Elizabeth Zelvin tops today’s Buffet with Death Will Extend Your Vacation, a humorous yet believable mystery with a page-turner of a plot. It’s Book 3 of her “Bruce Kohler” mystery series.
Elizabeth is a New York City psychotherapist whose mysteries feature recovering alcoholic Bruce Kohler.
A magna cum laude graduate of Brandeis University, Elizabeth spent two years as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Côte d’Ivoire, West Africa. On her return, she worked as an editor, while her poems appeared in numerous journals and in two books, I Am the Daughter and Gifts and Secrets: Poems of the Therapeutic Relationship. In 1983, she received a CAPS award for poetry from the New York State Council on the Arts.
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Death Will Extend Your Vacation: Bruce Kohler #3
Mystery > Cozy
Author: Elizabeth Zelvin
A clean and sober group house might not be everyone’s idea of a dream vacation in the Hamptons, but the aptly named Deadhampton seems just about perfect for recovering alcoholic Bruce Kohler, his main man Jimmy, and BFF Barbara the World-Class co-dependent. (Meaning she simply cannot mind her own business.)
Even the neighbors seem kindred spirits. Down the road’s a big house in the dunes owned by a clean and sober playboy with a motley crew of house guests in recovery from drug, love, and sex addictions, compulsive overeating, bulimia, and anorexia, not to mention good old-fashioned alcoholism.
But someone’s not abstaining from murder…
All goes swimmingly, so to speak, until Deadhampton lives up to its name in more ways than one way when the tide washes in the body of Clea, the trio’s beautiful housemate . “Murder?” say the cops. ” Piffle! You people are seeing pink elephants.”
But Clea was an investigative journalist whose passions included environmental issues and men—lots of men. Our intrepid three aren’t about to let this one go. So who needs the old addictions? Secrets, lies, and danger are the new sex, booze, and drugs!
A Lancaster County Christmas
Christian Fiction > Holidays > Christmas
Author: Suzanne Woods Fisher
Jaime and C. J. Fitzpatrick began their married life as most couples do–in love and looking forward to a bright future together. But four years later they’ve drifted apart and are almost ready to call it quits.
Mattie Riehl was hoping to give her husband Sol the Christmas gift they have both longed for–news that a baby was on the way. But as usual, she is disappointed. The holidays bring an acute awareness to Mattie that her dream of a big family isn’t likely to become a reality.
Then a winter storm raging outside blows the Fitzpatricks into the Riehl home–and into a much slower pace of life. Can these two couples from different worlds help each other understand the true meaning of love this Christmas?
Beyond Sex: Tantra, A practical guide to extraordinary living
Self-Help > Personal Transformation
Author: Tanja Diamond
Tanja Diamond has bridged the gap between the “woo woo” and practical understanding and implementation of spiritual awakening. At once funny and controversial, Tanja delivers with her usual flair and explains to us that Tantra is more than sexual technique; its practices can be used for business, life and relationships.
Prepare yourself for a life-changing journey and empowerment as you travel through chapters ranging from Arousal, Intent and Integrity, Business for Tantra and even an understanding of why Zen is for Sissies.
Sixty Acres and a Bride (Ladies of Caldwell County Book #1)
Religion & Spirituality > Romance
Author: Regina Jennings
With nothing to their names, young widow Rosa Garner and her mother-in-law return to Texas and the family ranch. Only now the county is demanding back taxes and the women have only three months to pay.
Though facing eviction, Rosa can’t keep herself from falling in love with the countryside and the wonderful extended family who want only her best. Learning the American customs is not easy, however, and this beautiful young widow can’t help but catch wandering eyes. Where some offer help with dangerous strings attached, only one man seems honorable. But when Weston Garner, still grieving his own lost love, is unprepared to give his heart, to what lengths will Rosa go to save her future?
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Ward of the Vampire (Ward of the Vampire Serial)
Romance > Paranormal > Vampires
Author: Kallysten
It’s the party of the season. Socialites, artists and A-list stars have been invited to Morgan Ward’s birthday bash, including Angelina’s boss, Delilah.
For months, Angelina has been looking at the preparations from afar, but never did she imagine that, come the day, Miss Delilah would put her in a gorgeous gown and bring her along as her ‘plus one.’ Wandering from crowded room to crowded room in the sumptuous mansion, Angelina grows overwhelmed and escapes onto a balcony, only to find it occupied by her host. That first meeting leaves her struggling for her very life, but she soon gets an unexpected do-over.
Meeting Morgan Ward for the first time all over again, Angelina finds herself falling into his arms… But is it all only a fantasy?
Just Desserts
Cookbooks, Food & Wine > Holidays
Author: Kemberlee Shortland
Sixty-seven recipes for festive desserts and drinks for the holiday season, all contributed by the wonderful authors and staff at Tirgearr Publishing.
- Be Still My Heart Banana Nut Bread by Patricia McAllister
- Bread Pudding by Kemberlee Shortland
- Canadian Christmas Pudding with Rum Sauce by Lynette Willows
- Cappuccino Mousse by Christine McPherson
- Chocolate Fondue by Stephanie Johnson
- Chocolate Seduction Cake by Charlene Raddon
- Cream Cheese Cookies by Dellani Oakes
- Crumbs Crumble by Cathy Mansell
- Dark Dream Bites by K.A. Laity
- Divinity Fudge by R.L. McCoy
… and much more.
Touching Wonder: Recapturing the Awe of Christmas
Religion & Spirituality > Holidays > Christmas
Author: John Blase
This bold retelling of Luke 1–2, based on Eugene Peterson’s Message translation, reads like a novel and invites readers to experience the Nativity with fresh wonder.
To Eugene Peterson’s The Message Bible translation, John Blase adds his own storytelling voice, exploring the familiar events from multiple first-person viewpoints. What emerges is the intimate story of unlikely people—a frightened teenaged girl, a worried carpenter, a collection of senior citizens, a disillusioned young shepherd—meeting up with the divine as they bumble and stumble toward the realization that the little one just born is the One.
This retold story of Word made flesh invites readers to react appropriately—with eyes opened wide in wonder, jaws dropped in amazement, and hearts rejoicing. The beautiful design and Amanda Jolman’s lively line drawings make this book a fitting gift as well as a Christmas tradition that families will treasure for years to come.
Dimension M
International Mystery & Crime
Author: Scott Wyatt
Alden Frost and Fatimah Ibrahim break into a school in Uzbekistan to raise a “companion flag,” a symbol of all that human beings have in common. But this is not just any school. It’s the secret repository for the Şahin Diary, an exposé on the Armenian genocide. Following their arrest, it’s discovered that the Şahin Diary is missing. If its contents are made public, the Turkish government could collapse, destabilizing the entire Middle East. Forces and interests around the globe are mobilized to find the diary, either to return it to hiding, or to publicize its contents. Alden and Fatimah find themselves in the crosshairs. The job of protecting them falls to American diplomat Len Williams and his close friend, Uzbek Abbas Ahkmedova.
Marriage Matters: Extraordinary Change through Ordinary Moments
Christian Living > Marriage
Author: Winston T. Smith
Can ordinary marriages become extraordinary?
He snapped at her during breakfast. She brought up a past mistake. He walked out angry. She left without saying good-bye. An ordinary day in an ordinary marriage. But what if things could be different? What if the moments that seem the most ordinary moments of annoyance, conflict, pain, or cold indifference could become moments in which you’re able to understand God’s incredible agenda for love and begin to do something new?
Winston T. Smith, drawing on his extensive experience as a marriage counselor, offers a simple yet powerful prescription for changing your marriage. He shows how examining the everyday disappointments and irritations in your marriage will help you understand yourself, your spouse, and your need for God’s love. Change begins with seeing day-to-day interactions from a different perspective, taking simple steps to love one another more effectively, and then learning how to take those steps over and over again. Interactions that used to devolve into pointless annoyances and fights can become an opportunity for God’s activity and love to become increasingly evident and powerful.
Selling Scarlett (A Love Inc. Novel)
Romantic Suspense > Coming of Age
Author: Ella James
Elizabeth DeVille doesn’t belong at a party like this – one where the gowns cost more than her Camry and cigars run higher than her grad school utility bills. Dragged out of seclusion by her best friend Suri, Elizabeth is merely playing dress-up, rubbing elbows with a crowd that banished her troubled family years ago.
Hunter West is tired. Tired of parties, tired of pretending, and tired of trying to right a wrong that haunts him every day. Bourbon heir and professional poker player by day, by night Hunter is gambling with his life in a high-stakes game of crime and blackmail.
When Elizabeth stumbles into Hunter’s den of vices, she’s a light in the darkness, a flame in the void. And, just like everything he touches, Hunter mars her in a record time. To rectify the damage done, Elizabeth needs money she doesn’t have, and she’s come up with a foolproof way to get it.
Follow Elizabeth – code-named Scarlett – to the lush Nevada brothel where she’ll auction her virginity and risk the only thing that’s not for sale: her heart. The highest bidder is a familiar face, with wicked hands and the devil’s mouth. And a secret so dark that it could cost her life.
Age of Context: Mobile, Sensors, Data and the Future of Privacy
Computers & Technology > Business & Management > Privacy
Author: Robert Scoble, Shel Israel
Regularly $9.99, Today $0.99
In 2006, co-authors Robert Scoble and Shel Israel wrote Naked Conversations, a book that persuaded businesses to embrace what we now call social media. Six years later they have teamed up again to report that social media is but one of five converging forces that promise to change virtually every aspect of our lives. You know these other forces already: mobile, data, sensors and location-based technology. Combined with social media they form a new generation of personalized technology that knows us better than our closest friends.
We are entering a time when our technology serves us best because it watches us; collecting data on what we do, who we speak with, what we look at. There is no doubt about it: Big Data is watching you. The time to lament the loss of privacy is over. The authors argue that the time is right to demand options that enable people to reclaim some portions of that privacy.
Overlooked
Historical Romance > Regency
Author: Helen Williams
Regularly $6.99, Today $1.99
When Miss Elizabeth Gardiner, in London to enjoy her first Season, meets the widower Fitzwilliam Darcy, the Duke of Farleigh neither realise how much they will change each other’s lives. Whilst their families and friends all overlook the possibility of a romance between them, Elizabeth and Darcy quietly fall in love and discover that, despite their apparent differences, they are perfect for one another.
Inspired by Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, Overlooked is an original story of love, acceptance and finding happiness in unusual places.
Rusty Nail – A Thriller (Jack Daniels Mysteries)
Mystery > Women Sleuths
Author: J.A. Konrath, Jack Kilborn
Regularly $3.99, Today $0.99
Lt. Jacqueline “Jack” Daniels of the Chicago Police Department is back, and once again she’s up to her Armani in murder.
Someone is sending Jack snuff videos. The victims are people she knows, and they share a common trait — each was involved in one of Jack’s previous cases. With her stalwart partner hospitalized and unable to help, Jack follows a trail of death throughout the Midwest, on a collision course with the smartest and deadliest adversary she’s ever known.
During the chase, Jack jeopardizes her career, her love life, and her closest friends. She also comes to a startling realization — serial killers have families, and blood runs thick.
Rusty Nail features more of the laugh-out-loud humor and crazy characters that saturated Whiskey Sour and Bloody Mary, without sacrificing the nail-biting thrills. This is Jack Daniels’s third, and most exciting, adventure yet.
The Fifties
History > United States > 20th Century
Author: David Halberstam
Regularly $14.99, Today $1.99
Joe McCarthy. Marilyn Monroe. The H-bomb. Ozzie and Harriet. Elvis. Civil rights. It’s undeniable: The fifties were a defining decade for America, complete with sweeping cultural change and political upheaval. This decade is also the focus of David Halberstam’s triumphant The Fifties, which stands as an enduring classic and was an instant New York Times bestseller upon its publication.
More than a survey of the decade, it is a masterfully woven examination of far-reaching change, from the unexpected popularity of Holiday Inn to the marketing savvy behind McDonald’s expansion. A meditation on the staggering influence of image and rhetoric, The Fifties is vintage Halberstam, who was hailed by the Denver Post as “a lively, graceful writer who makes you . . . understand how much of our time was born in those years.”
Fear of Flying: Fortieth Anniversary Edition (Isadora Wing)
Contemporary Fiction > Women’s Fiction
Author: Erica Jong, Fay Weldon
Regularly $14.99, Today $2.99
Bored with her marriage, a psychoanalyst’s wife embarks on a wild, life-changing affair.
After five years, Isadora Wing has come to a crossroads in her marriage: Should she and her husband stay together or get divorced? Accompanying her husband to an analysts’ conference in Vienna, she ditches him and strikes out on her own, crisscrossing Europe in search of a man who can inspire uninhibited passion. But, as she comes to learn, liberation and happiness are not necessarily the same thing.
A literary sensation when first published in 1973, Fear of Flying established Erica Jong as one of her generation’s foremost voices on sex and feminism. Nearly four decades later, the novel has lost none of its insight, verve, or jaw-dropping wit.
This ebook features a new introduction by Fay Weldon, as well as an illustrated biography of Erica Jong, including rare photos and never-before-seen documents from the author’s personal collection.
Oddkins: A Fable for All Ages
Children’s Books > Fairy Tales, Folk Tales & Myths
Author: Dean Koontz, Phil Parks
Regularly $6.99, Today $1.99
Blockbuster author Dean Koontz’s first novel for young readers, a beautifully illustrated and visually stunning story about a magical band of living toys who learn to overcome the fears we all face in the dark.
Toymaker Isaac Bodkins created the Oddkins, a group of living toys, for very special children who face difficulties in life and need true friends. There’s Amos, the brave stuffed bear; Skippy, the rabbit who dreams of being a superstar; Butterscotch, the gentle, floppy-eared pup; Burl the elephant; the wise and scholarly Gibbons; and Patch the cat. The Oddkins are given to children to inspire, support, and love them, especially during times of adversity. Only now, the toys themselves are the ones who need help.
Before he dies, Mr. Bodkins delivers a dire warning to Amos the bear: Watch out for an evil toymaker and his dangerous creations! Locked up in the dark sub-basement, another group of toys is climbing out of boxes and crates and coming to life as well. These bad toys—like Rex and Lizzie, the puppets with no strings; Gear, the vicious robot; and Stinger, the horrid buzzing bumblebee with his knife-sharp stinger—were made to hurt children, not help them. Leering, laughing, and deadly, they are let loose into the world by a terrifying force.
… See the rest of today’s Editor’s Picks here on page 2