When Dora Conroy, a Philadelphia antiques dealer, purchases a curious selection of auction items - objects she judges to be humorous novelties, she unknowingly becomes the deadly focus of an international smuggler. When robberies and death surround her merchandise, Dora seeks help from her intriguing upstairs tenant, former cop Jed Skimmerhorn. They discover a shadowy path leading across the continent to the smuggler, a man who will stop at nothing to recover his hidden riches. Like the treasures he craves, Dora and Jed find they are susceptible to his crushing grasp.
Count your blessings; they can be snatched away in an instant. It is a sentiment Milla Edge knows too well. With an astonishing blend of savvy, instinct, and passion, Milla displays an uncanny gift for finding lost children. When all seems helpless, desperate souls from across the country come to her for hope and results. Driven by an obsessive desire to fill the void in other people's lives, Milla throws herself into every case - all the while trying to outrun the brutal emotions stemming from a horrific tragedy in her past. Traveling to a small village in Mexico on a reliable tip, Milla begins to uncover the dire fate of countless children who have disappeared over the years in the labyrinth of a sinister baby-smuggling ring. The key to nailing down the organization may rest with an elusive one-eyed man. To find him, Milla joins forces with James Diaz, a suspicious stranger known as the Tracker who conceals his own sinister agenda. As the search intensifies, the mission becomes more treacherous. For the ring is part of something far larger and more dangerous, reaching the highest echelons of power and influence. Caught between growing passion and imminent peril, Milla suddenly finds herself the hunted - in the crosshairs of an invisible, lethal assassin who aims to silence her permanently.
Loyal. Beautiful. Professional. Impeccably organized. Potentially lethal. Sarah Stevens is a woman with many distinct qualities. First and foremost a butler par excellence, skilled at running large households smoothly and efficiently, she is also a trained bodyguard and expert marksman - indispensable to her elderly employer, a courtly gentleman whom Sarah has come to respect and love.
Then one night she thwarts a burglary in progress, a courageous act that awards Sarah her requisite "fifteen minutes of fame" with the local press. But the exposure is enough to catch the attention of a tortured soul who, unbeknownst to Sarah, will stop at nothing to have her for himself. Sarah's perfectly ordered life is shattered when tragedy strikes: her beloved employer is brutally murdered. The detective investigating the case assures Sarah that she is not a suspect. Until lightning strikes twice.
There's a second killing - and this time, despite a lack of evidence connecting her to the crime, Sarah cannot escape the shadow of guilt. The only option left for Sarah is to carry on with her life. But she doesn't realize that a deranged stalker is luring her into an elaborate trap...one in which she, once ensnared, might never escape. For Sarah soon finds herself at the mercy of a man who will tend to her every whim, smother her with affection, and crush her in his all-consuming embrace.
Paradise calls to Chase Wilcox. A man of science fascinated by the rebirth of life in the wake of cataclysmic natural upheaval, he is drawn to the lush beauty of the island of Hawaii and the secrets it holds -- while escaping the destruction of his own personal world. The island is home to many unexpected wonders, which is why Nicole Ballard could never leave. A research assistant, an artist, a dancer -- a tall and stunning redhead who goes by the stage name Pele, goddess of fire -- she, too, hides a secret pain, releasing her pent-up sensuality to the accompaniment of native drums before a mesmerized audience.
Joined on a scientific project that carries them both into the moist, verdant heart of a tropical wonderland, Nicole and Chase will be forced to confront their own lingering inner darkness, while resisting a newly inflamed need to touch, to give...to care. In the shadow of Mount Kilauea, all restraints will be broken, as emotions flow hot and free as rivers of molten rock. And desire will erupt, as unpredictable and dangerous as the living volcano, transforming the very landscape of their lives.
When FBI agent Dane Carver's twin brother, Father Michael Joseph, is brutally murdered in his San Francisco church, husband-and-wife agents Lacey Sherlock and Dillon Savich take a personal interest in the investigation. Then Nicola "Nick" Jones, a homeless woman and the only witness to the shooting, is scared out of her mind because she is trying to hide from her own monsters - who are drawing closer and closer.
The chase goes from San Francisco to the Premiere Studios in Los Angeles and its new television hit, a show all about murder.
A con artist and seductress, Meredith Spooner lived fast - and died young. Now it seems Meredith's last scam - embezzling more than a million dollars from a college endowment fund - is coming back to haunt Leonora Hutton. An email just arrived in which Meredith - in fear for her life - explains that the money is waiting for Leonora in an offshore account ... and a safe-deposit key is on the way. Leonora wants nothing to do with the tainted money. She's already been accused of being in on the theft by Thomas Walker - who, it seems, was a victim of Meredith's knack for both scams and seductions. Eager to prove him wrong, Leonora sets out to collect the cash and hand it over. But she discovers two other items in the safe-deposit box. One is a book about Mirror House - a mansion filled with antique mirrors, where Meredith engineered her final deception. The other is a set of newspaper stories about a thirty-year-old murder that occurred there - unsolved to this day. Now Leonora has an offer for Thomas Walker. She'll hand over the money - if he helps her figure out what's happening. Meredith had described Walker as "a man you can trust." But in a funhouse-mirror world of illusion and distortion, Leonora may be out of her league.
It's a job that makes a killing. Efficient, professional, and without apology, Lily Mansfield is a hired assassin, working as a contract agent for the CIA. Her targets are the powerful and corrupt, those who can't be touched by the law. Now, after 18 years of service, Lily has been drawn into a dangerous game that hasn't been sanctioned, seeking vengeance for her own reasons. Each move bolder than the next, she is compromising her superiors, drawing unwanted attention and endangering her very life. Though stress and shock have made her feel somewhat invincible and a little cocky, Lily knows that she too can be taken out in an instant. And if it's her time, so be it. She intends to go down fighting. A CIA agent himself, Lucas Swain recognizes the signs of trauma in the line of fire. His orders are to either bring her in or bring her down. Yet he too is drawn into the game with Lily Mansfield, dancing on a tightrope as he tries to avoid a major international incident while still battling a tenacious foe who is dogging their every step. Keeping laser focus on her task at hand while vigilantly watching her back, Mansfield never sees the lethal peril that lies directly in her path . . . and how loyalty has a price.
On the eve of her nineteenth birthday, the vivacious Caroline Derwent-Jones looks forward to being free of her oafish guardian, Mr. Ffalkes. But Mr. Ffalkes has other plans for Caroline and her inheritance; Caroline must escape. In her flight, Caroline encounters Lord Chilton of Mount Hawke, Frederic North Nightingale, and finds herself tangled in mystery and romance. Amid murder, enigmatic secrets, and a long standing tradition of no women at Mount Hawke, Lord Chilton discovers his desire for Caroline. "Witty dialogue and bawdy, eccentric characters add up to an engaging, fan-pleasing story."--Publishers Weekly
Zoe Luce is a successful interior designer in the Arizona town of Whispering Springs who's developed an unusual career specialty - helping recently divorced clients redesign their homes, to help them forget about the past and start anew. But Zoe knows that some things can't be covered up with a new coat of paint. And when she senses that one of her clients may be hiding a dark secret, she enlists P.I. Ethan Truax to find the truth. Working together, they solve the mystery...and barely escape with their lives. But Ethan's exquisite detection skills are starting to backfire on Zoe: she never wanted to let him find out about her former life; she never wanted to reveal her powerful, inexplicable gift for sensing the history hidden with a house's walls; she never wanted him to know that "Zoe Luce" doesn't really exist. She never wanted to fall in love with him. Now, no matter how much she resists, Ethan may be her only hope - because the people she's been running from have found her. And just when Zoe dares to dream of a normal life and a future with the man she loves, her own past starts to shadow her every step - and threatens to take her back into a nightmare.
Franny Marten's life is unraveling. Expecting to meet her boyfriend, Marcus Marks, for dinner, she finds his wife waiting for her instead. After the initial shock wears off, Franny finds she has more in common with Clare Marks than she could ever have imagined. And, amazingly, the women become fast friends. When Franny is unexpectedly offered an all-expenses-paid invitation to a family reunion in Provence, she goes-and takes Clare along for the ride. Provence is everything Franny pictured but nothing at all what she expected. There are dangerous family secrets buried deep in the lovely landscape of southern France, and there is someone who will go to great lengths to keep Franny from uncovering them. Elizabeth Adler casts an unforgettable spell as Invitation to Provence transports listeners to a truly magical place.
"Adler is known for carefree and light destination/relationship fiction that features lush descriptions of landscapes and food, appealing characters, gently unfolding plots, and grown-up love stories...This new novel shares with its predecessors a great sense of place, charming characters, and wonderful descriptions."--Booklist
The New York Times bestselling author of Firestorm, Iris Johansen, returns with a psychological thriller so terrifying, so relentlessly paced, it won’t leave you time to catch your breath before the next shock comes. A forensic sculptor is locked in a deadly duel with a serial killer determined to destroy her—one life at a time.
Eve Duncan’s job is to put a face on the faceless victims of violent crimes. Her work not only comforts their survivors—but helps catch their killers. But there is another, more personal reason that Eve Duncan is driven to do the kind of work she does—a dark nightmare from a past she can never bury. And as she works on the skull of a newly discovered victim, that past is about to return all over again.
The victim is a Jane Doe found murdered, her face erased beyond recognition. But whoever killed her wasn’t just trying to hide her identity. The plan was far more horrifying. For as the face forms under Eve’s skilled hands, she is about to get the shock of her life. The victim is someone she knows all too well. Someone who isn’t dead. Yet.
Instantly Eve’s peaceful life is shattered. The sanctuary of the lakeside cottage she shares with Atlanta detective Joe Quinn and their adopted daughter Jane has been invaded by a killer who’s sent the grimmest of threats: the face of his next victim. To stop him, Eve must put her own life in the balance and question everything and everyone she trusts. Not even Quinn can go where Eve must go this time.
As the trail of faceless bodies leads to a chilling revelation, Eve finds herself trying to catch a master murderer whose grisly work is a testament to a mind warped by perversion and revenge. Now she must pit her skills against his in a showdown where the stakes are life itself—and where the unbearable cost of failure will make Eve’s own murder seem like a mercy killing.
When Lacey Quinn inherits the striking landscapes done by her late, much-loved grandfather, she believes they are as good as anything hanging in museums. But the paintings now in her possession are more than the works of a talented master. They are anguished voices from the grave . . . crying murder!
Lacey begins researching her grandfather's past, and is rocked almost immediately by a strange series of violent events. Someone wants to steal her inheritance, to reduce the paintings to unrecognizable ashes in a suspicious blaze. Someone wants to prevent Lacey from examining her grandfather's work too closely . . . by any means necessary.
Ian Lapstrake, a security specialist, has taken an interest in Lacey's inheritance . . . and in her. Troubled by what he sees, he becomes Lacey's shadow, as her search for answers leads them both down an ever-darkening road paved with lies, blood, and devastating secrets.
