Showing results by narrator "Kate Reading" in All Categories

When Dorothy Martin goes to France—alone because Alan is stuck back home in Sherebury with a broken ankle—she worries about her ability to get along in a language she barely speaks, and in a country she hasn’t seen for over fifty years. But by the time Alan joins her a week later, Dorothy has found herself embroiled in one mystery after another: a woman drowning in quicksand; a man suffering a near-fatal fall in the abbey at Mont Saint Michel; and a missing American archaeologist—all seemingly connected to a monk named Abelard who has been dead for almost nine hundred years.

The nine stories that make up Elizabeth McCracken’s debut story collection deal with oddball characters doing their very best to forge connections with those around them. In “It’s Bad Luck to Die”, a woman marries an older tattoo artist and finds comfort in agreeing to act as a canvas for his most elaborate work. And in the title story, a young man and his wife are perplexed when an outspoken old woman shows up on their doorstep for a visit, claiming to be a distant aunt, even though she can’t be traced on a family tree.

In November 2008, Hillary Clinton agreed to work for her former rival. As President Barack Obama's secretary of state, she set out to repair America's image around the world - and her own. For the following four years, BBC foreign correspondent Kim Ghattas had unparalleled access to Clinton and her entourage, and she weaves a fast-paced, gripping account of life on the road with Clinton in The Secretary.

Evoking the spirit and hardships of small-town America during World War II, Carolyn Hart's beautifully written story follows a young reporter, Gretchen Gilman, who investigates the puzzling murder of an acquaintance. Gretchen's assignments at the local newspaper weren't very exciting, but the job was a good opportunity for a young woman with talent and ambition. That summer, everyone was talking about Faye Tatum, who was found dead in her living room.

India Palmer, living the cash-strapped existence of the writer, is visiting wealthy friends in Maine when a yellow biplane swoops down from the clear blue sky to bring a stranger into her life who will change everything. The stranger is Win Johns, a swaggering and intellectually bored trader of mortgage-backed securities.

With the same profound attention to detail that is a hallmark of his previous acclaimed works of fiction National Book Award winner Ha Jin gives us a collection of stories that delves into the experience of Chinese immigrants in America. Ha Jin depicts here the full spectrum of immigrant life and the daily struggles - some minute, some grand - faced by these men, women, and children.

Kitty Sugarman is a lot tougher than her name implies. Still, she's content with her small-town life. That is, until a near-tragedy strikes and Kitty discovers she has abilities... thanks to a father she never knew was alive. He also happens to be a were-lion and the leader of one of the most powerful prides out west. But when Kitty heads to Vegas to find out more about her father, it's his sexy, seductive second-in-command, or baas of the pride, Marcus Stewart, who commands her attention.

The holiday comes to an abrupt halt when David’s elderly great-aunt is accused of the murder of a fellow patient at her nursing home. How could a frail dementia sufferer commit such a terrible deed? Dorothy is determined to prove Aunt Amanda’s innocence, and launches into an unofficial investigation. But as she and David navigate their way amongst reckless students, inefficient police work, and witnesses who have lost the ability to remember, the investigation soon becomes as twisty, slippery, and treacherous as the damp cobblestones outside.

Mystery bookstore owner Annie Laurance didn't really want to go to her neighbor's Valentine Day masked ball - particularly not after the voluptuous brunette made a pass at Annie's husband, Max. So when her dizzy mother-in-law, Laurel, made a surprise visit to Broward's Rock Island, Annie thought it would be a perfect excuse to skip the party. She should have known better: True to form, Laurel accepted the invitation for all three of them. But the biggest surprise of all came at the party's end, when Annie found the amorous hostess in the gazebo - murdered.

Rhona has battled the malevolent AI intent on wiping out humanity since the first Machinations began - until she’s killed during a rescue mission gone wrong. Now, Rhona awakens to find herself transported to a new body, complete with her DNA and her personality. She's a clone...of herself. Except for her missing memories. Some of which could potentially turn the tide of the war.

Barely out of school and doing her bit for the British war effort, Marian Sutro has one quality that makes her stand out—she is a native French speaker. It is this that attracts the attention of the SOE, the Special Operations Executive, which trains agents to operate in occupied Europe. Drawn into this strange, secret world at the age of nineteen, she finds herself undergoing commando training, attending a “school for spies,” and ultimately, one autumn night, parachuting into France from an Royal Air Force bomber to join the Wordsmith resistance network.

As a research grunt at a local television station, Abby Baker tends to blend into the background, which is where she's most comfortable. But when she ends up being the last resort to cover a hot story, Abby discovers a whole new side to her personality when she is possessed by a fiend---a type of rogue demon. Suddenly everyone wants a piece of her.

A frantic phone call from an old and dear friend on the other side of the world sends Henrie O to San Antonio, Texas, in search of her friend's granddaughter, Iris Chavez. Iris had been working at the family-owned Tesoros Gallery, a shop renowned for the priceless treasures it hunts for its rich and famous patrons. Iris has disappeared without a word; Her apartment has been ransacked, yet nothing is missing. And nobody at Tesoros seems to care. Why? Somewhere in the gallery or among the family members is a secret....

When the solar flares first erupt, Cameron tries to rationalize the disaster away. The electrical grid will come back up. The government will reassure the panicked populace. The hurricanes, tornadoes, and earthquakes will abate. Most importantly, Cameron’s husband and daughter will get home safely from New York City. Instead, Cameron finds herself alone as the world tears itself apart. Her best hope for refuge is the family’s isolated cabin, but distance isn’t the only obstacle Cameron faces.

Margaret Mayfield is nearly an old maid at twenty-seven in post–Civil War Missouri when she marries Captain Andrew Jackson Jefferson Early. He’s the most famous man their small town has ever produced: a naval officer and a brilliant astronomer—a genius who, according to the local paper, has changed the universe. Margaret’s mother calls the match “a piece of luck.”

Retired chief constable Alan Nesbit and his wife Dorothy Martin are in the beautiful historic city of Bath to celebrate Dorothy’s birthday, enjoying the city’s elegant surroundings, sightseeing, shopping—and champagne. But the celebrations are curtailed when they discover a curious assortment of loot in their car boot during a trip to Stonehenge—from precious artifacts to cheap jumble sale trinkets. The stolen items are linked to various historic sites in Bath, but how did they end up in the Martins’ car?

Annie Darling, owner of the Death on Demand mystery bookstore, is hosting a party to celebrate successful Southern literary icon - and former Broward's Rock resident - Alex Griffith and his best-selling new novel, Don't Go Home. But after the local paper announces that Griffith aims to reveal the real-life inspirations behind his characters, perhaps the author should take his own advice. Not everyone in town is ready to give him a glowing review.

Noah Baker never wanted to betray the Others. But if his military commanders want him to covertly investigate a Lupine scientist - whose extraordinary research on sensory perception in werewolves could be used to develop werewolf-sharp senses in human soldiers - Noah must oblige. Even if it means deceiving the woman he desires the most.

Christian History takes a look, in this issue, at how Tolkien influenced culture and what the influences in his life were. How his Catholicism and friendship with C.S. Lewis influenced what he wrote about Hobbits, dragons, and overcoming great evil. This issue takes the time to examine many areas of the life of the man who created the 20th century's greatest myth.

Ares, god of war, is leading the other dying gods into battle. Which is just fine with Athena. She's ready to wage a war of her own, and she's never liked him anyway. If Athena is lucky, the winning gods will have their immortality restored. If not, at least she'll have killed the bloody lot of them, and she and Hermes can die in peace. Cassandra Weaver is a weapon of fate. The girl who kills gods. But all she wants is for the god she loved and lost to return to life. If she can't have that, then the other gods will burn, starting with his murderer, Aphrodite.