December 5th, 2024
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December's delights are here! Thrilling tales, romance, and magic await you.

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Family secrets aren't just dangerous, they are deadly.


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A headstrong heiress and a noble gambler: wagers, intrigue, and irresistible romance.


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An immortal vampire, a relentless agent, and a past that refuses to stay buried.


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A PI protecting a determined daughter, a killer ready to strike again.


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Three homeless puppies, two lonely hearts, and a massive snowstorm.


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Two restless souls, one wild Christmas on the ranch�where sparks fly, and dreams ride free.


Excerpt of Heart Of A Stranger by Diana Palmer

Purchase


Soldier of Fortune\The Tender Stranger
HQN
January 2006
331 pages
ISBN: 0373771800
Paperback (reprint)
Add to Wish List

Romance Contemporary

Also by Diana Palmer:

Lawbreaker, December 2024
Hardcover / e-Book
Lawless, December 2024
Mass Market Paperback / e-Book (reprint)
True Blue & Sheriff in the Saddle, November 2024
Mass Market Paperback / e-Book (reprint)
Here Comes Cowboy Claus, October 2024
Mass Market Paperback / e-Book
A Lone Star Hero, October 2024
Mass Market Paperback / e-Book
Fire Brand, August 2024
Mass Market Paperback / e-Book
Rancher's Law, July 2024
Mass Market Paperback
The Loner, May 2024
Mass Market Paperback / e-Book
Nelson's Brand, May 2024
e-Book (reprint)
Canton's Protection, February 2024
Mass Market Paperback / e-Book
Fearless, February 2024
Mass Market Paperback
The Cowboy Code, January 2024
Mass Market Paperback / e-Book (reprint)
Wyoming Proud, November 2023
Mass Market Paperback / e-Book
After Midnight, October 2023
e-Book (reprint)
Renegade, September 2023
Mass Market Paperback / e-Book
Texas Tough, August 2023
Mass Market Paperback / e-Book
He's My Cowboy, July 2023
Paperback / e-Book
Texas Tycoon & Hidden Pleasures, July 2023
Mass Market Paperback / e-Book
The Loner, May 2023
Hardcover / e-Book
Wrangling the Rancher, April 2023
Mass Market Paperback / e-Book (reprint)
Untamed, February 2023
Mass Market Paperback / e-Book
Colorado Country, December 2022
Trade Paperback / e-Book
Wyoming Homecoming, November 2022
Mass Market Paperback / e-Book
Christmas Eve Cowboy, October 2022
Mass Market Paperback
Kiss Me, Cowboy, April 2022
Mass Market Paperback / e-Book
A Man for All Seasons, March 2022
Hardcover / e-Book
Lone Star Winter, March 2022
Hardcover / e-Book
Merciless, September 2021
e-Book
Dangerous, August 2021
e-Book
Diana Palmer 2in1 Anthology, August 2021
Mass Market Paperback
Notorious, June 2021
Hardcover / e-Book
Notorious, June 2021
Hardcover / e-Book
Cowboy True, June 2021
Mass Market Paperback
Lone Wolf, May 2021
Mass Market Paperback / e-Book
A Rancher's Kiss, May 2021
Mass Market Paperback
A Love Like This, April 2021
Mass Market Paperback / e-Book (reprint)
Wyoming True, November 2020
Mass Market Paperback / e-Book
Texas Proud, October 2020
Mass Market Paperback / e-Book
Christmas Kisses with My Cowboy, October 2020
Mass Market Paperback / e-Book
Sutton's Way & The Rancher's Baby, September 2020
e-Book
Wyoming Heart, October 2019
Mass Market Paperback / e-Book
For Now and Forever, August 2019
Mass Market Paperback
Unleashed, July 2019
Hardcover / e-Book
Unbridled, June 2019
Mass Market Paperback / e-Book (reprint)
Marrying My Cowboy, April 2019
Mass Market Paperback / e-Book
Any Man of Mine, February 2019
Mass Market Paperback / e-Book (reprint)
Amelia, December 2018
e-Book (reprint)
Wyoming Legend, November 2018
Mass Market Paperback / e-Book
Escapade, September 2018
Mass Market Paperback / e-Book
Unbridled, July 2018
Hardcover / e-Book
Undaunted, June 2018
Mass Market Paperback / e-Book
The Pursuit, April 2018
Mass Market Paperback / e-Book
All That Glitters, February 2018
Mass Market Paperback / e-Book
Wyoming Winter, November 2017
Mass Market Paperback / e-Book
Christmas with My Cowboy, October 2017
Mass Market Paperback / e-Book
Tangled Destinies, September 2017
Mass Market Paperback / e-Book
Undaunted, July 2017
Hardcover / e-Book
Defender, June 2017
Mass Market Paperback / e-Book
The Rescue, April 2017
Mass Market Paperback / e-Book
Wyoming Brave, January 2017
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Fire Brand, September 2016
Hardcover / e-Book
Defender, July 2016
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Untamed, June 2016
Mass Market Paperback
Ranchers and Cowboys Collection, February 2016
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Invictus, December 2015
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Wyoming Rugged, December 2015
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Untamed, July 2015
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Long, Tall Texans Volume 3: Ethan & Connal, December 2014
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The Recruit, December 2014
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Wyoming Strong, November 2014
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A Husband for Christmas, October 2014
Hardcover / e-Book (reprint)
Invincible, August 2014
Hardcover / e-Book
Lawless, April 2014
Paperback / e-Book (reprint)
Wyoming Bold, October 2013
Mass Market Paperback / e-Book
White Christmas, September 2013
Hardcover
The Morcai Battalion, July 2013
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The Rancher, November 2012
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Wyoming Fierce, November 2012
Paperback / e-Book
Silver Bells, October 2012
Hardcover
Courageous, July 2012
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Wyoming Tough, November 2011
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Trilby, September 2011
Paperback
Montana Mavericks Weddings, September 2011
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Nelson's Brand, August 2011
Paperback (reprint)
Nora, July 2011
Paperback
Merciless, July 2011
Hardcover
Dangerous, June 2011
Paperback
Regan's Pride, May 2011
Paperback
Emmett, May 2011
Paperback
Donavan, May 2011
Paperback
Lacy, May 2011
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Cattleman's Pride, May 2011
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Circle Of Gold, May 2011
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The Burke Man, May 2011
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Evan, April 2011
Paperback (reprint)
Harden, April 2011
Paperback (reprint)
Connal, April 2011
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Ethan, April 2011
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Tyler, April 2011
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Calhoun, April 2011
Paperback (reprint)
Callaghan's Bride, April 2011
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Renegade, February 2011
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Will Of Steel & Reluctant Father, December 2010
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Heartless, June 2010
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Dangerous, June 2010
Hardcover
More Than Words, March 2010
Mass Market Paperback (reprint)
The Best Is Yet To Come/Maternity Bride, March 2010
Mass Market Paperback (reprint)
Desperado, February 2010
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Rogue Stallion, January 2010
Mass Market Paperback (reprint)
Rogue Stallion, January 2010
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The Winter Man, October 2009
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The Cowboy And The Lady (Famous Firsts), September 2009
Mass Market Paperback
Fearless, May 2009
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Diamond In The Rough, April 2009
Mass Market Paperback (reprint)
Her Kind Of Hero: The Last Mercenary\matt Caldwell: Texas Tycoon, February 2009
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Nora, December 2008
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Big Sky Winter, October 2008
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Heart Of Stone, September 2008
Mass Market Paperback
Fearless, June 2008
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Lawman, May 2008
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Heartbreaker, May 2008
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Carrera's Bride, May 2008
Paperback (reprint)
Boss Man, May 2008
Paperback (reprint)
Blind Promises, April 2008
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Iron Cowboy, March 2008
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The Morcai Battalion, December 2007
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Long, Tall Texan Legacy, November 2007
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Winter Roses, November 2007
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Winter Roses, November 2007
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Trilby, October 2007
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Lawman, June 2007
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Outsider, May 2007
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Hard To Handle, March 2007
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Lacy, December 2006
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Heart of Winter, November 2006
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Heartbreaker, September 2006
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Outsider, July 2006
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Before Sunrise, July 2006
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A Matter Of Trust, January 2006
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Bound by Honor, January 2006
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Second Chances, January 2006
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Heart Of A Stranger, January 2006
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Night Fever, December 2005
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Before Sunrise, June 2005
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Renegade, August 2004
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Lawless, June 2004
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Lone Star Christmas ... And Other Gifts, October 1999
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Excerpt of Heart Of A Stranger by Diana Palmer

GABBY WAS WORRIED about J.D. It wasn't anything she could put her finger on exactly. He still roared around the office, slamming things down on his desk when he couldn't find notes or reminders he'd scribbled on envelopes or old business cards. He glared at Gabby when she didn't bring his coffee on the stroke of nine o'clock. And there were the usual missing files, for which she was to blame of course, and the incessant phone calls that interrupted his concentration. There was still the heavy scowl on his broad face, and the angry glitter in his brown eyes. But that morning he'd been pacing around his office, smoking like a furnace. And that was unusual. Because J.D. had given up smoking years before, even before she had come to work for the law firm of Brettman and Dice.

She still couldn't figure out what had set him off. She'd put a long-distance call through to him earlier, one that sounded like it came from overseas. The caller had sounded suspiciously like Roberto, his sister Martina's husband, from Sicily. Soon afterward, there had been a flurry of outgoing calls. Now it was silent, except for the soft sounds the computer made as Gabby finished the last letter J.D. had dictated.

She propped her chin on her hands and stared at the door with curious green eyes. Her long, dark hair was piled high on her head, to keep it out of her way when she worked, and loose strands of it curled softly around her face, giving her an even more elfin look than usual. She was wearing a green dress that flattered her graceful curves. But J.D. wouldn't notice her if she walked through the office naked. He'd said when he hired her that he'd robbed the cradle. And he hadn't smiled when he said it. Although she was twenty-three now, he still made the most frustrating remarks about her extreme youth. She wondered wickedly what J.D. would say if she applied for Medicare in his name. Nobody knew how old he was. Probably somewhere around forty; those hard lines in his face hadn't come from nowhere.

He was one of the most famous criminal lawyers in Chicago. He made waves. He ground up hostile witnesses like so much sausage meat. But before his entry into the profession five years earlier, nothing was known about him. He'd worked as a laborer by day and attended law school by night. He'd worked his way up the ladder quickly and efficiently with the help of a devastating intelligence that seemed to feed on challenge.

He had no family except for a married sister in Palermo, Sicily, and no close friends. He allowed no one to really know him. Not his associate Richard Dice, not Gabby. He lived alone and mostly worked alone, except for the few times when he needed some information that only a woman could get, or when he had to have Gabby along as a cover. She'd gone with him to meet accused killers in warehouses at midnight and down to the waterfront in the wee hours of the morning to meet a ship carrying a potential witness.

It was an exciting life, and thank God her mother back in Lytle, Texas, didn't know exactly how exciting it was. Gabby had come to Chicago when she was twenty; she'd had to fight for days to get her mother to agree to the wild idea, to let her work for a distant cousin. The distant cousin had died quite suddenly and, simultaneously, J.D. had advertised for an executive secretary. When she applied, it had taken J.D. only five minutes to hire her. That had been two years earlier, and she'd never regretted the impulse that had led her to his office.

Just working for him was something of a feather in Gabby's cap. The other secretaries in the building were forever pumping her for information about her attractive and famous boss. But Gabby was as secretive as he was. It was why she'd lasted so long as his secretary. He trusted her as he trusted no one else.

She was a paralegal now, having taken night courses at a local college to earn the title. She did far more than just type letters and run off copies on the copier. The office had added a computer system. She ran that, and did legwork for her boss, and frequently traveled with him when the job warranted it.

While she was brooding, the door opened suddenly. J.D. came through it like a locomotive, so vibrant and superbly masculine that she imagined most men would step aside for him out of pure instinct. His partner Richard Dice was on his heels, raging as he followed.

"Will you be reasonable, J.D.!" the younger man argued, his lean hands waving wildly, his red hair almost standing on end around his thin face. "It's a job for the police! What can you do?"

J.D. didn't even look at him. He paused at Gabby's desk, an expression on his face that she'd never seen before. Involuntarily, she studied the broad face with its olive complexion and deep-set eyes. He had the thickest, blackest eyelashes she'd ever seen. His hair was just as thick and had deep waves in it, threaded with pure silver. It was the faint scars on his face that aged him, but she'd never quite had the bravado to ask where and how he'd gotten them. It must have been some kind of man who put them there. J.D. was built like a tank.

"Pack a bag," he told Gabby, in a tone too black to invite questions. "Be back here in an hour. Is your passport in order?"

She blinked. Even for J.D., this was fast shuffling. "Uh, yes…."

"Bring lightweight things, it'll be hot where we're going. Lots of jeans and loose shirts, a sweater, some boots, and a lot of socks." He continued nonstop. "Bring that third- class radio license you hold. Aren't you kin to someone at the State Department? That might come in handy."

Her mind was whirling. "J.D., what's going…?" she began.

"You can't do this," Dick was continuing doggedly, and J.D. was just ignoring him.

"Dick, you'll have to handle my case load until I get back," he pressed on in a voice that sounded like thunder rumbling. "Get Charlie Bass to help you if you run into any snags. I don't know exactly when we'll be back."

"J.D., will you listen?"

"I've got to pack a few things," J.D. said curtly. "Call the agency, Gabby, and get Dick a temporary secretary. And be back here in exactly one hour."

The door slammed behind him. Dick cursed roundly and rammed his hands into his pockets.

"What," Gabby asked, "is going on? Will somebody please tell me where I'm going with my passport? Do I have a choice?"

"Slow down and I'll tell you what little I know." Dick sighed angrily. He perched himself on her desk. "You know that J.D.'s sister is married to that Italian businessman who made a fortune in shipping and lives in Palermo, Sicily?"

She nodded. "And you know that kidnapping is becoming a fast method of funding for revolutionary groups?" he continued.

She felt herself going pale. "They got his brother-inlaw?"

"No. They got his sister when she went alone on a shopping trip to Rome."

Excerpt from Heart Of A Stranger by Diana Palmer
All rights reserved by publisher and author

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