Respected as a skilled mediator, she has an almost uncanny knack for getting people on both sides of a dispute to agree. And her handsome boyfriend Brock has just proposed to her. But a white buffalo calf is bowing to her in her dreams. And who is the Native American man who has been following her around? Naomi doesn't know it, but things are about to change....

    The author of the enormously popular series featuring Baltimore P.I. Tess Monaghan as well as three critically lauded stand-alone novels, Lippman now turns her attention to short stories—and reveals another level of mastery.Lippman sets many of the stories in this sterling anthology, Hardly Knew Her, in familiar territory: her beloved Baltimore, from downtown to its affluent suburbs, where successful businessmen go to shocking lengths to protect what they have or ruthlessly expand their holdings, while dissatisfied wives find murderous ways to escape their lives. But Lippman is also unafraid to travel—to New Orleans, to an unnamed southwestern city, and even to Dublin, the backdrop for the lethal clash of two not-so-innocents abroad. Tess Monaghan is here, in two stories and a profile, aligning herself with various underdogs. And in her extraordinary, never-before-published novella, Scratch a Woman, Lippman takes us deep into the private world of a high-priced call girl/madam and devoted soccer mom, exploring the mystery of what may, in fact, be written in the blood.Each of these ingenious tales is a gem—sometimes poignant, sometimes humorous, always filled with delightfully unanticipated twists and reversals. For people who have yet to read Lippman, get ready to experience the spellbinding power of "one of today's most pleasing storytellers, hailed for her keen psychological insights and her compelling characterizations," (San Diego Union-Tribune), who has "invigorated the crime fiction arena with smart, innovative, and exciting work" (George Pelecanos). As for longtime devotees of her multiple award-winning novels, you'll discover that you hardly know her.

    He offers Sienna a ruthless deal: he will help her, but she must play by his rules – by giving herself to him totally for one night of passion…When Only Diamonds Will DoThe Theron dynasty once looked down at Reith Richardson – but now they need his help. In exchange, Reith demands Kimberley Theron as his wife. Yet Kim is no pampered princess…and the role of obedient wife isn’t one she’s prepared to play!

    The sexy-as-all-get-out farmer who had helped raise Lutecia after her father died refused to see that she was a grown-up now -- and a pretty sensational looking one at that.What was more, he flat-out rejected the fact that she was desperately in love with him -- had been for years! There was only one thing to do: turn up the Georgia heat full steam and show Russell that she was the woman for him -- now and forever!

    Representing wealthy doctors in malpractice cases, Sarasota attorney Lilly is attacked in her office after a kayak whiplash case, a situation that prompts her to employ an unorthodox method for finding out who is trying to get her.

     As a publicist for an elite escort agency, no one does damage control better than Morgan Morrison. She’s good at fixing things—except when it comes to her own personal life. After a string of disastrous relationships, she’s finally found the perfect guy—a handsome, charming, successful attorney who makes her feel safe. So why does she find herself fighting a dangerously irresistible attraction to notorious playboy River Brand? A self-made millionaire with tattooed biceps and a passion for classic cars, River has earned every inch of his bad-boy reputation. From the moment he and Morgan meet, the sexual chemistry between them is off the charts. After a wildly intoxicating encounter on a tropical island, he can’t get Morgan out of his mind—and she’s having the same problem. River is determined to convince Morgan that they belong together. Will explosive secrets from their pasts tear them apart—or drive them into each other’s arms like never before? WHATEVER YOU NEED is a serialized novel that will be released in two parts. Stay tuned for Part Two in 2017. Praise for the Romance Novels of USA Today Bestselling Author Maureen Smith “Smith is a master crafter of sensually robust, endearing, and page-turning romantic fiction” — USA Today on Inferno “…a spicy boy-meets-girl tale that will keep you turning the pages…Make sure you wear flame-proof gloves!” — Romantic Times on Whatever You Like “A highly entertaining story with elements of comedy, cooking, intense sexual chemistry and hot romance” — Romantic Times on Recipe for Temptation

    Combining elements of classic noir, dark comedy, and a misfits memoir reminiscent of Notes from the Underground, Goffard brings life to the darker side of West Coast counter-culture, in a literary crime novel that will delight readers.

    He doesn't need to hunt, respects human life, and would never hurt a soul. But a series of appalling murders makes his lover, Helen, question her faith in him.

    Needing nothing less than a miracle to save her, Kara gets rescue from an unknown, unlikely and overwhelming source. Billionaire Simon Hudson makes her an offer that is impossible to refuse, but terrifying to accept from a man that she's never met. Will the handsome, alpha billionaire really be a solution to her problems, or will he end up being a major complication and a danger to her emotional sanity? Reclusive billionaire Simon Hudson would rather be behind a computer creating computer games than rubbing elbows with the elite and he knows exactly what he wants...until he meets Kara Foster. Something about Kara touches Simon in ways he's never experienced and definitely doesn't like. But when she ends up in a situation that could very well be her destruction, Simon steps up to help her, not realizing that in saving Kara, he might very well be salvaging his own soul. Sam & Maddie Billionaire Sam Hudson has pretty much lived his life with no apologies because he tries never to do anything that he’s sorry about…except for what he had done in the past to Dr. Madeline Reynolds. Many years and regrets later, Sam meets up with Maddie again by chance; his brother Simon is marrying Maddie’s best friend and the two of them are forced to be civil. But Sam wants to be more than polite, and he wants another chance to make things right, so he offers Maddie a bold proposition, an offer he knows she’ll have a very hard time declining even though she hates him. Dr. Madeline Reynolds adores her best friend Kara and her fiancé Simon, but being forced into the company of Sam Hudson, because they are both in Simon and Kara’s wedding, is pure torture. She’s hated Sam for years, but when he offers her a bargain, something near and dear to her heart, she’s torn between her dislike for the man and the offer of something she’s always desperately wanted. Once, Sam Hudson nearly destroyed her, but Maddie discovers that sometimes things aren’t always what they appear to be. Is Sam really a devious heart-breaker, or is there something more to him beneath the surface? Max & Mia Billionaire Max Hamilton thought he was finally starting to find contentment, more than two years after losing his wife Mia in a tragic drowning accident.He'd been reunited with a sister he hadn’t realized existed. Finally he had family again, a reprieve from the pain and loneliness that had haunted him since his devastating loss. Yeah…he was as happy as a man could be, considering he had lost the other half of his soul and most of his heart when fate had torn his wife away from him. Or so he believed…until the day he rescued a mysterious woman in the park, a female who somehow had managed to reignite a part of him that he thought was long dead... Suddenly, Max's protective, dominant, possessive male instincts flare to life, leaving him at a loss as to how lightning could possibly strike twice in one lifetime. Is he truly being given another chance at real happiness, or would it be dangled in front of him, only to be taken away once again? Kade & Asha With his professional football career over due to a tragic accident, billionaire Kade Harrison takes on the task of solving a mystery for his brother-in-law and friend, Max Hamilton. Without his former career to fill every minute of the day, Kade's looking for something to challenge him--now that he's lost the career that had meant everything to him.

    He was the Canon's son, younger than she was, and a gentleman - even though a rather dilettante drifter who had really done very little with his life. But Walter had a secret in his past that he asked Emmie to share with him - and she, in turn, told him of her harsh and cruel background that made her feel unworthy to be anyone's wife. In spite of everything the marriage worked. Walter became Station Master at the lazy, sundrenched little country station of Dymock. Emmie set about rearing her three children, all so different. As Walter and Emmie watched their children grow, marry, have children of their own, so three women began to dominate the family - Dorothy, who was proud, loyal, strong, and frequently extremely angry with the James family into which she had married, Kildie, illegitimate, manipulative, and causing constant strife and drama, and Holly, the third generation, whose loving spirit often held them all together. It was more than fifty years before Walter James's secret was revealed - a secret that nearly broke the family apart.

    Just before his works are celebrated at an exhibition in London, Jonathan journeys to the village where his former lover, Patricia, lives with her British husband, Nick. Archaeologists working on a dig, their spare existence is spent sifting through a Roman rubbish heap to discover the past. In their cold, remote house, Jonathan discovers an early painting of Patricia he'd done when they were young lovers. The subsequent struggle for the painting embodies the unreconciled passions of the past. Patricia has never forgiven Jonathan for leaving her, Nick despises Jonathan and the kind of art he produces, and Jonathan has never been able to recapture the inspiration and purity he felt when he painted Patricia. In taut scenes that dart from past to present and back, the characters are forced to deal with the unanswerable question of anti-Semitism, the legacy of the Holocaust and assimilation, the sadness of lost love, the role of the artist and the location of the human soul at the end of a ragged century.

    Now that they've returned, Grim and his siblings must discover who is trying to kill them with the deadly Scourge.

    So her best friends devise a plan to help her out: she can hire their gorgeous new flatmate Gib to pose as her doting new fiancé! It sounds perfect – except Gib’s not all he seems… The Blind-Date Proposal Kate Savage has landed herself with the boss from hell – he may be gorgeous, in a brooding sort of way, but he’s on her case 24/7! Kate’s friends try cheering her up by arranging for her to go on a blind date. Only when Kate arrives she’s horrified to discover that her mystery man is Finn McBride – her boss! A Whirlwind Engagement Josh and Bella have been friends for years, but suddenly Bella is starting to see her Josh in a very different light – she’s falling in love! Worse, she’s just said that she’ll pretend to be Josh’s fiancée for a week in the Seychelles…

     On the other side of the world, in the mountains where the drones hunt their prey, someone has decided to fight back. And not just against the unmanned planes that circle their skies, but against the Americans at home who control them.  Clarke not only remains an active and respected presence within the national security community but also appears regularly as an expert commentator for ABC and other media. His insider's expertise is on full display in Sting of the Drone, a breathtakingly realistic novel set within America's contentious drone program.

    The three are attended and visited by family and close friends: Agnes and her mother Felicity, estranged further by the latter's dementia; Brian and Beverly whose martial complications are exacerbated by Brian's new lover, Mark; and Joe and Maggie, unready for the strain of Joe's impending death and it's effect on their teenage son.