Views: 56
The magician's job is to create a mystery—an unbridgeable gap between cause and effect. Michael Kardos brilliantly constructs his new novel Bluff as a magician would, delivering a perfectly calibrated performance of intrigue and, ultimately, astonishment. At twenty-seven, magician Natalie Webb is already a has-been. A card-trick prodigy, she started touring at seventeen, took first place at the World of Magic competition at eighteen, and never reached such heights again. Shunned by the magic world after a disastrous liaison with an older magician, she now lives alone with her pigeons and a pile of overdue bills in a New Jersey apartment. Performing for a roomful of lawyers one night, she finds herself confronted with the worst kind of audience volunteer, a show stealer, and in a split second of fury she launches a 70 mph-card at the man's face, slicing his left eye. If he presses charges, it could spell her final ruin. In a desperate ploy to make extra cash, she... Views: 56
Chisholm Cattle Company 03THIS CHISHOLM BROTHER RUSTLES UP MORE THAN HE BARGAINED FOR, BUT IT'S NOTHING A RUGGED COWBOY CAN'T HANDLE.At his remote mountain retreat, Dawson Chisholm's peace is shattered by rustlers. To his surprise, the one he captures turns out to be a woman— and not just any woman, but a beautiful firebrand nicknamed 'Jinx.' Although she swears she's an undercover investigator, she has no proof.. .and Dawson has no other choice but to hold her close.Brittany Bo 'Jinx' Clarke is determined to bring down the leader of the ring. Dawson wants to retrieve his stolen cattle. To get what they both want, they'll have to work together. But spending their days and nights alone— just the two of them against a band of thieves— presents another problem: resisting the irresistible Chisholm charm. And she's not sure she wants to.. Views: 56
In BROKEN HARBOUR, a ghost estate outside Dublin - half-built, half-inhabited, half-abandoned - two children and their father are dead. The mother is on her way to intensive care. Scorcher Kennedy is given the case because he is the Murder squad’s star detective. At first he and his rookie partner, Richie, think this is a simple one: Pat Spain was a casualty of the recession, so he killed his children, tried to kill his wife Jenny, and finished off with himself. But there are too many inexplicable details and the evidence is pointing in two directions at once.
Scorcher’s personal life is tugging for his attention. Seeing the case on the news has sent his sister Dina off the rails again, and she’s resurrecting something that Scorcher thought he had tightly under control: what happened to their family, one summer at Broken Harbour, back when they were children. The neat compartments of his life are breaking down, and the sudden tangle of work and family is putting both at risk . . . Views: 56
Their passion threatens her life and his tortured soul.…Devin James wields a demon blade. Or does the demon blade wield him? The bond between man and steel is soul deep, the source of Devin's power and an ever-present torment. Struggling against the evil forged within the blade, Devin patrols the dark streets of Albuquerque, searching for innocents to rescue. That's how he finds Natalie Chambers….Natalie is sure that helping Devin is another in a long series of very bad decisions, but she can't abandon the man who saved her life—a man who believes that the demon blade might turn him into a monster. And she is powerless to resist their fierce attraction.Love is their only chance at salvation. Can they now find the courage to take that chance? And can they keep the blade from the man who would destroy them both?About the AuthorDoranna Durgin writes eclectically and across genres, with an award-winning international backlist in fantasy, media tie-in, anthologies, mystery, thriller romance, and paranormal romance; she also runs Blue Hound Visions, her web design business, and is on staff at Helix SF, an online quarterly. In her spare time she trains her dogs for agility, rally, and obedience trials, or heads for the high desert backyard barn where the Lipizzan lives. (Website: Doranna.net) Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.Sharp steel whispered in Devin's mind. Once ancient copper, then bronze, finally iron…now finely honed steel that took and held a sharp edge, never rusting, never dulling.Then again, no demon blade had ever needed sharpening, whatever its form and substance.This blade—the one attached to Devin, a merciless presence within his mind and soul—nudged him through the night, riding him endlessly. Patrol the streets, protect the innocent.Never mind that the demon trapped within would prefer to be doing anything but.And so Devin now drifted along the ugly end of a short strip mall in southwest Albuquerque, following the grudging guidance of the geas-compelled—and cursed—demon. He didn't see anything in the sporadically lit parking area, didn't hear anything…but the blade knew. Someone here meant harm to an innocent.Currently the demon manifested itself as a small lock-blade pocket knife, a default form that suited them both. And in this cold night, it served as a pocket warmer as well, keeping his hands in leather half-finger gloves warmer than they had any right to be, even warming his body beneath the black leather jacket. A plain old lock-blade knife…Truth was, he never knew what he'd find when he reached for it, just that he'd find something.And that he was ready for anything.I must have heard wrong. Or written down the wrong address. Or misunderstood something. Even if she knew she hadn't.But this just couldn't be right.Natalie Chambers hesitated at the narrow alley between buildings in the strip mall. Surely there should be better lighting here. This was the southwest quarter of Albuquerque, after all. A place of tightly placed and colorful shops, bars over the windows, gang tags at the corners and copious stout fencing. She'd expected to find direct lighting here at this parking lot of ancient asphalt and stark white adobe structures.A glance overhead pinpointed the burned-out bulb. Great. According to the notes she could no longer read, the small architectural office she sought should be.Right here. Right between the two stores. Right in this alley.She jammed the paper into the pocket of her slacks and pulled her vintage peacoat more tightly around her turtleneck as the breeze lifted the thick waves of her hair and brought out a shiver along her arms.Then again, maybe the shiver wasn't all about the cold. Maybe it was about standing here in this run-down shopping strip going on midnight, with no sign of any architect's office and no sign of any welcoming window light and her "uh-oh" alarms suggesting that if she planned to call Compton and double-check the address, she should do it from the car.With the doors locked.But if she secretly hoped her boss would suggest it could wait until morning, she knew he wouldn't. He didn't jerk her around on a whim, but he did expect her to respond when occasion arose. And it was a good job, an amazing job, her freakin' dream job after years of pulling herself back together in the aftermath of one incredibly wrong road taken.She fumbled in her flapped coat pocket, hunting the phone even as she turned for the car. "Note to self," she muttered. "Add mini-flashlight to key chain.""Too late for that, sweet ass." The man's voice came from the darkness; the phone squirted from her startled fingers back into her pocket. She fumbled for it, digging past keys and tissues and a baby tin of curiously strong mints even as she backed away from the voice, searching for the man in the shadows.And ran smack into the solid presence of another body, his wash of garlic breath across her ear, strong hands clamping down on her upper arms and squeezing them to her sides.Fear raced through her belly, weakening her knees. "Sorry, boys," she said through gritted teeth, hand still groping for that phone, knowing if she could flip it open and hit the autodial for Compton's household…if he could hear what was happening… "This particular sweet ass is busy tonight.""Just give us the documents." The first figure emerged from the alley, grew close and large—very large—and resolved into a rugged man with tattoos across his heavily used face. "Then we can make this fast. Otherwise." He shrugged. "We get to have fun."Fear escalated. This man wasn't posturing. He wasn't trying to impress her. He was without soul, without heart…and he would eat her alive if it served him.Or maybe even just for the fun of it."I—" she said, and the word got stuck in her throat. "I don't have any—" Still just a whisper, it was enough; if his smile had been frightening, the scowl was now terrifying. She blurted, "I haven't found the office yet!"The hands tightened, digging in painfully even through the thick wool of the coat, numbing her fingers. Tattoo Head shrugged, looking beyond her to his accomplice. "We'll come with you," he decided.But I don't know where I'm going seemed like exactly the wrong thing to say. Get screwed wasn't going to go over so well, either. But these men weren't going to let her go once they had the documents, either. No, they'd take the papers, and then. They'd have fun.Not with me. She went utterly limp in the hands that held her, slipping down while he cursed and bent to catch at her coat.With a courage-bolstering cry, she sprang up, the top of her head connecting with some part of his face—something that cracked and gave—as she rammed her elbows back and slammed her heels at his shins and turned herself into a whirling dervish of resistance, taking the man so very by surprise that he staggered back, tripping over the parking curb. Natalie went down, too, stumbling to her hands and knees, but only for a moment—and she was already running by the time she regained her feet.It didn't stop Tattoo Head from snagging her, cruelly wrenching her arm back so she cried out again, this time from surprise and pain and oh, yes, fear again. "Stupid bitch," he growled. And when she opened her mouth to scream, the loudest, the most attention-getting sound she could muster, he backhanded her with such casual force that she would have gone flying had he not still held her.Scream! her deep inner survivalist self cried to her. Fight! Kick! Gouge his eyes out!Dazed, she hung limply in his grip, her vision full of dark shadows and blurry edges, her face one big throb of pain."Get up," Tattoo Head growled at his partner, his voice no less impatient. "Get the car.""Too late for that."Hold on. That was a third voice. A third man. One who meant to interrupt…one who somehow sounded yet more dangerous than the first two put together. And though fear and violence still combined to keep Natalie's knees loose and useless, that small deep inner voice said They'll keep each other busy, and then you run.But Tattoo Head stiffened, just ever so slightly. "This isn't your problem."Maybe it was the tension that laced his voice. Maybe it was his words, hanging heavy in the air, slowing the moment. Natalie lifted her head, blinking her dazed vision into something sharper. Blinked again, disbelieving. As if there was really a man striding out of the parking lot, all full of a predator's power, lithe strides with just the right amount of prowl. Not arrogant, not even with that movement and those long strong legs and broad shoulders beneath a formfitting leather jacket, dark hair unruly, brows dark and lowered, gaze too intense for the darkness.But a man who knew what he was. Danger."Walk away," Tattoo Head said, shifting his grip ever so slightly. Natalie felt strength trickle back into her knees, limbs coming alive with hope. "This isn't your problem.""You'd think not," the man said, a strange acknowledgment there, maybe even a hint of apology. "And yet, here I am."Tattoo Head's partner finally made it to his feet, coming up beside Natalie—reaching into his jacket. "No,"Tattoo Head snapped. "Take him down—and don't bring the cops in on us."A gun. The man had been reaching for a gun. But now he made a disgruntled noise, spat blood at Natalie's feet with a look that said she'd pay for every drop, and reached for the back of his belt instead, freeing a small stub that whipped out into a telescoping, weighted security baton.If her approaching rescuer had any weapon at all, she couldn't see it. Unless…Is that a pocket knife?One of the really small ones?She swallowed. Hard.Something flashed suddenly in his hand, hard and white hot, sunlight gleaming off bright metal in the midnight darkness. Natalie squinted against it and Tattoo Head raised a hand to shield his eyes. And then she could see again, but she didn't believe it. Not really. Because where had that thing come from? That sword? What else could you call it, all long and thin and pointy, with a guard of elaborate whorled metal.He held it as though his hand was perfectly at home with it. And he gave Tattoo Head and his partner a strangely regretful look. "Well," he said. "Looks like you get to die."Because of what they'd seen?But I saw it, too.New plan. Run from the rescuer, too. But for the moment she was still solidly snared, and even as Tattoo Head reached for his own weapon, he dragged her back—heading for the car that she just knew she'd never leave alive. She made herself heavy, she dragged her heels, she skinned her palms. Her slacks tore. He didn't appear to notice any of it. She grabbed a parking curb and held it; he jerked her and she cried out, losing flesh and breaking fingernails.But neither of them looked away from the two men— Tattoo Head's partner and the in...
Their passion threatens her life and his tortured soul[unknown-8230] Devin James wields a demon blade. Or does the demon blade wield him? The bond between man and steel is soul deep, the source of Devin s power and an ever-present torment. Struggling against the evil forged within the blade, Devin patrols the dark streets of Albuquerque, searching for innocents to rescue. That s how he finds Natalie Chambers[unknown-8230]. Natalie is sure that helping Devin is another in a long series of very bad decisions, but she can t abandon the man who saved her life - a man who believes that the demon blade might turn him into a monster. She is powerless to resist their fierce attraction. But love is their only chance at salvation. Can they now find the faith to take that chance? And can they keep the demon blade from the man who would destroy them both? Views: 56
In a land of saffron sunsets and blazing summer heat, an Englishwoman has been found dead, her wrists slit, her body floating in a bathtub of blood and water. But is it suicide or murder? The case falls to Scotland Yard inspector Joe Sandilands, who survived the horror of the Western Front and has endured six sultry months in English-ruled Calcutta. Sandilands is ordered to investigate, and soon discovers that there have been other mysterious deaths, hearkening sinister ties to the present case.Now, as the sovereignty of Britain is in decline and an insurgent India is on the rise, Sandilands must navigate the treacherous corridors of political decorum to bring a cunning killer to justice, knowing the next victim is already marked to die. Views: 56
A spellbinding new paranormal anthology edited by P.N. Elrod featuring never-before-seen stories from New York Times bestselling authors Jim Butcher, Carrie Vaughn, Ilona Andrews, and more!In the magical world that lies hidden beneath our own, witches and conjurers exact sweet revenge on those who dare to cross them. They know just the right spell to punish an ex-boyfriend--and the perfect hex to bring rivals to their knees. But what if you're the unlucky soul who falls victim to a conjurer's curse? And if you had the power to cast a magic spell of your own, would you use it? In this bewitching collection, nine of today's hottest paranormal authors tell otherworldly tales featuring spell-spinners who cast deadly hexes--and stories of their hapless, and not-so-hapless, victims. Chock full of paranormal hijinx, this fantastic collection will hold readers spellbound--and enchant readers everywhere with its irresistible hex appeal! Views: 56
