A rich, heartwarming and charming debut novel that reminds us that sometimes you find love in the most unexpected places. Dan Hollis lives a happy, solitary life carving exquisite Celtic harps in his barn in the countryside of the English moors. Here he can be himself, away from social...  more

A rich, heartwarming and charming debut novel that reminds us that sometimes you find love in the most unexpected places. Dan Hollis lives a happy, solitary life carving exquisite Celtic harps in his barn in the countryside of the English moors. Here he can be himself, away from social situations that he doesn't always get right or completely understand. On the anniversary of her beloved father's death, Ellie Jacobs takes a walk in the woods and comes across Dan's barn. She is enchanted by his collection. Dan gives her a harp made of cherrywood to match her cherry socks. He stores it for her, ready for whenever she'd like to take lessons. Ellie begins visiting Dan almost daily and quickly learns that he isn't like other people. He makes her sandwiches precisely cut into triangles and repeatedly counts the (seventeen) steps of the wooden staircase to the upstairs practice room. Ellie soon realizes Dan isn't just different; in many ways, his world is better, and he gives her a fresh perspective on her own life.

Get bound up in murder in the first Lighthouse Library mystery For ten years Lucy has enjoyed her job poring over rare tomes of literature for the Harvard Library, but she has not enjoyed the demands of her family's social whorl or her sort-of-engagement to the staid son of her...  more

Get bound up in murder in the first Lighthouse Library mystery For ten years Lucy has enjoyed her job poring over rare tomes of literature for the Harvard Library, but she has not enjoyed the demands of her family's social whorl or her sort-of-engagement to the staid son of her father's law partner. But when her ten-year relationship implodes, Lucy realizes that the plot of her life is in need of a serious rewrite. Calling on her aunt Ellen, Lucy hopes that a little fun in the Outer Banks sun -- and some confections from her cousin Josie's bakery -- will help clear her head. But her retreat quickly turns into an unexpected opportunity when Aunt Ellen gets her involved in the lighthouse library tucked away on Bodie Island. Lucy is thrilled to land a librarian job in her favorite place in the world. But when a priceless first edition Jane Austen novel is stolen and the chair of the library board is murdered, Lucy suddenly finds herself ensnared in a real-life mystery -- and she's not so sure there's going to be a happy ending....

In 1837 London, young daughters of viscounts pined for handsome, titled husbands, not careers. And certainly not careers in magic. At least, most of them didn?t. Shy, studious Persephone Leland would far rather devote herself to her secret magic studies than enter society and look for a...  more

In 1837 London, young daughters of viscounts pined for handsome, titled husbands, not careers. And certainly not careers in magic. At least, most of them didn?t. Shy, studious Persephone Leland would far rather devote herself to her secret magic studies than enter society and look for a suitable husband. But right as the inevitable season for "coming out" is about to begin, Persy and her twin sister discover that their governess in magic has been kidnapped as part of a plot to gain control of the soon-to-be Queen Victoria. Racing through Mayfair ballrooms and royal palaces, the sisters overcome bad millinery, shady royal spinsters, and a mysterious Irish wizard. And along the way, Persy learns that husband hunting isn?t such an odious task after all, if you can find the right quarry.

Ebenezer Scrooge from Charles Dickens’s A Christmas Carol investigates a shocking murder -- before he becomes the next victim -- in this playful mystery in a new series from a New York Times bestselling author. Scrooge considers himself a rational man with a keen sense of deductive...  more

Ebenezer Scrooge from Charles Dickens’s A Christmas Carol investigates a shocking murder -- before he becomes the next victim -- in this playful mystery in a new series from a New York Times bestselling author. Scrooge considers himself a rational man with a keen sense of deductive reasoning developed from years of business dealings. But that changes one night when he’s visited by the ghost of his former boss and friend, Fezziwig, who mysteriously warns him that three more will die, and ultimately Ebenezer himself -- if he doesn’t get to the bottom of a vast conspiracy. When he wakes the next day, Scrooge discovers that not only is Fezziwig dead, but he’s under arrest as all evidence points toward himself: Scrooge’s calling card was found in the cold, dead hand of Fezziwig’s body, and someone scribbled “HUMBUG” in blood on the floor nearby. Now, Scrooge must race against the pocket watch to clear his name, protect his interests, and find out who killed his last true friend -- before the “Humbug Killer” strikes again. Joining Scrooge in his adventures is a spunky sidekick named Adelaide, who matches his wits at every turn, plus the Artful Dodger, Fagin, Belle, Pickwick, and even Charles Dickens himself as a reporter dealing in the lurid details of London’s alleyway crimes. Full of action and wry humor, The Humbug Murders is a fun take on a classic character -- Scrooge as you’ve never seen him before.

With her mother’s death, Toni Ryder returns home to OilTop, Kansas bringing her gluten-free bakery business with her. But Toni has never felt at home in her hometown and cooking wheat-free in the middle of wheat country isn’t making her any less a fish out of water. When Toni becomes...  more

With her mother’s death, Toni Ryder returns home to OilTop, Kansas bringing her gluten-free bakery business with her. But Toni has never felt at home in her hometown and cooking wheat-free in the middle of wheat country isn’t making her any less a fish out of water. When Toni becomes a suspect in OilTop’s first homicide investigation in twenty years, she must count on her crazy family and follow the clues to solve the mystery and clear her name.

In a flash, she had magic. Can she use it to solve a mysterious death in her family? Climbing a tree in a thunderstorm was always going to be a stupid idea, but when Evelyn Eldritch is struck by lightning, her magical powers are switched on. And she didn’t know she was a...  more

In a flash, she had magic. Can she use it to solve a mysterious death in her family? Climbing a tree in a thunderstorm was always going to be a stupid idea, but when Evelyn Eldritch is struck by lightning, her magical powers are switched on. And she didn’t know she was a witch! When Evelyn learns that her biological mother has died under suspicious circumstances, she makes a journey to the quaint village of Maiden-Upon-Avon, where the residents consist of werewolves, witches, vampires and one annoyingly handsome-yet-gruff policeman. But who should she suspect? Who can she trust? And if juggling her magical training, her mother’s café, and the town’s eccentric residents wasn’t enough, another body turning up at the local cricket match shows she’s definitely in well over her pointed hat…

From the esteemed cultural critic and journalist Wendy Lesser, Nothing Remains the Same is a bibliophile's dream: a book about the pleasures and surprises of rereading, a witty, intelligent exploration of what books can mean to our lives. Compared with reading, the act of rereading is far more...  more

From the esteemed cultural critic and journalist Wendy Lesser, Nothing Remains the Same is a bibliophile's dream: a book about the pleasures and surprises of rereading, a witty, intelligent exploration of what books can mean to our lives. Compared with reading, the act of rereading is far more personal -- it involves the interaction of our past selves, our present selves, and literature. With candor, humor, and grace, Lesser takes us on a guided tour of her own return to books she once knew, from the plays of Shakespeare to twentieth-century novels by Kingsley Amis and Ian McEwan, from the childhood favorite I Capture the Castle to classic novels such as Anna Karenina and Huckleberry Finn, from nonfiction by Henry Adams to poetry by Wordsworth. Lesser conveys an infectious love of reading and inspires us all to take another look at the books we've read to find the unexpected treasures they might offer.

Sierra is used to fighting for the lives of innocent creatures. But when a killer puts the lives of her own cats on the line, her crusade becomes personal.�Animal rights activist Sierra Nakamura never expected to stumble upon the dead body of a coworker while out filming a project. She...  more

Sierra is used to fighting for the lives of innocent creatures. But when a killer puts the lives of her own cats on the line, her crusade becomes personal.�Animal rights activist Sierra Nakamura never expected to stumble upon the dead body of a coworker while out filming a project. She definitely never expected to get involved in the investigation. But when someone threatens to kill her cats unless she hands over the "information," she becomes more bristly than an angry feline. Making matters worse is the fact that her cats--and the investigation--are driving a wedge between her and her boyfriend Chad.�With every answer she uncovers, old hurts rise to the surface and test her beliefs. Saving her cats just might mean ruining everything else in her life. In the fight for survival, one thing is certain: It's either pounce or be pounced.

Penelope (Pen) Leland has come to Ireland to study magic and prove to herself that she is as good a witch as her twin sister, Persy. But when the dashing Niall Keating begins to pay her court, she can?t help being distracted from her studies. Little does Pen know, Niall is acting upon orders...  more

Penelope (Pen) Leland has come to Ireland to study magic and prove to herself that she is as good a witch as her twin sister, Persy. But when the dashing Niall Keating begins to pay her court, she can?t help being distracted from her studies. Little does Pen know, Niall is acting upon orders from his sorceress mother. And although it starts as a sham, Niall actually falls deeply in love with Pen, and she with him. But even if he halts his mother?s evil plan, will Pen be able to forgive him for trying to seduce her into a plot? And what of Pen?s magic, which seems to be increasingly powerful?

FRAMED FOR MURDER Accused of murdering her estranged husband, widowed mother Samantha Rogers panics and flees. But the real killer is now after her and her son. She's desperate to find a safe haven where her past is secret. So when John Wagner offers her room and board in exchange for...  more

FRAMED FOR MURDER Accused of murdering her estranged husband, widowed mother Samantha Rogers panics and flees. But the real killer is now after her and her son. She's desperate to find a safe haven where her past is secret. So when John Wagner offers her room and board in exchange for work on a remote island in the Chesapeake Bay, she moves to Smuggler's Cove. Samantha longs to tell her handsome boss why she's always looking over her shoulder. But when danger arrives on shore, the truth may put John in a killer's crosshairs.

Mrs. Frugalicious's guide to bargain shopping and solving crimes When Maddie Michael's husband, Mr. Frank Finance, loses all their money in a Ponzi scheme, Maddie must do her best to prevent Frank's TV show from going belly up. To maintain the appearance that everything is...  more

Mrs. Frugalicious's guide to bargain shopping and solving crimes When Maddie Michael's husband, Mr. Frank Finance, loses all their money in a Ponzi scheme, Maddie must do her best to prevent Frank's TV show from going belly up. To maintain the appearance that everything is financially fine, Maddie secretly sets up a bargain hunter's website that goes viral -- making Mrs. Frugalicious a huge hit and bringing in much-needed cash. While researching "frugasm"-worthy deals at the local mall, Maddie is mistakenly accused of shoplifting by Eternally 21 manager Laila DeSimone. Her bad day gets worse when Laila drops dead. Universally disliked, Laila has a murder suspect list longer than Maddie's bargain spreadsheets, but when evidence points to Maddie as the prime suspect, she must find the real killer before the police throw away her "get out of jail free"� coupon.

This historical novel, lilterary and engaging, examines a close-knit community of Amish pioneers over several decades. Miller's ambitious, moving debut tells the fascinating saga of Amish settlers in Pennsylvania and Ohio in the 19th century, where, in the face of hardship and privation, simply...  more

This historical novel, lilterary and engaging, examines a close-knit community of Amish pioneers over several decades. Miller's ambitious, moving debut tells the fascinating saga of Amish settlers in Pennsylvania and Ohio in the 19th century, where, in the face of hardship and privation, simply to stay alive was to triumph. Seen through the eyes of eight main characters who alternate chapters, the story centers on how the mysterious death of an infant in 1810 reverberates for the next 50 years. Death hovers over every page: diphtheria, miscarriages, stillbirths, mad dogs, lightning strikes and overwork are part of each character's everyday life ("Father! Father! Look to Mother. She is not right. She feels cold and makes no answer"). In the midst of this unrelenting struggle, love blossoms: men and women marry, have many children and live spiritual lives of order and simplicity. As the characters grow older, the strict rules of their religion begin to erode in the face of modernization, and new problems arise. In less able hands, this epic might drag, but Miller crafts a narrative that seizes the reader's imagination from the beginning and never lets go. Yost, the father of the baby, worries about the future ("I will keep my boys close when they are grown; I will use my land as bait"); Polly, who may have seen the baby's attacker, muses about love ("I wish Jonas had been given more looks... his green eyes have too much of the cat in them"); and Rueben, wrongfully accused of the baby's murder and shunned by his relatives and neighbors for 50 years, longs for his late wife ("My Anna.... I know she watches my valley with me"). There is little variation in voice from character to character, and Miller's biblical cadences may seem strained to some, but this is a rewarding read, a rich portrait of a time and a people.

A heartwarming novel set in the world of Good Man, Dalton!The Vanderhaven family of Manhattan has it all: wealth, prestige, good looks, and a thriving business empire. But their seemingly perfect world is ripped apart when their younger daughter, eight-year-old Brenna, runs off after overhearing...  more

A heartwarming novel set in the world of Good Man, Dalton!The Vanderhaven family of Manhattan has it all: wealth, prestige, good looks, and a thriving business empire. But their seemingly perfect world is ripped apart when their younger daughter, eight-year-old Brenna, runs off after overhearing her parents? arguing. Out on the streets, she quickly realizes she?s lost. Even more frightening, Brenna soon realizes that a man is following her.Meanwhile, in a townhouse in Brooklyn, Callie Griffin is throwing a birthday party for her one-year-old son, Oliver. The joy of the day is ruined by her sister Lauren?s too short, drive-by appearance. Once close, the two sisters haven?t been able to move past a falling out which took place three years before.When Brenna notices the strange man getting closer, she panics and takes refuge in the Griffin home, befriending their four-year-old daughter, Summer, who is waiting out the party upstairs.As family and friends search for Brenna, her absence helps her father realize the importance of family, even as her presence in the Griffin home unwittingly sets in motion healing for a mother?s heart.

In January of 1968 Mark arrives in Fred, Texas, from Forth Worth via a brief stay in Ohio. He has followed his father who is pastor to a 100-member church in this simple town of simple people. Mark, a young man of extraordinary intellect, has to find who he is in this town with which he...  more

In January of 1968 Mark arrives in Fred, Texas, from Forth Worth via a brief stay in Ohio. He has followed his father who is pastor to a 100-member church in this simple town of simple people. Mark, a young man of extraordinary intellect, has to find who he is in this town with which he seems to have so little in common. In his journey he finds more than himself; he finds his faith. A westward family vacation car trek puts a strain on the family but also provides many entertaining and humorous situations as Mark is forced to deal with many questions about himself, life, and finally -- his God.

Two young people must hide their true feelings for each other while figuring out who means them harm in this cheeky Regency romance... Shy aspiring artist Imogene Chively has just had a successful Season in London, complete with a suitor of her father's approval. Imogene is ambivalent...  more

Two young people must hide their true feelings for each other while figuring out who means them harm in this cheeky Regency romance... Shy aspiring artist Imogene Chively has just had a successful Season in London, complete with a suitor of her father's approval. Imogene is ambivalent about the young gentleman until he comes to visit her at the Chively estate with his younger brother in tow. When her interest is piqued, however, it is for the wrong brother. Charming Ben Steeple has a secret: despite being an architectural apprentice, he has no drawing aptitude. When Imogene offers to teach him, Ben is soon smitten by the young lady he considers his brother's intended. But hiding their true feelings becomes the least of their problems when, after a series of "accidents," it becomes apparent that someone means Ben harm. And as their affection for each other grows despite their efforts to remain just friends so does the danger... In Suitors and Sabotage, author Cindy Anstey delivers another witty young adult historical fiction novel that is the perfect mix of sweetly romantic and action-packed.

One young food writer's search for America's lost wild foods, from New Orleans croakers to Illinois Prairie hen, with Mark Twain as his guide. In the winter of 1879, Mark Twain paused during a tour of Europe to compose a fantasy menu of the American dishes he missed the most. He was...  more

One young food writer's search for America's lost wild foods, from New Orleans croakers to Illinois Prairie hen, with Mark Twain as his guide. In the winter of 1879, Mark Twain paused during a tour of Europe to compose a fantasy menu of the American dishes he missed the most. He was desperately sick of European hotel cooking, and his menu, made up of some eighty regional specialties, was a true love letter to American food: Lake Trout, from Tahoe. Hot biscuits, Southern style. Canvasback-duck, from Baltimore. Black-bass, from the Mississippi. When food writer Andrew Beahrs first read Twain's menu in the classic work A Tramp Abroad, he noticed the dishes were regional in the truest sense of the word-drawn fresh from grasslands, woods, and waters in a time before railroads had dissolved the culinary lines between Hannibal, Missouri, and San Francisco. These dishes were all local, all wild, and all, Beahrs feared, had been lost in the shift to industrialized food. In Twain's Feast, Beahrs sets out to discover whether eight of these forgotten regional specialties can still be found on American tables, tracing Twain's footsteps as he goes. Twain's menu, it turns out, was also a memoir and a map. The dishes he yearned for were all connected to cherished moments in his life-from the New Orleans croakers he loved as a young man on the Mississippi to the maple syrup he savored in Connecticut, with his family, during his final, lonely years. Tracking Twain's foods leads Beahrs from the dwindling prairie of rural Illinois to a six-hundred-pound coon supper in Arkansas to the biggest native oyster reef in San Francisco Bay. He finds pockets of the country where Twain's favorite foods still exist or where intrepid farmers, fishermen, and conservationists are trying to bring them back. In Twain's Feast, he reminds us what we've lost as these wild foods have disappeared from our tables, and what we stand to gain from their return. Weaving together passages from Twain's famous works and Beahrs's own adventures, Twain's Feast takes us on a journey into America's past, to a time when foods taken fresh from grasslands, woods, and waters were at the heart of American cooking.

The Way We?re Working Isn?t Working is one of those rare books with the power to profoundly transform the way we work and live. Demand is exceeding our capacity. The ethic of "more, bigger, faster" exacts a series of silent but pernicious costs at work, undermining our energy, focus, creativity,...  more

The Way We?re Working Isn?t Working is one of those rare books with the power to profoundly transform the way we work and live. Demand is exceeding our capacity. The ethic of "more, bigger, faster" exacts a series of silent but pernicious costs at work, undermining our energy, focus, creativity, and passion. Nearly 75 percent of employees around the world feel disengaged at work every day. The Way We?re Working Isn?t Working offers a groundbreaking approach to reenergizing our lives so we?re both more satisfied and more productive?on the job and off. By integrating multidisciplinary findings from the science of high performance, Tony Schwartz, coauthor of the #1 bestselling The Power of Full Engagement, makes a persuasive case that we?re neglecting the four core needs that energize great performance: sustainability (physical); security (emotional); self-expression (mental); and significance (spiritual). Rather than running like computers at high speeds for long periods, we?re at our best when we pulse rhythmically between expending and regularly renewing energy across each of our four needs. Organizations undermine sustainable high performance by forever seeking to get more out of their people. Instead they should seek systematically to meet their four core needs so they?re freed, fueled, and inspired to bring the best of themselves to work every day. Drawing on extensive work with an extra-ordinary range of organizations, among them Google, Ford, Sony, Ernst & Young, Shell, IBM, the Los Angeles Police Department, and the Cleveland Clinic, Schwartz creates a road map for a new way of working. At the individual level, he explains how we can build specific rituals into our daily schedules to balance intense effort with regular renewal; offset emotionally draining experiences with practices that fuel resilience; move between a narrow focus on urgent demands and more strategic, creative thinking; and balance a short-term focus on immediate results with a values-driven commitment to serving the greater good. At the organizational level, he outlines new policies, practices, and cultural messages that Schwartz?s client companies have adopted. The Way We?re Working Isn?t Working offers individuals, leaders, and organizations a highly practical, proven set of strategies to better manage the relentlessly rising demands we all face in an increasingly complex world.

THREAT OF EXPOSURE Someone wants reporter Madelyn Sawyer to leave the small coastal town she's just arrived in—even if it takes hurting her. But she won't give up her goal of investigating Waterman's Reach's new police chief that easily. Madelyn assumes that former...  more

THREAT OF EXPOSURE Someone wants reporter Madelyn Sawyer to leave the small coastal town she's just arrived in—even if it takes hurting her. But she won't give up her goal of investigating Waterman's Reach's new police chief that easily. Madelyn assumes that former big-city detective Zach Davis—who some believe is a murderer involved in a drug-trafficking ring—is behind the threat. Who else would have a motive? But as bullets fly Madelyn's way, it's Zach who keeps saving her life. The closer she gets to the truth, the more she wants to tell the handsome lawman why she's really in town. But if she does, will she lose his trust…and any hope of surviving long enough to bring the real killer to light?

Burdened. The word alone makes shoulders sink. It slows down our lives. It clouds our vision. It is the result of so many memories, grudges, fears, uncertainty, and stress. It is heavy.�� "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest." (Matt 11:28) Overworked?...  more

Burdened. The word alone makes shoulders sink. It slows down our lives. It clouds our vision. It is the result of so many memories, grudges, fears, uncertainty, and stress. It is heavy.�� "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest." (Matt 11:28) Overworked? Overcommitted? Overtired? Underappreciated?� Let go and live free. Sound impossible? Sheila Walsh thought so - until God proved himself again and again through his Word, his people, and her life.�� In Let Go, the bestselling author and speaker walks readers through the journey to freedom in Christ. Along the way, she tackles some of the toughest struggles that weigh women down, answering them with overwhelming truth, promise, and hope.�� You can lay down your burdens. You can rest. You can find peace. You can live free. Start here. Let Go. And see what God can do. �