"All That Is Secret"--from award-winning author Patricia Raybon comes a compelling new historical mystery series--introducing amateur detective Annalee Spain--featuring a riveting puzzle confronting the hidden secrets of class, race, family, and love

  

All That Is Secret

Can an amateur detective solve the cold case mystery of her lost father's murder?

In the winter of 1923, Professor Annalee Spain--a daring but overworked theologian at a small Chicago Bible college--receives a cryptic telegram calling her home to Denver to solve the mystery of the murder of her beloved but estranged father.

For a young Black woman, searching for answers in a city ruled by the KKK could mean real danger. Still, with her literary hero Sherlock Holmes as inspiration, Annalee launches her hunt for clues, attracting two surprising allies: Eddie, a relentless young white boy searching for his missing father, and Jack, a handsome Black pastor who loves nightclub dancing and rides in his sporty car, awakening Annalee's heart to the surprising highs and lows of romantic love.

With their help, Annalee follows clues that land her among Denver's powerful elite. But when their sleuthing unravels sinister motives and deep secrets, Annalee confronts the dangerous truths and beliefs that could make her a victim too.

 

Reviews

 

"A straight up mystery set in Denver, Colorado, in the Roaring 20s...You need to read this book." -- Chris Jager, Reviewer, Baker Book House

"It's the rare journalist who can succeed at also crafting compelling fiction. But that's what Raybon has done here with All That Is Secret, an engaging, evocative period piece as timely as tomorrow's news. Brava, Patricia for weaving a tale as instructive as it is captivating." -- Jerry B. Jenkins, New York Times Bestselling author

"A winner. Patricia Raybon's All That Is Secret is a fast-paced, intriguing mystery that grabs and holds the reader from the opening." -- Manuel Ramos, award-winning author of Angels in the Wind

"In Professor Annalee Spain, Patricia Raybon has created a real, rounded, and very human character. Not only a good mystery, but a realistic insight into the African American experience in the nineteen twenties." -- Rhys Bowen, New York Times, Wall Street Journal, USA Today and # Kindle bestselling author of the Molly Murphy and Royal Spyness mysteries and five internationally bestselling historical novels, including The Venice Sketchbook.

"Thrilling and engrossing. Patricia Raybon's novel races across its 1920s Denver landscape with an unforgettable protagonist, Professor Annalee Spain, at the wheel. The story of Annalee's murder mystery is engrossing, the history of the western city's racial divide enlightening. This intrepid sleuth would give Sherlock Holmes a run for his money."-- Sophfronia Scott, author of Unforgettable Love

"Patricia Raybon is a masterful storyteller. She is a standard-bearer for honesty as she takes her readers on a journey with an amateur sleuth who has the potential to change our perspectives and help us solve the mystery of how to come together and heal. I highly recommend it!" Dr. Brenda Salter McNeil, author of Becoming Brave: Finding the Courage to Pursue Racial Justice Now

"Readers will be hooked from the first line of Patricia Raybon's captivating debut novel, All That Is Secret. This well-respected nonfiction author proves her worth with fiction as she delivers rich characters and a page-turning mystery set in the beautiful wilds of Colorado." -- Julie Cantrell, New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of Perennials

 

 

Patricia Raybon

 

A writer of faith by day and mystery by night, Patricia Raybon is an award-winning Colorado author, essayist and novelist whose top-rated books explore the daring intersection of faith and race.

Her first fiction -- an historical detective series, All That Is Secret, set in 1923 in Colorado's Klan era -- is set to release Oct. 5, 2021, from Tyndale House.

http://www.patriciaraybon.com

 

"Girl in Ice"--by Erica Ferencik--from the author of "The River at Night" and "Into the Jungle" comes a harrowing new thriller set in the unforgiving landscape of the Arctic Circle, as a brilliant linguist struggling to understand the apparent suicide of her twin brother ventures hundreds of miles north to try to communicate with a young girl who has thawed from the ice alive

 

Girl in Ice

Valerie “Val” Chesterfield is a linguist trained in the most esoteric of disciplines: dead Nordic languages. Despite her successful career, she leads a sheltered life and languishes in the shadow of her twin brother Andy, an accomplished climate scientist stationed on a remote island off Greenland’s barren coast. But Andy is gone: a victim of suicide, having willfully ventured unprotected into 50 degree below zero weather. Val is inconsolable—and disbelieving. She suspects foul play.

When Wyatt, Andy’s fellow researcher in the Arctic, discovers a scientific impossibility­—a young girl frozen in the ice who thaws out alive, speaking a language no one understands—Val is his first call. Will she travel to the frozen North and meet this girl, try to comprehend what she is so passionately trying to communicate? Under the auspices of helping Wyatt interpret the girl’s speech, Val musters every ounce of her courage and journeys to the Artic to solve the mystery of her brother’s death.

The moment she steps off the plane, her fear threatens to overwhelm her. The landscape is fierce, and Wyatt, brilliant but difficult, is an enigma. But the girl is special, and Val’s connection with her is profound. Only something is terribly wrong; the child is sick, maybe dying, and the key to saving her lies in discovering the truth about Wyatt’s research. Can his data be trusted? And does it have anything to do with how and why Val’s brother died? With time running out, Val embarks on an incredible frozen odyssey—led by the unlikeliest of guides—to rescue the new family she has found in the most unexpected of places.

Reviews

 

"This dark, suspenseful, visceral thriller combines the pressing issue of our time—human destruction of the environment—with a gripping and beautifully written mystery set in the frigid far reaches of the Arctic Circle. Unflinching, devastating but ultimately hopeful, GIRL IN ICE grabbed me and didn’t let me go until the very last page." —A. J. Banner, #1 Amazon, USA Today and Publishers Weekly bestselling author

"This gorgeous, captivating thriller sets a dangerous, precious environment against an inner landscape of grief and longing. Moving, provocative, and breathlessly entertaining, this journey lingers long after the last page is turned." —Kassandra Montag, author of After the Flood

“With its jaw-dropping premise, unique locale, and great emotional depth, Ferencik’s latest adventure thriller is riveting from the first page to the last.” —Robyn Harding, bestselling author of The Perfect Family

 

 

Erica Ferencik

 

 

Oprah chose Erica Ferencik’s debut novel, The River at Night as a #1 Pick, calling the book “the page-turning novel you’ve been waiting for, a heart-pounding debut.” Entertainment Weekly named it a “Must Read,” and calls the novel “harrowing…a visceral, white knuckle rush.” Miramax has recently optioned the novel for a film. 

Her new novel, Into the Jungle, one woman's terrifying journey of survival in the Bolivian Amazon, will be released on May 28, 2019. Publishers Weekly gave it a starred review, calling it: “[A] ferocious fever dream of a thriller…Ferencik delivers an alternately terrifying and exhilarating tale.” Her work has appeared in Salon and The Boston Globe, as well as on National Public Radio. 

https://ericaferencik.com/ 

"Family Tree"--by Susan Wiggs--a powerful, emotionally complex story of love, loss, and the pain of the past—one woman’s triumph over betrayal, and how she eventually comes to terms with her past and finds promise for the future

Family Tree

Sometimes the greatest dream starts with the smallest element. A single cell, joining with another. And then dividing. And just like that, the world changes.

Annie Harlow knows how lucky she is. The producer of a popular television cooking show, she loves her handsome husband and the beautiful Los Angeles home they share. And now, she’s pregnant with their first child. But in an instant, her life is shattered. And when Annie awakes from a yearlong coma, she discovers that time isn’t the only thing she’s lost.

Grieving and wounded, Annie retreats to her old family home in Switchback, Vermont, a maple farm generations old. There, surrounded by her free-spirited brother, their divorced mother, and four young nieces and nephews, Annie slowly emerges into a world she left behind years ago: the town where she grew up, the people she knew before, the high-school boyfriend turned judge. And with the discovery of a cookbook her grandmother wrote in the distant past, Annie unearths an age-old mystery that might prove the salvation of the family farm.

Family Tree is the story of one woman’s triumph over betrayal, and how she eventually comes to terms with her past. It is the story of joys unrealized and opportunities regained. Complex, clear-eyed and big-hearted, funny, sad, and wise, it is a novel to cherish and to remember. 

 

The Key Ingredient

From #1 New York Times bestselling author Susan Wiggs comes a wonderful companion story to her unforgettable novel Family Tree

Every great love story has a beginning. Annie Rush’s started at a food cart in a vibrant city park. Annie, then a film student, came across a ruggedly handsome, charismatic chef serving up gourmet street food to an ever-growing clientele lining up for his creations. Together, Annie and Martin Harlow conceived The Key Ingredient, a cooking show featuring Martin as the star while Annie handles production.

As they travel to Annie’s Vermont hometown to film their pilot episode, she realizes that she might want to create more than television magic with Martin. But does he feel the same way? The weather is miserable, their shoot is a disaster, and the maple syrup just isn’t flowing. While Annie tries to cling to her vision for their show, she can’t help but wonder if she could be as unlucky in work as she is in love. Is she always destined to stay behind the scenes?

Just as some recipes only come together at the last minute with the addition of a key ingredient, sometimes a single moment can change everything—turning Annie’s life into a cornucopia of good fortune, the feast of her dreams.

Reviews

 

“Clever, creative, and ingenious, this is Susan Wiggs at her best. I devoured the book, turning the pages so fast I got a papercut.” -- Debbie Macomber

“Love, loss, passion, and everything in between...I love Susan Wiggs’ novels so much.” -- Jenny Colgan

“A wonderful read, fun and wise, and absolutely delicious.” -- Nancy Thayer, New York Times-bestselling author of The Island House

“Wiggs…[tackles] a complicated dual storyline with her typical blend of authenticity and sensitivity. A compelling exploration of self, family, love, and the power of new beginnings.” -- Kirkus Reviews

“Soul-satisfying...Will delight readers of Robyn Carr and Debbie Macomber...Wiggs writes with effortless grace about what breaks families apart and what brings them back together. Add this to her gift for crafting exquisitely nuanced characters and flair for perfectly capturing the rhythm of life in a small town.” -- Booklist (starred review)

“This sweet yet dramatic and winding love story demonstrates the realities and complexities of love. Recommended for fans of realistic, heartwarming romances full of second chances.” -- Library Journal

“Emotionally honest, poignant and including a delightful thread of humor… Family Tree is a story of one woman’s journey through betrayal and pain to emerge triumph as she learns to embrace the new challenges life has in store for her.” -- RT Book Reviews 

 

 

Susan Wiggs

 

Susan Wiggs's life is all about family, friends...and fiction. She lives at the water's edge on an island in Puget Sound, and she commutes to her writers' group in a 17-foot motorboat. She serves as author liaison for Field's End, a literary community on Bainbridge Island, Washington, bringing inspiration and instruction from the world's top authors to her seaside community. (See www.fieldsend.org) She's been featured in the national media, including NPR's "Talk of the Nation," and is a popular speaker locally and nationally.

According to Publishers Weekly, Wiggs writes with "refreshingly honest emotion," and the Salem Statesman Journal adds that she is "one of our best observers of stories of the heart [who] knows how to capture emotion on virtually every page of every book." Booklist characterizes her books as "real and true and unforgettable." She is the recipient of three RITA (sm) awards and four starred reviews from Publishers Weekly for her books. The Winter Lodge and Passing Through Paradise have appeared on PW’s annual "Best Of" lists. Several of her books have been listed as top Booksense picks and optioned as feature films. Her novels have been translated into more than two dozen languages and have made national bestseller lists, including the USA Today, Washington Post and New York Times lists.

The author is a former teacher, a Harvard graduate, an avid hiker, an amateur photographer, a good skier and terrible golfer, yet her favorite form of exercise is curling up with a good book. Readers can learn more on the web at www.susanwiggs.com and on her lively blog at www.susanwiggs.wordpress.com.

Author MARY BURTON'S gritty, tense "CRIMINAL PROFILER SERIES"--page-turning contemporary romantic suspense mysteries--expect the unexpected (see my reviews)

  

Don't Look Now

A homicide detective in the dark. A serial killer on the loose. Both have their obsessions in a nerve-twisting novel of suspense by New York Times bestselling author Mary Burton.

Austin homicide detective Jordan Poe is hunting a serial killer she fears is the same man who assaulted her sister, Avery, two years ago. The details line up: the victims are the same age, same type, dead by the same grim MO. Luckily Avery survived. But the terrible memories linger, making Jordan more determined than ever to stop this monster in his tracks.

Texas Ranger Carter Spencer isn’t one to poach on a detective’s territory. Yet no matter how resentful a capable lone wolf like Jordan is, when she is attacked at a third crime scene and suffers a trauma that leaves her with limited vision, it’s up to Carter to help Jordan navigate a world she no longer recognizes. He needs her instinct, her experience, and her fearless resolve to crack this case. A case that’s about to get even darker.

A stranger is watching. He’s closing in on his ultimate prey. And no one but the killer can see what’s coming.

MY REVIEW: An intense, chilling opening sets the tone for "Don't Look Now", a thrilling police procedural from acclaimed suspense author Mary Burton. When Austin, TX Homicide Detective Jordan Poe is called to a grisly murder scene, painful memories are brought back from a similar crime that had happened two years ago--one that involved her own sister, Avery. Both young  women were petite blondes with drug habits. Jordan had managed to find Avery and save her with just seconds to spare. After their mother's death, Jordan had always worried about her younger sister's welfare, and Avery's drug use had long been a bone of contention between them. After her near-death experience, Avery had made an attempt to stay clean. When another victim with a similar crime scene MO is discovered, local law enforcement brings in Texas Ranger Carter Spencer to assist in the investigation. There is tension at first between Jordan and Carter--she didn't like handing over the case to someone else. However, when Jordan is attacked at a third crime scene, she suffers an injury which causes her vision to be impaired. She must now rely on Carter to help her, and he needs her knowledge, intuition, and skill to help him catch a serial killer. A growing mutual respect blooms into friendship, and then into something more. This case is deeper, darker, and more personal than they first realized. The evil is far closer and stronger than they could have imagined. Can they survive the truth and bring this reign of terror to an end? With Jordan's future in law enforcement in question, can love find a way to bring new hope and make wishes for happiness together come true? Author Mary Burton's detailed, descriptive writing will give you goosebumps as you keep reading until the last page is turned.

Book Copy Gratis Author

 

Never Look Back

After multiple women go missing, Agent Melina Shepard of the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation makes the impulsive decision to go undercover as a prostitute. While working the street, she narrowly avoids becoming a serial killer’s latest victim; as much as it pains her to admit, she needs backup.

Enter lone wolf FBI agent Jerrod Ramsey. Stonewalled by a lack of leads, he and Melina investigate a scene where a little girl has been found abandoned in a crashed vehicle. They open the trunk to reveal a horror show and quickly realize they’re dealing with two serial killers with very different MOs. The whole situation brings back memories for Melina—why does this particular case feel so connected to her painful past?

Before time runs out, Melina must catch not one but two serial killers, both ready to claim another victim—and both with their sights set on her.

MY REVIEW:  "Never Look Back" is Book Three in the "Criminal Profilers Series" from master of contemporary romantic suspense, author Mary Burton. An appropriately creepy prologue gives us a chilling look into the mind of a serial killer--and that's just the beginning of this suspenseful race-against-the-clock thriller in which a Tennessee state investigator and an FBI agent must work together to stop a killing spree and solve a mystery. When women who earn their living by walking the streets of Nashville begin to disappear, Reverend Sarah Beckett, who runs "The Mission", a halfway house for prostitutes, calls a friend for help. Melina Shepard, who works for the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, doesn't hesitate to go undercover posing as a prostitute while searching for clues to the disappearances. After surviving a too-close call with a serial killer, Melina joins forces with Jerrod Ramsey, and FBI agent who has been chasing this particular killer for years. As the danger around Melina and Jerrod grows, so does the awareness between them. The investigation becomes more complex and more perilous when it becomes clear that there actually two killers at work, and each has Melina in his target sights for his own twisted reasons. Working together as a team, can Jerrod and Melina bring to an end a deadly double reign of terror? They can protect one another's lives, but can they protect their hearts from each other? Mary Burton's suspense thrillers are rich in procedural detail, and "Never Look Back" is entertaining and addictive as the lead characters put their criminal profiler skills to use analyzing those around them--and each other. A highly-recommended series for lovers of top-notch contemporary romantic suspense.

Book Copy Gratis Author




I See You 

FBI special agent Zoe Spencer uses skeletal remains to recreate the faces of murder victims through sculpture. Though highly scientific, the process is also sensitive and intimate; she becomes attached to the individuals she identifies, desperate to find justice for each.

As Zoe examines old remains, she sees a teenage girl looking back at her—the victim in a cold case from over a decade ago. Zoe wants nothing more than to tell this young woman’s story and to bring her killer to justice.

Zoe’s case leads her to the victim’s hometown and to homicide detective William Vaughan, Zoe’s on-again, off-again lover. As the two become more involved in the case, they quickly realize that it isn’t as cold as they first believed: someone’s still out there hunting women. And with more women gone missing, time’s running out. Can they work together and stop this madman before he kills again?

MY REVIEW: Author Mary Burton continues her thrilling "Criminal Profiler Series" with Book #2, "I See You". A tip to an investigative journalist leads to the discovery of skeletal remains from an almost twenty-year old crime. Forensic artist and FBI Special Agent Zoe Spencer uses her skills and intuition to recreate the image of the victim through an eerily life-like sculpture. When Zoe's boss recognizes the face as that of a young college student who had vanished without a trace all those years ago, a tumultuous chain of events will follow. Zoe is reconnected with Detective William Vaughan, whom she had first met when he was a student at one of her training seminars. A mutual attraction had led to a casual involvement. When more violence against women occurs, and the old case is linked with the new crimes, Zoe and William must work together to stop a killer. The more time they spend together, the more their appreciation and awareness of each other grows--could it lead to more than a brief affair? Author Mary Burton has a way of drawing readers into her stories that keeps the pages turning, and when one story ends, you can't wait for the next one to begin. "I See You" is highly recommended for lovers of romantic suspense and top-notch police procedural thrillers.

Book Copy Gratis Author 




Hide and Seek

She’s hunting. He’s watching.
 
Special Agent Macy Crow is a survivor. After a vicious hit-and-run nearly kills her, she gets right back to work, and now she’s gunning for a spot on the FBI’s elite profiling team. As an audition, she offers to investigate the recently discovered bones of Tobi Turner, a high school girl who disappeared fifteen years ago.
While investigating with local sheriff Mike Nevada, a former colleague and onetime lover, Macy discovers a link between Tobi’s case and several others that occurred around the same time as her disappearance. As Macy interviews victims and examines old cases, she uncovers a sinister picture of a stalker who graduated to sexual assault—and then murder.

Macy and Nevada race to put this monster behind bars before he can come out of hiding. But the murderer’s had years to hone his skills, and soon Macy herself becomes a target. She’s no stranger to pain and terror, but will Macy’s first profiling case be her last?

“In this gripping sequel to Cut and Run…Burton delivers an irresistible, tension-filled plot with plenty of twists. The characters resonate with an intimate, small-town feel, and the tender romance between Macy and Mike complements the plot nicely. Lovers of romantic thrillers won’t be disappointed.” —Publishers Weekly 




Cut and Run

Twin sisters separated by the past are reunited by unspeakable crimes in New York Times bestselling author Mary Burton’s throat-clutching novel of suspense…

Trauma victims are not new to medical examiner Faith McIntyre, but this one is different. The unconscious woman clinging to life after a hit and run is FBI agent Macy Crow. What the woman from Quantico was doing in a dark alley after midnight is just one mystery. The other is more unsettling: Macy is Faith’s mirror image—the twin sister she never knew she had.

Faith knew that she was adopted, but now she’s finding that her childhood concealed other secrets. Following the trail of clues Macy left behind, Faith and Texas Ranger Mitchell Hayden make a shocking discovery on an isolated country ranch—a burial ground for three women who disappeared thirty years before.

They weren’t the only victims in a killer’s twisted plot. And they won’t be the last.

As the missing pieces of Faith’s and Macy’s dark lives snap into place, Faith is becoming more terrified by what she sees—and by what she must do to save her sister and herself from the past.

“Burton can always be counted on for her smart heroines and tightly woven plots.” —For the Love of Books

“Must-read romantic suspense…Burton is a bona-fide suspense superstar. And her books may be peppered with enough twists and turns to give you whiplash, but the simmering romance she builds makes for such a compelling, well-rounded story.” —USA Today’s Happy Ever After 

 

 

The Last Move

In this gripping thriller from bestselling author Mary Burton, an FBI agent must catch a copycat killer. The only difference this time: she’s the final victim.

Catching monsters helps FBI agent Kate Hayden keep her nightmares at bay. Now an urgent call brings her back to San Antonio, the scene of her violent past. A brutal new murder shows hallmarks of a serial killer nicknamed the Samaritan. Tricky part is, Kate already caught him.

Either Kate made a deadly error, or she’s got a copycat on her hands. Paired with homicide detective Theo Mazur, she quickly realizes this murder is more twisted than it first appeared. Then a second body is found, the mode of death identical to a different case that Kate thought she’d put behind her.

Now Kate and Detective Mazur aren’t just working a homicide; the investigative pair is facing a formidable enemy who knows Kate intimately. While Mazur is personally trying to protect Kate, the closer they are drawn to the killer, the clearer it becomes that in this terrifying game, there is only one rule: don’t believe everything you see…

“Mary Burton executes a fantastic adventure for readers with this in-depth psychological thriller mystery.” ―Night Owl Reviews (Top Pick)

“The Last Move is a very well written, strongly plotted thriller…” ―All About Romance

“Disturbing, engrossing, and adrenaline pumping!” ―What’s Better Than Books?

 

Mary Burton

 

Mary Burton loves writing suspense, getting to know her characters, keeping up with law enforcement and forensic procedure, morning walks, baking, and tiny dachshunds. She also enjoys hunting down serial killers, which she does in her New York Times and USA Today bestselling novels. She is a 2019 Montlake Romance Diamond Award winner signifying she’s reached one million readers. Library Journal has compared her work to that of Lisa Jackson and Lisa Gardner, and Fresh Fiction has likened her writing to that of James Patterson.

Mary is routinely featured among the top ten writers in Amazon’s Author Rankings for romantic suspense. Upon publication, her books, including her recent titles I See You, Hide and Seek, Cut and Run and Her Last Word, consistently rank high on the Kindle eBooks Store Bestseller List.

Research is a favorite part of Mary’s workday. She never tires of delving into police work, evidence collection and analysis. She’s known for taking a hands-on approach, whether it means interviews with professionals in the field, forensic seminars or lessons at the firing range.

A Richmond native, Mary has lived there for most of her life. She’s a graduate of Virginia’s Hollins University and worked in marketing before she began writing full time. Her first book was published in 2000. Today she’s the author of thirty-three published novels and five novellas as Mary Burton and six works of contemporary fiction as Mary Ellen Taylor, including her recent Winter Cottage and Spring House and upcoming Honeysuckle Season. She’s co-editor, with novelist Mary Miley, of Deadly Southern Charm, A Lethal Ladies Mystery Anthology.
A member of International Thriller Writers, Sisters in Crime, Mystery Writers of America, Novelists, Inc., and Romance Writers of America, Mary is known for creating multiple suspense stories connected by characters and/or place.

Though she enjoys traveling for research and visiting readers at festivals, reader conferences and other book events, she remains very much a homebody. There she and her husband spend time alternately enjoying their empty nest and spoiling their four-legged babies Buddy, Bella and Tiki.

http://www.maryburton.com/

 

"Painted Horses"--by Malcolm Brooks--Rich with history, and offering an involving story line and compelling characters, "Painted Horses" is a memorable debut from author Malcolm Brooks. (see my review)

 

Painted Horses

In the mid-1950s, America was flush with prosperity and saw an unbroken line of progress clear to the horizon, while the West was still very much wild. In this ambitious, incandescent debut, Malcolm Brooks animates that time and untamed landscape, in a tale of the modern and the ancient, of love and fate, and of heritage threatened by progress.

Catherine Lemay is a young archaeologist on her way to Montana, with a huge task before her—a canyon “as deep as the devil’s own appetites.” Working ahead of a major dam project, she has one summer to prove nothing of historical value will be lost in the flood. From the moment she arrives, nothing is familiar—the vastness of the canyon itself mocks the contained, artifact-rich digs in post-Blitz London where she cut her teeth. And then there’s John H, a former mustanger and veteran of the U.S. Army’s last mounted cavalry campaign, living a fugitive life in the canyon. John H inspires Catherine to see beauty in the stark landscape, and her heart opens to more than just the vanished past. Painted Horses sends a dauntless young woman on a heroic quest, sings a love song to the horseman’s vanishing way of life, and reminds us that love and ambition, tradition and the future, often make strange bedfellows. It establishes Malcolm Brooks as an extraordinary new talent.

MY REVIEW:  The American West of the Post-WWII Era is the perfect time frame and setting for this striking tale of the eternal struggle between the greed of man, the force of nature, and the timelessness of elemental truth. In the wild beauty of Montana, Catherine Lemay will discover, in a life-changing manner, that much of what she thought she knew of herself and the world around her was masked by pleasant illusions. Hired as an archaeologist by a power company to prove that their expansive dam project will not destroy irreplaceable historic treasures, Catherine will learn that she is expected to find nothing of significance--nothing that will impede "progress". However, what she discovers about the land, the wild horses that refuse to be vanquished, and the workings of her own heart will not be denied. John H, the man who will lead Catherine to see with new eyes and will touch her very soul, is much like the hunted horses himself. A veteran and horseman living outside of society in the refuge of the great canyon, his paintings of horses on cave walls tell an ancient, ongoing story. Rich with history, and offering an involving story line and compelling characters, "Painted Horses" is a memorable debut from author Malcolm Brooks.

Book Copy Gratis Amazon Vine

Reviews

“Engrossing . . . The best novels are not just written but built—scene by scene, character by character—until a world emerges for readers to fall into. Painted Horses creates several worlds.” —USA Today (4 out of 4 stars)

“Extraordinary . . . both intimate and sweeping in a way that may remind readers of Michael Ondaatje’s The English Patient . . . Painted Horses is, after all, one of those big, old-fashioned novels where the mundane and the unlikely coexist.”—Boston Globe

“Malcolm Brooks’ novel has the hard thrill of the West, when it was still a new world, the tenderness of first love and the pain of knowledge. This book is a gripping, compulsively readable page-turner.”—Amy Bloom, author of Away

“Painted Horses reads like a cross between Charles Frazier’s Cold Mountain and Ernest Hemingway’s A Farewell to Arms, with a pinch of Michael Ondaatje’s The English Patient for good measure. . . . An earnest, romantic novel.”—The Dallas Morning News

“Lush, breathtaking prose that expertly captures the raw essence of an American West known for its wide-open spaces and unbridled spirit. . . . Masterful.” —San Francisco Chronicle

“Reminiscent of the fiery, lyrical and animated spirit of Cormac McCarthy’s Border trilogy, and the wisdom and elegance of Wallace Stegner’s Angle of Repose, Painted Horses is its own work, a big, old-fashioned and important novel.”—Rick Bass, author of All the Land to Hold Us

“Evocative . . . Brooks’ prose rings true.”—The Seattle Times

“Painted Horses is evidence that the many-peopled, colorific, panoramic, fully-wraparound, pull-you-in-by-the-heels, big-questions, literarily deft ‘Great American Novel’ still lives.”—Carolyn Chute, author of The Beans of Egypt, Maine and Treat Us Like Dogs and We Will Become Wolves

“Grandly romantic . . . Blood. Sex. War. Equine Expertise. Past versus Progress. Money versus Love and Sacred Places. One can almost hear Hollywood’s horsemen rumbling toward this tale.” —Orion

“Painted Horses is a wonderful novel full of horses, archeology, the new West, and two fascinating women. Malcolm Brooks should be lauded for this amazing debut. Very fine.”—Jim Harrison, author of Legends of the Fall and Brown Dog

“Painted Horses vividly evokes an earlier time, a place and a way of being that is at the cusp of great change. In his gift for the language of horses and the culture of horsemen, Brooks will inevitably recall Cormac McCarthy. And like Ivan Doig in Bucking the Sun, he mines one of the darker veins in the mythology of the American West”—The Washington Post

“A love song to the Western frontier, Painted Horses is a new, truly American, work of art.”—San Antonio Current

“Malcolm Brooks has the same intuitive understanding of women that his character John H has of horses. Painted Horses is a beautiful, sensual, authentic novel. A western novel that is about so much more than the West, it is an exquisite, enthralling debut.”—Lily King, author of Euphoria

“The next great western novel . . . Vivid—and often romantic . . . The past echoes through the canyons of the West in this richly layered first novel.”—The Daily Beast

“Ambitious and affecting . . . A sweeping and dramatic saga.”—Big Sky Journal

 

Malcolm Brooks

"I was born near Philadelphia in 1970 but my parents headed west before a full year had passed, caught up in the classic American tradition of hitting the trail after a different destiny. I latched on to the trappings of that myth right off the bat--according to my mother, I stretched out the springs on two hobby-horses before I was three, galloping along in front of the stereo speakers to "Rocky Raccoon," or "Riders on the Storm," or whatever soundtrack she thought might fit.

I grew up mainly in Northern California in a fairly rural part of the Sierra foothills, a place fairly littered with the old artifacts of long-lost Indian tribes and the 1849 Gold Rush. My brothers and I used to find Czech trade beads on a property we rode horses on, and old prospecting implements and the remnants of mining camps everywhere. Forgotten stone chimneys, rusting pickaxes half-buried in the ground. Most kids' interest ran from indifferent to momentarily piqued, but I saw the stuff in my dreams, would spend hours in a 19th century graveyard just to wonder who these people were.

I read a lot from an early age and by junior high had diverse interests, from paperback Westerns to English mysteries to blockbuster historical novels. Then my eighth grade English teacher, Marcia Callenberger, gave me a novel that changed my life, because it made me want to be a writer. "Lonesome Dove" was unlike anything I'd ever read, a hilarious, character-driven epic that followed no formula but struck me in the heart like nothing before.

I knocked around the West in my early twenties, learning carpentry along the way to support myself and attempting college in fits and starts. I still read like crazy, discovering Hemingway and Fitzgerald, Cormac McCarthy and Michael Ondaatje, knowing I wanted to be a writer but not quite knowing what sort of writer I wanted to be, like a guitarist with a schizoid devotion to both Segovia and Angus Young. Thomas McGuane struck a chord with me because he was clearly connected to so many things I myself had a love for--horses and fly-fishing, bird shooting and the West and above all stylish writing.

I finally landed in Missoula, Montana in my mid-twenties, tackling an English degree in earnest and finding my way to literary parties and events through my then-girlfriend, a poet and MFA candidate. I hunted a lot and rode horses when I could, wrote a couple of novels I hated and began to publish essays and short stories in magazines, then landed a job as a writer and consultant for an outdoor television company. Eventually I wound up in front of the camera myself, hosting a hunting-oriented target competition called "The Shooters" and all the while concocting this novel in my head, this huge, sprawling book that would somehow connect the dots of everything I'd ever been consumed by, archaeology and the West, Basques and Indians and the Lascaux cave, hunting and horses and the inevitable pros and cons of progress.

Six years later, I named it "Painted Horses.""

https://malcolm-brooks.com/titles.html

"Little Century"--by Anna Keesey--A beautifully-told and richly-realized prairie tale, "Little Century" will find and hold its place in the reader's mind. A reminder of the frontier power struggles which shaped the America in which we now live, it is also a portrait of a hopeful girl who becomes a strong, resourceful woman. (see my review)

 

Little Century

In the tradition of such classics as My Ántonia and There Will Be Blood, Anna Keesey's Little Century is a resonant and moving debut novel by a writer of confident gifts.

Orphaned after the death of her mother, eighteen-year-old Esther Chambers heads west in search of her only living relative. In the lawless frontier town of Century, Oregon, she's met by her distant cousin, a laconic cattle rancher named Ferris Pickett. Pick leads her to a tiny cabin by a small lake called Half-a-Mind, and there she begins her new life as a homesteader. If she can hold out for five years, the land will join Pick's already impressive spread.

But Esther discovers that this town on the edge of civilization is in the midst of a range war. There's plenty of land, but somehow it is not enough for the ranchers--it's cattle against sheep, with water at a premium. In this charged climate, small incidents of violence swiftly escalate, and Esther finds her sympathies divided between her cousin and a sheepherder named Ben Cruff, a sworn enemy of the cattle ranchers. As her feelings for Ben and for her land grow, she begins to see she can't be loyal to both.

Little Century maps our country's cutthroat legacy of dispossession and greed, even as it celebrates the ecstatic visions of what America could become.

MY REVIEW:  A beautifully-told and richly-realized prairie tale, Anna Keesey's "Little Century" will find and hold its place in the reader's mind. A reminder of the frontier power struggles which shaped the America in which we now live, it is also a portrait of a hopeful girl who becomes a strong, resourceful woman. After her mother's death, eighteen-year-old Esther Chambers heads West to the rough and tumble town of Century, Oregon, where her distant cousin lives. Ferris Pickett, Anna's only remaining family, helps her to set up a homestead, planning to later claim her land for himself. Life is hard and the work is unending--hardship is the rule, not the exception. However, Esther proves to be far more resilient than she ever imagined, coming into her own as she comes to love the land and the people. She cares for her rancher cousin Pick, but finds her heart and loyalties divided when she falls for sheepherder Ben Cruff. Caught in the middle of a violent and timeless conflict between the cattlemen and the herders, Esther must fight to hold on to what she holds most dear. I love westerns and prairie tales, especially when the characters are so wonderfully drawn. The great country in which we live today could never have been born without the spirit, courage, and sacrifices of those who came before us. Recommended for lovers of the Old West and American History and for those who long to step into the past, even just in dreams.

Book Copy Gratis Amazon Vine 

Reviews

 

Little Century . . . is rendered vividly through fluid and restrained prose, solid plotting and a keen eye for detail . . . Keesey, a graduate of the Iowa Writers' Workshop, treads [her] territory competently, imbuing her characters with palpable motives, rich contradictions and fully realized pasts. She also stays atop the rising action of the story, upping the stakes for her characters and the town of Century as she herds us efficiently toward the conclusion. At the same time, she knows not to hurry readers along without letting them soak up the atmosphere. The real star of the novel is Oregon's high desert, a vast, quiet plain Keesey captures in many of its dynamic moods, in language ranging from the plain­spoken to the elegant . . . [Keesey's] language serves the story admirably, rarely crossing the line into the self-conscious, the sentimental or the flashy. In short, Keesey is a sentence writer in control of her craft. She's a storyteller who stays out of her own way. (Jonathan Evison, The New York Times Book Review)

Ambitious . . . Accomplished . . . [Keesey's] words are clear as lake water . . . [The] plot works easily and well, but the real joys of the book are the set pieces showing town life and Esther's almost unnoticed passage into womanhood. There's a church dance, effortlessly drawn, and a couple of sermons, boring and portentous, and scenes of Esther learning to ride and plant and plow, and a perfect little scene of Esther and a friend helping a little girl jump rope . . . 'Tender' is a word Keesey uses again and again to describe her characters. She mothers them, cares about them like children, wants to protect them from the hell they have been so intent upon making. She persuades the reader to cherish them, as well. (Carolyn See, The Washington Post)

[A] briskly romantic, nontraditional Western . . . It's Willa Cather with a sense of humor . . . Keesey portrays her men and women as deeply flawed but so achingly vulnerable that it is impossible not to identify with them. (Liza Nelson, O: The Oprah Magazine)

There's not a single sentence in this novel that reads like it took hard work. The characters, sprung from another time, living in a place as removed as another planet, come to life on the page, and all their flaws feel as consistent and true as the flaws of our dearest loved ones in this work of near perfection (Elizabeth Word Gutting, The Rumpus)

Keesey writes lyrically and examines the ferocity of frontier life with an unromantic and penetrating voice. (Kirkus Reviews (starred review))

Highly entertaining reading. First novelist Keesey has produced a top-notch novel of Western Americana. (Keddy Ann Outlaw, Library Journal (starred review))

Confidently energetic . . . While Keesey offers a variety of characters with intriguing stories of their own, it is the richly depicted setting--from desert to dry good store--that showcases her talent. (Publishers Weekly)

Here is a fine novel, written with grace, about the settling of Oregon and the evening redness in the West. The desert town of Century is about to consume itself with greed and vengeance when a young orphan from Chicago shows up with a moral clarity that outstrips her age, to remind us that character matters, and that justice is pursuant to conscience. Little Century is a frontier saga, a love story, and an epic of many small pleasures. (Joshua Ferris, author of Then We Came to the End)

'One place understood helps us understand all other places better,' Eudora Welty once said, and such is the case in this outstanding debut. Anna Keesey renders Little Century's time and place marvelously, but the novel's concerns are timeless and universal. With its beautiful language, memorable characters, and compelling story, Little Century is sure to gain a wide and appreciative audience. (Ron Rash, author of Serena)

This is a beautiful and completely absorbing book. In spare, luminous prose, Anna Keesey perfectly conjures the textures, characters, and urgency of life in Century. I read it at a gallop, and didn't want it to end. (Madeline Miller, author of The Song of Achilles)

Little Century is rich and true and achingly beautiful. Its heroine, Esther Chambers, is the kind found in the best classic literature: an innocent caught against the backdrop of escalating violence whose essential goodness and loyalty shine through the savagery around her. (Kathleen Kent, author of The Heretic's Daughter)

In this novel of stunning beauty, Anna Keesey gives us the American West at the turn of the century, and a cast of unforgettable characters who will risk anything to tame it. Oregon's hardscrabble frontier comes utterly alive for us in prose so lovely, spot-on, and accomplished that I found myself dog-earing nearly every page. An incredible debut--and a writer to watch. (Paula McLain, author of The Paris Wife)

Anna Keesey conjures her Western landscape of ranches and homesteads with painterly richness, but it's her uncanny historical imagination that really takes the breath away. Her characters pulse with life; their times feel as immediate, as urgent and vital, as our own. (Peter Ho Davies, author of The Welsh Girl)

Historical fiction at its finest--precise and particular in detail, character, and setting, yet vast and epic in scope and theme. Little Century is a remarkable achievement. (Larry Watson, author of Montana 1948) 

 

 

 

Anna Keesey

 

Anna Keesey is the author of LITTLE CENTURY, a literary historical novel set in the high desert country of Central Oregon in the year 1900, published June 2012 by Farrar, Straus & Giroux. In its debut season, LITTLE CENTURY has been given highest marks by readers and literary critics (New York Times book review, The Washington Post, O Magazine, the Boston Globe, the Millions, The Rumpus), who love its engrossing mystery, the tenderness of its romance, its haunting western landscape, and the exhilarating transformation of its young heroine.

Keesey's fiction, nonfiction, and book reviews have also appeared in journals and newspapers such as Grand Street, Tin House Magazine, The Best American Short Stories, The Chicago Tribune and the Oregonian. She has been the recipient of awards, prizes and residencies from the National Endowment for the Arts, The Fine Arts Work Center in Provincetown, and Nimrod International Journal of Prose and Poetry. Keesey grew up in Oregon, and attended Stanford University and the University of Iowa Writers Workshop. After many years in other places, she now lives in Oregon's Yamhill Valley and teaches undergraduate writers at Linfield College, a selective small liberal arts college in McMinnville.

Many of the glowing reviews of LITTLE CENTURY are collected under the blog tab on Keesey's website, www.annakeesey.com. Keesey has also had many discussions with interviewers, radio hosts, and readers, and these are also collected under the blog tab on the website. She can be contacted several ways via the website. Happy reading!

https://annakeesey.com

"Maud's Line"--by Margaret Verble--set in the late 1920's of Eastern Oklahoma, "Maud's Line" is a gritty, compelling fiction debut--a vivid blend of American history, the author's own Cherokee legacy, and Maud's well-imagined story (see my review)

 

Maud's Line

Eastern Oklahoma, 1928. Eighteen-year-old Maud Nail lives with her rogue father and sensitive brother on one of the allotments parceled out by the U.S. Government to the Cherokees when their land was confiscated for Oklahoma’s statehood. Maud’s days are filled with hard work and simple pleasures, but often marked by violence and tragedy, a fact that she accepts with determined practicality. Her prospects for a better life are slim, but when a newcomer with good looks and books rides down her section line, she takes notice. Soon she finds herself facing a series of high-stakes decisions that will determine her future and those of her loved ones.

Maud’s Line is accessible, sensuous, and vivid. It will sit on the bookshelf alongside novels by Jim Harrison, Louise Erdrich, Sherman Alexie, and other beloved chroniclers of the American West and its people.

MY REVIEW:  Set in the late 1920's of Eastern Oklahoma, "Maud's Line" is a gritty, compelling fiction debut from author Margaret Verble. A vivid blend of American history, the author's own Cherokee legacy, and Maud's well-imagined story, the novel takes place in the government land allotments parceled out to the Cherokee people when their own lands were confiscated to enhance the statehood process. Maud Naill is an attractive young woman who works hard, accepts more than her share of family responsibility, and for all practical purposes, knows that a routine life, based around the land, will be her future. A newcomer to the territory, a peddler with good looks and books, will change forever change Maud's life and expectations. A green-eyed widower with a pleasing manner and the allure of travels and experiences Maud has never known, Booker Wakefield captures her attention and turns her thoughts to more than her everyday existence. But as he steals her heart, is theirs meant to be a permanent relationship, or will the peddler's wagon continue its journeys? A story as raw and real as Oklahoma territory itself, "Maud's Line" is an entertaining tale featuring an intriguing heroine who will leave a lasting impression with readers.

Book Copy Gratis Houghton Mifflin Harcourt via Library Thing 

Reviews

 

Finalist for the Pulitzer Prize

"A novel whose humble prose seems well-suited to the remote American milieu it so engagingly evokes: the Indian allotments of 1920s Oklahoma."—Pulitzer Prize citation

"[Margaret Verble] gives careful consideration to place, having spent a lot of time on these lands, rivers and streams, and through direct encounters with all the inhabitants of this place - both people and animals, their natures and behaviors. This is all rich source material that informs her writing. Maud's Line is filled with the deeper truths that stem from these stories."—National Museum of the American Indian

"Maud’s Line is a page-turner whose spare, vivid prose brings its characters to life in a time, place and circumstances that few non-Indians know much about."—Lexington Herald-Leader

"In clean, spare prose, Margaret Verble describes a people’s struggle to maintain a culture and an identity that both sustains and imprisons them. Her observations of the beauty and anguish of this life, and her vivid heroine, make this as good a novel as I’ve read all year."—Historical Novel Society

"Maud is refreshingly open and honest about her own sexuality though conscious of her place as a woman in a sexist society, always careful not to insult the intelligence or manhood of her male friends and relations. Verble writes in a simple style that matches the hardscrabble setting and plainspoken characters. Verble, herself a member of the Cherokee Nation, tells a compelling story peopled with flawed yet sympathetic characters, sharing insights into Cherokee society on the parcels of land allotted to them after the Trail of Tears."—Kirkus

"First novelist Verble, herself an enrolled member of the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma, does a beautiful job of limning a sometimes hardscrabble Indian life that nevertheless has the comfort that familiarity and extended family bring. Place is especially important to the author’s story, and its setting is beautifully realized, as are the characters who populate this gentle novel...Pair this one with novels by Louise Erdrich."—Booklist

"Maud's Line is filled with evocative glimpses of violence, viscera, yearning and the brusque but communal caring of family...Verble crafts a story filled with nuance and quiet conflict."—Shelf Awareness

“Writing as though Daniel Woodrell nods over one shoulder and the spirit of Willa Cather over the other, Margaret Verble gives us Maud, a gun-toting, book-loving, dream-chasing young woman whose often agonizing dilemmas can only be countered by sheer strength of heart.”—Malcolm Brooks, author of Painted Horses

"I want to live with Maud in a little farm in a little valley under the shadow of a mountain wall. Maud's Line is an absolutely wonderful novel and Margaret Verble can drop you from great heights and still easily pick you up. I will read anything she writes, with enthusiasm.”—Jim Harrison, author of Dalva, Legends of the Fall, and The Big Seven 

 

“Margaret Verble gives us a gorgeous window onto the Cherokee world in Oklahoma, 1927. Verble’s voice is utterly authentic, tender and funny, vivid and smart, and she creates a living community – the Nail family, Maud herself, her father, Mustard, and brother, Lovely,  and the brothers Blue and Early, the quiet, tender-mouthed mare Leaf, and the big landscape of the bottoms – the land given to the Cherokees after the Trail of Tears. Beyond the allotments, it opens up into the wild, which is more or less what Verble does with this narrative. A wonderful debut novel.” —Roxana Robinson, author of Sparta

 

 

Margaret Verble

 

 

Margaret Verble's first novel, Maud's Line, was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 2016. Her second novel, Cherokee America, was published Feb. 19, 2019, and was named by the New York Times as one of the 100 Notable Books of the Year and won the Spur Award for Best Traditional Western. Margaret, a citizen of the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma, set both novels on and around her family’s Indian allotment land near Ft. Gibson, OK. Cherokee America is a prequel to Maud's Line. Her third novel, which will be released in Oct. of 2021, is set in1926 in the old Glendale Park Zoo in Nashville, TN. The heroine, Two Feathers, is a Wild West show performer on loan from the Miller Brothers 101 Ranch in Oklahoma. 

http://www.margaretverble.com/

 

"The Heights"--by Louise Candlish--with signature dark and twisty prose--an unputdownable thriller that will keep you guessing until the final page--you've killed him once...will you have to kill him again...

 

The Heights

He thinks he’s safe up there.
But he’ll never be safe from you.

The Heights is a tall, slender apartment building among the warehouses of Shad Thames, its roof terrace so discreet you wouldn’t know it existed if you weren't standing at the window of the flat directly opposite. But you are. And that’s when you see a man up there – a man you’d recognize anywhere. He’s older now and his appearance has subtly changed, but it’s definitely him.

Which makes no sense at all since you know he has been dead for over two years.

You know this for a fact.

Because you’re the one who killed him.

Reviews

“Candlish just gets better and better and better. I didn’t read The Heights, I inhaled it. Her sense of place is second to none and her attention to detail is forensic. She’s absolutely at the top of her game.”— LISA JEWELL, bestselling author of Invisible Girl

“No one creates middle-class characters we love to hate quite like Louise Candlish. [A] thriller of obsessive revenge and intense parental grief would tug at my heartstrings. Smart, addictive, twisting, surprising. Highly recommended.”— SARAH VAUGHAN, author of Little Disasters

“Impossible to resist, impossible to predict, impossible to put down . . . This is an author at the top of her game.”— ERIN KELLY, author of Watch Her Fall

“Has everything you could possibly wish for—tragedy, obsession, revenge and, yes, love. Another finely-crafted masterpiece from Louise Candlish.”— B.A. PARIS, author of The Therapist

“There’s nothing quite so chilling as the roar of mother tiger love. Louise Candlish had my heart in my throat. Dizzily dark. Dangerous. Deadly.”— JANE CORRY, author of The Lies We Tell

“It twists and it turns and it twists again. The Heights by Louise Candlish is the very definition of a ‘just one more chapter’ novel. I devoured it. And it’s full of such great writing about the ferocity of maternal love.”— HANNAH BECKERMAN, author of If Only I Could Tell You

“Candlish is the queen of the sucker-punch twist.”— RUTH WARE, instant #1 bestselling author of One by One

 

Louise Candlish

Sunday Times bestselling author ​Louise Candlish was born in Northumberland and grew up in the Midlands town of Northampton. She studied English at University College London and has lived in the capital ever since. She is the author of 14 novels, including the thriller Our House, winner of the British Book Awards 2019 Crime & Thriller Book of the Year and shortlisted for several other awards. A #1 bestseller in paperback, ebook and audiobook, it is soon to be a four-part ITV drama, produced by Red Planet Pictures. Her new release The Other Passenger, a Hitchcockian tale of adultery and double crossing set among the Thames river commuters, is also in development for the screen. Louise's first Richard & Judy Book Club pick, it has been longlisted for the Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year Award 2021.  

Louise lives in Herne Hill in South London with her husband, teenage daughter and fox-red Labrador, Bertie. Besides books, the things she likes best are: coffee; TV; salted caramel; tennis; lasagne; old heavy metal; 'The Archers' (but not the lockdown monologues); white wine; Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups (or, failing that, a Starbar). Her favourite book is Madame Bovary.  

http://www.louisecandlish.com 

"The Secret of Emerald Cottage"--by Julie Lessman--she’s sweet & cozy mysteries--he’s fun & cozy flings--the secluded and homey cottage on a clear mountain lake seems the perfect place for them both to heal from life's challenges--until a deadly secret reveals not-so-cozy things (see my review)

  

The Secret of Emerald Cottage

Twenty-six-year-old Molly Stewart—ex-Navy nurse and former evidence technician for the Charleston Police Department—has been burned by love. So when her friend, Pastor Chase Griffin, begs her to move to scenic Lake Loon to be a nurse and companion for Miss Lilly, his elderly landlady, she jumps at the chance. The secluded and cozy cottage on a clear mountain lake seems the perfect place to heal from her fiancé’s betrayal as well as indulge in one of her greatest passions—cozy romance. First with reading them by the bookcase and then hopefully, if dreams come true, solving them one day as a licensed detective. But when Miss Lilly’s estranged great nephew shows up, it’s no mystery as to why he and Molly butt heads. Because it only takes one stolen kiss—while she’s sleeping, no less—to discover he’s an even bigger player than the ex-fiancé who broke her heart.

When international playboy and Irish soccer star Brec McGill learns his long-lost great aunt is in a coma from a drowning accident, he rushes to her side. Not only is he anxious to reconnect with his only living relative he spent summers with as a boy, but her cottage on Lake Loon, Georgia is the perfect respite to heal from game injuries and escape a tabloid scandal. At thirty-three he’s disillusioned with the game, his fiancée, and life in general, craving nothing but a little peace and solitude to get his head on straight. But when he discovers his aunt’s cottage is not only inhabited by a crusty Aunt Lilly he hasn’t seen in ten years, but a pretty prude of a nurse as well, his plans take a nose-dive in the lake. Because suddenly it appears not only was Aunt Lilly’s accident no accident … but somebody out there wants to see them all dead.

MY REVIEW:  Acclaimed author Julie Lessman's considerable skills as a storyteller shine in the romantic contemporary cozy mystery, "The Secret of Emerald Cottage". Set in the beautiful fictional community of Lake Loon, GA, this entertaining whodunnit features engaging characters, lively dialogue, and a compelling story line. Molly Stewart, a young former Navy nurse, had also worked as an evidence technician to assist law enforcement investigators by helping to identify, secure, collect, and process evidence. When she is betrayed by her fiance, an offer to care for an elderly lady who had been injured in two separate falls seemed like the perfect escape from her personal troubles. Miss Lilly may be having trouble with mobility, but her mind was as sharp as ever. She and Molly became fast friends, and her snug little lakeside cottage was a perfect reading retreat for Molly and her beloved cozy romantic mysteries. Things become more serious when Miss Lilly--known to walk in her sleep--almost drowns and is hospitalized in a coma. Molly reaches out to Miss Lilly's great-nephew, her only living relative, and a somewhat roguish young man whom she loves like a son. Brec McGill, an Irish soccer star, spent summers with his aunt at Lake Loon, but as an adult who had found international fame, he had rarely returned to the cottage to visit his aunt. With troubles of his own and disillusionment with the celebrity life, Brec is guilt-ridden when he learns of Miss Lilly's health issues. The first meeting between Molly and Brec is a surprise to them both, and sparks fly. Agreeing to call a truce for Miss Lilly' sake, they share a mutual joy that she has awakened from her coma. However, their relief is mixed with concern when she insists that her accidents were no accidents and that someone was trying to kill her. As Brec and Molly work together to protect Miss Lilly and solve the secrets surrounding them, a growing friendship becomes something much deeper--could it be love? Miss Lilly and Molly have always known an abiding faith, and Brec wants to share in that faith. Can he overcome his troubled past and find his own spiritual peace? As more revelations come to light, shockwaves are felt throughout the community. Who can be trusted? Who will survive? "The Secret of Emerald Cottage" is author Julie Lessman's first cozy mystery, and lovers of the genre will greatly enjoy her debut work.

Book Copy Gratis Author

PRAISE FOR JULIE LESSMAN 

“I have loved Julie Lessman’s writing for years, but I can’t believe how great she writes cowboys. I love westerns and reading Julie’s version is pure fun.”—Mary Connealy, award-winning author of Brides of Hope Mountain Series

“JULIE LESSMAN + WESTERN ROMANCE = GOLD RUSH! You heard it here, folks. I think Julie Lessman was created to write westerns.”—Reading is my SuperPower Blog

“Whoa, Whoa, Whoa! If you think sparks were flying between characters in Julie Lessman’s Daughters of Boston novels, then you have GOT to get a load of her new Silver Lining Ranch” novels.”—My Favorite Pastime Blog

“A Wing and a Prayer isn’t just a great novel, it’s an epic story that follows star-crossed lovers through the dangerous times of World War II. From WASP training in Texas to Europe’s front lines, I guarantee you’ll be smitten with both the characters and the story. You’ll learn history, you’ll cry, you’ll shout, your heart will pound at the danger and then swell at the romance. But most of all, you’ll come away with a huge sigh of satisfaction and a smile on your face. Don’t miss this one!”—MaryLu Tyndall, award-winning author of Legacy of the King’s Pirates

A Wing and a Prayer is set against a thrilling stretch of time. Women in new roles. Wartime. Heroes and heroines in a terrible battle for freedom. In that exciting era come two characters at odds with each other. The very real things keeping them apart battling with an attraction so powerful it can’t be resisted, though they certainly try. A fun, fast, exciting addition to the O’Connor saga.—Mary Connealy, award-winning author of Brides of Hope Mountain Series

“In Isle of Hope Lessman tells a poignant tale of first loves reunited and families reconciled. Both emotionally captivating and spiritually challenging, this sweet southern love story deals with issues of forgiveness and restoration. Fans of Lessman will be absolutely delighted with this riveting tale!”—Denise Hunter, bestselling author of Falling Like Snowflakes

“In Isle of Hope, award-winning author Julie Lessman weaves a story of how past choices collide with future consequences. Lessman’s novel has it all: lush details, dynamic characters, and a storyline that keeps you turning the pages. The characters Lessman created in Isle of Hope confront their (in)ability to forgive – and as you fall in love with these characters, be prepared to question your beliefs about forgiveness.”—Beth K. Vogt, author of Crazy Little Thing Called Love, and a 2015 RITA® Finalist and a 2015 and 2014 Carol Award finalist

“Fans of Julie Lessman’s historical romances will love this modern day love story! Isle of Hope is a heartwarming and inspirational novel about forgiveness sought and restoration found. I’m enamored with the large and wonderful O’Bryen family and I thoroughly enjoyed the romances Julie skillfully crafted for both Jack O’Bryen and his mom Tess. A delight!”—Becky Wade, award-winning author of My Stubborn Heart and The Porter Family series including A Love Like Ours

“Truly masterful plot twists …”—Romantic Times Book Reviews

“Readers who like heartwarming novels, such as those written by Debbie Macomber, are sure to enjoy this book.”—Booklist Online 

“Julie is one of the best there is today at writing intensely passionate romance novels. Her ability to thread romance and longing, deception and forgiveness, and lots of humor are unparalleled by anyone else in the Christian market today.”—Rachel McRae of LifeWay Stores

“Julie Lessman’s prose and character development is masterful.”—Church Libraries Magazine

“With memorable characters and an effervescent plot that’s as buoyant as it is entertaining, Dare to Love Again is Julie Lessman at her zestful best.”—Tamera Alexander, bestselling author of A Lasting Impression and To Whisper Her Name 

“In a powerful and skillfully written novel, Lessman exposes raw human emotions, proving once again that it’s through our greatest pain that God can lead us to our true heart, revealed and restored. Thoroughly enthralling!”—Maggie Brendan, author of the Heart of the West and The Blue Willow Brides series

“Julie Lessman brings all her passion for romance rooted in her passion for God to A Heart Revealed. Emma Malloy is her finest heroine yet. These characters, with their own personal struggles and the ignited flame of an impossible love, fill the pages of this powerful, passionate, fast-paced romance.”—Mary Connealy, bestselling author of the Lassoed in Texas, Montana Marriages, Trouble in Texas, and Wild at Heart series

“What an interesting mix of characters. Rather than a single boy-meets-girl romance, Julie Lessman’s latest novel takes readers on an emotional roller coaster with several couples—some married, some yearning to be married—as they seek to embrace love, honor the Lord, and uncover a dark truth that’s been hidden for a decade. Readers who long for passion in their love stories will find it in abundance here!”—Liz Curtis Higgs, bestselling author of Thorn in My Heart

“Readers will not be able to part with these characters come ‘The End.”—Laura Frantz, award-winning author of Love’s Reckoning

“With an artist’s brushstroke, Julie Lessman creates another masterpiece filled with family and love and passion. Love at Any Cost will not only soothe your soul, but it will make you laugh, stir your heart, and release a sigh of satisfaction when you turn the last page.”—MaryLu Tyndall, bestselling author of Veil of Pearls

 

Julie Lessman

 

Julie Lessman is an award-winning author whose tagline of “Passion With a Purpose” underscores her intense passion for both God and romance. A lover of all things Irish, she enjoys writing close-knit Irish family sagas that evolve into 3-D love stories: the hero, the heroine, and the God that brings them together.

Author of The Daughters of Boston, Winds of Change, and Heart of San Francisco series, Julie Lessman was named American Christian Fiction Writers 2009 Debut Author of the Year and has garnered 18 Romance Writers of America and other awards. Voted #1 Romance Author of the year in Family Fiction magazine’s 2012 and 2011 Readers Choice Awards, Julie was also named on Booklist’s 2010 Top 10 Inspirational Fiction and Borders Best Fiction list. 

Julie’s first contemporary novel, Isle of Hope, was voted on Family Fiction magazine’s “Best of 2015” list, and Surprised by Love appeared on Family Fiction magazine’s list of “Top Ten Novels of 2014.” Her independent novel A Light in the Window is an International Digital Awards winner, a 2013 Readers' Crown Award winner, and a 2013 Book Buyers Best Award winner.

Julie has also written a self-help workbook for writers entitled Romance-ology 101: Writing Romantic Tension for the Sweet and Inspirational Markets. You can contact Julie through her website and read excerpts from each of her books at www.julielessman.com. 

http://julielessman.com/home 

"The Stirling Ranch Series"--where home--and love--await you--"Recipe for a Homecoming" and "Accidental Homecoming"--by author Sabrina York--Contemporary romance from Harlequin Special Edition: Believe in love. Overcome obstacles. Find happiness.

 

Recipe for a Homecoming

She’d sworn off love. But can he heal her battered heart?

To heal from the wounds of her abusive marriage, Veronica James returns to her grandmother’s bookshop in small-town Butterscotch Ridge. The first thing she does is transform the dusty old shop into a cozy bakery/café. The second? Steel her heart against the charms of her first love, sexy rancher Mark Stirling. He’s never stopped longing for a second chance with the girl who got away—and he’s willing to accept whatever Roni is willing to give. But when their “friends with benefits” deal reveals emotions that run deep, maybe Mark can convince her that together they’re the perfect blend.

 

Accidental Homecoming

New York Times bestselling author Sabrina York kicks off her brand-new Stirling Ranch miniseries by asking does blood make you family?

It’s time to face the past he’s been running from.

Danny Diem’s life is upended when he inherits a small-town ranch. But learning he has a daughter in need of lifesaving surgery is his biggest shock yet. He'd never gotten over telling his ex Lizzie Michaels that he wasn’t the marrying kind. But her loving strength for their little girl tugs at his heartstrings—and makes him wonder if he’s ready to embrace the role he’s always run from: father.

 

 

Her Royal Hotness, Sabrina York, is the New York Times and USA Today Bestselling author of hot, humorous romances. Her titles range from sweet & snarky to scorching romance in historical, contemporary and fantasy sub-genres.

To check out coming books visit www.sabrinayork.com

Amazon Page: amazon.com/author/sabrinayork
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/SabrinaYorkBooks
Twitter: @sabrina_york 

"The Spanish Daughter"--by Lorena Hughes--set against the lush backdrop of early twentieth century Ecuador and inspired by the real-life history of the coastal town known as the birthplace of cacao, this captivating #OwnVoices novel from the award-winning author of "The Sisters of Alameda Street" tells the story of a resourceful young chocolatier who must impersonate a man in order to claim her birthright...

  

The Spanish Daughter

As a child in Spain, Puri always knew her passion for chocolate was inherited from her father. But it’s not until his death that she learns of something else she’s inherited—a cocoa plantation in Vinces, Ecuador, a town nicknamed “Paris Chiquito.” Eager to claim her birthright and filled with hope for a new life after the devastation of WWI, she and her husband Cristóbal set out across the Atlantic Ocean. But it soon becomes clear, someone is angered by Puri’s claim to the plantation…
 
When a mercenary sent to murder her aboard the ship accidentally kills Cristóbal instead, Puri dons her husband’s clothes and assumes his identity, hoping to stay safe while she searches for the truth of her father’s legacy in Ecuador. Though freed from the rules that women are expected to follow, Puri confronts other challenges at the plantation—newfound siblings, hidden affairs, and her father’s dark secrets. Then there are the dangers awakened by her attraction to an enigmatic man as she tries to learn the identity of an enemy who is still at large, threatening the future she is determined to claim.

Praise for The Spanish Daughter:

A Publishers Marketplace Buzz Books: Fall/Winter 2021 selection
 
“A lushly written story of bittersweet family secrets and betrayals that ultimately celebrates the healing power of hope, resilience, love—and chocolate!”  —Andrea Penrose, author of  Murder at the Royal Botanic Gardens
 
“A lyrical and nuanced study of family and belonging. Readers will fall in love with The Spanish Daughter’s unique setting amidst the cacao plantations of Ecuador in 1920, its lush and vivid prose, and compelling and audacious heroine.” —Anna Lee Huber, USA Today bestselling author of Murder Most Fair
 
“A deftly written story entangling family, identity, chocolate and murder, set in the lush golden days of Ecuador’s cacao boom in the early twentieth century. Hughes gradually weaves the separate tales of her narrators into a single strong thread, drawing you into the world of three very different sisters united by deception and loss.”—Shana Abé, New York Times bestselling author of The Second Mrs. Astor

Lorena Hughes 

  

Lorena Hughes was born and raised in Ecuador until moving to the U.S. at 18. She has a degree in fine arts and mass communication & journalism from The University of New Mexico. In the last decade, she’s developed a passion for storytelling and writes novels set in South America, seasoned with mystery and family secrets. Her previous work won first place at the 2011 Southwest Writers International Contest in the historical fiction category, earned an honorable mention at the 2012 Soul-Making Keats Literary Competition, and was a quarter-finalist for the 2014 Amazon Breakout Novel Award. The Sisters of Alameda Street is her first novel.

http://www.lorena-hughes.com/ 

"Maman: The Cookbook: All-Day Recipes to Warm Your Heart"--by Elisa Marshall and Benjamin Sormonte-experience the award-winning recipes for cookies, cakes, quiches, and croissants from Maman, the beloved rustic-chic café--this collection of 100 recipes spans from breakfast to dessert and everything in between, all united by the sense of family-inspired tradition (see my review)

 

Maman: The Cookbook: All-Day Recipes to Warm Your Heart

Elisa Marshall and Benjamin Sormonte opened Maman to fill a void in their hearts. They wanted to create a warm, cozy place for people to come together and savor a freshly baked madeleine or slice of savory quiche with the comfort and familiarity of being in their own living room. This collection of 100 recipes spans bestselling dishes from their locations in New York City, Montreal, and Toronto—like Banana-Lavender Cornmeal Waffles with Vanilla Mascarpone, Cumin Chickpea Salad, and the Nutty Chocolate Chip Cookies made famous by none other than Oprah.

French café culture and urban-rustic design come together to create a cookbook as delicious as it is visually inspiring. Whether you’d like to make one of Elisa’s naked cakes for a special occasion or a roasted chicken sandwich with basil aïoli for lunch, Maman welcomes you with open arms.

MY REVIEW:  "Maman: The Cookbook: All-Day Recipes to Warm Your Heart" is a cookbook, a memoir, and a love story. Husband and wife team Benjamin Sormonte and Elisa Marshall, creators and co-owners of Maman (French for Mother) have crafted a very special brand for their restaurants, catering and event business, and designer paper products with pop-up shops, stationery, and a party collection. Their beautiful trademark blue and white prints have a rustic elegance all their own. Both Elisa and Benjamin were raised in big, loving families--Elisa in Canada and Benjamin in France--where their mamans instilled in them a love of great food and cooking. Each of the mamans were instrumental in creating the menus, decor, atmosphere, and sense of community that epitomizes the Maman brand. The cookbook features 100 recipes from around the world, and they are divided into sections titled "Sunrise", "All-Day Cafe", and "Sweets and Sips". The book is filled with beautiful color photos of food and more. A section called "Equipment" lists essential tools and some helpful items to have on hand. The recipes are amazing, and, so far, I have tried one recipe from each section. A southern girl like me simply could not resist "Maman's Breakfast Sandwich with Bourbon-Bacon Jam". This is a big, both hands required, meal on a bun. Layers of tomato, egg, and avocado are bought together by a generous amount of rich bourbon-bacon jam (recipe included). Quiche is one of my favorites, and I chose classic "Quiche Lorraine"--its savory goodness enhanced here by nutmeg. sea salt, and freshly-ground black pepper. "Ashleigh's Carrot Cake with Brown-Sugar Cream Cheese Frosting" was my sweet treat--a delicious confection filled with spices, carrots, pineapple and walnuts. I am not ashamed to say that I could have eaten the whole bowl of frosting by itself with a spoon. There are many more recipes, both savory and sweet, that I look forward to trying very soon. To give the food an authentic Maman ambience, I will be serving it on my own pretty set of vintage blue and white dishes.

Disclosure: "I've received a free copy from Clarkson Potter in exchange for a free and unbiased review."

 

Reviews

 

“The first time I walked into Maman to grab a croissant for my kids, I was lovestruck by the charm and effortless elegance of the bakery. What drew me back to Maman several times a week was the menu: a little fussy, a touch rustic, and just the right amount of sophistication that made eating the food feel like an act of self-love. This book is the perfect host gift but also one that will surely be earmarked, splashed with wine and chocolate from overuse, which in my mind is a smash.”—Erin McKenna, owner of Erin McKenna’s Bakery
 
“I’m such a big fan of Maman’s coffee shops. The food, the drinks, the décor, everything is so lovely and thought through. No surprise, Elisa and Benjamin’s first cookbook is the same. Every page and recipe is so beautiful. It’s as delightful to flip through as it is to cook from.”—Kerry Diamond, founder of Cherry Bombe

“Maman is a stellar cookbook filled with mouthwatering and heartwarming recipes that, simply put, are food from the soul. Believe me when I tell you, this cookbook will forever have a space in your heart and in your kitchen.”—Diala Canelo, author of Diala’s Kitchen
 
“I am so happy to see Elisa and Ben’s work in print. Their thoughtfulness in the creation of their products and spaces translates beautifully onto these pages. As a bakery owner myself, one always hopes that your children love your spaces the most. This is not the case with my son Isaac, who loves maman more than Gjusta. From one maman to another, I celebrate you.”—Shelley Kleyn Armistead, CEO of Gjelina
 
“I am not just here for the blue-and-white china, although that alone would be enough!! Elisa and Ben’s beautiful book is filled with delightful food, topped with artisanal charm. This favorite NYC breakfast spot is now accessible to every home cook!”—Laurel Gallucci, cofounder and CEO of Sweet Laurel

Elisa Marshall and Benjamin Sormonte

 

Elisa Marshall and Benjamin Sormonte are the cofounders and owners of Maman. Elisa, the creative director, oversees branding, communications, and events, and works with Maman’s chefs to develop and fine-tune Maman’s recipes and menus. She’s also a contributing columnist for Martha Stewart online. As the CEO, Ben manages operations and business development, but he is also the creative mind behind some of Maman’s most beloved savory dishes. Together, Elisa and Ben design the interiors of all Maman locations, which can be found throughout New York City as well as in Montreal and Toronto.  

https://www.mamannyc.com/cookbook