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His Hand In the Storm (Chief Inspector Gray James Book 1) (affiliate link)
A MAN COPES ANY WAY HE CAN AFTER KILLING HIS ONLY SON.
His team believes him Zen. His boss finds him obsessive. Suspects think him gorgeous but dangerous.They’re all right.
Chief Inspector Gray James is sculpting the remembered likeness of his small son when he receives the call – a faceless corpse is found hanging by the choppy river, swirls of snow and sand rolling like tumbleweeds.
Montreal glitters: the cobbled streets slippery with ice, and the mighty St. Lawrence jetting eastward past the city. One by one, someone is killing the founders of a booming medical tech startup – propelling Gray into a downward spiral that shatters his hard-earned peace, that risks his very life, that threatens to force him to care and face what he has shunned all along: his hand in the storm.
1929: Book One (The 1929 Series 1) (affiliate link)
As Black Tuesday triggers financial despondency, three young couples in New York City must trade their lives of luxury for poverty, tragedy, and setbacks.
When Jonathan Garrett’s brokerage firm collapses on the day of the Stock Market Crash, he unites with his closest friends (and former business partners), Aryl and Caleb, to relocate, track down a low-paying job, and cultivate a new life.
As the three men toil in their laborious jobs, their wives, Ava, Arianna, and Claire, slowly adapt to life in a shabby, rundown apartment, learning to sew, cook, and clean. With the help of their former, outspoken, Irish maid, Maura, and a new, equally Irish friend, Shannon, the wives become even closer than before.
The couples’ rocky path leads to more turmoil, however, when a business rival, Victor Drayton, creates one disaster after another.
Famished: An Ash Park Novel (affiliate link)
STARVATION TAKES MANY FORMS
Ash Park, a run-down suburb of Detroit, might not be the most idyllic place to live, but for Hannah Montgomery, it’s safe. At least, it feels that way until a serial killer starts dicing up women from the shelter where she volunteers.
Hannah manages to convince herself the killings have nothing to do with her brutal past—but then her boyfriend is murdered in the same ruthless manner as the others. And the police think she may have had something to do with it.
The cops are right about one thing: Hannah is responsible. Because she knows who the killer is. Now she must face the fact that she brought a monster with her to Ash Park—and his appetite for blood is insatiable.
Dutch Courage: A Brandy Wyne Mystery (affiliate link)
I was two days, five hours, and fourteen minutes away from my first appointment with a divorce lawyer I couldn’t afford when my husband, not so fondly known as The Jerk, plowed into a tree at high speed and made me a widow before I could become a divorcée. His death didn’t bother me much, but the fact he’d been driving a brand new Porsche I knew nothing about was a tad upsetting.
And that was before I discovered his various banking and investment accounts stuffed with a whole lot of cash I definitely hadn’t known existed. Widowhood, it turned out, was a whole lot more profitable than I’d ever have imagined.
It wasn’t long before I’d ditched the Goodwill hand-me-downs I’d been wearing in favor of Versace and Chanel, bought my own brand new Porsche, then driven all the way across country to the Chica Perdida Hotel, the ultra-luxurious resort on Chica Perdida Key in the Florida Keys, which was about as far from California and my old life as I could get and still keep my feet on the ground.
Rescued by the Single Dad: The Brew Brothers Book 1) (affiliate link)
What happens when the brewery prince falls for the mermaid and ends up endangering his entire kingdom?
Welcome to San Camanez, a humble, peaceful little island in the Puget Sound and home to the McEvoy brothers. Four sexy single fathers—and one childless snack with a beard—who run a brewpub on the beach, raise their kids together, and hope to find love and happiness in the chaos that is life. This is Clint’s story …
Single Dad and brewmaster Clint McEvoy went down to the beach to drink and wallow. He never expected to find a Hollywood starlet naked and unconscious on the rocks. Nor did he expect to learn that someone wants her dead. He’ll do whatever he can to keep Brooke safe, even if that means risking his heart and his family’s peaceful life to do it.
Brooke Barker didn’t see it coming. One minute, she’s on a yacht, celebrating the release of her latest film, the next, she’s fighting for her life in the frigid Puget Sound. Waking up on Clint’s couch was a blessing she’s not sure she deserves. Now, she needs to figure out who pushed her while allowing the world to think she’s dead.
Walker Pride (The Walker Family Book 1) (affiliate link)
Family. Legacy. Love. Some things are worth fighting for.
Susan Hayes moved to Georgia for a fresh start, determined to build a thriving catering business and the life she’s always dreamed of. Just as success is within reach, she crosses paths with Eric Walker—and his complicated family.
Eric Walker has always preferred a quiet, structured life. But when his uncle’s reckless gambling puts their family’s land and legacy at risk, everything changes. As buried secrets come to light and an unknown enemy works to destroy his business, Eric finds himself in the fight of his life. And in the midst of the chaos, he unexpectedly falls for Susan.
But love won’t be enough to save them if someone succeeds in tearing the Walker family apart—and taking Eric down for good.
Betting on the Boy Next Door (Betting on Love) (affiliate link)
Make one stupid bet and suddenly you’re fake dating your hot new neighbor…
There is nothing like hiding a secret identity from your roommate besties to complicate . . . everything. And when they decide I need a love life makeover, I can’t tell them why I don’t have time for their schemes.
Retirement home nurse by day, lead singer of a rock band by night. Not on the schedule? Men. I’d rather cuddle with Bernice, the hangry boa next door.
I can’t think of an excuse fast enough to get out of betting my prime parking space against them finding me true love, but luckily, they pick the worst possible guy for me.
Sure, our new neighbor, Josh, is hot, but he’s from an Austin family whose money is so old, it’s dusty. Been there, done that, and I’m not going back to be broken again by a man just like my ex.
This bet is as good as won.
The Pulitzer Prize-winning history that transforms a single event in 1722 into an unparalleled portrait of early America.
In the winter of 1722, on the eve of a major conference between the Five Nations of the Haudenosaunee (also known as the Iroquois) and Anglo-American colonists, a pair of colonial fur traders brutally assaulted a Seneca hunter near Conestoga, Pennsylvania. Though virtually forgotten today, the crime ignited a contest between Native American forms of justice—rooted in community, forgiveness, and reparations—and the colonial ideology of harsh reprisal that called for the accused killers to be executed if found guilty. In Covered with Night, historian Nicole Eustace reconstructs the attack and its aftermath, introducing a group of unforgettable individuals—from the slain man’s resilient widow to an Indigenous diplomat known as “Captain Civility” to the scheming governor of Pennsylvania—as she narrates a remarkable series of criminal investigations and cross-cultural negotiations.
Falling Stars (Love in London) (affiliate link)
I bet most women would give a kidney to shoot a steamy Regency TV drama with Hollywood’s hottest movie star. Right?
Not me. Because said hottie is also the ex who dumped me on Twitter five years ago. I’m playing the Duchess. And the Duke is… you’ve got it. Twitter Boy, straight from rehab and a box office bomb (karma’s a bitch).
The world is watching, giving me the perfect platform to show him he was out of his mind to cast me aside. It should all be fine, save for a few minor hurdles: this guy was made for tight breeches. His fake British accent and dirty ducal demeanour send shivers down my spine. And most alarmingly, he’s says he’s reformed. I call BS.
Can I stand my ground? Withstand his temptations? Or will I disgrace my feminist image by swooning at His Grace’s fine ankles IRL?
Nothing Lasts Forever (affiliate link)
High atop a Los Angeles skyscraper, an office Christmas party turns into a deadly cage-match between a lone New York City cop and a gang of international terrorists. Every action fan knows it could only be the explosive big-screen blockbuster Die Hard. But before Bruce Willis blew away audiences as unstoppable hero John McClane, author Roderick Thorp knocked out thriller readers with the bestseller that started it all.
A dozen heavily armed terrorists have taken hostages, issued demands, and promised bloodshed all according to plan. But they haven’t counted on a death-defying, one-man cavalry with no shoes, no backup, and no intention of going down easily. As hot-headed cops swarm outside, and cold-blooded killers wield machine guns and rocket launchers inside, the stage is set for the ultimate showdown between anti-hero and uber-villains. Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good fight to the death. Ho ho ho!
Confessions of a Bookseller (affiliate link)
Inside a Georgian townhouse on the Wigtown highroad, jammed with more than 100,000 books and a portly cat named Captain, Shaun Bythell manages the daily ups and downs of running Scotland’s largest used bookshop with a sharp eye and even sharper wit. His account of one year behind the counter is something no book lover should miss.
Shaun drives to distant houses to buy private libraries, meditates on the nature of independent bookstores (“There really does seem to be a serendipity about bookshops, not just with finding books you never knew existed, or that you’ve been searching for, but with people too.”), and, of course, finds books for himself because he’s a reader, too.
The next best thing to visiting your favorite bookstore (shop cat not included), Confessions of a Bookseller is a warm and welcome memoir of a life in books. It’s for any reader looking for the kind of friend you meet in a bookstore.
More Than Cake: 100 Baking Recipes Built for Pleasure and Community (affiliate link)
Natasha Pickowicz is a creative force in the world of baking. Her pastries are uniquely delicious and surprising. She’s picked up three James Beard Award nominations for her time as a professional pastry chef. Her buzzy bake sales for Planned Parenthood and other nonprofits have raised hundreds of thousands of dollars. Now she shares her recipes and baking know-how in a debut cookbook brimming with the energy, passion, joy, knowledge, and spirit of generosity that define her work.
The recipes are fresh and uncomplicated, drawing on the author’s Chinese and Californian heritage. She pairs nectarine and miso in a tarte tatin and makes a layer cake with olive oil, mascarpone, and fennel. Black cardamom gets tucked into pecan sticky buns, and galettes go savory with kabocha squash.
And she’s a born teacher. Of course pastry requires a real focus on detail and technique, but the author is here at every step with invaluable tips: underbeat meringue; boil your plum stones to extract even more plum flavor; look for “first-press” yuzu juice; for the flakiest pie dough, first freeze your butter, then use a grater to get perfect shreds.
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