The girls live in a terrible situation: they depend on an unstable mother that has never recovered from her husband's murder, their stepfather beats them regularly, and they must forage on their own for food. Stop here and you have a story told many times before, as fiction and nonfiction in tales like Ellen Foster, or I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings --stories in which a young girl reveals the horrors of her childhood. Me & Emma differentiates itself with a spectacular finish, shocking the reader and turning the entire story on its head. Through several twists and turns the reader learns that things are not quite the way our narrator led us to believe and everything crescendos in a way that (like all good thrillers) immediately makes you want to go back and read the whole book again from the start.

    That secret's name is Annabel Lee Truckson, and even she doesn't know why her mysterious uncle has stowed her deep underground in a military-style bunker. He's left her with a few German words, a barely-controlled guard dog, and a single command: "Don't open that door for anybody, you got it? Not even me."Above ground, a former Army sniper called The Mute and an enigmatic "Dr. Smith" know about the girl. As the race begins to find her, the tension builds. Who wants to set her free? Why does the other want to keep her captive forever? Who will reach her first?Private investigators Trudi Coffey and Samuel Hill need to piece together the clues and stay alive long enough to retrieve the girl--before it's too late.With its stunning writing and relentless pace, Annabel Lee will captivate readers from the first page.

    Scottoline delivers once again with Keep Quiet, an emotionally gripping and complex story about one man's split-second decision to protect his son - and the devastating consequences that follow.Jake Buckmans relationship with his sixteen-year-old son Ryan is not an easy one, so at the urging of his loving wife, Pam, Jake goes alone to pick up Ryan at their suburban movie theater. On the way home, Ryan asks to drive on a deserted road, and Jake sees it as a chance to make a connection. However, what starts as a father-son bonding opportunity instantly turns into a nightmare. Tragedy strikes, and with Ryan's entire future hanging in the balance, Jake is forced to make a split-second decision that plunges them both into a world of guilt and lies. Without ever meaning to, Jake and Ryan find themselves living under the crushing weight of their secret, which threatens to tear their family to shreds and ruin them all. Powerful and dramatic, Keep Quiet will have readers and book clubs debating what it means to be a parent and how far you can, and should, go to protect those you love.

    But whatever drove us away was never stronger than the pull of what brought us back...." When Vivien Walker left her home in the Mississippi Delta, she swore never to go back, as generations of the women in her family had. But in the spring, nine years to the day since she’d left, that’s exactly what happens—Vivien returns, fleeing from a broken marriage and her lost dreams for children.What she hopes to find is solace with "Bootsie," her dear grandmother who raised her, a Walker woman with a knack for making everything all right. But instead she finds that her grandmother has died and that her estranged mother is drifting further away from her memories. Now Vivien is forced into the unexpected role of caretaker, challenging her personal quest to find the girl she herself once was.But for Vivien things change in ways she cannot imagine when a violent storm reveals the remains of a long-dead woman buried near the Walker home, not far from the cypress swamp that is soon to give up its ghosts. Vivien knows there is now only one way to rediscover herself—by uncovering the secrets of her family and breaking the cycle of loss that has haunted her them for generations.

    But her vacation comes to an unexpected end when the body of a young Latino boy is found on the beach.Kit teams up with D.C. cop David O Connor to investigate the murder with the smallest of clues tomato seeds and acorns found in the boy s pockets. Using plant DNA evidence, Kit traces the young boy to a huge farm where more than a killer looms. With grit, determination, and a growing interest in David, Kit pursues her case and discovers that, to truly move forward in life, justice has to be tempered with mercy."

    "Faith and family" is the Fitzgerald motto--Douglas won't let his own go down for a crime he didn't commit. Yet when Douglas questions the single mother who found the victim, he notices Merry O'Leary is nervous. Secretive. Deeply scared of someone. The nanny's killer...or someone else? When the truth comes to light, it will take all of Douglas's faith--and his love for this little family--to keep a killer at bay.

    As with most profilers, she is able to take the evidence, background of the victims, and crime scene photos, and reenact in her mind what took place between the killer and the victim. But what if there are no crime scenes and the victims have been decapitated in order to hide their identity? This is where Jo's unusual gift comes into play. Unlike other profilers in her field, she is able to sense what the victim felt prior to death. She not only feels their emotions, she feels their pain.Sheriff Austin Garrett doesn't quite know what to think of the beautiful and sassy profiler with a unique gift that defies all reason. He's willing to try anything, though, to stop the monster plaguing his community.But can Jo and Austin find the killer before he makes it even more personal?

    After a whistleblower dies, Kate knows the stakes are much higher than her other lawsuits.Former Army Ranger turned private investigator Landon James is still haunted by mistakes made while serving overseas. Trying to forget the past, he is hired by Kate to look into the whistleblower's allegation and soon suspects that the company may be engaging in a dangerous game for profit. He also soon finds himself falling for this passionate and earnest young lawyer. Determined not to make the same mistakes, he's intent on keeping Kate safe, but as the case deepens, it appears someone is willing to risk everything—even murder—to keep the case from going to trial.

    A construction site provides a horrific discovery when a worker uncovers the skeleton of a small child wrapped in a sleeping bag. Police Chief Matt Foley soon links the murder to another cold case, the hit-and-run death of Attorney Josh Bradford.The long suppressed memory of the young victim’s childhood friend, Sara Bradford may hold the key to both crimes. But Matt has mixed emotions about Sara—his prime suspect in her husband’s murder. Matt soon discovers the twenty-five year old mystery has the power to stretch across decades to kill again.

    Bent on revenge, he's going back to where he began--Blewer County, Texas... Born deaf, lately widowed, Anna Corbett fights to keep the ranch that is her son's birthright, unaware that she is at the center of Herbold's horrific scheme--and that her world of self-imposed isolation is about to explode... Drifter Jack Sawyer arrives at Anna's ranch asking for work, hoping to protect the innocent woman and her son from Herbold's rage. But Sawyer can't outrun the secrets that stalk him--or the day of reckoning awaiting them all...

    She's not responsible for the massive ambush that left only her and investigative journalist Chris Mason alive. Yet with suspicion—and danger—targeting Maddie and Chris, and a killer on their trail, partnering up is the only solution. But as Maddie and Chris get closer to uncovering the truth, they'll have to trust each other to make it through alive.

    But scratch the surface and you'll find a deeply unhappy man. Not only are Ben's dreams of life as a professional photographer slipping away, but so is his wife -- into the arms of another man, who, Ben discovers, just happens to be a photographer.What If You Had No Choice?When a confrontation with the lover turns ugly, a spilt second is all it takes to change Ben's life forever. Quickly realizing that there is only one way out, he sets into motion a meticulously detailed plan that ultimately lands him out West, with a shot at the proverbial second chance. But the price tag is high: Ben must give up his friends, his home, his children, his name. His life.And just when it seems he's pulled it off, Ben Kearns there's a small hitch: Even in a small town in Montana, it's only a matter of time before your past catches up with you....

    But undercover Secret Service agent Conner Thorne comes to her rescue, and he knows exactly who is after her…just not why. Conner and Kayla go way back to their time in the White House when she was the rebellious first daughter and he was the rookie who saved her neck. Now Conner will put his life on the line again to keep Kayla away from the mobster he's investigating. And it's about much more than his job, because this time the woman he's sworn to protect is also the woman who's claimed his heart.

    He's sacrificed relationships in pursuit of adventure, fame, and money. Now the very lives of those he loves depend on his ability to decipher a centuries-old puzzle encrypted in the colorful hand-painted illuminations that adorn three rare Gutenberg Bibles.It's a secret that could yield unimaginable wealth, undermine two major religions, and change the course of Western civilization. Two ruthless, ancient organizations are willing to do anything to get their hands on it. And August has the span of one transatlantic flight to figure it out.

    When she finally has a lead on his whereabouts, Taylor returns home to Logan Point, Mississippi, to investigate. But as she is stalking the truth about the past, someone is stalking her.Nick Sinclair pens mystery novels for a living, but the biggest mystery to him is how he can ever get over the death of his wife--a tragedy he believes he could have prevented. With his estranged brother the only family he has left, Nick sets out to find him. But when he crosses paths with Taylor, all he seems to find is trouble.