Book picks similar to
Leader by Jordan Taylor


contemporary
short-stories
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The Only Witness


Pamela Beason - 2011
    Now Ivy’s gone and half the town believes Brittany murdered her daughter.A HAUNTED DETECTIVEDetective Matthew Finn, a big-city fish out of water in small-town Evansburg, Washington, struggles with his wife’s betrayal as he investigates Ivy Morgan's disappearance. The clock is ticking and he can't find any witnesses.AN UNUSUAL RESEARCH SUBJECTImaginative, manipulative, and volatile, with the intelligence of a five-year-old child, Neema cannot speak, but she knows enough sign language to invent jokes and insults. She can also hurl a grown man across the room. Neema is a gorilla.A DISTRESSED SCIENTISTAfter a psycho murdered one of her “talking” gorillas in Seattle, Dr. Grace McKenna relocated to the Evansburg area. Now with the economy on the rocks and her funding cut, her beloved gorillas Neema and Gumu are in jeopardy. When Neema repeats a story of a crying baby, a cucumber car, and a snake, Grace realizes her gorilla is the only witness to whatever happened to baby Ivy.Does Grace dare go public with Neema’s sketchy clues? Can she afford not to?

Her Billionaire Cowboy


Liz Isaacson - 2019
     Tucker Jenkins has had enough of tall buildings, traffic, and business meetings to determine the next app that will change the world. He's sold his technology firm for billions and traded it for Steeple Ridge Horse Farm in rural Vermont. Missy Marino has worked at the boarding stable and farm since she was a teen, and she's always dreamed of owning it. But her ex-husband left her with a truckload of debt, making her fantasies of owning the farm unfulfilled. When she meets Tucker, she starts having a new kind of fantasy—one where they work with the horses together. Tucker didn't come to the country to find a new wife, but he supposes a woman could help him start over in Steeple Ridge. Will Tucker and Missy be able to navigate the shaky ground between them to find a new beginning? Read all the novels by USA Today bestselling and Kindle All-Star Author Liz Isaacson: Steeple Ridge Romances: 1. Her Billionaire Cowboy 2. Her Restless Cowboy 3. Her Faithful Cowboy 4. Her Mistletoe Cowboy 5. Her Patient Cowboy Three Rivers Ranch Romance Series: 1. Second Chance Ranch 2. Third Time's the Charm 3. Fourth and Long 4. Fifth Generation Cowboy 5. Sixth Street Love Affair 6. The Seventh Sergeant 7. Eight Second Ride 8. The First Lady of Three Rivers 9. Christmas in Three Rivers 10. Lucky Number Thirteen 11. The Curse of February Fourteenth 12. Fifteen Minutes of Fame 13. Sixteen Steps to Fall in Love 14. The Sleigh on Seventeenth Street Horseshoe Home Ranch Romance Series: 1. Falling for Her Boss 2. Falling for Her Roommate 3. Falling for His Best Friend 4. Falling for His Nanny 5. Falling for Her Ex's Brother 6. Falling for Her Old Boyfriend 7. Falling for His Next-door Neighbor 8. Falling for His Nurse Brush Creek Brides Romance Series: 1. A Wedding for the Widower 2. A Companion for the Cowboy 3. A Bride for the Bronc Rider 4. A Family for the Farmer 5. A Home for the Horseman 6. A Refuge for the Rancher 7. A Marriage for the Marine 8. A Fiance for the Firefighter 9. A Treasure for the Trooper 10. A Date for the Detective 11. A Partner for the Paramedic 12. A Catch for the Chief Grape Seed Falls Romance Series: 1. Choosing the Cowboy 2. Craving the Cowboy 3. Charming the Cowboy 4. Courting the Cowboy 5. Claiming the Cowboy 6. Catching the Cowboy 7. Cheering the Cowboy Christmas in Coral Canyon Romance Series: 1. Her Cowboy Billionaire Best Friend 2. Her Cowboy Billionaire Boss 3. Her Cowboy Billionaire Boyfriend 4. Her Cowboy Billionaire Bodyguard 5. Her Cowboy Billionaire Bull Rider 6. Her Cowboy Billionaire Bachelor 7. Her Cowboy Billionaire Blind Date 8. Her Cowboy Billionaire Best Man Last Chance Ranch: 1. Her Last First Kiss 2. Her Last Billionaire Boyfriend 3. Her Last Make-Believe Marriage 4. Her Last Second Chance 5. Her Last Secret Sweetheart 6. Her Last Cowboy Christmas Quinn Valley Ranch: 1. Contracted Cowboy 2. Secret Sweetheart 3. Landscaping Love 4. Birthday Boyfriend

Heart's Design


JoAnn Durgin - 2015
    Seth can’t let go of the past. Recent Wellesley College graduate Caroline Prescott’s future is set in stone. After Harvard Law School, she’ll step into place beside her two brothers in their father’s legendary Boston law firm. Caroline secretly longs for the quiet, peaceful life and a career designing jewelry with precious gemstones instead of life as a hotshot Boston attorney. On a hiking trip with her two best friends weeks before entering law school, Caroline meets Seth Barnes in charming Evergreen, Maine. A mineralogist and part-time college professor, Seth drives a truck sporting an I DIG ROCKS license plate, lives in hiking clothes, flannel shirts and jeans, and loves Jesus. Two years later, when they meet again, Caroline and Seth confront both the promise of possibility and the pain of past heartaches. What’s a girl to do when the man she secretly loves has a serious girlfriend and seems determined to hold her at arm’s length? And what’s a guy to do when he can’t stay away from a certain irresistible woman no matter how hard he tries? Does the Lord have His own design for their hearts? Heart’s Design, a story filled with faith, friendship, love, family, and the power of forgiveness.

Alone and Afraid


Elizabeth Sherry - 2013
    She wants nothing more than to be left alone. The very handsome ex-forensic specialist, Chase who lives next door, also wants to be left alone, but unfortunately his dog, Digger has other ideas. After Digger uncovers a piece of bloody plastic in Brooke's garden and then later he digs up the body of the woman who lived on the other side of Brooke, Chase and Brooke quickly have to get answers before the person who has already tried to strangle Brooke, comes back to finish the job.

Bloodlust Blonde


Steve Higgs - 2019
    Oh, and she’s a boy. When a name from her past suddenly surfaces, Jane knows that she is the only one that could solve the case. With the detectives unavailable and a tearfully desperate client, there is no choice but to pretend she knows what she is doing and answer the cry for help, but is she really dressed for fighting vampires? Her client has a time-sensitive problem – she was bitten by a vampire last night and swears she can feel her canines growing. With no time to lose and a boyfriend at home making dinner, Jane begins a race against time to save the client and stop the transformation, but does the client even know what she wants? Cross-dressing isn’t always glamorous. This book is part is a long-running series that follows the cases undertaken by the Blue Moon Investigation agency. The stories do not contain cussing or graphic descriptions of sex or violence but do allude to both. There is nothing R rated but I would not let my nine-year-old niece read them.

Playing with Power (Book 5)


Adele Huxley - 2014
    MyBFC is on the brink of launching and Lauren has to decide if she is willing to leave New York City to make it a reality.Someone isn’t happy with the choices she’s making. With a violent and invasive stalker tracking her every move, Lauren turns to the only person who she knows can protect her, Damon Kael. Can she resist the power he has over her?Sparks fly when Landon finally confronts Nick and Parker finally takes it too far.Can she find the inner power she needs to demolish those who stand in her way? Will she find Damon or Landon at her side?

Bon Bon Beauty: (Plus Size Romance Series)


Lynn Cooper - 2015
    Now a strong, independent woman and owner of the Bon Bon Beauty Parlor, she is determined to live her life alone. Having spent years constructing a steel cage around her heart, she vows to never let any man get too close. Her mama made that mistake, and it ended in tragedy. Saffron isn’t about to let the same thing happen to her. She is content to bury herself in romance novels, dreaming of the swaggering, shirtless heroes on the covers. That is enough for her until the morning her eyes flutter open to find the sexiest man she has ever seen hovering over her. He is tending to her, protecting her and, before she can blink, he is trying to steal her heart. Parker Sloan grew up in the lap of luxury. He has every advantage but little freedom. From the day he was born, his parents have had his entire life mapped out. His domineering father—Dr. Nate Sloan—insists his son attend medical school, pursue a career in cardiology and get engaged to a self-centered socialite. But, Parker has other plans. Against his parents’ wishes, he becomes a paramedic. One fateful morning he takes an emergency call that lands him smack in the middle of a beauty parlor. It is there he meets the sweet and beautiful Saffron Butler. From the moment he looks into her big brown eyes, he is a goner. In their dark, chocolatey depths, he can clearly see their future—a lifetime of love and happiness spent in each other’s arms. Wooing Saffron won’t be an easy task. But it is one he is determined to accomplish. Failure isn’t an option. He will do whatever it takes to gain her trust and win her affections. Bon Bon Beauty is part of the Plus Size Romance Series. Each book is a standalone with no overlapping characters, storylines or cliffhangers. This series is a perfect combination of romance, steamy love scenes and humor. The stories are sensual and romantic, uplifting and lighthearted. Feel-good reads that leave you feeling great!

Dusty's Winter


Maeve Binchy - 2016
    Soon, Dusty is able to accomplish a great deal: she works long hours and is made senior partner at her firm, she keeps her own flat, and she falls hopelessly and irresponsibly in love with a married man. But, when her father telephones to report some disturbing news, Dusty must return home for the winter. There, heartbroken but still dutiful, Dusty finally reunites with her oldest friends.         First published in the US as part of her encouraging book of missives to aspiring writers, The Maeve Binchy Writers’ Club, “Dusty’s Winter” is essential Maeve. Inspiring and down-to-earth, her stories are full of the stuff of everyday life. Ireland’s “best-loved writer of her generation,” Maeve Binchy often wrote about ordinary life in small-town Ireland, and she is fondly remembered for the warmth and generosity of her prose.   Maeve Binchy has received a Lifetime Achievement Award at the British Book Awards in 1999 and the Irish PEN/A.T. Cross Award in 2007 and is the author of many bestselling books including Maeve’s Times, Chestnut Street, and A Week in Winter.   An eBook short.

The Three O'Clock in the Morning Sessions


Angie Martin - 2014
    This book also contains two short stories, "the door" and "brief love". All of the works deal with lost love or almost loves.

The Maidservant and the Murderer


Sam Thomas - 2013
    Rebecca was an ordinary country girl when she became John and Grace Hooke’s maidservant—a little light-fingered, perhaps, but never malicious. In the Hookes’ service, however, she finds herself caught between a vicious mistress and a rapacious master, with their quiet but kind son, Richard, the only benevolent face in view.In Samuel Thomas' e-original short story, Rebecca recounts her escape from this desperate situation, and bears witness to the choices that have turned her from a naïve young woman into the ruthless Rebecca Hooke. The question she would ask the reader is simple, “What else would you have had me do?” 10,700 words

No Going Back


Lyndon Stacey - 2010
    However, rather than showing relief at being rescued, she seems terrified. Darkness halts their hunt for her elder sister, and Daniel returns home with one distressing question on his mind: just what were the girls running from?

Fowl Play


P. Bodi - 2016
    All of her customers and their pets are like family. It had been a typical day at Pet Palace. Leah was going to meet some friends for dinner where she suddenly finds out one her customers had been found dead at home. Was it from natural causes or could it have been murder?

A Place in Her Heart


Trish Milburn - 2014
    Now three bestselling Harlequin authors honor these remarkable women with stories inspired by their extraordinary contributions.In A Place in Her Heart, Boston bakery owner and women's shelter volunteer Katy McShea has traveled far to overcome her traumatic past. But apparently not far enough, because Callum Walsh suddenly reenters her life. The handsome navy SEAL doesn't have a clue how she felt about him in high school…or what happened after he shipped out. Five years ago, Cal thought he was doing the right thing. Now Katy�along with her mouthwatering miniature cupcakes�are awakening feelings too irresistible to ignore. All Cal wants is to cherish and protect her. Or will his guilt and Katy's reluctance to trust keep their chance reunion from becoming a mission possible?Look for A Place in Her Heart by Trish Milburn, along with two more free ebooks inspired by real-life heroines: Never Too Late by Christi Barth, and A Wing & A Prayer by Andrea Laurence. Visit the Harlequin More Than Words website at www.harlequinmorethanwords.com, or your favorite ebook retailer, to download these free novellas today.

Town & Country


Jess Walter - 2020
    1 New York Times bestseller Beautiful Ruins, a father-son story that underscores why Jess Walter is not only among the funniest writers working today but among the most bighearted and humane.Jay is nothing like his hard-drinking, skirt-chasing, blue-collar dad. He’s college-educated, works as a graphic designer, prefers white wine to whiskey, and is gay—a fact that’s been lost, with so much else, in the growing fog of his father’s dementia. When the woman with whom his dad has lived for decades throws him out (thanks to a little neighborly infidelity), Jay moves his dad to Boise to live with him—at least temporarily—until he can find an eldercare facility for the old man. But the search turns out to be far more complicated than Jay realized—what place will not only care for his dad but let him be who he imperfectly is, bad habits and all? The answer to that question takes father and son to a 1950s-style motor inn, the Town & Country Senior Inn, where the only therapy on offer is nostalgia and happy hour starts at 3:30.In turns hilarious and heartbreaking, Town & Country describes a son’s greatest act of tolerance and acceptance in a world—a distinctly American one—that hasn’t always shown him the same. It’s a story, as only Jess Walter could write it, about all the ways we cannot help but love each other even when, owing to political, regional, and generational divisions, we do not, and maybe cannot, understand each other.

Dead Fall


Matt Hilton - 2009
    He's never tolerated bullies, but this time it's personal. And no matter how many heads he has to bash to do it, Joe will find his man.Includes a sneak preview of Blood and Ashes, the exhilarating fifth novel in the Joe Hunter series.