Showing results by narrator "Hollis McCarthy" in All Categories

The Brook Ridge Falls Retirement Center is still reeling over the death of one of their own, when Lexy and her senior detective friends are asked to investigate another murder. Muriel Maguire insists that her grandson Henry has been framed for the murder of his wife, but the clues all point to Henry, and the police already have him in custody.

We live on a planet infested with humans. They are a pernicious species, yet undeniably clever and capable—even if the reasons behind their actions are often incomprehensible to us felines. But while it is true that there have never been so many primates on Earth, in reality, they are quite simple to teach using well-practiced domestication techniques, such as loud vocalizations, strategic nighttime alarms, and selective displays of affection.

Caina is the ghost circlemaster of Istarinmul, leader of the emperor's spies in the city. She has hindered the malevolent plans of the sinister Grandmaster Callatas, but has been unable to defeat him. Callatas has slaughtered every foe who ever challenged him, and Caina may be next. Cassander Nilas is a ruthless magus of the brutal Umbarian Order, and seeks to destroy the emperor. At last he has found the key to the downfall of the empire. All he needs to do is kill Caina Amalas, and the empire will burn.

What if all that stood between us and hell was a match? An ordinary couple stand accused of a heinous crime. They're the last people you'd expect to save the world. Are they criminals, heroes, or completely insane? Or maybe all three? Inspired by true-life headlines, revealed in Susan May's fascinating postscript From the Imagination Vault, Behind the Fire is an engrossing novelette of the random appearances of frightening black things, and one couple's battle to protect their town from these dangerous and hellish creatures.

After Windsor Ebonwood’s love life and successful career as a book conservator vanish in one fell swoop, she’s determined to begin anew. Win moves to Darkly Island off the coast of Louisiana, where she’s been bequeathed an unusual bookshop and a charming home on the edge of a dark swamp. Win gets to work settling into her new life in the sleepy Southern town but discovering Darkly’s heartless town alderman impaled on a gravestone wasn’t on the books. Nor was finding out about her family’s legacy as powerful witches responsible for protecting the bookshop at all costs.

After dumping her rich, lying louse of a fiancé, designer Kelly Chase opts to take her honeymoon solo. What better chance to nurse her wounds in solitude than two weeks of pre-paid beachfront bliss on the breathtaking Mediterranean island of Sarcaccia? Yet when she meets gorgeous local beach bum Massimo, solitude is suddenly less important than enjoying the company of an honest man...a man whose eyes reveal a private anguish.

Caina is a ghost nightfighter, one of the emperor’s elite spies and assassins, and few enemies of the empire ever escape her cunning. Yet all Caina’s wit and skill might not be enough to save her from a terrible fate. Sent to hunt down a cruel slave trader, Caina encounters something far darker. An ancient evil, a thing of legend and terror. A creature that wants to corrupt her, heart and soul....

Caina is a Countess of the Empire, an advisor and friend to three powerful monarchs. But she was once a nightfighter of the Ghosts, the spies and assassins of the Emperor, and faced lethal sorcerers and corrupt lords. And when a hidden cult of malevolent sorcerers emerges from the shadows, Caina will show them that she has forgotten none of her old skills.

Caina Amalas is out of time. She has risked too much for too long, and her enemies have finally closed around her. The Staff and Seal of Iramis have been found, and threaten to destroy the world with their sorcerous powers. The terrible Apotheosis of the evil Grand Master Callatas will succeed, unless Caina makes one, final sacrifice. Unless, she makes the ultimate sacrifice.

In this Regency-set short story, widowed Lady Diana Waverly finds love and passion in the most unlikely of places when a new piano tutor arrives at her door.

Caina Amalas is the Ghost circlemaster of Istarinmul, leader of the emperor's spies in the city. She has defeated powerful foes, but more dangerous enemies lie before her. A sorcerous catastrophe threatens to destroy Istarinmul, and the only the mysterious sorceress Annarah, last loremaster of lost Iramis, knows how to stop it. To rescue Annarah and save Istarinmul, Caina must brave the Inferno, the hellish fortress of the sinister Immortals. But those who enter the Inferno never return....

It’s the big finale of the Great British Baking Contest. Who will fall flatter than an eggless soufflé? And will amateur baker and witch Poppy survive to find out? Dark forces are at work in the picture-perfect village of Broomewode, Somerset. Poppy’s getting closer to solving the mystery of her beginnings, but so many questions remain. Will she finally meet her birth mother? Is the local coven helping or hindering her search? Will she and sexy Viscount Benedict finally have their first date? There are old and new mysteries to solve in this final installment of the series!

Second grade teacher Becca Haddaway is weeks away from walking down the aisle with her high school sweetheart when she learns that the Heron Island Elementary School is about to be shut down. Knowing that losing the school would devastate the fragile island community, Becca pushes aside her wedding plans to save it. But the one man who can help her is determined to make her question every decision she has ever made - including the man she's about to marry.

A Grip of Time (prison slang for a very long sentence behind bars) takes listeners into a world most know little about - a maximum-security prison - and into the minds and hearts of the men who live there. These men, who are serving out life sentences for aggravated murder, join a fledgling Lifers' Writing Group started by award-winning author Lauren Kessler. Over the course of three years, meeting twice a month, the men reveal more and more about themselves, their pasts, and the alternating drama and tedium of their incarcerated lives.

Garrett Hamilton is the quintessential ladies' man, a sexy, wealthy corporate lawyer whose work keeps him far too busy to think about romance. Yet he's lost his drive to win cases and finds himself hopping on a plane to visit his brother at Last Frontier Lodge in Alaska. Delia Peters is a single mother who learned the hard way that lust often doesn't translate to love. She figures life is good enough if she can pay the bills. Love is the stuff of dreams, not real life.

At 30, Ginger Sanders has already been married and divorced. Busy making sure all her friends find love, she's completely thrown off guard when she falls at the feet of a ski god - literally. Cam Nash is the ski god in question - a man of near physical perfection. Cam took a job at Last Frontier Lodge in the wilds of Alaska to escape the painful memories of his brother's death. Skiing has always helped clear his mind, so he's hoping he can ski enough to forget. The last thing on his mind is a relationship of any kind. Until Ginger takes a tumble in the snow and lands at his feet.

Ever-turbulent humanity has reached out to the stars and found itself challenged by several “exosapient” species whose motivations are as unusual as their physical forms. But no world is defined just by the characters who occupy center stage. Lost Signals digs deep into the lives - and struggles - of those beyond the spotlight by bringing together 20 new voices and new stories.

Caina Amalas is the Ghost circlemaster of Istarinmul, the leader of the Emperor's spies in the city. With the aid of mysterious allies, she fights to stop the sinister plans of the ruthless Grand Master Callatas. But Callatas has spent two centuries preparing to remake humanity, and he will exterminate any who dare to oppose him. Kalgri is the Red Huntress, the centuries-old assassin of legend. She has killed kings and princes, sorcerers, and alchemists, young and old, and rich and poor, and laughed at their screams. And her next target is Caina Amalas.

Daniela D’Ambrosio is the most trusted employee of Sarcaccia’s Queen Fabrizia, managing the queen’s schedule and ensuring she never makes a misstep in public. But when Fabrizia sends Daniela to organize the belongings of San Rimini’s late queen for a charity auction, Daniela finds a locked closet full of treasure, a suspicious king, and an attractive handyman who seems strangely familiar.

Caina Amalas was a nightfighter of the ghosts, spies, and assassins of the emperor of Nighmar, and through her boldness and cunning, she saved the empire and the world from sorcerous annihilation. But the victory cost her everything. Now, she is exiled and alone in the city of Istarinmul, far from her home and friends. Yet, centuries-old darkness now stirs in Istarinmul, eager to devour the city and the world itself.