"People throw the word 'classic' about a lot, but A DROWNED MAIDEN'S HAIR genuinely deserves to become one." — WALL STREET JOURNALMaud Flynn is known at the orphanage for her impertinence. So when the charming Miss Hyacinth chooses her to take home, the girl is pleased but baffled, until...  more

"People throw the word 'classic' about a lot, but A DROWNED MAIDEN'S HAIR genuinely deserves to become one." — WALL STREET JOURNALMaud Flynn is known at the orphanage for her impertinence. So when the charming Miss Hyacinth chooses her to take home, the girl is pleased but baffled, until it becomes clear that she’s needed to help stage elaborate séances for bereaved patrons. As Maud is drawn deeper into the deception, playing her role as a "secret child," she is torn between her need to please and her growing conscience —- until a shocking betrayal shows just how heartless her so-called guardians are. Filled with fascinating details of turn-of-the-century spiritualism and page-turning suspense, this lively novel features a feisty heroine whom readers will not soon forget.

A letter, a second chance and a new beginning Riley was at the end of her rope at her job and in her life. It was a sad state of affairs when the only stable thing in her life was her dog. Then a letter came offering a new job in a new place. Riley couldn’t pack her things and her dog,...  more

A letter, a second chance and a new beginning Riley was at the end of her rope at her job and in her life. It was a sad state of affairs when the only stable thing in her life was her dog. Then a letter came offering a new job in a new place. Riley couldn’t pack her things and her dog, Merlin, up fast enough. A second chance? Riley knew the old adage, if it sounds too good to be true there may be a reason. When Riley arrives at Inheritance Bay,she finds the job she came for has fallen through, and the only vacant hotel in town doesn’t allow dogs, leaving her homeless in a strange place. A new shaky beginning Then Conner shows up, kind of. Actually, he almost hits her with his car and calls the police on her dog. In the same breath he apologizes, he asks Riley for help. He needs someone to help him run his hotel. The job comes with food and lodging. Riley thinks things are looking up, until she finds out that the attractive bachelor is staying on to provide input on the daily management of the Inn. Riley isn’t looking for love and Conner doesn’t think love is in his skillset. Can two strangers learn to let go of their past mistakes and be healed by unconditional love?

A young woman takes the place of her celebrity doppelgänger, and must fake-date the actress’s sexy costar boyfriend. Writer Freya Lal has a huge secret: she's a dead ringer for It-girl actress Mandi Roy. Her second novel is due in a month, but inspiration is nowhere to be found....  more

A young woman takes the place of her celebrity doppelgänger, and must fake-date the actress’s sexy costar boyfriend. Writer Freya Lal has a huge secret: she's a dead ringer for It-girl actress Mandi Roy. Her second novel is due in a month, but inspiration is nowhere to be found. Desperate to shake off her writer's block, Freya leans into her look-alike abilities and indulges in some mistaken identity for simple perks, like scoring a free mimosa or getting into a trendy nightclub. Actor Taft Bamber appears to have it all: gorgeous, talented, and Mandi's love interest both on- and off-screen. But what nobody knows is that their relationship is a PR stunt, and after years of playing make-believe, he's yearning for something real. When Freya's latest impersonation of Mandi goes viral thanks to Taft's accidental interference, rumors of a breakup threaten Hollywood's golden couple. To make amends, Freya is forced to give Mandi a little time off: she'll pretend to be the actress for a month, move in with Taft, and squash the rumors by acting completely in love. But as Freya and Taft play house, it becomes impossible to ignore that their instant chemistry isn't just for the cameras. While faking it, they might have just found the real thing.

In this thrilling police-procedural, we are introduced to Alice Rice, Edinburgh's latest fictional detective. Smart and capable, but battling disillusionment and loneliness, we follow her as she races against time and an implacable killer to solve a series of grisly murders amongst Edinburgh's...  more

In this thrilling police-procedural, we are introduced to Alice Rice, Edinburgh's latest fictional detective. Smart and capable, but battling disillusionment and loneliness, we follow her as she races against time and an implacable killer to solve a series of grisly murders amongst Edinburgh's professional elite in the well-to-do New Town.

“Dear Tommie: Have you ever wondered about who you are?” The letter that turns Tommie McCloud’s world upside down arrives from a stranger only days after her father’s death. The woman who wrote it claims that Tommie is her daughter -- and that she was kidnapped as a...  more

“Dear Tommie: Have you ever wondered about who you are?” The letter that turns Tommie McCloud’s world upside down arrives from a stranger only days after her father’s death. The woman who wrote it claims that Tommie is her daughter -- and that she was kidnapped as a baby thirty-one years ago. Tommie wants to believe it’s all a hoax, but suddenly a girl who grew up on a Texas ranch finds herself linked to a horrific past: the slaughter of a family in Chicago, the murder of an Oklahoma beauty queen, and the kidnapping of a little girl named Adriana. Tommie races along a twisting, nightmarish path while an unseen stalker is determined to keep old secrets locked inside the dementia-battered brain of the woman who Tommie always thought was her real mother. With everything she has ever believed in question, and no one she can trust, Tommie must discover the truth about the girl who vanished -- and the very real threats that still remain.

A modern-day fairy tale -- the story of a woman who gets a miraculous chance at happiness. Joy Candellaro once loved Christmas more than any other time of the year. Now, as the holiday approaches, she is at a crossroads in her life; recently divorced and alone, she can’t summon the old...  more

A modern-day fairy tale -- the story of a woman who gets a miraculous chance at happiness. Joy Candellaro once loved Christmas more than any other time of the year. Now, as the holiday approaches, she is at a crossroads in her life; recently divorced and alone, she can’t summon the old enthusiasm for celebrating. So without telling anyone, she buys a ticket and boards a plane bound for the beautiful Pacific Northwest. When an unexpected detour takes her deep into the woods of the Olympic rainforest, Joy makes a bold decision to leave her ordinary life behind -- to just walk away -- and thus begins an adventure unlike any she could have imagined. In the small town of Rain Valley, six-year-old Bobby O’Shea is facing his first Christmas without a mother. Unable to handle the loss, Bobby has closed himself off from the world, talking only to his invisible best friend. His father Daniel is beside himself, desperate to help his son cope. Yet when the little boy meets Joy, these two unlikely souls form a deep and powerful bond. In helping Bobby and Daniel heal, Joy finds herself again. But not everything is as it seems in quiet Rain Valley, and in an instant, Joy’s world is ripped apart, and her heart is broken. On a magical Christmas Eve, a night of impossible dreams and unexpected chances, Joy must find the courage to believe in a love -- and a family -- that can’t possibly exist, and go in search of what she wants . . . and the new life only she can find.

Hazel Camille Bradford knows she’s a lot to take—and frankly, most men aren’t up to the challenge. If her army of pets and thrill for the absurd don’t send them running, her lack of filter means she’ll say exactly the wrong thing in a delicate moment. Their loss....  more

Hazel Camille Bradford knows she’s a lot to take—and frankly, most men aren’t up to the challenge. If her army of pets and thrill for the absurd don’t send them running, her lack of filter means she’ll say exactly the wrong thing in a delicate moment. Their loss. She’s a good soul in search of honest fun.Josh Im has known Hazel since college, where her zany playfulness proved completely incompatible with his mellow restraint. From the first night they met—when she gracelessly threw up on his shoes—to when she sent him an unintelligible email while in a post-surgical haze, Josh has always thought of Hazel more as a spectacle than a peer. But now, ten years later, after a cheating girlfriend has turned his life upside down, going out with Hazel is a breath of fresh air.Not that Josh and Hazel date. At least, not each other. Because setting each other up on progressively terrible double blind dates means there’s nothing between them...right?

Stable hand Dakota Green would rather compete in the Hunger Games than Aubergine’s annual beauty pageant. But her late mother’s last wish is about to see her trading her muck boots for Jimmy Choos – and uncover a decades-old mystery of a missing beauty queen. Welcome to...  more

Stable hand Dakota Green would rather compete in the Hunger Games than Aubergine’s annual beauty pageant. But her late mother’s last wish is about to see her trading her muck boots for Jimmy Choos – and uncover a decades-old mystery of a missing beauty queen. Welcome to Aubergine, Virginia, where the mountains are blue, the air is sweet, and the beauty queens have secrets darker than last year’s spray tan. Armed with more sarcasm than sequins, Dakota reluctantly enters the cutthroat world of sashes and smiles to save her family home. But when the pageant owner vanishes faster than she can shimmy into an evening gown, suspicion lands on Dakota’s beloved Aunt DeeDee. Now Dakota must navigate a minefield of catty contestants, skeptical judges, the infuriatingly handsome new sheriff and a decades-old mystery of a missing beauty queen – all while mastering the art of walking in heels without looking like a newborn foal. Can this reluctant pageant star unmask a killer, clear her aunt’s name, and claim the crown? Or will she be the next to disappear?

Dear Doctor Woodruff, I hope you don't mind me writing to you. I think I'm your daughter... A British surgeon's marriage is blown apart by the arrival of shocking news.  Deep in the desolate sub-Arctic wilderness of Canada where Woodruff lived and worked years bfore,...  more

Dear Doctor Woodruff, I hope you don't mind me writing to you. I think I'm your daughter... A British surgeon's marriage is blown apart by the arrival of shocking news.  Deep in the desolate sub-Arctic wilderness of Canada where Woodruff lived and worked years bfore, a woman claims he is the father of her thirteen-year-old twins.  Woodruff knows it cannot be true -- but DNA tests don't lie. To make sense of the impossible, he must return to that frozen wilderness, where no rules and few laws apply. Leaving his shattered relationship behind, he finds that his well-guarded secrets have even deeper and more sinister layers. But the people he once knew in that godforsaken place guard secrets of their own, and no one -- least of all the ruthless woman at the dark core of this maelstrom -- will help him uncover the truth.

Lilywhite Abernathy is a criminal. Her father’s “unconventional” business has meant a life of tightly held secrets, concealed weaponry, and a strict code. But Lily’s crime isn’t being the daughter of a powerful mob boss. Her guilt lies in the other half of her DNA...  more

Lilywhite Abernathy is a criminal. Her father’s “unconventional” business has meant a life of tightly held secrets, concealed weaponry, and a strict code. But Lily’s crime isn’t being the daughter of a powerful mob boss. Her guilt lies in the other half of her DNA -- the part that can coax ancient rumors from stones and summon fire with a thought. Lily is part fae, which is a crime in her world. From the time before she was born, a war has been raging between humanity and fae. The Queen of Blood and Rage, ruler of both the Seelie and Unseelie courts, wants to avenge the tragic death of her heir -- a death that was the fault of reckless humans. Lily’s father has shielded her from the repercussions of her ancestry…until she is sent to the prestigious St. Columba’s school, straight into the arms of the Black Diamonds. Mysterious, glamorous, and bound together in their mission but constantly at odds, Zephyr, Creed, Will, Roan, Violet, and Alkamy are a Sleeper cell of fae, planted in the human world to help destroy it from within. With covers as rock stars and celebrity children, the Black Diamonds carry out the queen’s war against humanity. And unbeknownst to Lilywhite, she’s been chosen to join them. Now more than ever, Lily’s heritage puts her in peril, and even the romantic attention of the fae singer Creed Morrison isn’t enough to keep Lily from wanting to run back to the safer world of organized crime.

A career criminal with OCD tendencies and a savant-like genius for bringing order to his crime scenes, Martin considers himself one of the best in the biz. After all, he's been able to steal from the same people for years on end--virtually undetected. Of course, this could also be attributed...  more

A career criminal with OCD tendencies and a savant-like genius for bringing order to his crime scenes, Martin considers himself one of the best in the biz. After all, he's been able to steal from the same people for years on end--virtually undetected. Of course, this could also be attributed to his unique business model--he takes only items that will go unnoticed by the homeowner. After all, who in their right mind would miss a roll of toilet paper here, a half-used bottle of maple syrup there, or even a rarely used piece of china buried deep within a dusty cabinet? Even though he's never met these homeowners, he's spent hours in their houses, looking through their photo albums and reading their journals. In essence, Martin has developed a friendship of sorts with them and as such, he decides to interfere more in their lives--playing the part of a rather odd guardian angel--even though it means breaking many of his twitchy neurotic rules. Along the way Martin not only improves the lives of others, but he also discovers love and finds that his own life is much better lived on the edge (at least some of the time) in this hilarious, suspenseful and often profound novel about a man used to planning every second of his life, suddenly forced to confront chaos and spontaneity.

WAKE UP, LITTLE DARLING. DO YOU LIKE WHAT YOU SEE? He's looking for the perfect woman. Someone who won't disappoint him, like so many have before. Someone who'll love him...someone who won't have to die for her mistakes. GIVE UP, LITTLE DARLING... FBI agent Mary Cantrell...  more

WAKE UP, LITTLE DARLING. DO YOU LIKE WHAT YOU SEE? He's looking for the perfect woman. Someone who won't disappoint him, like so many have before. Someone who'll love him...someone who won't have to die for her mistakes. GIVE UP, LITTLE DARLING... FBI agent Mary Cantrell has been called to Minneapolis to hunt down a killer. Her reluctant return home is shaking her to the core, reviving dreadful memories. Years ago, her best friend was murdered. Now the man convicted of the crime, Gavin Hitchcock, is free--and Mary's own sister, Gillian, a local cop, has befriended him. NO ONE CAN HEAR YOU SCREAM BUT ME. As each clue to the new killings leads them closer to Hitchcock, Mary and Gillian put their differences aside and set themselves up as the perfect target--and the perfect trap. Unless Mary's own past has blinded her to an unimaginable truth...and will plunge them into a waking nightmare....

This delightful husband-and-wife collaboration features three stories by two-time Shamus award-winner Max Allan Collins, four stories by acclaimed short-story writer Barbara Collins, and two stories that the couple co-wrote. Among the contributions from Max Allan Collins is...  more

This delightful husband-and-wife collaboration features three stories by two-time Shamus award-winner Max Allan Collins, four stories by acclaimed short-story writer Barbara Collins, and two stories that the couple co-wrote. Among the contributions from Max Allan Collins is "Catgate," in which a womanizing senator tries to replace his dead mistress with a lookalike, and "Inconvenience Store," in which a late-night craving drives a pregnant private eye out to a convenience store and into a hostage situation. Max's movie, Real Time: Siege at Lucas Street Market is based on this short story. Barbara Collins' work has been included in the first three volumes of The Year's 25 Finest Crime and Mystery Stories. Her pieces include "Seeing Red," where PMS meets road rage and leads to tragedy. And the talented duo conspired on "Eddie Haskell in a Short Skirt," the story of a father-daughter private eye team who hire an office manager and become the suckers in a scam.

The beautiful Farrell sisters are an unlikely duo of PIs. Tired of following cheating husbands to no-tell motels, the two catch a case which could either make their bones or get them killed. Maybe both. To crack it, the sisters must dive deep into a murky demimonde of crooked cops, low-rent...  more

The beautiful Farrell sisters are an unlikely duo of PIs. Tired of following cheating husbands to no-tell motels, the two catch a case which could either make their bones or get them killed. Maybe both. To crack it, the sisters must dive deep into a murky demimonde of crooked cops, low-rent thugs and high-class brothels. In the middle of it all, Jackie falls for hunky homicide cop, Harry Bull. Harry is from an old Savannah family but… might just have a skeleton or two rattling around in his closet.

Berkeley, California 1944. A former presidential candidate is assassinated in one of the rooms at the opulent Claremont Hotel. A rich industrialist, Walter Wilkinson could have been targeted by any number of adversaries. But Detective Al Sullivan's investigation brings up the spectre of...  more

Berkeley, California 1944. A former presidential candidate is assassinated in one of the rooms at the opulent Claremont Hotel. A rich industrialist, Walter Wilkinson could have been targeted by any number of adversaries. But Detective Al Sullivan's investigation brings up the spectre of another tragedy at the Claremont ten years earlier: the death of seven-year-old Iris Stafford, a member of the wealthy and influential Bainbridge family. Some say she haunts the Claremont still. The many threads of the case keep leading Sullivan back to the three remaining Bainbridge heiresses, now adults: Iris's sister, Isabella, and her cousins Cassie and Nicole. Determined not to let anything distract him from the truth - not the powerful influence of Bainbridges' grandmother, or the political aspirations of Berkeley's district attorney, or the interest of Chinese first lady Madame Chiang Kai-Shek - Sullivan follows his investigation to its devastating conclusion.

Young Jane Young's heroine is Aviva Grossman, an ambitious Congressional intern in Florida who makes the life-changing mistake of having an affair with her boss -- who is beloved, admired, successful, and very married -- and blogging about it. When the affair comes to light, the Congressman...  more

Young Jane Young's heroine is Aviva Grossman, an ambitious Congressional intern in Florida who makes the life-changing mistake of having an affair with her boss -- who is beloved, admired, successful, and very married -- and blogging about it. When the affair comes to light, the Congressman doesn’t take the fall, but Aviva does, and her life is over before it hardly begins. She becomes a late‑night talk show punchline; she is slut‑shamed, labeled as fat and ugly, and considered a blight on politics in general. How does one go on after this? In Aviva’s case, she sees no way out but to change her name and move to a remote town in Maine. She tries to start over as a wedding planner, to be smarter about her life, and to raise her daughter to be strong and confident. But when, at the urging of others, she decides to run for public office herself, that long‑ago mistake trails her via the Internet like a scarlet A. For in our age, Google guarantees that the past is never, ever, truly past, that everything you’ve done will live on for everyone to know about for all eternity. And it’s only a matter of time until Aviva/Jane’s daughter, Ruby, finds out who her mother was, and is, and must decide whether she can still respect her. 

Miranda Brooks grew up in the stacks of her eccentric Uncle Billy's bookstore, solving the inventive scavenger hunts he created just for her. But on Miranda's twelfth birthday, Billy has a mysterious falling-out with her mother and suddenly disappears from Miranda's life. She...  more

Miranda Brooks grew up in the stacks of her eccentric Uncle Billy's bookstore, solving the inventive scavenger hunts he created just for her. But on Miranda's twelfth birthday, Billy has a mysterious falling-out with her mother and suddenly disappears from Miranda's life. She doesn't hear from him again until sixteen years later when she receives unexpected news: Billy has died and left her Prospero Books, which is teetering on bankruptcy -- and one final scavenger hunt. When Miranda returns home to Los Angeles and to Prospero Books -- now as its owner -- she finds clues that Billy has hidden for her inside novels on the store's shelves, in locked drawers of his apartment upstairs, in the name of the store itself. Miranda becomes determined to save Prospero Books and to solve Billy's last scavenger hunt. She soon finds herself drawn into a journey where she meets people from Billy's past, people whose stories reveal a history that Miranda's mother has kept hidden -- and the terrible secret that tore her family apart.

A delicious and dark gothic romance from author Romina Garber! THE HOUSE IS ALWAYS HUNGRY… After a mysterious attack claims the lives of her parents, all Estela has left is her determination to solve the case. Suffering from survivor’s guilt so intense that she might be losing...  more

A delicious and dark gothic romance from author Romina Garber! THE HOUSE IS ALWAYS HUNGRY… After a mysterious attack claims the lives of her parents, all Estela has left is her determination to solve the case. Suffering from survivor’s guilt so intense that she might be losing her grip on reality, she accepts an invitation to live overseas with an estranged aunt at their ancestral Spanish castle, la Sombra. Beneath its gothic façade, la Sombra harbors a trove of family secrets, and Estela begins to suspect her parents’ deaths may be linked to their past. Her investigation takes a supernatural turn when she crosses paths with a silver-eyed boy only she can see. Estela worries Sebastián is a hallucination, but he claims he’s been trapped in the castle. They grudgingly team up to find answers and as their investigation ignites, so does a romance, mistrust twined with every caress. As the mysteries pile up, it feels to Estela like everyone in the tiny town of Oscuro is lying and that whoever was behind the attack has followed her to Spain. The deeper she ventures into la Sombra’s secrets, the more certain she becomes that the suspect she’s chasing has already found her . . . and they’re closer than she ever realized.

Nine years ago, Vivienne Jones nursed her broken heart like any young witch would: vodka, weepy music, bubble baths…and a curse on the horrible boyfriend. Sure, Vivi knows she shouldn’t use her magic this way, but with only an “orchard hayride” scented candle on hand,...  more

Nine years ago, Vivienne Jones nursed her broken heart like any young witch would: vodka, weepy music, bubble baths…and a curse on the horrible boyfriend. Sure, Vivi knows she shouldn’t use her magic this way, but with only an “orchard hayride” scented candle on hand, she isn’t worried it will cause him anything more than a bad hair day or two. That is until Rhys Penhallow, descendent of the town’s ancestors, breaker of hearts, and annoyingly just as gorgeous as he always was, returns to Graves Glen, Georgia. What should be a quick trip to recharge the town’s ley lines and make an appearance at the annual fall festival turns disastrously wrong. With one calamity after another striking Rhys, Vivi realizes her silly little Ex Hex may not have been so harmless after all. Suddenly, Graves Glen is under attack from murderous wind-up toys, a pissed off ghost, and a talking cat with some interesting things to say. Vivi and Rhys have to ignore their off the charts chemistry to work together to save the town and find a way to break the break-up curse before it’s too late.

Katie Lightfoot's tired of loafing around as the assistant manager of an Ohio bakery. So when her aunt Lucy and uncle Ben open a bakery in Savannah's quaint downtown district and ask Katie to join them, she enthusiastically agrees. While working at the Honeybee Bakery—named...  more

Katie Lightfoot's tired of loafing around as the assistant manager of an Ohio bakery. So when her aunt Lucy and uncle Ben open a bakery in Savannah's quaint downtown district and ask Katie to join them, she enthusiastically agrees. While working at the Honeybee Bakery—named after Lucy's cat—Katie notices that her aunt is adding mysterious herbs to her recipes. Turns out these herbal enhancements aren't just tasty—Aunt Lucy is a witch and her recipes are actually spells! When a curmudgeonly customer is murdered outside the Honeybee Bakery, Uncle Ben becomes the prime suspect. With the help of handsome journalist Steve Dawes, charming firefighter Declan McCarthy, and a few spells, Katie and Aunt Lucy stir up some toil and trouble to clear Ben's name and find the real killer.. 

Nora Charles doesn’t believe in fate, even if she is a crime reporter who shares a name with a character from The Thin Man. In fact, she’s moving back to Cruz, California, to have a quieter life. But after finding an online magazine eager for material, and a stray cat named Nick with...  more

Nora Charles doesn’t believe in fate, even if she is a crime reporter who shares a name with a character from The Thin Man. In fact, she’s moving back to Cruz, California, to have a quieter life. But after finding an online magazine eager for material, and a stray cat named Nick with a talent for detection, Nora’s not just reporting crimes again. She’s uncovering them…   Back in her hometown, Nora reconnects with old friends and makes some new ones, like Nick, the charming feline who seems determined to be her cat. But not everything about Cruz is friendly. Writing for a local online magazine, Nora investigates the curious death of socialite Lola Grainger. Though it was deemed an accident, Nora suspects foul play. And it seems that her cat does too.    Apparently, Nick used to belong to a P.I. who disappeared while investigating Lola Grainger’s death. The coincidence is spooky, but not as spooky as the clues Nick spells out for her with Scrabble letters—clues that lead her down an increasingly dangerous path. Whether fate put her on this case or not, solving it will take all of Nora’s wits, and maybe a few of Nick’s nine lives. 

I had the perfect life. The perfect husband. Colin Cassidy?the incredibly talented, extremely gorgeous, and unbelievably humble star NFL quarterback. The perfect marriage. Our bond was unbreakable. His support unwavering. The perfect career. As the recently-appointed executive director for...  more

I had the perfect life. The perfect husband. Colin Cassidy?the incredibly talented, extremely gorgeous, and unbelievably humble star NFL quarterback. The perfect marriage. Our bond was unbreakable. His support unwavering. The perfect career. As the recently-appointed executive director for the Boston chapter of Mending Hearts, a child abuse prevention and treatment program, my daily reward was helping to keep vulnerable, innocent children from being preyed upon and destroyed. It?s all I?d wanted to do since I was a teenager. Perfect city. Perfect car. Perfect house with the perfect view. From the outside looking in, it was impossible to find a single flaw in my life. I had it all. Everything I'd ever wanted. But that kind of perfection came at a price. Demanded the ultimate sacrifice. What happened when I discovered what I'd been missing all along? When I began to question if the lies were worth protecting? What if suddenly the last thing I wanted was to be perfect?

Three lovable felines play a part in a trio of engaging mysteries, while a hint of romance kindles between Veterinary Technician Claudia Bailey and Police Detective Steve O’Rourke. Book includes these novellas: THE COFFEE CAPER: Widowed and approaching forty, Claudia Bailey is happy...  more

Three lovable felines play a part in a trio of engaging mysteries, while a hint of romance kindles between Veterinary Technician Claudia Bailey and Police Detective Steve O’Rourke. Book includes these novellas: THE COFFEE CAPER: Widowed and approaching forty, Claudia Bailey is happy working at the Briarwood Cat Clinic in suburban Chicago. When she discovers the murdered body of her church’s deceitful new minister, no-nonsense Detective Steve O’Rourke views her as a prime suspect. Claudia’s quiet, comfortable life is deeply shaken. Nevertheless, she helps Steve look for clues, unexpectedly putting herself in jeopardy, all the while treating a Maine Coon named Knickerbocker with a litter pan problem. THE WINGED WITNESS: Tom and Ethel Radek bring Jasmine, their desperately ill Himalayan, to the Briarwood Cat Clinic. When Tom is found stabbed to death later that day, Claudia and Steve have a new mystery to solve. The only witness to the homicide is Tom’s obnoxious parrot Hal. Meanwhile, will Jasmine recover from surgery? As the investigation continues, it’s increasingly clear Steve is smitten with Claudia. How does Claudia feel? Conflicted and unsure, yet she can’t deny she finds Steve attractive. THE CLAIRVOYANT CAT: Wrigley, a deaf rescue cat, became famous for predicting the winners of Chicago Cubs’ baseball games. When Lydia Worthington, Wrigley’s wealthy owner, is murdered in her lavish home during an attempted catnapping, Steve and Claudia must solve a newsworthy homicide. Another issue is who will take care of the famed but traumatized Wrigley? An unexpected turn of events endangers Claudia and her Clinic co-workers. In the meantime, Steve drops the L word and hints at marriage. Claudia must examine her true feelings. Does she want to marry again? Or continue paddling her own canoe and risk losing Steve?

For many, midlife is the beginning. It was a day like any other day for Marina Trahan…until she caught her husband in bed with another woman. Before that eye-opening wake-up call, Marina would have described her life as average or uneventful, maybe even boring. But now, chaos and...  more

For many, midlife is the beginning. It was a day like any other day for Marina Trahan…until she caught her husband in bed with another woman. Before that eye-opening wake-up call, Marina would have described her life as average or uneventful, maybe even boring. But now, chaos and confusion reign supreme. She’d expected to slide through midlife with her unwanted extra pounds, chin hair, and hot flashes and move somewhat gracefully into elastic waist pants and having no verbal filter. But with a wayward husband, a high-maintenance daughter, a lackluster career, and a crazy mother all weighing her down, Marina is ready to wave the white flag of surrender. Then an intriguing stranger named Alexios shows up out of nowhere and insists she is descended from a goddess and is the only person who can save the world from certain destruction. She has roughly a week to do it. Solving a centuries-old mystery seems like a more interesting proposition than the other situations Marina is facing, so she accepts his challenge. But her search for a magical item of power reveals far more about Marina than she ever knew. Maybe enough to save the world. And even herself.

Two strangers start out saving animals and end up rescuing each other in this heartwarming romance... Mari Tucker is a wildlife biologist who scoops bunnies and endangered tortoises out of harm’s way on construction sites. Still haunted by her past, she takes the most remote jobs in the...  more

Two strangers start out saving animals and end up rescuing each other in this heartwarming romance... Mari Tucker is a wildlife biologist who scoops bunnies and endangered tortoises out of harm’s way on construction sites. Still haunted by her past, she takes the most remote jobs in the Mojave Desert to avoid people and hide from her ex. It’s a simple, quiet life filled with sweet animals and solar-powered baking until she ends up assigned to Jack Wyatt’s crew. Construction foreman Jack Wyatt’s loud, foul-mouthed temper keeps even the most rugged of men on his crew in line. No mistake is overlooked, because out in the desert it could mean life or death. In his opinion, the job site is no place for sensitive biologists, especially one as shy as Mari. But instead of wilting from the heat and hard work, Mari wins over Jack and his crew one homemade brownie at a time. Jack and Mari find a comfortable rhythm, building a friendship that’s rare for both of them. After Jack’s rocky childhood, they have more in common than they’d imagined. But even the Mojave sun can’t chase away the shadows when the past is determined to track them down…

Time has not been kind to sleepy Dorset Falls, Connecticut, where an erstwhile resident is hoping to bring a tattered yarn shop back to life—but with a murderer on the loose, the whole town is in knots…   Josie Blair left Dorset Falls twelve years ago in hopes of making it...  more

Time has not been kind to sleepy Dorset Falls, Connecticut, where an erstwhile resident is hoping to bring a tattered yarn shop back to life—but with a murderer on the loose, the whole town is in knots…   Josie Blair left Dorset Falls twelve years ago in hopes of making it big in New York City. But after earning an overpriced master’s degree and getting fired by a temperamental designer, she finds herself heading back to her hometown. Her great-uncle was injured in a car accident, and newly unemployed Josie is the only person available to take care of him. Uncle Eb’s wife didn’t survive the crash, so Josie is also tasked with selling the contents of her Aunt Cora’s yarn shop. But the needling ladies of the Charity Knitters Association pose a far bigger challenge than a shop full of scattered skeins…   Miss Marple Knits is one of the few businesses still open in the dreary downtown. Josie can’t imagine how it stayed open for so long, yet something about the cozy, resilient little shop appeals to her. But when one of the town’s most persnickety knitters turns up dead in a pile of cashmere yarn, Josie realizes there’s something truly twisted lurking beneath the town’s decaying façade…   INCLUDES ORIGINAL KNITTING PATTERNS!

Who will be left standing when the bouquet is thrown? Lauren, Saskia, Dominica, Farah, and Tansy have been best friends since grade school. They wonder if that was the last time they all actually liked each other. As adults, their lives have splintered. Tansy runs a vegan café and is...  more

Who will be left standing when the bouquet is thrown? Lauren, Saskia, Dominica, Farah, and Tansy have been best friends since grade school. They wonder if that was the last time they all actually liked each other. As adults, their lives have splintered. Tansy runs a vegan café and is preparing for a shotgun marriage to awful Ivan. Farah is engaged and is fast becoming a complete bridezilla. Dominica is a successful divorce attorney with no time for anything but work. Lauren has had a total “failure to launch” in her career and love life, consumed by a man who has spent years stringing her along. Saskia has married into wealth and a different circle of friends in a fancy part of London. Some days it seems that the only thing holding the group together is an event that happened in their youth twenty years ago—an incident they’ve all sworn to keep secret in order to protect one another. When the group is reunited at Tansy’s bachelorette-cum-wellness-retreat weekend, it doesn’t take long for old grudges to surface. Then the bride-to-be chokes to death on a poisoned drink, and all of the bridesmaids are suspects. Kate Weston explores the complexities of female friendship in this searingly funny, page-turning thriller. One of these bridesmaids may be a killer, and the group had better watch their sash-covered backs, because your oldest friends aren’t always your closest. . . .

Jeffrey B. Burton's The Finders marks the beginning of a fast-paced new mystery series featuring a heroic golden retriever cadaver dog named Vira and her handler, Mason Reid. Mason "Mace" Reid lives on the outskirts of Chicago and specializes in human remains...  more

Jeffrey B. Burton's The Finders marks the beginning of a fast-paced new mystery series featuring a heroic golden retriever cadaver dog named Vira and her handler, Mason Reid. Mason "Mace" Reid lives on the outskirts of Chicago and specializes in human remains detection. He trains dogs to hunt for the dead. Reid’s coming off a taxing year -- mourning the death of a beloved springer spaniel as well as the dissolution of his marriage. He adopts a rescue dog with a mysterious past -- a golden retriever named Vira. And when Reid begins training Vira as a cadaver dog, he comes to realize just how special the newest addition to his family truly is… Suddenly, Reid and his prize pupil find themselves hurled into a taxing murder case, which will push them to their very limits. Paired with determined Chicago Police Officer Kippy Gimm, Mace must put all his trust in Vira's abilities to thwart a serial killer who has now set his sights on Mace himself.