Once he has a target in his sights, nothing can stop him. When he isn’t solving homicides, he applies the same intensity to his playtime at Sanctum, a secretive BDSM club. Unfortunately, no amount of beautiful submissives can fill the hole that one woman left in his heart. Karina Mills has a reputation for being reckless, and her clients appreciate her results. As a private investigator, she pursues her cases with nothing holding her back. In her personal life, Karina yearns for something different. Playing at Sanctum has been a safe way to find peace, but the one Dom who could truly master her heart is out of reach. On the hunt for a killer, Derek enters a shadowy underworld only to find the woman he aches for is working the same case. Karina is searching for a missing girl and won’t stop until she finds her. To get close to their prime suspect, they need to pose as a couple. But as their operation goes under the covers, unlikely partners become passionate lovers while the killer prepares to strike. Adored Mitch Bradford is an intimidating man. In his professional life, he has a reputation for demolishing his opponents in the courtroom. At the exclusive BDSM club Sanctum, he prefers disciplining pretty submissives with no strings attached. In his line of work, there’s no time for a healthy relationship. After a few failed attempts, he knows he’s not good for any woman—especially not his best friend’s sister. Laurel Daley knows what she wants, and her sights are set on Mitch. He’s smart and sexy, and it doesn’t matter that he’s a few years older and has a couple of bitter ex-wives. Watching him in action at work and at play, she knows he just needs a little polish to make some woman the perfect lover. She intends to be that woman, but first she has to show him how good it could be. When an unexpected turn of events throws the two together, Mitch and Laurel are confronted with the perfect opportunity to explore their mutual desire. Night after night of being close breaks down Mitch’s defenses. The more he sees of Laurel, the more he knows he wants her. Unfortunately, someone else has their eyes on Laurel and they have murder in mind. Devoted Amy Slaten has devoted her life to Slaten Industries. After ousting her corrupt father and taking over the CEO role, she thought she could relax and enjoy taking her company to the next level. But an old business rivalry rears its ugly head. The only thing that can possibly take her mind off business is the training class at Sanctum…and her training partner, the gorgeous and funny Flynn Adler. If she can just manage to best her mysterious business rival, life might be perfect. Flynn Adler never thought he would fall for the enemy. Business is war, or so his father always claimed. He was raised to be ruthless when it came to the family company, and now he’s raising his brother to one day work with him. The first order of business? The hostile takeover of Slaten Industries. It’s a stressful job so when his brother offers him a spot in Sanctum’s training program, Flynn jumps at the chance. When Flynn realizes the woman he’s falling for is none other than the CEO of the firm he needs to take down, he has to make a choice. Does he take care of the woman he’s falling in love with or the business he’s worked a lifetime to build? And when Amy finally understands the man she’s come to trust is none other than the enemy, will she walk away from him or fight for the love she’s come to depend on?

    Add a gorgeous escort, and she is completely out of her depth! Shayne Savatier knows he’s on a milk run, especially after he meets his beautiful charge. But when enemies attack her, everything changes. The mission turns deadly, passion intertwines with protection, and duty bonds hard with desire... Shadowed (Hollow City Coven #2) A frightful destination... A love that is destined... A fight to stay together... As Gillian and Shayne embark on the next step of their journey, it takes an unexpected turn. Aboard a ship with an eerie captain and strange first mate, their passionate new relationship is put to the test. But finally making landfall at the fabled Midnight Market only compounds their troubles! As Gillian searches desperately for the means to continue her quest, Shayne struggles to protect her. Though she’s pursued and seized at every turn, her own obsession is her undoing. In the Midnight Market there is only one law: everything is for sale. Everything! Trapped (Hollow City Coven #3) A lover from the past... A dream remembered... A sensual awakening... As Gillian approaches her goal, it only becomes more elusive. Near the legendary city of Tenebris, attackers in the remote wilderness of Cappadocia will stop at nothing to see her fail. Though she and Shayne have help, their new companion is a complication... As different from Shayne as could be, the mercurial Mathias is a breath of fresh air. Though he and Shayne have a history, he makes no excuses about his desire for Gillian. But for her part, Gillian senses more than just attraction. She and Mathias walk in footsteps that they’ve somehow trod before. But the strange déjà vu is not the worst part. Their dim memories mix with vivid dreams, and in those dreams she dies! Haunted (Hollow City Coven #4) An undead city... An ill-fated love... A nightmare relived... Wiccan researcher Gillian Granger can hardly believe she’s reached her life’s goal, but the accomplishment is tempered. The ancient city of Tenebris holds as many terrors as it does wonders. As she and Shayne wander its ghostly streets, Gillian must finally admit she’s been there before... But as the bond between her and Shayne grows ever deeper, they find that the city’s claim on him is just as strong. Though Gillian had once dreamed of finding the Hollow City, now she’ll do anything to escape! Remembered (Hollow City Coven #5) A distant time... Different lovers... The same end... The tragic past of Tenebris unfolds, as Galia, Mina, and Strayke enter the Hollow City as slaves. Though fate deals them one cruel blow after another, they manage to find solace in their love... But the Goddess of Tenebris has a different plan for Galia. Though destined for great things, Galia rebels with a daring plan. Only too late does she learn it will exact a terrible price! Reborn (Hollow City Coven #6) A place of death...A time for love...A passionate cycle turns... On their return to Göreme, Gillian and Shayne are finally reunited with Mathias. But it seems they’ve only returned to die at Templar hands! Luckily help arrives from the place they’d least expect it. But to Gillian’s horror, their rescue comes with a deadly cost!

    Volume I includes two full-length (300 page) novels and one short (150-page) novel. Concrete Evidence A year ago she lost everything. Now she wants revenge… Accused of stealing artifacts from a five-hundred-year-old shipwreck, underwater archaeologist Erica Kesling is determined to clear her name. She’s concealed her past and taken a job certain to give her access to the buyer of the missing antiquities. She's finally closing in on her goal when she's distracted by a sexy, charismatic intern who makes her want something other than revenge. But Lee Scott is no intern. He's looking for the lead conspirator in an international artifact smuggling scheme, and Erica is his prime suspect. He’ll do whatever it takes to win her trust and get her to reveal her secrets, even seduce her. As Erica and Lee struggle to conceal their real agendas, the one thing they can’t hide is the attraction that burns hot between them. When Erica’s quest puts her life in jeopardy, Lee must choose between old loyalties and a woman he never expected to fall for. Body of Evidence And she thought facing a firing squad was bad… When archaeologist Mara Garrett traveled to North Korea to retrieve the remains of GIs lost in combat, she never imagined she’d be arrested, convicted of spying, and sentenced to death. Her only hope is Curt Dominick, the powerful, ambitious, and infuriatingly sexy US attorney prosecuting her uncle, a former vice president of the United States. What starts off as a rescue mission quickly morphs into a race across the Pacific. Someone is after Mara, and they’ll risk everything to stop her from reaching Washington DC. With betrayal around every corner, Curt and Mara have little reason to trust each other and every reason to deny the sparks between them that blaze hotter than the Hawaiian sun. Still, desire clashes with loyalty when they discover a conspiracy that threatens not only their lives but the national security of the United States. Withholding Evidence Some secrets are worth dying for… Military historian Trina Sorensen has a nearly impossible task before her: get recalcitrant but tempting former Navy SEAL Keith Hatcher to reveal what happened during a top secret Somalia op five years ago. Recent history isn’t usually her forte, but the navy wants an historian’s perspective and has given her the high security clearance to get the job done. Keith isn't just refusing to tell Trina about the op, he's protecting a national secret that could destroy the lives of those he cares about the most. But not wanting to talk about a covert mission doesn’t mean he isn’t interested in spending time with the sexy historian, and the first time they kiss it’s explosive. When the past comes pounding on Keith’s door, he’ll do anything to keep Trina safe… Anything, that is, except tell her the secret that could get them both killed.

    Normally her job is stimulating, challenging and only a little bit dangerous. But every once in a while...Case in point: A cornerstone containing a spell is stolen and there's a magical complication. (Isn't there always?) Wren's unique abilities aren't enough to lay this particular case to rest, so she turns to some friends: a demon (minor), a mage who has lost his mind, and a few others, including Sergei, her business partner (and maybe a bit more?).Sometimes what a woman has to do to get the job done is enough to give even Wren nightmares....

    While working on the set of a ghost-busting reality show in a haunted castle, she meets a sexy vampire, and together they prevent a Master Demon from killing everyone in the castle. In “Undead Sublet” by Molly Harper, executive chef Tess Maitland is banned from her five-star kitchen in Chicago to recover from “exhaustion.” Choosing a random rental house in Half-Moon Hollow to spend time in, she’s unaware that the house comes with a strange man. Even though Sam Masden’s ex-wife has rented the house out from under him, the divorce settlement allows him access to it for another ninety days. With Tess unable to go anywhere else, and Sam unwilling, a war of epic proportions is declared—and romantic sparks and heavy pots fly. Jessica Sims’s “Out With a Fang” features Ruby Sommers, a lonely were-jaguar who signs up for a blind date through the paranormal dating agency Midnight Liaisons. When she arrives, she finds out that her date, a vampire, was the human she’d been in love with four years ago but was forced to dump.

    She and Jake, her five year old son who can see the future, are running from the men intent on taking him. Emma will do anything to protect him even when it means accepting the help of a stranger named Will. Jake insists she needs Will, but Emma's never needed help before. And even though she's learned to trust her son, it doesn't mean she trusts Will. Mercenary Will Davenport lives in the moment. Hauling Emma to South Dakota should have been an easy job, but his employer neglected to tell him about Emma's freaky son and the gunmen hot on her trail. Instinct tells him this job is trouble, but nothing can prepare him for Jake's proclamation that Will is The Chosen One, who must protect Emma from the men hunting her power. A power she doesn't know she has. Will protects Emma and Jake on a cross-country chase from the men pursuing them, while struggling with memories from his past, his apprehension of Jake, and his growing attraction to Emma. Will's overwhelming urge to protect Emma surprises him, especially since it has nothing to do with his paycheck and possibly everything to do with the tattoo Jake branded on his arm. Rich and powerful men are desperate to capture Emma, and Will must discover why before it's too late.

    Recently anointed king of the Dark Court, Niall struggles to forge a new relationship with his subjects—and with the former Dark King, Irial, his once-friend, once-enemy, and now possible-advisor.

    1. A Questionable Client (Kate Daniels, #0.5) by Ilona Andrews: Kate Daniels guards shifter Saiman, less trustworthy than the enemy.2. Even Hand (Dresden Files, #11.6) by Jim Butcher: "Gentleman" John Marcone, Chicago's most dangerous crime lord, fights water demon with defenses against White Council wizard Harry Dresden. 3. The Beacon by Shannon K. Butcher: Hereditary fighter faces monster that killed his father and town, with a little girl that attracts said monster. 4. Even a Rabbit Will Bite by Rachel Caine: Liesl trains the new Dragonslayer before she faces the last dragon.5. Dark Lady (Vampire Files, #12.75) by P.N. Elrod: Vampire nightclub owner Jack Fleming promises radio to resident ghost.6. Beknighted by Deidre Knight: Artist tries to free knight painted in real gold.7. Shifting Star (Signs of the Zodiac, #4.6) by Vicki Peterson: Skamar, Tibetan for star, newly created tulpa, fights another vicious male of Tulpa. 8. Rookwood & Mrs King by Lilith Saintcrow: Vampire private eye is hired by wife to kill the woman's vampire husband. 9. God's Creatures (Kitty Norville, #0.8) by Carrie Vaughn: Cormac follows a werewolf to convent school.

    Well, actually, coming back from the dead and having the ability to communicate with ghosts is really what did it. Now, a private investigator in rural Freeport, Illinois, Mary’s trying to learn how to incorporate her experience as a Chicago cop and new-found talent into a real job. Her challenge is to solve the mysteries, get real evidence (a ghost’s word just doesn’t hold up in court), and be sure the folks in town, especially the handsome new police chief, doesn’t think she’s nuts. Twenty-four years ago, a young woman drowned in the swimming pool of a newly elected State Senator. It was ruled an accident. But now, as the Senator prepares to move on to higher positions, the ghost of the woman is appearing to the Senator’s wife.Mary is hired to discover the truth behind the death. She unearths a connection between the murder and the disappearance of five little girls whose cases, twenty-four years later, are still all unsolved. As she digs further, she becomes the next target for the serial killers’ quest to tie up all his loose ends.

     Gingerbread houses, caroling carolers, brightly trimmed trees, big family dinners, pristine snowfalls-the familiar pleasures of the season. But what better pleasure is there than a good holiday story? So open this winter solstice sampler and indulge in fully festive fantasies, nightmares before Christmas, and stunning space-age celebrations. These stories will warm hearts and minds like a blazing Yule log. Fantastic Holiday Stories by Kevin J. Anderson, Mercedes Lackey, Mike Resnick, Kristine Rusch, Jonathan Maberry, Eric James Stone, Nina Kiriki Hoffman, Quincy J. Allen, Ken Scholes, Sam Knight, David Boop, Heather Graham, Brad R. Torgersen, and Patricia Briggs.

    600+ pages of exciting reading all in one convenient low-priced. package. OUTBACK HEARTS (#1) Sam never thought she'd actually be chosen for a reality show--but the next thing she knew, she was whisked away to Australia. Dealing with a producer willing to do whatever he had to do make the show a hit, other women ready to cheat and lie to gain the attention of the bachelor, and a camera operator ready to catch her at her worst every time she turned around, absolutely nothing was as simple as it seemed on TV. Sam wasn't sure she was going to make it through filming most days--never mind find true love. Alex never thought he'd be on a reality show, but how hard could being surrounded by beautiful women be? A lot harder than he'd thought. The producer changed the rules of the show behind his back, the women were nearly clawing at each other for this attention--and then there was that one contestant he couldn't get off his mind. Can two people who are meant to be together manage to fight catty contestants, a crazy producer and find true love on a reality show in the Australian Outback? FLAMING HEARTS (#2) Becky is on a reality show in Arizona, but instead of having the single men compete with each other for her affections, she has to compete with another woman for theirs. While on a disastrous double date for the show, Becky meets a wonder man, too bad she's not allowed to talk to him. Dean finds the one woman he knows is meant to be his, but there's a problem, she's a contestant on a reality show. Working with his brother, who just happens to be a cameraman on the show, they put together a scheme to get Dean access to the set. Now all he has to do is convince Becky to choose him. Their relationship blossoms, but when trouble arises, Becky has to decide if she can trust Dean enough to help her, or if she's better off alone. Dean would do anything for the woman he loves, but first he has to find her. FROZEN HEARTS (#3) Working as a camper operator for a hard-nosed producer isn't all fun and games. Kina is seriously thinking about making this reality show her last. She's known as being 'cold-as-ice' when it comes to men, which is appropriate since they're filming in Alaska. Before she can figure out what she wants to do with her life she had to make it through this show. The Alaskan reality show is Jonathan's last gig before he goes to work in security with his brother. The shoot would be completely miserable except for the fact that the one woman in the world who is meant to be his is also a camera operator on the show. Fighting boredom and drama within the crew, hiking across glaciers, and camping in the Alaskan wilderness isn't as safe as it seems on television. An injury on the set will either bring Jonathan and Kina together, or tear them apart for good.

    In the expert hands of six of Avon's best storytellers, the holiday season takes on an air of love and scandalous surprises! Filled with Christmas miracles, romance, and suspense, this will make the perfect gift for both romance and mystery fans. Each author brings their own unique voice and characters to the collection, as well as their fan followings.All I Want For Christmas is My Two Front Teeth – Lori AvocatoThe Lords of Misrule – Dana CameronThe Ghost of Christmas Passed – Mary DaheimPartners in Crime – Cait LondonHolly Go Lightly – Suzanne MacphersonA Very Vampy Christmas – Kerrelyn Sparks

    Swept up in the girl's story, and a need for justice, Kate and John begin looking into the mysterious disappearance.A Hidden Secret When a baby—only hours old—is discovered on the Amish bishop's front porch in Painter's Mill, Ohio, Chief of Police Kate Burkholder is called in to investigate. The newborn is swaddled in an Amish crib quilt, and the only other item found with the child is a hand-carved wood rattle, which Kate also recognizes as Amish. With the rattle and quilt as the only clues, Kate must call upon her own Amish roots, and with the help of state agent John Tomasetti, search the Amish and "English" communities of Painters Mill for clues to unravel the poignant, puzzling mystery.Seeds of Deception Readers get a glimpse into Chief of Police Kate Burkholder's past and her Amish roots: Fourteen year old Katie Burkholder has been tasked with picking apples in Zimmerman’s Orchard with her best friend Mattie when a group of older “English” boys, known troublemakers, interrupt. Mattie, no stranger to trouble herself, disappears into the old barn with one of the boys, and moments after they both run out, the Zimmerman’s barn is consumed by fire. Katie suspects the boy had something to do with the blaze, but he denies it. When the facts don’t add up, Katie begins her own investigation—and she doesn’t like what she finds. Will her friendship with Mattie survive the truth?

    The only witness, clairvoyant Celeste Risinski, observes these brutal murders through violent nightmares and hellish visions. The local sheriff, who believes in Celeste’s abilities and wants to rid their peaceful community of a killer, enlists the help of an old friend, Ian Scott, owner of a private criminal investigation agency, CORE. Because of Ian’s dark history with Celeste’s family, a history she knows nothing about, he sends his top criminalist, former FBI agent John Kain to investigate. John doesn’t believe in Celeste’s mystic hocus-pocus, or in her visions of the murders. But just when he’s certain they’ve solved the crimes, with the use of science and evidence, more dead bodies are discovered. Could this somehow be the work of the same killer or were they dealing with a copycat? To catch a vicious murderer, the skeptical criminalist reluctantly turns to the sensual psychic for help. Yet with each step closer to finding the killer, John finds himself one step closer to losing his heart.