The Mourning Hours


Paula Treick DeBoard - 2013
    Kirsten Hammarstrom hasn't been home to her tiny corner of rural Wisconsin in years-not since the mysterious disappearance of a local teenage girl rocked the town and shattered her family. Kirsten was just nine years old when Stacy Lemke went missing, and the last person to see her alive was her boyfriend, Johnny-the high school wrestling star and Kirsten's older brother. No one knows what to believe-not even those closest to Johnny-but the event unhinges the quiet farming community and pins Kirsten's family beneath the crushing weight of suspicion. Now, years later, a new tragedy forces Kirsten and her siblings to return home, where they must confront the devastating event that shifted the trajectory of their lives. Tautly written and beautifully evocative, The Mourning Hours is a gripping portrayal of a family straining against extraordinary pressure, and a powerful tale of loyalty, betrayal and forgiveness.

Call Me Pomeroy


James Hanna - 2015
    But Pomeroy plays by his own set of rules. He may be on the dole, but he’ll tip his breakfast waitress $20 just for being nice to him, even if it means he has to sit an extra hour on the street corner to make ends meet. He’s a skirmish-loving, dumpster-diving, ego-starved crazy who thinks that he can sing and that all women are in love with him—or should be. His parole officer, an Hispanic woman who tells Pomeroy he’s off-base and he 1) won’t become a rock star, 2) needs to find a decent job, and 3) would be better off if he stayed out of trouble, is totally exasperated by him. But Pomeroy is his own man, takes no advice, and has more wisdom that we’d like to admit. You may find yourself laughing when you shouldn’t. (“A good strong piss is better than sex. Lasts longer too.”) May find his egocentric opinions politically incorrect. ("There ain't a dyke alive ol' Pomeroy can't turn straight.") But don’t blame yourself if you start rooting for this anti-hero, you’ll have a lot of company. (Note: Adult language and situations.)

Soul Trapper


F.J. Lennon - 2010
    . . and that sometimes they have unfinished business. Shortly after death, a soul will see a door of light leading to the afterlife. But sometimes, when there’s something or someone still pulling at them, souls turn their back to this door. Instead, they haunt the living . . . Hollywood native Kane Pryce isn’t your average twenty-something dabbling musician. Yes, he’s an occasional substance abuser with a distrustful nature and self-destructive streak. And yes, most people might take him for a down-on-his-luck slacker. But to those in a very small circle, he’s also known as a ghost-hunting legend. Delving deep into the supernatural isn’t a lifestyle that Kane chose for himself, however; it was thrust upon him when his father vanished under mysterious circumstances. Unbeknownst to anyone besides Kane, his father left instructions to his son that led Kane to the Soul Trap, a powerful supernatural treasure that allows him to hunt down, capture, and send ghosts from the earthly realm to the afterlife. For Kane, power over the supernatural has come with a price. Despite his attempts to do good with this power, his efforts often leave a path of destruction. So when his paranormal side-job attracts the attention of Eva Kells, a crack reporter intent on breaking his story, Kane is reluctant can he trust her? Soon, though, risking his heart on a snooping journalist is the least of Kane’s worries. He receives a call from a terrified priest whose church is haunted by the soul of a deceased little boy. Kane takes on the case, but as he begins to learn the strange details surrounding the boy’s death, he realizes that there’s much more at stake than he ever could have imagined. And to complicate things even further, he falls hard for the boy’s mother. The only problem is, she’s been dead for almost fifty years . . . Nail-biting and darkly humorous, SoulTrapper takes readers on a thrilling ride through the ghostly realm.

The Simple Soul of Susan


Noel Branham - 2017
    Will she still cling to the simple, small-town life she has always cherished, or will she chart a new path by overcoming this unforeseen trial?Calder Hurtz hopes to escape his dumpy Texas town for a promising career and life away from the dusty dirt roads...and even farther away from his family’s tragic loss. In his escape, he intends to leave behind his simple childhood ideals of family and love, but perhaps he will learn that redefining one’s identity isn’t that simple after all.Can two hospitalizations, two confessions of love, and one betrayal bring two simple souls together?Compulsively readable, The Simple Soul of Susan is an engaging, soul-endearing romance and a mesmerizing debut.“I don’t remember ever smiling so much while reading a book.”-Melanie, Paperback Darling“...a literary gem that must be experienced.” -Nicole, Christian Fiction Girl

Fall of the Western Kings


J. Drew Brumbaugh - 2016
    There are demons and dragons, magic swords and wizards plus a woodland nymph who will steal your heart, a girl who can fly and some different sorts of knights.

Come Tomorrow


Tess Thompson - 2020
    A single act of kindness. Can young soulmates find each other in adulthood, or will hidden truths tear them apart?1904. Twelve-year-old Luci Quick never forgot the boy who saved her life that fateful Christmas Eve. But when he disappeared without a word after bringing her food, she was forced to focus on raising her baby sister when her mother suddenly died. Now six years later and struggling to make ends meet with an alcoholic and gambling-addicted father, the poverty-stricken woman can’t believe her hero has returned… and he’s all grown up.Wesley Ford’s world changed after helping the girl who still haunts his dreams. When he was whisked away to boarding school at fourteen, he feared he’d never see her again. But now free to come back following his father’s death, the wealthy heir is shocked to discover Luci and her sibling never escaped their rundown shack.With fate dealing her another opportunity for happiness, Luci seizes the day when an offer of help turns into an unexpected proposal. But before they can settle into their future, Wesley must face painful family secrets that could tear them apart forever.Can a Yuletide miracle make a wish for love come true?Come Tomorrow is the first book in the uplifting Castaway Christmas historical romance holiday series. If you like feel-good tear-jerkers, engaging characters, and sweet magical realism, then you’ll adore Tess Thompson’s Edwardian rags-to-riches story.

Let the Willows Weep


Sherry Parnell - 2010
    Fragile, easily torn apart, and often there are too many pieces to pick up.”In the tradition of the best Southern fiction—from Bastard Out of Carolina to Where the Crawdads Sing—Sherry Parnell’s Let the Willows Weep is a heart-wrenching portrait of hardscrabble, humble lives in rural America. A keenly-observed and unflinching look at the life of Birddog Harlin as she grows up in her dysfunctional family, this novel explores the line between destruction and redemption.

Surviving Me


Jo Johnson - 2019
    Tom’s lost his job and now he’s been labelled useless. It’s surprisingly easy to set up a double life but rather harder to keep the deceit going. As Tom’s identity threatens to unravel, he starts to lose the plot… All the while, it turns out that one of Tom’s nearest and dearest has been leading his own double life – though for very different reasons.  This book tackles hard issues such as depression, dysfunctional families and degenerative diseases in an honest, life-affirming and often humorous way. It focuses particularly on the challenges of being male in today’s world and explores how our silence on these big issues can help push men to the brink.

The Myth of Perpetual Summer


Susan Crandall - 2018
    She takes the responsibility of shielding her family’s reputation and raising her younger twin siblings onto her youthful shoulders. If not for the emotional constants of her older brother, Griff, and her old guard Southern grandmother, she would be lost. When betrayal and death arrive hand in hand, she takes to the road, headed to what turns out to be the not-so-promised land of Southern California. The dysfunction of her childhood still echoes throughout her scattered family, sending her brother on a disastrous path and drawing her home again. There she uncovers the secrets and lies that set her family on the road to destruction.

An Amish Family Christmas


Murray Pura - 2013
    But things get complicated when Rebecca’s brother, Micah, returns from a combat tour in Afghanistan. For one thing, he chose to serve in the military even though he served as a medic and never picked up a gun. For another, he is under the Meidung—the shunning— because of that and none of the Amish are permitted to speak to him or eat with him. And finally, he is not only Rebecca's brother, he is Naomi's husband! But how can Naomi pick up where their marriage left off after he turned away from her and his people to enlist in the army? How can Naomi and Micah even begin the process of healing their relationship when he will not repent of what he has done and the Amish will not forgive him for what he has done? Naomi despairs of ever again having a happy married life with her husband.But God has a way of working on the hearts of His people—especially at Christmas time. When an unexpected turn of events sets things right, miracles happen to the Amish community, to the Miller family, and to Naomi and Micah, miracles that transform everyone.Here is warm and tender story of faithfulness, love, and reconciliation at the most wonderful time of the year.

The Infidel


Bob Shepherd - 2010
    But when fallout from the affair threatens to topple NATO’s fragile Afghan alliance, John and Dusty suddenly find themselves on the wrong side of the law.Alone and on the run, one place on earth holds the key to their innocence—Nuristan, a remote Afghan province and notorious terrorist haven. But their journey to freedom will thrust them deeper into the Afghan conflict than they ever imagined. Battling hostile terrain and Islamic fighters, John and Dusty emerge the unlikely champions of an ancient community torn apart by al-Qaeda and western forces. From ex-SAS soldier and bestselling author of The Circuit Bob Shepherd comes a modern day Afghan war epic inspired by Rudyard Kipling’s The Man Who Would Be King.

27 (Twenty-Seven): Six Friends, One Year


R.J. Heald - 2012
    Kurt Cobain. Amy Winehouse. Janis Joplin. They died at 27. Six friends reunite in London. From the outside their lives are enviable; from the new father, to the rich entrepreneur to the carefree traveller. But underneath their facades, they are starting to unravel. Dave is made redundant, Renee's marriage is crumbling and Katie is forced to return home to her parents after six years abroad. In a world fuelled by social media and ravaged by recession, the friends must face up to the choices they must make to lead the lives they truly want to live.“The characters are sharply observed and as I read, I quickly came to feel they were my friends too… All along we feel we are in the hands of an accomplished storyteller, and of course there is a satisfying climax.” "Well written and interesting...this was great and I wanted to read more." - Amazon Breakthrough Novel Expert Reviewer“This is a fantastic read for the summer holidays. A genuinely lovely warm surprising story. I loved the characters and felt part of their journey. Can highly recommend.” “An enjoyable read for a generation who are obsessed with how others perceive them and who measure success in terms of job titles and relationship statuses.”“27 is one of those books that you really want to finish so that you can find out what's happened but on the other hand, you want it to carry on so that you can stay with the characters that little bit longer!” “The characters are realistic, their dramas riveting and the writing profoundly charming as Ruth Heald expertly takes you through a tumultuous year-long journey through the lives of the modern daytwenty-something.

The Orphan Collector


Ellen Marie Wiseman - 2020
    Army. But as her city celebrates the end of war, an even more urgent threat arrives: the Spanish flu. Funeral crepe and quarantine signs appear on doors as victims drop dead in the streets and desperate survivors wear white masks to ward off illness. When food runs out in the cramped tenement she calls home, Pia must venture alone into the quarantined city in search of supplies, leaving her baby brothers behind. Bernice Groves has become lost in grief and bitterness since her baby died from the Spanish flu. Watching Pia leave her brothers alone, Bernice makes a shocking, life-altering decision. It becomes her sinister mission to tear families apart when they’re at their most vulnerable, planning to transform the city’s orphans and immigrant children into what she feels are “true Americans.” Waking in a makeshift hospital days after collapsing in the street, Pia is frantic to return home. Instead, she is taken to St. Vincent’s Orphan Asylum – the first step in a long and arduous journey. As Bernice plots to keep the truth hidden at any cost in the months and years that follow, Pia must confront her own shame and fear, risking everything to see justice – and love – triumph at last. Powerful, harrowing, and ultimately exultant, The Orphan Collector is a story of love, resilience, and the lengths we will go to protect those who need us most.

Folly Cove


Holly Robinson - 2016
     The ties of family bind us forever—no matter how far we may go to escape them...   The Bradford sisters are famous in Rockport, Massachusetts: for their beauty, their singing voices, their legendary ancestors, and their elegant mother, Sarah, who has run the historic Folly Cove Inn alone ever since her husband disappeared.   The two youngest sisters, Anne and Elly, fled Folly Cove as soon as they could to pursue their dreams and escape the Bradford name, while Laura stayed and created a seemingly picture perfect life. After a series of bad decisions, Anne has no choice but to come home and face her critical mother and oldest sister, reluctantly followed by Elly, another Bradford woman who’s hiding something.   As the three sisters plan a grand celebration for their mother’s birthday, they struggle to maintain the illusions about their lives that they’ve so carefully crafted. But when painful old wounds reopen and startling family secrets are revealed, they soon discover that even the seemingly unbreakable bonds of sisterhood can be tested...