They have nothing in common. Just one amazing, passionate weekend in Chicago and a desire to meet again.

    Bill and Joshua (known as Jonah) Graves grew up aboard their father’s boat—the Cinderella—learning the rules and rites of the antiquated business they love. But when their father is lost at sea and the price of lobster crashes worldwide, Bill and Jonah must decide how much they are willing to risk for their family legacy.Standing against them is Osmond Raymond— the town minister, mystic, captain of The Revelation, and their father’s business partner for more than twenty years. Together with his grandson and heir, Tonto, Osmond is determined to push the Graves family out of their lobster pound, regardless of the cost or the consequences.

    When she requests his presence at her neighborhood bachelor auction, he agrees—under one condition. His participation must be kept under wraps. He may be one of the best “closers” in the league, but the last thing he needs is a media circus. Unfortunately, the persistent woman who wins his company is a reporter. She stands for everything he tries to avoid, but their instant connection and her undeniable beauty are slowly breaking through his exterior whether he likes it or not. One night, one goal. That’s all sports journalist Ashton Joy (A.J.) Cook needs to land the exclusive interview of her dreams. She’s worked overtime to earn respect and interviewing the mysterious baseball player is an opportunity too delicious to pass up. Using her sly reporter skills, A.J. arranges the auction’s winning bid for Christian. Yet, the man behind the legend is infuriating in more ways than one. Their explosive chemistry is giving her whiplash and soon, A.J. must decide between doing what’s best for her career or following what she feels in her heart.

    The Four Roses, as the farmhouse is called, is a labor of love--but Ivy didn't bargain on just how much labor. The previous family left so much furniture and so much junk, that it's a full-time job sorting through all of it.At the top of a closet, Ivy finds an old Santa suit--beautifully made and decades old. In the pocket of a suit she finds a note written in a childish hand: it's from a little girl who has one Christmas wish, and that is for her father to return home from the war. This discovery sets Ivy off on a mission. Who wrote the note? Did the man ever come home? What mysteries did the Rose family hold?Ivy's quest brings her into the community, at a time when all she wanted to do was be left alone and nurse her wounds. But the magic of Christmas makes miracles happen, and Ivy just might find more than she ever thought possible: a welcoming town, a family reunited, a mystery solved, and a second chance at love.

    1 Ladies' Detective Agency Study Guide contains comprehensive summaries and analysis of the book. This study guide includes a detailed Plot Summary, Chapter Summaries & Analysis, Character Descriptions, Objects/Places, Themes, Styles, Quotes, and Topics for Discussion on The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency by Alexander McCall Smith.

    Ancestry, intrigue, and lessons in friendship are part of the narrative. As summer draws to a close, an urgent call sends Kat and Philippe back to Sainte-Mathilde where the family gathers to support each other in an emergency situation. From the splendor of the lavender season through to the changing landscape of autumn and the festivities of the grape harvest, the Love in Provence characters face challenges, make memories and attempt to maintain their usual joie de vivre!

    An examination of Le Guin's career, from her obscure beginnings in the science fiction magazines to her rapid rise to the top in the 1970's.

    Losing her young son to a tragic accident had nearly driven her to the point of madness and now she was on the verge of losing her husband too. In a last ditch effort to save their marriage, she decided to book a romantic cabin vacation for just the two of them up in the mountains of North Carolina. She thought she had experienced the worst life could throw at her. Little did she know that the wilderness had in something else in store for her, when she finds herself left alone and fighting for her life.

    Her character is similar to that of many women we see in our lives. But what is different is the dramatic twist in the tale, which you won’t see coming. The protagonist Gauri is patient and persistent, with an undying love and affection for her husband, much like many women in the country. Indeed, Gauri’s story is the tale of many women in India, who sacrifice their needs, desires and dreams for the sake of people dear to them. This work of fiction is a tribute to every unsung woman in every household. A big salute to these strong women, without whom society will perish.

     A few days before Noble Norfleet's eighteenth birthday, his family suffers a violent catastrophe. The sole survivor, Noble throws himself into a reckless affair with his Spanish teacher, whose husband is fighting in Vietnam. When Noble graduates, he enlists as well and, while serving as an army medic, experiences a mysterious vision that seems tied to uncanny events in his recent past. Not until thirty years later -- after a life short on friends and troubled by a compulsion to worship women's bodies -- is Noble challenged to rethink the decades-old mystery of his family tragedy. Faced with an ominous choice, Noble finally comes to accept an enormous duty he's long tried to ignore. Soon, perhaps for the first time, his future seems hopeful.

    Uneasy, resentful, afraid.She’s always been his favourite, his Bird — the helpless little thing who stole his heart at birth.Now he is dying and Marcie can’t stand to be around him.Day and night, he raves of Rebekkah, a raven-haired beauty who never leaves his side.She is not his wife.She is not the mother of his children.She is not to be silenced.Is she a fragment of a dying man’s fevered imagination? Or something more?Marcie vows to help her grandfather pull the truth from his nightmares. But the deeper she digs the more she regrets her promise.Is she ready for the killer secret she’s about to expose?Fans of Eve Chase, C. D. Major, Celeste Ng, Alex North, Ruth Ware, Bridget Collins, Jessie Burton, Mark Edwards and Stephen King will devour this unforgettable tale of family secrets dragged to light.

    . . Except he's not good at any of that. He's been in jail twice (and the state's got a bad attitude about seeing someone the third time); that bug he just felt crawling up his neck is most likely the first installment of the DTs; and Dumas recently delivered a fairly emphatic payment-due reminder: a couple of his goons busted two of Jeffty's fingers. The fact is, Jeffty's a loser, big as they come, and things aren't about to change up for him anytime soon: "I would've felt . . . near terminally depressed," he tells us as his story begins to unfold, "but I was so used to my life all I felt was content." Then he stumbles on salvation: a dirt-caked, street-hardened, exquisitely beautiful young homeless woman named Mona--Jeffty prefers to think of her as Angel--who inspires both his love and the idea for the perfect con. It's Jeffty's chance to hit it big, and to be set for good in his new life with his new love. "The thing about love," Jeffty declares, "is no matter how twisted, or wrong, or evil, it never dies." But as the momentum of the con carries him closer and closer to what he imagines will be a moment of blissed-out consummation with his angel Mona, Jeffty discovers there are some severe exceptions to his rule.Smart, edgy, caustically funny, Love Is a Racket puts John Ridley in a darkly comic league of his own.From the Hardcover edition.

    As the elder son of a respected Illinois family at the turn of the century, Christian dutifully sets aside his own creative talents and dreams to take his place in the family business. His younger, prodigal brother Harry, however, always gets what he wants and doesn’t mind letting others—especially his awkward brother—pay the cost. But when Harry thinks he’s found his soul mate in the wealthy socialite Anna Clark, Christian fears his future sister-in-law really has gotten away with murder. In order to protect his brother from his beguiling prize, Christian must challenge his family’s wishes, stand up to Harry and uncover Anna’s dark secrets before someone else is destroyed. All this while another more lethal danger threatens them all. November 1918 would be the deadliest month in US History as the Spanish Influenza epidemic swept through America, killing more civilians at home than in all the battles of the Great War in Europe. Amidst this sudden struggle to survive, all three young people will be forced to reveal their true colors.The Reverend's Other Son is a fiction novel set at the end of the First World War and features romantic and inspirational plotlines interwoven with captivating and accurate historical detail. Approximately 75,000 words, intended for young adult and adult readers. DLR Designs created the original cover art.

     It is DC Ruby Knight’s first day in CID and she is called upon to investigate a vicious assault. A man has been doused with acid on his doorstep. Having returned to Hertfordshire after working as a beat bobby in London, Knight is relieved she has been given a serious case. But she has also been partnered with DI Steve Jenkins, a dishevelled detective who looks like he’s almost given up the ghost. Despite Knight’s enthusiasm, she struggles to find a motive for the crime, which has left the victim fighting for his life. And she becomes increasing frustrated with her partner’s lacklustre approach to policing. But when another attack occurs the case is blown wide open. Knight’s fears that working in a backwater will be boring, prove quite unfounded. Indeed, she even begins to appreciate her partner’s discreet ways of getting information, and gradually grows fond of him. But what was a difficult, emotional case will soon become a murder investigation and it will take all of Knight’s intelligence and energy to bring the killers to justice.

    A boy. A heir. To carry the family name and the company forward into the future. Instead I got you! Two daughters. Fit for nothing except to marry someone and walk away.”Kajal Rathore had walked out of her home and her father after that confrontation, making a life and living it on her own terms. Away from the archaic chauvinism that made her father reject her because she was not the son he wanted. Now her father’s flailing health has brought her back to her home. And to the company that had been in her family for generations. Once Kajal had had a dream of becoming a part of that company and now fates were handing over that dream. But to claim it, she will have to confront the father who denies her, the mother who never stood up for her, the sister who needs her and the man who wants her. “I want you to marry Kajal. I don’t..I can’t trust her with Rathore Industries. But I don’t have a choice. But if you are beside her, I would never have to worry. Marry her and the company would be yours.”Arjun Shekhawat was deeply indebted to his boss. The man who had been his godfather and his mentor. Refusing him was not on cards. Even when it was something as personal as marriage. After all, it was a win-win situation. But keeping the promise meant getting close to his boss’s daughter. Close enough to win her trust, to appreciate the person that she was and the secrets that surrounded her. Close enough to fall in love with her. And to realize that he had unwittingly agreed to become the weapon that would one day be used against her.