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Betrayal (affiliate link)
Betrayal delves into the tumultuous life of Helen King, whose early experiences of rejection and neglect set her on a perilous path. Spiraling into a world of drugs and vice as a means to cope with the pain, Helen’s struggle intensifies as she transitions into adulthood, haunted by the ghosts of her past. Desperate for a fresh start, she attempts to rid herself of her dependencies, only to find herself ensnared by a new, more dangerous craving: vengeance.
The story takes a dark turn as Helen, fueled by unresolved anger, embarks on a series of chilling murders in Edinburgh, confounding the police with each move. Leading the charge is CDI Belinda Brennan, a formidable force in a male-dominated field, determined to unravel the mystery behind the killings and stop Helen before it’s too late. As the body count rises, the question looms: How many lives will be claimed in Helen’s quest for retribution?
The Break Series (Phoebe & Madsen, The Love Story) (affiliate link)
Madsen Secksin is …. Infuriating. Argumentative. Annoying. Hot. Frustrating.
Did I mention Hot?
Oh and?
He’s my brother’s best friend.
Who knew one room, one bed, and one week would change my life forever?
The Break Series follows the love and relationship of Phoebe & Madsen as they maneuver through obstacles and personal growth over a single year during Spring Break Summer Break and Winter Break.
When I Watched Her Die (affiliate link)
I was twelve when I watched her die in the woods. No one believed what I saw. Until now.
We finally found her. And now, I get to investigate her murder.
But first, I have to catch a serial killer…
Detective Preston Clarke, recently promoted to the only female detective on her town’s force, has been waiting twenty years to solve a murder that only she believes happened. But when the girl’s body is found, she’s already neck-deep in a more recent, crucial case.
An active serial killer has moved into her town. He’s already claimed one victim, and there will be more.
Preston is determined to handle this on her own, to prove herself, but her boss has other ideas. The department has hired an expert who worked on the serial killer’s original case—and he’s transferring into town to be Preston’s partner.
His Perfect Bride (The Brides of Paradise Ranch Book 1) (affiliate link)
How do you love a man who married you against his will?
For Corva Collier, life as a mail-order bride in the quirky town of Haskell, Wyoming is her last chance for escape. She longs for a peaceful life away from the darkness of her past where she can create the paintings that are close to her heart, and where she hopes she can grow to love her husband.
Franklin Haskell never planned to marry. What woman would want a man who was crippled due to his own arrogance? But when he is offered the chance to help a woman in crisis, he agrees to wed. Corva is so much more than he expected, and when a baseball game gives her the chance to shine, he loses his heart.
The game of love has never been so hard to play…or so worth winning.
The Riddles of Hildegarde Withers: Stories (affiliate link)
A sharp-witted Manhattan schoolteacher tackles eight little mysteries in this collection from the author of The Puzzle of the Happy Holligan.
When not teaching third graders, middle-aged singleton Hildegard Withers enjoys sipping orange pekoe tea, reading Sherlock Holmes stories, and tending to her tropical fish. And from time to time, she also helps her friend, Insp. Oscar Piper, with some puzzling cases . . .
“The Riddle of the Lady from Dubuque”: Miss Withers goes undercover at an affluent dinner party, but murder cuts the evening short.
“The Riddle of the Yellow Canary”: Hildegarde races to prove a young songwriter’s death was a homicide and force her killer to face the music.
“The Riddle of the Blue Fingerprint”: A mahogany wardrobe for sale at a local auction house contains a peculiar surprise: the body of a man Miss Withers was hired to find.
Locked inside a brain-injured head looking out at a challenging world is the premise of this extraordinary memoir chronicling the long process of adjustment and rehabilitation after a fateful, helmetless bike ride. In Over My Head, Claudia Osborn, a doctor and clinical professor of medicine, recounts coming to terms with the loss of her identity and the courageous steps (and hilarious missteps) she took while learning to rebuild her life.
For years, Osborn was deprived of the career she loved and the intellectual companionship of her professional colleagues—and the ability to handle the simplest undertakings like shopping for groceries or sorting the mail. Her progression from confusion, dysfunction, and alienation to a full, happy life is told here with restraint, great style, and considerable humor.
More Than Riches (affiliate link)
When a train accident leaves Rosie’s mother dead and her father left crippled and unable to earn a living, it is up to Rosie to keep the wolf from the door.
With her mother gone and her sweetheart Adam away in the army, Rosie eagerly awaits his letters, but they never come. As she grows more disillusioned, Adam’s best friend, Doug, goes out of his way to be charming and attentive. Alone and confused, Rosie blossoms under his evil influence and soon finds herself carrying Doug’s baby and thrown out of her family home. Realizing she has no choice, she agrees to marry Doug. But then a warm and wonderful letter arrives from Adam . . . telling her he’s on his way home.
The Madoc and Janet Rhys Mysteries Volume One (affiliate link)
The first three cozy mysteries in a series featuring a Royal Canadian Mountie and his resourceful wife from an international-bestselling author.
The beloved sleuthing couple solves a trio of murder cases in the austere beauty of Canada’s New Brunswick. Originally published under the pseudonym Alisa Craig, these three tales are a witty look at murder in a small town—“the epitome of the ‘cozy’ mystery” (Mostly Murder).
A Pint of Murder: When Janet Wadman realizes her friend Agatha was murdered with a jar of tainted green beans, her discovery leads to another untimely death. Height-challenged Mountie Madoc Rhys proves more capable than he looks, and Janet is duly impressed.
Murder Goes Mumming: Madoc decides to ask Janet for her hand in marriage. But when the newly engaged couple finds their Christmas plans spoiled by murder, the investigating duo once again finds they have a gift for serving justice.
Blessed Child (The Caleb Book 1) (affiliate link)
A young orphaned boy was abandoned and raised in an Ethiopian monastery. He has never seen outside its walls—at least, not the way most people see. Now he must flee or die.
But the world beyond is hardly ready for a boy like Caleb.
When relief expert Jason Marker agrees to rescue Caleb from the monastery, he unwittingly opens humanity’s doors to an incredible journey filled with political intrigue and peril. Jason and Leiah—the French-Canadian nurse who escapes the monastery with him—quickly realize Caleb’s supernatural power to heal. But so do the boy’s enemies, who will stop at nothing to destroy him. Jason and Leiah fight for Caleb’s survival while the world erupts in debate over the source of the boy’s power.
Sightseeing (affiliate link)
Set in contemporary Thailand, these are generous, radiant tales of family bonds, youthful romance, generational conflicts, and cultural shiftings beneath the glossy surface of a warm, Edenic setting. Written with exceptional acuity, grace, and sophistication, the stories present a nation far removed from its exoticized stereotypes. In the prize-winning opening story “Farangs,” the son of a beachside motel owner commits the cardinal sin of falling for a pretty American tourist. In the novella, “Cockfighter,” a young girl witnesses her proud father’s valiant but foolhardy battle against a local delinquent whose family has a vicious stranglehold on the villagers.
Through his vivid assemblage of parents and children, natives and transients, ardent lovers and sworn enemies, Lapcharoensap dares us to look with new eyes at the circumstances that shape our views and the prejudices that form our blind spots. Gorgeous and lush, painful and candid, Sightseeing is an extraordinary reading experience, one that powerfully reveals that when it comes to how we respond to pain, anger, hurt, and love, no place is too far from home.
Decades after the Earth and the Terran Democratic Empire were conquered by the hostile, reptilian Ryqril, one man must find and resurrect the only fighting force that can free humanity . . .
Blackcollar: Resistance member Allen Caine was preparing for the most important mission of his life—until the plan takes a turn and he ends up abandoned on the outpost planet of Plinry. His only hope to salvage the mission and buy time for TDE is to reform the legendary Blackcollars, the genetically enhanced guerilla force famed for their exploits battling the Ryqril. But if he’s going to find them, he will have to become one of them.
The Backlash Mission: After completing his yearlong Blackcollar training, Caine is returning to Earth at the head of an elite squad of warriors to strike at the puppet human government collaborating with the alien Ryqril. The only problem: There is already a strong Blackcollar element on Earth—in the criminal underworld. And Caine doesn’t know if they are going to fight alongside him or against him.
… See the rest of today ‘s Book Picks here on page 2Page 2