Crooked Lane Books strana 6 z 7

Back to active duty after an administrative leave of absence for the use of deadly force, the last thing Detective Nathan Fisher wants to do is return to the conservative Amish community he left behind but when his father passes, he has no choice. Hoping to clear his head and perhaps mend fences with his family, he returns to his small Mississippi hometown despite not being welcome. What was supposed to be a quick visit quickly turns into a prolonged stay when his former love pleads for his help. Rachel Hostetler''s world is turned upside down when she finds her brother''s body hanging in her family''s barn. Rachel is sure her brother Albie did not kill himself, but neither her father nor the police are willing to listen. When she spots Nate, her ex, now a detective in Oklahoma, back in Cedar Creek, she knows he is the answer to her problem and begs him to intercede. As Nate and Rachel come to terms with their shared history, despite knowing nothing can come of the longing they have for each other, the pair must look into Albie''s death as suspects stack up. The truth is out there, but can they find it before Nate has to return to his real life and face the shooting that has him so desperately searching for peace?

Saffron Everleigh returns to Ellington Manor after her grandfather suffers a heart attack. Back in her childhood home for the first time in years, Saffron faces tense family relationships made worse by the presence of the enigmatic Bill Wyatt, hired on as a doctor to the ailing Lord Easting. But the man is no doctor - in reality, he is a mysterious figure involved in the trafficking of dangerous government secrets, and his presence at Ellington can only mean trouble. When their neighbors, the Hales, invite a spiritual medium into the village who starts angling for Saffron''s mother''s attention, Saffron realizes that there is more afoot in her hometown than she originally thought. Not to mention inviting Alexander to Ellington has put their budding relationship under her family''s microscope. As tensions rise at Ellington, Bill demands that Saffron hand over old research documents belonging to her late father. With her relatives under his power as their ''doctor,'' Saffron fears she may be forced to surrender the files along with her hopes of ever understanding her father''s obscure legacy. Nothing and no one is as they seem at Ellington. It''s through the perfumed haze of the seance''s smoke that Saffron must search for the truth before it''s too late.

Winter Snow has had it! With her business in a death drought, her best friend Scoop implicated in a string of arsons, and an obituary listing Winter herself as deceased, her life is heating up. But just as she''s trying to cool things down, she receives her newest assignment: an obituary for Chester, a homeless man found in a burning building. Promising the local funeral home manager that she will have the obituary by the deadline, Winter is stonewalled at every turn, failing to discover Chester''s last name, or where he came from. When it is discovered that Chester was murdered and that the fire was set to cover it up, all fingers immediately point to Scoop. Not only is Scoop a person of interest in the arsons, he was also the last person to see Chester alive. As more nails are pounded into Scoop''s coffin, Winter''s uncle Richard hopes to help by inviting the notorious town gossips, The Nosy Parkers, to a neighbourhood food fest. Unfortunately, the breadcrumbs they toss set murder in motion. More determined than ever, Winter must figure out the twists and turns of the case to clear Scoop''s name, putting her on a deadly deadline to solve the murder and avoid meeting the same grave consequences.

Event planner Hattie Norwood only came back home to Mountain View, South Carolina to support her parents as they receive word that the family peanut farm is infertile. This news doesn''t come as a surprise to Hattie, and she plans to return to Charlotte at the weekend''s end. But then the town councilwoman begs Hattie to use her event planning prowess to help Mountain View put on a musical benefit to stop the construction of the new Carolina Panthers stadium - a project Hattie is actually in favor of, much to the dismay of the locals - and she finds herself agreeing to stay until the town''s Founder''s Day celebration a week later, just as her old flame, former MLB standout Lee Lockhardt, materializes in town after a career-ending injury. When the hunky and mysterious new owner of Fox''s Hardware, Fox Ryan, suggests the Founder''s Day celebration be moved to the Norwoods'' barn in an attempt to reinvent the failing farm as a music and event venue, Hattie agrees, unaware this move will thrust the town, her love life, and the brewing tension over the stadium into a very public spotlight. Fans of small-town romance and quirky casts of characters will be rooting for Team Lee or Team Fox as Hattie decides if love, like most music, is meant to fade or last forever.

What would you do if you could spend an hour in your past? Four strangers in the beach town of Ventura, California are about to find out. Elizabeth aches for one more precious hour with her son who died in a senseless accident. Andy is desperate to find his first love who vanished after a whirlwind romance. Logan craves the rush of surfing and mountain climbing, yearning to reclaim the freedom he lost after a misstep landed him in a wheelchair. Brooke is looking for an hour of relief from the guilt of an unforgivable mistake. Enter Aeon Expeditions, the groundbreaking time travel invention of Mark Saunders, which allows some lucky clients the chance to spend an hour in their past. Even though Aeon''s technology ensures time travel can''t alter the future, all four clients, including Mark''s ex-wife Elizabeth, yearn to revisit the hour that changed their lives forever. But when their ''hour'' extends beyond sixty minutes, they find themselves stranded in the past. As their paths intertwine unexpectedly, they unearth shocking secrets hidden in the shadows of their shared history: All their lives were shattered the same night on a secluded highway by the beach. As they delve into the hidden truths of that pivotal hour, a startling revelation emerges. They were not alone. Someone else was present, harboring deadly intentions. The Memory Collectors is a heart-wrenching, genre-bending novel brimming with hope, grief and second chances.

It''s 1989, and Joe Agabian and his best friend Ronnie set out to spend their first summer working in the hedonistic gay paradise of Fire Island Pines. Joe is desperate to let loose and finally move beyond the heartbreak of having lost his boyfriend to the HIV/AIDS epidemic. The two friends are quickly taken in by a pair of quirky, older house cleaners. But something seems off, and Joe starts to suspect the two older men of being up to something otherworldly. In truth, Howie and Lenny are members of a secret disco witch coven tasked with protecting the island-and young men like Joe-from the relentless tragedies ravaging their community. The only problem is, having lost too many of their fellow witches to the epidemic, the coven''s protective powers have been seriously damaged. Unaware of all the mystical shenanigans going on, Joe starts to fall for the super-cute bisexual ferryman who just happens to have webbed feet and an unusual ability to hold his breath underwater. But Joe''s longing to find love is tripped up by his own troublesome past as well as the lure of a mysterious hunk he keeps seeing around the island-a man Howie and Lenny warn may be a harbinger of impending doom. The Disco Witches need to find help fast if they''re to save Joe and the island from the Great Darkness. But how? Fans of queer romances with a dash of fantasy will fall in love with this stunning novel of community, love, sex, magic, and hope in desperate times.

Lana Burrell grew up on an idyllic Napa Valley vineyard with her best friend Jess--until Jess mysteriously disappeared and Lana''s father was falsely accused of her murder. Over twenty years later, he''s still serving a life sentence, but Lana knows he''s innocent, just like she knows Jess''s real killer is still out there. Now, as a seasoned FBI agent in the San Francisco field office, Lana figures she can handle just about anything--until a killer strikes the Valley again and those old wounds come bursting open. Two women are slain in ritualistic fashion near the vineyard she once called home, and Lana has no choice but to revisit the site of the nightmarish past she tried to leave behind. A past that seems to be repeating itself as the blood and wine continue to spill all over Napa Valley. With rumors of a dangerous cult embedded at the center of wine country, the most powerful family in the Valley breathing down her neck, and a mysterious stranger stalking her every move, Lana''s quest to solve the murders takes an even darker turn when she soon realizes the awful truth: she might be the next to die.

Thirteen years ago, Providence Byrd threw the family car in reverse and ran over her mother. Even though her mother survived, that single instant of teenage madness made Providence a felon and irrevocably altered her life. When her mother disappears years later under suspicious circumstances, Providence tells herself that returning home is her chance to find closure after a prolonged estrangement from her family. Never mind that this is only half of the truth: she''s also returning to finally confront her abusive father, Tom Byrd. Nothing can stamp out Providence''s certainty that he is guilty of whatever terrible thing has happened to her mother. As the search unfolds, Providence is haunted by the wounds of her past, none of which cut as deep as the distance between her and her younger sisters. Harmony and Grace are both uniquely scarred by her attempted matricide, and both have their own idea of what reconciliations might look like - if reconciling is even possible. Harmony urges Providence to make their father pay for his sins; Grace begs her to end the cycle of violence that has haunted their family for generations. As her thirst for vengeance collides with her desire to heal her relationships with her sisters, Providence must decide which she values more: revenge or redemption.Sharp and poignant, Every Sweet Thing Is Bitter is a stunning novel that eschews picture-perfect endings and dares to tell a story about a resilient queer woman and her relentless determination to persevere.

Lana Burrell grew up on an idyllic Napa Valley vineyard with her best friend Jess - until Jess mysteriously disappeared and Lana''s father was falsely accused of her murder. Over twenty years later, he''s still serving a life sentence, but Lana knows he''s innocent, just like she knows Jess''s real killer is still out there. Now, as a seasoned FBI agent in the San Francisco field office, Lana figures she can handle just about anything - until a killer strikes the Valley again and those old wounds come bursting open. Two women are slain in ritualistic fashion near the vineyard she once called home, and Lana has no choice but to revisit the site of the nightmarish past she tried to leave behind. A past that seems to be repeating itself as the blood and wine continue to spill all over Napa Valley. With rumours of a dangerous cult embedded at the centre of wine country, the most powerful family in the Valley breathing down her neck, and a mysterious stranger stalking her every move, Lana''s quest to solve the murders takes an even darker turn when she soon realizes the awful truth: she might be the next to die.

Manhattan, 1870. Rua knows only two things: her name, and that she has no memories. So when the wealthy Harrington family mistakes Rua for their missing daughter, Emma, Rua goes along with the charade, hoping for answers about who she really is. As she tries to blend into a society she doesn''t remember, she''s drawn to a firmly off-limits man: the Lord of Donore, a newcomer to Manhattan society who is somehow familiar to Rua. Finn is new to this side of the Atlantic and knows that the best way to fit in as Lord of Donore is to make friends in high places and play by the rules of society. He knows he shouldn''t become involved with a mysterious, recently missing debutante, but he''s intrigued by Emma Harrington, and Finn has an uncanny feeling that this isn''t the first time they''ve met. With societal pressures mounting on both sides, Rua is determined to discover the truth about the missing Harrington daughter and her own past. But when her memories begin to return, they''re of a world far stranger than New York and traced in dark magic. As ancient secrets unfurl in Rua''s memory, Rua and Finn are forced to uncover the mystery of their past and try to save their future. In this gritty and glittering romantasy, nothing and no one is as they seem.

In the near-future United States, where advanced technology can create egg or sperm from any person''s cells, celebrities face the alarming potential of meeting biological children they never conceived. Famous singer Trace Thorne is tired of being targeted by the Vault, a black market site devoted to stealing DNA. Sick of paying ransom money for his own cell matter, he hires bio-security guard Ember Ryan to ensure his biological safety. Ember will do anything she can to protect her clients. She knows all the Vault''s tricks - discarded tissues, used straws, lipstick tubes - and has prevented countless DNA thefts. Working for Thorne, her focus becomes split when she begins to fall for him, but she knows she hasn''t let anything slip - love or not, his DNA is safe. But then she and Thorne are confronted by a pregnant woman, Quinn, who claims that Thorne is the father of her baby, and all bets are off. Brilliantly plotted and terrifyingly prescient, Baby X is an unpredictable and relentless speculative thriller perfect for fans of Blake Crouch and John Marrs.

1938, London. The four queens of British crime fiction, Agatha Christie, Dorothy L. Sayers, Ngaio Marsh, and Margery Allingham, are hosting a gala to raise money for the Women''s Voluntary Service to help Britain prepare for war. Baronet Sir Henry Heathcote has loaned Hursley House for the event and all the elites of London society are attending. The gala is a brilliant success, despite a few hiccups, but the next morning Sir Henry is found dead in the library. Detective Chief Inspectors Lilian Wyles and Richard Davidson from Scotland Yard are quickly summoned and discover a cluster of potential suspects among the guests, including an upset fiancee, a politically ambitious son, a reserved but protective brother, an irate son-in-law, a rebellious teenage daughter, and the deputy home secretary. Quietly recruiting the four queens of crime, DCI Wyles must sort through the messy aftermath of Sir Henry''s death to solve the mystery and identify the killer.

When a traveling show of impressionist art comes to Nags Head, North Carolina, librarian Lucy and the staff at the Bodie Island Lighthouse Library are inspired to create an educational display about art history. Their launch of the display is a huge success, but the morning after, they discover that a reproduction of a famous painting has gone missing. No one knows why anyone would bother stealing it: the picture is of no value - the real, priceless painting is under lock and key at the art show itself. Lucy gets an invite to the glitzy opening night for the real show, where she notices unusual tension among the show''s organizers. Then, the man scheduled to give the welcoming speech fails to arrive, and a party-goer is discovered drowned in a fish pond. Meanwhile, Louise Jane is totally captivated by Tom Reilly, a handsome, charming art dealer lurking at the edges of the receptions on both nights. Tom slipped away from the party early, and he cannot be located by the police. Who, Lucy asks, is Tom Reilly, the shadowy figure threatening to break Louise Jane''s heart? Something is afoot in Nags Head, and it''s up to Lucy and her friends to get to the bottom of it before it''s not just paintings being framed.

Food critic Hayley Snow and her pal Miss Gloria are overjoyed to welcome Violet and Bettina Booth, aka the Scottish Scone Sisters, to Key West. The sisters will host The UK Bakes! - Key West Edition. But the same day they arrive, the bed-and-breakfast the sisters are staying in gets torched. The contest begins the next morning featuring three local bakers. One is the inn owner''s wife, Rayna, who is not only the most talented chef of the group but now a person of interest in the fire. The next night, a dogwalker discovers a body near the bed-and-breakfast. The victim appears to be Rayna''s husband, and the murder weapon points directly to the Scottish Scone Sisters. But the show must go on. In between filming sessions, the three elderly ladies and Hayley must search for clues to the brutal murder in order to find out who wants to force them out of the kitchen. But as they draw closer to the answer, the threats from a murderer grow closer too. Are they now in danger of getting baked off?

Today, people have more ways to find their life partner than ever before. Dating apps, meet-up groups, and professional matchmakers provide unlimited options to meet the love of your life. And yet, it seems more difficult not easier - to meet a desirable partner, build a life together, and make that special relationship last. Dating is made even more complicated because of the pervasive myth that love will magically happen by accident, like winning the lottery. Or that it will happen when you least expect it. In Getting It Right This Time, holistic dating coaches and founders of Creating Love on Purpose Orna and Matthew Walters bust the myth of accidental love and teach you how to take a conscious approach to relationships. In their groundbreaking method, you will learn how to do the following: Identify the relationship patterns that have held you back, build new communication habits and develop emotional mastery, and move forward with intentional dating. Getting It Right This Time provides the tools you need to identify and transform your Love Imprint - your inner GPS that unconsciously drives your choices in romantic relationships. By learning the brain science of attraction and creating a new road map for love, you will override your internal GPS if it''s leading you off course - and find the fastest route to long-lasting love. Uplifting personal stories, client examples, guided exercises, and step-by-step advice will guide you to get it right this time and to find genuine, long-lasting, soul-satisfying love.

In today''s high-pressure society, we are constantly fed a fable of individualism, exceptionalism, determination, and ingenuity and taught a mythology of grin and bear it; no pain, no gain; and hard work pays off, despite the fact that the conditions for success are unpredictable and ever changing. Psychologist Tara Cousineau claims that perfectionism is a paradox: it is the tension created by the need for belonging, a desire for excellence, and a quest for a meaningful and productive life. But perfectionism can be transformed by learning to connect both head and heart, replacing inner algorithms of comparison and criticism with self-acceptance and self-compassion. In The Perfectionist''s Dilemma, Cousineau introduces an innovative six-step solution based on the acronym EVOLVE: Embody the present moment. Validate your experience. Open your heart. Love your inner critic. Make a Vow. Spark Energies of excellence. EVOLVE helps readers overcome perfectionism and cultivate three essential resources - inner worth, inner humanity, and inner leadership. Through storytelling and anecdotes from recovering perfectionists who have participated in Cousineau''s workshops, readers can learn to align mind, body, heart, and spirit-to become happy achievers.