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Crime in the Choir (Detective Markham Book 1) (affiliate link)
Two skeletons are discovered in the grounds of St Mary’s Choir School. This was not a centuries-old Christian burial. They are wearing modern-day clothes and there is evidence of foul play. Consecrated land has been sadistically violated.
Detective Inspector Gilbert Markham is a rising talent of the Bromgrove police force. He is on the trail of the murderer, when another life is brutally claimed. Who is the savage killer lurking in this innocent place?
DI Markham and his team are met with intense hostility when they step up their operation. Is this just local panic? Or are they about to stumble into a web of corruption which runs deeper than they could have ever anticipated?
Her Lucky Charm (affiliate link)
Some people collect lucky rabbit’s feet.
Apparently I collect lucky boyfriends.
So when my luck changes after run-ins with three gorgeous guys?
I’m not sure which one is the source of my newfound fortune.
Roman, my old highschool crush who shows up in Vegas looking more tall, dark, and handsome than I remembered.
Danny, the blond-haired, blue-eyed friend whose sexy smile and playful wink brighten my mood every day.
Victor, the chiseled motorcycle-riding bouncer whose rough exterior probably translates to the bedroom…
The more time I spend with them, the luckier I am in the casino.
Every dice roll lands my way, and every blackjack hand hits twenty-one.
Can I figure out which of these three amazing men is giving me good fortune?
Or will I stretch my luck too far?
Cookie Calamity (Cookie Corner Book 1) (affiliate link)
Evie St. Claire’s life takes an exciting turn when she discovers she’s the rightful heir to her long-lost aunt’s estate. Filled with anticipation, she quickly learns that her inheritance is a dilapidated house of little value. To make matters worse, claiming her great aunt’s remains requires a journey to the serene lakeside town of Honeysuckle Springs.
Once in the picturesque town, Evie’s hopes are shattered as she encounters a murder victim shortly after her arrival. Bewildered and caught off guard, she finds herself embroiled in a web of suspicion, with even the attractive police chief keeping a watchful eye on her. As whispers of a past visit circulate among the town’s residents, Evie’s bewilderment grows, further fueling the suspicions surrounding her involvement in the murder investigation.
Ravenhill (Jackie Shaw Book 1) (affiliate link)
Twenty years ago undercover agent Jackie Shaw fled his home city after a horrific terrorist attack, vowing never to return.
But when Jackie’s father dies, his loyalty to his family means he must return to his roots to pay his respects, regardless of the danger he will face.
Soon Jackie’s dark past catches up with him and he finds himself pursued by ruthless men who have waited two decades for revenge.
Jackie is a trained killer, an expert in lethal violence, and he is prepared to break laws and bones in his fight for survival. But with so many dark forces set on destroying him, will that be enough?
Not Your Lucky Day (Murphy’s Book 1) (affiliate link)
Putting it all on the line in a deadly high-stakes race, can they cross the finish line before it’s too late?
Olympia “Pia” Murphy was named for champions but feels about as far from a winner as a woman could be. Swindled by her cheating husband and saddled with the broken-down family farm drowning in debt, she’s convinced the only luck she’ll ever have is bad. To make matters worse, she discovers her father’s last wish was for her to rebuild the farm’s horse racing empire with a special mare he gifted her before he died. With no plans and fewer resources, Pia sets out to find the horse she sold years ago, secretly hoping it will change her fate.
Pia’s hope of finding her “lucky” horse hits a roadblock when she encounters a competitor searching for the same mare. The enigmatic Captain Jonah Watkins, a wounded veteran cloaked within the shadowy world of intelligence gathering, is not giving up his secrets or his claim to the horse. At each turn, he thwarts or bests Pia’s every move.
The Love Payoff (affiliate link)
He offered me a hundred thousand dollars to be his fake fiancée.
I said yes.
Why wouldn’t I say yes? I needed the money. It’s not greed. It’s being savvy.
Plus, Leo isn’t the sort of guy people say no to. He’s tall, dark, and handsome – the sort of guy women go crazy for.
The hardest part of the sell? Convincing my loud, nosy Polish family that I’m engaged to a man—an artist!—they’ve never met. A man who won’t tell me why he needs a fake fiancée, except to say he picked me because he knew I wouldn’t fall in love.
I should’ve been insulted, but I wasn’t. I thought it would be easy, but now I have to figure out how to tell my fake boyfriend that I’m starting to have some very real feelings for him. And I can only hope I don’t get my heart crushed in the process.
Burn for You (Slow Burn Book 1) (affiliate link)
Jackson “The Beast” Boudreaux is rich, gorgeous, and unbelievably rude to the staff at Chef Bianca Hardwick’s New Orleans restaurant. Bianca would sooner douse herself in hot sauce than cook for Jackson again, but when he asks her to cater his fund-raiser, Bianca can’t refuse, knowing the cash will help pay her mother’s medical bills. Then Jackson makes another outrageous request: Marry me. The unconventional offer includes an enormous sum—money Bianca desperately needs, even if it does come with a contract—and a stunning ring.
The heir to a family bourbon dynasty, Jackson knows the rumors swirling around him. The truth is even darker. Still, he needs a wife to secure his inheritance, and free-spirited, sassy Bianca would play the part beautifully. Soon, though, their simple business deal evolves into an emotional intimacy he’s built walls to avoid.
The Picture of Dorian Gray (affiliate link)
In a London studio, two men contemplate the portrait of another—younger and more beautiful—man. Despite Lord Henry Wotton’s urging, Basil Hallward refuses to show his painting in public—there is too much of his true feeling for the subject in it. “I will not bare my soul to their shallow, prying eyes,” he declares. “My heart shall never be put under their microscope.”
Instead, it is Dorian Gray’s soul put under the microscope of this unforgettable novel. Influenced by the cynical, hedonistic Lord Henry, Dorian becomes infatuated with his own youth and beauty and wishes that his portrait would grow old instead of him. His wish comes true, but it is not just the passage of time that mars the painting—the wages of sin are recorded there as well. Freed from the physical toll of his debauchery, Dorian devotes himself to the pursuit of pleasure above all else. He turns on his friends, drives his lover to suicide, and engages in every vice known to man. To society, he remains as handsome and youthful as Prince Charming. In the painting, he is hideous. Too late, Dorian realizes that only one of these two images can be real, and a reckoning deferred is not a reckoning absolved.
Before the Swallows Come Back (affiliate link)
Before the Swallows Come Back is a story of love, found family, and redemption that will break your heart and have it soaring time and time again as you sit on the edge of your seat desperately hoping.
Tommy struggles with people, with communicating, preferring solitude, drifting off with nature. He is protected by his Tinker family who keep to the old ways. A life of quiet seclusion under canvas is all he knows.
Charlotte cares for her sickly father. She meets Tommy by the riverside and an unexpected friendship develops. Over the years it becomes something more, something crucial to both of them. But when tragedy strikes each family they are torn apart.
That Second Chance (Getting Lucky Book 1) (affiliate link)
It was supposed to be an innocent night, celebrating my brother’s birthday. Nothing was supposed to go wrong. We’d vowed to be on our best behavior after all…
But it only took one rowdy night with my brothers to flip my world upside down. One unlucky encounter saddled us with a family curse and the promise of doomed relationships. I laughed it off immediately. “Yeah, right,” I thought. “A love curse. Ha!”
Boy, was I wrong.
Word spreads quickly in a town like mine; rumors about that night soon made us the most eligible yet untouchable bachelors in Port Snow, Maine. As a subject of endless gossip and speculation, I could kiss my dating life goodbye.
It would have stayed that way if Ren Winters, the new girl in town, hadn’t crashed into my life. Brave, beautiful, and smart—her vivacious thirst for a fresh start has given me hope that maybe, just maybe, I can have one too.
The House We Grew Up In: A Novel (affiliate link)
Meet the picture-perfect Bird family: pragmatic Meg, dreamy Beth, and towheaded twins Rory and Rhys, one an adventurous troublemaker, the other his slighter, more sensitive counterpart. Their father is a sweet, gangly man, but it’s their beautiful, free-spirited mother Lorelei who spins at the center. In those early years, Lorelei tries to freeze time by filling their simple brick house with precious mementos. Easter egg foils are her favorite. Craft supplies, too. She hangs all of the children’s art, to her husband’s chagrin.
Then one Easter weekend, a tragedy so devastating occurs that, almost imperceptibly, it begins to tear the family apart. Years pass and the children have become adults, while Lorelei has become the county’s worst hoarder. She has alienated her husband and children and has been living as a recluse. But then something happens that beckons the Bird family back to the house they grew up in—to finally understand the events of that long-ago Easter weekend and to unearth the many secrets hidden within the nooks and crannies of home.
Homeworld Lost (affiliate link)
During a test flight for the world’s first warp engine, Major Noah Gantz is set to go down in the history books.
Despite years of training, the mission goes sideways, and instead of a quick trip to the moon and back, Noah’s ship is transported across the universe to stars unknown.
Stranded in space and on the brink of death, Noah is rescued by a sentient starship and its captain. To save his life, the ship’s own biomatter must replace his failing cells.
Now , Noah is different. Stronger, faster… and there’s a voice in his head.
The voice of the ship itself, and its name is Kayan.
With no way to return home, Noah must adapt and rebuild his life in this unfamiliar corner of the universe. And as he does, he discovers a looming threat in the far reaches of space, growing in power, and set on capturing Noah and his ship.
… See the rest of today ‘s Book Picks here on page 2Page 2