Showing results by narrator "Carrington MacDuffie" in All Categories

Emery Blackwood's life was forever changed on the eve of her high school graduation, when the love of her life, August Salt, was accused of murdering her best friend, Lily. She'd once dreamt of running away with August, eager to escape the misty, remote shores of Saoirse Island and chase new dreams together. Now, she is doing what her teenage self swore she never would: living a quiet existence among this tight-knit community steeped in folklore and tradition, ruled by the seasons and ancient superstitions.

A mix-up with their reservations forces Harvey from New York, Mistral from Paris, and Sheng from Shanghai to share a room with the hotel owner's daughter, Elettra. The four kids discover an amazing coincidence - they all have birthdays on February 29, Leap Day. That night, a strange man gives them a briefcase and asks them to take care of it until he returns. Soon afterward, the man is murdered.

In the wake of San Francisco Noir, Los Angeles Noir, and Orange County Noir - all popular volumes in the Akashic Noir Series - comes the latest California installment, Oakland Noir. Masterfully curated by Jerry Thompson and Eddie Muller, the "Czar of Noir", this volume will shock, titillate, provoke, and entertain. The diverse cast of talented contributors will not disappoint.

Joni Ackerman’s decision to raise children, 25 years ago, came with a steep cost. She was then a pioneering filmmaker, one of the few women to break into the all-male Hollywood club of feature film directors. But she and her husband Paul had always wanted a family, and his ascending career at a premier television network provided a safety net. Now they’ve recently transplanted to Brooklyn so that Paul can launch a major East Coast production studio, when a scandal rocks the film industry and forces Joni to revisit a secret from long ago involving her friend Val.

Edmund MacGregor will do anything to save Scotland from English rule - even kidnap Lady Amelia Bell for ransom. As the daughter of a duke and the chancellor's betrothed, she's the perfect pawn in this game. But from the moment he first lays eyes on his spirited captive, he can't resist stealing a kiss.

Emmaline Grey spends her days with her beloved dog, dreaming of the sea - until a brawling Highlander shatters her quiet life. Though her blindness prevents her from seeing his face, his voice is a warm blend of velvet and silk and his rakehell ways unmistakable. Risking the wrath of a rival clan as she nurses him back to health, Emma soon realizes the real danger is the magnetic pull she feels to this half-naked Scot recovering in her bed.

Cammie O'Reilly lives at the Hancock County Prison - not as a prisoner, she's the warden's daughter. She spends the mornings hanging out with shoplifters and reformed arsonists in the women's excercise yard, which gives Cammie a certain cache with her school friends. But even though Cammie's free to leave the prison, she's still stuck. And sad, and really mad. Her mother died saving her from harm when she was just a baby. You wouldn't think you could miss something you never had, but on the eve of her 13th birthday, the thing Cammie most wants is a mom.

For Alexander Kidd, the sea is no place for a lady. Pursued by deadly enemies from every direction, Alex won't rest until he claims the bounty of riches left to him by his father, the notorious Captain Kidd. A stowaway will not be tolerated - no matter how beautiful. But fighting his desire for Trina soon becomes his toughest battle yet, and he will have to make an agonizing choice: sacrifice his quest or lose the woman who has stolen his heart.

Here is the spellbinding story of Abby Mason - photographer, fiancée, soon-to-be stepmother - and the consequences of her greatest error. Heartbreaking, uplifting, and beautifully told, it is a riveting tale of how life can change in an instant, of the search for the truth behind a child's disappearance, and of one woman's unwavering faith in the redemptive power of love.

On a chilly fall evening at the prestigious Performing Arts High School of Boston, best friends Tali Carrington and June Danforth go missing after auditioning for a play. They're last seen in grainy, out-of-focus surveillance footage that shows them walking away from the school. Two days later in a town south of Boston, Tali is found disoriented and traumatized by the ocean's edge, and June is pronounced dead at the scene.

Bibi Fortunata was the hottest ticket in town; singer, actress, and celebrity. Two years ago she was arrested on suspicion of murdering her lover and his new mistress, who was also Bibi's best friend. Bibi was front-page news in a way her publicists had never dreamed. But the police were never able to prove anything and Bibi was set free, with the cloud of suspicion and murder still hanging over her. Bibi left for Barcelona where she quite simply disappeared. But when Bibi's daughter comes to Mac Reilly and Sunny Alvarez for help, they can't resist the temptation to solve this mystery....

When we think of slavery, most of us think of the American South. We think of back-breaking fieldwork on plantations. We don't think of slavery in the North, nor do we think of the grueling labor of urban and domestic slaves. Rachel May's rich new book explores the far reach of slavery, from New England to the Caribbean, the role it played in the growth of mercantile America, and the bonds between the agrarian South and the industrial North in the antebellum era - all through the discovery of a remarkable quilt.

All his life, William Stanley searched for a wild place of his own. Growing up in the straightened-out city blocks of his childhood and finding some respite in summer trips to a cabin in the woods, he yearned for space, fragrant soil, tall trees, and the silence that surrounds them. In Hawaii, he learned of acres of land depleted from toxic agricultural practices, and he became determined to restore that land and create one of the most comprehensive palm gardens in the world.

On the run from her abusive husband, Mila Jones flees Minneapolis for the safety and serenity of Butternut Lake. Ready to forge a new life, Mila's position as home health aide to Reid Ford is more than a job - it's a chance at a fresh start. Though her sullen patient seems determined to make her quit, she refuses to give up on him. Haunted by the car accident that nearly killed him, Reid retreats to his brother's cabin on Butternut Lake and lashes out at anyone who tries to help.

Retired police chief Katherine Sullivan moved away from Edina, Minnesota, to feed her artistic soul in New Mexico. But when she receives an urgent call, her serenity is shattered. Nathan Walker, her best friend and former colleague from her days on the police force, is missing and his crew of security experts hasn't seen him in days. Now it's up to Katherine to fly home and track him down.

With her chance at the U.S. equestrian team shattered by an injury, Sydney Wellesley arrives at the Lazy Windmill ranch angry and heartbroken. But the rugged red bluffs and wild high plains of the Black Hills inspire her to purchase land where she can train her own Olympic hopefuls. Everything's going according to Sydney's new life plan - until her funding suddenly dries up.

How to Be Parisian brilliantly deconstructs the French woman's views on culture, fashion and attitude. Bohemian free-hinkers and iconoclasts, Anne Berest, Caroline De Maigret, Audrey Diwan and Sophie Mas cut through the myths in this gorgeous, witty guide to Parisienne savoir faire. These modern Parisiennes say what you don't expect to hear, just the way you want to hear it. They are not against smoking in bed and all for art, politics and culture, making everything look easy and going against the grain.

In the third book of this fun, action-packed Highlands Trilogy, Victoria Roberts introduces her baddest bad boy yet. Laird Alexander MacDonell has a choice: stay true to his duty or lose his heart forever to the woman who betrayed him - his own wife. Lady Sybella MacKenzie is forced to search for her clan’s ancient seeing stone under the roof of her father’s enemy. When she finds the precious artifact, will she choose the family who raised her, or will she stand with the man who has captured her soul?

T-FLAC/psi operative Simon Blackthorne goes to Africa to continue the global war against paranormal terror, never expecting to clash swords with strong-willed Kess Goodall. Kess struggles in her own desperate battle to unravel a deadly secret that has killed millions in the tiny country of Mallaruza. But Simon proves to be the ultimate distraction: his very presence takes her body to the edge of a pleasure-filled abyss.

Alison Larkin Presents is delighted to publish these selected New York short stories by Edith Wharton, whose inside knowledge of New York's upper class is put to sparkling use here.