WALKING INTO MURDER (The Professor Laura Morland Mystery Series)
Who would believe that an innocent walking trip in the English Cotswolds would include not just one murder but three, and even more hair-raising adventures? The intrepid American heroine of WALKING INTO MURDER, professor Laura Morland, would have scoffed at the idea. All she wanted was a few days of peace to recover from a humiliating (if not entirely unwelcome) divorce and a chance to test her new independence. That she certainly does; peace is another matter.
WALKING INTO MURDER is a light-hearted mystery with a delightful setting, an intriguing plot and distinctive characters headed by Laura Morland, a wonderfully appealing new amateur detective. It is part traditional English mystery, part middle-aged female sleuth of independent spirit who solves mysteries that confound the experts, part primer on the the battle between the sexes since Laura is an expert on gender, part rousing adventure. Laura is hardly Miss Marple - she is younger, more active, attractive, even romantically inclined, but the settings and characters are very British indeed.
It's a wonderful read: spine-tingling escapes and confrontations on deserted moors contrast with peaceful interludes in England's quaintest villages and most verdant countryside - and with some near-comic scenes of Laura's inept but ultimately successful efforts to track down the villains even as she eludes their clutches. Mask-making, amateur theatrics, underground tunnels and an escape from a boarded-up cottage are all part of the action.
The adventure begins when Laura is invited to teach a seminar on gender issues in London. First she decides to embark on a solo walking trip on the Cotswold Way. The walk soon takes stormy turns. A man plummets out of the thick mist, hauls her into an embrace and begs her to masquerade as his wife. Escorted at gunpoint by an aristocratic Englishman to an ancient manor house, she is confronted by a roomful of eccentrics, any of whom could be the killer of the body she finds in a bedroom - a body that perversely keeps changing its identity. In fact, everyone in in this bizarre household seems to have multiple identities and multiple motivations, making it exceedingly difficult to determine who is telling the truth and even harder to ascertain who is on Laura's side.
Curiosity is Laura's dominant trait and she delves into the mystery with possibly unwise abandon. She is determined to unmask the murderer - and to get the best of her alternately charming and irritating would-be husband, to whom she is undeniably attracted. She soon discovers that her fund of scholarly knowledge about male/female relationships is of little help in dealing with a man who refuses to answer her questions, appears to be having a steamy affair with the titled Lady of the house, and who increasingly seems the most likely candidate for murderer. Complicating matters further is his fraught relationship with Laura's able assistant in crime-detection, a fiery, free-spirited runaway who lives in the woods.
As Laura probes deeper, the efforts of the villains to silence her become more frantic and her strategies to evade them more ingenious. With total disregard for the escalating danger, she vows to outwit them all. And she does. In a final dramatic - and totally unexpected - scene, she zeroes in on the killer, or it might be more accurate to say the murderer zeroes in on her.
Joan Dahr Lambert is the author of CIRCLES OF STONE, a prehistoric novel told through the eyes of three women who became leaders of their tribes, and published by Simon & Schuster in 1997 & 1999. Lambert has written two other prehistoric novels, a novel about wolves for children and a novella, as well as the first two books in the Laura Morland series. The second, BABES IN THE BATHS, will be out soon. Like may published authors, she has decided to try self-publishing. All of her books will soon appear on Kindle and on other on-line venues.
Categories: Romance books reviews Tags: into, Laura, Morland, Murder, Mystery, Professor, Series), The, WALKING
Montana, Mistletoe, Marriage
Snowbound Cowboy by Patricia Thayer
Lone wolf Boone Gifford has spent years standing on the outside. Now he's looking at Christmas--through the window of beautiful Amelia's home. The snow falls hard--the stranded family needs help. It's time for the cowboy to step inside.
A Bride for Rocking H Ranch by Donna Alward
Kelley is rancher, housekeeper, doting sister to Amelia, granddaughter and aunt--and the stress of preparing the perfect Christmas at Rocking H ranch is getting to her. But distraction soon arrives in the form of delectable chef Mack Dennison....
Categories: Romance books reviews Tags: Marriage, Mistletoe, Montana
Wherever You Are: My Love Will Find You
. . . I wanted you more than you’ll ever know,
so I sent love to follow wherever you go. . . .
Love is the greatest gift we have to give our children. It’s the one thing they can carry with them each and every day.
If love could take shape it might look something like these heartfelt words and images from the inimitable Nancy Tillman. Here is a book to share with your loved ones, no matter how near or far, young or old, they are.
Savor the Moment
New Love takes the cake in the third novel in Nora Roberts's new Bride Quartet-in a stunning French flap edition
Wedding baker Laurel McBane is surrounded by romance working at Vows wedding planning company with her best friends Parker, Emma, and Mac. But she's too low-key to appreciate all the luxuries that their clients seem to long for. What she does appreciate is a strong, intelligent man, a man just like Parker's older brother Delaney, on whom she's had a mega-crush since childhood.
But some infatuations last longer than others, and Laurel is convinced that the Ivy League lawyer is still out of her reach. Plus, Del is too protective of Laurel to ever cross the line with her-or so she thinks. When Laurel's quicksilver moods get the better of her-leading to an angry, hot, all-together mind-blowing kiss with Del-she'll have to quiet the doubts in her mind to turn a moment of passion into forever...
Categories: Romance books reviews Tags: Moment, Savor, The
Go Fetch: Magnus Pack, Book 2
How much trouble can one small female be to a modern-day shapeshifting Viking? Well...it really depends on local gun laws.
Conall Víga-Feilan, direct descendent of Viking shifters, never thought he’d meet a female strong enough to be his mate. He especially didn’t think a short, viper-tongued human would ever fit the bill. But Miki Kendrick isn’t some average human. With an IQ off the charts and a special skill with weapons of all kinds, Miki brings the big blond pooch to his knees-and keeps him there.
Miki’s way too smart to ever believe in love and she knows a guy like Conall could only want one thing from her. But with the Pack’s enemies on her tail and a few days stuck alone with the one man who makes her absolutely wild, Miki is about to discover how persistent one Viking wolf can be.
Warning, this title contains the following: explicit sex, graphic language, and strong violence.
The Playbook: Suit up. Score chicks. Be awesome.
Since the dawn of history man has searched for the answer to the most fundamental of questions: “Why am I here . . . not banging chicks?” The search is over. Now, with the help of The Playbook, you’ll be able to approach any beautiful woman, discover her innermost passion, and use that to trick her into sleeping with you. You’ll master more than 75 seduction techniques, developed by pickup guru and all-around good guy Barney Stinson, guaranteed to turn you into a bona fide ladies’ man.
Scott Pilgrim Volume 5: Scott Pilgrim vs The Universe
Scott Pilgrim just turned 24, and things couldn't possibly be better! This means things are about to get infinitely worse. Suddenly, TWO of Ramona's evil ex-boyfriends are in town, and they're playing dirty. His band is in turmoil, and his own exes aren't making things any easier. And what's up with Ramona, anyway? She's been acting kinda weird ever since they moved in together. It's the SECOND LAST VOLUME of SCOTT PILGRIM: Scott's precious little life is coming back around to bite him in the butt, and it may not be pretty!
Voyager
Voyager (Outlander)
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Product Description
BONUS: This edition contains an excerpt from Diana Gabaldon's Drums of Autumn. From the author of the breathtaking bestsellers Outlander and Dragonfly in Amber, the extraordinary saga continues. Their passionate encounter happened long ago by whatever measurement Claire Randall took. Two decades before, she had traveled back in time and into the arms of a gallant eighteenth-century Scot named Jamie Fraser. Then she returned to her own century to bear his child, believing him dead in the tragic battle of Culloden. Yet his memory has never lessened its hold on her... and her body still cries out for him in her dreams. Then Claire discovers that Jamie survived. Torn between returning to him and staying with their daughter in her own era, Claire must choose her destiny. And as time and space come full circle, she must find the courage to face the passion and pain awaiting her...the deadly intrigues raging in a divided Scotland... and the daring voyage into the dark unknown that can reunite—or forever doom—her timeless love.
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Categories: Romance books reviews Tags: Voyager
All in Time
Part of The Hussies series Sara's life is filled with mysteries. Why did her parents abandon her as a baby? What's behind the baffling blackouts she suffers and the frightening images she creates while she's out? Who is the strange woman claiming to hold the answers, and why does she keep calling Sara a Hussy?Morgan's got a few mysteries of his own. What was his father going to give him on the day he died — the gift he said would change Morgan's life? Who is this bewitching woman who keeps passing out and creating pictures of his past and future — and why was she sent to save his life?All they both know from the moment they meet is that the bond between them is stronger — and more passionate — than anything either has ever known. And that fate has brought them together for a very important reason. If only they knew what it was.
Categories: Romance books reviews Tags: All, In, TIME