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Justine Eyre

Justine Eyre

  • A romance develops as a detective partners with a lonely-hearts columnist to solve a murder mystery.

    London, 1885. Amelie Hampton is a hopeless romantic, which makes her the perfect columnist to answer lonely heart letters in the Marriage Gazette. When Amelie plays matchmaker with two anonymous lonely hearts, she also decides to secretly observe the couple’s blind date. To her surprise, the man who appears for the rendezvous is Harold Radcliffe—a grieving widower and a member of Amelie’s book club.

    Police detective Michael Baker has been struggling ever since his best friend and brother-in-law died in the line of fire. Because he knows the dangers of his job, he has vowed never to marry and subject a wife and family to the uncertainty of his profession. But when he meets Miss Hampton, he is captured by her innocence, beauty, and quick mind.

    When a woman’s body is pulled from the river, Michael suspects the woman’s husband—Harold Radcliffe—of foul play. Amelie refuses to believe that Harold is capable of such violence but agrees to help, imagining it will be like one of her favorite mystery novels. Her social connections and clever observations prove an asset to the case, and Amelie is determined to prove Mr. Radcliffe’s innocence. But the more time Amelie and Michael spend together, the more they trust each other and the more they realize they are a good team—maybe the perfect match.

    They also realize that Mr. Radcliffe is hiding more than one secret, and when his attention turns toward Amelie, Michael knows he must put an end to this case before the woman he loves comes to harm.

  • London, 1865.

    Vera Sorokina loves reading the Penny Dreadfuls and immersing herself in tales of adventure, mystery, and romance. Her own days are filled with the often mundane work of running the book and print shop she owns with her father. The shop offers her the freedom and income to employ and protect the poverty-stricken Londoners she’s come to care about, and it gives her father something to do other than long for their hometown of St. Petersburg. She is grateful for the stability in their lives, but she often feels lonely.

    Brogan Donnelly was born and raised in Ireland, but has lived in London for several years, where he’s built a career as a Penny Dreadful writer. He has dedicated himself to the plight of the poor with the help of his sister. His membership in the secretive Dread Penny Society allows him to feel he isn’t entirely wasting his life, yet he feels dissatisfied. With no one to share his life with but his sister, he fears London will never truly feel like home.

    Brogan and Vera’s paths cross, and the attraction is both immediate and ill-advised. Vera knows from past experience that writers are never to be trusted, and Brogan has reason to suspect not everything at her print shop is aboveboard. When the growing criminal enterprise run by the elusive and violent Mastiff begins targeting their area of London, Brogan and Vera must work together to protect the community they’ve both grown to love. But that means they’ll need to learn to trust each other with dangerous secrets that have followed both of them from their home countries.

  • From the author of Ground to a Halt comes a special holiday Hemlock Falls mystery.

    Hemlock Falls is one of the most picturesque villages in upstate New York, with the Hemlock Inn, owned by the amateur sleuth Quilliam sisters, as its centerpiece. The Quilliam sisters would love to show their little slice of paradise to the tourists that come to stay at their historic inn. However, the village isn’t as peaceful as some would have you believe …

    For the Quilliam sisters, there’s nothing jolly about this Christmas. Meg and Quill are near-broke. At least there’s one bright start on the horizon: a big-time magazine and television show will feature the Inn. But soon the editor’s husband skis to his death. Now, if the Quilliams are to save the Inn from a lawsuit, they’ll need to prove this was no accident.

  • While preparing for the 133rd anniversary of the Battle of Hemlock Falls, sisters Sarah and Meg Quilliam, proprietors of the Inn at Hemlock Falls, find themselves faced with murder when patrons of their establishment begin dying and a Civil War reenactor exposes the real history of the town.

  • Perfect for fans of Diana Gabaldon, this thrilling Highlander romance is based on the women who risked their lives to deliver messages to the Jacobites.

    Brogan Grant, a Jacobite soldier, fought savagely on the battlefield and barely escaped capture. On the run, Brogan comes across what he thinks is a spy—a bonny lass disguised as a lad, who happens to be the daughter of his clan’s enemy. He admires her bravery, but he knows what can happen to a woman alone in a war-ravaged land.

    Fiona MacBean is determined to do her part to ensure there’s a Scottish king. In disguise, she delivers coded messages to rebels. There’s only one thing impeding her mission—a striking Highlander hell-bent on sending her home.

    Fiona will not be deterred. Left with little choice, Brogan agrees to join her if she agrees to return home after. Now, the two must risk everything to save the life of Bonnie Prince Charlie. If only their hearts weren’t also at risk …

  • Meg Quilliam would rather eat a rat than judge a deep-fat frying contest. But when celebrity chef Banion O’Haggerty offers to do it—for a pretty penny—and decides to stay at Quill and Meg’s inn, it’s the start of even more turmoil. Before the new franchise even opens, Mr. Holcomb has competition: Captain Cluck is setting up shop here too. Then, a butcher knife is missing and so is Banion! It’s anyone’s guess who will ruffle this killer’s feathers next …

  • Always the baker, never the bride …

    Olivia James has always been happy running a tea shop and bakery in the Cotswold village of Wychwood-on-Lea, and helping her friends find their happily-ever-afters, topped by the perfect wedding cake. But as Christmas approaches, Olivia is home alone and questioning her choices while eating too many of her own specialty confections.

    When Simon Blacklock, a handsome, whimsical stranger, breezes into her shop and buys a cupcake and then returns the next day and the day after, Olivia begins to dream. Can romance blossom amidst the sugar and flour? And after a lifetime of living on the side lines, is she brave enough to star in her own story?

    Simon may be hiding a painful secret, but Olivia harbors secrets of her own. If they can dare to risk their hearts, this Christmas might be the most magical yet!

  • Just when Sarah Quilliam (Quill) hopes a wealthy investor from Finland will allow her to buy back her beloved Inn at Hemlock Falls, things start to unravel. Her sister Meg, the Inn’s three-star chef, plans to marry and move to New York; Quill’s investor delays signing the check—and mysterious “accidents” occur after a couple of Hollywood scriptwriters and their producer show up at the Inn. Quill and Meg set out to uncover the truth—before the number of dead bodies can escalate further. Fast-paced, witty, with a pitch-perfect ear for dialogue.

    Josephine’s Baking Powder Carrot Cake recipe is included.

  • Sarah Quilliam (“Quill”) and her sister Meg are in deep financial trouble. Unable to pay bills and overhead on their beloved Inn at Hemlock Falls, they’re relieved when five women who call themselves the Crafty Ladies book several days at the Inn. The local crafts fair and wineries, Quill and Meg hope, will bring in more tourists.

    When a guest at the Inn is murdered, and then a second body is found, both corpses with a triangle nearby, Quill sets out to unravel the motives and find the killer, while trying to deal with the Inn’s day-to-day business, demands of the Crafts Fair, and a rather strange couple who run a local winery.

  • The Quilliam sisters Quill and Meg are glad to escape Hemlock Falls’ snow and cold weather with a trip to tropical Palm Beach, sponsored by a rich divorcee for her new “charity.” Meg hopes to earn a chef’s “third star” at the charity’s Institute for Fine Foods, and Quill will teach a management seminar. The sisters soon learn they are caught in the middle of a war between the the charity’s spiteful sponsor and her enraged, immensely powerful ex-husband. As the fighting surrounding this “charity” for rich divorcees escalates, Quill and Meg become embroiled in sinister feuds and murder. The sisters set out to find the killer in this sunny Florida setting that seems like paradise … but where smiles can be as artificial as the facelifts of the charity’s youth-conscious attendees.

  • Annie MacPherson’s world was torn apart when her family’s castle was ravaged during the war. Determined to aid her countrymen, she braves the battlefield and finds Lieutenant Craig MacLean left for dead. Soon her heart belongs to the fierce warrior.

    As the English dragoons draw closer to Annie’s makeshift hospital, Craig knows they have to escape together if they’ll have any chance to survive. But when they come face-to-face with the enemy and Craig is imprisoned, Annie will have to risk everything she has to save the man she can’t live without.

  • A haunting tale of passion set in Shropshire in the 1800s

    Born at the time of Waterloo in the wild countryside of Shropshire, England, Prudence Sarn is a passionate girl, cursed with a harelip—her “precious bane.” She is cursed for it, too, by the superstitious people amongst whom she lives. Prue loves two things: the remote countryside of her birthplace and, hopelessly, Kester Woodseaves, the weaver. The tale of how Kester gradually discerns Prue’s true beauty is set against the tragic drama of Prue’s brother, Gideon, a man who is out of harmony with the natural world and whose recklessness may ensnare them all in tragedy.

    Winner of the 1926 Prix Femina Vie Heureuse Prize, which was similarly awarded to such books as Virginia Woolf’s To the Lighthouse, E. M. Forster’s A Passage to India, and Stella Gibbons’s Cold Comfort Farm, Precious Bane is a novel that haunts us with its beauty and its timeless truths about our deepest hopes.

  • Hosting the wedding rehearsal dinner of ex-senator Alphonse Santini, who seeks reelection and has transformed the quiet inn at Hemlock Falls into a political battleground, sisters Sarah and Meg become involved in a recipe for murder.

  • The latest entry in Laurie R. King and Leslie S. Klinger’s popular Sherlock Holmes-inspired mystery series

    Sherlock Holmes has not only captivated readers for more than a century and a quarter, he has fascinated writers as well. It is little wonder, then, that when the renowned Sherlockians Laurie R. King and Leslie S. Klinger invited their writer-friends and colleagues to be inspired by the Holmes canon, a cornucopia of stories sprang forth, with more than sixty of the greatest modern writers participating in four acclaimed anthologies.

    Now, King and Klinger have invited another fifteen masters to become In League with Sherlock Holmes. The contributors to this volume include award-winning authors of horror, thrillers, mysteries, westerns, and science-fiction, all bound together in admiration and affection for the original stories. The resulting stories are funny, haunting, thrilling, and surprising. All are unforgettable.

  • Welcome back to Willoughby Close, with four new residents and happy endings to deliver …

    Belinda “Lindy” Jamison has moved to the Cotswolds for a fresh start and to open a dancing school—her lifelong dream. Pushing forty and still looking for Mr. Right, Lindy is determined to no longer wait for happiness but to reach for it with both hands. So she packs up her life and heads south to Wychwood-on-Lea to start up her school.

    Soon Lindy has a motley crew of would-be dancers. But her most intriguing pupil is Roger Wentworth, a fortysomething bachelor with a shy and awkward manner, but a heart of blazing gold. When Lindy decides to showcase her pupils in a Christmas show, Roger is deeply reluctant but finally agrees. Lindy longs to bring Roger out of his shell—but she didn’t expect to fall in love with him in the process.

    Soon it is Roger teaching her how two lonely hearts might be able to embrace a second chance this Christmas … if they can just believe they’re both worthy of love.

  • A gentleman scribes penny dreadful novels by night and falls in love with a woman who is a music teacher by day—and a thief at night.

    LONDON 1865

    From the moment Hollis Darby meets Ana Newport, he’s smitten. Even though he’s from a wealthy, established family and she isn’t, he wishes he could have a life with her by his side. But Hollis has a secret: the deep coffers that have kept his family afloat for generations are bare, so he supports himself by writing penny dreadfuls under a pseudonym. If not for the income from his novels, he would be broke.

    Ana Newport also has a secret. Though she once had a place in society thanks to her father’s successful business, bankruptcy and scandal reduced his fortune to nothing more than a crumbling town house. So Ana teaches music during the day, and at night she assumes the identity of the “Phantom Fox.” She breaks into the homes of the wealthy to reclaim trinkets and treasures she feels were unjustly stolen from her family when they were struggling.

    When Hollis’s brother needs to hire a music tutor for his daughter, Hollis recommends Ana, giving him a chance to spend time with her. Ana needs the income and is eager for the opportunity to get to know the enigmatic gentleman. What neither of them expects is how difficult it will be to keep their respective secrets from each other.

    When a spree of robberies rocks the city, Ana and Hollis join forces to solve the crimes, discovering that working together deepens the affection between them. After all, who better to save the day than a gentleman and a thief?

  • A steampunk retelling of Cinderella.

    Emmeline O’Shea has been an outspoken advocate for the shapeshifter community, which has come under unjust attack from a political body known as the PSRC (Predatory Shifter Regulations Committee), and her robust efforts have landed her a prestigious position as the spokesperson for the International Shifter Rights Organization. She has been selected to give the final address in Scotland before they vote on legislation that will grant protective rights to the shifter community. Because she is fundamentally changing the laws, she is also receiving death threats.

    Oliver Reed is a by-the-book detective-inspector who has dealt with Emme’s borderline-illegal activism in the past, and there is little love lost between the two. When his superior tasks Oliver with guarding Emme around the clock to keep her safe until the summit is over, he is frustrated. He has several open cases requiring his attention, and his spare time is occupied with chasing down leads about the whereabouts of his brother, a rogue vampire bent on causing trouble in Scotland.

    When their airship is hijacked, Emme and Oliver are forced to parachute away before they exit British soil. They take refuge in Emme’s family’s hunting lodge where Oliver is introduced to her abusive stepsisters.

    Together the pair must make their way to Edinburgh so as not to miss the summit meeting where Emme will be key in helping to pass legislation that will disband the corrupt PSRC. But between her vindictive sisters and Oliver’s rogue vampire brother, they face danger at every turn, not to mention dealing with their growing attraction for each other.

    When Emme is kidnapped—leaving behind only one shoe as evidence—Oliver must find her before it’s too late—and the summit ends at midnight.

  • From two acclaimed experts in the genre, a brand-new volume of supernatural stories showcasing the forgotten female horror writers from 1852–1923

    While the nineteen-year-old Mary Shelley may be hailed as the first modern writer of horror, the success of her immortal Frankenstein undoubtedly inspired dozens of female authors who wrote their own evocative, chilling tales.

    Weird Women, edited by award-winning anthologists Lisa Morton and Leslie S. Klinger, collects some of the finest tales of terror by authors as legendary as Louisa May Alcott, Frances Hodgson Burnett, and Charlotte Perkins Gilman, alongside works of writers who were the bestsellers and critical favorites of their time—Marie Corelli, Ellen Glasgow, Charlotte Riddell—and lesser known authors who are deserving of contemporary recognition.

    As railroads, industry, cities, and technology flourished in the mid-nineteenth century, so did stories exploring the horrors they unleashed. This anthology includes ghost stories and tales of haunted houses, as well as mad scientists, werewolves, ancient curses, mummies, psychological terrors, demonic dimensions, and even weird westerns.

    Curated by Klinger and Morton with an aim to present work that has languished in the shadows, all of these exceptional supernatural stories are sure to surprise, delight, and frighten today’s readers.

  • Welcome to Wychwood-on-Lea … a not-too-quaint village where frosty evenings, welcoming fires, and second chances will make this a Christmas you’ll never forget.

    Anna Vere has escaped to the Cotswolds for Christmas to try to heal from her broken engagement and, far worse, her broken dreams. When her reserved room at a bed & breakfast is flooded, she takes up the offer of camping out in Willoughby Close, the converted stables of the nearby manor house … and is taken under the wing of sexy local carpenter Colin Heath.

    What starts out as merely helping a neighbor in need turns into far more as Colin and Anna share a surprisingly intense and emotional connection, weaving their own Christmas magic as they spend the holiday together. But Anna has a secret she’s scared to reveal, something that could destroy the fragile bond they’ve just created, and Colin knows she’s only in England for a short time. Can these two sudden soul mates risk their hearts for a love that has yet to be tried and tested?

    Get swept away by this poignant and heartwarming story, set in beautiful Wychwood-on-Lea, in the English Cotswolds. And look forward to four more books set in Willoughby Close, where everyday miracles and happily-ever-afters are guaranteed.

  • We burn them to ashes and then burn the ashes.

    In Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451, that’s the motto of the Firemen who hunted down and burned books wherever they found them. Bradbury warned of a world where our literary history is taken from us. In Burn the Ashes, some of the best science fiction authors working today continue to explore the dystopic worlds they introduced in Ignorance Is Strength.

    Edited by John Joseph Adams, Hugh Howey, and Christie Yant, the Dystopia Triptych is a series of three anthologies of dystopian fiction. Ignorance Is Strength—before the dystopia—focuses on society during its descent into absurdity and madness. Burn the Ashes—during the dystopia—turns its attention to life during the strangest, most dire times. Or Else the Light—after the dystopia—concludes the saga with each author sharing their own vision of how we as a society might crawl back from the precipice of despair.

    Burn the Ashes features all-new, never-before-published works by the following authors, in order of appearance: Carrie Vaughn, Tim Pratt, Rich Larson, Cadwell Turnbull, Karin Lowachee, Adam-Troy Castro, Caroline M. Yoachim, Hugh Howey, An Owomoyela, Seanan McGuire, Dominica Phetteplace, Alex Irvine, Tobias S. Buckell, Scott Sigler, Darcie Little Badger, Violet Allen, and Merc Fenn Wolfmoor.

  • Into the darkness within; or else the light …

    When Margaret Atwood wrote these words, she left open the possibility that even our darkest tales may harbor a glimmer of hope. In Or Else the Light, the third and final entry in the Dystopia Triptych, over a dozen of the best minds in science fiction conclude their stories with a descent into darkness, or perhaps a ray of light.

    Edited by John Joseph Adams, Hugh Howey, and Christie Yant, the Dystopia Triptych is a series of three anthologies of dystopian fiction. Ignorance Is Strength—before the dystopia—focuses on society during its descent into absurdity and madness. Burn the Ashes—during the dystopia—turns its attention to life during the strangest, most dire times. Or Else the Light—after the dystopia—concludes the saga with each author sharing their own vision of how we as a society might crawl back from the precipice of despair.

    Or Else the Light features all-new, never-before-published works by the following authors, in order of appearance: Carrie Vaughn, Tim Pratt, Rich Larson, Cadwell Turnbull, Karin Lowachee, Adam-Troy Castro, Caroline M. Yoachim, Hugh Howey, An Owomoyela, Seanan McGuire, Dominica Phetteplace, Alex Irvine, Tobias S. Buckell, Scott Sigler, Darcie Little Badger, Violet Allen, and Merc Fenn Wolfmoor.

  • When he agreed to join her, he never expected her to be the enemy …

    By day, Lady Jenny Mackintosh helps her widowed mother manage their Highland estate. By night, she risks her life to raise troops, weapons, and coin for the Jacobite rebellion. On one late-night mission, she is confronted by a handsome warrior who happens to be vying for the other side …

    Toran Fraser is hell-bent on taking down the Jacobites responsible for his mother’s death. When he’s intercepted by Jenny and asked to join her cause, he agrees, knowing she can help him uncover the truth. He never expected she would be his enemy …

  • War is peace. Freedom is slavery. Ignorance is strength.

    George Orwell once wrote of a world where abuse of power begins with an abuse of language and a bastardization of truth. Some of today’s most exciting voices in speculative fiction explore the ramifications of those ideas in Ignorance Is Strength.

    The Dystopia Triptych is a series of three anthologies of dystopian fiction. Ignorance Is Strength—before the dystopia—focuses on society during its descent into absurdity and madness. Burn the Ashes—during the dystopia—turns its attention to life during the strangest, most dire times. Or Else the Light—after the dystopia—concludes the saga with each author sharing their own vision of how we as a society might crawl back from the precipice of despair.

    Ignorance Is Strength features all-new, never-before-published works by the following authors, in order of appearance: Carrie Vaughn, Tim Pratt, Rich Larson, Cadwell Turnbull, Karin Lowachee, Adam-Troy Castro, Caroline M. Yoachim, Hugh Howey, An Owomoyela, Seanan McGuire, Dominica Phetteplace, Alex Irvine, Tobias S. Buckell, Scott Sigler, Darcie Little Badger, Violet Allen, and Merc Fenn Wolfmoor.

  • Harry Stillman cares nothing for his future and spends his time at gaming tables, horse races, and in the company of whatever beautiful woman has caught his eye that week. He has little use for society or his uncle’s approval—until his debts begin exceeding his profits. When Uncle Elliott refuses to pay off the debt and instead offers him a large, monetary wedding gift if Harry were to marry a woman of his uncle’s approval, Harry is offended, angry—and scared. His dire straits drives him to seek out the infamous Lord Damion—a money lender who extolls a heavy price for his assistance.

    Lord Damion, however, is not a lord at all, or even a man. When Lady Sabrina’s cheating husband leaves her, then ends up dying in a carriage accident, she creates a plan to ensure her future security through the secret persona of Lord Damion, and she is quickly becoming the richest woman in England.

    Knee-deep in secrets, both Harry and Sabrina must decide what true love means to them and how to navigate the pitfalls of English high society. In the end, both must decide which is more important: wealth or true love.

  • Brighton, England, 1820

    Amelia Moore wants only one thing—to secure the future happiness of her younger sister, Clara. With their stepfather’s looming death, the two sisters will soon be on their own—without family, a home, or a penny to their names. When an invitation arrives to join a house party at Lakeshire Park, Amelia grasps at the chance. If she can encourage a match between Clara and their host, Sir Ronald, then at least her sister will be taken care of.

    Little does she know that another guest, the arrogant and overconfident Mr. Peter Wood, is after the same goal for his own sister. Amelia and Peter begin a rivalry that Amelia has no choice but to win. But competing against Peter—and eventually playing by his rules—makes Amelia vulnerable to losing the only thing she has left to claim: her heart.

  • In this original collection from Skyboat Media and Blackstone Publishing, Elizabeth Gaskell showcases the height of gothic fiction’s ability to delight in the otherworldly and to dig deep into what truly haunts us.

    Set against the backdrop of the Salem witch trials, “Lois the Witch” reveals much about the complicity of mankind. Recently orphaned, Lois is forced to leave the English parsonage that had been her home and sail to America. Though she is a God-fearing and honest girl, it seems her identity as the strange, new, English girl is all anyone can see and she becomes a target for the superstitious townsfolk. In “The Grey Woman” we follow a young woman who learns the true nature of her new husband and is forced to flee their isolated home. In “Curious, If True” we are given a peek into a party attended by some very familiar fairy-tale figures. And finally, in “The Doom of the Griffiths” we must wait and see if the prophecy of an old family curse will be fulfilled.

    A collaborator and friend of Charles Dickens and Wilkie Collins, Elizabeth Gaskell is a leading figure in Victorian literature.

    Full contents:

    “Lois the Witch” – read by Gabrielle de Cuir
    “The Half-Brothers” – read by Stefan Rudnicki
    “The Old Nurse’s Story” – read by Justine Eyre
    “The Grey Woman” – read by Juliet Mills
    “Curious, If True” – read by Stefan Rudnicki
    “Disappearances” – read by Juliet Mills
    “The Doom of the Griffiths” – read by Justine Eyre

  • Margaret Brinton keeps her promises, and the one she is most determined to keep is the promise to protect her heart.

    Warwishire, England, 1810

    Fooled by love once before, Margaret vows never to be played the fool again. To keep her vow, she attends a notorious matchmaking party intent on securing the perfect marital match: a union of convenience to someone who could never affect her heart. She discovers a man who exceeds all her hopes in the handsome and obliging rake, Mr. Northam.

    There’s only one problem: his meddling cousin, Lord Williams, won’t leave Margaret alone. Condescending and high-handed, Lord Williams lectures and insults her. When she refuses to give heed to his counsel, he single-handedly ruins Margaret’s chances for making a good match—to his cousin or anyone else. With no reason to remain at the party, Margaret returns home to discover her father has promised her hand in marriage—to Lord Williams.

    Under no conditions will Margaret consent to marrying such an odious man. Yet as Lord Williams inserts himself into her everyday life, interrupting her family games and following her on morning walks, winning the good opinion of her siblings and proving himself intelligent and even kind, Margaret is forced to realize that Lord Williams is exactly the man she’d hoped to marry before she’d learned how much love hurt. When paths diverge and her time with Lord Williams ends, Margaret is faced with her ultimate choice: keep the promises that protect her or break free of them for one more chance at love. Either way, she fears her heart will lose.

  • The most spine-tingling suspense stories from the colonial era—including Washington Irving, Nathaniel Hawthorne, James Fenimore Cooper, Edgar Allan Poe, Henry James, and H. P. Lovecraft, and many more

    This stunning anthology of classic colonial suspense fiction plunges deep into the native soil from which American horror literature first sprang. While European writers of the Gothic and bizarre evoked ruined castles and crumbling abbeys, their American counterparts looked back to the colonial era’s stifling religion, and its dark and threatening woods.

    Today the best-known tale of colonial horror is Washington Irving’s The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, although Irving’s story is probably best known today from various movie versions it has inspired. Colonial horror tales of other prominent American authors—Nathaniel Hawthorne and James Fenimore Cooper among them—are overshadowed by their bestsellers, and are difficult to find in modern libraries. Many other pioneers of American horror fiction are presented afresh in this breathtaking volume for today’s public readers.

    Some will have heard the names of Increase and Cotton Mather in association with the Salem witch trials, but will not have sought out their contemporary accounts of what were viewed as supernatural events. By bringing these writers to the attention of the contemporary readers, this collection will help bring their names—and their work—back from the dead.

  • A new historical mystery for fans of Susan Elia MacNeal’s Maggie Hope series and Kate Quinn’s The Alice Network

    How far would you go for vengeance?

    It’s V-E Day 1946 in London. World War II is long over, and former spy Livy Nash is celebrating with her third drink before noon. She went to war to kill Nazis. Dropped behind enemy lines as a courier, she quickly became one of the toughest agents in France. But her war ended with betrayal and the execution of the man she loved. Now, Livy spends her days proofreading a demeaning advice column for little ladies at home and her nights alone with black market vodka.

    But everything changes when she meets the infamous Ian Fleming. The man who will create the world’s most sophisticated secret agent has an agenda of his own and sends Livy back to France with one task: track down the traitor who killed the only man she ever loved. Livy jumps at the chance, heading back to Paris undercover as a journalist. But the City of Lights is teeming with spies, and Livy quickly learns just how much the game has changed. With enemies on every corner and ever-shifting alliances, she will have to learn to fight a new war if she wants to conquer the past once and for all.

  • Algernon Blackwood, a journalist and broadcast narrator, was one of the most prolific writers of ghost stories in the history of the genre. Included here are thirteen of his stories.

    The title story, “The Touch of Pan,” explores the lingering presence of myth in everyday life. In “The Glamour of the Snow,” Blackwood winds a tale about a man’s infatuation with a supernatural winter beauty. In “The Attic,” the ghost of an usurer haunts the old Chateaux and, on the anniversary of a young boy’s death, the boy’s cat brings the family together.

    “The Willows” follows two campers who are on a canoe trip down the Danube, with the sense of a looming threat following them. When darkness falls, they pick the wrong place to sleep for the night—a place where another dimension impinges on our own. American horror author H. P. Lovecraft considered “The Willows” to be the finest supernatural tale in English literature.

    Full contents:

    “The Touch of Pan,” read by Stefan Rudnicki
    “The Transfer,” read by Justine Eyre
    “The Occupant of the Room,” read by Paul Boehmer
    “The Valley of the Beasts,” read by Stefan Rudnicki
    “The Glamour of the Snow,” read by Paul Boehmer
    “The Pikestaff Case,” read by Kate Orsini
    “The Tryst,” read by Paul Boehmer
    “Wayfarers,” read by Stefan Rudnicki
    “The House of the Past,” read by Paul Boehmer
    “Initiation,” read by Stefan Rudnicki
    “The Wings of Horus,” read by Gabrielle de Cuir
    “The Attic,” read by Paul Boehmer
    “The Willows,” read by Stefan Rudnicki

  • It is almost impossible to envision what childhood would be like without the enchanting world of fairyland. Three-headed trolls, horses that carry their masters up mountains of glass, giants and dwarfs, monsters and magicians, fairies and ogres—these are the companions who will thrill young boys and girls of all lands and all times, as Andrew Lang’s phenomenally successful collections of stories have proved. From the day that they were first printed, the Lang fairy-tale books of many colors have entertained thousands of boys and girls, as they have also brought pleasure to the many parents who have read these unforgettable classics to their children.

    In addition to such familiar favorites as “Jack and the Beanstalk,” “Rapunzel,” “The Ratcatcher” (“The Pied Piper”), and “Snowdrop” (“Snow White”), The Red Fairy Book contains a wonderful collection of lesser-known tales from French, German, Danish, Russian, and Romanian sources. A tale from Norse mythology recounts the old story of Sigurd and Brynhild; tales by the great Madame d’Aulnoy include “Graciosa and Percinet” and “Princess Rosette”; lesser-known tales from Grimm’s collection include “The Three Dwarfs,” “Mother Holle,” and “The Golden Goose.”

    All in all, this collection contains thirty-seven stories, all narrated in the clear, lively prose for which Lang was famous. Not only are Lang’s generally conceded to be the best English versions of standard stories, his collections are the richest and widest in range. His position as one of England’s foremost folklorists as well as his first-rate literary abilities makes his collections unmatchable in the English language.

  • A Victorian romance that pits author against author

    Elizabeth Black is the headmistress of a girls’ school and a well-respected author of “silver-fork” novels, stories written both for and about the upper-class ladies of Victorian society. But by night, she writes very different kinds of stories—the Penny Dreadfuls that are all the rage among the working-class men. Under the pseudonym Mr. King, Elizabeth has written about dashing heroes fighting supernatural threats and dangerous outlaws romancing helpless women. They contain all the adventure and mystery that her real life lacks.

    Fletcher Walker began life as a street urchin, but is now the most successful author in the Penny Dreadful market, that is until Mr. King started taking all of his readers—and his profits. No one knows who King is, including Fletcher’s fellow members of the Dread Penny Society, a fraternity of authors dedicated to secretly fighting for the rights of the less fortunate.

    Determined to find the elusive Mr. King, Fletcher approaches Miss Black. As a fellow author, she is well-known among the high-class writers; perhaps she could be persuaded to make some inquiries as to Mr. King’s whereabouts? Elizabeth agrees to help Fletcher, if only to ensure her secret identity is never discovered.

    For the first time, Elizabeth experiences the thrill of a cat-and-mouse adventure reminiscent of one of her own novels as she tries to throw Fletcher off her scent. But the more time they spend together, the more she loses her heart. It’s upper-class against working-class, author against author where readers, reputations, and romance are all on the line.

  • Perfect for fans of Laura Levine and Stephanie Barron, Elizabeth Blake’s Jane Austen Society mystery debut is a mirthfully morbid merger of manners and murder.

    In this Austen-tatious debut, antiquarian bookstore proprietor Erin Coleridge uses her sense and sensibility to deduce who killed the president of the local Jane Austen Society.

    Erin Coleridge’s used bookstore in Kirkbymoorside, North Yorkshire, England, is a meeting place for the villagers and, in particular, for the local Jane Austen Society. At the Society’s monthly meeting, matters come to a head between the old guard and its young turks. After the meeting breaks for tea, persuasion gives way to murder―with extreme prejudice―when president Sylvia Pemberthy falls dead to the floor. Poisoned? Presumably … but by whom? And was Sylvia the only target?

    Handsome―but shy―Detective Inspector Peter Hemming and charismatic Sergeant Rashid Jarral arrive at the scene. The long suspect list includes Sylvia’s lover Kurt Becker and his tightly wound wife Suzanne. Or, perhaps, the killer was Sylvia’s own cuckolded husband, Jerome. Among the many Society members who may have had her in their sights is dashing Jonathan Alder, who was heard having a royal battle of words with the late president the night before.

    Then, when Jonathan Alder narrowly avoids becoming the next victim, Farnsworth (the town’s “cat lady”) persuades a seriously time-crunched Erin to help DI Hemming. But the killer is more devious than anyone imagines.

  • Timothy Mayfield has nearly given up on his search for a wife. Though he is the picture of a fine, social gentleman, Timothy wishes his finances provided a more stable foundation. Then his Uncle Elliott presents to him a solution: participate in his “marriage campaign,” and upon approval of his choice for a wife, Timothy’s inheritance will be his.

    Freed from the constraints of having to marry for money, Timothy is ready to marry for love instead. And he knows exactly what he wants in a wife: youth, optimism, beauty, blonde hair, fine-boned features, shapely shoulders, small waist, blue eyes, button nose, solid fashion sense, a light laugh, low voice, arched eyebrows, fair skin, elegant fingers, quick wit, calm manner, and a dazzling smile.

    His friend, Maryann Morrington, an heiress in her own right, tells him outright that his expectations are ridiculous—no such woman exists. Maryann had considered Timothy as a potential suitor for a time, but then their relationship shifted to friendship and she has avoided allowing herself to have feelings for him again.

    She agrees to help him find his “perfect wife,” because she’s certain that the search will render nothing. Until it does. Miss Shaw appears to fulfill every single item on Timothy’s list—unlike Maryann who has brown hair, brown eyes, lacks delicate features, and possesses a laugh that is definitely unladylike.

    But when Timothy and Miss Shaw begin courting, Timothy realizes something profound. He’d rather spend his time with Maryann. But can he trust his judgment when his heart has led him wrong so many times before?

    It is only when Maryann leaves the London season early, that Timothy realizes that he had truly fallen in love with her and that his list of requirements were nothing but fantasy. If he hopes to build a strong relationship, Timothy must convince Maryann that she is the very woman he’d been looking for all along—before it is too late.

  • USA Today bestselling author Wendy Markham’s heartwarming time-travel romance If Only in My Dreams was hailed as “a delight” (Booklist). Now the heroine of that unforgettable book returns in a brand-new holiday story of a love that once again transcends time.

    When Clara wakes up on Christmas morning next to her husband, Drew, she’s filled with joy. She has the perfect present: she’s seven weeks pregnant with their first child. It’s the fairy-tale beginning that the couple has been wishing for.

    But no sooner does Clara tell Drew the wonderful news than an earthquake strikes in nearby San Francisco. The next thing Clara knows, she’s waking up in bed—alone—and discovers she’s three years in the future. Where is her husband, and what has happened to the child she was expecting? Clara is no stranger to unusual occurrences, but the last thing on her Christmas list was to time travel … again.

  • Hawaiian Islands, 1779

    As the second daughter of a royal chief, Maile will be permitted to marry for love. Her fiancé is the best navigator in Hawaii, and he taught her everything he knows—how to feel the ocean, observe the winds, read the stars, and how to love.

    But when sailors from a strange place called England arrive on her island, a misunderstanding ends in battle, and Maile is suddenly widowed before she is wed.

    Finding herself in the middle of the battle and fearing for her life, Maile takes John Harbottle, the wounded man who killed her fiancé, prisoner, and though originally intending to let him die, she reluctantly heals him. In the process, she discovers the man she thought was her enemy might be her ally instead.

    John has been Captain James Cook’s translator for three voyages across the Pacific. He is kind and clearly fascinated with Maile’s homeland and her people—and Maile herself. But guilt continues to drive a wedge between them: John’s guilt over the death he caused, and Maile’s guilt over the truth about what triggered the deadly battle—a secret she’s kept hidden from everyone on the island.

    When Maile is tasked with teaching John how to navigate using the stars so he can sail back to England, they must also navigate the challenges of being from very different cultures. In doing so, they might also find the peace that comes when two hearts become one.

  • From New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Nashoda Rose comes a sexy new standalone romance novel.

    It was one night together. I wasn’t supposed to see him again. I never thought I would. And then the six-foot-three cement graffiti wall of badass strode back into my life, and did it with full force.

    He’s protecting me from his past, and I’m protecting myself against the heated chaos he erupts in my body. It doesn’t help that he can do playful and sweet when he’s not doing bossy.

    But the overly confident playboy Deaglan Kane is danger, has no boundaries, and is totally off limits. And I know behind his walls there’s a man with a dark and damaged past. A man more dangerous. A man who has become the greatest threat of all: the Irish Crown.

  • In a sensational follow-up to Echoes of Sherlock Holmes and In the Company of Sherlock Holmes, a brand-new anthology of stories inspired by the Arthur Conan Doyle canon

    For the Sake of the Game is the latest volume in the award-winning series from New York Times bestselling editors Laurie R. King and Leslie S. Klinger, with stories of Sherlock Holmes, Dr. Watson, and friends in a variety of eras and forms. King and Klinger have a simple formula: ask some of the world’s greatest writers―regardless of genre―to be inspired by the stories of Arthur Conan Doyle.

    The results are surprising and joyous. Some tales are pastiches, featuring the recognizable figures of Holmes and Watson; others step away in time or place to describe characters and stories influenced by the Holmes world. Some of the authors spin whimsical tales of fancy; others tell hardcore thrillers or puzzling mysteries. One beloved author writes a song; two others craft a melancholy tale of insectoid analysis.

    This is not a volume for listeners who crave a steady diet of stories about Holmes and Watson on Baker Street. Rather, it is for the generations of people who were themselves inspired by the classic tales, and who are prepared to let their imaginations roam freely.

    Features stories by Peter S. Beagle, Rhys Bowen, Reed Farrel Coleman, Jamie Freveletti, Alan Gordon, Gregg Hurwitz, Toni L. P. Kelner, William Kotzwinkle and Joe Servello, Harley Jane Kozak, D. P. Lyle, Weston Ochse, Zoe Sharp, Duane Swierczynski, and F. Paul Wilson

  • The Lie

    Women in Hollywood are just pretty faces. But Silvia Bradshaw knows that’s a lie, and she’s ready to be treated as an equal and prove her worth as one of Hollywood’s newest film editors.

    The Love

    She and Ben Mason had worked together as editors before Silvia got her big break, so he’s the perfect person to ask for feedback on her first major film. But even as their friendship begins to blossom into something more, a lawsuit surfaces, jeopardizing both of their jobs—as well as their fledgling romance. Audrey Hepburn once said: “The most important things is to enjoy your life—to be happy—it’s all that matters.” Silvia agrees. Or she used to. It’s one thing to risk her job and her heart, but can she really risk Ben’s too? Does she have the right to make decisions for her own happiness when they affect so many other people?

    The Breakfast

    With everything to lose, Silvia meets Ben for breakfast at his favorite diner, Tiffany’s, for one last conversation before the credits roll on true love.

  • Lord Elliott Mayfield has done his best to take care of his family, first his siblings and now his nieces and nephews. Unfortunately, he sees this new generation moving in the same direction of bad matches and scandalous relationships as the last. In hopes to change their course, he establishes a “marriage campaign” to motivate them to improve themselves through making respectable matches. With his heart in the right place, what could possibly go wrong?

    Peter, Elliott’s eldest nephew, thinks the entire idea is ridiculous. A widower with two young daughters, he simply needs a governess, not a wife. Julia Hollingsworth certainly has the credentials and the experience, but is altogether too young and pretty for such a job. So why can’t he stop thinking about her?

    Julia loves working as a governess, despite the objections of her mother, Amelia. And as it turns out, Amelia has a lot to say about the Mayfield men—none of it good. But Julia dismisses the rumors of ruined reputations and instead concentrates on helping Peter with his children and his fledgling business in canine husbandry. His kindness and gentleness is endearing—and increasingly attractive.

    But Amelia, whose heart was broken thirty years ago by none other than Elliott Mayfield, is determined to prevent any relationship from blooming either between Peter and Julia—or between herself and Elliott.

    Hearts and history collide as both couples must face their pasts and decide if risking it all is worth the promise of new love and a new future.

  • Returning us to the extraordinary territory of Jon McGregor’s Man Booker Prize long-listed novel Reservoir 13, The Reservoir Tapes take us deep into the heart of an English village that is trying to come to terms with what has happened on its watch.

    A teenage girl has gone missing. The whole community has been called upon to join the search. And now an interviewer arrives, intent on capturing the community’s unstable stories about life in the weeks and months before Becky Shaw vanished.

    Each villager has a memory to share or a secret to conceal, a connection to Becky that they are trying to make or break. A young wife pushes against the boundaries of her marriage, and another seeks a means of surviving within hers. A group of teenagers dare one another to jump into a flooded quarry, the one weak swimmer still awaiting his turn. A laborer lies trapped under rocks and dry limestone dust as his fellow workers attempt a risky rescue. And meanwhile a fractured portrait of Becky emerges at the edges of our vision―a girl swimming, climbing, and smearing dirt onto a scared boy’s face, images to be cherished and challenged as the search for her goes on.

  • Doctor Isla Cooper is cursed. Literally. Each night, at the stroke of midnight she falls into a deep sleep from which she cannot be awakened for six hours. To make it worse, the curse has an expiration date—after a year, she will fall asleep forever. And the year is almost up.

    In a desperate attempt to find Malette—the witch who cursed her—Isla blackmails her way onto Daniel Pickett’s private airship bound for the Caribbean, only to discover she’s traveling with three illegal shapeshifters and the despicable Nigel Crowe, a government official determined to hunt down and exterminate every shapeshifter in England. Isla and Daniel must work together to keep the identities of the shapeshifters hidden while coming to terms with their own hidden secrets, and their blossoming attraction to each other.

    Filled with suspense, intrigue, and plenty of romance, Kiss of the Spindle is a steampunk Sleeping Beauty story. It is a race against the clock as Isla and Daniel try to hunt down the elusive Malette before Isla’s deathlike sleep becomes permanent.

  • When Evangeline is sent to live in a small mill town in Northern England as a schoolteacher in 1871, she finds herself struggling to fit in with an unfamiliar culture. Raised with the high-class Victorian values and ideals of a sophisticated upbringing, she is unprepared for the poverty she finds in the gritty factory town of Smeatley, where the locals speak with a hard-to-understand Yorkshire accent and struggle to thrive with few resources or opportunities.

    Though she has no training as a teacher, she must prove herself successful before her grandfather will release her substantial inheritance to her and allow her to be reunited with her younger sister, the last remaining member of her family after a fever claimed the lives of her parents and brothers.

    Evangeline’s sudden change in circumstances is complicated when her aunt—a woman who values class distinctions more than her family relationships—forbids her from acknowledging any connection to her or to her grandfather, Mr. Farr—the man who owns nearly the entire town. For the first time in her life, Evangeline is truly alone.

    Heartbroken, she turns to the one person in town who has shown her kindness—an Irish brick mason, Dermot, and his son, Ronan. Despite the difference in their classes and backgrounds, Evangeline and Dermot become friends, due in part to her ability to connect with Ronan, whose behavior requires special attention. The boy is uncomfortable around strangers and rarely even speaks to the other children in town. He often fixates on details other people ignore, and he adheres to specific, self-made rules that give his life order and structure; for example, Dermot’s coat must be hung on a specific peg next to the door.

    Evangeline attempts to prove herself a worthy teacher and earn the respect of her hard-to-understand students. Determined to find a way to introduce them to “proper English” while still honoring their unique language and culture, she enlists the help of a local family to write down familiar stories in the Yorkshire vernacular. Because of her efforts, the students and their families warm to Evangeline and she continues to look for ways to give the children a chance to become more than factory workers in the local cotton mill.

    When the town learns of her upper-class status, Evangeline must work twice as hard to win back their trust—especially Dermot’s. In the end, Evangeline and Dermot discover that, even though they come from different social spheres, together they can overcome social prejudices, make a positive difference in the lives of even the humblest people, and enjoy the strength that comes when two hearts find each other.

    Ashes on the Moor is the inspiring love story of one Victorian woman’s courage to fight against all odds, and the man whose quiet strength gives her the confidence to keep trying.

  • The Getting of Wisdom, a wicked and satirical novel on the pain and confusion of growing up, first appeared in 1910. A century later, it has lost none of its bite.

    One of the most memorable characters in Australian fiction, Laura Rambotham, aged twelve, enters the portals of an exclusive girls’ school eager to be accepted. But this precocious country girl is snubbed and ridiculed by her fellow students, who are richer, more attractive, and more adept at dealing with life’s hypocrisies.

  • Ever since Emma read Pride and Prejudice, she’s been in love with Mr. Darcy and has regarded Jane Austen as the expert on all things romantic. So naturally when Emma falls for Blake Hampton and he invites her home to meet his parents, she is positive an engagement is in her future. After all, Blake is a single man in possession of a good fortune, and thus must be in want of a wife.

    But when it turns out that what Blake actually wants is more of a hook-up than a honeymoon, Emma is hurt, betrayed, and furious. She throws herself deeper into her work as CMO of Kinetics, the fastest growing gym franchise in the nation. She loves her work, and she’s good at it, which is why she bristles when her boss brings in a consultant to help her spearhead the new facilities on the East Coast. Her frustration turns to shock when that consultant turns out to be Blake’s younger brother, Lucas.

    Emma is determined not to fall for Lucas, but as she gets to know him, she realizes that Lucas is nothing like his brother. He is kind and attentive and spends his time and money caring for the less fortunate.

    What she can’t understand is why Lucas continues to try to push her back into Blake’s arms when he so clearly has fallen as hard for her as she has fallen for him.

    Realizing that her love life is as complicated as anything Jane Austen could have dreamed up, Emma must find a way to let Blake know that it’s time for him to let her go and to let Lucas know it’s time for him to love her back.

  • Inspired by Velázquez’s baroque masterpiece, Las Meninas, The Queen’s Prophet is an imagined account of the dwarfess Maribarbola of Spain (featured prominently in Velázquez’s painting) and her struggle for survival and self-determination at a time when dwarfs were kept by aristocracy as pets, prophets, and good-luck charms.

    When the Countess of Walther dies at her German estate, her loyal dwarfess Maria-Barbara is forced to work as a prophet for a traveling magician, who betrays her by selling her to the queen of Spain. At the royal court in Madrid, Mari finds herself in a bizarre, enchanted world, a society culturally splendid but intellectually isolated. There she becomes Maribarbola, prophet to the queen, and, her survival at stake, endeavors to outsmart the Spaniards.

    Mari’s wits and loyalties are tested as she becomes embroiled in palace intrigue alongside the politically embattled queen. When Mari’s carefully schemed prophecies dazzle all of Spain, she and the queen climb to dizzying heights of power, a place as intoxicating as it is dangerous. But even as Mari survives and thrives at the Spanish court, the loss of identity she suffers from living a lie makes her question whether she is really surviving at all.

  • When Aurelie Harcourt’s father dies in debtor’s prison, he leaves her just two things: his wealthy family, whom she has never met, and his famous pen name, Nathaniel Droll. Her new family greets her with apathy and even resentment. Only the quiet houseguest, Silas Rotherham, welcomes her company.

    When Aurelie decides to complete her father’s unfinished serial novel, writing the family into the story as unflattering characters, she must keep her identity as Nathaniel Droll hidden while searching for the truth about her mother’s disappearance—and perhaps even her father’s death.

    Author Joanna Davidson Politano’s stunning debut set in Victorian England will delight listeners with its highly original plot, lush setting, vibrant characters, and reluctant romance.

  • The third and final volume of the very best of Ben Bova, creator of the New York Times bestselling Grand Tour science fiction series, six-time Hugo award winner, and past president of the National Space Society—a grand master of science fiction storytelling. These stories span the five decades of Bova’s incandescent career.

    Here are tales of star-faring adventure, peril, and drama. Here are journeys into the mind-bending landscapes of virtual worlds and alternate realities. Here you’ll also find stories of humanity’s astounding future on Earth, on Mars, and in the Solar System beyond—stories that always get the science right. And Bova’s gathering of deeply realized, totally human characters are the heroic, brave, tricky, sometimes dastardly engineers, astronauts, corporate magnates, politicians, and scientists who will make these futures possible—and those who often find that the problems of tomorrow are always linked to human values, and human failings, that are as timeless as the stars.

  • Anthony Blake is in love with his best friend’s sister, Sophia Elliot. But his plans to court her are put on hold when he is forced to resume his role as an undercover spy for the Crown. A secret document listing the names of the entire network of British spies—including his own—has been stolen. To protect Sophia, Anthony cuts off all ties to her and exchanges his life as an honorable earl for the facade of a flirtatious playboy.

    Heartbroken and confused, Sophia travels to India, hoping to find healing in one of the most exotic regions of the British Empire. But the exotic land isn’t as restful as she had hoped. Instead, she finds herself embroiled in a mystery of a missing sea captain, a possible murder, and a plot that could involve the prince of India. And when Anthony appears at the British Residency, asking questions and keeping his distance from her, she is stunned.

    She still loves him, and, in her heart, she knows he loves her too. But how can she rebuild her relationship with him if he won’t confide in her? Does she dare offer her heart to him a second time, or will their love be lost under the India sun?

  • It’s Bridget Jones with vampires in this fresh and funny paranormal romance from debut author Juliet Lyons

    When Silver Harris kisses sexy Irish vampire Logan Byrne on New Year’s Eve, she knows other humans just won’t suffice. Convinced she’ll never see him again, she joins the uber-popular vampire dating site, V-Date.com.

    What Silver doesn’t know is that the site is more dangerous than she could have ever imagined, and soon she’s in over her head. When Logan returns, sparks fly and attraction sizzles, but they’ll have to escape some very real demons if they have any chance of lasting forever.

  • Cory Doctorow’s first adult novel in eight years is an epic tale of revolution, love, post-scarcity, and the end of death.

    Hubert Vernon Rudolph Clayton Irving Wilson Alva Anton Jeff Harley Timothy Curtis Cleveland Cecil Ollie Edmund Eli Wiley Marvin Ellis Espinoza―known to his friends as Hubert, Etc―was too old to be at that Communist party.

    But after watching the breakdown of modern society, he really has nowhere left to be―except among the dregs of disaffected youth who party all night and heap scorn on the sheep they see on the morning commute. Falling in with Natalie, an ultrarich heiress trying to escape the clutches of her repressive father, the two decide to give up fully on formal society―and walk away.

    After all, now that anyone can design and print the basic necessities of life―food, clothing, shelter―from a computer, there seems to be little reason to toil within the system.

    It’s still a dangerous world out there, the empty lands wrecked by climate change, dead cities hollowed out by industrial flight, shadows hiding predators, animal and human alike. Still, when the initial pioneer walkaways flourish, more people join them. Then the walkaways discover the one thing the ultrarich have never been able to buy: how to beat death. Now it’s war, a war that will turn the world upside down.

    Fascinating, moving, and darkly humorous, Walkaway is a multigenerational SF thriller about the wrenching changes of the next hundred years—and the very human people who will live their consequences.

  • Lady Frances Ffolkes finds more trouble than expected in this second cozy mystery from R. J. Koreto.

    Lady Frances Ffolkes is incensed when she finds out that her dear friends Gwendolyn and Thomasina have been subject to vicious threats. Promising to uncover their attacker, she travels with them to Kestrel’s Eyrie, the fabled estate belonging to Gwen’s family. But soon Frances faces an even greater problem, when Gwen’s father, a powerful diplomat, is stabbed to death with his prized ruby dagger.

    Frances, with her loyal maid June Mallow at her side, jumps right into interrogating the estate’s numbered guests: a charming Turkish diplomat with a habit of sneaking off into the night, a brash American heiress with lofty dreams of becoming mistress of the Eyrie, two gossiping widows with their own scandalous secrets, and Gwen’s own aunt tasked with keeping the affairs of the estate in order among the chaos of the investigation. But as the case unfolds, Frances’ righteous conviction might just be the very thing that leads danger—and even more death—to her own doorstep.

    Old sins do indeed cast long shadows in Death among Rubies, a delightful closed-room mystery in the vein of Agatha Christie and the second in R. J. Koreto’s effortlessly charming historical series.

  • An extraordinary woman living in extraordinary times, Lady Frances Ffolkes is an Edwardian-era suffragette who has an uncanny ability to attract danger and romance.

    When Major Colcombe, a family friend and war veteran, dies under mysterious circumstances, the good Lady discovers that he was working on a manuscript about South Africa’s bloody Boer War, which reportedly revealed a scandalous mistake that cost many innocent lives. Now, it’s up to Frances and her loyal lady’s maid, June Mallow, to track down the missing manuscript and bring the killer to justice. Despite kerfuffles with Scotland Yard and the British secret service, Frances never backs down and finds herself in several very unfortunate positions—and one very fortunate love triangle.

    Death on the Sapphire is R. J. Koreto’s witty and winsome debut of a series that is sure to be a fan favorite for years to come.

  • Hemlock Falls is a pretty little town in upstate New York. Sarah Quilliam, with her talent for business, runs the Inn at Hemlock Falls, while her sister, Meg, keeps the guests happy with her culinary abilities. But when it comes to murder, the Quilliam sisters have to rely on other skills—spotting clues, solving crimes, and catching culprits.

    Hedrick Conway is making news in Hemlock Falls, but he's making enemies even faster. The nosy newspaperman sees a late-breaking story everywhere he goes and never lets the truth get in his way. His current expos├® is an in-depth look at plans for the local mini-mall, in which several prominent people have invested a great deal of money. Hedrick thinks something funny is going on, but nobody's laughing when two of his relatives turn up murdered. For Hedrick—and anyone else who gets involved, like the Quilliam sisters—this could be one deadline they'll never meet.

  • Hemlock Falls is a pretty little town in upstate New York. Sarah Quilliam, with her talent for business, runs the Inn at Hemlock Falls, while her sister, Meg, keeps the guests happy with her culinary abilities. But when it comes to murder, the Quilliam sisters have to rely on other skills—spotting clues, solving crimes, and catching culprits.

    Helena Houndswood is the epitome of class—at least when the camera's rolling. Behind the scenes, the celebrated expert on stylish living is just a garden-variety snob with a heart of stone. She's furious to learn that a group of decidedly d├®class├® Hemlock Falls women has won the design contest sponsored by her television show, It's a Beautiful Life. Now one winner is missing and another is dead—but just how far would Helena go to avoid mixing with the unwashed? After all, murder is so tacky.

  • Winner of the 2015 Beverly Hills Book Award for Best Children’s Fiction
    2015 Gold Medal winner at Dan Poynter’s Global Ebook Awards

    When eight-year-old Saroya loses her mother, her usually absent father takes her on a cruise for her birthday, which he forgets to celebrate. Devastated and very seasick, Saroya falls off the ship trying to catch a locket that once belonged to her mother. She is rescued by a dolphin, who takes her to the magical Animia Island, where she meets Josephine, a stuffed puppet; her son, Little Joe; Calista the conch; Jonbl the baseball glove; and Spoon. They, among others, were all unwanted and have come to life. Through her new friends, Saroya learns she is not alone and that where there is life, there is love.

  • A fiery and passionate tale by the beloved author of Little Women

    Writing under the pseudonym A. M. Barnard, Louisa May Alcott wrote a series of what she termed "blood and thunder" thrillers for a weekly pulp magazine. Pauline's Passion and Punishment, and Other Escapades brings together five of these wicked tales.

    In "Pauline's Passion and Punishment," narrated by Emily Rankin, Alcott explores the unfair roles of men and women, as well as the societal expectations and forbidden desires in this story of love and vengeance.

    Set in Victorian Britain, in "Behind a Mask; or, A Woman's Power," narrated by Gabrielle de Cuir, a new governess, Jean Muir, arrives to serve the wealthy Coventry family, but is she really who she says she is? As she works her way into the hearts and minds of the Coventrys, will her true intentions be revealed?

    "Marion Earle; or, Only an Actress," narrated by Susan Hanfield, brings sexual betrayal and abandonment to center stage, following the life of an actress and her scandalous profession.

    Virginie Varens is a femme fatale in "V. V.; or, Plots and Counterplots," narrated by Justine Eyre, which tells the tale of Alcott's most devious heroine caught up in misdirected passion and jealousy.

    In "A Perilous Play," narrated by Janis Ian, a group of women have a picnic on the banks of a harbor island. What sounds like an idyllic and innocent activity becomes the center of drama, romance, and scandalous events involving hashish-laced sweets.

  • London was all on edge and astir to have in its midst the exquisite Princess Felicity of Brasnia. What scandal would ensue should society discover that the bejeweled heir to a royal throne was in truth Miss Felicity Channing of Cornwall, fleeing a match she did not want and that had been arranged by her conniving stepfather!

    It was questionable how long Felicity could carry off this lively masquerade before she would falter, especially since the dark, raffish eyes of Lord Arthur Bessamy seemed to look right through her disguise—and set her spirited heart to pounding.

  • Lovely Alice Lacey was a true incomparable, and her marriage to the Duke of Ferrant was the event of the season. Almost no one realized, however, that Alice was secretly in love with someone else—or that she had confided her feelings to a clever talking mynah bird who announces these intimacies at the moment of the couple's wedding.

    Now the gossip mongers are relentless. Alice's marriage started out, and has remained, cold and impersonal, and her new husband is already rumored to be taken with another woman.

    Before she even realizes what is happening, Alice finds herself in a world of opposites: the man she thought she loved is something other than he seems; and the man she married, something far more than she hoped. Her last hope and redemption has to be convincing the man she wedded that they are in love.