She tries to pry information out of the lead detective, Jacob Merritt. But this case is unlike any he's ever seen, and nothing adds up.Bailey has a hunch the victim wasn't who she claimed to be and believes this mugging-turned-murder could have been a targeted hit. When she digs deeper, the trail leads her to a high-tech fortress on the outskirts of Austin where researchers are pushing the boundaries of a cutting-edge technology that could be deadly in the wrong hands.As a ruthless hit man's mission becomes clear, Bailey and Jacob must embark on a desperate search to locate the next target before the clock ticks down on this lethal game of hide and seek.

    When her superior, Marcel, is attacked in a supposed random mugging, she is tasked with serving one of the hotel’s most mysterious and attractive guests.Nicholas Cassirer checks into the hotel under an assumed name every three months. Usually, he stays in the penthouse suite with a beautiful female companion but on this occasion, he arrives alone and is displeased in having to deal with someone new. A match of wits ensues as he tests Acacia’s expertise with a series of almost impossible demands. Her intelligence and creativity rise to the challenge, earning his respect.They strike a tenuous accord until Acacia discovers a famous stolen painting in his suite, she contacts a former boyfriend who works for the elite BRB, a unit of French law enforcement that deals with art thefts.Nicholas is questioned by police and released when it is revealed the painting is a reproduction. Irked with her behavior, Acacia’s supervisor demotes her threatening dismissal and the cancellation of her work permit.But Acacia has already attracted Nicholas’s attention. Remorseful that she may lose her job on his account, he offers her a choice – she can wait until her supervisor dismisses her, or she can leave the city of lights behind and become his personal assistant.Acacia initially refuses his offer, but Nicholas is persistent. He reveals himself as a man who quietly acquires stolen art in order to restore it to its rightful owners. Faced with mounting familial debts and the possibility of dismissal and deportation, she agrees to work for him.Nicholas opens up a whole new world of beauty and intrigue to Acacia as they travel the globe. Soon the line between employer and assistant is blurred, and the two lonely people embark on a passionate relationship.

    Gorgeous doting husband Massimo, sweet little son Sandro and the perfect home. Lara knows something about Massimo. Something she can’t tell anyone else or everything Massimo has worked so hard for will be destroyed: his job, their reputation, their son. This secret is keeping Lara a prisoner in her marriage. Maggie is married to Massimo’s brother Nico and lives with him and her troubled step-daughter. She knows all of Nico’s darkest secrets – or so she thinks. Then one day she discovers a letter in the attic which reveals a shocking secret about Nico’s first wife Caitlin. Will Maggie set the record straight or keep silent to protect those she loves? For a family held together by lies, the truth will come at a devastating price. A heart-wrenching, emotionally gripping read for fans of Amanda Prowse, Liane Moriarty, and Diane Chamberlain.

    She struggles with the inability to put down roots years after the sudden death of her beloved parents. Madison and her three wise, hilarious friends all wonder if she uses her busy, work-centric lifestyle as an excuse to avoid connection with anyone but them.When Madison checks out a probate sale outside Healdsburg, California, she falls in love with the European-style house on a private tract of land overlooking Lake Sonoma. In fact, she likes the place so much she climbs in the window for a private tour. With help from lawyer and friend Genevieve Delacourt, Madison soon learns that the estate’s corrupt attorney has manipulated the sale and is attempting to steer the purchase to an anonymous client in a deceitful plan for personal gain.Good fortune enables her to purchase the Blackburne’s property, but far more than a new home and lush gardens await discovery during this renovation. As Madison works on the remodel, she’s drawn into an old love story with dangerous consequences. In the process, she discovers herself as she unearths buried secrets. The series of events both endanger Madison and lead her to love – and a permanent home. Mark of the Loon is the skillful combination of history, mystery, and romance in a novel that explores deep friendship, choices, and how individuals cope with loss.

    When their paths collide three years later, will she find herself in the arms of the gorgeous CEO of Steele Security at last?Book #2: Wicked TiesColton “Bull” Lanier thought he had his life all figured out. His trust was hard-earned. He let no one see the man inside. He didn’t believe in love and he didn’t get involved. That is until she walked into his life.Book #3: Wicked NightsAn unknown danger lurked in the distance, and a family’s hope began to fade into despair. Just when everything in life appeared to be perfect, will the family of Steele Security be prepared for the approaching wicked nights?Book #4: Wicked IntentionsOne man’s breaking point is where another man finds his stride.Book #5: Wicked ShadowsMeet Devon "Shadow" Kane--the elusive assassin, the covert spy, the man in love.Dangerous. Deadly. Protective. Alpha. Sexy.And way past merely pissed off.He's on a mission, facing the highest stakes of his career.Bonus short: Wicked Weekend

    The last thing he needs is to have the daughter of America’s most infamous mob boss move into the apartment across the hall. Rachel Valentine is on the run from the only “family” she’s ever known. When Shane Quincy saves her life, she has no choice but to tell him who she’s running from, even though she knows it’ll make him the mob’s next target.

     "Between A Smile and a Tear" A blackmailing stripper. A self-help preaching hit man. A gangster with a penchant for leeches. The streets of San Francisco have never been so twisty as Jack Waters struggles with powerful and mysterious forces trying to destroy his family, his sanity, his life. "Ransom Dreams" What motivates a sociopath? Elaine Burnett must find out or die. One innocent act sets off a cascade of events that will turn her life upside down and threaten it, as well as that of her lover, psychologist Alan Everson. As Walker relentlessly stalks the couple, they struggle to solve the mystery of what is driving their tormentor before he destroys their love and their lives. "Acapella Blues" Sam Ravello, a singer-songwriter living on Cape Cod, tries to help a young Romanian woman and her little boy and becomes entangled in a sinister plot involving corruption, blackmail, and a violent criminal underworld. The mystery Sam solves is sadder than any song he's ever written, a dirge about innocence forever lost and the extremes of love betrayed.

    For his own reasons, Max allows a public exhibition, and to protect the family fortune he must rely on the skills of his half brother—a world-class security expert—and his smart and savvy exhibit director, Morgan West.But almost immediately, Morgan comes face-to-face with the mysterious Quinn, Interpol’s most wanted thief for the past decade—and a man who makes it very clear he has an eye on the Bannister collection. And if that’s not enough, Morgan begins to realize that she’s surrounded by secrets and lies, and that someone very close to Max is moving behind the scenes, intent on murder as well as robbery...someone whose ultimate plan threatens to ruin them all.

    . .On a warm May evening in the spring of 1979, the people of Heartsridge, Massachusetts, are living the American dream. Families are gathered for barbecues. Kids are playing in front yards. Gardens are being kept. Meanwhile, Kara Price stumbles home through the woods, raped and beaten, her life shattered by a wicked act of violence, perpetrated by one of the town’s most beloved and public figures. Surrounding Kara is a cast of compelling and nefarious characters—a violent-tempered mayor who can do no wrong in the eyes of the town, a sheriff bound by the rules and plagued by a guilty conscience, a father bent on revenge, a serial killer in the midst of an identity crisis. And at the center of it all there's Kara, who just wants to move on with her life and forget everything that happened to her. But how can she do that when everyone thinks she is a liar who is only out for attention? With plot and emotion braided together by a careful hand, this haunted group of people all acting on behalf of their own interests begs the question: How far would you go to protect your own?

    Without knowing the full scope of the scandal, the president decides to turn to the one person he knows he can trust—former FBI Agent, Elizabeth James. Her deep distrust of the system is rooted in her unfair discharge from service. Now she sees a chance to restore her reputation and send a message to those that would use their power to destroy others' lives. Elizabeth is ordered to do whatever it takes to end this criminal organization, but she's also told that this is completely off the books. Nothing can point back to the president until the entire network is dismantled. Elizabeth can only rely on her team comprised of a computer whiz and a former Air Force Pararescueman to get to the bottom of the leaks. Every decision could cost them their freedom . . . or their lives. What Elizabeth didn't count on was her heart becoming as entangled as the lies she tells to uncover the truth. With her heart now in the game, Elizabeth works on guarding those she loves as she dives headfirst into danger. Can Elizabeth follow the leads and take out the leaders of the secret group before the whole world is thrown into chaos?

    In 1985, with much fanfare, a time capsule was buried under the front lawn of a small-town county courthouse, to be reopened in 2085. But just twenty years later, in the dead of night, the capsule is dug up, its contents stolen. That same night, one of the contributors to the capsule is brutally slain in his home–with no sign of forced entry or indication of a struggle. One by one, others who had placed items in the time capsule are murdered.Besides his suspicions about the sudden, mysterious appearance of Nikita Stover, the chief investigator, Knox Davis, has absolutely no leads. And while Nikita’s no murderer, she seems to be hiding plenty of secrets. With more at stake than anyone else realizes, the smart-talking Nikita is determined to catch this cunning killer–while at the same time battling her own deepening feelings for a man and for a world in which she doesn’t belong. When readers crave a seductive novel of unrelenting suspense with a paranormal twist, Linda Howard delivers time and again . . . make that Killing Time–a captivating, character-rich story that races along on a breathless plot full of action and intimacy, romance and danger, thrills and intrigue.From the Hardcover edition.

    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?

    Her enemy is her passion, her passion is her enemy.Lindsey Paxton was once the number one defense attorney in New York. She fought for those who were innocent, but charged. Her instincts were her lifeline, never failing her, as they guided her in her choices of who to defend. Or so she thought. Until she won a case she would forever wish to have lost. Her client, an accused rapist, kills and rapes a woman only a day after being set free. Destroyed by her role in the woman's death, Lindsey blames her father's controlling ways for what she has become, and runs from her career and life. Years later - the past becomes the present . . . Her father has cancer, and Lindsey is forced to leave her career with the Washington branch of the FBI. She finds herself facing the responsibility of running her father's law firm with the reluctant help of hotshot attorney Mark Reeves, a man who sparks her temper while also managing to tempt her body, her mind, maybe even her heart. With his help she finds herself fighting the emotional battles of the past, tempted to trust both him and her instincts. Now, faced with a case inherited from her father so similar to her career-ending one, she now must decide if her instincts will lead her down the path to saving an innocent man or setting free another killer. But while she fights her own battles, someone watches, wanting from the past what he had failed to get the first time . . . Lindsey.NOTE: Previously released as Hidden Instincts. Title change to indicate prelude to the new TALL, DARK, AND DEADLY trilogy coming in late 2011. I wrote this in 2004 and it was published by a library publisher and is in hardback in many libraries. You will meet the first Walker Brother-- Royce

    She would still be the privileged daughter of a doting father and a loving mother. Her life would still be perfect — with only the tiny cracks of an angry junkie for a brother and a charming drunk with shady underworld connections for an uncle to mar the otherwise flawless whole. But that’s not what happened. Instead, those inconsequential decisions lead her to perform a good deed that puts her in the right place at the right time to unleash a chain of events that brings a mysterious package to her door — a package which informs her that her entire world is a lie.Suddenly forced to question everything she knows about herself and her family, Ridley wanders into dark territory she never knew existed, where everyone in her life seems like a stranger. She has no idea who’s on her side and who has something to hide—even, and maybe especially, her new lover, Jake, who appears to have secrets of his own.Sexy and fast-paced, Beautiful Lies is a true literary thriller with one of the freshest voices and heroines to arrive in years. Lisa Unger takes us on a breathtaking ride in which every choice Ridley makes creates a whirlwind of consequences that are impossible to imagine . . . .

    His rules. Her Harte. Arrogant, Irish billionaire Julian Harte is used to getting what he wants. He wants Evangeline Andrews. Julian Harte’s childhood came to a sudden end one day when he was eight years old; it’s also the day he started playing games. Games aren’t just a fascination for him, they’re a way of life. The objective? Right the wrongs of the past. The only rules are his and Julian doesn’t play to lose. New Jersey girl Evangeline Andrews is starting over in Dublin. Hiding from her messed up family, games are the last thing she needs. But Eva soon learns an invite to the company masquerade ball is really an induction into Julian’s world. Julian Harte knows more about her than anyone should, and she needs to know why. Eva doesn’t understand the game, or why she’s playing. But she’s prepared to break every rule to find out. Let the games begin…