It is 1936 and Kate Merritt, the middle child of Victor and Nadine, works hard to keep her family together. Her father slowly slips into alcoholism and his business suffers during the Great Depression. As her mother tries to come to grips with their situation and her sisters seem to remain...  more

It is 1936 and Kate Merritt, the middle child of Victor and Nadine, works hard to keep her family together. Her father slowly slips into alcoholism and his business suffers during the Great Depression. As her mother tries to come to grips with their situation and her sisters seem to remain blissfully oblivious to it, it is Kate who must shoulder the emotional load. Who could imagine that a dirty, abandoned little girl named Lorena Birdsong would be just what the Merritt's need? In this richly textured novel, award-winning author Ann H. Gabhart reveals the power of true love, the freedom of forgiveness, and the strength to persevere through troubled times. Multidimensional characters face real and trenchant problems while maintaining their family bonds, all against the backdrop of a sultry Kentucky summer. Readers will be drawn into the story and find themselves lingering there long after they've finished the book.

After her father's death leaves her family penniless and homeless, Alex Parker hopes to profit from her family's sole remaining possession, an aging steamboat called Amazing Grace. With the funds from this sale, she can buy back her family home. But she needs a captain and no one on the...  more

After her father's death leaves her family penniless and homeless, Alex Parker hopes to profit from her family's sole remaining possession, an aging steamboat called Amazing Grace. With the funds from this sale, she can buy back her family home. But she needs a captain and no one on the river wants to work for a woman. Needing help, she turns to Captain Matthew Kinkade, a man who wants the boat for himself, a man whose desperation drives him to agree to Alex's outrageous plan of marriage in name only. The love Matt and Alex find aboard Amazing Grace is powerful, but is it strong enough to withstand her insecurities, his tragic past, and the violent acts of a man out to destroy them both?

Eighteen years after losing her own infant son, Kate Vegas is a foster mother to a seventeen-year-old named Wayne. When Wayne reads about a Northern California fishing village called Seal Bay and decides that it will be his salvation, Kate, her widowed father, and Wayne pack up and move. In...  more

Eighteen years after losing her own infant son, Kate Vegas is a foster mother to a seventeen-year-old named Wayne. When Wayne reads about a Northern California fishing village called Seal Bay and decides that it will be his salvation, Kate, her widowed father, and Wayne pack up and move. In Seal Bay, they find a superstitious, almost primitive life, where wives tremble on the edge of madness when their men are at sea. Where the laurel tree weeps, the fog rolls in, and the seals cry out in the harbor. It is both terrifying and wonderful for all three. Teetering on the edge of tragedy, they discover the miracle of love...

Freya Daly has always been a smart businesswoman - tough, unemotional, and a killer at negotiations. But for the last few months, she's been bursting into tears for no reason at all. Even though she's sure it must be some kind of rare eye condition, her boss (and father) removes her from her...  more

Freya Daly has always been a smart businesswoman - tough, unemotional, and a killer at negotiations. But for the last few months, she's been bursting into tears for no reason at all. Even though she's sure it must be some kind of rare eye condition, her boss (and father) removes her from her usual task of buying high-rent commercial properties in Boston, and banishes her to a rundown campground in Idaho with orders to obtain the property at any cost. Why the property is so valuable, Freya doesn't know. All alone and far from home, her rare eye condition only gets worse. The one thing that seems to help is the friendship she strikes up with Piper Brody, a little girl who shows Freya that being a kid again can be a lot of fun. Nate Brody is a five-star chef in Cincinnati. Unfortunately, at the moment, he's not in Cincinnati - he's running his father's rundown campground in Idaho. Having made a deathbed promise to his father to find a mysterious lost item before selling the place, Nate is anxious to get back home, where his restaurant and career wait for him....though, maybe not for much longer if he doesn't get back soon. It doesn't help that his eleven-year-old daughter, Piper, loves it in Idaho. For once, he's not working fifteen-hour days, and he and Piper feel like a family. The only nuisance in their Idaho life is the guest in cabin number four. The beautiful woman from Boston has charmed Piper and, for some reason, seems as eager to buy the campground as Nate is to unload it. As Freya and Nate build a friendship, things start to heat up - in more ways than one.

Steven Curtis Chapman wrote the Christian wedding favorite "I Will Be Here" for his wife, Mary Beth. This new gift book of the same title contains real-life stories of husbands and wives who have stood by each other through both prosperity and adversity. Stories from Steven and Mary Beth are...  more

Steven Curtis Chapman wrote the Christian wedding favorite "I Will Be Here" for his wife, Mary Beth. This new gift book of the same title contains real-life stories of husbands and wives who have stood by each other through both prosperity and adversity. Stories from Steven and Mary Beth are complemented by the stories of other couples, along with quotes and verses of Scripture relating to marriage and romance. Includes the CD single of the title song.

Journalist and suburban mom Claire Cooper suffers from panic disorder. Most of her anxieties seem irrational, nothing that can't be fixed with the help of some Xanax. But late one stormy summer night, when her husband, Sam, is away on one of his frequent business trips, Claire's fears...  more

Journalist and suburban mom Claire Cooper suffers from panic disorder. Most of her anxieties seem irrational, nothing that can't be fixed with the help of some Xanax. But late one stormy summer night, when her husband, Sam, is away on one of his frequent business trips, Claire's fears come to life. She discovers an intruder has broken into her young daughter's bedroom. She watches helplessly as he picks up her sleeping child from her bed. Desperate to protect her family, Claire puts herself in the line of fire and utters the plea that will undo her: "Take me instead." As she drives away in the kidnapper's car, Claire fears for her children, but not for herself. And she can't help noticing the reversal in her marriage -- for the first time in ten years, Sam will not know where she is. For the next week, Claire is tied to a bed in a strange motel room, the intruder her only companion. She is forced to lie still and contemplate the reasons for this assault on her family. Is this just a random crime, or something more sinister? Has the shadowy past that she tried so hard to leave behind finally caught up with her? Day after day, she goes deeper into herself, reevaluating her marriage and her role as a mother, and unburying the source of her crippling anxiety. In seven days she will step out to the very brink of her soul -- perhaps never to return.

This is an easy-to-read, suspenseful book that provides insight into what goes on in the life of a Desperate Pastor's Wife. You'll see the questions they ask, the worries and emotions they feel, their fears and failures, their hopes, their convictions, and their faith.

Mystery among the moonlight and the magnolias . . . OK, forget the magnolias. It's the end of December, after all, and frost silvers South Carolina's Low Country. But Pinckney Plantation is still open for visitors who want to see the pride of Indigo Island. The old house claims a long history-or...  more

Mystery among the moonlight and the magnolias . . . OK, forget the magnolias. It's the end of December, after all, and frost silvers South Carolina's Low Country. But Pinckney Plantation is still open for visitors who want to see the pride of Indigo Island. The old house claims a long history-or so says the script the tour guides go by. What the script leaves out are the doors that apparently unlock themselves, the flickering lights, the sound of ghostly footsteps. And the dead body. The corpse is a new addition. Who is he? And what was he doing at Pinckney? And did he fall, or was he pushed? These are among the questions that puzzle the self-appointed detective trio of cousins thrown together for the holidays. Revelations about ruthless developers, secretive landowners, and family scandals are interspersed with hilarious samples of Southern manners before the cousins finally piece together the puzzle.

Molly O'Hara's young sister Nell is beautiful, spirited, and sweet, and the fact that she hasn't spoken for the last seventeen years -- since she was eight -- certainly doesn't reflect on her intelligence. After all, it's Nell who does the books for Enchanted Cottage...  more

Molly O'Hara's young sister Nell is beautiful, spirited, and sweet, and the fact that she hasn't spoken for the last seventeen years -- since she was eight -- certainly doesn't reflect on her intelligence. After all, it's Nell who does the books for Enchanted Cottage Antiques, which she and her sister operate jointly. Truth is, Nell was home alone with their mother when the woman was murdered, and from that day forward Nell hasn't spoken. She understands, she can make herself understood; it's just that she doesn't utter a word. Rummaging in boxes at a tag sale, Nell comes across an old New York theater Playbill that will change the girls' lives. It will break the monotony of their rather lonely existence in the small North Carolina town from which they have never ventured -- and will also shatter the peace they've managed to achieve there. It will send them rocketing to New York, to England, and to New England, in search of a family they didn't know they had. And it will introduce them -- and the reader -- to as zany a group of relatives as ever bickered over a dog show or a fortune. The cover of the program bears a photo of a lovely young actress in her first big part on the New York stage. And amazingly, the woman is their crusty old grandmother. But when they rush to question the old woman, they arrive to find that she has baffled the medical staff, who saw no reason to expect it, by dying in her bed. The sisters, and especially Molly, who is more stubborn and "goal-oriented" by nature, realize that somewhere they have a family. But in their town, the only sources of information are their stepfather, whom they almost never see -- and he can't, or won't tell them much -- and their natural father, who is married to a wealthy society woman and is embarrassed by his somewhat unconventional offspring and eager to shoo them away. So they determine to go off on a search of their own. Their travels bring adventure and exhilaration as they have the new and wonderful experience of seeing New York and London and meeting such exotic fauna as professional actors. But it also brings tragedy as "accidents" occur around them, starting with a fatal explosion in their house when they are away. These are dauntless young women, though, and charming ones, and the reader will very much enjoy going along with them on their eye-opening journeys, and will root for them all along the way.

The Fine Art of Murder When her artist father emerges from an eight-year coma, Jane Sailor, a theatrical choreographer, discovers that his tragic fall down the stairs of their Soho loft was no accident. Though only semiconscious, Aaron Sailor's words are baffling: "No, Perry,...  more

The Fine Art of Murder When her artist father emerges from an eight-year coma, Jane Sailor, a theatrical choreographer, discovers that his tragic fall down the stairs of their Soho loft was no accident. Though only semiconscious, Aaron Sailor's words are baffling: "No, Perry, no." But who is Perry? Could he be Peregrine Mannerback, an eccentric rare-clock collector and owner of Aaron's painting of a woman with a clock sitting on the same staircase where the artist fell? But when Adam Sailor dies suddenly and suspiciously, Jane becomes convinced the clock in the painting is the key to his murder. Embarking on a colorful odyssey into the international art world that spans New York, Seattle, and London, Jane attempts to unearth her family's secrets. She hopes she lives long enough to share them.

A thirty-something junk-food maven and brash, brainy Berkeley cop, Jill Smith usually doesn't spend much time contemplating her navel.  But she accepted an invitation to see the new guru in town.  She was as shocked as the rest of the packed house when the young man's...  more

A thirty-something junk-food maven and brash, brainy Berkeley cop, Jill Smith usually doesn't spend much time contemplating her navel.  But she accepted an invitation to see the new guru in town.  She was as shocked as the rest of the packed house when the young man's spirit rose to heaven before their very eyes . . . with a little earthly aid from the dagger buried deep in his swirling red robes.  His followers say it was hi karma to die.  Now Jill Smith's seeking enlightenment -- looking deep into prime causes such as love, hate, ambition, and dark dreams.  Among a host of devoted disciples, rough real-estate dealers, rival soul savers, and beautiful consorts, she's searching for the answer to a cop's prayers:  the person whose karma is to kill.

Is it too much to ask that the world be a safer place than it was a hundred years ago? Obviously so. The safer tomorrow of our dreams is mad, bad, and dangerous. We have every reason to be scared witless. With nowhere to run, nowhere to hide, it's no longer survival of the fittest, but of...  more

Is it too much to ask that the world be a safer place than it was a hundred years ago? Obviously so. The safer tomorrow of our dreams is mad, bad, and dangerous. We have every reason to be scared witless. With nowhere to run, nowhere to hide, it's no longer survival of the fittest, but of the wariest! I'm Afraid, You're Afraid: 448 Things to Fear and Why is a textbook of life's hazards - from Abstinence to Zippers, Martinis to Yard Sales. It's all here. Things you mustn't touch, places to flee, creatures and people to avoid. Be afraid, be very afraid, but don't forget to laugh, especially at your fears. BABY-FACED BOYS Looks deceive. Baby-faced boys are more likely to be delinquent and commit more crimes than their less cherubic-looking pals, divulges a recent study that suggest that the sweet-appearing juvies intentionally try to derail their submissive image by acting naughty, not nice. DARK-COLORED CLOTHES Seeking one human, M/F, S/M/D, juicy, no DDT; reply to Stagnant Pool 29. Not to get personal, but you're likely to be bitten by smitten mosquitoes if you insist on wearing dark-colored clothes that advertise what a tasty Goth you are. JERKY The can-be-lethal E.coli bacteria has been found in venison jerky. An Oregon outbreak of food poisoning was traced to the hides of deer slaughtered by hunters. Call it Bambi's revenge. PARAKEETS Sounds a might peckish but a plumed pet can make you sick as a dog. Psittacosis, a disease transmitted to humans from birds of the parrot family, is spread by inhaling bird-dropping dust, which can remain infectious for weeks. Now you know what the caged bird flings. PICKING YOUR NOSE The indecorous practice of nosepicking can be calamitous. If a ransacking finger gouges the mucous membranes of your nasal passage, it might bring on an infection that could travel to your brain and cause a blood clot. Use a hankie, not your pinkie. REFRIGERATOR MAGNETS Fridge magnets attract trouble. Little kids swallow them; adults get facial cuts and eye lacerations after sideswiping the appliance decorations. Ice the kitsch. STUFFED ANIMALS House mites often infect cuddly toys. The scavenging little buggers might decide to abandon Winnie the Pooh to take refuge on your flaky, oh-so-tasty scalp. Nesting in your hair, the mites deposit poop proteins and, if you're prone to asthma, the fecal pellets could set off an attack. Shampoo your beanie, baby. YO-YOS Dentists are reeling about the tooth-cracking dangers of yo-yos, which can whirl as fast as 11,000 rpm. Parents, mind dentists' warning: For very young, uncoordinated children, no yo-yo, ma.

Eve has had it -- she's no "wicked stepmonster" in the making. She absolutely adores Ian, the new man in her life, and she's more than willing to open her heart to his kids. But nothing she does is right in their eyes, and she just can't take it anymore. At her...  more

Eve has had it -- she's no "wicked stepmonster" in the making. She absolutely adores Ian, the new man in her life, and she's more than willing to open her heart to his kids. But nothing she does is right in their eyes, and she just can't take it anymore. At her wit's end, she decides it's time for stepmothers to stick together, so, with a little prodding from her best friend, Clare, she decides to join a support system for other women in the same boat. There's stay-at-home mom Mandy, high-achiever Mel, and even young and in love Chloe. And as cups of coffee give way to wine, and their get-togethers become a regular fixture, the women share their love, lives, ambitions, and true feelings about their new families.

Boredom isn't an occupational hazard for Hannah Garvey, the resident manager for Valhalla Springs, an exclusive retirement community in the Missouri Ozarks. In less than 24 hours she's survived an assault with a deadly weapon, been caught in a compromising position with Sheriff David...  more

Boredom isn't an occupational hazard for Hannah Garvey, the resident manager for Valhalla Springs, an exclusive retirement community in the Missouri Ozarks. In less than 24 hours she's survived an assault with a deadly weapon, been caught in a compromising position with Sheriff David Hendrickson and consoled her boss's 67-year-old mother -- who's just been busted for growing marijuana for the members of her bi-weekly bridge club. But before the week's end, things have really gotten out of hand. Sheriff Hendrickson is suspended and facing a manslaughter charge. With the evidence and public opinion stacked against him, David is losing all hope. But Hannah and her gang of senior sleuths are determined to clear his name -- before her someday-maybe lover is sent upstate without a paddle for a crime he didn't commit.

Feisty witch Stasi Romanov was one of 13 classmates at the Witches Academy who was expelled seven hundred years ago for bad behavior. Stasi has since then settled down a bit, owning a lingerie boutique while dabbling in a brisk side business of love charms. Sparks fly, however, when one of...  more

Feisty witch Stasi Romanov was one of 13 classmates at the Witches Academy who was expelled seven hundred years ago for bad behavior. Stasi has since then settled down a bit, owning a lingerie boutique while dabbling in a brisk side business of love charms. Sparks fly, however, when one of those charms goes awry, and Stasi finds herself in a preternatural lawsuit matching wits with devastatingly handsome wizard attorney Trevor Barnes. Then mysterious magic from an unknown enemy threatens to turn Stasi's quiet town into a modern day Salem, and Stasi's witchy friends from long ago gather for the fight. They need Trevor's powerful help. But every witch knows you can't trust a wizard, and soon Stasi is fighting for her life and her heart.

Authentic flavors, sights and sounds of late-17th century New York permeate this fourth volume in the series chronicling the lives of the Tonneman family, beginning with The Dutchman.  It is 1675. New York is now a thriving city of some three thousand souls. The newly cobblestoned...  more

Authentic flavors, sights and sounds of late-17th century New York permeate this fourth volume in the series chronicling the lives of the Tonneman family, beginning with The Dutchman.  It is 1675. New York is now a thriving city of some three thousand souls. The newly cobblestoned streets bustle with commerce. And Pieter Tonneman, former sheriff of the island, is enjoying life as husband, father, and businessman -- until the governor’s prized stallion is found slaughtered in its stall. A bloody message is left on a church lectern. And a heifer is discovered with its throat slit. Suddenly, New York is alive with rumors of devil worship and witchcraft, and of a dark conspiracy among the Jews. As terror fills the air, the Dutchman finds himself compelled back to duty. And when the killer trades horseflesh for human flesh, Tonneman knows only two things: a murderer is on the loose in New York, and no one is more at risk than the woman he loves.

Hey there y'all... Come on over for some Texas hospitality! We serve generous helpings of it at the coffee shop I run with my two friends Leanne and Aggie. This business has been a lifeline since my husband's death, and finding teenage runaway Rachel Nye hiding in our storeroom has kicked up...  more

Hey there y'all... Come on over for some Texas hospitality! We serve generous helpings of it at the coffee shop I run with my two friends Leanne and Aggie. This business has been a lifeline since my husband's death, and finding teenage runaway Rachel Nye hiding in our storeroom has kicked up some dust. Leanne's finally got someone to mother and 68 year old Aggie is wearing contact lenses and blue jeans! But Sheriff Cade Sloan has been getting a suspicious look in his eyes. And there's that other look he gives me, the one that makes my heart skip a beat! I hate lying to him, but we have decided not to turn Rachel in. Only time will tell if we're becoming sisters in crime -- or angels in disguise! Bunches of hugs and bushels of kisses, Mia MacAfee

Jodi and Jill Spingold are the Spinster Sisters… With a two-hour radio show, speaking engagements, and two bestselling books, "Living Twenty-Five" and "The ‘Thirty’ Commandments", they’ve built a thriving cottage industry out of helping other single women find happiness and...  more

Jodi and Jill Spingold are the Spinster Sisters… With a two-hour radio show, speaking engagements, and two bestselling books, "Living Twenty-Five" and "The ‘Thirty’ Commandments", they’ve built a thriving cottage industry out of helping other single women find happiness and empowerment. Their future has never been brighter. And that’s when Jill turns out the lights—by announcing her engagement. Jodi’s in a tailspin. How can they be the Spinster Sisters if one of them is married? Complicating things is her own love life, involving three vastly different paramours offering three different kinds of happiness—none of which Jodi is sure she wants. And her ex-husband, backed by his nightmarishly manipulative new girlfriend, may be angling for a piece of the Spinster Sisters empire. Now, Jodi must make some tough decisions, keep the business afloat, and make it to the altar to stand by her sister—even if means that from now on she’ll be single all by herself...

These vivid and compelling tales, many set in Africa and Asia, are about immigrants and others facing change and dislocation. The science is never pedantic; indeed the language of biology and natural history is used to great lyrical effect. The stories are accomplished and seasoned, remarkably...  more

These vivid and compelling tales, many set in Africa and Asia, are about immigrants and others facing change and dislocation. The science is never pedantic; indeed the language of biology and natural history is used to great lyrical effect. The stories are accomplished and seasoned, remarkably so given that this is the author’s first book. Murray is adept at holding together a complex narrative and creating characters who reach out emotionally to the reader upon first meeting. Global in scope, classical in form, evocative of place, and deeply emotional, this collection marks the beginning of what promises to be an illustrious career.

Bestselling author and award-winning singer Rebecca St. James brings together a group of radical and inspirational true stories about young women who gave their all for Jesus.Around the world, every day, young women are boldly putting themselves forth as believers-regardless of the cost....  more

Bestselling author and award-winning singer Rebecca St. James brings together a group of radical and inspirational true stories about young women who gave their all for Jesus.Around the world, every day, young women are boldly putting themselves forth as believers-regardless of the cost. Sometimes they suffer for it, but they never waver in their belief that God has called them to serve Him. In her new book, Rebecca St. James profiles both contemporary women and historical figures from around the world- from Joan of Arc to a Midwest high school student to an Olympic athlete. Their stories are sometimes extreme, sometimes more universal, but always inspiring. Divided into 13 weeks, the book features five profiles each week, thought-provoking questions, and space for journaling. Rebecca St. James has inspired thousands with her music; now she empowers them with these very real, godly role models in whose footsteps they can follow.

Looks can be deceiving.Katherine has a perfect life. Brad is an affectionate and caring husband. They are active in their church, both serving in leadership positions. Katherine bakes, ministers, serves, leads a Bible study, sings. They have it all. Then a corporate scandal leads to Brad's...  more

Looks can be deceiving.Katherine has a perfect life. Brad is an affectionate and caring husband. They are active in their church, both serving in leadership positions. Katherine bakes, ministers, serves, leads a Bible study, sings. They have it all. Then a corporate scandal leads to Brad's arrest. Reporters dig into every aspect of their private lives, digging up the smallest of details and hidden secrets. Brad loses his job, and their finances are ruined. As they struggle to piece together their once-perfect life, Katherine wonders: can their marriage survive Brad's breach of trust?

A haunting novel of loss, love, and human connection from the author of Astrid & Veronika Linda Olsson’s first novel, Astrid & Veronika, introduced readers to her gorgeous prose, and her extraordinary understanding of human relationships. With her second novel, she once again charts that...  more

A haunting novel of loss, love, and human connection from the author of Astrid & Veronika Linda Olsson’s first novel, Astrid & Veronika, introduced readers to her gorgeous prose, and her extraordinary understanding of human relationships. With her second novel, she once again charts that terrain in a novel that also explores the significant impact of history on individual lives. In Sonata for Miriam, two events occur that will change composer Adam Anker’s life forever. Embarking on a journey that ranges from New Zealand to Poland, and then Sweden, Anker not only uncovers his parents’ true fate during World War II, but he also finally faces the consequences of an impossible choice he was forced to make twenty years before—a choice that changed the trajectory of his life.

Keep the heart in Heart Lake. That’s exactly what three small-town shop owners hope to do when they launch their crazy-ambitious “Have a Heart” campaign -- asking neighbors to commit one random act of kindness every day. Emma, Sarah, and Jamie love their lakeside community, but...  more

Keep the heart in Heart Lake. That’s exactly what three small-town shop owners hope to do when they launch their crazy-ambitious “Have a Heart” campaign -- asking neighbors to commit one random act of kindness every day. Emma, Sarah, and Jamie love their lakeside community, but the little town is growing too big too fast, and a doing a good deed never hurt anyone. Or so they thought... When Emma slashes prices at her quilt shop, practically giving away blankets to anyone who looks vaguely cold, she almost stitches her way into bankruptcy. Sarah’'s free cooking class boils down to a hotbed of crime when some punk kid swipes her favorite heirloom. And at Jamie’s chocolate shop, things take a bittersweet turn when a local policeman starts giving her grief, stirring up feelings she'’s tried to forget— -- and slowly melts away her defenses... With irresistible humor, warmth, affection -- and recipes! -- author Sheila Roberts serves up a generous, open-hearted story about the friendships we make, the chances we take, and the lives we touch every day.

Treasure hunting is not for the faint of heart. Luckily, Lucy St. Elmo, owner of the Cape Cod antiques shop St. Elmo Fine Antiques, has more than enough heart. What she needs to improve are her tracking skills-or else the wrong man could be convince of a one-of-a-kind murder.

Desiree Shapiro, New York P.I. is no hard boiled shamus. She has dimples in her knees, elbows, and some unmentionable places. Desiree is a chubby gumshoe who has a mind as sharp as a Cuisinart and a queen size talent for sleuthing. Her heart is pretty big too, which is why she agrees to take the...  more

Desiree Shapiro, New York P.I. is no hard boiled shamus. She has dimples in her knees, elbows, and some unmentionable places. Desiree is a chubby gumshoe who has a mind as sharp as a Cuisinart and a queen size talent for sleuthing. Her heart is pretty big too, which is why she agrees to take the case of the poor grocery kid accused of killing the old lady in apartment 15D for the money stashed in her freezer. Sure, the boy's fingerprints on the refrigerator make the problem sticky, but only until there's yet another murder in the same building. Before anyone can say Haagen-Dazs, Desiree bets she will be able to finger the real killer. She's detoured by dinner with a bachelor, but he, unfortunately, turns into a suspect. So while her love life is chilling out, Desiree cooks up a scheme to trap a lean, mean, decidedly unsavory killer.

A Discriminating Taste for Murder Desiree Shapiro, New York's full-figured P.I., is dead set against taking another murder case. But her old friend Peter Winters just needs Desiree to figure out who got killed. His fiancee, Mary Ann, and her identical twin, Meredith, were brutally shot in...  more

A Discriminating Taste for Murder Desiree Shapiro, New York's full-figured P.I., is dead set against taking another murder case. But her old friend Peter Winters just needs Desiree to figure out who got killed. His fiancee, Mary Ann, and her identical twin, Meredith, were brutally shot in their posh condo. One sister lies in the morgue. The other is in a coma. Nobody knows which of the once-beautiful blondes survived. So Desiree agrees to snoop around Meredith's fellow actors at a very offbeat, Off-Off-Broadway theater and cannily question Mary Ann's friends and sleazy ex-lover, in locales from Uptown to Jersey. And as the chilling picture emerges, lies, greed, and betrayal prove that looks are deceiving and increasingly dangerous - especially for New York's funniest, chubbiest gumshoe.

Ten-year-old Catherine wasn't expected to survive a life-threatening illness, so when she dies, everyone accepts that she succumbed to it. Everyone except Desiree Shapiro, who is convinced that the child was murdered.

On two remote islands off the coast of Maine, the local lobstermen have fought savagely for generations over the fishing rights to the ocean waters between them. Young Ruth Thomas is born into this feud, the daughter of one of the greediest lobstermen in Maine. Eighteen years old, as smart as a...  more

On two remote islands off the coast of Maine, the local lobstermen have fought savagely for generations over the fishing rights to the ocean waters between them. Young Ruth Thomas is born into this feud, the daughter of one of the greediest lobstermen in Maine. Eighteen years old, as smart as a whip, and irredeemably unromantic, Ruth returns home from boarding school determined to throw her education overboard and join the "stern men." As the feud escalates, she helps work the lobster boats, brushes up on her profanity, and eventually falls for Owney Wishnell, a handsome young lobsterman. "Funny, clever and wise" (Seattle Times), STERN MEN captures a feisty American spirit through this unforgettable heroine who is destined for greatness despite herself.

Everyone needs something to blurt out during uncomfortable silences and ice-breaker moments. This fascinating handbook of hilarious, arcane and bizarre tidbits will make its bearer a hit in party conversations and trivia contests.

When Sunny Langstein decides to pack up Florida life and move in with her boyfriend in Manhattan, her big sister isn't thrilled. What modern-day twenty-four-year-old leaves her promising career, fabulous friends and perfect underground parking spot with accompanying convertible for . . . a guy?...  more

When Sunny Langstein decides to pack up Florida life and move in with her boyfriend in Manhattan, her big sister isn't thrilled. What modern-day twenty-four-year-old leaves her promising career, fabulous friends and perfect underground parking spot with accompanying convertible for . . . a guy? Only, Sunny has an additional incentive: the chance to star on Party Girls, the latest reality-television show. True, she might become a national laughingstock and it pays nothing, BUT it's a job -- a job in Manhattan. She'll get to be with her boyfriend, Steve. Okay, so she can't tell anyone she isn't single -- but with freebie designer clothes, alpha-beta peels and coconut-cream pedicures to make her transformation into a made-for-TV single girl complete . . . she can't lose! But when the show's premier plunges Sunny into a media frenzy of talk shows, tampon endorsements, TV heartthrobs and S&M toys, how long will it take for Sunny to lose track of where she ends and her alter ego, Sunny Lang the _ber Fashionista Single Superstar, begins?

Claire is at the start of her medical career when she falls in love with Addison Boehning, a biochemist with blazing genius and big dreams. A complicated pregnancy deflects Claire’s professional path, and she is forced to drop out of her residency. Soon thereafter Addison invents a simple...  more

Claire is at the start of her medical career when she falls in love with Addison Boehning, a biochemist with blazing genius and big dreams. A complicated pregnancy deflects Claire’s professional path, and she is forced to drop out of her residency. Soon thereafter Addison invents a simple blood test for ovarian cancer, and his biotech start-up lands a fortune. Overnight the Boehnings are catapulted into a financial and social tier they had never anticipated or sought: they move into a gracious Seattle home and buy an old ranch in the high desert mountains of eastern Washington, and Claire drifts away from medicine to become a full-time wife and mother. Then Addison gambles everything on a cutting-edge cancer drug, and when the studies go awry, their comfortable life is swept away. Claire and her daughter, Jory, move to a dilapidated ranch house in rural Hallum, where Claire has to find a job until Addison can salvage his discredited lab. Her only offer for employment comes from a struggling public health clinic, but Claire gets more than a second chance at medicine when she meets Miguela, a bright Nicaraguan immigrant and orphan of the contra war who has come to the United States on a secret quest to find the family she has lost. As their friendship develops, a new mystery unfolds that threatens to destroy Claire’s family and forces her to question what it truly means to heal.

Casting Off: 1. Ending a knitted work. 2. Releasing lines holding a boat to its mooring. 3. Letting go... On a tiny island off the west coast of Ireland, the fishermen's handmade sweaters tell a story. Each is unique-feelings stitched into rows, memories into patterns. It is here that...  more

Casting Off: 1. Ending a knitted work. 2. Releasing lines holding a boat to its mooring. 3. Letting go... On a tiny island off the west coast of Ireland, the fishermen's handmade sweaters tell a story. Each is unique-feelings stitched into rows, memories into patterns. It is here that Rebecca Moray comes to research a book on Irish knitting. With her daughter, Rowan, accompanying her, she hopes to lose herself in the history of the island and forget her own painful past. Soon, the townsfolk's warm embrace wraps Rebecca and Rowan in a world of friendship, laughter, and love. And it is here that young Rowan befriends Sean Morahan, a cantankerous old fisherman, despite his attempts to scare her off. As Rebecca watches her daughter interact with Morahan, she recognizes in his eyes a look that speaks of a dark knowledge not unlike her own. And when current storms threaten to resurrect old ones, Morahan and Rebecca find themselves on a collision course-with Rowan caught between them-each buffeted by waves of regret and recrimination. Only by walking headfirst into the winds will they find the faith to forgive without forgetting...and reach the shore.

This is the true story of Franz Wisner, a man who thought he had it all- a high profile career and the fianc?e of his dreams- when suddenly, his life turned upside down. Just days before they were to be married, his fianc?e called off the wedding. Luckily, his large support network of family and...  more

This is the true story of Franz Wisner, a man who thought he had it all- a high profile career and the fianc?e of his dreams- when suddenly, his life turned upside down. Just days before they were to be married, his fianc?e called off the wedding. Luckily, his large support network of family and friends wouldn't let him succumb to his misery. They decided Franz should have a wedding and a honeymoon anyway- there just wouldn't be a bride at the ceremony, and Franz' travel companion would be his brother, Kurt. During the "honeymoon," Franz reconnected with his brother and began to look at his life with newfound perspective. The brothers decided to leave their old lives behind them. They quit their jobs, sold all their possessions, and traveled around the world, visiting fifty-three countries for the next two years. In Honeymoon With My Brother, Franz recounts this remarkable journey, during which he turned his heartbreak into an opportunity to learn about himself, the world, and the brother he hardly knew.

The 1930s were a decade of enormous uncertainty--for the world, for America, and in particular for one lonely, struggling mother and her disabled son. Their story is one of love and enormous sacrifices in the face of circumstances horrendous beyond belief. When her husband leaves her for someone...  more

The 1930s were a decade of enormous uncertainty--for the world, for America, and in particular for one lonely, struggling mother and her disabled son. Their story is one of love and enormous sacrifices in the face of circumstances horrendous beyond belief. When her husband leaves her for someone whose time isn't wrapped up in a silent, handicapped kid, Mary and little Luke are out on their own in a world that has no room for the poor and disabled. Especially not at a time when most Americans are simply trying to survive their economic woes and job losses. But then arrives The Gift...Where has it come from, and why? How can a young boy who can neither hear nor speak provide comfort, direction, and sometimes challenges to seekers who learn of the special ability? Whatever the source, its presence brings a single shaft of light and hope to Mary and her beloved Luke. Will it be enough?

She's a singer, comedian, Academy Award-winning actress, and one of America's most popular and enduring stars. She's "a funny, gutsy woman" who is "genuine" and "down to earth" (The New York Times). She is Cher.As part of the singing duo "Sonny and Cher," she was noted for her offbeat beauty.As...  more

She's a singer, comedian, Academy Award-winning actress, and one of America's most popular and enduring stars. She's "a funny, gutsy woman" who is "genuine" and "down to earth" (The New York Times). She is Cher.As part of the singing duo "Sonny and Cher," she was noted for her offbeat beauty.As a star of television's The Sonny and Cher Comedy Hour, she blossomed into one of America's most glamorous women. She went on to prove herself as an actress while maintaining her singing career and raising two children. Now, in the book The First Time, Cher allows readers a view of some hilarious, tragic, and shocking moments as she recalls: First memories of her mother First bra First kiss First bad boy (Gregg Allman) First time she learned her daughter was gay First eulogy (for Sonny)Told in Cher's inimitable way, with dozens of photographs, most from her own albums, The First Time is a frank, funny, surprising, outrageous, sometimes sad, and always boldly honest depiction of a woman as irrespressible as she is impossible to resist.

When mystery writter Christy Castleman's Aunt Bobbie storms into town, she brings a burst of wild wind to quiet Summer Breeze, Florida--and new life to the junk she scavenges for her trash-to-treasure shop.Bobbie enjoys restoring beauty to flawed items, and her free-spirited approach to life...  more

When mystery writter Christy Castleman's Aunt Bobbie storms into town, she brings a burst of wild wind to quiet Summer Breeze, Florida--and new life to the junk she scavenges for her trash-to-treasure shop.Bobbie enjoys restoring beauty to flawed items, and her free-spirited approach to life attracts a range of Summer Breezers, including members of the local Red Hat chapter and crusty widower Jack. Bobbie's battered red truck becomes a familiar sight around the coastal hamlet--loaded down with such odd items as a huge old pickle barrel--and her electric prescence lights up the Blues Club in the evenings. But the fun and games turn deadly when Eddie Bodine, Bobbie's ex-husband, is found dead in her pickle barrel. As compelling evidence mounts against Bobbie, can Christy expose the real killer before Aunt Bobbie is locked away for good?

Jane Warren swore she'd never marry again even though plenty of perfectly respectable men would consider themselves lucky to end up with someone like her. Then again, the last perfectly respectable man to end up with her--her ex-husband--ended their marriage, not to mention Jane's belief in...  more

Jane Warren swore she'd never marry again even though plenty of perfectly respectable men would consider themselves lucky to end up with someone like her. Then again, the last perfectly respectable man to end up with her--her ex-husband--ended their marriage, not to mention Jane's belief in happy endings... But she just can't muster the cynicism to resist William Andrews--a dashing, debonair widower with two children of his own. Soon, Jane's doing what she swore she'd never do: Marching up the aisle, promising to have, hold, serve, and protect, 'til death do them part. But once married, Jane discovers that Andrew seems to be obsessed with his dead wife... As Jane struggles to understand the nature of the powerful hold Andrews's first wife still exerts over the husband and children she left behind, she realizes that her life may depend on the answer. For someone would clearly like to see her follow the first Mrs. Andrews to the grave...

When Skye Sebring, a hospitality greeter inside the pearly gates of Heaven, meets lawyer Ryan Blaine during his brush with death after a motorcycle accident, she falls so deeply in love that she follows him back to Earth, a world with strange customs she knows nothing about--until she discovers...  more

When Skye Sebring, a hospitality greeter inside the pearly gates of Heaven, meets lawyer Ryan Blaine during his brush with death after a motorcycle accident, she falls so deeply in love that she follows him back to Earth, a world with strange customs she knows nothing about--until she discovers that all of life's lessons can be learned from the lyrics of five Beatles songs.

Sensitive but practical, Charlotte Tradescome has come to accept the reticence of her older, work-obsessed husband Henry. Still, she hopes to create a life for their three-year-old daughter. So when Henry inherits a home on Cape Cod, she, Henry, and little Fiona move from their Manhattan...  more

Sensitive but practical, Charlotte Tradescome has come to accept the reticence of her older, work-obsessed husband Henry. Still, she hopes to create a life for their three-year-old daughter. So when Henry inherits a home on Cape Cod, she, Henry, and little Fiona move from their Manhattan apartment to this seaside community. Charlotte sells off part of Tradescome Point, inadvertently fueling the conflict between newcomers and locals. Many townspeople easily dismiss Charlotte as a "washashore." A rare exception is Darryl Stead, an oyster farmer with modest dreams and an open heart, with whom Charlotte feels the connection she's been missing. Ultimately he transforms the way she sees herself, the town, and the people she loves...

The well-known publishing correspondent and self-described "readaholic" chronicles a year spent reading-and the surprises it brought. In early 2002, Sara Nelson-editor, reporter, reviewer, mother, daughter, wife, and compulsive reader-set out to chronicle a year's worth of reading, to explore...  more

The well-known publishing correspondent and self-described "readaholic" chronicles a year spent reading-and the surprises it brought. In early 2002, Sara Nelson-editor, reporter, reviewer, mother, daughter, wife, and compulsive reader-set out to chronicle a year's worth of reading, to explore how the world of books and words intermingled with children, marriage, friends, and the rest of the "real" world. She had a system all set up: fifty-two weeks, fifty-two books . . . and it all fell apart the first week. That's when she discovered that books chose her as much as she chose them, and the rewards and frustrations they brought were nothing she could plan for: "In reading, as in life, even if you know what you're doing, you really kind of don't." From Solzhenitsyn to Laura Zigman, Catherine M. to Captain Underpants, this is the captivating result. It is a personal memoir filled with wit, charm, insight, infectious enthusiasm-and observations on everything from Public Books (the ones we pretend we're reading), lending trauma and the idiosyncrasies of sex scenes ("The mingling of bodies and emotions and fluids is one thing. But reading about it: now that's personal") to revenge books, hype, the stresses of recommendation (What does it mean when someone you like hates the book you love?), the odd reasons we pick up a book in the first place, and how to put it down if we don't like it ("The literary equivalent of a bar mitzvah, the moment at which you look at yourself and announce: Today I am an adult."). Throughout, So Many Books, So Little Time is pure delight-a work at once funny, wise, and rueful: enough to make a passionate reader out of anybody.

Like a princess in a fairytale, Grace Hamilton has been showered with blessings: professional success, a happy marriage, and she even lives in a beautiful castle. But the only thing she really wants - her heart's desire - is the one thing she can never have. Her sister, the beautiful Susannah,...  more

Like a princess in a fairytale, Grace Hamilton has been showered with blessings: professional success, a happy marriage, and she even lives in a beautiful castle. But the only thing she really wants - her heart's desire - is the one thing she can never have. Her sister, the beautiful Susannah, has made a mess of her life. Like a reverse Midas, everything she touches turns to shit. But the Fate puts Grace's future in Susannah's hands, changing the balance of power between the sisters forever.

From The New York Times bestselling author comes a poignant, heartbreaking, and ultimately uplifting novel about an unlikely path to motherhood, and of two lost souls healing each other  1950 Tennessee, a time and place that straddles the past and present. Ivorie Walker is considered an old maid...  more

From The New York Times bestselling author comes a poignant, heartbreaking, and ultimately uplifting novel about an unlikely path to motherhood, and of two lost souls healing each other  1950 Tennessee, a time and place that straddles the past and present. Ivorie Walker is considered an old maid by the town (though she?s only in her early thirties) and she takes that label with good humor and a grain of salt. Ever since her parents passed away, she has hidden her loneliness behind a fierce independence and a claim of not needing anyone. But her mother?s death hit her harder than anyone suspects and Ivorie wonders if she will be alone forever.  When she realizes that someone has been stealing vegetables from her garden?a feral, dirty-faced boy who disappears into the hills?something about him haunts Ivorie. She can?t imagine what would make him desperate enough to steal and eat from her garden. But what she truly can?t imagine is what the boy faces, each day and night, in the filthy lean-to hut miles up in the hills. Who is he? How did he come to live in the hills? Where did he come from? And, more importantly, can she save him? As Ivorie steps out of her comfort zone to uncover the answers, she unleashes a firestorm in the town?a community that would rather let secrets stay secret.