Showing results by narrator "Melissa Durbin" in All Categories

When two victims are found dead in different vacation houses on the lake, an idyllic Midwestern retreat becomes a nightmare. The local politicians are soon in a panic—and for May, the pressure is on. But something isn’t adding up about this case—and the answer may be right in the open.

When a 40th birthday bash for a rich wife gets way out of hand, she wakes up with her best friend’s husband sleeping beside her - dead. Looking at life in a Bahamian jail for murder, she turns to Ruby for the help she desperately needs. Ruby knows what it feels like to be set up. She also knows what it’s like to be played. Is this woman telling the truth?

The Scarlet Letter is generally considered to be Nathaniel Hawthorne’s masterpiece. Set in 17th-century Boston, it follows the plight of Hester Prynne, a young woman who bears a child out of wedlock, refuses to name the father, and is condemned to wear a scarlet "A" for the rest of her life. With The Scarlet Letter, Hawthorne reaches back to America’s Puritan roots to probe themes of lust, sin, guilt, and redemption. This Essential Classics edition includes a new introduction by Professor Vivian Heller, PhD, in literature and modern studies from Yale University.

From number one best-selling mystery and suspense author Blake Pierce comes a gripping new series: May Moore, 29, an average Midwestern woman and deputy sheriff, has always lived in the shadow of her older brilliant FBI agent sister. Yet the sisters are united by the cold case of their missing younger sister—and when an eerily similar serial killer strikes in May’s quiet Minnesota lakeside town, it is May’s turn to prove herself, to try to outshine her sister and the FBI, and, in this action-packed thriller, to outwit and hunt down a diabolical killer before he strikes again.

Colonel Fitzwilliam should have been happy facing retirement. No more Napoleon, no more tromping the Continent, and his distant cousin had unexpectedly left him an estate. What was more, two of his favorite people, Darcy and Elizabeth, were travelling with him to visit his new home. But the colonel wasn’t happy, not when he was forced to watch Darcy exchanging enamored glances with his wife. No, he wanted to pitch his cousin out the window. It didn’t help when Darcy kept lecturing him on the joys of wedded life - as if women like Elizabeth Darcy grew on every tree.

Dr. Rayne Stevens has spent her entire life working toward following in her father’s footsteps and standing by his side in his medical clinic. Now that he has retired, she is the sole practitioner and is proud of what she’s accomplished, especially with the disdain she’s had to deal with due to being a woman in her chosen profession. After a tragedy puts Lord Sterling into an emotional spin that results in years of dissipation, he believes he has reached his lowest point when he turns up unconscious on Dr. Steven’s doorsteps after being dumped there by his friends.

Her entire family was wiped out by influenza, leaving her alone in the world. Then, she was unfairly fired from the job that was her sole support, which led to her being kidnapped and sold to a brothel. Now that she's free, she is ready to move on with her life, but the anger still festers that no one paid the price for kidnapping her.

Mary goes to the library looking for escape, not love. With three daughters married in a single year, one would think that Mrs. Bennet’s matchmaking ploys would diminish. One would be wrong. Very wrong. To avoid her mother’s affectionate arts, Mary takes refuge at Clarke’s library. There, in the reading room, she can forget the trials of Longbourn, lost in the pages of her favorite books. The strategy works - surprisingly well in fact - until the morning a tall, handsome stranger wants the same book she has already checked out - a text she needs to help a friend.

Having worked in a Las Vegas wedding chapel for many years, Bella Johnson thought she’d seen it all when it came to spur of the moment weddings. Until the morning she wakes up in bed with a handsome and charming Brit she’d met only the day before who claims they’re now married. Neither Bella nor Colin have any recollection of saying "I do", although their respective grandparents assure them they’ve done just that.

Miss Addie Mallory is finished with the husband hunt. After six London Seasons as a wallflower, she convinces her parents that she should be allowed to use her dowry to buy a bookstore in Bath where she can live her life the way she wants.

Wedding planner Eve Bennington has her Christmas all thought out, down to the last Mai Tai she plans to savor once she reaches Hawaii. But her plans quickly go awry when her very pregnant business partner insists that Eve do a favor for Santa's niece. The problem? Santa isn't real. Or so Eve believes until she and her ex-boyfriend Hunter find themselves on a sleigh pulled by eight shaggy reindeer.

Kate, 17, hates her life. An outcast in her own family. No one understands her. she is hated by her more popular and beautiful sister and despised by her controlling mother, who favors her sister over her. Kate’s only solace is her friends and her smarts. But even with that, her life seems destined for a dead-end, especially when her mother announces she will have to stay back from college to pay for her sister’s tuition. But one day, all that changes.

This is the true story of an orphaned girl who managed to survive in an unforgiving world. When she grew up, she married a matinee idol. Just as her hardships in life were ending, they began again when her husband assassinated Abraham Lincoln.

Natalie Shaw has been healing from a difficult marriage while living with her sister, Dr. Rayne Sterling, and her husband, Lord Edwin Sterling. Lord Alex St. John has spent his adult life being pushed by his mother find a wife. He had been betrothed and due to actions on the young lady's part, he broke off the engagement. Now he must attend his cousin's five day wedding celebration and expects to be harassed by all his female family members, with numerous women dragged before him for consideration.

May Moore, 29, an average Midwestern woman and deputy sheriff, has always lived in the shadow of her older, brilliant FBI agent sister. Yet, the sisters are united by the cold case of their missing younger sister—and when a new serial killer strikes in May’s quiet, Minnesota lakeside town, it is May’s turn to prove herself, to try to outshine her sister and the FBI, and hunt down a diabolical killer before he strikes again.

Elizabeth anxiously anticipates her new duties as mistress of Pemberley. Darcy is confident of her success, but she cannot bring herself to share his optimism. Unexpected guests unsettle all her plans and offer her the perfect Christmastide gift, shattered confidence. Can she and Darcy overcome their misunderstandings and salvage their first Christmastide together?

Under the guise of "Beto", 17-year-old Isabetta Bastian runs her father's successful shipping business. Her older brother sails their commercial galley between Venice and Lisbon, exporting luxury textiles and importing exotic spices obtained by the Portuguese. A heinous crime shatters her ideal life, and a risky attempt to save the family business ends in failure. Now, she is forced to live with the harsh consequences.

Investigating a noise in the attic of her historic home, Maggie Holliday encounters a handsome man in a Civil War uniform. He calls her "Isabel", seduces her in ways the shy academic had never dreamed of, then literally vanishes. With every fleeting visit, Maggie's mysterious lover, Ethan, takes her closer to the edge of ecstasy and madness. Is he really a ghost? Far from chilling her, his touch is incendiary; it all feels so real and so very, very good. And so very familiar.

When Ava McKenna left the neighborhood she grew up in, she never planned to look back. And for 10 years she didn’t. Not until Mateo Ortega, the handsome and charming boy next door, showed up to ask for her help. Mateo needed a favor - actually, he needed a pretend fiancée, and he thought Ava would be the perfect woman for the charade. Ava knew that she owed the Ortega family a favor, but when she looked into Mateo’s gorgeous brown eyes, she realized that repaying an old debt might jeopardize her heart.

After the debacle of the previous holiday season, Darcy and Elizabeth joyfully anticipate Christmastide 1813, Georgiana’s come out at Pemberley’s Twelfth Night Ball culminating the season. With months of planning behind the event, even Lady Matlock is satisfied and sends Colonel Fitzwilliam to represent the family, assuring there will be no repeat of the previous Christmastide.