Book picks similar to
Opal's Story by Phyllis H. Moore


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Suspending Reality


Kelly Rimmer - 2012
    Each has a secret, and each will stop at nothing to find freedom.Suspending Reality is a novel that asks the question - can you ever outrun consequence?

Precious Things: Some things are worth killing for.


Marie Reyes - 2021
    

Corridor Man Volumes 1-3


Nick James - 2017
     The Dirty Lowdown wrote: "Nick James has nailed it. The all too dark side of our legal industry, and the type of character we're all too afraid to admit exists!" It looks like disbarred attorney Bobby Custer has won the lottery. After serving four years of a seven-year sentence, he gets an offer he can’t refuse – from the feds. They just want him to keep an eye out for shady goings-on at one of the most prestigious law firms in the city. And suddenly he’s out – out of jail, but also totally cast out of his old life: shunned by family and friends. Bobby Custer is psychotic, narcissistic, psychopathic, greedy, unprincipled...and always charming. He did all the right things -- went to law school, got a job in a good law firm -- right up until the conviction for “a minor dalliance with a trust fund”. You could almost feel for the guy – a young man tempted by the high life could make a mistake he regrets and end up losing everything. And a guy who’ll help you hide a body could just be a good friend. But as the bodies start piling up, you have to wonder if there’s something about Bobby that’s just not … right. Chilling and action-packed, Corridor Man exposes a dark, violent undercurrent just beneath the surface of “perfectly legal and above-board”. A combination of Breaking Bad and House of Cards, Corridor Man is a sinister, disturbing legal thriller series that's bound to keep you awake at night. Books one, two and three in the Corridor Man series.

Face the Winter Naked


Bonnie Turner - 1991
    The life of a freight-hopping, banjo-strumming hobo appeals to him more than he wants to admit. But he insists he's not a bum - he's a family man looking for work; a down-and-out victim of the Depression, whose war flashbacks and guilt for leaving his family accompany him through the hills of Missouri. Compassionate, humorous, and warm, despite the economic hardships of the era, Face the Winter Naked will appeal to readers who enjoy tales of survival in the Great Depression. Stories of desperate men who couldn't handle the realities of war or financial ruin. Men who dearly loved their families but hadn't the courage to stay and accept responsibility. The story pulls the reader back to a tragic period in history, where people either learned to cope with poverty - or perished.

Guns of the Waste Land: Departure: Volumes 1-2


Leverett Butts - 2016
     Now featuring Volume Two, Diversion Guns of the Waste Land is an epic retelling of Arthurian Legend in an American Western setting. In late 1800s just outside the Texas town of Bretton, four men wander the American desert. Percy Murratt seeks Sheriff Ardiss Drake to learn the fate of his late father. Meanwhile, Ardiss’ deputies, Gary Wayne Orkney and Boris Bennick, are in the pursuit of the outlaw Lancaster O'Loch flees, who has seduced and stolen Ardiss’ wife, Guernica. Featuring a host of familiar characters reminiscent of Gawain, the Green Knight, Lancelot, Merlin and, of course, King Arthur, Guns of the Waste Land is a timeless adventure of chivalry, revenge and honour. Now, in Book Two: Diversion , follow Percy and co. on their epic quest as they traverse the frontier of the American Waste Land, in pursuit of their own Holy Grail… Guns of the Waste Land “impressed the hell out of me with its inventiveness and wonderfully colorful dialogue, […] you may have a genuine classic on your hands.” –T.E.D. Klein, author of Dark Gods & The Ceremonies “Leverett Butts is a real talent. His Guns of the Waste Land is an original way to use a genre. I like a guy who has a mad literary streak and walks the wobbly tightrope: so far he's gotten across. This is the first installment in a longer narrative, and I can't wait to read the next if it's as good as the first or even close.”—Richard Monaco, author of the Parsival series “Guns of the Waste Land brings us back to a genre that has mostly been out of fashion for a time, but I believe this work has the power to bring us back to why we loved westerns. The western story is the story of America. In the western, the lines between good and evil are often vague, just as they are in real humanity. The western shows us the difficulty to survive and how it changes people for better or worse. Butts has explored these ideas and many more in a book that is unique and as well written as anything you'll read this year.” –Scott Thompson, author of Young Men Shall See & Eight Days Leverett Butts teaches composition and literature at the Gainesville campus of the University of North Georgia. His poetry and fiction have appeared in Eclectic and The Georgia State University Review. He is the recipient of several fiction prizes offered by the University of West Georgia and TAG Publishing. His first collection of short fiction, Emily's Stitches: The Confessions of Thomas Calloway and Other Stories, has been nominated for the 2013 Georgia Author of the Year Award in Short Fiction. He lives in Temple, Georgia, with his wife, son, their Jack Russell terrier, and a couple of antisocial cats. Venture Press is a science fiction and fantasy imprint of Endeavour Press, the UK’s leading independent digital publisher. We are committed to the discovery and rediscovery of immensely talented authors in the SFF genre, and continue to push boundaries in search of great literature. Join us as we venture across universes and unknown landscapes – past, present and future. Sign up to our newsletter: http://bit.ly/1LUVI4n Follow us on Twitter @venture_press Facebook: http://on.fb.me/1NnFow7

The Woods at Barlow Bend


Jodie Cain Smith - 2014
    At the age of fourteen, Hattie learns that her mother, Addie, is dead, and her father, Hubbard, stands accused of Addie's murder, along with countless other shocking betrayals. Overnight, Hattie becomes mother to her three siblings while still very much a child herself. The life she had dreamt of now seems impossible to achieve. How will Hattie break away from the father who prevents her from living the life she desperately wants? Will her heart ever be able to heal in the height of The Great Depression?

Master Potter


Jill Austin - 2003
    This is a story about the struggle for her soul as she is discarded on the Potter's Field, the town's garbage dump. The cosmic war for humanity is brought to vivid reality as Master Potter finds her there.You may see yourself as you read about Forsaken and her struggle toward wholeness. Through many trials she develops intimacy, receives healing from her past pain and brokenness, and learns that Master Potter desires her even in her weakness. No one is too broken to be healed and used by God.Heavenly and satanic forces battle for Forsaken's soul until Master Potter rescues her, giving her a new name and new hope for her life. Supernatural encounters, visits from the spirit world, and her personal struggle for hope blur the line between allegory and reality.

Finding Faith (Love's Compass #4)


Melanie D. Snitker - 2016
    Moving away from her family support system so Gideon can attend a special school seems like the right choice, even if it means her entire life is about to change. The satisfaction of helping children and being a part of their lives is one reason Aaron Randall loves his job as a music therapist. When Hope Academy instills a dating policy, he doesn't give it a second thought. Until the new coworker who'd caught his attention turns out to be the parent of one of his students.A love they never expected is just out of reach. With Aaron's job and Gideon's education hanging in the balance, they'll have to rely on faith to find their way.

Calling Crow


Paul Clayton
    Calling Crow is haunted by his recurring dream of the Destroyer who will one day lay waste to his village. Then Spanish colonial slavers from the island of Hispaniola arrive on the shores of the Southeast, lands that have been home to the Muskogee people for generations. Calling Crow and another brave are taken and bound into slavery. Life in the gold pits and slave camps is humiliating and brutal, but Calling Crow refuses to let them break his spirit. Aided by a kindly priest, Calling Crow vows to learn the language and ways of an overwhelmingly powerful enemy in order to eventually save his own people. But first he must regain his own freedom.

The Bialy Pimps


Johnny B. Truant - 2012
    The loathed customers are dealt the poor treatment they seem to deserve, bad rap music is played loudly, and The Rat is killed often enough to stem his immortality. And the insane homeless regulars -- like drunken Little Johnny Redbeard -- keep life interesting.But when a rival tricks the crew into thinking that the deli's closure is imminent, they do the only logical thing: instead of giving up, they decide to go out in a blaze of glory, handing their customers the humiliation and abuse that the pesky social contract had previously forbidden. But as insults turn to assaults and snide remarks turn to harassment and pro wrestling moves, a strange thing happens. Business goes up -- way up -- as people come back in droves, begging for more.But the flame that burns twice as bright burns half as long, and as pop-culture welcomes the parody musical group "The Bialy Pimps" and its frivolous merchandising machine -- and as the crew pushes to see how much bad behavior society will accept -- the violent road to fame begins to feel like a runaway train, out of control and headed for destruction…The Bialy Pimps is a tale that could only be spun by the twisted, vaguely profane mind of outspoken blogger Johnny B. Truant. Combining hilarity with questions about conformity and whether the tail or the dog is the one doing the wagging, this story can't help but raise a question for the reader: If the rest of your friends decided to submit to the Face-Kicking Machine, would you do it too?

Such a Hope (Paths of Grace #1)


Sondra Kraak - 2016
    After her father’s death—a tragedy away from home—she returns to their cabin on the outskirts of Seattle, seeking the sense of belonging that eluded her childhood. But will her desire to pray for miraculous healing for the sick and wounded endear or alienate her to the community? Her most aggravating challenger is also her staunchest defender and has brown hair and eyes, stands six feet tall, and farms with unchecked tenacity. Tristan Porter. This farmer her father had befriended holds more secrets than Yesler’s Mill holds logs. When ugly rumors arise about her spiritual gift and her property, Anna fears her quest to find belonging will be thwarted. Tristan holds the truth to set her free, but revealing it will require him to face the disappointments of his past and surrender his plans for the future—a sacrifice he’s not sure he can make.

Whisper Me This


Kerry Anne King - 2018
    The only thing Maisey’s sure she’s gotten right is her relationship with her twelve-year-old daughter, Elle…until a phone call blows apart the precarious balance of their lives. Maisey’s mother is in a coma, and her aging father faces charges of abuse and neglect.Back at her childhood home, Maisey must make a heartrending life-or-death decision. Her confused father has destroyed family records, including her mother’s final wishes. Searching for answers, Maisey uncovers one unspeakable secret after another when she stumbles upon a shattering truth: a twin sister named Marley.Maisey’s obsession with solving the mystery of her sister forces her to examine her darkest memories and triggers a custody battle with Elle’s father. Will Maisey’s love for her daughter be strong enough to break a cycle of abuse and create a new beginning for them all?

Kill Switch


Gordon Bonnet - 2015
     When high school teacher Chris Franzia comes home on the last day of school, he finds two FBI agents waiting for him. A string of seemingly unrelated murders has left them baffled, and they can find only one commonality. All five victims shared a college class with Chris thirty years earlier... and now he may be next. Struggling with the sheer impossibility of the situation, Chris’s skepticism fades after a series of failed attempts on his life makes things deadly clear. Thus begins a harrowing cross-country race, forcing Chris to put together the pieces of his past while staying one step ahead of his mysterious assailants. Can he make the connection in time? And will the deadly picture of reconstructed memory be worth the price of knowing?

Chasing Rainbows


Kathleen Long - 2011
    Her husband leaves her for another woman, and her best friend announces an unplanned pregnancy at the age of forty-one. Bernie's behavior goes from acting out to out-of-hand, and she finds herself in trouble at home, out of work and banned from the mall after a confrontation at the cosmetic counter.When her mother discovers her father's book of cryptograms, Bernie realizes his encoded lessons in living might be exactly what she needs to survive. From dealing with her family's grief and bonding with her best friend's thirteen-year-old daughter, to dieting, dating and mindless almost-sex with the landscaper, Bernie discovers what her father always knew.In life, you either choose to sing a rainbow, or you don't.For Bernie, the singing is about to begin.

Baroota: The Hunting Ground (The Director Series Book 1)


Zach Fortier - 2016
    He gets sucked in to an “off the books Black Ops mission” to rescue victims of Human Trafficking being sold into sexual slavery. He meets Nõnkos Zia or Nõn. A woman born in South Africa and herself a former victim of Muti-medicine, a type of medicine still practiced in South Africa that weaves the occult and human sacrifices into the locals belief system. She is also a victim of human trafficking, from which she barely escaped after taking revenge on her captors. They are outsiders in a dark twisted tale of deceit, lies and double crosses that take them to the “Darien Gap” of Panama, one of the most remote areas in the world to hunt human traffickers.