đ”đžđđŽđ”đ»đ đŽđ”đ”đŽđČđ by USA Today bestselling author K.K. Allen releases on May 24th! We are so excited to share these gorgeous covers with you!!!
Pre-order this steamy and angsty standalone romantic suspense today!
đ« Thrilling, mysterious, and packed with romance
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BLURB
For years, tales of the Firefly Man were nothing more than elaborate rumors spread by residents in the Great Smoky Mountains.
Until the night Evelyn Vaughn stumbled upon a dead body in the woods.
Fear gripped her, and silence stole her voice.
All while she watched the boy she was with that night take the fall.
Fourteen years later, Evelyn is nothing more than a shell of her former self.
Her life moves like a clock, from one moment to the next, never a surprise.
Gone are the days of chasing fireflies through the woods.
Until her therapist goes missing and heâs replaced with someone new.
Dr. Lincoln Reed.
A devastatingly handsome single dad with an intensity behind his evergreen eyes that jolts her back to life.
Or does it?
Evelyn is quickly losing grip of the suppressed reality sheâs worked so hard to live.
With every new session on Dr. Reedâs couch, comes a startling new revelation that has her past awakening like the sparkles of light she used to chase through the Appalachian woods.
The Firefly Man was supposed to be a rumor, a fable, a spooky tale.
K.K. Allen is a USA Today bestselling and award-winning author who writes heartfelt and inspirational contemporary romance stories. K.K. graduated from the University of Washington with an Interdisciplinary Arts and Sciences degree and currently resides in central Florida with her ridiculously handsome little dude who owns her heart.
K.K. published her first contemporary romance, Up in the Treehouse, 2016, which went on to win the Romantic Times 2016 Reviewers’ Choice Award for Best New Adult Book of the Year.
With K.K.’s love for inspirational and coming of age stories involving heartfelt narratives and honest emotions, you can be assured to always be surprised by what K.K. releases next.
Little Girl Vanished by Denise Grover Swank is now live!
Disgraced, ex-detective Harper Adams is perfectly content wallowing at rock bottom. She’s lost her job, house, and reputation, and it only gets worse when she’s forced to move back home to Jackson Creek, Arkansas, the one place she swore she’d never return.
But everything changes when she gets chilling news. A childhood friend’s daughter is missing…and it’s eerily reminiscent of Harper’s sister’s kidnapping and murder two decades ago.
Not her business.
Except with the police fumbling the case at every turn, Harper realizes she might be the only one who can save the girl.
And she might need the help of James Malcolm, a former crime boss, to do it.
Download today on Amazon, Apple Books, Barnes & Noble, Google Play, and Kobo!
It’s been a good 10+ years since I have read a book by DGS and honestly, I don’t know why.
Denise’s ability to write enthralling and captivating mysteries is second-to-none. She writes characters that are authentic and real and allows readers to connect to them and just makes the story all the more surreal.
Little Girl Vanished is the first book in Denise’s newest series, Harper Adams Mystery and sets the pace for this series perfectly.
The blurb gives you all the details you need to know about this book and I am not going to rehash that in my review. But I will tell you how well written this story is.
Denise breathes life into these characters. You easily get a sense of who these characters are through their emotions, actions and mannerisms. The banter amongst them all also tis very telling of who these individuals are.
Harper is struggling to come to grips with moving back home and no longer being a detective and you can emphasize with her throughout the book and the choices she makes. But you also understand who she is as a detective and why she chose that profession – she’s damn good at it.
James is a bit mysterious but you know that he’s also has a very fearful past. However, you never know the true reason behind his decisions and choices.
I absolutely loved the start of this series and cannot wait to see what happens in the coming books. I am all in on this series.
Meet Denise
Denise Grover Swank is a New York Times, USA Today, and Wall Street Journal best-selling author who writes romance mystery and romantic comedy.
She lives in Lee’s Summit, Missouri, a suburb of Kansas City, MISSOURI. (So many people think it’s in Kansas.) She has six kidsâthree out on their own, one in college, and two in high school. She has three dogs. She spends her free time binging Netflix, drinking wine, and reading. Not necessarily in that order.
Colleen Hoover Introduces a Scene from her New Paranormal Romance Layla!
This month bestselling author Colleen Hoover released her very first paranormal romance, Layla. Today Colleen shares one of her very favorite parts of the book and introduces the scene. Colleen, take it away!
âLeeds and Layla have just met about an hour before this scene takes place. I wouldnât say they experienced insta-love, but it was definitely an immediate attraction. Leeds is lonely and withdrawn from life, while Layla is the opposite. Sheâs over the top and fun and everything Leeds isnât. Heâs a musician who has never released any of his own music due to insecurities and doubt. But Layla lights a fire in him and uncovers the confidence about his music that he keeps buried.â
Excerpt from Layla by Colleen Hoover
Layla leans in and I expect her to kiss me, but instead she whispers, âPlay me something,â against my mouth. Then she moves to the couch and lies down. âPlay something worthy of that piano,â she says.
She crosses her legs at her ankles and lets one of her arms dangle off the couch. She runs her finger against the hardwood floor while she waits for me to start playing, but I canât stop staring at her. Iâm not sure thereâs another woman on this planet who could make me want to stare at her without blinking until my eyes dry up, but sheâs looking at me expectantly.
âWhat if you donât like my music?â I ask. âWill you still let me kiss you?â
She smiles gently. âDoes the song mean something to you?â
âI wrote it using pieces of my soul.â
âThen you have nothing to worry about,â she says quietly.
I spin around on the bench and place my fingers on the keys. I hesitate for a moment before playing the song. Iâve never performed it for anyone before. The only person Iâve ever wanted to sing it for is my father, and heâs no longer alive. His death is the reason I wrote this in the first place.
Iâve never been nervous while playing Garrettâs songs onstage, but this feels different. This is personal, and despite the fact that thereâs only one person in the audience right now, it feels like the most intense audience Iâve ever performed for.
I fill my lungs with air and slowly release it as I begin to play.
That night I stopped believing in heaven
I canât believe in a god that cruel
Can you?
That night I stopped praying on my knees
But I donât pray standing either
Do you?
That night I closed the door and closed the
window
Iâve been sitting in the dark
Are you?
That night I learned happiness is a fairy tale
A thousand pages read aloud
By you
That night I stopped believing in God
You were ours, he didnât care, he
Took you
So that night I stopped . . .
I stopped . . .
I just
Stopped.
That night I stopped.
I stopped.
I just stopped.
That night I stopped.
I . . .
When Iâm finished playing the song, I fold my hands in my lap. Iâm a little hesitant to turn around and look at her. The whole room got quiet after I played the last note. So quietâit feels like all the sound was sucked out of the house. I canât even hear her breathing.
I close the cover to the piano and then slowly spin around on the bench. Sheâs wiping her eyes, staring up at the ceiling.
âWow,â she whispers. âI wasnât expecting that. I feel like you just stomped on my chest.â
Thatâs how Iâve felt since I first laid eyes on her tonight.
âI like how it ends,â she says. She sits up on the couch and tucks her legs beneath her. âYou just stop in the middle of the sentence. Itâs so perfect. So powerful.â
I wasnât sure if sheâd realize the intentional ending, but the fact that she does makes me all the more enamored of her. ***
My Review:
Woza! Do you like mystery? Do you like paranormal elements? Do you like romance? Do you like to start a book and immediately get sucked in and end up ignoring everything you were supposed to do that day and read the entire thing in one sitting because you simply HAD to know what was going to happen next? Then LAYLA is the book for you!
I loved everything about this book from the characters, to the setting, to the mystery surrounding out hero and heroine. It’s hard to describe this book because it really has so many elements to it but they all add up to one heluva story I KNOW you will love.
Thank you, Colleen, for a FAB read!
Five Loves
About the Book Title: LaylaAuthor: Colleen HooverRelease Date: December 8, 2020Publisher: Montlake
Summary When Leeds meets Layla, heâs convinced heâll spend the rest of his life with herâuntil an unexpected attack leaves Layla fighting for her life. After weeks in the hospital, Layla recovers physically, but the emotional and mental scarring has altered the woman Leeds fell in love with. In order to put their relationship back on track, Leeds whisks Layla away to the bed-and-breakfast where they first met. Once they arrive, Laylaâs behavior takes a bizarre turn. And thatâs just one of many inexplicable occurrences. Feeling distant from Layla, Leeds soon finds solace in Willowâanother guest of the B&B with whom he forms a connection through their shared concerns. As his curiosity for Willow grows, his decision to help her find answers puts him in direct conflict with Laylaâs well-being. Leeds soon realizes he has to make a choice because he canât help both of them. But if he makes the wrong choice, it could be detrimental for all of them.
Author Biography
Colleen Hoover is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of several novels, including the bestselling womenâs fiction novel It Ends with Us and the bestselling psychological thriller Verity. She has won the Goodreads Choice Award for Best Romance three years in a rowâfor Confess (2015), It Ends with Us (2016), and Without Merit (2017). Confess was adapted into a seven-episode online series. In 2015, Hoover and her family founded the Bookworm Box, a bookstore and monthly subscription service that offers signed novels donated by authors. All profits go to various charities each month to help those in need. Hoover lives in Texas with her husband and their three boys.
The Lake of Learning, an all-new standalone action packed adventure from New York Times bestselling authors Steve Berry and M.J. Rose, is available now!
For over a decade Cassiopeia Vitt has been building an authentic French castle, using only materials and techniques from the 13th century. But when a treasure is unearthed at the construction siteâan ancient Book of Hoursâa multitude of questions are raised, all pointing to an ancient and forgotten religious sect.
Once the Cathars existed all across southern France, challenging Rome and attracting the faithful by the tens of thousands. Eventually, in 1208, the Pope declared them heretics and ordered a crusadeâthe first where Christians killed Christiansâand thousands were slaughtered, the Cathars all but exterminated. Now a piece of that past has re-emerged, one that holds the key to the hiding place of the most precious object the Cathars possessed. And when more than one person becomes interested in that secret, in particular a thief and a billionaire, the race is on.
Steve Berry is the New York Times and #1 internationally bestselling author of nineteen novels, which include: The Warsaw Protocol, The Malta Exchange,The Bishopâs Pawn,The Lost Order,The 14th Colony,The Patriot Threat,The Lincoln Myth,The Kingâs Deception,The Columbus Affair,The Jefferson Key,The Emperorâs Tomb,The Paris Vendetta,The Charlemagne Pursuit,The Venetian Betrayal,The Alexandria Link,The Templar Legacy,The Third Secret,The Romanov Prophecy, and The Amber Room. His books have been translated into 40 languages with 25,000,000 copies in 51 countries. They consistently appear in the top echelon of The New York Times,USA Today, and Indie bestseller lists.
History lies at the heart of every Steve Berry novel. Itâs his passion, one he shares with his wife, Elizabeth, which led them to create History Matters, a foundation dedicated to historic preservation. Since 2009 Steve and Elizabeth have crossed the country to save endangered historic treasures, raising money via lectures, receptions, galas, luncheons, dinners and their popular writersâ workshops. To date, 3,500 students have attended those workshops with over $1.5 million dollars raised.
Steveâs devotion to historic preservation was recognized by the American Library Association, which named Steve its spokesperson for National Preservation Week. Among his other honors are the Royden B. Davis Distinguished Author Award; the Barnes & Noble Writers for Writers Award given by Poets & Writers; the Anne Frank Human Writes Award; and the Silver Bullet, bestowed by International Thriller Writers for his philanthropic work. He has been chosen both the Florida and Georgia Writer of the Year. Heâs also an emeritus member of the Smithsonian Libraries Advisory Board. In 2010, a NPR survey named The Templar Legacy one of the top 100 thrillers ever written.
Steve was born and raised in Georgia, graduating from the Walter F. George School of Law at Mercer University. He was a trial lawyer for 30 years and held elective office for 14 of those years. He is a founding member of International Thriller Writersâa group of nearly 6,000 thriller writers from around the worldâand served three years as its co-president.
M.J. Rose grew up in New York City mostly in the labyrinthine galleries of the Metropolitan Museum, the dark tunnels and lush gardens of Central Park and reading her mother’s favorite books before she was allowed. She believes mystery and magic are all around us but we are too often too busy to notice…Â Books that exaggerate mystery and magic draw attention to it and remind us to look for it and revel in it.
Rose is a the Co-President and founding member of International Thriller Writers and the founder of the first marketing company for authors: AuthorBuzz. She runs the blog, Museum of Mysteries.
In 1998, her first novel Lip Service was the first e-book and the first self-published novel chosen by the LiteraryGuild/Doubleday Book Club as well as the first e-book to go on to be published by a mainstream New York publishing house.
Rose has been profiled in Time magazine, Forbes, The New York Times, Business 2.0, Working Woman, Newsweek, and New York Magazine.
She has appeared on The Today Show, Fox News, The Jim Lehrer NewsHour, and features on her have appeared in dozens of magazines and newspapers in the U.S. and abroad, including USAToday, Stern, L’Official, Poets and Writers, and Publishers Weekly.
Rose graduated from Syracuse University and spent the ’80s in advertising. She was the Creative Director of Rosenfeld Sirowitz and Lawson and she has a commercial in the Museum of Modern Art in NYC.
Dangerous Magic, an all-new cozy mystery from New York Times bestselling author Emma Hart writing as Evie Hart, is available now!
Itâs not every day you have to return to your hometown to bind your borderline-poltergeist grandmother to the family property.
Unfortunately, today is that day for Avery Thorn.
All Avery wants is to report the binding to the Witch Council so she can fulfill her obligation, but finding a dead body and the Head of the Council on the brink of death isnât in her plan.
Especially when sheâs pegged as the number one suspect.
Now, itâs down to Avery and her cousinsâand her sassy feline familiarâto figure out who tried to murder the Head of the Council. Magically bound to find the culprit, the last thing she needs is the new detective getting under her toes.
Unfortunately for her, she finds herself colliding with the hot cop more than she wants. And since her familiar hates him, itâs not always pleasant.
New magic and a devastating tragedy threaten to derail their investigationsâbut not quite as much as the person who isnât happy theyâre involvedâŠ
Evie Hartis the cozy mystery writing alter-ego of New York Times bestselling author, Emma Hart.
Evie was born when her love of paranormal cozy mysteries jumped from her Kindle to the page. The Haven Lake Mystery series is her first foray into the paranormal cozy world and begins with DANGEROUS MAGIC.
Dangerous Magic, an all-new cozy mystery from New York Times bestselling author Emma Hart writing as Evie Hart, is coming May 16th!
Itâs not every day you have to return to your hometown to bind your borderline-poltergeist grandmother to the family property.
Unfortunately, today is that day for Avery Thorn.
All Avery wants is to report the binding to the Witch Council so she can fulfill her obligation, but finding a dead body and the Head of the Council on the brink of death isnât in her plan.
Especially when sheâs pegged as the number one suspect.
Now, itâs down to Avery and her cousinsâand her sassy feline familiarâto figure out who tried to murder the Head of the Council. Magically bound to find the culprit, the last thing she needs is the new detective getting under her toes.
Unfortunately for her, she finds herself colliding with the hot cop more than she wants. And since her familiar hates him, itâs not always pleasant.
New magic and a devastating tragedy threaten to derail their investigationsâbut not quite as much as the person who isnât happy theyâre involvedâŠ
Evie Hartis the cozy mystery writing alter-ego of New York Times bestselling author, Emma Hart.
Evie was born when her love of paranormal cozy mysteries jumped from her Kindle to the page. The Haven Lake Mystery series is her first foray into the paranormal cozy world and begins with DANGEROUS MAGIC.
The first installment in the Hometown Antihero series by Amber Lynn Natusch.
When her FBI agent father is framed for murder, Kylene is forced to move in with her grandfather, back to the small town that turned its back on her, and the boy who betrayed her.
All Ky cares about is clearing her fatherâs name, but someone wonât let her forget the photo scandal that drove her away two years ago. As the threats gain momentum, Ky finds an unlikely ally in the annoyingly attractive rookie FBI agent sent to keep an eye on her.
Determined to expose the townâs hidden skeletons, Ky unwittingly thrusts herself into a much bigger plot. They thought sheâd forgive and forget. Theyâre about to learn they messed with the wrong girl.
DARE YOU TO LIE, a young adult mystery read perfect for fans of Veronica Mars, Pretty Little Liars, or Riverdale.
GIVEAWAY TERMS & CONDITIONS: Â Open to internationally. One winner will receive a $25 Amazon gift card. This giveaway is administered by Pure Textuality PR on behalf of Amber Lynn Natusch. Â Giveaway ends 9/18/2018 @ 11:59pm EST. Limit one entry per reader. Duplicates will be deleted.
I raced through town and into Grampsâs neighborhood. When I got to the house, there was a generic-looking sedan, not unlike the one my father used to drive, parked outside. I hadnât even pulled all the way into the driveway before Agent Douchecanoe was out of his vehicle and headed my way, file in hand.
âSo youâre the errand boy,â I said to him as he scowled at me.
âYou know you can hear that environmental hazard coming from a mile away, right?â
âWeird . . . kinda like your hostility and hubris.â
His frown deepened as he extended the file in his hand toward me. I reached for it, but he pulled it back at the last second.
âStriker said to make sure you got this.â
âHence the errandboy commentââ
âDo you know whatâs in here?â
âDo you know whatâs in there?â I countered, knowing damn well he would have looked. The suspense would have killed him.
âTheyâre copies of evidence from you fatherâs trial.â
âDing, ding, ding!â I exclaimed, snatching the file from his hand. âConsider your errand complete. Iâd tip you, but . . . I donât get paid until next week.â
âWhy did Striker want you to have those?â he asked, totally unfazed by my jab.
âBecause I asked for them.â
He shook his head.
âThatâs adorable. You think you can find something that a defense lawyer and a team of FBI agents couldnât find.â
âThey werenât really looking, though, were they? They approached his investigation as if he was already guilty. Hard to be objective when your singular focus is to bring down the fall guy.â
âSays the girl with the singular focus of freeing her daddy,â he replied. âWhat a sad day itâs going to be for you when all you find in those files is the truth of your fatherâs guilt.â
âWeâll see about that.â
I had the opportunity to read this book as a beta reader and see the transformation of this book go from “I am loving the whole idea of this book” to “holy shit, you really nailed YA Mystery with the whole Veronica Mars vibe.” I did read the final version of this book and even book a physical copy because I love it so much.
The only way to describe this book and not give anything away is saying it is a great blend of Veronica Mars and Riverdale . If you are a huge fan of Veronica Mars, then you will love this book. It has all the mystery and suspense along with the “take no shit” attitude and some very hilarious moments with other characters and you get one hell of an amazing story.
Kylene is kick-ass heroine who decides she is not going to sit back and just take her father’s guilty sentence lightly. She knows that truth but needs to somehow prove it. But she has her own hands full starting back at the school she left because of her own problems there.
This book moves at a fast pace with a lot of moving parts and I love it. There is no slow down and you find yourself getting caught up in the witty and snarky comments from Kylene as well as her friends. I loved every single bit of this book and can’t wait for the next book to release.
This is Amber’s first dive into an genre outside of her normal writing and she delivers a page turner. If you love YA, mystery or just a great book that will keep you glued to the pages, this book is for you.
ABOUT AMBER LYNN NATUSCH
AMBER LYNN NATUSCH is the author of the bestselling Caged series for adults. She was born and raised in Winnipeg, and is still deeply attached to her Canadian roots. She loves to dance and practice Muay Thaiâbut spends most of her time running a chiropractic practice with her husband, raising two young children, and attempting to write when she can lock herself in the bathroom for ten minutes of peace. Dare You to Lie is her debut YA novel with Tor Teen.
âA lush, romantic historical mysteryâŠa heroine to root for.â âKristin Hannah, New York Times bestselling author of The Nightingale
âFascinatingâŠan enchanting glimpse of Jazz Age New York.â âChristina Baker Kline, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Orphan Train and A Piece of the World
The New York Times bestselling author of The Library of Light and Shadow crafts a dazzling Jazz Age jewelâa novel of ambition, betrayal, and passion about a young painter whose traumatic past threatens to derail her career at a prestigious summer artistsâ colony run by Louis Comfort Tiffany of Tiffany & Co. fame. â[M.J. Rose] transports the reader into the past better than a time machine could accomplishâ (The Associated Press).
New York, 1924. Twenty four year old Jenny Bell is one of a dozen burgeoning artists invited to Louis Comfort Tiffanyâs prestigious artistsâ colony. Gifted and determined, Jenny vows to avoid distractions and romantic entanglements and take full advantage of the many wonders to be found at Laurelton Hall.
But Jennyâs past has followed her to Long Island. Images of her beloved mother, her hard-hearted stepfather, waterfalls, and murder, and the dank hallways of Canadaâs notorious Andrew Mercer Reformatory for Women overwhelm Jennyâs thoughts, even as she is inextricably drawn to Oliver, Tiffanyâs charismatic grandson.
As the summer shimmers on, and the competition between the artists grows fierce as they vie for a spot at Tiffanyâs New York gallery, a series of suspicious and disturbing occurrences suggest someone knows enough about Jennyâs childhood trauma to expose her.
Supported by her closest friend Minx Deering, a seemingly carefree socialite yet dedicated sculptor, and Oliver, Jenny pushes her demons aside. Between stolen kisses and stolen jewels, the champagne flows and the jazz plays on until one moonless night when Jennyâs past and present are thrown together in a desperate moment, that will threaten her promising future, her love, her friendships, and her very life.
I am a huge fan of M.J. Rose and everything she writes. No one can transport me to another time and place while reading like she does. I always know when I pick up one of her stories I will be immersed into a world filled with lush detail, beautiful emotion, and mystery. Tiffany Blues is yet another shining example of what Ms. Rose does so well. I loved every single minute of this read.
Jenny’s journey is one filled with love and loss, pain and tenderness, and ultimately one of self discovery. Her journey takes her from a painful past to a dream-come-true spot in Louis Comfort Tiffany’s artist colony and along the way we see what life must have been like back in the 1920’s. Few things are as magical as seeing the past through Ms. Rose’s eyes and experiencing it with Jenny, an incredible and dynamic heroine, was even more special. Jenny is also a mysterious character with a past that proves to haunt her even into this newest chapter in her life.
The cast of characters in Jenny’s life are equally as interesting. Her eccentric best friend and the men in her life made this story even more enjoyable.
Adding to the layers of the story is a very real life mystery. A fire destroyed much of the colony Ms. Rose has Jenny is studying at and the way Ms. Rose incorporates the fiction with reality is superb.
Whether you’re already a fan of Ms. Rose, or this is the first you’re hearing of her, I know you will love Tiffany Blues as much as I did. It’s a definite must read!
Five Loves
About M. J. Rose
New York Times bestselling author M. J. Rose grew up in New York City exploring the labyrinthine galleries of the Metropolitan Museum and the dark tunnels and lush gardens of Central Park. She is the author of more than a dozen novels, a founding board member of International Thriller Writers, and the founder of the first marketing company for authors, AuthorBuzz.com. She lives in Connecticut. Visit her online at MJRose.com.
From New York Times bestselling author Julia London, comes TEMPTING THE LAIRDâthe fifth standalone novel in her Highland Grooms Series!
TEMPTING THE LAIRD is now available where all fine books are sold. Grab your copy today!
 TEMPTING THE LAIRD Synopsis:
Mystery and desire cloak the Scottish Highlands
Unruly. Unmarried. Unapologetic. Catriona Mackenzieâs reputation precedes her everywhere she goes. Her beloved late aunt Zelda taught Cat to live out loud and speak her mind, and thatâs exactly what she does when Zeldaâs legacyâa refuge for women in needâcomes under fire. When her quest puts her in the path of the disturbingly mysterious Hamlin Graham, Duke of Montrose, Cat is soon caught up in the provocative rumors surrounding the dark duke. Never one to retreat, Cat boldly goes where no one else has dared for answers.
Shrouded in secrets, a hostage of lies, Hamlin must endure the fear and suspicion of those who believe he is a murderer. The sudden disappearance of his wife and the truth he keeps silent are a risk to his chances at earning a coveted parliamentary seat. But heâs kept his affairs tightly held until a woman with sparkling eyes and brazen determination appears unexpectedly in his life. Deadly allegations might be his downfall, but his unleashed passion could be the dukeâs ultimate undoing.
Thereâd been a spirited debate among the Mackenzies of Balhaire over where to bury the remains of the venÂerable Griselda Mackenzie. Arran Mackenzie, her much beloved cousin, wanted her buried at the clanâs seat at Balhaire alongside two hundred years of Mackenzies. But Catriona, his youngest daughterâwho had been as close to her âAuntieâ Zelda as her own motherâwanted to bury her at Kishorn Lodge, where Griselda had lived most of her remarkable life.
In the end, a compromise was struck. Auntie Zelda was buried in the family crypt at Balhaire, but a fĂšillein her honor was held at Kishorn a month later. This arrangement satisfied Catriona, as it was the celebraÂtion she wanted for a woman who had lived life very much on her own terms.
Unfortunately, the weather turned foul on the eve of her fĂšille. Kishorn was remote, far into the Highlands, reachable practically only by boat. Therefore, only the most immediate Mackenzie family was able to attend, rowing up from Balhaire, past the Mackenzie propÂerties of Arrandale and Auchenard, and across Loch Kishorn to the point where the loch met the river for which it was named.
There was scarcely anything or anyone this far into the Highlands. A village and prime hunting grounds had once graced the banks of the river, but they were long gone. A Mackenzie ancestor had built the lodge on the ruins of the village. Zelda, who had always preÂferred her freedom to a confining marriage, and had been indulged by her father, had taken possession of the abandoned lodge as a young woman and had made it her home, lovingly repairing and adding to it over the years.
The only thing left of that ancient village was a crumbling abbey, built on a hilltop overlooking the river glen. It was small as abbeys went, and no one could say whose abbey it had been. Zelda had decided it was hers and had made half of the original structure habitable again. The other halfâwhat had once been the sanctuaryâwas missing its walls, and only a few beams and arches remained of the roof. It served no useful purpose, other than to provide a wee bit of reÂspite from the weather for the cows that wandered in from time to time.
If only theyâd had a respite from the cold rain that continued to beat a steady rhythm against the paned windows on the day of the fĂšille.
Catriona was quite undone by itâsheâd planned this event to rival all such celebrations for years to come. âIâm bloody well cross with God this day, that I am,â she said to the women gathered around the fire blazing in the hearth. They included her mother, the Lady of Balhaire, and Catrionaâs sister, Vivienne. Also present were her sisters-in-law, Daisy, Bernadette and Lottie. âIt rained the day we buried her, and here it rains again. She deserved better, she did,â Catriona said as she careÂlessly held up her wineglass to be refilled.
âZelda would not care a whit about rain, Cat,â her mother assured her. âShe would care only that you carÂried on with the fĂšillein spite of it. Canât you hear her laughing? Sheâd say, âDid you expect cherubs and blueÂbirds to herald my arrival? No, lass, heaven weeps when I knock at the door.ââ
âMamma,â Catriona said gravely, but she couldnât help a small smile. Zelda would have indeed said someÂthing like that.
âI miss that old crone,â her mother said fondly, and lifted her glass in solemn salute. âShe was incomparable.â
That was high praise coming from Margot MackenÂzie. She and Zelda had maintained a fraught relationÂship through the years, had never quite seen eye to eye for reasons Catriona still didnât fully understand. She knew that Zelda couldnât bring herself to forgive her mother for being English, which, to be fair, was a sin in the eyes of many Highlanders. But Zelda had also seemed determined to believe the absurd notion that CaÂtrionaâs mother was a spy, of all things. Once, Catriona had asked her father why Auntie Zelda said her mother was a spy, and heâd given her a strange look. âSome things are better left in the past, aye?â heâd said. âYou canna believe everything Zelda says, lass.â
He had not, Catriona had noted, denied it.
About Julia London:
Julia London is the New York Times and USA TODAY best-selling author of more than thirty romantic fiction novels. She is the author of the popular Cabot Sisters historical romance series, including The Trouble with Honor, The Devil Takes a Bride, and The Scoundrel and the Debutante. She is also the author of several contemporary romances, including Homecoming Ranch, Return to Homecoming Ranch and The Perfect Homecoming. She has over 100,000+ Facebook followers, is the recipient of the RT Book Reviews for Best Historical Romance and a six-time finalist for the prestigious RITA award for excellence in romantic fiction. You can visit her website JuliaLondon.com. She lives in Austin, Texas.
We’re so excited to share a sneak peek at COLD MALICE by Toni Anderson – check it out below and preorder your copy, so you can dive in to COLD MALICE on September 12th!
About COLD MALICE
Available September 12th
ASAC Steve (Mac) McKenzie is out to prove himself by leading a task force investigating a series of murders in the heart of Washington, DC. His undercover work in an antigovernment compound twenty years earlier is relatedâas is the sweet, innocent girl he befriended back then. Now that girl is a beautiful woman, and she has something to hide.
Tess Fallon spent a lifetime trying to outrun her familyâs brand of bigotry, but someone is threatening her anonymity by using the anniversary of her fatherâs death to carry out evil crimes and sheâs terrified her younger brother is involved. She sets out to find the truth and comes face-to-face with a man she once idolized, a man she thought long dead. As the crimes escalate it becomes obvious the killer has an agenda, and Tess and Mac are running out of time to stop him.
Will the perpetrator use a decades-old dream of revolution to attack the federal government? And will the fact that Tess and Mac have fallen hard for each other give a cold-hearted killer the power to destroy them both?
âYou want me to provide an alibi?â The glow drained from her cheeks.
Tension sizzled through the air as Mac watched her body language to see if it matched her words. âYou know I have to ask.â
She crossed her arms, every line of her body defensive and resentful. âI donât remember exactly where I was on Monday morning.â Her eyes moved up and right.
Shit. She was lying. People lied to cops and FBI agents all the time. The question was, what did she have to hide?
âBut this morning, when the DJ was shotââ Sheâd already put together what the cops were officially refusing to admitââ I was in a coffee shop and then on the Metro.â
âGot people who can verify that?â
She gave him the name of a coffee shop near Tenleytown and the metro stop where sheâd got off the train.
âDonât tell them why youâre asking,â she said. âPlease.â
He grimaced.
She cradled her forehead in her hand and looked like she suddenly felt ill. Because, really, what were they going to think when the FBI started asking questions about her movements? He made himself push on. She wasnât his friend or his date. He had a job to do.
âAny idea who might be committing these murders?â
âI told you. Iâm not in touch with anyone from that life anymore.â âWhat about your brother?â
âEddie?â An ugly laugh escaped. âI donât have anything to do with that wacko.â
Eddie Hines was still incarcerated in the Idaho State Correctional Center. Theyâd pulled a bullet matched to his gun out of a SWAT officerâs vertebrae. The policeman had been lucky to not be paralyzed. To prove that point the officer turned up in a borrowed wheelchair and a âhere but for the grace of Godâ sign every time Eddie came up for parole.
âI meant your other brother.â
She reached out to hold on to the back of the couch. âHe doesnât know about any of this.â
Mac frowned. âYou mean the murders?â
âNo,â she bit out sharply. âAny of it. Not the Pioneers. Not Kodiak Compound. Not who our family really is. Nothing.â Her fists clenched and unclenched. âAnd I want it to stay that way.â
What the hell? âWhere does he think he comes from?â
âI told him we were the children of Trudyâs second-cousin on her momâs side. I told him our parents died up in Oregon and Trudy took us in.â
âYou lied to him about his parents?â Holy shit.
She put her hand on her hip. âDonât use that judgmental tone with me, Assistant Special Agent in Charge Steve McKenzie.â
âSorry, Tess.â He strode toward her until they were only a foot apart. âI didnât realize you had the monopoly on changing your identity.â
She flinched and blinked rapidly as if fighting tears. âIf anyone should understand why I wanted to leave that ugliness behind it should be you. You need to leave. Now.â
When he didnât move she went to the front door and opened it, waiting for him to take the hint. Damn. Heâd blown it. When he stood in front of her again he opened his mouth to speak.
She beat him to it. âDonât leave town, right?â Bitterness was rife in the lines around her mouth. In the bite of her tone.
âI was going to say that if anyone from Kodiak gets in touchââ
âThey wonât.â
âBut if they doââ
âThey wonât!â She appeared on the verge of crying, but fighting it.
Heâd seen all sorts of tears during his time on the job. It was always the ones that didnât fall that affected him most.
He pulled a business card out of his pocket, took her hand and folded her fingers over it. The skin on skin contact made something unexpected spread through his body. Despite her anger she felt it tooâ he could tell by the way her pupils widened and her lips parted on a gasp. She tried to pull away but he didnât let go and he didnât back down.
Instead he pulled her toward him into a stiff embrace. His breath brushed her hair as he kissed the top of her headâ like she was still that little girl heâd known all those years ago.
âIâm not the bad guy here, Tess,â he murmured against her hair.
She kept her head bowed, and eyes closed, hand pressed like a fiery brand against his heart.
âNeither am I, but no one seems to care.â
She pulled away, and he let her go. Then he walked away just like he had nearly twenty years ago.
He sat in his car, staring at the house, knowing she was inside watching him right back.
That stupid hug had knocked him off balance and made him sit here like a damn stalker. Heâd hoped to neutralize some of the antagonism his turning up out of the blue had created and keep her onside should he need her help in the future. But now the fresh scent of her shampoo invaded his nostrils, and the feel of her soft skin tantalized his senses. The sight of her in that damp robeâ knowing that she was naked underneathâ had distracted the hell out of him. And damned if that embrace hadnât felt like coming home.
Chances were she wasnât involved in the current murders. It didnât seem likely that an accountant, raised by a woman of color, would turn around and start killing people based on her daddyâs evil doctrine. But who knew? Heâd seen crazier things in his career. Tomorrow heâd check out her alibi and cross her off his to-do list.
Moreâs the pity.
And so what if his mind turned dirty. It wasnât going to lead anywhere. She was off limits. And he was in control of his wants and needs.
See the COLD MALICE trailer
Did you know the first book in the Cold Justice series is available for free? Get your hands on A COLD DARK PLACE!
New York Times and USA Today international bestselling author, Toni Anderson, writes dark, gritty Romantic Suspense novels that have hit #1 in Barnes & Noble’s Nook store, the Top 10 in Amazon and Kobo stores, and the Top 50 in iBooks. Her novels have won many awards. A former Marine Biologist from Britain, she inexplicably ended up in the geographical center of North America, about as far from the ocean as it is possible to get. She now lives in the Canadian prairies with her Irish husband and two children and spends most of her time complaining about the weather.
Toni has no explanation for her oft-times dark imagination, and only hopes the romance makes up for it. She’s addicted to reading, dogs, tea, and chocolate.
If you want to know when Toni’s next book will be out, visit her website (http://www.toniandersonauthor.com) and sign up for her newsletter. If you want to read other fascinating stories about life in a city that, during winter, is sometimes colder than Mars, friend her on Facebook: (https://www.facebook.com/toniannanderson).
Recommended for mature readers due to strong language and graphic violence.
Rayne Kilpatrick has everything. A job sheâs dreamed of since a little girl. The perfect house. And a man she loves and is about to marry⊠Until he never returns from a humanitarian mission.
Gone. Disappeared. Vanished.
When footage of his gruesome murder by a Muslim extremist group is shown across the country and around the globe, she wants the person responsible for the disappearance of the man she loves to pay. She wants him to lose the one person who means the world to him, too, and she wonât stop until he does.
Alexander Burnham has everything⊠Finally. A job he enjoys where he can actually make a difference in the world. The perfect woman who heâs loved his entire life. And the most beautiful daughter a father could ask for⊠Until he walks into her bedroom one morning to find it empty.
Gone. Disappeared. Vanished.
Itâs a race against the clock for Alexander to put the pieces together and find out who has taken his daughter and what they want from him. As information comes to light, he is forced to bury the guilt he feels after losing his fellow team member and focus instead on finding and saving his daughterâŠ
Before itâs too late.
Vanished can be read in conjunction with or separate from the Beautiful Mess series.
This was no longer home to a fearless girl who had more love for Olivia than she deserved. This would now become a place of nightmares for her daughter. Would she ever be able to sleep in this room again? Would she ever want to sleep alone? Would she ever feel safe?
Olivia struggled to come to terms with what Melanieâs life would be like if she survived this. She hadnât done anything to deserve this. Alexander wasnât without his faults, and neither was Olivia, but Melanie was so young, so pure, so innocent. Now, at far too young an age, she would be jaded by the cruelties of the world.
Would she ever see her smile again?
Would she ever hear her carefree laugh?
Would she ever feel her unconditional love as she flung her arms around her?
Bleakness invaded Olivia right down to her core as she fell onto Melanieâs unmade bed. Sheets that were once warm from her presence had grown cold, and Olivia could no longer keep it in. She wasnât just watching a made-for-TV movie about a successful, semi-famous family losing their daughter. She was living the nightmare. wishing with everything she had that this would all be over soon, that it wasnât real.
âWake up!â Olivia screamed, slapping her face as relentless tears streamed down her cheeks. She curled into a ball, the torment growing inside her becoming unbearable. It felt like someone was ripping her open with sadistic apathy, the pace languid and sluggish, taking pleasure from each strained breath she struggled to capture. Her skin prickled with the heat of a thousand branding irons. No matter how loud she screamed, it wouldnât dull the pain.
âWake up, Olivia!â she bellowed again, louder and more desperate. Nothing worked. No matter what she did, no matter how loud her cries, nothing would wake her from this nightmare.
Sobs wracked through her body as she fought for air. She tried to gain control over her body and tears, but it was useless. She was no longer in command of her own destiny. Even the seemingly innate task of inhaling and exhaling had become arduous and complicated. Melanie was her lifeline, her reason for living. Without her, Oliviaâs heart gave out, her lungs refused to work, her body shut down.
Suddenly, a pair of familiar, strong arms cradled her, lifting her off the torturous bed, cocooning her in a shelter only they could provide. They comforted her sobs, giving her exactly what she needed. She cried into her husbandâs chest, a hundred tears falling for every regret. No words were spoken. Lowering himself to the floor, he simply held her in his lap, wiping her tears, providing her with warmth in this cold, hateful world.
She didnât know how many minutes ticked by as he remained there, silently assuring her with his presence that they would get through this, that everything would work out. Still, she knew they would never be the same. This had shaken their family to its core. There was no returning to the way things were before.
Olivia cried harder.
She cried for all the time she should have spent with her daughter instead of working tirelessly for one charity or another. She cried for all the times she told her no when she should have said yes. Yes, we can have pancakes for dinner. Yes, we can go feed the ducks at the pond. Yes, we can make Christmas cookies in July.
Exhaustion set in as her cries subsided and she closed her eyes. The last thing she saw before drifting off was Melanie standing alone in a dark room, a blank expression on her pale face.
T.K. Leigh, otherwise known as Tracy Leigh Kellam, is a USA Today Bestselling author of the Beautiful Mess series, in addition to several other works. Originally from New England, she now resides in sunny Southern California with her husband, dog, and three cats, all of which she has rescued (including the husband). In late 2015, she gave birth to her first (and only) baby. When sheâs not planted in front of her computer, writing away, she can be found training for her next marathon (of which she has run over fifteen fulls and far too many halfs to recall) or chasing her daughter around the house.
T.K. Leigh is represented by Jane Dystel of Dystel & Goderich Literary Management. All publishing inquiries, including audio, foreign, and film rights, should be directed to her.
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About COLD MALICE
