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Secrets and Malice by Ken Langwell


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The Connector


Aubrey Parker - 2016
    Fortunately, it can buy everything else. A week ago, I didn’t know who Nathan Turner was. That’s because he doesn’t own deals; he makes them instead. He’s the man behind the curtain — more powerful even than the man in front of it. He’s a multi-billion-dollar networker. A connector, in his own words. Nathan’s job is to pull strings. And when I butted my way into his office, he told me he planned to pull my strings, too. I thought I could make my own deal with Nathan, but now I’m in over my head. What he’s connecting now isn’t a takeover or a buyout. I think he’s forming a secret society instead: a Syndicate of billionaires who want to pool their assets into a trillion-dollar pool, then rule the world. I’m not up to this. I’m just an 18-year-old girl. But there’s no way Nathan will let me out now. The Connector is the first book in the Trillionaire Boys’ Club series by Aubrey Parker. Each book tells the story of another of the Club’s powerful members … and you’re going to want to collect them all.

Either Side of Midnight


Tori de Clare - 2013
    I rate this book as a ten-star and expect to see it as number one on the best selling list for many, many weeks.” Reviewed by Trudi LoPreto for Readers'Favorite.WHAT IF THE BEST DAY OF YOUR LIFE TURNED INTO YOUR WORST NIGHTMARE?When nineteen-year-old Naomi Stone is snatched from her husband at knifepoint on the night of their wedding and taken to a deserted cemetery, she knows her life is finished. Drugged and disorientated, she loses consciousness as she lies in an open grave with a gun to her head. But the following day, she mysteriously awakes to find herself unharmed and secured to a bed. She's in a beautiful bedroom in a secluded cottage in open countryside. Only one person knows she’s there – the man in the balaclava who’s holding her, feeding her, revealing nothing. Naomi senses the unfolding of a plan. She should be on honeymoon in the Caribbean. Instead, she’s trapped with an emotionless psycho with no hope of escape . . . And his voice is chillingly familiar.Who is he? What does he want? What's happened to her husband? Where is she? Will anyone find her before it's too late?

Find Me, Save Me


Barbara Gee - 2015
    In an effort to end their standoff and regain control of his lucrative criminal enterprises, Jimmy plots to abduct Tuck’s sister. He hopes to use her to get the tireless agent to finally back off. Although Tuck manages to keep Libby safe from his enemy’s clutches, her best friend pays the price. Now Maddy’s life depends on Tuck. Madison Harper has been fascinated by her friend’s older brother ever since seeing photos of him in Libby’s apartment and learning that he works as a federal agent. Given her close friendship with Libby, Maddy expects she will some day meet Tucker Simon. What she doesn't expect is to need him. When Maddy is accidentally drawn into the dark schemes of Jimmy Callahan, her chances of survival are slim. As she faces almost certain death at the hands of a man bent on revenge, she prays for Tuck to find her. But time is running out, and Jimmy isn't going to make it easy. It should have never come to this—Madison should not have been made to suffer at the hands of his enemy. As Tuck fights to rescue the most courageous woman he’s ever known and keep her safe from further harm, he’s also fighting his own sense of guilt. As she heals and his feelings for her become stronger, Tuck is forced to reevaluate the path of his life. He thought he had it all mapped out, but Madison Harper is changing everything. He can only trust that God will lead him where he is meant to go. He finds her—he saves her—dare he love her? Note: While this is a Christian themed book, the story is also intended to be as realistic as possible. The "bad guy" does swear at times. This is not meant to offend readers.

Blazing Trouble


Jenna St. James - 2019
    James.When Trinity Falls' Most Eligible Bachelor, fireman Caleb Travers, strikes a bargain with reporter Katherine "Kat" O'Malley, neither one is prepared for the sparks that fly. Now if only they could convince their grandmothers--long-time rivals--to butt out of their fake relationship. Between two black eyes, a gang shootout with real weapons, and a jealous ex-girlfriend, Katherine O'Malley sets out to prove she's badass enough to nab Trinity Falls' Most Eligible Bachelor. Not like he's going to need much convincing...pact or no pact. But when Kat is faced with having to risk her heart and go all-in with Caleb, will she be able to take that leap of faith? Or will she decide, instead, to walk away and let her heart crash and burn?

The Marriage Pact


M.J. Pullen - 2011
    A large but cozy suburban home shared with a charming husband and two brilliant children. A celebrated career as a writer, complete with mahogany shelves and a summer book tour. A life full of adventure with her friends and family by her side.Instead, Marci lives alone in 480 square feet of converted motel space next to a punk rock band, hundreds of miles from her friends and family. She works in a temporary accounting assignment that has somehow stretched from two weeks into nine months. And the only bright spot in her life, not to mention the only sex she’s had in two years, is an illicit affair with her married boss, Doug. Thirty is not at all what it is cracked up to be.Then the reappearance of an old friend with whom she had made a drunken marriage pact ten years earlier opens a long-forgotten door, and the lines between right and wrong, heartache and happiness are all about to get very blurry, as Marci faces the most difficult choices of her life. Following in the footsteps of Something Borrowed and Something Blue, The Marriage Pact is a delightful debut that will have readers laughing, crying, and falling completely in love.

Gaspar And The Fantastical Hats


David A. Lindsay - 2013
    Confronted by danger at every turn, he and his friend, Hubris the Spellbroker, become entangled in a bizarre web of intrigue, politics and outlandish fashion. They soon realise that they are just pawns in a greater game, but who is their real adversary and how can they disentangle themselves without ending up seriously dead?This humorous fantasy novella (28,500 words) is a prequel to the novel, Gaspar The Thief (126,000 words), also by David A. Lindsay.

The Unremembered Girl


Eliza Maxwell - 2017
    It’s all he can do to keep his compassionate but ailing mother and his stepfather—a fanatical grassroots minister with a bruising rhetoric—from ruin. But they have no idea they’ve become the obsession of the girl in the woods.Abandoned and nearly feral, Eve has been watching them, seduced by the notion of family—something she’s known only in the most brutal sense. Soon she can’t resist the temptation to get close. Where Henry’s mother sees a poor girl in need, his father sees only wickedness. When Henry forges an unexpected bond with Eve, he believes he might be able to save her. He doesn’t know how wrong he is.Eve is about to take charge of her own destiny—and that of Henry’s family. As both their worlds spin violently out of control, Henry must make an impossible choice: protect the broken young woman who’s claimed a piece of his soul, or put everyone he loves at risk in order to do the right thing.

Gretel


Christopher Coleman - 2015
    When it sets its sights on an unsuspecting mother one routine morning along an isolated stretch of highway, a quiet farming family is suddenly thrust into a world of unspeakable terror, and a young girl must learn to be a hero.

No One's Angel


Kelly Walker - 2013
    No One's Angel's angel is a New Adult (NA) Contemporary Romance about a girl learning to fight back and a boy learning to let go. Tess used to spend more hours than she'd care to admit playing her favorite computer game, using the nickname Angel. She could pretend her life was different, and she could pretend Arion was just a friend. But a girl needs more to keep her warm at night than pixels, and she traded her virtual heaven for a real-life hell. Now she's on the run from a past she won't talk about, and the only place she has to go is the doorstep of the friend she's never actually met.When Angel disappeared from their nightly games, it nearly destroyed Arion. He threw himself into work and women, but he can't help knowing the one-night stands will never compare to the angel who haunts his dreams. At first, when she shows up soaking wet and scared-shitless on his doorstep, he thinks his prayers have been answered.But the more Arion tries to keep Angel close, the more her fear drives her away. If they are ever going to have a chance for a future, they'll first have to deal with the past that hasn't forgotten her any more than she's forgotten it--and Arion will have to learn how to let her go.

The Speed of Sound


Eric Bernt - 2018
    Resident Eddie Parks’s contribution is nothing less than extraordinary: an “echo box” that can re-create never-recorded sounds using acoustic archeology.All Eddie wants is to hear his late mother’s voice. But what he’s created is inadvertently posing a threat to national security.To Harmony House’s shadowy government backers and radical extremists, the echo box is the ultimate intelligence asset—an end to the very concept of secrecy. Now for Eddie and the compassionate Dr. Skylar Drummond, the true nature of the institution is becoming chillingly clear.As ruthless competing enemies close in on Eddie and his miraculous machine, Skylar risks all to take him on the run. Because once that prize is won, Eddie Parks will no longer be considered a “special person” but a dangerous redundancy. An inconvenient echo that must be silenced.

Pretty Killer


Johnny B. Truant - 2019
    There aren’t enough pills in the world to numb her fears of seeing her classmates again … especially after what she did all those years ago.Her sorority sister Heidi Blanchard, equally guilty, will be at the same exclusive restaurant that night. In the aftermath of their secret shame, Heidi’s turned lying into a sport and has lost her compass for truth. She’s there for a job … or so she thinks.Bindi Bridges, former guidance counselor at Bayshore, has no idea about the alumni dinner or Heidi’s job offer. She’s at Crave to learn who her husband’s been sleeping with, tipped by an unknown source.Mason Pace is there to meet a headhunter. His life is about to turn around — a relief, after the horror that happened eleven years ago.Seven others -- each seeking their own redemption and hiding their own sordid sins -- are just as ignorant of the sinister purpose behind this elegant event.Their host? A Hollywood star with glamour to spare and all the money in the world to spend on that most useful of hobbies: revenge and the extraction of secrets.The only guest not in attendance is the one who deserves to be there most: Casey Davis. What happened to Casey? And who’s to blame? Pretty Killer is Agatha Christie for the modern age. It’s Truant & King at their duplicitous best, weaving a tale with more layers than stratified ground in which a murderer digs a stone cold grave … proving that revenge isn’t always best when it’s cold — and sizzles when it’s piping hot.

Hazardous Duty


Christy Barritt - 2006
    Claire dropped out of school and started her own crime scene cleaning business. Now, when a routine cleaning job leads her to a murder weapon the police overlooked, she realizes that the wrong man is in jail. With the help of her new and attractively single neighbor, Riley Thomas, Gabby plays the detective to make sure the right man is put behind bars.

Rupture: An Eli Branch Thriller


A. Scott Pearson - 2009
    After years of research, Eli is on the cusp of a groundbreaking discovery that could light the way for the future. But, as Eli will soon learn, today's medicine has a dark side.While investigating the suspicious death of one of his patients, Eli uncovers an elaborate web of lies spun by his late father, a longtime professor of anatomy at Mid-South Medical College in Memphis. Instead of finding answers, Eli only finds more questions-and more victims, each meeting a sudden, violent end.Eli joins forensic pathologist Meg Daily to find a common thread among the victims. As they piece together the chilling puzzle, Eli and Meg plunge headfirst into the world of deadly medicine-a world way too close to home.Trapped in the paradox of ending one life to save another, Eli and Meg find that in this life-or-death race against time, one false step could be fatal.

Her Name Is Knight


Yasmin Angoe - 2021
    Her Name Is Knight is a propulsive character story and action thriller driven by retribution, passion, strength — and coming to terms with your own true self, regardless of what anyone calls you.

Buried


C.J. Carmichael - 2012
    Now someone with inside knowledge is feeding clues to true crime writer Dougal Lachlan, promising him the best story of his career. Pursuing the leads means returning to Twisted Cedars, where his sister Jamie, is about to marry a man he deeply dislikes.Local Twisted Cedars librarian Charlotte Hammond prefers her mysteries - and her romances - between the covers of a good book, especially since the disappearance of her older sister, Daisy, eight years ago. But then the dark and tortured soul who is Dougal Lachlan walks into the Twisted Cedars Library asking for her help.Before long Charlotte realizes there is no safe zone. Not even in libraries...and especially not in Twisted Cedars.Twisted Cedar MysteriesBuried, Book 1Forgotten, Book 2Exposed, Book 3