Fresh Pick | MOONBURN by Alisa Sheckley

June 2009
On Sale: May 19, 2009
Featuring: Red Mallin; Abra Barrow
368 pages
ISBN: 0345505883
EAN: 9780345505880
Mass Market Paperback
$6.99

Fantasy Urban
Buy at Amazon.com

Moonburn by Alisa Sheckley

Some instincts are too powerful to deny. Except when the moon is full...

Some instincts are too powerful to deny.

In the past year, veterinarian Abra Barrow has gone through some major changes: She’s left Manhattan for the deceptively quiet small town of Northside, ditched her cheating husband, and discovered that he has infected her with the rare werewolf virus. Now Abra is finally beginning to feel as if she has her life under control–except when the moon is full.

But then, all of a sudden, Abra starts losing her temper–and her inhibitions–even when the sun is shining. Her new man, shape-shifting wildlife expert Red Mallin, seems to know more about her condition than he’s letting on, but he’s a little preoccupied with strange creatures that have been crossing the dimensional border.

With her hormones in overdrive, Abra finds herself releasing the beast in all the men around her. As life in Northside becomes increasingly more peculiar–and more perilous–she must decide whom she can trust . . . when she’s not even sure she can trust herself.

A darker and more satisfying fantasy than your typical tale of urban weres.

Excerpt

Chapter 1

Manhattan is not the center of the universe. It only feels that way. But outside of the immense gravitational pull of that small island, there are whole other realms of existence.

For the past year, I’ve been living in the town of Northside, which is two hours from the city but subscribes to an alternate reality. Winter arrives earlier and tests your resourcefulness. The moon is more of a presence. Your regular waitress not only knows exactly what you’re going to order, she also knows how much money you have in the local bank, the status of your divorce negotiations, and your entire medical history, down to the name of the prescription cream you just called in to the pharmacy.

Yet there are also secrets that are easier to conceal here, buffered by trees and mountains and distance Read More... Previous Picks

Fresh Pick | ETERNAL MOON by Rebecca York

Moon #10

April 2009
On Sale: April 7, 2009
Featuring: Renata Cordona; Jacob Marshall
304 pages
ISBN: 0425227006
EAN: 9780425227008
Paperback
$7.99

Romance Paranormal, Romance Suspense
Buy at Amazon.com

Eternal Moon by Rebecca York

They are destined to be together for all eternity—if they can defeat the evil stalking them.

Determined to stop a madman, P.I. Renata Cordona is undercover when she’s almost attacked by a pack of vicious dogs. A lone wolf saves her. Then, out of nowhere, a man with an electrifying touch appears—the man who is clearly her destiny.

Good and evil clash down through the ages in a struggle for supremacy. Renata Cordona is the reincarnation of an ancient goddess. Werewolf Jacob Marshall is a dog whisperer and her true consort. They have met countless times through the centuries in different lives. And each time, a demon steps into the equation to keep them from fulfilling their destiny. They've never been strong enough to fight the ancient evil. But can a werewolf change the equation? Or will they repeat the pattern of destruction and doom humanity along with themselves?


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Fresh Pick | DEADLY DESIRE by Keri Arthur

Riley Jenson, Guardian #7

April 2009
On Sale: March 24, 2009
Featuring: Riley Jensen
368 pages
ISBN: 0553591150
EAN: 9780553591156
Mass Market Paperback
$6.99

Romance Paranormal
Buy at Amazon.com

Deadly Desire by Keri Arthur

Seduction that kills. Pleasure to die for.
She just can’t resist . . .

Guardian Riley Jenson always seems to face the worst villains. And this time’s no different. For it’s no ordinary sorceress who can raise the dead to do her killing. But that’s exactly what Riley expects to find at the end of a trail of female corpses used—and discarded—in a bizarre ritual of evil. With pressure mounting to catch one fiend, another series of brutal slayings shocks the vampire world of her lover, Quinn. So the last thing Riley needs is the heat of the upcoming full moon bringing her werewolf hormones to a boil—or the reappearance of a sexy bounty hunter, the rogue wolf Kye Murphy.

Riley has threatened Murphy with arrest if he doesn’t back off the investigation, but it’s Riley who feels handcuffed by Kye’s lupine charm. Torn between her vamp and wolf natures, between her love for Quinn and her hots for Kye, Riley knows she’s courting danger and indulging the deadliest desires. For her hunt through the supernatural underworld will bring her face-to-face with what lurks in a darkness where even monsters fear to tread.

An action-packed, emotionally charged addition to the brilliant Riley Jenson Guardian series

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Fresh Pick | MORTAL SINS by Eileen Wilks

World of the Lupi #5

February 2009
On Sale: February 3, 2009
Featuring: Lily Yu; Rule Turner
352 pages
ISBN: 0425225526
EAN: 9780425225523
Mass Market Paperback
$7.99

Romance Paranormal
Buy at Amazon.com

Mortal Sins by Eileen Wilks

FBI Agent Lily Yu and her werewolf lover are embroiled in a series of murders, each linked to a form of dangerous “death magic.”

FBI agent Lily Yu is in North Carolina with her lover and mate Rule Turner, lu nuncio of the Nokolai werewolf clan, where he is to take custody of his son from the boy’s grandmother. It’s a purely personal trip until Rule, in wolf form, finds three bodies in a shallow grave. They carry the stench of death magic, which makes the murders a federal crime. Lily takes charge of the investigation, and soon realizes that nothing adds up—not the motives, not even the accused killer, who’s behind bars when death strikes again.

But murder, however bizarre, is an everyday affair for Lily, who was a homicide cop before being recruited into the FBI’s Magical Crimes Division. A more personal shock arrives in the person of Rule’s son’s mother. Why is she challenging Rule’s long standing plan to bring his son to live among the Nokolai?

But family must take a back seat when the violence escalates, and there’s no rhyme or reason for the killer’s next strike—a killer who may not even be of this world...

Another suspenseful tale in the excellent World of the Lupi series.

Excerpt

Chapter One

Southern air holds on to scent. Scent is vapor, after all, a chemical mist freed by heat to hang, trapped, in moist air. In his other form, Rule knew this.

In this form he knew only the richness. His world was more scent than sight as he raced through silver-shadow woods, through air heavy with moisture and fragrance. Layers and layers of green overlaid the complex stew of water from a nearby stream with its notes of kudzu, rock, and fish. Rhododendron’s subtle vanilla scent jumbled with moss, with dogwood and buckeye and the sugary scent of maple, punctuated by the cool tang of pine.

But it was the musk, blood, and fur scent of raccoon he chased.

A three-quarter moon hung high overhead as he leaped the stream, muscles reaching in exhilarated approximation of flight. He Read More... Previous Picks

Fresh Pick | THE BETTER TO HOLD YOU by Alisa Sheckley

Abra Barrow #1

March 2009
On Sale: February 24, 2009
Featuring: Abra Barrow; Red Mallin
336 pages
ISBN: 0345505875
EAN: 9780345505873
Mass Market Paperback
$6.99

Fantasy Urban
Buy at Amazon.com

The Better To Hold You
by Alisa Sheckley

Being Married to a Werewolf Gives New Meaning to the Words "High Risk Relationship."

SHE KNOWS WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE.

Manhattan veterinarian Abra Barrow has more sense about animals than she has about men. So when her adored journalist husband returns from a research trip to Romania and starts pacing their apartment like a caged wolf, Abra agrees to move with him to a rural mansion upstate in order to save her marriage.

But while there are perks to her new life, particularly in the bedroom, Abra soon discovers that nothing in the bucolic town of Northside is what it seems. The local tavern serves a dangerous, predatory underworld. Her husband has developed feral new appetites and a roving eye, and his lack of humanity isn’t entirely emotional. As the moon waxes full, Abra must choose between trusting the man she married, taking a chance on a seductive stranger, or following her own animal instincts.

An intense werewolf story with some interesting new twists.

Excerpt

Chapter 1

There are many different Manhattans. Which one you happen to live in depends partly on geography and partly on perception. I live on the Upper West Side, in the midst of an eccentric animal kingdom.

 In my Manhattan, people like their animals big: aristocratic hunting dogs with wide, soft mouths, overfed guard dogs and pit bull mixes, sled dogs that have kept the look of a wolf about them. These are large animals for large apartments: six- room prewars, with a couple of children and possibly a weekend home in the Hamptons. Nobody has time to go jogging with the dog anymore, and the nanny refuses to pick up feces from the sidewalk, so a walker is hired. 

 Elsewhere, on the East Side, are toy breeds Read More...

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Fresh Pick | BIG BAD WOLF by Christine Warren

The Others #8

October 2009
On Sale: September 29, 2009
Featuring: Missy Roper; Graham Winters
320 pages
ISBN: 031294795X
EAN: 9780312947958
Mass Market Paperback
$7.99

Romance Paranormal
Buy at Amazon.com

Big Bad Wolf by Christine Warren

Every good girl deserves something a little wicked...

Graham Winters is a werewolf with a problem. His idiot cousin Curtis wants to take over as Alpha of the Silverback Clan because of an archaic Lupine tradition that says an unmated Lupine can't lead a pack. So what is Graham supposed to do? Pull a mate out of his hat? Where else will he find the perfect woman for him in time to thwart Curtis’s plans?

As it turns out, the answer is right under his nose.

Six months of unrequited lust for a playboy werewolf have gotten Missy no closer to fulfilling her fantasy of becoming the love of Graham Winters’s life. But when her four best friends decide to dress her up for a blind date the night of Reggie and Misha’s engagement party, everything changes. Suddenly Graham is declaring his undying lust, the members of his pack are calling her Luna, and his cousin and rival are trying to kill her. Clearly, a little adventure can go a long way.

Now the question is whether Missy is willing to risk her heart and her life for a chance at finding out whether werewolves really do mate for life...

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Fresh Pick | HOW TO DAZZLE A DUKE by Claudia Dain

The Courtesan Series #4

September 2009
On Sale: September 1, 2009
Featuring: Duke of Edenham; Penelope Prestwick; Marquis of Iveston
336 pages
ISBN: 0425229688
EAN: 9780425229682
Paperback
$15.00

Romance Erotica Sensual, Romance Historical
Buy at Amazon.com

How To Dazzle A Duke by Claudia Dain

New in award-winning author Claudia Dain's dazzling Courtesan series.

Miss Penelope Prestwick wants a duke for a husband and clearly the dashing Duke of Edenham is the best choice. Just as Lady Dalby is clearly the best person to arrange the match. But how exactly should Penelope go about dazzling a duke? Surely a show of cleavage never hurt anyone. Perhaps a kiss or two, just to make a lasting impression. And a bit of competition usually helps move things along.

To that end, Penelope approaches the Marquis of Iveston with a request. Would he kindly appear interested in her so that the Duke of Edenham will take note of it? Alternately amused and annoyed, Lord Iveston agrees; he even places a wager on White's betting book to draw attention to the fact that he is pursuing Penelope.

Soon, it's wagers and counter wagers as all of Society tries to determine who will actually marry Penelope. Edenham she’s been hotly pursuing or Iveston she’s been hotly kissing? Who will claim the lady’s heart...all in all it’s the most entertaining—and most contested--dance to the altar Sophia has yet choreographed.

Excerpt

London 1802
Chapter One

Miss Penelope Prestwick stood in the middle of the conservatory of her father’s Upper Brook Street home and stared at the roses. The roses were a disaster.

The roses, purchased to make a pleasing and, one hoped, impressive display of her horticultural talents to the marriageable men of the ton, none of whom had any need to know she did not possess horticultural talents until one of their number was securely married to her, had not done the job at all. All her roses had done was to somehow become involved in getting Lady Amelia Caversham married to the Earl of Cranleigh.

Which, actually, was perfectly lovely as Lady Amelia had been rather obviously on the market for a duke. As Penelope was also on the market for a duke, it would Read More...

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Fresh Pick | HOW TO TEMPT A DUKE by Kasey Michaels

September 2009
On Sale: September 1, 2009
Featuring: Rafael Daughtry; Charlotte Seavers
352 pages
ISBN: 0373773714
EAN: 9780373773718
Paperback
$7.99

Romance Historical
Buy at Amazon.com

How to Tempt a Duke by Kasey Michaels

He'd returned from war a duke. Now Rafael Daughtry was battling a force more terrifying than Napoleon's army—his family. Thankfully, his childhood friend Charlotte Seavers had agreed—reluctantly—to a bargain. While Rafe would provide her with the home she'd lost, Charlotte would provide him with a chaperone for his unruly twin sisters.

But who would chaperone Rafe? For the feisty young girl he remembered had blossomed into a sensual woman—a woman whose haunting beauty and deeply kept secrets drew him like no other. Charlotte had good reason to mistrust men—yet could Rafe's sizzling seduction convince her to give in to temptation?

Excerpt

Charlotte Seavers was on the hunt. And she was in a mood to take no prisoners.

Only scant minutes earlier Charlotte had been comfortably ensconced in the drawing room of her parents' small manor house, happy in her ignorance, enjoying the sight of a mid-November frost glittering on the newly bare tree branches outside her window while she stayed warm and toasty inside.

But then the housekeeper had brought her one of the letters just arrived with the morning post.

After taking another sip of sweet tea, Charlotte had opened the missive from her good friend, read it in growing apprehension and disbelief until, with her newfound knowledge, her blissful ignorance turned to righteous anger.

"Unrepentant liars and tricksters! Wretched connivers!" she exclaimed, her teeth chattering in the cold, for she'd left the house without taking time to search out a Read More...

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Fresh Pick | WHEN SEDUCING A DUKE by Kathryn Smith

October 2009
On Sale: September 27, 2009
Featuring: Rose Danvers; Greyden Kane
384 pages
ISBN: 0061340294
EAN: 9780061340291
Mass Market Paperback
$6.99

Romance Historical
Buy at Amazon.com

When Seducing a Duke by Kathryn Smith

Enchant. Tempt. Entice. Beguile. Just a few things a woman must do when seducing a duke . . .
Rose Danvers charms her way into the glittering masked ball with only one man on her mind. She would risk certain scandal for a kiss from Greyden Kane, Duke of Ryeton—though she lusts for much, much more . . .

The ravishing woman in burgundy takes Grey's breath away. She reminds him of the sheltered beauty entrusted to his care, the only one who has ever touched his icy heart. But Rose would never allow herself to be so indiscreet, so ruled by passion . . .

Believing their forbidden embrace a terrible mistake, Grey knows he must do the honorable thing and find Rose a husband. But Rose will not be pawned off for propriety's sake. She will not rest until her seduction is complete and she has the duke bedded, wedded, and deeply satisfied. All he has to do is say yes . . .

These two have a bumpy journey to make toward redemption and happiness.

Excerpt

What the hell was he doing? He asked himself this very same question every time he came here. And he never liked the answer.

He was here because he wanted what he couldn't have – what he had promised to never touch. Would never dream of defiling.

Laughter echoed in his ears – loud and unwelcome. It stirred memories of that night long ago when he'd felt cold steel lay open the steaming warmth of his cheek. It reminded him that he was alone while more than a hundred people gathered beneath him, just out of his reach. He didn't like people, and that feeling only intensified when they gathered in groups like vultures hovering over a dying stag.

If he didn't find her soon, he would have to leave. Find relief in more auspicious and unsavory environs.

And Read More...

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Fresh Pick | THE SEDUCTION OF A DUKE by Donna MacMeans

April 2009
On Sale: April 7, 2009
Featuring: Francesca Winthrop; William Chambers
352 pages
ISBN: 0425228061
EAN: 9780425228067
Paperback
$7.99

Romance Historical
Buy at Amazon.com

The Seduction Of A Duke by Donna MacMeans

Francesca wanted to marry for love, but her social-climbing mother arranged a betrothal to an English duke who is likewise not eager to marry. But a chance encounter and a dash of intrigue make the unwilling couple rethink what they really desire.

William Chambers, Duke of Bedford, ascended to the title upon his father’s death, but he also inherited his father’s extensive debts. Desperate to avoid scandal and ruin, he is willing to go to any lengths – including marrying, sight unseen, a reclusive American heiress known as Frosty Franny.

Not pleased to be trapped in an arranged marriage, Francesca Winthrop conspires to turn lemons into lemonade with the assistance of a courtesan’s journal.

A sexy Victorian spin on kissing the frog to find true love!

Excerpt

With all the malice she could muster, Francesca Winthrop whacked the wooden croquet ball beneath her foot, sending her mother’s ball careening across the manicured lawn, over the edge of the Newport cliffs, and possibly into the blue-gray waters of the Atlantic Ocean.  Pity, it wasn’t her mother’s head.

“Really, Francesca, that show of spirit was entirely unnecessary.”  Alva Winthrop signaled one of the dozen servants standing about for just such an occasion to search for her ball at the rocky base of the cliff, before feigning laughter for the benefit of the other society matriarchs watching the match.  “Most women would be positively thrilled to learn they were about to marry a Duke.”

“Most women have at least met the man they are to marry, or had a say in the selection,” Fran replied, careful to keep her Read More...

Previous Picks

Fresh Pick | THE ATLANTIS CODE by Charles Brokaw

Professor Thomas Lourds #1

November 2009
On Sale: November 10, 2009
Featuring: Leslie Crane; Natasha Safarov; Thomas Lourds
432 pages
ISBN: 0765315319
EAN: 9780765315311
Hardcover
$25.99

Thriller Arcane
Buy at Amazon.com

The Atlantis Code by Charles Brokaw

A thrill-seeking Harvard linguistics professor and an ultrasecret branch of the Catholic Church go head-to-head in a race to uncover the secrets of the lost city of Atlantis. For whoever controls Atlantis controls the world.

A thrill-seeking Harvard linguistics professor and an ultrasecret branch of the Catholic Church go head-to-head in a race to uncover the secrets of the lost city of Atlantis. The ruins of the technologically-advanced, eerily-enigmatic ancient civilization promise their discoverer fame, fortune, and power... but hold earth- shattering secrets about the origin of man.

While world-famous linguist and archaeologist, Thomas Lourds, is shooting a film that dramatizes his flamboyant life and scientific achievements, satellites spot impossibly ancient ruins along the Spanish coast. Lourds knows exactly what it means: the Lost Continent of Atlantis has been found. The race is on, and Lourds' challengers will do anything to get there first. Whoever controls the Lost Continent will control the world."

Excerpt

Feeling as though someone was pulling a fast one on him, Lourds examined the writing more closely, thinking perhaps it had been inscribed recently upon an ancient bell – which would have been foolish under the circumstances because such an act would have destroyed the bell’s huge intrinsic value – to fool him. If it was a forgery, it was a masterpiece. The inscription felt smooth to the touch. In places it was even worn to the point that it was almost faded.

Yep. If it was a fake, it was a damned good one.

Operating by instinct, Lourds reached into his backpack, which was beside his chair, and took out a soft graphite pencil and a tablet containing sheets of onion skin tracing paper. Placing a sheet of paper on the bell, he rubbed the pencil against the surface, creating a negative image of the inscription Read More...

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Fresh Pick | WHAT THE DUKE DESIRES by Jenna Petersen

The Billingham Bastards #1

November 2009
On Sale: October 27, 2009
Featuring: Lillian Mayhew; Simon Crathorne
384 pages
ISBN: 0061470821
EAN: 9780061470820
Mass Market Paperback
$6.99

Romance Historical
Buy at Amazon.com

What The Duke Desires by Jenna Petersen

Simon Crathorne has never felt quite “right” in his own life. Even with his friends, he never fit. But now his father is dead and he has inherited the Dukedom, and all the responsibility that goes with it. And since his father was always known as a highly moral, upstanding man, Simon has big shoes to fill. Lillian Mayhew doesn’t buy the late Duke’s exalted reputation one bit. A lifetime of hearing her father talk about the man’s sins and seeing the torment her family endured at his hands has made her bitter and a final secret she discovered as her father lay dying has turned her bitterness to a drive to destroy the good name of the man she feels wronged her. No matter the price.

But when Simon and Lillian meet, sparks fly and passion erupts, leaving Lillian with an ugly choice. Can she abandon her quest for revenge, just as she is on the cusp of fulfilling her duty? Or will she betray a man whose past turns out to be a murky sea of lies and betrayals neither one could have ever anticipated? A man whose kiss could change her life forever.

Grab your tissues while reading this emotional novel, then be prepared for a shocking surprise.

Excerpt

“There are at least a dozen beautiful women here, Simon.” She flushed as she realized her slip. It seemed her private use of his given name had instilled bad habits in her. “Your Grace.”

But a light of triumph had already brightened his eyes. Her use of his name was only encouragement to him.

She hastened to add something else, to counteract her inappropriate statement with a fact that would crush his interest.

“Those other women are far more appropriate than I am, as well,” she finally whispered. “If you are on this path to court me, I would bring nothing to you, Your Grace. No money, no alliance with a powerful family, in fact my connections would bring you down in the estimation of some. I did not come here to pursue that kind of connection to you, I have no illusions that Read More...

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Fresh Pick | ANCIENTS by David Lynn Golemon

Event Group #3

May 2009
On Sale: April 28, 2009
480 pages
ISBN: 0312942869
EAN: 9780312942861
Paperback (reprint)
$7.99

Thriller
Buy at Amazon.com

Ancients by David Lynn Golemon

TO SECURE THE FATE OF THE WORLD

Eons before the birth of the Roman Empire, there was a civilization dedicated to the sciences of earth, sea, and sky. In the City of Light lived people who made dark plans to lay waste to their uncivilized neighbors using the very power of the planet itself. As the great science of their time was brought to bear on the invading hordes, hell was set loose on Earth. And the civilization of Atlantis disappeared in a suicidal storm of fire and water…

THE EVENT GROUP MUST UNCOVER THE SECRETS OF THE ANCIENTS

Now history threatens to repeat itself. The great weapon of the Ancients has been discovered in the South Pacific, and it is being deciphered by men of hatred who want to unleash hell on Earth once again. This time, it’s up to the Major Jack Collins and the Event Group—comprised of the nation’s most brilliant minds in the fields of science, philosophy, and the military to find the truth behind the world’s greatest unsolved myths—to end the cycle of destruction. Meanwhile, the seas rise, the earth cracks, and entire cities crumble to dust as the evil plan mapped out thousands of years before begins to take shape…

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Fresh Pick | THE UNITED STATES OF ATLANTIS by Harry Turtledove

December 2008
On Sale: December 2, 2008
448 pages
ISBN: 045146236X
EAN: 9780451462367
Hardcover
$25.95

Fantasy Historical
Buy at Amazon.com

The United States Of Atlantis by Harry Turtledove

England has driven the French from Atlantis, giving King George leave to tighten his control over the colonies. The Redcoats have seized the continent’s eastern coastal towns, depriving the Atlanteans of the markets where they sell their goods as part of a strategy to bend the colonists to their will.

Instead, England’s tactics have only strengthened the Atlanteans’ resolve to be free. As leader of the revolutionaries, Victor Radcliff will make the English pay for each and every piece of land they dare to occupy, and will stop at nothing to preserve the liberty of his people as a new nation is born—a nation that will change the face of the world.

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Fresh Pick | THE ATLANTIS REVELATION by Thomas Greanias

August 2009
On Sale: August 11, 2009
320 pages
ISBN: 1416589120
EAN: 9781416589129
Hardcover
$25.00

Thriller Buy at Amazon.com

The Atlantis Revelation by Thomas Greanias

From the New York Times bestselling author of Raising Atlantis and The Atlantis Prophecy comes an explosive new international thriller jam-packed with political and prophetic intrigue.

Beneath the city of God,
A centuries-old secret awaits.
And every power on earth wants it.

The adventure begins with the wreckage of a sunken Nazi submarine and a shocking legacy of Hitler's quest for Atlantis. Archaeologist Conrad Yeats discovers in the ruins of the Third Reich the key to an ancient conspiracy that reaches the highest levels of every major government. Suddenly Yeats is plunged into a deadly race across the Mediterranean, hunted by the assassins of an international organization that will stop at nothing to ignite global Armageddon and revive an empire. And only Serena Serghetti, the beautiful Vatican linguist he loved and lost, can help him save the world from the Atlantis Revelation.

Praised by the biggest names in thrillers, The Atlantis Revelation is an unforgettable blockbuster.

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Fresh Pick | ATLANTIS UNMASKED by Alyssa Day

Warriors Of Poseidon #6
July 2009
On Sale: July 7, 2009
Featuring: Alexios; Grace Havilland
320 pages
ISBN: 0425223221
EAN: 9780425223222
Paperback
$7.99

Romance Paranormal
Buy at Amazon.com

Atlantis Unmasked by Alyssa Day

Immortals: Three. Vampires: Zero.
Alyssa Day’s Warriors of Poseidon series: A KNOCKOUT.

Poseidon’s warriors swore an oath eleven thousand years ago to protect humanity from those who stalked the night. Yet when a woman with an ancient Gift dares to claim the heart of one of Poseidon’s fiercest warriors, the world teeters on the knife’s edge between desire and darkness.

A warrior scarred…
Alexios survived two years of unspeakable torture at the hands of a vampire goddess. Now he’s been ordered to team up with a beautiful warrior and take on the most dangerous mission of his life: to retrieve the Vampire’s Bane. Without it, Atlantis can’t ascend to the surface and take its rightful place in the world. But when evil threatens, will Alexios be led by duty—or his heart?

A descendant of Diana…
Grace is part of the rebellion against the vampires and shape-shifters trying to take over her world. She is deadly with her bow, because when she takes aim, she never misses her target. But suddenly she’s focused on a damaged Atlantean warrior who sees her as a weapon, not as a woman. When thousands of lives are on the line, will passion overrule, or will her aim still be true?

When two worlds collide…Atlantis is unmasked.

Excerpt

Chapter 1

Leaving regional rebel headquarters, St. Louis

"It's almost impossible to shoot a bow while driving."

Grace Havilland clenched her fingers around the steering wheel of the Jeep and waited for the Atlantean warrior riding shotgun to respond to what she thought had been her very reasonable point.

Waited. Waited a little longer. She'd met Alexios months ago and seen him sporadically since, but she'd never been in such a small space with him. It felt like being trapped in a cage with a lion who'd just eaten a full meal. Deadly, dangerous, and exhilarating, but maybe-just maybe-you'd live through it.

Unless he suddenly felt like a snack.

She wrenched the wheel to the left when she saw the deceptive DEAD END sign appear in the headlights and Read More...

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Fresh Pick | HEART OF THE DRAGON by Gena Showalter

Atlantis #1
January 2009
On Sale: January 1, 2009
Featuring: Darius en Kragin; Grace Carlyle

384 pages
ISBN: 0373773501
EAN: 9780373773503
Mass Market Paperback
$6.99
Romance Paranormal
Buy at Amazon.com

Heart Of The Dragon by Gena Showalter

The Atlantis tale that started it all...

Searching for her missing brother, Grace Carlyle never
dreamed she would discover a secret world populated by
mythological monsters—or find herself facing a
sword-wielding being whose looks put mortal men to
shame.

But there he was, Darius en Kragin, one of a race
of shape-shifting warriors bound to guard the gates of
Atlantis, and kill all travelers who strayed within its
borders.

Now Grace's life was in his hands, and Darius had
to choose between his centuries-old vow and the woman who
had slipped beneath his defenses and stolen the heart of
Atlantis's fiercest dragon.

Other books in Atlantis Series

Jewel Of Atlantis, February 2009
Atlantis #2
The Vampire's Bride, March 2009
Atlantis #3

Excerpt

"He doesn't laugh."

"He never yells."

"When Grayley accidentally stabbed Darius's thigh with a
six-pronged razor, our leader didn't even blink."

"I'd say all he needs is a few good hours of bed sport, but
I'm not even sure he knows what his cock is for."

The latter was met with a round of rumbling male chuckles.

Darius en Kragin stepped inside the spacious dining hall,
his gaze methodically cataloging his surroundings. The ebony
floors gleamed clean and black, the perfect contrast for the
dragon-carved ivory walls. Along the windows, gauzy drapes
whisped delicately. Crystal ceilings towered above,
reflecting the tranquillity of seawater that enclosed their
great city.

He moved toward the long, rectangular dining table. The
tantalizing aroma of sweetmeats and fruit should have wafted
to his nostrils, but over Read More...


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Fresh Pick | THE HUNT FOR ATLANTIS by Andy McDermott

October 2009
On Sale: September 29, 2009
512 pages
ISBN: 0553592858
EAN: 9780553592856
Mass Market Paperback
$7.99

Fiction Adventure, Historical
Buy at Amazon.com

The Hunt for Atlantis by Andy McDermott

Following in the tradition of Clive Cussler and Matthew Reilly, Andy McDermott takes us a roller-coaster ride in search of the legendary Atlantis.

Archaeologist Nina Wilde believes she has found the location of the lost city of Atlantis and now she wants the opportunity to prove her theory. Someone else though wants her dead! With the help of ex-SAS bodyguard Eddie Chase and beautiful heiress Kari Frost, Nina faces a breakneck race against time around the world, pursued at every step by agents of the mysterious -- and murderous -- Brotherhood of Selasphoros.

From the jungles of Brazil to the mountains of Tibet, from the streets of Manhattan to the depths of the Atlantic Ocean, the hunt for Atlantis leads to a secret hidden for 11,000 years -- which in the wrong hands could destroy civilization as we know it...

Mystery & romance add to this terrific action/adventure tale with enough twists & turns to truly excite.

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Fresh Pick | DRACULA THE UN-DEAD by Dacre Stoker, Ian Holt

October 2009
On Sale: October 13, 2009
Featuring: Quincey Harker; Dr. Seward
416 pages
ISBN: 0525951296
EAN: 9780525951292
Hardcover
$26.95
Thriller, Horror
Buy at Amazon.com

Dracula The Un-Dead by Dacre Stoker, Ian Holt

At last, the first Stoker family– supported sequel to one of the bestselling and most influential novels of all time

Bram Stoker’s Dracula is the prototypical horror novel, inspiration for the world’s seemingly limitless fascination with vampires. Though many have tried to replicate Stoker’s horror classic—in books, television shows, and movies—only the 1931 Bela Lugosi film bore the Stoker family’s support. Until now.

Written by a direct descendant of Bram Stoker and a well- known Dracula historian, Dracula: The Un-Dead is a bone- chilling sequel based on Bram Stoker’s own handwritten notes for characters and plot threads excised from the original edition. Written with the blessing and cooperation of many members of the Stoker family, Dracula: The Un-Dead begins in 1912, twenty-five years after Dracula “crumbled into dust.” Van Helsing’s protégé, Dr. Seward, is now a disgraced morphine addict obsessed with stamping out evil across Europe. Meanwhile, an unknowing Quincey Harker, son of Jonathon and Mina, leaves law school for the stage, only to stumble upon the troubled production of Dracula, directed and produced by Bram Stoker himself.

The play plunges Quincey into the world of his parents’ terrible secrets, but before he can confront them he experiences evil in a way he had never imagined. One by one, the band of heroes that defeated Dracula a quarter-century ago is being hunted down. Could it be that Dracula somehow survived their attack and is seeking revenge? Or is there another, far more sinister force at work whose relentless purpose is to destroy anything and anyone associated with Dracula?

Fast-paced, full of suspense, and rich with historical detail, Dracula: The Un-Dead is the answer to every vampire fanatic’s prayers.

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Fresh Pick | WITCH CRAFT by Caitlin Kittredge

Nocturne City #4

September 2009
On Sale: September 1, 2009
Featuring: Will Fagin; Luna
352 pages
ISBN: 0312943628
EAN: 9780312943622
Mass Market Paperback
$6.99

Fantasy Urban
Buy at Amazon.com

Witch Craft by Caitlin Kittredge

Someone, or something, is setting fire to the homes of the city’s most infamous non-humans, racking up a body count that’s growing by the day. And strange, otherworldly creatures no one has seen before—selkies trolls and harpies—are causing chaos throughout the city. Racing to stop the carnage, Luna turns to sexy federal agent Will Fagin for help. As they work to uncover the source of the bloodshed, Luna’s attraction for Will deepens. But just as she learns Will’s darkest secret, Nocturne City is thrust into total chaos—leaving Luna and Will in a path of destruction they may not be able to stop…or survive.

Previous Picks

Fresh Pick | MY WICKED VAMPIRE by Nina Bangs

Castle of Dark Dreams #4

October 2009
On Sale: September 29, 2009
336 pages
ISBN: 084395955X
EAN: 9780843959550
Mass Market Paperback
$7.99

Romance Paranormal, Erotica Paranormal
Buy at Amazon.com

My Wicked Vampire by Nina Bangs



The Castle of Dark Dreams is just part of an adult theme park, right? The most decadent attraction in a place where people go to play out their wildest erotic fantasies. Holgarth isn’t really a wacky wizard, and Sparkle Stardust doesn’t actually create cosmic chaos by hooking up completely mismatched couples. And that naked guy chained up in the dungeon? No way he’s a vampire.

Wrong…dead wrong, as botanist Cinn Airmid is about to find out. It’s up to her to save the night feeder’s sanity, but to do that she’ll have to get close to the most dangerously sexy male she’s ever encountered. And one look in Dacian’s haunted black eyes tells her close will take on a whole new meaning with someone who’s had 600 years to practice his technique. Even a girl with a name that conjures up images of forbidden pleasure has a few tricks to learn from… MY WICKED VAMPIRE

Witty addition to this erotic series that's both light and dark -- and extremely charming.

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Fresh Pick | XOMBIES: APOCALYPSE BLUES by Walter Greatshell

Zombies #1

October 2009
On Sale: September 29, 2009
Featuring: Lulu Pangloss
336 pages
ISBN: 0441018351
EAN: 9780441018352
Paperback
$7.99

Fantasy Urban, Horror
Buy at Amazon.com

Xombies: Apocalypse Blues by Walter Greatshell

When the Agent X plague struck, it infected women first, turning them into mindless killers intent only on creating an army of "Xombies" by spreading their disease.

Lulu Pangloss has problems. She has no friends, her mom is difficult, and her absentee father is a deadbeat. Things can hardly get any worse...or so she thinks.

Then the world comes to an end.

It starts with Agent X, a plague that turns women into raving, demonic predators--Xombies--who then hunt down and infect anyone they can catch. Guns are useless; armies are helpless.

With civilization collapsing all around her, Lulu hitches a ride with a crew of wary male refugees, and together they flee for the last place on Earth rumored to be safe. But what they find is as unexpected, and as terrifying, as the hell they've left behind.

Previous Picks

Fresh Pick | TRICK OR TREAT by Jan Springer, Tawny Taylor, Charlene Teglia, N.J. Walters

October 2009
On Sale: October 13, 2009
288 pages
ISBN: 1439131554
EAN: 9781439131558
Trade Size
$14.00

Romance Erotica Sensual, Romance Anthology
Buy at Amazon.com

Trick Or Treat by Jan Springer, Tawny Taylor, Charlene Teglia, N.J. Walters

Four sizzling previously published stories in all-new irresistible anthology!

These ladies dress up and strip down to fulfill their sexiest
role-playing fantasies with four irresistible hotties....


N. J. WALTERS
Unmasking Kelly
It's the night of the masquerade party at Brannigan's Pub, and waitress Kelly Allen is squeezing her voluptuous body into a tight little costume so she can make her hardbodied boss Liam work for a naughty Halloween treat.

JAN SPRINGER
Sinderella
By night, klutzy Ella becomes a masked vixen in her erotic performances of Cinderella. When Prince Charming stands her up, her sexy colleague Dr. Roarke Stephenson comes to her rescue for one passionate night of hot, blazing sex...in front of an audience.

CHARLENE TEGLIA
Wolf in Cheap Clothing
Wearing her slinkiest bikini, Lou is on the hunt for the rogue werewolf who changed her -- until a gorgeous, towering hunk takes her hostage on the beach for an unforgettable excursion of carnal pleasure.

TAWNY TAYLOR
Stolen Goddess
Kylie wakes up in a strange world, bound and stripped bare, with a large -- very hard, very naked -- man insisting she belongs to him. She should be scared, but instead she succumbs to his arousing demands...and gets the most electrifying surprise of her life.

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Fresh Pick | AUDREY'S DOOR by Sarah Langan

October 2009
On Sale: September 29, 2009
Featuring: Audrey Lucas; Saraub Ramesh; Jayne Young
432 pages
ISBN: 0061624217
EAN: 9780061624216
Mass Market Paperback
$7.99

Thriller Paranormal - Supernatural, Horror
Buy at Amazon.com

Audrey's Door by Sarah Langan

Some doors lead to all the wrong places.

When budding architect Audrey Lucas abandons her live-in boyfriend for a flat in the Breviary, an architectural landmark on Manhattan’s Upper West Side, her newfound freedom comes at a price. Her apartment’s gruesome history includes a deranged mother who drowned her children in the bathroom’s claw-footed tub. Yet ghosts and the strange habits of her eccentric fellow tenants of the building are nothing compared to the horrors she unleashes within herself when, after sleepwalking during torturous dreams, she starts constructing a door in the middle of her living room.

This chilling haunted house tale will stay with you long into the night -- and beyond.


A spooky, horrorific book trailer... don't be scared!

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Fresh Pick | BRIDE OF THE WOLF by Jennifer St. Giles

The Shadowmen #4

May 2009
On Sale: April 28, 2009
Featuring: Marissa Vasquez; Navarre
352 pages
ISBN: 1416563415
EAN: 9781416563419
Mass Market Paperback
$6.99

Paranormal, Romance Paranormal
Buy at Amazon.com

Bride Of The Wolf by Jennifer St. Giles

Injured Blood Hunter Navarre is kidnapped along with oil heiress Marissa Vasquez. Their bid for freedom, puts them into a deadly race for their lives as the become the hunted prey of two Vladarian Vampires and the evil Dr. Cinatas.

Together Marissa and Navarre's spirits form a powerful link matched only by their passion. But can a mortal woman attain true love with a man who is half wolf? Or will their enemies steal their one chance at happiness?

Navarre and Marissa are in for the fight of their lives against the evil vampire Herrera.


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Fresh Pick | ACCORDING TO JANE by Marilyn Brant

October 2009
On Sale: October 1, 2009
Featuring: Ellie Barnett; Sam Blaine
352 pages
ISBN: 0758234619
EAN: 9780758234612
Paperback
$14.00

Romance Contemporary
Buy at Amazon.com

According To Jane by Marilyn Brant

It begins one day in sophomore English class, just as Ellie Barnett's teacher is assigning Jane Austen's "Pride and Prejudice". From nowhere comes a quiet 'tsk' of displeasure. The target: Sam Blaine, the cute bad boy who's teasing Ellie mercilessly, just as he has since kindergarten. Entirely unbidden, as Jane might say, the author's ghost has taken up residence in Ellie's mind, and seems determined to stay there. Jane's wise and witty advice guides Ellie through the hell of adolescence and beyond, serving as the voice she trusts, usually far more than her own.

Years and boyfriends come and go - sometimes a little too quickly, sometimes not nearly fast enough. But Jane's counsel is constant, and on the subject of Sam, quite insistent. Stay away, Jane demands. He is your Mr. Wickham. Still, everyone has something to learn about love - perhaps even Jane herself. And lately, the voice in Ellie's head is being drowned out by another, urging her to look beyond everything she thought she knew and seek out her very own, very unexpected, happy ending.

Previous Picks

Fresh Pick | RUDE AWAKENINGS OF A JANE AUSTEN ADDICT by Laurie Viera Rigler

July 2009
On Sale: June 25, 2009
Featuring: Jane Mansfield; Wes
304 pages
ISBN: 0525950761
EAN: 9780525950769
Hardcover
$25.95

Romance Historical, Romance Paranormal

Buy at Amazon.com

Rude Awakenings Of A Jane Austen Addict by Laurie Viera Rigler

The eagerly anticipated sequel to Confessions of a Jane Austen Addict

Laurie Viera Rigler’s debut novel, Confessions of a Jane Austen Addict, was a hit with fans and critics, and a BookSense and Los Angeles Times bestseller. Its open-to-interpretation ending left readers begging for more—and Rude Awakenings of a Jane Austen Addict delivers. While Confessions took twenty-first-century free spirit Courtney Stone into the social confines of Jane Austen’s era, Rude Awakenings tells the parallel story of Jane Mansfield, a gentleman’s daughter from Regency England who inexplicably awakens in Courtney’s overly wired and morally confused L.A. life.

For Jane, the modern world is not wholly disagreeable. Her apartment may be smaller than a dressing closet, but it is fitted up with lights that burn without candles, machines that wash bodies and clothes, and a glossy rectangle in which tiny people perform scenes from her favorite book, Pride and Prejudice. Granted, if she wants to travel she may have to drive a formidable metal carriage, but she may do so without a chaperone. And oh, what places she goes! Public assemblies that pulsate with pounding music. Unbound hair and unrestricted clothing. The freedom to say what she wants when she wants—even to men without a proper introduction.

Jane relishes the privacy, independence, even the power to earn her own money. But how is she to fathom her employer’s incomprehensible dictates about “syncing a BlackBerry” and “rolling a call”? How can she navigate a world in which entire publications are devoted to brides but flirting and kissing and even the sexual act itself raise no matrimonial expectations? Even more bewildering are the memories that are not her own. And the friend named Wes, who is as attractive and confusing to Jane as the man who broke her heart back home. It’s enough to make her wonder if she would be better off in her own time, where at least the rules are clear—that is, if returning is even an option.

Previous Picks

Fresh Pick | THE MATTERS AT MANSFIELD: OR, THE CRAWFORD AFFAIR by Carrie Bebris

Mr. And Mrs. Darcy Mysteries
September 2008
On Sale: September 2, 2008
Featuring: Fitzwilliam Darcy; Elizabeth Darcy
288 pages
ISBN: 0765318474
EAN: 9780765318473
Hardcover
$22.95

Mystery HistoricalBuy at Amazon.com

The Matters At Mansfield: Or, The Crawford Affair by Carrie Bebris

Jane Austen meets Anne Perry in a historical mystery series featuring the hero and heroine from Pride and Prejudice

Following the birth of their first child, Elizabeth and Fitzwilliam Darcy are looking forward to enjoying life at Pemberley, but family commitments draw them away to Mansfield Park. While there, the Darcys get involved with marriage arrangements, star-crossed lovers, deceit, mistaken identity, and even murder.

Once again the Darcys take center stage as the Regency era's answer to The Thin Man's Nick and Nora in this delightful series by the 2007 Daphne du Maurier Award-wining author of North by Northanger.

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Fresh Pick | COLONEL BRANDON'S DIARY by Amanda Grange

July 2009
On Sale: July 7, 2009
Featuring: James Brandon; Marianne Dashwood
304 pages
ISBN: 0425227790
EAN: 9780425227794
Paperback
$14.00

Romance Historical
Buy at Amazon.com

Colonel Brandon's Diary by Amanda Grange

A vibrant retelling of Sense and Sensibility, Grange’s sweeping epic breathes new life into another of Austen’s best-loved novels.

"Colonel Brandon's Diary" continues Amanda Grange's popular series of Jane Austen retellings.

At the age of eighteen, James Brandon's life is set fair. He is in love with his father's ward, Eliza, and he is looking forward to a lifetime of happiness with her. But his world is shattered when Eliza is forced to marry his brother and James joins the army in despair. Whilst he is in the East Indies, Eliza is badly treated and she seeks consolation outside her marriage, leading to divorce and destitution.

Returning to England, Brandon finds her in a debtors' prison. He rescues her from her terrible position, but she is dying of consumption and he can do nothing but watch and wait. Heartbroken at her death, he takes some consolation from her illegitimate daughter, whom he raises as his ward. But at the age of fifteen, the young Eliza goes missing.

Oppressed by the thought of what could have happened to her, he is surprised to find himself falling in love with Marianne Dashwood. But Marianne is falling in love with Willoughby...

Previous Picks

Fresh Pick | THE PLIGHT OF THE DARCY BROTHERS by Marsha Altman

Pride & Prejudice Sequel #2

August 2009
On Sale: August 1, 2009
Featuring: Mary Bennet
368 pages
ISBN: 140222429X
EAN: 9781402224294
Paperback
$14.99

Romance Historical
Buy at Amazon.com

The Plight Of The Darcy Brothers by Marsha Altman

A Tale Of The Darcys & The Bingleys

In this lively second installment, the Darcys and Bingleys are plunged into married life and its many accompanying challenges presented by family and friends.

With Jane and Elizabeth away, Darcy and Bingley take on the daunting task of managing their two-year- old children. Mary Bennet returns from the Continent pregnant by an Italian student promised to the church; Darcy and Elizabeth travel to find the father, and discover previously unknown— and shocking—Darcy relations. By the time Darcy discovers that there's more than one sibling of questionable birth in the family, the ever-dastardly Wickham arrives on the scene to try to seize the Darcy fortune once and for all.

Previous Picks

Fresh Pick | THE INDEPENDENCE OF MISS MARY BENNET by Colleen McCullough

January 2009
On Sale: December 30, 2008
Featuring: Mary Bennet
352 pages
ISBN: 1416596488
EAN: 9781416596486
Hardcover
$26.00

Historical
Buy at Amazon.com

The Independence Of Miss Mary Bennet by Colleen McCullough

Everyone knows the story of Elizabeth and Jane Bennet in Pride and Prejudice. But what about their sister Mary? At the conclusion of Jane Austen's classic novel, Mary, bookish, awkward, and by all accounts, unmarriageable, is sentenced to a dull, provincial existence in the backwaters of Britain. Now, master storyteller Colleen McCullough rescues Mary from her dreary fate with The Independence of Miss Mary Bennet, a page-turning sequel set twenty years after Austen's novel closes.

The story begins as the neglected Bennet sister is released from the stultifying duty of caring for her insufferable mother. Though many would call a woman of Mary's age a spinster, she has blossomed into a beauty to rival that of her famed sisters. Her violet eyes and perfect figure bewitch the eligible men in the neighborhood, but though her family urges her to marry, romance and frippery hold no attraction. Instead, she is determined to set off on an adventure of her own. Fired with zeal by the newspaper letters of the mysterious Argus, she resolves to publish a book about the plight of England's poor. Plunging from one predicament into another, Mary finds herself stumbling closer to long-buried secrets, unanticipated dangers, and unlooked-for romance.

Meanwhile, the other dearly loved characters of Pride and Prejudice fret about the missing Mary while they contend with difficulties of their own. Darcy's political ambitions consume his ardor, and he bothers with Elizabeth only when the impropriety of her family seems to threaten his career. Lydia, wild and charming as ever, drinks and philanders her way into dire straits; Kitty, a young widow of means, occupies herself with gossip and shopping; and Jane, naïve and trusting as ever, spends her days ministering to her crop of boys and her adoring, if not entirely faithful, husband. Yet, with the shadowy and mysterious figure of Darcy's right-hand man, Ned Skinner, lurking at every corner, it is clear that all is not what it seems at idyllic Pemberley.

As the many threads of McCullough's masterful plot come together, shocking truths are revealed, love, both old and new, is tested, and all learn the value of true independence in a novel for every woman who has wanted to leave her mark on the world.

Excerpt

Chapter 1

The long, late light threw a gilt mantle over the skeletons of shrubs and trees scattered through the Shelby Manor gardens; a few wisps of smoke, smudged at their edges, drifted from the embers of a fire kindled to burn the last of the fallen leaves, and somewhere a stay-behind bird was chattering the tuneless nocturne of late autumn. Watching the sunset from her usual seat in the bay window, Mary felt a twisting of her heart at its blue-gold glory, soon to be a memory banked inside the echoing spaces of her mind. How much longer? Oh, how much longer?

Came the rattle and tinkle of the tea tray as Martha bore it in; she deposited it carefully on the low table flanking the wing chair in which the mistress of Shelby Manor slumbered. Sighing, Mary turned from the window and Read More...

Previous Picks

Fresh Pick | THE OTHER MR. DARCY by Monica Fairview

October 2009
On Sale: October 1, 2009
Featuring: Caroline Bingley; Robert Darcy
368 pages
ISBN: 140222513X
EAN: 9781402225130
Paperback
$14.99

Romance Historical
Buy at Amazon.com

The Other Mr. Darcy by Monica Fairview

Did You Know Mr. Darcy Had An American Cousin?

In this highly original Pride and Prejudice sequel by British author Monica Fairview, Caroline Bingley is our heroine. Caroline is sincerely broken-hearted when Mr. Darcy marries Lizzy Bennet— that is, until she meets his charming and sympathetic American cousin…

Mr. Robert Darcy is as charming as Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy is proud, and he is stunned to find the beautiful Caroline weeping at his cousin's wedding. Such depth of love, he thinks, is rare and precious. For him, it's nearly love at first sight. But these British can be so haughty and off- putting. How can he let the young lady, who was understandably mortified to be discovered in such a vulnerable moment, know how much he feels for and sympathizes with her?

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Fresh Pick | WOLFSBANE AND MISTLETOE by Kat Richardson, Carrie Vaughn, Patricia Briggs, Keri Arthur, Charlaine Harris

October 2008
On Sale: October 7, 2008
368 pages
ISBN: 0441016332
EAN: 9780441016334
Hardcover
$24.95

Paranormal
Buy at Amazon.com

2009 Anthony Award Nominee "The Night Things Changed" by Dana Cameron for Best Short Story

Wolfsbane and Mistletoe by Kat Richardson, Carrie Vaughn, Patricia Briggs, Keri Arthur, Charlaine Harris

The editors of Many Bloody Returns deliver the perfect howl-iday gift, with new tales from Patricia Briggs, Carrie Vaughn, and many more.

New York Times bestselling authors Charlaine Harris, Patricia Briggs, Keri Arthur, and Carrie Vaughn—along with eleven other masters of the genre—offer all-new stories on werewolves and the holidays, a fresh variation on the concept that worked so well with birthdays and vampires in Many Bloody Returns.

The holidays can bring out the beast in anyone. They are particularly hard for lycanthropes. Charlaine Harris and Toni L. P. Kelner have harvested the scariest, funniest and saddest werewolf tales by an outstanding pack of authors, best read by the light of a full moon with a silver bullet close at hand.

Whether wolfing down a holiday feast (use your imagination) or craving some hair of the dog on New Year’s morning, the werewolves in these frighteningly original stories will surprise, delight, amuse, and scare the pants off readers who love a little wolfsbane with their mistletoe.

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Fresh Pick | THE SHANGHAI MOON by S. J. Rozan

Lydia Chin/Bill Smith

February 2009
On Sale: February 3, 2009
Featuring: Lydia Chin; BIll Smith
384 pages
ISBN: 0312245564
EAN: 9780312245566
Hardcover
$24.95

Mystery Private Eye
Buy at Amazon.com

Bouchercon 2009 Toastmaster author S.J. Rozan

The Shanghai Moon by S. J. Rozan


With The Shanghai Moon, S. J. Rozan returns to her award-winning, critically acclaimed, and much-loved characters Lydia Chin and Bill Smith in the first new novel in the series in seven years.

Estranged for months from fellow P.I. Bill Smith, Chinese-American private investigator Lydia Chin is brought in by colleague and former mentor Joel Pilarsky to help with a case that crosses continents, cultures, and decades. In Shanghai, excavation has unearthed a cache of European jewelry dating back to World War II, when Shanghai was an open city providing safe haven for thousands of Jewish refugees. The jewelry, identifed as having belonged to one such refugee - Rosalie Gilder - was immediately stolen by a Chinese official who fled to New York City. Hired by a lawyer specializing in the recovery of Holocaust assets, Chin and Pilarsky are to find any and all leads to the missing jewels.

However, Lydia soon learns that there is much more to the story than they've been told: The Shanghai Moon, one of the world's most sought after missing jewels, reputed to be worth millions, is believed to have been part of the same stash.

Before Lydia can act on this new information, Joel Pilarsky is murdered, Lydia is fired from the case, and Bill Smith finally reappears on the scene. Now Lydia and Bill must unravel the truth about the Shanghai Moon and the events that surrounded its disappearance sixty years ago during the chaos of war and revolution, if they are to stop more killings and uncover the truth of what is going on today.

Previous Picks

Fresh Pick | DEATH OF A COZY WRITER by G.M. Malliet

St. Just Mystery #1
July 2008
On Sale: July 1, 2008
Featuring: DCI Arthur St. Just
312 pages
ISBN: 0738712485
EAN: 9780738712482
Paperback
$13.95

Mystery Police Procedural
Buy at Amazon.com

2009 Anthony Award Nominee for Best First Novel

Death of a Cozy Writer by G.M. Malliet

From deep in the heart of his eighteenth century English manor, millionaire Sir Adrian Beauclerk-Fisk writes mystery novels and torments his four spoiled children with threats of disinheritance. Tiring of this device, the portly patriarch decides to weave a malicious twist into his well-worn plot. Gathering them all together for a family dinner, he announces his latest blow — a secret elopement with the beautiful Violet... who was once suspected of murdering her husband.

Within hours, eldest son and appointed heir Ruthven is found cleaved to death by a medieval mace. Since Ruthven is generally hated, no one seems too surprised or upset — least of all his cold-blooded wife Lillian. When Detective Chief Inspector St. Just is brought in to investigate, he meets with a deadly calm that goes beyond the usual English reserve. And soon Sir Adrian himself is found slumped over his writing desk — an ornate knife thrust into his heart. Trapped amid leering gargoyles and concrete walls, every member of the family is a likely suspect. Using a little Cornish brusqueness and brawn, can St. Just find the killer before the next-in-line to the family fortune ends up dead?

A great addition to cozy mystery genre!

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Fresh Pick | THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO by Stieg Larsson

September 2008
On Sale: September 16, 2008
480 pages
ISBN: 0307269752
EAN: 9780307269751
Hardcover
$24.95

Thriller Crime, Suspense Psychological
Buy at Amazon.com

2009 Anthony Award Nominee for Best Novel

The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson

A sensation across Europe—millions of copies sold

A spellbinding amalgam of murder mystery, family saga, love story, and financial intrigue.

It’s about the disappearance forty years ago of Harriet Vanger, a young scion of one of the wealthiest families in Sweden . . . and about her octogenarian uncle, determined to know the truth about what he believes was her murder.

It’s about Mikael Blomkvist, a crusading journalist recently at the wrong end of a libel case, hired to get to the bottom of Harriet’s disappearance . . . and about Lisbeth Salander, a twenty-four-year-old pierced and tattooed genius hacker possessed of the hard-earned wisdom of someone twice her age—and a terrifying capacity for ruthlessness to go with it—who assists Blomkvist with the investigation. This unlikely team discovers a vein of nearly unfathomable iniquity running through the Vanger family, astonishing corruption in the highest echelons of Swedish industrialism—and an unexpected connection between themselves.

It’s a contagiously exciting, stunningly intelligent novel about society at its most hidden, and about the intimate lives of a brilliantly realized cast of characters, all of them forced to face the darker aspects of their world and of their own lives.

Translator: Reg Keeland

Totally captivating novel of mystery, intrigue and romance.
Previous Picks

Fresh Pick | THE SCARECROW by Michael Connelly

June 2009
On Sale: May 26, 2009
Featuring: Jack McEvoy
448 pages
ISBN: 0316166308
EAN: 9780316166300
Hardcover
$27.99

Thriller
Buy at Amazon.com

Bouchercon 2009 Guest of Honor

The Scarecrow by Michael Connelly

The instant #1 bestseller from author Michael Connelly--"the best mystery writer in the world" (GQ)--brings back the hero of The Poet in a terrifying new thriller.

Forced out of the Los Angeles Times amid the latest budget cuts, newspaperman Jack McEvoy decides to go out with a bang, using his final days at the paperto write the definitive murder story of his career.

He focuses on Alonzo Winslow, a 16-year-old drug dealer in jail after confessing to a brutal murder. But as he delves into the story, Jack realizes that Winslow's so-called confession is bogus. The kid might actually be innocent.

Jack is soon running with his biggest story since The Poetmade his career years ago. He is tracking a killer who operates completely below police radar--and with perfect knowledge of any move against him. Including Jack's.

An excellent thriller that's fast-paced and hard to put down.

Previous Picks

Fresh Pick | CREAM PUFF MURDER by Joanne Fluke

Hannah Swensen #11

March 2009
On Sale: March 1, 2009
Featuring: Mike Kingston; Hannah Swensen
288 pages
ISBN: 0758210221
EAN: 9780758210227
Hardcover
$24.00

Mystery Woman Sleuth
Buy at Amazon.com

Cream Puff Murder by Joanne Fluke

Winter in Lake Eden, Minnesota, is the perfect time to curl up by a cozy fire with something-and someone-sweet. But while bakery owner Hannah Swensen can provide herself with the confections, cuddling will have to take a back seat to sleuthing when her sometime-squeeze becomes a murder suspect...

With the launch party of her mother's novel around the corner, Hannah has a dress to fit into and a date with her sister, Andrea, at Lake Eden's new health club, Heavenly Bodies. Dragging herself out of bed on a frigid Minnesota morning for exercise, of all things, is bad enough. Discovering a dead body floating in the gym's jacuzzi? Okay, that's worse. Nor does it help that there's a plate of The Cookie Jar's very own cream puffs garnishing the murder scene. The fact that they were purchased by none other than Hannah's part-time flame, Detective Mike Kingston, is simply the icing on what's shaping up to be one very messy cake...

Mike may be the prime suspect in the murder of man-eating bombshell Ronni Ward, but he's by no means the only one. Ronni, a fitness instructor at both the Sheriff's department and Heavenly Bodies, made a nasty habit of throwing her own heavenly body at every man, eligible or not, who crossed her path. Plenty of Lake Eden's ladies won't miss Ronni, including her ex-fiance's former girlfriend, the angry mother of one of her would-be conquests, and even the mayor's wife. Could any of them have wanted her gone badly enough to make it happen? Mike's recruited Hannah to find out, and, as any suspended, suspected detective would, he's micromanaging her every step of the way...

Between trying to narrow the list of Ronni's enemies down to fewer than half the town'sfemale population and resisting the urge to remove Mike from the running by throttling him herself, Hannah has her plate full. Trouble is, when it comes to cookies-and to murder-there's always room for one more...

Includes 12 original dessert recipes for you to try!

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Fresh Pick | ESPRESSO SHOT by Cleo Coyle

Coffeehouse Mystery #7

October 2009
On Sale: October 6, 2009
Featuring: Clare Cosi
368 pages
ISBN: 0425230767
EAN: 9780425230763
Paperback (reprint)
$7.99

Mystery Woman Sleuth
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Espresso Shot by Cleo Coyle

Coffeehouse manager Clare Cosi rarely gets steamed. But ever since her ex-husband announced his plans to remarry, she’s been making some vows of her own . . .

Roped into creating a gourmet coffee and dessert bar for her ex-husband’s wedding, Clare faces off with the bride-to- be. Wealthy and sophisticated, the snarky Breanne has never been a low maintenance kind of gal, and now she’s in full- blown bridezilla mode. The only way Clare can possibly deal with her is to focus on business. But murder is Clare’s business, too, and when fatal accidents begin befalling people close to Breanne, Clare becomes suspicious. Is someone trying to sabotage this wedding? Kill Breanne? Clare decides to investigate. But what she uncovers, between steaming cappuccinos and roasting the world’s rarest coffee beans, may just get her burned.

Now in paperback, this starred reviewed entry in the nationally bestselling coffeehouse mystery series also features delicious bonus recipes, including Italian wedding cookies, and coffee-making tips.

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Fresh Pick | COMFORT FOOD by Kate Jacobs

April 2009
On Sale: April 7, 2009
Featuring: Augusta Simpson
384 pages
ISBN: 0425226204
EAN: 9780425226209
Trade Size
$15.00

Women's Fiction Buy at Amazon.com

Comfort Food by Kate Jacobs

Now in paperback from the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Friday Night Knitting Club

Shortly before turning 50, TV cooking show personality Augusta “Gus” Simpson discovers that the network wants to boost her ratings by teaming her with a beautiful, young new co-host. But Gus isn’t going without a fight—whether it’s off-set with her two demanding daughters, on-camera with the ambitious new diva herself, or after-hours with Oliver, the new culinary producer who’s raising Gus’s temperature beyond the comfort zone. Now, in pursuit of higher ratings and culinary delights, Gus might be able to rejuvenate more than just her career.

Excerpt

Chapter 1

February, 2006

Gus Simpson adored birthday cake.

Chocolate, coconut, lemon, strawberry, vanilla– she had a particular fondness for the classics. Even though she experimented with new flavors and frostings, drizzling with syrups and artfully arranging hibiscus petals, Gus more often took the retro route with piped-on flowers or a flash of candy sprinkles across the iced top. Because birthday cake was really about nostalgia, she knew, about reaching in and using the senses to remember one perfect childhood moment.

After twelve years as a host on the Cooking Channel– and with three successful shows to her credit–Gus had made many desserts in her kitchen studios, from her creamy white chocolate mousse to her luscious peach torte, her gooey caramel apple cobbler and her decadent bourbon pecan pie. A "home cook Read More...

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Fresh Pick | FINGER LICKIN' FIFTEEN by Janet Evanovich

Stephanie Plum Novels #15
July 2009
On Sale: June 23, 2009
Featuring: Stephanie Plum; Lulu
320 pages
ISBN: 0312383282
EAN: 9780312383282
Hardcover
$27.95

Mystery Woman Sleuth
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Finger Lickin' Fifteen by Janet Evanovich
The next Stephanie Plum novel, in which complications arise, loyalties are tested, cliffhangers are resolved, and donuts are eaten.

Unbuckle Your Belt And Pull Up A Chair. It's The Spiciest, Sauciest, Most Rib-Sticking Plum Yet.


Recipe for disaster:

Celebrity chef Stanley Chipotle comes to Trenton to participate in a barbecue cook-off and loses his head --literally.

Throw in some spice:

Bail bonds office worker Lula is witness to the crime, and the only one she’ll talk to is Trenton cop, Joe Morelli.

Pump up the heat:

Chipotle’s sponsor is offering a million dollar reward to anyone who can provide information leading to the capture of the killers.

Stir the pot:

Lula recruits bounty hunter Stephanie Plum to help her find the killers and collect the moolah.

Add a secret ingredient:

Stephanie Plum’s Grandma Mazur.  Enough said.

Bring to a boil:

Stephanie Plum is working overtime tracking felons for the bonds office at night and snooping for security expert Carlos Manoso, A.K.A. Ranger, during the day.  Can Stephanie hunt down two killers, a traitor, five skips, keep her grandmother out of the sauce, solve Ranger’s problems and not jump his bones?

Warning:

Habanero hot.  So good you’ll want seconds.

Excerpt

One

WHEN I WAS a kid, I was afraid of spiders and vegetables. As an adult, I’ve eliminated vegetables from my fright-o-meter, but I’ve added a whole bunch of other stuff. Homicidal maniacs, serial rapists, cellulite, Joe Morelli’s Grandma Bella, rabid bats, and any form of organized exercise.

My name is Stephanie Plum, and I work as a bond enforcement officer for Vincent Plum Bail Bonds. It’s not a great job, but it allows me to avoid organized exercise, and I hardly ever encounter rabid bats. The remaining fright-o-meter items lurk in the dark shadows of my daily life. Fortunately, there are also good things in those shadows. Joe Morelli without his Grandma Bella, fellow bounty hunter Ranger without his clothes, my crazy family, my hamster, Rex . . . and Lula. Lula actually fits somewhere between the rabid bats and Read More...

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Fresh Pick | CAN'T STAND THE HEAT by Louisa Edwards

Recipe for Love #1

September 2009
On Sale: September 1, 2009
Featuring: Adam Temple; Miranda Wake
368 pages
ISBN: 0312356498
EAN: 9780312356491
Mass Market Paperback
$6.99

Romance Contemporary
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Can't Stand the Heat by Louisa Edwards

For sharp-tongued food critic Miranda Wake, the chance to spend a month in Adam Temple’s kitchen to write an exposé is a journalistic dream come true. Surely Miranda can find a way to cut the hotshot chef down to size once she learns what really goes on at his trendy Manhattan restaurant. Trouble is, she never expected Adam to uncover her most embarrassing secret: she has no idea how to cook.

As for Adam, well, he’s not about to have his reputation burned by a critic who doesn’t even know the difference between poaching and paring. He’ll just have to give the tempting redhead a few private lessons of his own . . . teaching her what it means to cook with passion.

Seduction reaches a boiling point when two unlikely people find themselves thrown together.

Excerpt

What’s your name?” he asked her.

She tossed her head again, the motion making her sway a little. Adam looked more closely. Her pupils were blown wide and dark, and her cheeks were flushed in a lovely contrast to her fair complexion.

“Miranda Wake, Délicieux magazine,” she said defiantly, as if expecting him to take issue with it.

Ah ha, he thought, somehow unsurprised, even though he’d always pictured the New York food scene’s most notorious critic as being considerably older and more dried- up looking than this fiery little piece.

Miranda Wake. You are blitzed out of your mind, on cocktails I designed, mixed with liquor I steeped with my own hands.

There was something weirdly erotic about it, and Adam covered the momentary oddness by stepping down and coming around the bar to shake Read More...

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Fresh Pick | KILLER CRAB CAKES by Livia J. Washburn

Fresh-Baked #4
October 2009
On Sale: September 29, 2009
Featuring: Phyllis Newsom
304 pages
ISBN: 0451228367
EAN: 9780451228369
Trade Size
$14.00

Mystery Culinary
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Killer Crab Cakes by Livia J. Washburn

In this bake-off, you can get knocked off.

The irresistible new entry in the national bestselling series.

When Phyllis's cousin asks her to look after her Oak Knoll bed-and-breakfast for a few weeks, Phyllis jumps at the chance-mostly because the inn is located close to the annual Rockport, Texas, Just Desserts competition. Determined to beat her friendly rival and enjoy some peaceful downtime with her boyfriend Sam, Phyllis concocts the ultimate sweet treat.

But Phyllis's holiday turns bitter when she and Sam discover a dead body-and all signs point to murder. Dismayed that bad luck seems to pop up wherever she goes, Phyllis wants to stay out of this one. But as the list of suspects gets too close for comfort, she decides to throw herself into the mix. Because when it comes to solving murders, Phyllis is one smart cookie.

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Fresh Pick | SOUTHERN PERIL by T. Lynn Ocean

Jersey Barnes
July 2009
On Sale: July 7, 2009
272 pages
ISBN: 0312383479
EAN: 9780312383473
Hardcover
$24.99

Mystery Woman Sleuth
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Southern Peril by T. Lynn Ocean

Savvy security specialist Jersey Barnes assures everyone that she has retired for good this time—she had a party with a three-layer cake and champagne toasts to prove it. But when a judge calls in a favor, the former field- trained government agent agrees to figure out what secrets might be putting the judge's brother, Morgan, in danger. His car searched, his apartment burglarized, and it appears as though somebody is watching his every move.

Not one to overreact, Morgan dismisses the judge's attempt to help him as an over-protective big sister's paranoia. He just wants to succeed in his new business venture, Argos. Wilmington's most hip restaurant, Argos guest list is legendary. When Morgan's father died, the eatery was left solely to Morgan. Despite his lack of experience in the food industry, the introverted bachelor is determined to keep his father's legacy alive.

It's only when Morgan has a close call with death that he confides in Jersey: his father may have been murdered, and Morgan thinks he knows why. But he can't divulge further details without opening the door to his own humiliating secret, and risk losing Argos.

While trying to keep her zany father and his poker buddies out of trouble, and exploring unfamiliar territory with her steamy business partner-turned-lover, Jersey stays on the case in her historic hometown of Wilmington, North Carolina.
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Fresh Pick | SEW DEADLY by Elizabeth Lynn Casey

Southern Sewing #1August 2009
On Sale: August 4, 2009
Featuring: Tori Sinclair
288 pages
ISBN: 0425229106
EAN: 9780425229101
Paperback
$6.99

Mystery Amateur Sleuth, Mystery Woman Sleuth
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Sew Deadly
by Elizabeth Lynn Casey

Ever since she moved to Sweet Briar, South Carolina, Yankee librarian Tori Sinclair has been the talk of the tiny town. But she’s been so busy at work, winning over the sewing circle, and trying to forget her cheating ex that she hasn’t even had time to baste together a pillow, let alone mind local gossip. Then she finds the hometown sweetheart dead at her back door…

Everyone believes the police investigator, who’s just fixin’ to link Tori to the murder in a love triangle gone bad. To clear her name, Tori will have to rely on her new sewing sisters and stitch together the truth— or be darned.
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Fresh Pick | VI AGRA FALLS by Mary Daheim

Bed-And-Breakfast #24

August 2009
On Sale: August 1, 2009
Featuring: Judidth McMonigle Flynn
352 pages
ISBN: 0061351555
EAN: 9780061351556
Mass Market Paperback
$7.99

Mystery Amateur Sleuth

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Vi Agra Falls by Mary Daheim

Innkeeper and amateur sleuth Judith McMonigle Flynn's worst nightmare comes true when Vivian Flynn—husband Joe's first wife—moves back into the neighborhood. Vivian, who has become mysteriously wealthy, plans to build a big, bad condo on their idyllic cul-de-sac. Outraged, Judith and her neighbors vow to fight the project to the death.

Vivian isn't the only newcomer to the area. Frankie Buss, son of another of Vivian's ex-husbands, has arrived at Hillside Manor with his wife. Vivian was married to his father for what seemed like minutes before she inherited his vast wealth—and ran off with his other son. Now Frankie's dying for his share of the pot of gold.

Vivian's got more than one mortal enemy—but which one ended up dead in her back yard? If she wants her home sweet home to stay happy, Judith will have to find out.

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Fresh Pick | POPPY DONE TO DEATH by Charlaine Harris

Aurora Teagarden Mysteries, #8

July 2009
On Sale: July 7, 2009
Featuring: Aurora Teagarden
288 pages
ISBN: 042522807X
EAN: 9780425228074
Mass Market Paperback (reprint)
$7.99

Mystery Amateur Sleuth

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Poppy Done To Death
by Charlaine Harris

A “DELIGHTFUL” (LIBRARY JOURNAL) Aurora Teagarden mystery

From the New York Times bestselling author of Last Scene Alive and the Sookie Stackhouse novels.

Not just any woman in Lawrenceton, Georgia, gets to be a member of the Uppity Women Book Club. But Roe’s stepsister-in-law Poppy has climbed her way up the waiting list of the group—only to die on the day she’s supposed to be inducted.

Sordid stories of infidelity in Poppy’s marriage lead to a rash of suspects, and Roe begins to question her own heart. But her passion for the truth will drive her on—into the path of the cold-blooded killer.

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Fresh Pick | ELVIS AND THE GRATEFUL DEAD by Peggy Webb

Southern Cousins

October 2009
On Sale: October 1, 2009
304 pages
ISBN: 0758225911
EAN: 9780758225917
Hardcover
$22.00
ystery Amateur Sleuth
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Elvis And The Grateful Dead by Peggy Webb

Every year, a hip-shaking herd of Elvis impersonators descends upon the King's birthplace of Tupelo, Mississippi, for the annual Elvis festival. Usually the main attractions are lot of sequined jumpsuits and even more off-key singing, but this year something much more deadly has the town all shook up…

When the first Elvis impersonator is found slumped over his piano, a heart attack seems the likely suspect. But when a second keels over mid-swagger at Callie Valentine Jones's party, suspicious minds begin to wonder if something foul is afoot. Because everyone knows two dead Elvis impersonators add up to only one thing: murder.

As it turns out, Callie's cousin Lovie-a 190-pound bombshell who's had more lovers than the King had hit records-turns out to be suspect #1. Callie knows she's innocent but to prove it, she and Lovie will have to find out who the real killer is. Could it be Texas Elvis, who's sworn to out-swivel his rivals? Maybe the female Elvis from Australia, with the fake sideburns? Or one of the endlessly bickering officers of the fan club?

It's a mystery fit for a King, and with a little help from Callie's hunk-a-burnin' love ex Jack, and her talented hound dog Elvis-who's convinced he's the true reincarnation of the King-Callie and Lovie are determined to have the killer singing Jailhouse Rock. But they need to move fast and be ready for the killer's next move, because their chance may be now…or never!

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Fresh Pick | MAMA RIDES SHOTGUN by Deborah Sharp

Mace Bauer #2

July 2009
On Sale: July 1, 2009
336 pages
ISBN: 0738713309
EAN: 9780738713304
Paperback
$14.95

Mystery Amateur Sleuth

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Mama Rides Shotgun
by Deborah Sharp

Mama's fixin' to marry husband number five. But beforeshe does, she convinces daughter Mace to saddle up for somecountry-gal bonding on the Florida Cracker Trail. Thesix-day ride is going fine until wealthy rancher LawtonBramble keels over in his Cow Hunter Chili.

Aone-time beau of Mama's, Lawton Bramble had a bad ticker andtons of enemies. Mace has her doubts about natural causes,along with a long list of suspects who might have "spiced"the cattleman's chili. Mace's worried sisters Maddie andMarty join the ride, as does her sexy ex-beau, DetectiveCarlos Martinez. With—or despite—their help, Mace isdetermined to corral this killer.

. . . looks like the gang's all here and up to their knees in murder and mayhem.

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