Showing results by author "Amy Bennett" in All Categories

Miss Lucy Bertram is content to spend her days writing scientific articles or curling up with a Gothic romance novel. Indeed, she'd rather stick a hatpin in her eye than attend a ball. But when her father, the eccentric botanist Sir Oswald, insists she accept the suit of a wealthy but stiffer-than-a-poker industrialist to save the family from penury, Lucy decides to act. She's certain her disowned brother, Monty, will take her side. But first she must find him in St. Giles's cutthroat rookeries.

After being expelled from a young ladies’ academy, a disgraced Miss Arabella Jardine is whisked away to the Continent until the controversy in London subsides. However, it doesn’t take long for Arabella to shock her family all over again when an encounter in Switzerland with the irresistible rakehell-in-exile Earl of Langdale leads to a compromising situation. Despite his wicked reputation, Lord Langdale is the sort of man she has dreamed of marrying.

Catherine, the widowed Lady Rosemont, is considered a most unsuitable countess by polite society. Whispers about her checkered history follow her wherever she goes. Despite the rumors, Catherine navigates high society's treacherous waters with her head held high. For the sake of her son, Louis, she must never sink. But when she receives threatening letters and Louis's life is endangered, she turns to a past paramour for help . . . the man who left her heartbroken.

Georgiana Dudley, the 'Ice Duchess', has just emerged from mourning after a nine-year marriage of convenience to the Duke of Darby, her twin brother's lover. Deeply hurt by a scoundrel a decade ago, Georgie swore she would never turn her head for any man, let alone another rakehell. But then she encounters the wickedly handsome and all too charming Rafe Landsbury, the Earl of Markham and against her better judgment, her interest is reluctantly aroused. An affair may be impossible to resist, but dare she trust Lord Markham with her most intimate secrets...and her heart?

Shy, bookish Sophie Brightwell is expected to make an advantageous match to improve her family's fortunes. Sophie's plans to make a spectacular debut go horribly awry when she and her three closest friends are expelled from a young ladies' academy for unbecoming conduct. Since the ton will be sure to close their doors on these disgraced debutantes, they determine that unconventional means need to be employed in husband hunting. Rakehells, the beau monde's wickedest members, might be the only men willing to overlook a young lady's besmirched reputation. But how does one catch a rake?

Elizabeth, Lady Beauchamp, fears for her life. When she discovers her dissolute and long-estranged husband has syphilis—and he wants to beget an heir no matter the cost—she flees to a remote part of Scotland to begin a new life as the widowed governess, Mrs. Beth Eliott at Eilean Tor Castle. When Mrs. Eliott unexpectedly arrives on his doorstep, the reclusive and recently widowed Marquess of Rothsburgh is both irritated and intrigued. No longer in need of a governess—his young daughter now resides with his sister's family—he proposes the beautiful widow fill a position of a different kind.

Battle-scarred in more ways than one, Hamish MacQueen, Lord Sleat, has braved many dangers in life. But nothing has quite prepared him for the shock of having a young child dumped on his doorstep with a note claiming she’s his daughter. Just in the nick of time his pretty neighbor appears, offering to act as a nursemaid for the young girl on their journey to his estate in Scotland. He suspects she has her own reasons for wanting to flee the country....

Artemis Jones—respectable finishing-school teacher by day and Gothic-romance writer by night—has never lost sight of her real dream: to open her own academic ladies' college. When she’s unexpectedly called upon by a dear friend, a fellow Byronic Book Club member, to navigate her first London Season, she comes at once—who knows, perhaps she can court the interest of a wealthy patron for her school. It’ll all be fine as long as she can avoid her high-handed aunt's schemes to marry her off.

Lady Charlotte Hastings - already branded a hellion by polite society - is in a terrible scrape courtesy of London’s most notorious blackguard. One thing is certain: Her name cannot appear in the gossip rags...again. However, Charlie’s bold attempt to extricate herself from the fine pickle she’s in takes an unexpected turn when the devilishly handsome Maximilian, the Duke of Exmoor - the rakehell she’s secretly loved for years - comes to her aid. Only he soon realizes he’s also mired in deep trouble when an entirely inconvenient desire for Charlie sparks to life.

Emmeline Chase, 25-year-old widow and new alumna, may be more high-spirited than the Academy would like. Few graduates, however, could turn a mismanaged teleportation onto a duke’s rooftop into an offer of employment. But Emmeline’s circumstances, along with her desperation to support her bankrupt, incarcerated father, have made her dauntless. Which seems the primary qualification to work for expert horologist Xavier Mason, Duke of St. Lawrence, and manage his three rambunctious wards.

Running a campground has its ups and downs, and Corrie finds herself facing a cavernous financial hole. A severe drought has made the forest service put fire restrictions in place, meaning no campfires or grills can be enjoyed at the Black Horse. The drop in guests have Corrie worrying about the future—especially when it becomes clear that Sheriff Rick Sutton's malicious ex-wife is frothing at the mouth to buy the Black Horse.

No-nonsense Jane Delaney divides her time between her grandfather's beloved bookstore and writing newspaper columns, determined to overcome a past that's left her with scars on her face and in her heart. But when the store ends up in unexpected financial jeopardy and Jane's secrets are threatened by a mysterious blackmailer, she finds herself in desperate need of money. All seems lost until a temptation like no other presents itself.

Every year, Corrie Black ushers in the summer season by opening the campground's pool and hosting a private party for employees and friends. This year is no different—except for the corpse found floating on the surface the next day . . . It turns out that a bunch of graduating high school seniors snuck onto the grounds late that night for a little private party of their own. After arguing with both her current and past boyfriends, Krista Otero never made it home.

In between spring break and summer is usually a downtime for Corrie and the campground, even with Bike Rally Weekend on the horizon. This April, however, peace and quiet are not an option. A disconcertingly attractive biker arrives, who arouses the suspicions of Corrie's childhood friend and one-time ex, Sheriff Rick Sutton. Then, one of Corrie's favorite guests is shot dead in his own RV, leaving his wheelchair-bound wife in the care of a son whom no one knew existed.

Corrie and her Black Horse employees are celebrating their first "No Vacancy" day of the summer, when an anonymous note arrives and puts a damper on the festivities. It warns Corrie that if she doesn't close the campground on Saturday her life will be in danger. Though Sheriff Rick Sutton and former undercover narcotics detective J. D. Wilder begin an investigation, Corrie will do anything to protect her friends and livelihood. But when one of her guests is stabbed to death, his true identity makes her a suspect in his murder.

Just as Corrie is getting used to having former Houston, Texas, narcotics detective J. D. Wilder as a campground employee, he officially becomes a member of the Village of Bonney Police Department. Aside from a recent crime spree at the Black Horse, not much is going on in town, giving Wilder a chance to go over some cold cases. In the past fifteen years, three women have gone missing, exactly five years apart. What has amounted to nothing more than a local urban legend becomes Wilder's new obsession.

When RaeLynn Shaffer is found on the highway near the Black Horse Campground-drugged, beaten, and unconscious-the mystery behind her disappearance weeks earlier only grows deeper. Soon it's apparent that she wasn't meant to be found alive . . . and what she knows could be fatal to the people she cares about . . . especially campground owner, Corrie Black.

With a mix of Anglo, Native, and Hispanic cultures, the village of Bonney, New Mexico, has its share of folklore and legends, but no one has ever heard of the Ghost Girls before. Three high school girls have convinced their fellow students that they have powers, but now that they're graduating, new recruits are needed to carry on the tradition.

With the campground already a crime-scene curiosity, Corrie takes a weekend break from the business just as J. D. Wilder makes his return to the village of Bonney from his home turf of Houston. With Corrie on vacation, he turns his attention to the cold cases they thought were long solved. Something isn't adding up.

Emmeline Chase, 25-year-old widow and recent graduate of the Parasol Academy for Exceptional Nannies and Governesses, is more high-spirited than her peers would like. Few graduates, however, could turn a mismanaged teleportation onto a duke’s rooftop into an offer of employment. But Emmeline’s circumstances, along with her desperation to support her bankrupt, incarcerated father, have made her dauntless. Which seems the primary qualification to work for expert horologist Xavier Mason, Duke of St. Lawrence, and manage his three rambunctious wards.