Book picks similar to
The Jane Austen Quilt Club (The Colebridge Community Series) by Ann Hazelwood
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Summer in Greece
Patricia Wilson - 2021
Every year she escapes for a few weeks to beautiful Greek islands, losing herself in photography and wreck diving.When the junk room of her clifftop cottage is cleared to accommodate a carer for her father, Summer stumbles across the belongings of her great-grandmother, Gertie Smith. She finds a WWI nurse's uniform, a soldier's blanket, and a recording of Gertie's memoirs. As Summer listens to it, she learns about her great-grandmother's secret life, and might just find the strength to let go of her own tragic past.1916When eighteen-year-old nurse Gertie Smith signs up for the war effort, she is thrilled to learn that her destination will be Greece. With a head full of blue skies and handsome men, she boards the Titanic's sister ship, the hospital ship Britannic. Unprepared for the horrors of war, she heads for the Greek island of Lemnos on a mission to rescue three thousand wounded British soldiers.The Britannic never reaches its destination. Gertie, who disobeyed her orders, blames herself.She is sent to the Greek island of Kea, where she meets and falls in love with a Greek fisherman, Manno - but she finds herself torn between him and her duty to an English soldier, and all too soon her past catches up with her.
The Dead Don't Boogie (Dominic Queste)
Douglas Skelton - 2016
A quick-witted and vastly entertaining novel that takes Douglas Skelton into the crime fiction big league.” Alex Gray“If you like your humour black and your detective novels hard boiled, The Dead Don’t Boogie is a cut above the rest.” Theresa Talbot“A white-knuckle, wisecracking thriller.” Caro Ramsay A missing teenage girl should be an easy job for Dominic Queste – after all, finding lost souls is what he does best. But sometimes it’s better if those souls stay lost. Jenny Deavers is trouble, especially for an ex-cokehead like Queste. Some truly nasty characters are very keen indeed to get to Jenny, and will stop at nothing... including murder.
As the bodies pile up, Queste has to use all his street smarts both to protect Jenny and to find out just who wants her dead. The trail leads him to a vicious world of brutal gangsters, merciless hitmen, dark family secrets and an insatiable lust for power in the highest echelons of politics.
A Girl Apart
Russell Blake - 2017
A mysterious phone call.A deadly international conspiracy.A brutal killer who'll stop at nothing to keep the sins of the past hidden.When investigative journalist Leah Mason returns home to El Paso with her career in flames and her romantic life in tatters, things seem like they can't get any worse.Leah soon discovers she couldn't be more wrong.Bludgeoned by life's body blows, her prospects change overnight when she sets out on the trail of a brutal killer who's terrorized a city for decades.Can she discover the truth before he claims another victim? Is the handsome stranger she finds herself drawn to hiding a secret that could cost Leah her life?If you love lightning-paced mysteries from Connoly, Archer, and Patterson, A Girl Apart is sure to be one you can't put down.Get it now!
The Preacher: Aces and Eights: A Preacher Thriller
Ted Thackrey Jr. - 2017
The Preacher, the ex-priest and Vietnam vet turned professional gambler, is playing in the highest stakes poker game ever dealt. His opponents are mobsters, arms dealers and terrorists. The jackpot is an atomic bomb. And if he loses, the entire city of Las Vegas will be dealt the Dead Man's Hand. "The Preacher is distinctive and unique...with doses of subtle and sarcastic humor." Bookgasm "This is a book that has a lot going for it. It has a noirish sensibility and some darn good writing." Bill Crider, the Anthony and Derringer Award-winning author of Outrage at Blanco
Murder by the Book
Gina LaManna - 2021
My name is Lucy Little, and I’m an author.Actually, my mom thinks I’m a homeless bum with no health insurance, and my dad truly believes I’m as famous as Brad Pitt. He frequently asks me to sign napkins that he passes out like currency at the local police station where he likes to steal doughnuts. He’s a former cop. That probably makes his theft acceptable.There’s only one problem with this whole “author career” of mine, and it’s that I’m not actually making all that much money from it. I like to say I have a burgeoning career; I am making a living, but it’s a pretty dismal living. But that’s all about to change. I’ve got a new game plan, a pen that’s mightier than a sword—but not literally because I’m terrified of violence—and a bunch of words to put down on paper.Unfortunately, my plan gets thrown out the window the day I stumble upon a real live dead body. The next thing I know, I’m wrapped up neck deep in a murder investigation with the superhot cop who is also my ex-boyfriend. It’s all fun and games until the killer starts coming for me, and then I start wondering how I can write the end when I might be next?
Someone else's Honeymoon
Phoebe MacLeod - 2020
When she meets Ed, who is on honeymoon alone after being jilted at the altar by a bride he's never met, it looks like her life may be taking a turn for the better.Fate, however, has other ideas, and she and Ed are forced apart.Will she find her way back to him, or are they just not meant to be?
Yukon Audit
Ken Baird - 2015
Land of the midnight sun and the Klondike gold rush. Wilderness and wildlife, rivers and lakes, mountains and glaciers. As mystical a place as there is on earth. The Yukon’s also a great place to launder illicit cash with a gold mine. And organized crime knows it. C.E. Brody is a man of the world but prefers life in a cabin on the Yukon River. For a living he flies an ancient float plane and runs a highway repair shop. Single, fiercely independent, a champion for the little guy, Brody loves his dogs and plane, hates cops and phones, and cooks a great meal for two. After repairing her car, Brody is hired by a beautiful and mysterious woman to fly her over a gold mine. The two spot a missing plane. They land and find two men inside. He knows the pilot, she knows the passenger. Within hours, Brody realizes he’s suddenly become the center of attention for the RCMP, the FBI, and two underworld gangs. His beautiful passenger is making romantic advances. He’s beaten up, his plane is hijacked, a friend’s child is kidnapped. With no idea what's going on, he's bound and determined to get answers. And get even. A thriller, an adventure, a romance, Yukon Audit is filled with imagery and insight into the land called the Yukon - its gold rush history, its colorful characters, its geography and geology. Detailed flying sequences are narrated from the cockpit, as are the history and details of Brody’s sixty year old pride and joy, a DeHavilland Beaver, the greatest bush plane ever made. If you’ve never been to the Yukon, you’ll want to visit after reading Yukon Audit.
Ghost On a Swing
M.L. Bullock - 2018
Some never want to leave it--even after they're dead. Including Isla Beaumont, the cast-off child of an affluent family, a girl no one wanted to admit existed. Until the Cottonwood family needed her. If you've read Seven Sisters, you probably think you know Isla's story...but do you really? Ghost on a Swing is a Seven Sisters extra and can be read as a prequel.
Fashion Goes to the Dogs: A Kate Killoy Mystery - Suspense for the Dog Lover
Peggy Gaffney - 2015
Could Not Put Book Down - 5 stars "Peggy's description of the dog show scene is perfect and twisting a plot into the NY show was artful. Love introduced, politely and with good manners, leaving the reader hopeful the relationship continues in the next book. Where does Dillon go now that he is a champion dog? Ah, wait, wait...there will be more books." Sandra M. McDonald Can't wait for the next in the series! 5 stars "This book is a pure delight! ... Peggy writes a good action story, gives great insight into the dog show world, and develops a lovely love story, all around a very strong woman with classic self doubts. What a nice, nice read!" Susan H. An enjoyable story. 5 stars "I like dog books, detective stories, mysteries, and just about anything written well. This one had all of that. Although I haven't met the author personally I know her by reputation in the dog world, so I wanted to see what she had done. Within a few chapters it drew me in. I wanted to know what was going to happen, and found I was beginning to like the characters, which is a big deal to me. Even the names she used were easy to read. Her character development is better than you expect from a first time novelist, and the plot is well thought out with surprises in the right places. I was trying to ration the book and read just a few chapters at a time, but when I started reading today I decided to ignore the world until I finished. It's that good. I haven't enjoyed a book as much as this in ages." Ron Manor. FASHION GOES TO THE DOGS Kate Killoy is an expert at two things; knitting design and dogs. She arrives in New York City to launch her first line of fashion knits and exhibit her champion Samoyed, Dillon, but instead is drawn into a foreign world of international intrigue and attempts on her life. She even finds a dead body on her fashion show’s runway. When this witty romantic suspense story begins, it’s February. Fashion week is winding down and the country’s best known dog show is gearing up for a week of activities. In steps twenty-four year old Kate Killoy who has been showing dogs since she the age of seven and is launching a career as a designer. She is ready to take the fashion world by storm – those fashionable who love dogs. She’s invited her dog breeding friends to model her line of Fancier Fashions, before they compete in the best known dog show in the country. However, when she arrives at the event hotel she finds a poster of herself she never posed for, an FBI agent ready to arrest her and a bitchy dog groomer upsetting all her models. Her Irish temper and New England stubbornness keep her going ‘til the attempts on her life start piling up to the point where the police complain she is ruining the year’s crime statistics. She needs help. Along comes Harry Foyle, a former math geek for the FBI, who offers to help.
Gift of Hope (Gifts of Christmas Book 2)
Shanna Hatfield - 2019
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When his affections are spurned by the girl he plans to wed, Graydon Gaffney rides off in the swirling snow, determined to stay far away from fickle females. Then a voice in the storm draws him to a woman and her two sweet children. Despite his intentions to guard his emotions, all three members of the DeVille family threaten to capture his heart. Giavanna DeVille holds the last frayed edges of her composure in a tenuous grasp. In a moment of desperation, she leaves her sleeping children in her cabin and ventures out into a storm to release her pent-up frustrations where no one can hear her cries. Much to her surprise, a man appears through the blinding snow. He gives her a shoulder to cry on and something even more precious. . . hope. Can the two of them move beyond past heartaches to accept the gift of hope for their future? Gift of Hope is the second book in the Gifts of Christmas series, a collection of heartwarming, wholesome historical romances, featuring precious gifts given straight from the heart. ˃˃˃ Gifts of Christmas Series Gift of Grace - Book 1Gift of Hope - Book 2Gift of Faith - Book 3
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The Cookbook - a novel
Cass Tell - 2015
She is falling in love with the ideal man while advancing in her professional career. Then her neat and ordered life crashes. She receives a strange email from her deceased grandmother. Coupled with this, her apartment is burgled and her cookbooks are stolen, the ones she was instructed to preciously guard. After hiring a quirky private detective she goes on a quest that leads to an impossible truth. This exciting action thriller is interlaced with memories of tastes, smells and laughter in the kitchen, and how a grandmother lovingly prepared a young girl to face enormous challenges. Not only did Kate learn the craft of cooking, but also values from old-world traditions. These savoury breaks in the story provide unusual twists not typically found in bestseller action-thriller novels. Those lessons passed from one generation to the next give Kate the strength to face powerful forces. While solving mysteries she is led on a journey of self-discovery, having to ask hard questions. What is this disconcerting game that her grandmother is playing and for what purpose? Is her past just an illusion? And, why are these malevolent people intent on extracting some unknown truth from her? There are unique and unexpected rewards with this book. Recipes for dishes in the novel are found on the author’s website, thereby prolonging the pleasant memories of the story. Kate is a gourmet cook and you can recreate her delectable delights, whether for a special candlelight dinner for two or for an entire family. ‘The Cookbook’ carries themes of romance and love, and of faith and hope as it explores the limits of how much trust one can give to others. When everyone is against you, how can you stand up with toughness and tenacity against the world? One reviewer wrote, “This book is like a superb meal. It’s a wonderful mix of the pleasures of cooking and the enjoyment of an action read. One can only say, ‘Bon Appetit!’” If you love an adrenaline driven escape found in a fun action story, this is it.
The Shivering Sands & The Secret Woman
Victoria Holt - 1983
There, she finds herself caught up in the drama of that ancient house and the unusual members of the Stacy family. When Caroline Verlaine's sister, the archaeologist Roma, disappears, Caroline is forced down to Lovat Stacy in an attempt to discover what has happened. She finds herself caught up in the drama of the ancient house and with the unusual members of the Stacy family. But it is Napier Stacy, recently returned from years of banishment for apparently killing his brother, who she is especially drawn to. Napier is haunted by the tragedy, and Caroline becomes determined that he should put his past behind him and not allow, what she insists was an accident, to cloud his life for ever. At the same time, she becomes equally determined to solve the mystery of her own sister's disappearance. Why has Roma vanished? Was it an accident or has she been murdered? As the tension mounts Caroline soon realizes that this quest to uncover the truth is a dangerous one and is marking her out as the next victim. /////// 2) The Secret Woman (1970) - To all appearances, Anna Brett was a quiet, capable young woman whose only ambition was to carry on the profitable antiques business bequeathed her by a spinster aunt. And so she was - until the memory of a cherished moment with a blue-eyed stranger suddenly returned to haunt her with savage intensity. It was then Anna discovered the secret woman who waited within her - impetuous, daring . . . and dangerous.
Mr. New Orleans: The Life of a Big Easy Underworld Legend
Frenchy Brouillette - 2010
but you can just call him MR. NEW ORLEANS. Mr. New Orleans tells the incredible story of Frenchy Brouillette, a redneck Cajun teenager who stole his big brother's motorcycle and embarked on a 60-year vacation to New Orleans, where he became a legendary gangster and the underworld political fixer for his cousin, Louisiana Governor Edwin Edwards. Written by Crescent City native Matthew Randazzo V, the wickedly funny Mr. New Orleans is the first book to ever break the code of secrecy of the New Orleans Mafia Family, the oldest and most mysterious criminal secret society in America. "Mr. New Orleans is a rollicking, disturbing ride through the underbelly of a bygone New Orleans, lined with moments of dark, side-splitting hilarity. If you're a fan of James Lee Burke, drop what you're reading and pick this one up. In an era when popular wisdom tells us T.V. has stolen all depth from the literary true-crime narrative, Matthew Randazzo has found a way to beat that trend mightily; he's gone straight to the source and captured the singular, confounding voice of the New Orleans' mafia's top political fixer with fast-paced, riveting prose and a fine journalist's eye for detail." Chris Rice, New York Times Bestselling Author "Mr. New Orleans is a total knockout: Take everything you ever imagined about the sleazy good times to be had in New Orleans -- the sleazy good times capital of America -- and quadruple it, and you have a hint of what's inside these sticky pages." Bill Tonelli, Author of The Italian American Reader and Editor for Esquire and Rolling Stone
Tyranny
William W. Johnstone - 2015
Brannock is proud to be a rancher, a West Texan, and a American. The land he owns has been in his family for generations. But when the IRS claims he owes a fortune in back taxes—and some stiffs from the Bureau of Land Management tell him his family’s deed is invalid—G.W. refuses to stand down. This land is his land, and there’s only one way the government can take it: over his dead body…The battle lines are drawn. The feds hit G.W. with everything they’ve got, from legal threats to sabotage to hired thugs. All G.W.’s got is his grandson Kyle and fiesty lawyer Miranda Stephens. But when his story makes the national news, a veritable army of ordinary citizens rises up and rushes to West Texas. To join the cause. To fight against tyranny. To live free or die…The battle lines are drawn. The next civil war is about to begin.
The Return
Nicholas Sparks - 2020
Trevor Benson never intended to move back to New Bern, NC. But when a mortar blast outside the hospital where he worked as an orthopedic surgeon sent him home from Afghanistan with devastating injuries, the dilapidated cabin he inherited from his grandfather seemed as good a place to regroup as any. Tending to his grandfather's beloved bee hives while gearing up for a second stint in medical school, Trevor isn't prepared to fall in love with a local . . . and yet, from their very first encounter, his connection with Natalie Masterson can't be ignored. But even as she seems to reciprocate his feelings, she remains frustratingly distant, making Trevor wonder what she's hiding. Further complicating his stay in New Bern is the presence of a sullen teenage girl, Callie, who lives in the trailer park down the road from his grandfather's cabin. Claiming to be 19, she works at the local sundries store and keeps to herself. When he discovers she was once befriended by his grandfather, Trevor hopes Callie can shed light on the mysterious circumstances of his grandfather's death, but she offers few clues -- until a crisis triggers a race that will uncover the true nature of Callie's past, one more intertwined with the elderly man's passing than Trevor could ever have anticipated. In his quest to unravel Natalie and Callie's secrets, Trevor will learn the true meaning of love and forgiveness . . . and that in life, to move forward, we must often return to the place where it all began.