Showing results by author "C.A.L." in All Categories

Trapped in her marriage to Rex, a violent and controlling man, Ava has one bright spot in her life: her online tutoring sessions with Ali. He is thousands of miles away but wants very much to return to the United Kingdom. As Ava and Ali grow more intimate, Ava begins pouring her heart out about her miserable situation. Soon Ali is back in the country, and the pair become lovers. But when Ali makes a startling offer, Ava has a difficult decision to make.

A narcissistic professional photographer lived a dangerous double life as a serial killer. He'd focus his rage on prostitutes, mostly. It wasn't uncommon for him to bring them home then try to explain why they were there to his wife. Sexual urges met, either via rape or after paying for kinky sex, the killer would strangle his victims and dump their bodies in places he knew the police would eventually find them. The evil murderer needed the world to know that he was smarter than the police and women meant nothing to him but a necessary sexual inconvenience.

Whether known to a few special souls or all but Unknown since their publication, the tales in this volume will be Unfamiliar to all who claim kinship with Humankind. Listen and Lose yourself!

What does a gentlemen's club, mysterious men in black, a dead body, a broken down car with a lady in dire need, a heavily pregnant beauteous sheriff's deputy, and Miz Demetrice trying to unionize exotic dancers have in common? Why, it's Bubba Snoddy and the day things went south, yet again. Quite naturally, or unnaturally, there is a humdinger of a mystery, and Bubba is right in the middle of it.

Fear is universal—a shared human experience that provokes awe, curiosity and terror. It feeds our anxieties, elevating our heartbeats and driving the instinct to survive. But what are we afraid of—and why? Each story in this anthology seeks to answer that question, blurring the boundaries between horror and fantasy fiction.

Cherise wanted a quiet, normal life... something she had never had. After a traumatic loss, she decided she needed serenity, so she moved halfway across the world to the American states, to a beautiful, quaint village in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains. And there, with fresh air, tall trees, and lovely neighbors, she opened a little patisserie, and settled into a wonderful, normal life. Her family had already told her she couldn't run from her destiny. Turns out, they were right.

Defined by borders both physical and conceptual, the Roman city stood apart as a concentration of life and activity that was legally, economically, and ritually divided from its rural surroundings. Death was a key area of control, and tombs were relegated outside city walls from the Republican period through Late Antiquity. Given this separation, an unexpected phenomenon marked the Augustan and early Imperial periods: Roman cities developed suburbs, built-up areas beyond their boundaries, where the living and the dead came together in densely urban environments.  

One weekend. Three dates. Zero attachments. That was the deal. I don't date. I have a five-year plan, a law degree to finish, and exactly zero time for men. But my sister's getting married. And showing up to her wedding alone? Not an option. So I did what any reasonable, sleep-deprived, slightly desperate woman would do. I rented one. 1-800 CUPID. One weekend. Three dates. No feelings. Enter Dax. Tall. Gorgeous. Smart in a way that makes my stomach flip. And way too good at his job. The way he looks at me isn't in the contract. The way he kisses me definitely isn't. And falling for him? ...

Improve your body, improve your career: An executive fitness plan by experts from the Cooper Wellness Clinic Tom Monaghan, the founder of Domino's Pizza, runs four miles a day and spend 30 minutes on the Nautilus machine Dr. Thomas Frist Jr., CEO of Columbia/HCA Healthcare, uses time...

When obscure crime writer Ethelred Tressider vanishes, his dogged literary agent, Elsie Thirkettle, is soon on his trail. Finding him (in a ramshackle hotel in the French Loire) proves surprisingly easy. Bringing him home proves more difficult than expected - but (as Elsie observes) who would have predicted that, in a hotel full of stamp collectors, the guests would suddenly start murdering each other? One guest is found fatally stabbed, apparently the victim of an intruder.

Jane Hughes has a loving partner, a job in an animal sanctuary, and a tiny cottage in rural Wales. She's happier than she's ever been, but her life is a lie. Jane Hughes does not really exist. Five years earlier Jane and her then best friends went on holiday, but what should have been the trip of a lifetime rapidly descended into a nightmare that claimed the lives of two of the women.

She can't cook. He's a chef. Thanksgiving is in three weeks. Gillian Price teaches ballet by day and waits tables by night. She's the black sheep of her family, the one who picked pointe shoes over a corner office. So when her perfect older sister dares her to host Thanksgiving, Gillian says yes. Out loud. In front of witnesses. Oh no. Leo is the restaurant's head chef. Quiet. Intense. Built like a man who lifts cast iron for a living. He barely speaks to her… …until the night he catches her alone in his kitchen and feeds her a spoonful of something that changes everything. Now he wants...

When a body of a young girl is found floating in the local town pool in Connecticut, Detective Jeffery Westman of the Manchester Police Department is brought in to investigate. As more bodies begin to pile up and the case becomes a chase after a serial killer, Jeffery brings in his brother, former Iraqi War veteran and private investigator, Bruce Westman to assist and consult on the investigation.

Taking on a case that has been deemed un-chargeable, Special Victims Unit Detective Janssen pledges to find justice for a young female victim, never imagining what he would uncover in the path of his investigation.

She crashed through his fence. He crashed through every wall she'd ever built. One click this short, sweet, and steamy romance now! Felicity I raised my daughter alone. Built my business alone. Survived everything alone. I don't need to be rescued. But when my car ends up through a wooden fence in the middle of a storm, a tall, rugged cowboy on a white horse shows up anyway. Ransom Watt is patient, quiet, and sweet enough to eat. He's offering me a warm bed, a farmhouse kitchen, and space to grow my candy business. The only thing I'm not sure I can give him is the one thing he actually ...

Presley and Cooper are permanently back in Hunter's Hollow, where she is taking over her mother's flower shop, Petal Pushers. Her biggest concern is how little she knows about flowers. One day, as she walks through the town square to the Uptown Café, she finds the mayor's face planted in a bed of snapdragons, and he's not moving.

One dead wife is tragic. Two looks like murder… ________ 'Motherland meets Big Little Lies, It's Always the Husband is a totally addictive, up-all-night read. A masterclass in misdirection with clever twists and thrilling reveals right up until the final page. I loved it!' Claire Douglas...

Amidst the snow and icy wasteland, Earth has become a watery grave to many. Zargonnii warriors Finn and Blu search for any remaining human females. Luck abounds and six females are found struggling to survive. The moment his blazing red eyes settle onto Bethany Finn feels in his heart she is the one he wants to end his loneliness.

A one-night stand, two pink lines, and Sugar Hill’s most notorious spare heir. Accidental pregnancy · billionaire heir · forced proximity Chef Willa Langston has three rules: keep control, keep your distance, and never—ever—sleep with a client. One midnight slip-up with billionaire art dealer Rhys Beckett shatters all three. Six weeks later a busted pipe, a collapsed ceiling, and a positive pregnancy test leave Willa homeless, queasy, and desperate to stay off the Beckett gossip radar. Rhys has other ideas, starting with a key to his penthouse and ending with his name on the birth ...

I should have known something was wrong when my weird aunt arrived in town just as I started getting killer headaches. But how was I supposed to know that it was a sign of repressed magic? Or that an ancient witch had escaped her tomb and sent demons after me? Demons who cursed my mother. I wanted to stay with her, even if she wouldn’t wake, but I was sent to Ember Academy for Young Witches, instead. Somewhere the demons hopefully can’t get me.