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1590 products
Deadline (Jack Noble #11)
One final job.
One final life to take.
One final deadline.
Skinner is judge, jury, and executioner.
And he's prepared to carry out a death sentence.
For Noble, there's only one way out.
He has to break all the rules.
Fans of Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan, Lee Child's Jack Reacher, Vince Flynn's Mitch Rapp, and Robert Ludlum's Jason Bourne will enjoy this Jack Noble suspense thriller.
______________________________________ Readers are saying... ★★★★★ "JASON BOURNE, JACK RYAN, JACK REACHER. AND NOW JACK NOBLE..." ★★★★★ "I totally agree with the reviewer who said if you like Jack Reacher, you'll love Jack Noble."★★★★★ "I enjoy the Jack Noble character as much as Mitch Rapp, Scott Horvath, or Jack Ryan."
______________________________________ Jack Noble Mystery and Suspense Thrillers Series Deadline is the eleventh of thirteen Jack Noble espionage thriller books. In addition, a recently released prequel, and five series spin-offs are available. The series has earned thousands of five-star reviews, and has been downloaded over two-million times to Kindles around the world. If you enjoy gripping thrillers loaded with suspense, action, twists & turns, Jack Noble is for you Noble beginnings was a top 100 book on Amazon from June 2018 through August 2018 L.T. Ryan spent 15 consecutive months in Amazon's top 100 authors list from June 2018 through September 2019 USA Today Bestseller L.T. Ryan: 3/27/2014, 3/5/2015, 7/7/2016, 12/15/2016, 5/25/2017
Deadly Conditions
Deadly Lies
Hurt Jill Shannon once, shame on you. Hurt Jill Shannon twice, and she'll bury you six feet under.
After running fast and far from her painful childhood, Jill Shannon has made it. She has a successful career and is married to Detective Alex Shannon. Together they live out what seems to be a perfect life in Seattle.
The vow she made as a teenager to never again be a victim lies dormant-until one day a reporter lures her to his hotel room under the pretense of an interview-and suddenly it all comes rushing back.
Jill seeks revenge on the reporter, triggering a series of events that leads Jill down a wormhole of retribution, forcing her to spin an ever-widening web of lies.
Meanwhile, Alex is on the case of a series of murders that began as cyber relationships. There seems to be a familiar fingerprint on these crimes, but Alex refuses to believe that the murderer could be so close to him.
For those who couldn't put down The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo comes a thrilling ride a la Mr. and Mrs. Smith, where husband and wife stand on opposite sides of a divide created by lies and rooted in a dark and deadly past.
Deadly Lies is Book 1 of the Jill Shannon Murder Series
Dear Inmate
Their silent disgust failed to affect me anymore. But this was not silent. This was loud and forceful and violent. I could not ignore it.
Massachusetts, 1854. The anti-foreigner American Party, better known as the "Know-Nothings," take power throughout the state. The city of Lowell elects Leonard Ward, a member of the party, as its mayor. Suddenly the "Know-Nothings" are everywhere. And they're going after the Irish.
Rosaleen is ready to fight back. Emboldened by strange conspiracies about the Catholic Church, violent mobs and corrupt government officials are making life nearly unbearable for her people. Lowell's newly formed police department is committed to ridding the streets of "Irish filth," beating and arresting anyone who crosses them. When Rosaleen uncovers a horrific truth, it will test her in ways she could never have imagined.
Targeted by dangerous opposition, she needs help. But are her friends as loyal as she believes?
About the Author
Boyle, Lisa: - Lisa Boyle has been writing stories for as long as she can remember. Born and raised in Finksburg, Maryland, Lisa received bachelor's degrees in journalism and international affairs from Northeastern University in Boston, Massachusetts. As part of her college program, Lisa traveled the Middle East and spent two months reporting on political and human-interest stories. She has been published in various online publications and magazines, and has held many different jobs over the years from cheesemonger, to educator at the U.S.S. Constitution Museum. Lisa and her husband Tim live in North Carolina with their daughter and a goofy-looking mutt named Lloyd.
Death at an English Wedding
Tying the knot was never so deadly...
Wedding bells are ringing for location scouts Kate and Alex in a ceremony at one of England's most elegant stately homes, but when a guest is murdered and suspicion falls on those closest to Kate, she and Alex must put their plans for happily ever after on hold. If they can't figure out who sabotaged their big day, their honeymoon may be over before it begins.
Death at an English Wedding is the seventh installment in the popular Murder on Location series from USA Today bestselling author Sara Rosett, which features an English village and quirky characters along with dashes of humor and romance.
Indulge your inner Anglophile with Sara Rosett's English village cozy today
About the Author
Rosett, Sara: - USA Today bestselling author Sara Rosett writes cozy mysteries. Her books are fun escapes for readers who like interesting settings, quirky characters, and puzzling mysteries. Publishers Weekly called Sara's books, satisfying, well-executed, and sparkling. Sara loves to get new stamps in her passport and considers dark chocolate a daily requirement. Find out more at SaraRosett.com.
Death by Bagpipes: A Summer Murder in Edinburgh
When a trip to Scotland ends in tragedy, travel guide Lana Hansen must sleuth out who murdered her guest before she ends up paying the piper.
Lana hasn't seen her ex-husband Ron since their divorce was finalized six months earlier. So when they bump into each on the Royal Mile in Edinburgh, she is not exactly jumping for joy.
To make matters worse, Ron threatens a member of her tour group - a beloved and respected magician named Presto the Amazing. Ron is convinced Presto stole one of his magic tricks - the same act that propelled the famous magician into stardom - and swears he will get his revenge.
After Presto is scared to death by a group of well-meaning bagpipers, the police suspect he was first poisoned - and that Ron is the culprit!
As much as Lana would love to let her ex-husband rot in prison, she soon discovers that he was not the only one who would prefer to have Presto vanish.
Did Ron poison the magician? Or did one of several family members accompanying Presto on the trip, use this vacation to knock off the domineering patriarch?
When another guest is murdered, Lana must decide how far she is willing to go to save the man who broke her heart.
Introducing Lana Hansen, tour guide, reluctant amateur sleuth, and star of the Travel Can Be Murder Cozy Mystery Series. Join Lana as she leads tourists and readers to fascinating cities around the globe on intriguing adventures that, unfortunately for her, often turn deadly.
The Travel Can Be Murder Cozy Mysteries are fun stories about making friends, traveling, and celebrating new experiences:
Book 1 - Death on the Danube: A New Year's Murder in Budapest
Book 2 - Death by Baguette: A Valentine's Day Murder in Paris
Book 3 - Death by Windmill: A Mother's Day Murder in Amsterdam
Book 4 - Death by Bagpipes: A Summer Murder in Edinburgh
Book 5 - Death by Fountain: A Christmas Murder in Rome
Book 6 - Death by Leprechaun: A Saint Patrick's Day Murder in Dublin
Book 7 - Death by Flamenco: An Easter Murder in Seville
Book 8 - Death by Gondola: A Springtime Murder in Venice
Book 9 - Death by Puffin: A Bachelorette Party Murder in Reykjavik
Books 10-12 - Coming Soon!!
About the Author
Alderson, Jennifer S.: - Jennifer S. Alderson was born in San Francisco, raised in Seattle, and currently lives in Amsterdam. After traveling extensively around Asia, Oceania, and Central America, she moved to Darwin, Australia, before finally settling in the Netherlands. Jennifer's love of travel, art, and culture inspires her award-winning Zelda Richardson Mystery series, her Travel Can Be Murder Cozy Mysteries, and her standalone stories. When not writing, she can be found in a museum, biking around Amsterdam, or enjoying a coffee along the canal while planning her next research trip.
Death by Baguette: A Valentine's Day Murder in Paris
Paris-the city of love, lights ... and murder? Join tour guide Lana Hansen as she escorts five couples on an unforgettable Valentine-themed vacation to France! Unfortunately it will be the last trip for one passenger...
Lana Hansen's future is looking bright. She has money in her bank account, a babysitter for her cat, and even a boyfriend. Regrettably she won't get to celebrate Valentine's Day with her new beau, Chad. Instead, she will be leading a lovers-only tour in France. Luckily for Lana, her best friend, Willow, and her partner, Jane, will be joining her.
Things go downhill when Lana's new boyfriend shows up in Paris for her tour-with his wife. Chad is not the website developer he claimed to be, but a famous restaurant critic whose love of women rivals his passion for food.
After Chad drops dead during a picnic under the Eiffel Tower, a persistent French detective becomes convinced that he was poisoned. And the inspector's sights are set on several members of the tour-including Lana!
While escorting her group through the cobblestone streets of Montmartre, the grand gardens of Versailles, and the historic Marché des Enfants Rouges market, Lana must figure out who really killed Chad before she has to say bonjour to prison and adieu to her freedom.
The Travel Can Be Murder Cozy Mysteries are heartwarming stories about making friends, traveling, and celebrating new experiences. Join tour guide Lana Hansen as she leads tourists and readers to fascinating cities around the globe on intriguing adventures that often turn deadly.
Books in the Travel Can Be Murder Cozy Mystery series:
Book 1 - Death on the Danube: A New Year's Murder in Budapest
Book 2 - Death by Baguette: A Valentine's Day Murder in Paris
Book 3 - Death by Windmill: A Mother's Day Murder in Amsterdam
Book 4 - Death by Bagpipes: A Summer Murder in Edinburgh
Book 5 - Death by Fountain: A Christmas Murder in Rome
Book 6 - Death by Leprechaun: A Saint Patrick's Day Murder in Dublin
Book 7 - Death by Flamenco: An Easter Murder in Seville
Book 8 - Death by Gondola: A Springtime Murder in Venice
Book 9 - Death by Puffin: A Bachelorette Party Murder in Reykjavik
Books 10-12 - Coming Soon!!
About the Author
Alderson, Jennifer S.: - Jennifer S. Alderson was born in San Francisco, raised in Seattle, and currently lives in Amsterdam. Her love of travel, art, and culture inspires her award-winning Zelda Richardson Mystery series, her Travel Can Be Murder Cozy Mysteries, and her standalone stories. After traveling extensively around Asia, Oceania, and Central America, Jennifer moved to Darwin, Australia, before finally settling in the Netherlands. When not writing, she can be found in a museum, biking around Amsterdam, or enjoying a coffee along the canal while planning her next research trip.
Death by Dissertation
2020 RONE Award Mystery Finalist
“Death by Dissertation is a marvelous read that will make every mystery lover immediately fall for Cassandra Sato through her spunky spirit, dedication to her students, clever quips, and brilliant deduction that is brilliantly woven into the tone of the mystery." —Readers' Favorite, 5 Starred Review
"Unravelling a complex murder mystery, supported by utterly believable characters, Kelly Brakenhoff weaves an eminently readable story filled with superlative narrative and dialogue…From the first page, readers will be assured they have before them a book crafted by a professional that does not disappoint." —InD'tale Magazine 5 Star Crowned Heart
Ambitious Cassandra Sato traded her life in Hawai’i for a dream position at Morton College in rural Nebraska.
She expected the Midwestern church casseroles, land-locked cornfields, and face-freezing winters would be her biggest challenges, but it’s her job that’s rapidly becoming a nightmare.
A deaf student is dead and the investigation reveals a complicated trail of connections between campus food service, a local farmer’s beef, and the science lab’s cancer research. Together with her few allies, Cassandra must protect the students caught up in the entanglement.
Dealing with homesickness, vandalism, and a stalker, Cassandra is trapped in a public relations disaster that could cost her job, or more. No one said college was easy.
Author Bio:
Kelly Brakenhoff writes the Cassandra Sato Mystery series including Death by Dissertation, a 2020 RONE Award Mystery Finalist, Dead Week, "a diverting whodunit," (Publishers Weekly), and Dead of Winter Break, a holiday themed whodunit new for 2020. Kelly is an American Sign Language Interpreter whose motivation for learning ASL began in high school when she wanted to converse with her deaf friends.
Death by Flamenco: An Easter Murder in Seville
Seville-the home of tapas, flamenco, and ... murder?
Tour guide Lana Hansen is finally leading a trip to Spain-and during Easter week, no less! To top it off, she is a speaker at a prestigious travel and tourism expo taking place in Seville during the tour. Luckily, her clients-all influential travel bloggers and writers-are also attending the trade show.
Lana is excited to speak at the conference ... that is, until Chet Rogers-an eminent travel writer being honored at the expo-publicly humiliates her and several of her guests.
When Chet is killed during a workshop soon after, Lana is one of the Spanish police's prime suspects. But she is not the only one in her group who would rather see Chet out of the picture-permanently.
Can Lana sleuth out the killer's true identity and dance her way out of a jail sentence before her group's tour to Seville is over?
Books in the Travel Can Be Murder Cozy Mystery series:
Book 1 - Death on the Danube: A New Year's Murder in Budapest
Book 2 - Death by Baguette: A Valentine's Day Murder in Paris
Book 3 - Death by Windmill: A Mother's Day Murder in Amsterdam
Book 4 - Death by Bagpipes: A Summer Murder in Edinburgh
Book 5 - Death by Fountain: A Christmas Murder in Rome
Book 6 - Death by Leprechaun: A Saint Patrick's Day Murder in Dublin
Book 7 - Death by Flamenco: An Easter Murder in Seville
Book 8 - Death by Gondola: A Springtime Murder in Venice
Book 9 - Death by Puffin: A Bachelorette Party in Reykjavik
Books 10-12 - Coming Soon!!
Death by Fountain: A Christmas Murder in Rome
Rome - the city of churches, marble, ... and murder? For one American tourist, a famous fountain will become her final resting place.
Wedding bells are ringing, and Lana Hansen could not be happier! Wanderlust Tours guide Randy Wright and his Italian girlfriend are tying the knot in Tuscany, right after he and Lana finish leading a tour around Rome.
Unfortunately for Randy, his ex-girlfriend is still convinced they are meant to be together. When she tracks him down in Saint Peter's Square, they have a nasty fight, and Randy threatens to harm her if she doesn't leave him be.
After her body is found in the Trevi Fountain, Randy is immediately arrested. Lana is convinced he didn't do it, yet none of her other guests seemed to have wished the young women ill. With a shortage of suspects, Lana must dig deep in order to sleuth out who really killed Randy's ex-girlfriend - before his visit to the Eternal City becomes permanent.
The Travel Can Be Murder Cozy Mysteries are heartwarming stories about making friends, traveling, and celebrating new experiences. Join tour guide Lana Hansen as she leads tourists and readers to fascinating cities around the globe on intriguing adventures that often turn deadly.
Books in the Travel Can Be Murder Cozy Mystery series:
Book 1 - Death on the Danube: A New Year's Murder in Budapest
Book 2 - Death by Baguette: A Valentine's Day Murder in Paris
Book 3 - Death by Windmill: A Mother's Day Murder in Amsterdam
Book 4 - Death by Bagpipes: A Summer Murder in Edinburgh
Book 5 - Death by Fountain: A Christmas Murder in Rome
Book 6 - Death by Leprechaun: A Saint Patrick's Day Murder in Dublin
Book 7 - Death by Flamenco: An Easter Murder in Seville
Book 8 - Death by Gondola: A Springtime Murder in Venice
Book 9 - Death by Puffin: A Bachelorette Party Murder in Reykjavik
Books 10-12 - Coming Soon!!
About the Author
Alderson, Jennifer S.: - Jennifer S. Alderson was born in San Francisco, raised in Seattle, and currently lives in Amsterdam. After traveling extensively around Asia, Oceania, and Central America, she moved to Darwin, Australia, before settling in the Netherlands. Her background in journalism, multimedia development, and art history enriches her novels. When not writing, she can be found in a museum, biking around Amsterdam, or enjoying a coffee along the canal while planning her next research trip.
Death by Gondola: A Springtime Murder in Venice
Venice-the city of canals, masks ... and murder?
Tour guide Lana Hansen is having the time of her life leading a Carnevale-themed trip in Venice, Italy. Her merry group loves exploring the city's rich artistic and cultural heritage together, as well as sampling the sumptuous cuisine the island city is famous for.
Their invitation to a masquerade ball, complete with historical costumes and fancy masks, should be the culmination of a perfect week. Yet when the guest of honor is bludgeoned to death, all eyes are on the partygoers-including Lana and her group!
Was it an environmental protester, a corporate rival, or a disgruntled business associate that did him in? Or could someone have another reason to want the cruise ship executive dead?
Things go from bad to worse when Lana's boyfriend, Alex, unexpectedly knocks on her hotel room door and shares a shocking secret-one that gets him arrested for murder! Can Lana sleuth out the real killer's identity before her partner's visit to the Floating City becomes permanent?
The Travel Can Be Murder Cozy Mysteries are heartwarming stories about making friends, traveling, and celebrating new experiences. Join tour guide Lana Hansen as she leads tourists and readers to fascinating cities around the globe on intriguing adventures that often turn deadly.
Books in the Travel Can Be Murder Cozy Mystery series:
Book 1 - Death on the Danube: A New Year's Murder in Budapest
Book 2 - Death by Baguette: A Valentine's Day Murder in Paris
Book 3 - Death by Windmill: A Mother's Day Murder in Amsterdam
Book 4 - Death by Bagpipes: A Summer Murder in Edinburgh
Book 5 - Death by Fountain: A Christmas Murder in Rome
Book 6 - Death by Leprechaun: A Saint Patrick's Day Murder in Dublin
Book 7 - Death by Flamenco: An Easter Murder in Seville
Book 8 - Death by Gondola: A Springtime Murder in Venice
Book 9 - Death by Puffin: A Bachelorette Party Murder in Reykjavik
Books 10-12 - Coming Soon!!
Death by Leprechaun: A Saint Patrick's Day Murder in Dublin
When an old friend is arrested in Dublin, tour guide Lana Hansen will need the luck of the Irish to clear him of the crime.
Lana is thrilled her friend, Jeremy, and his wife are on her tour to Ireland. The couple are having the time of their lives exploring the country's rich literary and cultural history, until they run into Guy Smith, a reporter Jeremy recently exposed as a fraud.
A tussle turns into a fight and leaves both men vowing to destroy the other. Yet cross words and dirty looks tell Lana that Jeremy is not the only client on her tour who has a grudge against the reporter.
When Guy is murdered at the same pub Lana's group is present at, Jeremy is the police's number one suspect. But did he really murder the reporter? Or was it one of her other guests?
Lana keeps their tour going and her ears open for any clues that might help free her friend. Can she discover the true killer's identity before their trip to the Emerald Isle draws to a close?
The Travel Can Be Murder Cozy Mysteries are heartwarming stories about making friends, traveling, and celebrating new experiences. Join tour guide Lana Hansen as she leads tourists and readers to fascinating cities around the globe on intriguing adventures that often turn deadly.
Books in the Travel Can Be Murder Cozy Mystery series:
Book 1 - Death on the Danube: A New Year's Murder in Budapest
Book 2 - Death by Baguette: A Valentine's Day Murder in Paris
Book 3 - Death by Windmill: A Mother's Day Murder in Amsterdam
Book 4 - Death by Bagpipes: A Summer Murder in Edinburgh
Book 5 - Death by Fountain: A Christmas Murder in Rome
Book 6 - Death by Leprechaun: A Saint Patrick's Day Murder in Dublin
Book 7 - Death by Flamenco: An Easter Murder in Seville
Book 8 - Death by Gondola: A Springtime Murder in Venice
Book 9 - Death by Puffin: A Bachelorette Party Murder in Reykjavik
Books 10-12 - Coming Soon!!
About the Author
Alderson, Jennifer S.: - Jennifer S. Alderson was born in San Francisco, raised in Seattle, and currently lives in Amsterdam. After traveling extensively around Asia, Oceania, and Central America, she moved to Darwin, Australia, before settling in the Netherlands. Her background in journalism, multimedia development, and art history enriches her novels. Jennifer's love of travel, art, and culture inspires her award-winning Zelda Richardson Mystery series, her Travel Can Be Murder Cozy Mysteries, and her standalone stories. When not writing, she can be found in a museum, biking around Amsterdam, or enjoying a coffee along the canal while planning her next research trip.
Death by Puffin: A Bachelorette Party Murder in Reykjavik
Iceland—land of fire, ice…and murder?
After a nasty fight with her boyfriend, tour guide Lana Hansen takes a week off work to get her head straight. Fate brings her to Iceland and the Hotel Puffin where she hopes the magnificent natural surroundings will help heal her heart and point the way forward.
Instead of the rest and relaxation she wishes to find, Lana ends up neighbors with a group of rowdy Americans in town for a bachelorette party and wedding. Their joyous frivolity is a painful reminder of her own relationship problems, and Lana does her best to steer clear of the group.
Yet when someone in the wedding party dies under mysterious circumstances, she gets pulled into the investigation. Can Lana help unmask the killer before they strike again—or will this trip be her last?
Author Bio:
Jennifer S. Alderson was born in San Francisco, raised in Seattle, and currently lives in Amsterdam. After traveling extensively around Asia, Oceania, and Central America, she lived in Darwin, Australia, before finally settling in the Netherlands. Jennifer's love of travel, art, and culture inspires her award-winning Zelda Richardson Mystery series, her Travel Can Be Murder Cozy Mysteries, and her standalone stories. Her background in journalism, multimedia development, and art history enriches her novels. When not writing, she can be found in a museum, biking around Amsterdam, or enjoying a coffee along the canal while planning her next research trip.
Death by Windmill: A Mother's Day Murder in Amsterdam
The Travel Can Be Murder Cozy Mysteries are heartwarming stories about making friends, traveling, and celebrating new experiences. Join tour guide Lana Hansen as she leads tourists and readers to fascinating cities around the globe on intriguing adventures that often turn deadly.
Books in the Travel Can Be Murder Cozy Mystery series: Book 1 - Death on the Danube: A New Year's Murder in BudapestBook 2 - Death by Baguette: A Valentine's Day Murder in ParisBook 3 - Death by Windmill: A Mother's Day Murder in AmsterdamBook 4 - Death by Bagpipes: A Summer Murder in EdinburghBook 5 - Death by Fountain: A Christmas Murder in RomeBook 6 - Death by Leprechaun: A Saint Patrick's Day Murder in DublinBook 7 - Death by Flamenco: An Easter Murder in SevilleBook 8 - Death by Gondola: A Springtime Murder in VeniceBook 9 - Death by Puffin: A Bachelorette Party Murder in ReykjavikBooks 10-12 - Coming Soon!!
About the Author
Alderson, Jennifer S.: - Jennifer S. Alderson is the author of the Zelda Richardson Mystery series and Travel Can Be Murder Cozy Mysteries. She was born in San Francisco, raised in Seattle, and currently lives in Amsterdam. After traveling extensively around Asia, Oceania, and Central America, she moved to Darwin, Australia, before finally settling in the Netherlands. Her background in journalism, multimedia development, and art history enriches her novels. When not writing, she can be found in a museum, biking around Amsterdam, or enjoying a coffee along the canal while planning her next research trip.
Death Count
Can a conspiracy be uncovered before the Death Count rises?
Forensic accountant Kat Munro fights corporate fraud during the day and kickboxes her demons at night while trying to ignore the nightmares that have plagued her since a car accident changed her life forever.
DS Adam Jackson is haunted by the mysterious disappearance of a friend two years ago.
When the partner of a successful London Investment fund dies in suspicious circumstances, Kat joins forces with Adam to investigate the firm. As they gather evidence of a crime with implications beyond the City, they find that events in their pasts are on a collision course; one which will ultimately put them both in serious danger.
Fast-paced and entertaining, Death Count takes a deadly dip into the world of financial crime.
Death in a Stately Home
Good houseguests don't get accused of murder...
Kate Sharp loves the perks of her location scout profession. When she fills in for a researcher at a Regency-themed English house party, she's looking forward to indulging in the posh atmosphere of tea on the lawn and elegant candlelight dinners, but when a guest is murdered in a locked room, Kate becomes the prime suspect.
As she turns her attention to the guests, the staff, and the owners, Kate must unlock the mystery and uncover the murderer before she's arrested for a crime she didn't commit.
Death in a Stately Home is the third installment in the Murder on Location collection, a series of British cozy mysteries. If you love engaging characters, compelling British detective mysteries, the works of Jane Austen, and vivid locations that transport you to another place, then you'll love Sara Rosett's latest whodunit.
Buy Death in a Stately Home to escape into another Kate Sharp mystery today
About the Author
Rosett, Sara: - Sara loves dark chocolate, Pinterest, and getting new stamps in her passport. She writes cozy crime and international heist mysteries. She is the author of the Ellie Avery mystery series, the Murder on Location mystery series, and the On The Run series. Publishers Weekly has called Sara's books satisfying, well-executed, and sparkling. Visit www.SaraRosett.com to learn more or sign up for her free ebook.
Death in an English Cottage
It's spring in England, and location scout Kate Sharp has returned to the quaint village of Nether Woodsmoor with its lush gardens, budding hedgerows, and mellow stone cottages to work on a Jane Austen television documentary. The unique opportunity also gives her the chance to explore a possible romance with Alex, the deliciously rumpled local scout.
Rumors of recently discovered Jane Austen letters stir up the production, but then tragedy strikes and a stranger dies in a fire in a village cottage. Soon it's evident that the fire wasn't an accident, but murder. The police investigation narrows to focus on the documentary crew.
Desperate to keep her job and help a friend under suspicion, Kate delves into the search for the identity of the stranger. What was the stranger's connection to the seemingly sleepy village? And who in the village is lying?
Death in an English Cottage is the second book in the popular Murder on Location cozy mystery series.
About the Author
Rosett, Sara: - Sara loves dark chocolate, Pinterest, and getting new stamps in her passport. She writes cozy crime and international heist mysteries. She is the author of the Ellie Avery mystery series, the Murder on Location mystery series, and the On The Run series. Publishers Weekly has called Sara's books satisfying, well-executed, and sparkling. Visit www.SaraRosett.com to learn more or sign up for her free ebook.
Death in an English Garden
A common, garden variety murder...
Location scout Kate Sharp is enjoying the gorgeous Springtime in her favorite idyllic English village while coordinating locations for a Jane Austen documentary, but when she's assigned to manage a difficult star who has received threats, Kate discovers that danger and death aren't always on screen. After a tragic accident in the star's beautiful English garden, Kate suspects murder. With a sly and secretive murderer intent on putting suspicion on Kate, she must find the culprit before she's led down the garden path.
Death in an English Garden is the sixth entry in the popular Murder on Location series, which is perfect for cozy mystery readers who want to indulge their inner Anglophile. Will appeal to fans of M. C. Beaton, Stephanie Barron, and Marty Wingate.
About the Author
Rosett, Sara: - Sara loves all things bookish, considers dark chocolate a daily requirement, and is on a quest for the best bruschetta. Publishers Weekly has called Sara's books satisfying, well-executed, and sparkling. Her stories and essays have appeared in Chicken Soup for the Military Wife's Soul, Georgia Magazine, The Writer, and Romantic Times Book Review. She writes cozy mysteries (the Ellie Avery series and the Murder on Location series) and a suspense series with a dash of romance (the On the Run series). Connect with her at www.SaraRosett.com.
Death in Damascus: A Heathcliff Lennox Murder Mystery
There's a damsel in distress and accusations of attempted murder flying around, but it's not in the comfortable confines of the English countryside, it's in the very distant city of Damascus. Lennox must go and investigate, although he's not too keen on exotic locations, and his old retainer, Greggs is distinctly averse to the very idea.
Nevertheless, ex-Chief Inspector Swift persuades them and they reach the ancient city to discover a movie crew, a spy and a couple of mysterious ladies. Nobody seems to be telling the truth, they all have secrets, and there's one secret in particular that's drawn them like bees to the honeypot. But what is it? And then there's murder, and mysteries from the ancient past, and a handsome Sheik who remains in the shadows.
Heathcliff Lennox and Swift must investigate and use all their ingenuity to unravel the enigma that lies hidden in the dusty streets of ancient Damascus.
Major Heathcliff Lennox, ex-WW1 war pilot, six feet 3 inches, unruly dark blond hair, age around 30 - named after the hero of Wuthering Heights by his romantically minded mother - much to his great annoyance. Death in Damascus is the fourth book in the Lennox series.
Death in the Dark
"Wait!" My voice strained against the wind blowing off the Sea of Cortez. Mulberry was a slow-moving figure several yards ahead, solid looking in the hazy light of dusk, he took his time crossing the beach. I pushed through the sand, running after him. My dog, Blue, stayed by my side, his gait lopsided.
Mulberry didn't turn until I grabbed his arm. "Wait," I panted. "You're right. I need your help."
He grinned, pushing his crow's feet into sharp relief as his yellow-green eyes brightened. "I know," Mulberry laughed. "You're such a mess."
He wrapped me in a hug-one muscular arm around my waist and the other across my shoulders. Mulberry buried his head in my hair and pulled my face into his chest. At first, in that dark intimacy, I felt like I was suffocating. Almost immediately, though, relief washed over me. I am not totally alone in this world; my only companion a limping mutt.
Blue yelped, excited by our embrace, and circled us, churning up the sand. Mulberry smelled like clean laundry, sea salt, and carried an unmistakable scent that was all him. Pulling away, Mulberry left his hands on my shoulders and looked down into my face. He seemed so much bigger than me, so much stronger and smarter, and under control. I felt like a blurry image next to his stark silhouette.
"Come on, I'll buy you dinner," he said, throwing his arm around me. We walked back toward the Oyster Farm. I'd been living there for months, ever since we crossed into Mexico. I'd come for the oysters and stayed for the isolation.
"So, where've you been?" I asked. "It's been what? Four months?" After turning our treasure into money, which made us both rich, Mulberry left, and I stayed, despite his invitation to come with him. "You went to Paris, right?" I asked.
The sun was beneath the sea now, and the deep blue of the sky turned black at the edge. "Yeah, Paris, then London. Like I said, I've been setting up a detective agency."
At my plastic table, a couple of oysters sat in their half-shells. I righted the fallen bottle of tequila next to them, but did not take a sip. The passport, the same deep blue as the darkening sky and embossed with the American seal, waited next to my plate for me to pick it up.
For me to become a new woman: Sydney Rye.P.S. The dog does not die.
**Beware: If you can't handle a few f-bombs, you can't handle this series.**
About the Author
Emily Kimelman not only writes adventure, she lives it every day. Embodying the true meaning of wanderlust, she's written her Sydney Rye mysteries from all over the world. From the jungles of Costa Rica to the mountains of Spain, she finds inspiration for her stories in her own life. While living under communist rule in the former Soviet Union, the KGB sprinkled her with "spy dust", a radioactive concoction that made her glow and left a trail they could follow. She was two. She was destined for amazing things after that, and she continues to find adventure to inspire characters like the badass Sydney Rye.
Death in the English Countryside
An English village cozy that's perfect for fans of M.C. Beaton and Simon Brett...
Location scout and Jane Austen fan, Kate Sharp, is thrilled when her company lands the job of finding locations for a new film adaptation of Pride and Prejudice, but after her boss fails to return from a scouting trip, Kate travels to England to salvage the company's reputation before word gets out that he is missing. Things go from bad to worse when Kate arrives in Nether Woodsmoor, a quaint village of golden stone cottages and rolling green hills, only to find no trace of her boss except his abandoned luggage.
Kate embarks on a search that includes a pub-crawl and cozy cottages as well as stately country manors, but with no sign of her boss she begins to suspect that the picturesque village and beautiful countryside may not be as idyllic as they seem.
Death in the English Countryside is the first installment of the popular Murder on Location cozy mystery series.
About the Author
Rosett, Sara: - Sara loves dark chocolate, Pinterest, and getting new stamps in her passport. She writes cozy crime and international heist mysteries. She is the author of the Ellie Avery mystery series, the Murder on Location mystery series, and the On The Run series. Publishers Weekly has called Sara's books satisfying, well-executed, and sparkling. Visit www.SaraRosett.com to learn more or sign up for her free ebook.
Death No Stranger
Terror stalks the quiet streets of Cambridge
When a family solicitor is viciously stabbed to death in his own home, the respectable citizens of Cambridge are shocked to the core. Crimes of this brutality are unheard of in the sleepy university town.
For DI Shauna Holt, it's as though she brought trouble with her. Newly transferred from London's Metropolitan Police Service, the burnt-out, jaded detective was hoping for a quieter life, but her experience makes her the ideal candidate to lead the investigation.
Partnered with a cocky young detective sergeant, her first task is to find the victim's missing spouse. What she encounters is a prickly middle-aged psychiatrist, who is far too personally invested, and her adult daughter with a troubled history.
The mystery deepens and tensions rise as the three women's lives intertwine. The closer Shauna gets to the killer the more her past rears its ugly head, until solving the case becomes a matter of survival.
Death No Stranger is book one in the edge-of-your-seat British crime thriller series, Holt and Fiske.
Death on the Danube: A New Year's Murder in Budapest
Who knew a New Year's trip to Budapest could be so deadly? The tour must go on - even with a killer in their midst...
Recent divorcee Lana Hansen needs a break. Her luck has run sour for going on a decade, ever since she got fired from her favorite job as an investigative reporter. When her fresh start in Seattle doesn't work out as planned, Lana ends up unemployed and penniless on Christmas Eve.
Dotty Thompson, her landlord and the owner of Wanderlust Travels, is also in a tight spot after one of her tour guides ends up in the hospital, leaving her a guide short on Christmas Day.
When Dotty offers her a job leading the tour group through Budapest, Hungary, Lana jumps at the chance. It's the perfect way to ring in the new year and pay her rent
What starts off as the adventure of a lifetime quickly turns into a nightmare when Carl, her fellow tour guide, is found floating in the Danube River. Was it murder or accidental death? Suspects abound when Lana discovers almost everyone on the tour had a bone to pick with Carl.
But Dotty insists the tour must go on, so Lana finds herself trapped with nine murder suspects. When another guest turns up dead, Lana has to figure out who the murderer is before she too ends up floating in the Danube...
Introducing Lana Hansen, tour guide, reluctant amateur sleuth, and unwitting star of the Travel Can Be Murder Cozy Mystery Series. Join Lana as she leads tourists and readers to fascinating cities around the globe on intriguing adventures that, unfortunately for Lana, often turn deadly.
Book Two, Death by Baguette: A Valentine's Day Murder in Paris, and Book Three, Death by Windmill: A Mother's Day Murder in Amsterdam, are available now. Coming soon: Death by Bagpipes: A Summer Murder in Edinburgh, Book Four in the Travel Can Be Murder Cozy Mystery Series
About the Author
Alderson, Jennifer S.: - Jennifer S. Alderson was born in San Francisco, raised in Seattle, and currently lives in Amsterdam. After traveling extensively around Asia, Oceania, and Central America, she moved to Darwin, Australia, before finally settling in the Netherlands. When not writing, she can be found in a museum, biking around Amsterdam, or enjoying a coffee along the canal while planning her next research trip. Jennifer's love of travel, art, and culture inspires her award-winning Zelda Richardson Mystery series, her Travel Can Be Murder Cozy Mysteries, and her standalone stories. Visit Jennifer's website (www.jennifersalderson.com) to learn more about her books.
Deception
The battle between good and evil is ill-defined in the land of Hollywood. Rarely do kind, compassionate souls win the spoils of war which makes their rare victories all the sweeter.
Josh Sibley, singer/songwriter, is handsome, talented, smart and headed for oblivion. Alcohol provides relief when his demons threaten to overwhelm his every effort to break free of his past. When his friend Jennie Seger arranges for him to write songs for a multi-million-dollar feature, all his doubts and fears fall away, and he embraces the opportunity like a starving man who has found a bounteous feast during a famine.
Lightning strikes his lonely heart in the form of singer/actress Lila Levy who is married to the producer of the movie and flaunts her sexuality at Josh knowing her breathtaking beauty more than makes up for her lack of talent. Knowing his love for Lila is doomed from the start, he overlooks her shortcomings and keeps his feelings under wraps as he teaches her to sing his songs.
But this is Hollywood, and nothing is as it seems. Lila has secrets that Josh cannot begin to fathom and doesn't want to know. When her husband Stan is murdered, Lila disappears and Josh is confronted by the woman determined to track her down - Sergeant Rosemaria Baker of the Beverly Hills Police Department. Rosemaria is the opposite of Lila; she hates show business and considers Josh a delusional loser. When the cops track down Lila and bring her in, Lila declares herself innocent and the fight for the soul of Josh Sibley begins.
About the Author
Lind, Britt: - Britt Lind is an actress, singer and writer who has performed in television shows, movies and on stage in Los Angeles, New York and Vancouver, B.C. She has written several screenplays and came in as runner-up in the Washington State Screenwriting Competition for her screenplay A Light in the Forest. Britt lives in Thousand Oaks, California with her husband, Nick Alexander, a screenwriter, and their three feral cats, Teeny, Toughie and Baby Hughie who used to live a hardscrabble life in the cold and rain in the frozen north of Washington State and now enjoy a life of luxury in the sun as is their due. Britt is also president of a nonprofit, People for Reason in Science and Medicine, a pro-health, pro-environment, anti-vivisection organization. Her inspirational memoir Learning How to Fly, that was a winner in the 2019 Beverly Hills Book Awards in the Performing Arts Category, is available on Amazon. Her website is www.brittlind.com.
Deep State
Deleted: Jackson and Maggie
“This book reads like butter. The words flow so beautifully that you forget you are reading a book. You become the book. It evokes emotions that pour from your soul...I will read these books again, and again, and again. Five sparkly stars!” —★★★★★ Reader Review
Jackson Waller has loved Maggie Keene since they were six years old, but their dueling dreams ultimately tore them apart. First love—true love—wasn't enough to overcome their individual desires to pursue dreams on opposite coasts. When Jackson learns of Maggie's tragic death on her way to college on the east coast, his heartbreak, compounded by grief, renews his focus on his own future. He vows to do nothing but work toward his goal of becoming a doctor, and maybe enjoy the companionship of his new college buddies, the Dogs.
Maggie Keene left Cliffside Bay with two things: a broken heart and her ambition. For twelve years she relentlessly pursues her dream of a musical theater career in New York City, but when she learns her father is dying, she returns home to find the truth about her family's ugly past. There, she discovers two things that will change everything: one, the bitter old man has spread a wild rumor that she has been dead for over a decade; and two, Doctor Jackson Waller is also back in Cliffside Bay—with his brand-new fiancé.
The second installment of The Cliffside Bay Series by bestselling author Tess Thompson follows the interwoven stories of five best friends, the beach community they love, and the women who captivate them. Prepare to get lost in a wave of small town charm, men you would love to take home to your mother, and smart, resilient heroines you wished lived next door.
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Author Bio:
Tess Thompson is the USA Today Bestselling and award-winning author of contemporary and historical Romantic Women’s Fiction with nearly 40 published titles. When asked to describe her books, she could never figure out what to say that would perfectly sum them up until she landed on, Hometowns and Heartstrings.
Book Excerpt:
Chapter 1: Maggie
Maggie Keene turned thirty the week she learned she’d been dead for twelve years. It started with a phone call from across the country and a hangover. Her phone squawked and vibrated in that darkest hour before dawn, when even the Brooklyn streets had quieted to a spattering of shouts and sharp horns and rumbles from battered cabs. She groaned as she reached across the bedside table for the abhorrent gadget. Why had she chosen the whistle ringtone? It pierced the very center of a person’s brain. Which, at this precise moment, throbbed without any outside stimulus whatsoever. An empty plastic water glass fell to the floor and bounced across the room.
Finally, she found the phone and punched it into quiet submission. “Hello.”
“Hello, Maggie?”
“Yes.”
“This is Darla.”
Maggie jerked upright, hard and straight. Darla. Her father’s wife. The Postmistress.
“It’s four in the morning.” Vodka and perspiration seeped from her pores. Maggie wiped her forehead with the corner of the sheet.
“Your father’s dying. He doesn’t have long. He’s asked for you.”
“Asked for me?” Maggie repeated the question, dull and confused. “It’s been twelve years.”
“He wants to make amends,” Darla said.
Amends?
“He’s found God.”
God? Viscous, acrid syrup boiled in Maggie’s belly. She pressed her fingers against her mouth and swallowed.
“Will you come?” Darla asked. “Will you come home?”
“Home?” Come home? Cliffside Bay was no longer her home. She wanted to say that out loud, but instead a gravelly voice like Al Pacino in a bad gangster movie played in her mind. The hard streets of Brooklyn, baby. That’s my home.
“Yes,” Darla said. “Home to California.”
The idea landed with a heavy thud inside her aching head. Go home. Could she? After all this time? Not for him. But for herself? Confront the past and gain the truth? Say what she wanted to say? Not redemption for the dying, but peace for her, the living? Closure. Answers?
Yes, answers. She deserved answers. This was an irrefutable fact. The injustice of it bored into her mind like a cancer. She would never be free until there was retribution—until he had to pay with something dear to him. Just tonight, on the way home in the cab, she’d been unable to keep the images of that day from crowding into the lonely spaces of her mind.
Her mother crumpled at the bottom of the stairs. Her father teetering above with the bag in his hands. Jackson tugging at her arm, his face the color of an oyster’s pearl and his voice an octave too high.
Would this be her last opportunity to get her father’s confession?
Below, from the street, a horn blared a staccato warning.
“I’ll come,” Maggie said. “But not for him.” I’ll get him to tell the truth. Before he’s whisked off to hell, he would affirm what she already knew. He murdered her mother and baby sister. He would tell her where her newborn sister’s body was hidden. And finally, Maggie would bury the sweet baby that hadn’t had a chance to live next to their mother.
“It’s the right thing, Maggie.”
“The right thing? For whom?”
“You don’t know what you think you know. You were always too big for your britches.” Darla and her Texas sayings. Maggie had forgotten how self-righteous the Postmistress was.
The thick, bubbling hatred stewed in Maggie’s stomach. “You don’t get to say one word about me or my life. Not after what you did—what you helped him do.”
Darla cleared her throat. She must still smoke. An image of cigarette smoke wafting around Darla’s pocked face flashed before her eyes. When had Maggie last seen her? A week before she left, waiting in line at the drug store. They’d pretended not to see each other. “What do you think he did exactly, Maggie?”
Out of Darla’s mouth, Maggie sounded like a curse word. Maggie. She’d learned once from one of Lisa’s boyfriends—the sales guy—that you should insert someone’s name into conversation because it made them feel seen and heard. The technique was good for selling things or picking up chicks in a bar. It had worked on her best friend Lisa. For a while, anyway.
Darla repeated the question with even more scorn in her voice this time. “What do you think we did, Maggie?”
“You know.”
“There’s something I should tell you,” Darla said.
The line went silent. Maggie waited. Had they lost the connection?
After several dead seconds, Darla spoke. “Never mind. Best it waits ‘til you get here.”
“It’ll be a few days,” Maggie said. I’ll have to rummage up the cash for a plane ticket.
“He’s old. Sad and remorseful. You’ll pity him now,” Darla said.
“I won’t.” Maggie hung up and resisted the urge to toss her phone across the room.
She collapsed back in bed and stared at the ceiling. It was her birthday in a few days, but her friends had taken her out tonight. They’d gotten all dolled up with perfectly applied makeup and dotted perfume behind their ears and worn little dresses that barely covered their behinds.
Maggie groaned again as the night rushed back to her. The club. Dancing. Birthday drinks, pink and festive in their fancy glasses. Clearly overserved. All of them spilled into cabs an hour before closing time, still giggling.
What a night, though. To the future, they had roared as they toasted and spilled and laughed and danced. They’d promised one another, for tonight, no thoughts of auditions or callbacks or diets for this gaggle of chorus girls. Just a pounding bass and those overpriced drinks they’d pretended they could afford and had no calories. They were actresses, after all, and the whole “as if” scenario from Sanford Meisner could be used for more than acting. Denial was a wonderful thing. Until rent came due. Until you got on the scale.
Now, though, reality fermented in the murky pit of her stomach where the black syrup remained. The angry scar on her left knee itched, reminding her that her story was officially over. No more dancing professionally, the doctor had said with a click of his pen. I’m sorry.
Sorry? That was all he could come up with? He could have at least added her name at the end of the sentence. I’m sorry, Maggie. I’m sorry for your broken heart and your ridiculous dreams and your empty bank account, Maggie.
What he’d actually said was much less sympathetic. “What did you expect? You started ballet at three years old. That’s a lot of years abusing your body. It’s time to retire from dancing.”
Retire? From what? Working in a bar and taking endless dance and acting classes and auditioning for chorus roles? Was this a career from which to retire?
Thirty years old. Dreams a bust. Twelve years in the Big Apple and nothing but the calluses on the bottoms of her feet and the stage name Marlena Kassidy listed under “chorus” in a handful of theatre programs to prove she’d ever been here.
Other than her friends. She’d figured the phone call just now would be one of said friends. The most likely candidate being Pepper. She’d decided to stay for another round when they left the club and Maggie figured she was stuck somewhere without cab fare. Or, crying into her vodka-soaked pumps about the former boyfriend she’d run into that night. Or, God forbid, panicked in a urine-splashed jail cell after a moment of lapsed judgment.
Maggie was always the one they called. Even on her birthday. She could figure a way out of a mess or an empty pocketbook like no one else. Like a boss, as Pepper was prone to say, which always made Maggie giggle. Pragmatic and sensible, able to get right to the heart of a thing—that was her. It was the small-town-girl vibe, they always said. She was kind, fanciful, and still had the right answer to comfort a friend, despite living as a New Yorker for twelve years.
Come to my place. I’ll pay the cab from my “mad money” when you arrive. He’s not worth crying over, sweetie. I’ll make pancakes and mimosas and we can watch Rent until the sun rises.
Maggie’s mother had called it mad money. And, like her mother, Maggie never had much, mad or otherwise. But that didn’t keep a girl from taking care of her own. There was always an extra shift behind the bar. Or two.
She stared at the ceiling. Her mind raced like the rapid beat of a club song. She wouldn’t be able to fall back to sleep. Not after that phone call. Just get up. Play guitar. Work on a new song.
Maggie stumbled to the bathroom and stared at her reflection in the mirror. She’d fallen into bed still wearing her dress and thick makeup. Her long, red hair hung in a tangled mass down her back. Smeared black eyeliner and mascara blotted out the freckles on her cheeks. The ocean blue dress, once so perky and boastful, hung in wrinkled and disheveled defeat.
Like me.
Maggie scrubbed her face with soap and hot water. Steam rose from the sink and soothed her tired eyes. She swallowed a few ibuprofens and changed into leggings and a soft t-shirt, then wandered out to the front room. Lisa was asleep on the couch, still dressed from the evening in her little black dress. One of her shoes rested listlessly on the coffee table, speckled with sticky drops of a Cosmopolitan.
Since Whiskey broke up with her, Lisa had been sleeping on the couch instead of in her bedroom. Maggie didn’t need to ask why—nor the reason for the French language lessons or the shortening of her once waist-length hair. They’d been friends since their theatre days at NYU. There wasn’t much they hadn’t been through together, most recently a jerk who called himself Whiskey. Whiskey, for heaven’s sake. Maggie knew his real name was John. A stealth peek at his driver’s license had revealed that dirty little truth. No one in this town could admit to what and who they really were.
Who was she now? She wasn’t sure anymore. Beneath her exterior made of dance muscles, expensive haircuts, and thrift store clothes—always better to pay for a good haircut than clothes—was she still a small-town girl?
Fear rumbled down the back of her neck and settled in her chest, blinking like an errant traffic light. She imagined her father, dying in a hospital bed, shrunken and sick. Were his strong, mean hands and cutting words still able to hurt her, or had looming death squashed his venom? Could she summon the courage to do what needed to be done?
And what of the rest of them? Those who had betrayed and abandoned her? The ones she had believed would always love her unconditionally? What of them? That script had taken a cruel turn. Jackson and Zane, and Doc and Miss Rita were as much a façade as the sets in a theatre production. How easily they were pushed over and dismantled.
All these years she’d stuffed the pain inside, focused on her new life and her goals.
A glorious life.
Not a glorious life. A hard life.
This turning thirty was turning her into a real crybaby. She spoke in a silent, stern voice to herself. Buck up. You’re going home. You do what you have to do and get out. Once that’s done, you can and will figure out what to do with the rest of your life.
But first, she might have a good long cry.
No. No more crying. She’d cried enough self-pitying tears for a lifetime over the past few weeks.
Maggie slipped Lisa’s other shoe from her foot and set it next to its mate. She covered her friend with a blanket. Lisa stirred and mumbled something in French.
Maggie shuffled over to the front window. Her reflection was ghostlike in the glass, the details of her appearance obscured, other than the outline of her slender figure.
The phone call had opened a door inside her mind. Memories surfaced in images that played on the window. Surfing next to Zane. Dancing under the full moon in Jackson’s arms. Jackson Waller. How was it possible that her heart still ached at the thought of him?
She placed her hand on the glass and whispered his name as if he were merely outside waiting in the gloomy night. Where was he now? Had he become a doctor like he’d planned? Or were his dreams like hers? Unattainable? Silly to him now that the reality of the world had swallowed all sense of self?
No, not Jackson. He would have done what he said he would. Singularly focused on whatever he wanted. Until he wasn’t.
It would be easy to find him. Everyone knew a quick social media search would pull him up in an instant. Years ago, she’d vowed to keep his memory separate from her new world. This was a different life, a different Maggie. New York Maggie hadn’t loved Jackson Waller all her life, only to have him break her with his dismissal. Not even Lisa and Pepper knew his last name. She couldn’t take the chance that they might decide to look for him. When and if the pain of their parting ever subsided, she would free him from the cage and allow the remembrances to inform the present. Until then, she kept him locked away, like a box of photographs she knew existed but that she would not open.
Maggie grabbed her guitar and sank into the faded armchair they’d rescued from the street, deleted from someone’s home for a newer, trendier model. She and Lisa had reupholstered it in an optimistic yellow. More precisely, Lisa had. She was from the Midwest and her mother was a home economics teacher, so she knew how to do useful things like cook and sew and decorate.
Maggie strummed a few chords. Usually she could think better when she played her guitar. While she recovered from her knee surgery, she had written songs with a focus and speed she’d never had before. Lyrics and tunes had come in abundant clumps of inspiration. She had to wonder if her idle body had somehow lent her brain its energy. The songs were pretty good. Maybe. Who knew, really? She’d thought there was no way she could fail until she arrived in New York and ran smack into the cement of reality.
Unlike her friends, she no longer believed tomorrow would be better. She knew after yesterday’s appointment that it would not be. She had told no one, not even Lisa, about her doctor’s visit the previous afternoon. Since her injury and subsequent surgery, a persistent thought had snuck in like a snake and wrapped its reptilian muscles around her neck. Was it time to leave New York?
The problem was this: who the heck was she if not a chorus girl looking for her big break? All these years she’d sacrificed everything to make it, and she was no further ahead than when she’d arrived at eighteen. It was time for a new chapter. If only she knew what that was.
A more traditional life? Marriage and children? A family of her own? These blessings would be welcomed, but how did one find them?
While Lisa and Pepper were in a constant search for the one, Maggie had never bothered with men. After college there had been a few men she’d dated casually, but no one important. No one who could push away the memory of Jackson. She told herself it was because of her ambition and focus. No time for men. However, the truth was—no one would ever compare to Jackson. She would never love another man like she had him. If she couldn’t have that kind of love, she’d rather have none.
Was her summons home a sign? Should she go back to California and try her luck in Hollywood? She could change the direction of her career away from theatre to television and film.
The truth, Maggie.
The idea of Hollywood left her cold and exhausted. Without dancing, performance had lost its hold on her. She loved to sing, but her voice was more suited to popular music than the operatic style of musicals. It had only taken her twelve years to admit that truth.
God, she was tired of hoping. She plucked a melody on the strings of her guitar. The sympathetic notes reverberated in the quiet room.
From the couch, Lisa stirred. “What time is it?”
“It’s just after four. Go back to sleep.”
“What happened?” Lisa asked.
“You passed out before I could get you into your pajamas,” Maggie said. “As did I.”
“I barely remember stumbling up the stairs. Oh no, did we pay the cab driver?”
“I took care of him. You want water?”
“And an aspirin? I feel like death.”
Maggie set aside her guitar and went to their kitchen. Kitchen being a loose term, as it was more like an area.
Lisa was upright by the time Maggie came back with the water and painkillers. She did her nurse-like duty, then plopped back in the armchair.
Lisa drank the entire glass of water, then swept her blond curls back from her face and wrapped the blanket around her shoulders.
“I’m afraid to ask what the doctor said yesterday. I know it’s bad because you didn’t say anything before we went out.”
“He said the surgery healed nicely, but it won’t stay that way if I keep dancing professionally. The strain on my knee is too much, unless I want to live a life with constant pain and subsequent surgeries.”
“Crap.” Tears welled in her friend’s eyes.
“I know.”
“What does this mean?” Lisa’s eyes looked like a baby doll’s when she cried, round and glassy blue.
“Plan B, I guess.”
“What is that?” Lisa asked.
Maggie picked up the guitar and plucked a few notes. “I got a call tonight. From home. My dad’s dying.” She needn’t provide any further information. Lisa knew what that meant.
“Oh, God.”
“I have to go see him. It might be my last chance,” Maggie said.
“You have to try, at least.” Lisa wiped under her eyes with the corner of the blanket.
“I just want him to tell me where the baby’s body is.” Maggie’s voice quivered. She strummed a chord on the guitar to gather herself. “Jackson’s dad left no stone unturned twenty years ago. Whatever my father did with her, we’ll never know unless he tells me.”
“Do you want me to come with you?” Lisa asked.
“You know you can’t.” Money, for one. Money, for two.
Lisa drew her knees up to her chest. “Why do I feel like you won’t come back?”
“Because I probably shouldn’t. I don’t know who I am without dance. But I need to find out.” Right then she craved the shelter of sycamore trees and the scent of the Pacific.
Home. She had to go home.
Lisa looked toward the window, picking at the skin around her thumb like she did when she was troubled. “I got a call this morning from my mom. My twin brother and his wife are having another baby. A girl this time.”
Maggie waited for her to continue.
“It got me thinking about all the stuff I’ve missed since I left home and moved to New York. All the birthdays and Christmases—I missed the birth of my twin’s little baby once already and I’m not sure I want to miss the next one. I want to be Aunt Lisa.” She smiled. “Cool Aunt Lisa who speaks French. Not loser Aunt Lisa who can’t afford the plane fare to come home for Thanksgiving. Not delusional Aunt Lisa who lies to herself and everyone else about how great things are going here.”
“Everyone but me. I know,” Maggie said. “And I love you no matter what.”
“I know you do. I saw some of your songs on the table this morning. They’re good.”
Maggie flushed, embarrassed. “Maybe.”
“I know they’re good. You should do something with them. Your voice is special. You know that, right?”
“You know you’re a great actress?” Maggie asked.
“I am, yes.”
“You are.” She was. As good as anyone out there. Not to mention, Lisa was a classic beauty, like a movie star from the forties with an hourglass figure and eyes the colors of sapphires.
Maggie was not a classic beauty. Not with her flat chest and white skin and freckles that covered every inch of her body.
“But it doesn’t matter,” Lisa said. “Every single day a new busload of girls as talented as we are show up. They’re fresh and young and their hearts haven’t been broken a thousand times already.”
“What’re you saying?” Maggie asked.
“I’m saying I want to go home. I want to live in a home with a real kitchen. I want to know people who are doing interesting things outside of the theatre. I want to find a nice man who doesn’t pretend his name is an adult beverage.”
Maggie laughed through her tears. “But what will we do?” She gestured toward the window. “We don’t know how to do anything but be chorus girls.”
“And bartenders.”
“And waitresses,” Maggie said.
“I always told myself I’d give it ten years and if things hadn’t worked out by then, I’d think about Plan B.” Lisa wrapped the blanket tighter around her shoulders. “It’s been almost twelve years since the first day we met in Professor Yang’s drama class. We’ve given it a good try, but it’s time to find another path, another way to live.”
“I’m scared,” Maggie said.
“Me too. But we’re going to have to trust that we’ll figure it out along the way,” Lisa said. “You go home to California. Pepper and I will pack up or sell anything you don’t take with you.”
“Really? You’d do that for me?”
“Maggie, we’ve been friends for what feels like a lifetime. Anyway, we’re paid up until the end of the month. That’ll give me time to sort through stuff. It’s not like we have any furniture worth taking with us.”
“What about this chair?” Maggie asked. “The color’s so optimistic.”
Lisa chuckled. “That chair is like us—looks good on the outside, but a wreck underneath.”
“That’s a good song lyric.”
“It’s time to go home and get our insides fixed up,” Lisa said.
Home. She would go home to Cliffside Bay and settle her scores. Not to live, obviously. Not after what had happened with Jackson, not after the betrayal of everyone she once loved. But somewhere in California might work. Or maybe Oregon. Washington State? A place with pines and sycamore trees. A town where the briny scent of the Pacific would soothe her disappointment.
“Once I get settled wherever, you have to come see me,” Maggie said.
“Absolutely. And you can come to Iowa.”
“I’ve always wanted to go to Iowa.”
“Liar.”
Chapter 2: Jackson
The sun had not yet peeped up over the eastern mountains when Doctor Jackson Waller parked in front of Cliffside Bay’s only market. A woman in the park across the street caught his attention. His stomach lurched. Maggie stood under the birch tree. Dressed in running pants and a sweatshirt, she bent at the waist and touched the dewy grass with the tips of her fingers. Long red hair covered her face.
“Maggie.” He whispered and leapt from his truck. Maggie. His Bird. It was her. It had to be her. His feet pounded the concrete, loud in the quiet of the morning. He reached the mailbox at the edge of the grass and stopped. His breath lurched. He leaned with both hands on the cold metal of the mailbox. Not Maggie. Not even close. This woman had legs sturdy like old-growth forest, not lean dancer legs.
He expelled air from his tight chest and a strangled sob drowned out the song of a sparrow in the birch tree. The woman looked up at him and staggered backward. He’d frightened her—staring at her like he’d seen a ghost.
He’d frightened himself. This was not Maggie. No freckles scattered across a narrow nose or a birthmark on her neck in the shape of Italy. This woman had blue eyes, not the green of a mountain lake.
My God, he was slipping into insanity. Having visions. Seeing ghosts. More specifically, he was seeing Maggie. Everywhere. Not like before, when it happened maybe once a year. Since he’d moved home to Cliffside Bay six months ago, his visions had grown to daily occurrences.
Two days ago, he’d been sure it was Maggie holding a dress to her torso outside the women’s boutique. Yesterday, he’d seen her in the bookstore with her head bent over a journal. All it took was one close look at the women’s faces to realize it was only red hair they had in common with Maggie. And yet, in that first split second, he’d believed it was her.
His brain knew the truth. Maggie Keene, love of his life, had died in a car accident on her way to college in New York City twelve years ago.
But his heart had eyes too. They were made of hope and denial. They saw what was not there.
Damp with sweat, he apologized to the woman and slinked across the street to the flowers.
As the sun rose in the eastern sky and shot beams of golden light over the rolling hills, he stood between buckets of flowers outside the food market. To the west, fog hovered over the Pacific, eliminating the view of the beach and water. It would be hours before the mist conceded to the warmth of this late-June day and dissipated. Around noon, as if the dampness had never existed, the sky would transform into a deep blue and the long strand of beach would fill with umbrellas and children and dogs and picnics.
But at daybreak, the drowsy town dozed. It seemed to Jackson that the world at this hour was conversely dejected and hopeful.
Other than wetsuit-clad surfers who rode waves down at the long stretch of beach, the bustling movements of the grocery store staff was the only pocket of activity. Shades covered the windows of the rest of the storefronts along Main Street, including the bookstore, Violet’s shop of refurbished items, Zane’s bar and grill, a surf shop, Miss Rita’s dance studio, as well as Jackson’s medical office. Doctor Jon Waller and Doctor Jackson Waller. Father and son. Like Jackson had planned all his life.
Many early mornings since his return to town, he met Zane for a surf. They would head down to the beach with their boards like they had when they were young and ride the waves as if they still were. Today he would not surf. He had other business. Flowers and the cemetery. Today Maggie would have turned thirty. And, today, like every birthday since her death, Jackson would lay ranunculus on her grave.
Clayton, the floral manager, despite being in his late seventies, had arrived before dawn with the daily allotment of locally grown flowers. Now, he stood to the side as Jackson chose a pale pink ranunculus from the bucket. The intricacies of the ranunculus were surely some of God’s finest work. Their petals were like layers of the finest crepe paper and reminded Jackson of ballerinas’ tutus. They were perfect for Maggie.
He examined another before adding it to the bunch cradled in his arms. Only the best would do.
Just inside the door, Martha wriggled her plump fingers at Jackson as she prepared her organic coffee stand for the wave of locals and tourists who would soon invade. If sympathy could be expressed through the wriggle of fingertips, Martha was your girl. The produce manager, Fred, an old friend of Jackson’s father, paused between apple stacking to tip his hat. Also in sympathy.
They knew why he was buying flowers at the crack of dawn. They even knew why it had to be ranunculus. Clayton had likely picked them that morning for just this purpose.
Ranunculus, once grown in his mother’s garden, were Maggie’s favorite. Everyone in town knew this. Everyone in town had grieved with him when they’d lost her. They didn’t pretend she’d never existed like so many did when presented with death. Not here. Here they still talked about her. How talented she’d been. How beautiful. How sad it was that she was plucked from the world so young.
Clayton’s 1970s beater of a pickup truck was parked in front of the store. Muddy tires told the story of its morning adventures to the flower farms.
“How’s your truck holding up, Clayton?” Jackson asked.
Clayton took off his hat and brushed his hands through wild white hair before answering. “Heck, she’s as good as she ever was. The old girl and I do our runs out to the flower farms every morning like we always have.”
“Ever thought of treating yourself to a new truck?”
Jackson already knew the answer, but it was fun to ask Clayton just to hear his rote response, followed by the lecture of the demise of practicality, thanks to the younger generation.
“No need to replace something that isn’t broke, Doctor Waller. Your generation needs to learn that.”
“We sure do, sir.” Jackson smiled as he handed Clayton the bunch of chosen flowers. “Every time someone calls me Doctor Waller, I want to look behind me to see if my dad’s there.”
“Well, that’s you now, son. We’re real proud of you too. Speaking of your dad, I saw him golfing yesterday afternoon with Janet Mullen. I gather they’re an item?”
“You’re correct, sir.”
“Never too late for an old dog, I guess. Not that I’d know. Harriet and me been together since we were eighteen years old. We figure we’re the lucky ones, loving so young and for so long.” Clayton wrapped the flowers in brown paper. With his shaky and weathered hands, he tied a pink bow around the cone-shaped container. Pink for Maggie.
Jackson grabbed money from his wallet, but Clayton pushed his hand away. “Not today, Doctor Waller.”
Jackson knew better than to argue. “Thanks, Clayton.”
“You tell Maggie I said hello.”
“Will do.” He bit his bottom lip as he jogged to his truck. Once inside, he rested his forehead against the steering wheel and gulped air. He would not cry. Not today. Please, not today.
The first time he’d thought he’d seen her was just a year after she died. On a busy street in Los Angeles, he’d spotted her waiting for a bus. He’d called out her name. When she didn’t respond, he’d touched her shoulder. The stranger had turned and glared at him, afraid of his unwanted touch. Like today, he’d backed away, apologizing. It was not Maggie, but a cruel imposter.
For God’s sake, she’d been dead for twelve years. Twelve years!
He was a doctor, a healer. Yet, he was sicker than any of his patients. Many people who’d lost a spouse or lover, especially when they were young, couldn’t even recall their face. Not him.
What had Clayton said about his wife?
Lucky ones to have loved so young and for so long.
I thought that was you and me, Bird.
***
Ten minutes later, Jackson knelt on the damp grass and brushed the dust from Maggie’s tombstone with his free hand before placing the flowers in the vase he kept there.
With his index finger, Jackson traced her name.
Maggie Laura Keene
June 27, 1987 – August 7, 2005
Our Songbird.
Jackson had nicknamed her Songbird when they were little. Over time, it morphed to just Bird, which he interchanged equally with Maggie. When they were teenagers, she used to tease him that he only called her Bird when he wanted to kiss her.
Fog hovered between pine, eucalyptus, and sycamore trees. A sparrow hopped between tree branches, singing. She would have loved a morning like this.
He arranged the bouquet so that each marvelous flower was shown to its best advantage, like ballerinas on a stage.
Sometimes he spoke out loud to her. Not today. Today his heart was so big and sore that it took up every ounce of energy just to breathe.
Thirty years old. What would she be like now? Would she have forgiven him for sending her away? Would she have ever gotten past the cruel and selfish way he’d ended things between them?
Would you, Bird?
Her answer seemed to drift up from the sea and rustle through the pines.
I would have, Jackson. It was a silly fight. We would have been back together by Christmas.
If only he hadn’t made an ultimatum that night, she would be alive and by his side.
Either stay in California with me or we’re done.
The last words he’d ever said to the girl he’d loved all his life had been cruel. He’d never had the chance to say he was sorry and beg for her forgiveness. He lived with that every single day.
She’d chosen her dream over him. Who could blame her? She’d seen him for who he was.
I never thought you could be this selfish.
Her father, Roger Keene, had been the one to tell them she was dead. His name was in the databases as “next of kin” instead of Jackson’s parents, who had raised her from the time she was ten years old. That bitter irony was lost on no one. The bastard had pounded on the Wallers’ door two mornings after Maggie drove out of town. She’s been killed in a car accident, he told them. Somewhere in Kansas she’d lost control of the car. The police had suspected she’d fallen asleep.
Roger Keene had been the one to go to Kansas and collect her ashes. He’d been the one to arrange for her urn to be buried in the family plot next to her mother. There was nothing Jackson or his father could do. They were only her family by love, not blood. Jackson balled his fists, remembering how Roger Keene had played the grieving father at Maggie’s memorial. As if he’d had anything to do with raising her. As if he’d ever loved anyone but his narcissistic, brutal self. In further irony, the bastard was still alive. Sick and dying, but alive. May he rot in hell.
Jackson tugged at a tuft of overgrown grass at the edge of the tombstone and tore it into bits. The lazy groundskeeper should use clippers. This plot should be kept tidy and beautiful.
His gaze moved to Maggie’s mother’s tombstone. At least her father had put Maggie next to her mother. Mae needs a flower too. He placed one from the bouquet over her grave.
Oh, Bird. I still miss you so much. I’m afraid I’m insane.
He hadn’t even confessed to his therapist that his Maggie sightings had become a daily occurrence. How much longer could he keep Sharon waiting for a proposal? How much longer until Maggie no longer filled his restless dreams at night?
The sparrow hopped from the tree and landed on the top of the tombstone. She chirped at him. Did she sing move on, move on, move on?
Happy birthday, sweet Bird. I love you. Say hi to my mom.
***
Jackson had a good poker hand. In fact, it was a great hand. A full house. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d been up during a Dog’s poker game. Not that they played often now that they were adults. They’d come a long way from the geeky underclassmen at USC assigned to the same dorm room who’d named themselves the Dogs after the famous painting of dogs playing poker. With time had come responsibilities. What had been a weekly game during their college days had become more like a once-a-month game at best.
He looked around the table to gauge the others’ hands. Not much to see. Almost twelve years they’d played poker together and he still couldn’t read his friends’ faces.
Brody never allowed his expression to show anything but a competitive intensity, perfected during his time on the football field as the quarterback for San Francisco’s professional football team. He loved to win and would do almost anything to do so, on or off the field. His fiancée, Kara, called it his game face: glittering eyes, mouth set in a straight line with his square jaw clenched. The rest of the Dogs called it “resting douche face.” God forbid any of them would ever give one of the others a compliment without some form of mockery.
Truth was, Brody was the heart of their group. Without him, Jackson suspected the entire dynamic would fall apart. He was a born leader and, whether any of them liked to admit it, good-looking, smart, and humble. Kara said no one should be given that much talent and beauty in one lifetime. Whether it was fair or not, the man recently threw a sixty-yard pass to win the Super Bowl.
His twenty-million-dollar-a-year contract helped him build this house that overlooked the ocean. Not only had he built suites for his mother and their longtime housekeeper, Flora, but he’d also made sure to build a man cave for the Dogs’ poker games and to watch sports, including Brody’s games during football season. With dark walls and bulky, masculine furniture, the room was like a commercial for bourbon and tobacco. In one section of the room, a wraparound sofa faced a giant, flat-screen television. On the other end, a round table with five chairs had been custom built for the five Dogs.
Tonight, the scent of the sea and freshly cut grass drifted in through the open windows and mingled with the smells of leather and expensive booze. Brody and Kyle each had a tumbler of Glenlivet scotch. Zane sipped from his usual vodka on the rocks with a squeeze of lime. Jackson had a glass of a Paso Robles Cabernet. Yes, he was a wine snob, which could be blamed on his father.
“I raise you one,” Jackson said.
“Good hand, Doctor Waller?” Brody tossed in two chips. “I raise you another one.”
“It’s creepy when you call me Doctor Waller,” Jackson said.
“You sound like you have a crush on him,” Kyle said. He also tossed in two chips.
Brody smiled. “I do have a crush on him.” When Brody smiled, his face transformed from intense to striking. He’d been doing a lot of smiling since becoming engaged to Kara.
“Doesn’t the whole town? Oh, Doctor Waller, can you look at the rash on my arm?” Zane fluttered his eyelashes as he slid two chips across the table and into the pot. “I think you need to rub some ointment on it. Maybe back at my place?”
“Aren’t you talking about yourself, Shaw?” Jackson asked. “You haven’t deluded yourself into thinking women are coming into The Oar for the food?”
“You know it’s my food,” Zane said. “My rock-hard abs are just a bonus.”
Jackson looked at Zane. One hand held his cards. The other rested on the table. No movement. Zane could keep a stoic expression while riding the toughest wave, and he ran his bar and grill without ever breaking a sweat. In addition, truth be told, his restaurant’s food was fantastic. That said, he was a terrible poker player. He gave himself away when he had a good hand by tapping his fingertips against the tabletop like a miniature drum roll. Every single time. In typical Dog style, no one had ever pointed this out to him, which is why he hardly ever won a game. When he did, it was usually for a small pot. They knew to fold when they saw those fingers start to tap.
“I raise you,” Jackson said. Three chips. This was going to cost him if someone had a better hand.
“It’s definitely Zane’s pretty face bringing them into the bar,” Kyle said. “Did you see that group of girls at the back table last night? Every time you walked by, I thought the brunette was going to faint.”
“I heard one of them squealing about your eyes,” Brody said, matching the bet. “She called them turquoise, as if that’s a real eye color.”
Zane rolled his said turquoise eyes as he tossed more chips into the pot. “You guys exaggerate. Plus, those ladies were barely old enough to drink, which makes them too young for us.”
“Twenty-one’s legal, man,” Kyle said.
“We’re thirty, in case you’ve forgotten,” Jackson said.
“I refuse to acknowledge this blasphemy,” Kyle said. “Anyway, age is merely a number.”
“Have you heard of the Peter Pan syndrome?” Brody asked. “You might look into it.”
“I never look into anything called a syndrome,” Kyle said. Jackson studied Kyle. What kind of hand did he have? The jerk almost always won.
Kyle raised an eyebrow and winked at him. “You know you can’t read me for crap.”
“I can,” Jackson said. “Like a book.”
“No one can read me. Years of dedication and practicing my poker face in the mirror has made me who I am.” Raised in poverty, Kyle was making up for it in adulthood by buying up half of California as a real estate developer. His latest venture was a new resort here in town.
“That’s probably true,” Zane said. “As much as it disgusts me to imagine how many hours a day you spend looking at yourself.”
“Hold on there, pretty boy,” Kyle said to Zane. “I recall a certain roommate who used to spend hours fixing his hair.”
“That’s a lie and you know it.” Zane grinned and pointed to his sun-kissed blond curls. “This is just natural beauty.”
“You are pretty,” Kyle said. “If only you’d use your good looks for good. Me, I use mine to give pleasure to as many women as I can.”
“Oh, brother,” Brody said as he rolled his eyes. “That’s where you’re wrong. Giving pleasure to one woman—the woman is where it’s at.”
“And deny the rest of them?” Kyle ran his hands down his muscular torso. “That would just be cruel.”
“No one likes a braggart,” Jackson said. Kyle wasn’t bragging. His angular face, patrician nose, and dark blue eyes that glittered with intelligence and curiosity caught women’s attention. However, it was his utter self-confidence and wit that made women fall into his arms without a thought to the heartbreak waiting around the corner the moment they hinted of any real feelings. Kyle was a cad of the first degree.
“You do look better now that you pay someone at Nordstrom to dress you,” Zane said.
“Rachel is her name and she’s very clever,” Kyle said.
“She’d have to be, given the raw material,” Brody said.
When they’d first met as freshmen at USC, Kyle had been skinny and nerdy. Now, a dedication to fitness and a personal shopper at Nordstrom had transformed him from nerdy to smoldering.
“Very funny. Zane, you should call Rachel immediately for help,” Kyle said. “If you ever want to dress like an adult instead of an overgrown surfer dude.”
“I will never dress like an adult again,” Zane said. “I burned my suits when I left L.A. I have no interest in looking slick.”
“Except for my wedding,” Brody said.
“Right. For Kara, I will make an exception,” Zane said. “It’s not every day I’m asked to walk a beautiful bride down the aisle.”
“I’m not slick, by the way. Some woman called me wolfish the other night,” Kyle said.
“Wolfish? I don’t think that was a compliment,” Brody said, laughing.
“Really? I liked it,” Kyle said. “It made me feel dangerous.”
“Speaking of dangerous, it’s time to face the music, boys.” Jackson displayed his poker hand on the table. The Dogs made various noises of disgust.
Jackson smiled as he scooped the winning chips into his pile. “It’s fun to win.”
“It happens so seldom, though,” Kyle said.
“Maybe this is the start of a new chapter for me,” Jackson said. Four of the five Dogs were here, which lifted his spirits. Lance, Brody’s younger brother, was the only Dog missing. He was in New York working on Wall Street. Hopefully, they would see him next month for Flora and Dax’s wedding. Although, no one could win against Lance. He had a photographic memory and Jackson suspected an ability to count cards. If Lance were a less ethical man, he would be in Vegas right now beating the house.
A new chapter? That’s what he needed. But could he make one?
“You okay, buddy?” Zane asked him.
Jackson looked up. “Me? Sure, yeah. Fine.”
“We know what today is,” Brody said. “You doing all right?”
“It’s okay if you’re not,” Kyle said.
Jackson looked at him, surprised. Kyle was usually the first to run when a conversation turned serious. “I’m struggling a little.” The understatement of the century. “She would’ve turned thirty today.”
“Yeah, I know,” Zane said.
“I should be better than I am,” Jackson said. “No one grieves this long unless they’re a little screwed in the head.”
“You loved her very much,” Brody said. “And today’s her birthday. I understand, now that I love Kara. To lose her might kill me.”
“It’s been twelve years,” Jackson said.
“What does your therapist think?” Brody asked.
Jackson shrugged and sipped from his glass. The wine tasted bitter tonight. “She thinks I’ve never fully believed that Maggie was dead, therefore I haven’t moved on like I should.”
“What kind of half-cocked theory is that?” Zane asked.
“Right?” Kyle said. “You know she’s dead. You just wish she wasn’t.”
“Anyway, there’s no instruction manual on grief,” Brody said. “I still miss my dad every single day.”
The urge to confess his fears trampled all reason, all self-preservation. If he could tell anyone the truth, it was the Dogs. “I’ve been seeing her everywhere. Since I moved back here. Any woman with red hair—my mind thinks she’s Maggie. This is not normal, guys.”
“It’s just because you’re back here,” Kyle said. “When I went home a few years ago, it felt like my mom was around every corner. And she’s been gone a long time.”
“Sure. It’s all the memories here,” Zane said. “Stirring things up.”
“The ring I bought for Sharon’s been sitting in my desk drawer for months,” Jackson said. “I need to ask her. She’s expecting me to ask her. The longer I put it off, the less fair it is to her.”
The room went silent. No one would meet his gaze.
Finally, Zane spoke. “There’s no rush. No timeline.”
“Proposing to her isn’t going to make you miss Maggie any less,” Kyle said.
Again, Kyle surprised him. What did he know about missing someone?
“It might,” Jackson said. “Like a line in the sand for my mind. I love Sharon. She’s amazing. You all know that.” Sharon Fox was a research doctor who looked like a supermodel. She loved Jackson despite how he’d strung her along for years. Heck, they’d been friends for six years before she convinced him to become involved romantically. “She’s hung in there for a long time.”
“What about her job in L.A.?” Brody asked. “I thought she didn’t want to move here.”
“She told me she will—if there’s a ring on her finger,” Jackson said. “She’ll commute to a university in San Francisco once she secures another position.”
“I don’t think she’ll like it here,” Zane said.
“What’s not to like?” Jackson asked.
No one spoke for a few seconds. Kyle plucked strips of the paper label from his beer bottle. Brody drank down the entirety of his scotch. Zane clasped his hands behind his head and stared at the light fixture that hung over the table.
“What is it?” Jackson asked. “What’s wrong?”
“We want you to be happy,” Zane said.
“I want that too,” Jackson said. I don’t want to slowly lose my mind. “Sometimes I wonder if coming back here was a mistake.”
“No way, man. This was your plan since we were kids,” Zane said.
Maggie was my plan, too. And look what happened there.
“Maybe you’re right. It’s just being back here. All the memories.” Jackson smiled to assure them he was fine, but his dry mouth stretched painfully against his teeth.
“They’ll fade,” Zane said. “I’m sure of it.”
“I’m going to marry Sharon. I owe her that much,” Jackson said. “And I need to know you guys are on my side.”
“Of course we are,” Kyle said. “Thick and thin, like we always promised.”
“No matter what,” Brody said.
“Sure. Whatever you decide, we’ll get behind it a hundred percent,” Zane said.
Kyle raised his glass. “To the Dogs. We have one another’s backs. No matter what goes down.”
“Always,” they repeated as they clinked glasses.
“Now somebody deal,” Kyle said. “I’m in the mood to win.”
***
The next day, Jackson finished putting the cast on three-year-old Dakota Ellis’s arm. “All done, buddy. You did a fantastic job of staying still.”
Dakota grinned. “Mommy said to.”
His mother, Violet, sat in the chair with the same worried expression they’d come in with, even though her son’s tears had long since dried. Jackson knew a thing or two about worry.
“Now, off you go. Ask Nurse Kara for a lollipop while I talk to your mom for a minute,” Jackson said as he scooped the little boy off the table.
Dakota headed out the door, staring at his cast.
Jackson turned back to Violet. “There’s no need to look so worried. He’ll be good as new in a month.”
“It’s not that so much as, well, I’m struggling. Money-wise.”
“Is business slow?” he asked.
Violet owned a shop in town that sold goods made from refurbished items, like tires into purses and so forth. Jackson had bought a bracelet made from chicken wire for Sharon. It had not gone over well.
Violet also headed up the committee in town with a sole purpose to protect the historical parts of town from development.
“My rent at the shop is too high compared to what I’m able to sell things for,” Violet said. “If my parents hadn’t moved to their vacation place in South America and left me their house here, I’d be in deep trouble. Still, with self-employment taxes, property taxes, not to mention the price of health insurance—I’m barely making it. A broken arm wasn’t in the budget.” Violet’s bottom lip trembled. “Do you guys have payment plans?”
“We can, but insurance will cover most of this,” he said.
“Not my insurance. My deductible’s six thousand dollars before they pay a dime. I have to pay over five hundred a month for our premiums, and I make too much to get a government subsidy for Dakota.” She wiped under her eyes. “I’m sorry. I’m just so tired.”
“Don’t apologize.” How was she supposed to get ahead when the system was rigged against her? “Anyway, you’re in luck. We happen to have a special running this month on little boy’s broken arms. They’re free with a purchase of a lollipop.”
“Jackson, no. I can’t take your charity.”
His mother, who had run the office when Jackson was a kid, had conveniently forgotten to bill people for visits if she knew they were struggling financially. “You let me know when things are looking up and we’ll bill you then.”
“I won’t forget,” she said.
“I’m not worried.”
Violet tucked her long, honey-hued hair behind both ears and lifted the corners of her mouth in a sad smile. “It’s been a rough few years.” Despite it all, Violet was even prettier than she’d been in high school, with hair the color of honey and small, delicate features. As Kyle had pointed out the first time he was introduced to her, she had a beautiful figure, thanks to yoga. Although, beautiful figure wasn’t exactly how Kyle had described her. He’d said something more along the lines of sizzling hot body, if Jackson recalled correctly.
However, Kyle’s admiration of Violet was short-lived. She was a zealot when it came to their little town, crusading to keep the town historically pure, which created a massive conflict with Kyle. She did not approve of new construction, especially a large resort, and was not shy about expressing her displeasure. Usually with a picket sign.
“How’s Sharon? Have you convinced her to move here yet?” Violet asked.
“She’s been pretty clear that a proposal equals her commitment to moving.” He kept his voice light.
“Well, it’s a big step,” Violet said.
“Yes. It is. Very much so.” He cringed at the uncertainty in his voice.
“I’m happy for you.”
Jackson scratched his neck under the stiff collar of his buttondown shirt. “What about you? Are you seeing anyone special?”
“No. I have Dakota, so you know, not much chance I’ll attract anyone decent. Way too much baggage.”
“Everyone has baggage. Don’t give up on love. You’re a catch, with or without your adorable boy. Some guy’s going to be lucky to have you.”
Violet rose from the chair and smoothed the front of her cotton sundress. “Thanks, Jackson. I didn’t realize a pep talk was an additional service you provide.”
“Anytime. Now go open your shop. Town’s practically crawling with tourists today.”
After he escorted Violet out to the lobby, he went into his office and opened his desk drawer. A small box nestled next to freshly sharpened pencils. He opened it; the diamond ring sparkled under the lights. Just do it.
His pulse quickened to the pace of a hummingbird’s wings. Sharon was a good woman. Even if he had to keep reminding himself, he was a lucky man. Nothing good ever came from his overanalysis. Or did it? Never mind. He must stop this nonsense.
It was time. He had to propose to Sharon and make it official. Time to grow up and start a family. Move forward with someone else. Finally.
Departed: David and Sara
“This was a beautiful journey back to Cliffside Bay, reuniting with all the characters and seeing how strong Wolf Enterprises had become how the band of brothers fell for the strong woman that loved them. To see their families grow and their hearts overflow with love in the small town of Cliffside is a journey that warmed my heart.” —The BookFairy Reviews
Recently widowed Sara Ness moves to Cliffside Bay to hide from her painful past and the scandal that cost her far too much. With a baby daughter to raise alone, the peaceful privacy of small town life, and the comfort of the local grief support group, are just what the heiress needs. But when her inheritance is jeopardized by her new marital status, Sara is forced to make a deal with the only suitable candidate available. And for the next year she's paying for the pleasure of pretending to be married to the one man in town she simply cannot stand.
In the wake of his wife's death, architect David Perry accepts a job at Wolf Enterprises and promptly moves his children to be near what's left of their family. Though work and the kids are more than enough to fill David's days, his quiet, lonely nights force him to seek the help of the local grief support group. And when the spoiled Sara Ness proposes a partnership that promises to be lucrative for them both, David agrees to her terms and discovers that his fake bride just might hold the key to his future happiness.
The final installment of the wildly popular Cliffside Bay series weaves a heartwarming enemies-to-lovers meets marriage-of-convenience tale in the style readers have grown to expect from USA Today bestselling author Tess Thompson, with richly developed characters, a setting to marvel at, and the ultimate life lesson about true love's never-ending ability to bridge the gaps that we frequently allow to divide us.
Author Bio:
Tess Thompson is the USA Today Bestselling and award-winning author of contemporary and historical Romantic Women’s Fiction with nearly 40 published titles. When asked to describe her books, she could never figure out what to say that would perfectly sum them up until she landed on, Hometowns and Heartstrings.
Deserts, Driving, and Derelicts
Desperate Play
DESPERATE PLAY brings you the third book in #1 New York Times Bestselling Author Barbara Freethy's new romantic suspense series: Off The Grid: FBI Series.
Special Agent Wyatt Tanner has always worked undercover. He thrives in the dark of the night. He survives by turning himself into someone else. But living so long in the shadows can make a man forget who he really is. When people start dying, when he finds blood on his own hands, he questions the choices he has made, the people he is with.
Can he find his way back to the light? Can he trust the beautiful woman who needs his help? Or does she also have a secret life?
He'll have to make one desperate play to find out...
Don't miss this page-turning, heart-stopping romantic suspense novel...coming soon
Check out more books in the series
Perilous Trust #1
Reckless Whisper #2
Desperate Play #3
Elusive Promise #4
Dangerous Choice #5
PRAISE FOR THE FBI SERIES
"Perilous Trust is a non-stop thriller that seamlessly melds jaw-dropping suspense with sizzling romance, and I was riveted from the first page to the last...Readers will be breathless in anticipation as this fast-paced and enthralling love story evolves and goes in unforeseeable directions." USA Today HEA Blog
"Barbara Freethy's first book in her OFF THE GRID series is an emotional, action packed, crime drama that keeps you on the edge of your seat...I'm exhausted after reading this but in a good way. 5 Stars " Booklovers Anonymous
"It's been a while since I have had the fun of reading a brilliant romantic suspense book - Perilous Trust gets me back into this genre with a bang " For the Love of Fictional Worlds
"Getting tangled up with Perilous Trust is a rush. Barbara Freethy sets the adrenaline level so high that it takes a while to come back down to solid ground. The suspense is killer, the danger is intense and the electricity generated between Sophie and Damon is off the charts. A lethally seductive thriller." Isha Coleman - I Love Romance Blog
Dessert at The Beach House Hotel
One favor deserves another, or does it?
Against their better judgment, Ann and Rhonda agree to help a young girl in distress at the request of the vice-president of the United States, Amelia Swanson. After almost losing their lives because of an earlier request of hers, they plan on being more careful.
Amanda Rogers was an intern for Senator Worthington's office when she was drugged at a staff party and got pregnant. Now, alone without parental support, she and her friend, Jax Thomas, arrive at the hotel to wait out the last weeks of pregnancy in privacy. Senator Worthington and his wife want to adopt Mandy's baby girl, but she's made no promises. Jax would like to marry Mandy and raise the baby with her, but Mandy's parents have made it clear that Jax deserves better than someone like her, and Mandy's torn.
After vowing not to interfere, Ann and Rhonda find it more and more difficult to stay neutral. But they have other things on their minds. Aubrey Lowell, who almost ruined The Beach House Hotel managing it, their old nemesis, Brock Goodwin, and a couple of others have opened a nearby hotel called The Sand Castle, a playground for the hip, and have every intention of destroying The Beach House Hotel, no matter what it takes.
There is much to celebrate as happy news from both families and the hotel is shared by all. As Ann and Rhonda agree, life can sometimes be as sweet as one of Jean-Luc's desserts at The Beach House Hotel.
A light beach read with humor sprinkled in for readers' enjoyment featuring two women, Ann and Rhonda, whom readers adore. Be sure to read all the books so far in the series - Breakfast at The Beach House Hotel, Lunch at The Beach House Hotel, Dinner at The Beach House Hotel, Christmas at The Beach House Hotel, Margaritas at The Beach House Hotel, Dessert at The Beach House Hotel. Coffee at The Beach House Hotel and Tea at The Beach House Hotel coming soon.
Another of Judith Keim's series books celebrating love and families, strong women meeting challenges, and clean women's fiction with a touch of romance--beach reads for all ages with a touch of humor, satisfying twists, and happy endings. Be sure to check out her other delightful books and series that readers adore.
Detachment
Detonation
*** NAMED TO KIRKUS REVIEWS BEST BOOKS OF 2018 ***
Fire, splitting the atom, synthetic biology. There's a dark side to every invention, one which we have been fortunate to contain for most of history. But are we hurtling into the future too fast?
Detonation is an epic dystopian tale that is a cautionary reflection on our own innovation-obsessed culture. It follows two societies that are connected, but centuries apart, and their struggle against a superintelligent machine. Amid ideological clashes and political plotting, a diverse cast discovers this insidious threat, one which few can fathom, and fewer can challenge, and they are forced into an escalating conflict against a tireless enemy.
About the Author
Otto, Erik A.: - Erik A. Otto is a former healthcare industry executive and technologist, now turned science fiction author. His works of fiction include A Toxic Ambition, Detonation, Transition, and the Tale of Infidels series. Detonation has been named to Kirkus Reviews Best Books of 2018, and is a finalist for the Foreword INDIES Book of the Year Award for 2018. In addition to writing, Erik is currently serving as the Managing Director of Ethagi Inc., an organization dedicated to promoting the safe and ethical use of artificial general intelligence technologies. He lives in Charlottesville, Virginia, with his wife and two children.
Deviant Agendas: A Victoria Rodessa Legal Thriller
Best Indie Book Runner Up Award from ShelfUnbound
"Driven by an exceptionally strong female lead, the first entry in Katherine Smith Dedrick's V-files series is a winner." - BestThrillers Staff
"Deviant Agendas: A Victoria Rodessa Legal Thriller by Katherine Smith Dedrick is a complete stunner..." - Rabia Tanveer for Readers' Favorite
Smart, sexy, sassy and driven-Victoria Rodessa just graduated from one of the country's top law schools and joined the international firm Acker, Smith & McGowen, respected for its advancement of female lawyers. When Victoria lands a prized assignment vital to the ambitions of the firm's powerful partners, she sets out to become the first woman to join their ranks. But behind closed doors, deviant agendas dominate. With only her intellect and guts to guide her, Victoria confronts a perfect storm of misogyny, lies and criminal intent. If she follows her conscience, she could lose everything. But keeping silent could come at an even higher cost.
About the Author
Dedrick, Katherine Smith: - Katherine Smith Dedrick is author of The V-Files, a legal thriller series with strong female protagonists. An attorney for more than thirty years, Katherine has litigated in U.S. federal and state courts and served on the management team of a national law firm. Katherine holds a law degree from IIT Chicago Kent and MBA from The University of Chicago. In addition to writing novels and practicing law, she has received the Business Insurance Women to Watch Award, the Women with Visions Award, and the Mercedes Mentor Award.
Devil's Breath: Sydney Rye Mysteries #5
At the end of a long journey, lightning flashed outside my window...I need more control.
My hand jumped to Mulberry's forearm and squeezed. Shutting my eyes, I struggled not to picture the small plane cracking in half, my body flying through the air, still seat-belted to the beige leather chair; Blue, his paws grasping at empty space, disappearing into the bruise-colored clouds.
The small jet shook and our pilot's voice, smooth and steady, came over the loudspeaker, "Sorry about the bumps. We'll have you down in Miami in about twenty minutes. Just hold tight."
Mulberry put his hand over mine. "Don't worry," he said. "We'll be there soon." He smiled, making his crow's feet crinkle. Mulberry's eyes were deep emerald with ochre and flashes of gold. I tried to smile back but could tell I was just giving grimace. Mulberry handed me his whisky and soda. I finished it off.
The ice cubes danced in my empty glass. Then we were suddenly out of the clouds. Below us the ocean was close, steel blue with white caps cresting each wave. The city's skyscrapers looked like towers of mercury in the storm's eerie light. Raindrops clung to my window, streaking across it as our speed pushed them aside.
Hugh was somewhere down there in that city, a flat landscape made multi-dimensional through the efforts of man. My stomach lurched as we dropped through the air, my seat belt pressing into me. Blue whined softly and flattened himself even further onto the floor of the plane.
A giant of a dog, Blue has the coat of a wolf, the snout of a Collie, with one brown eye and one blue. Both of which were trained on me at that moment. My fear was freaking him out. Closing my eyes, I tried to imagine the turbulence as a gentle rocking but it didn't work. An ice cube jumped out of my glass landing on the carpeting. Blue, his belly still flat on the ground, inched his way toward it, then his tongue stretched out and pulled the cube into his mouth. He crunched twice before looking back up at me, now hoping for more whisky-flavored ice. I couldn't help but smile at the expectant look on his fuzzy face.
We touched down with a jerk that sent my heart racing one more time. But as we slowly taxied toward our hangar the storm seemed suddenly minor. Just a breath of wind fluttered across the puddles, turning them into shimmering mirrors framed by the dark tarmac.
"All right Ms. Rye," our captain's voice came back on over the loudspeaker. "Sorry about that descent, but we got you here safe. Thanks for flying with us, I hope we'll have you back real soon."
As soon as humanly possible. I didn't want to be here, but Hugh was in trouble, and if there was one person I cared about in this world it was him.
He was a tie to my murdered brother, a shared memory bank. I would do anything to help Hugh.P.S. The dog does not die.
**Beware: If you can't handle a few f-bombs, you can't handle this series.**
Dinner at The Beach House Hotel
The Beach House Hotel, the seaside mansion Ann Rutherford and Rhonda DelMonte converted to an upscale boutique hotel, continues to be a success. Not only is it the spot for breakfast and lunch, it's become the "IN place" for dinner. The sudden, unexpected deaths of Ann's ex and his wife, leave the care of their son, Robbie, to Ann's daughter, Liz, while she is still in college. Ann and Vaughn decide to relieve Liz of this responsibility by adopting Robbie as Rhonda becomes both a mother and grandmother. Vaughn's plane disappears on a fishing trip in Alaska at the same time they learn investors want to buy the hotel. Ann and Rhonda are faced with one of the biggest decisions of their lives. The hotel is their baby too--their pride and joy. But they know no matter what the future holds, their love and friendship for each other will endure.
Dire
Dirty Liar: A Gripping Psychological Thriller
I don't see the hole until it's too late. Then I'm at the bottom of it, staring up at the ground twelve feet above me. A stupid accident.
Or was it?
Because soon, someone's bringing me food and water. Someone who doesn't want me to see his face.
Someone who knows what I did.
Out there, someone wants revenge. And down here, at the bottom of a hole, a lifetime of lies is about to unravel...
A fresh and original thriller, Dirty Liar asks how well we ever truly know the people we love. Guaranteed to keep you turning pages long into the night
Divided House
DI Nathaniel Caslin's life is a mess. He works the minimum, abuses substances to survive the day and drinks his nights away. A once-promising career is in freefall.
Investigating the death of an ex-serviceman in police custody, reveals the disappearance of a young family. No-one noticed. No-one seems to care. In the grip of a bitter, Yorkshire winter, a family home reluctantly offers up its grisly secrets. Out on the moors, a murder scene of horrific brutality demands Caslin's focused attention. In the search for answers, is anyone who they claim to be?
Haunted by the ghosts of the past, Caslin is pushed to his limits. Will this case break him or be his path to redemption?
Dark, terrifying and complex, Divided House is the first novel in the #1 international best selling Dark Yorkshire Series.About the Author
Dalgliesh, J. M.: - Jason Dalgliesh was born on the south coast of England and grew up in Hampshire, UK. He has worked in the power transmission industry, the retail sector, call centres and as a night-owl in a bakery. He has a degree in history. Following on from the worldwide bestselling Dark Yorkshire crime series, he also writes the Hidden Norfolk books, introducing Detective Tom Janssen. The fifth book in the series, Hear No Evil, was shortlisted for Amazon's prestigious Kindle Storyteller Award in 2020. The two series are set in England, Yorkshire and Norfolk respectively. The medieval City of York is DI Caslin's home town and the wind swept coast of north Norfolk is home to DI Janssen and his team. The plot lines take in some of the UK's most rugged and beautiful landscapes. Penned in the style of crime thrillers with a touch of Scandinavian noir, readers who enjoy dark atmospheric mysteries will find both series a must read. Having spent time abroad, Jason has lived and worked in various parts of England as well as the Scottish Highlands. He currently lives in Norfolk with his wife and two young children.
Divided Sky
Divine's Choice: Life After the Windsors is ALL BLACK
Princess Divine, the sole heir to the English throne, wants to marry a guileless All Black rugby player and farmer from Proud (New Zealand).
Fearing a royal scandal, the scheming Queen Liliana and maniacal King Filip plot to marry Divine off to an English aristocrat. Divine flees with her lover, Joshua, in 2022, to Proud.
Led by the King to bring Divine home, English and Australian soldiers fight an epic battle at a Maori pa (fortress) against fierce Māori gang warriors, elderly mercenaries, Afghan refugees, and even a replica of the extinct moa.
Divine returns to marry and become Queen, but disaster strikes when Divine cannot produce an heir to continue the House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha's grip on the monarchy after the decades-old reign of the Windsor dynasty.
Will Divine abdicate? Who would replace her? Why is the British Commonwealth collapsing all around them? What dark rituals do All Blacks follow? Does Australia want to conquer Proud? Divine and Joshua are innocent pawns in an international power play between the Queen and her subjects.
Divine's Choice is a humorous, contemporary (2022) romantic adventure, a family saga with more twists and turns than the Hampton Court maze. It parodies the unique pressures facing the English monarchy and its rugby equivalent, the New Zealand All Blacks, in today's cruel social media age.
Don't Go Down There
Spencer Edwards has a beautiful wife, two perfect children, and a sinister secret locked in his basement...
When Andi Edwards discovers her husband isn't where he's supposed to be and isn't answering her calls or texts, a flurry of scenarios races through her mind.
Is he hurt?
Is he cheating?
Is he dead?
The truth, she soon finds out, is so much worse than she could've imagined.
As she struggles to make sense of her new and chilling reality, she must decide whether to stand by the man she loves and help protect him or walk away and let him pay for his sins.
With time running out, the secret in the basement becomes more dangerous, and the spine-chilling truth becomes clear: if she makes the wrong decision, she stands to lose much more than her marriage.
When their best laid plans come back to haunt them, what will Spencer and Andi be willing to sacrifice to survive?
Don't Lie to Me
When twelve-year-old Sophie Williams went on a Girl Scout summer camp, she never returned home.
Three months later, her body is found inside her sleeping bag in the most frequented area of Cocoa Beach, and the town is outraged.
The girl isn't just any child. She's the town's most beloved surf idol, and it was believed that she could be the next Kelly Slater.
As another child, the son of a well-known senator is kidnapped, and the parents receive a disturbing video, FBI profiler Eva Rae Thomas - who has just returned to her hometown, divorced and out of a job - plunges into the investigation, breaking her promise to her children not to do police work again.
Local law enforcement, with her old flame Matt Miller in charge, are the ones who ask for her help in a case so unsettling that only she can solve it. But the deeper they dig, the deadlier it becomes for Matt and Eva Rae. Soon, everyone she holds dear is in grave danger as this case hits a little too close to home.
DON'T LIE TO ME is the first book in the Eva Rae Thomas Mystery Series and can be read as a standalone.
Scroll up and grab a heart-pounding mystery today.
Don't Say a Word
“Powerful and absorbing … Sheer hold-your-breath suspense.” —NY Times, USA Today, and Publishers Weekly bestselling author, Karen Robards
12 weeks on the New York Times Bestseller List!
From #1 New York Times bestselling author Barbara Freethy comes an award winning tale of romance and suspense.
Everything she's been told about her past is a lie...
Julie De Marco is planning a perfect San Francisco wedding when she comes face-to-face with a famous photograph, the startling image of a little girl behind the iron gate of a foreign orphanage—a girl who looks exactly like her. But Julia isn't an orphan. She isn't adopted. And she's never been out of the country. She knows who she is—or does she?
Haunted by uncertainty, Julia sets off on a dangerous search for her true identity—her only clues a swan necklace and an old Russian doll, her only ally daring, sexy photographer Alex Manning. Suddenly nothing is as it seems. The people Julia loved and trusted become suspicious strangers. The relationships she believed in—with her mother, her sister, and her fiancé—are shaken by new revelations. The only person she can trust is Alex, but he has secrets of his own. Each step brings her closer to a mysterious past that began a world away—a past that still has the power to threaten her life...and change her future forever.
More Reviews:
"A page-turner that engages your mind while it tugs at your heartstrings...Don't Say a Word had made me a Barbara Freethy fan for life!" —NY Times and USA Today bestselling author Diane Chamberlain
"An absorbing story of two people determined to unravel the secrets, betrayals, and questions about their past. The story builds to an explosive conclusion that will leave readers eagerly awaiting Barbara Freethy's next book." —NY Times bestselling author Carla Neggars
"Dark, hidden secrets and stunning betrayal boil together in a potent and moving suspense. Freethy's story-telling ability is top-notch." —Romantic Times Magazine Top Pick of the Month
“What drew me to Don't Say a Word was the fear of the unknown. Everybody has questions about who they are and where they came from,, but to come face to face with the answers is scary. Ms. Freethy created a world full of suspense that is as thrilling as it is tragic. Julie serves as a beacon that from some of life's darkest moment can rise many of the brightest.” —I Love Romance Blog
Author Bio:
Barbara Freethy is a #1 New York Times bestselling author of 41 novels ranging from contemporary romance to romantic suspense and women's fiction. Traditionally published for many years, Barbara opened her own publishing company in 2011 and has since sold over 4.8 million copies of her books. Nineteen of her titles have appeared on the New York Times and USA Today Bestseller Lists. In July of 2014, Barbara was named the Amazon KDP bestselling author of ALL TIME! She was also the first indie author to sell over 1 million copies at both Barnes and Noble and Amazon. An author known for writing emotional stories about ordinary people caught up in extraordinary situations, Barbara has received starred reviews from Publishers' Weekly and Library Journal and has also received six nominations for the RITA for Best Single Title Contemporary Romance from Romance Writers of America. She has won the honor twice for her novels Daniel's Gift and The Way Back Home.
Donors: An Agent Jade Monroe FBI Thriller
About the Author
C.M. Sutter is a crime fiction writer who resides in the Midwest, although she is originally from California. She is a member of numerous writers' organizations including, Writers-Online, Fiction for All, Fiction Factor, and Writers etc. Other than writing crime thrillers, she enjoys spending time with her family and dog. She is an art enthusiast and loves to paint and make hand-made soap. Gardening, hiking, bicycling, and traveling are a few of her favorite pastimes. Be the first to be notified of new releases and promotions at: http: //cmsutter.com.
Downburst
Seeking answers to her father's death.
Hatch finds herself in a small town outside of Las Cruses, New Mexico.
Controlled by a vicious street gang.
A family caught in the crossfire.
Hatch sets out to make things right.
Dragon School: Ancient Allies
Dragon School: Ascendant Light
Dragon School: Bright Hopes
Dragon School: Dark Night