Showing results by narrator "Meredith Mitchell" in All Categories

June, 1998. Paris' sticky summer heat is even more oppressive than usual as rowdy French football fans riot in anticipation of the World Cup. Private investigator Aimée Leduc has been trying to slow down her hectic lifestyle, take on only computer security assignments, and maybe try to learn how to cook (quelle catastrophe!). She's vowed not to let herself get involved in any more dangerous shenanigans - she's five months pregnant and has the baby's well-being to think about now, too.

When a pleasant afternoon's bicycling through Golden Gate Park with a friend ends with the revelation of threatening letters, followed by a gunshot in a mansion garden, Sabina Carpenter knows this is a case that demands her immediate and undivided attention. The questions her partner John Quincannon has to unravel are not difficult: Wrixton, a wealthy banker, has met his extortionist's first demand, but the order to pay another $5,000 is too much to face. The banker's real problem is something he doesn't want to reveal.

They say that behind every great man is a woman. Behind Edith Wharton, there was Anna Bahlmann - her governess turned literary secretary, and her mothering, nurturing friend. When, at the age of 45, Edith falls passionately in love with a dashing, younger journalist, Morton Fullerton, and is at last opened to the world of the sensual, it threatens everything certain in her life - but especially her abiding friendship with Anna.

In The Bughouse Affair, this first of a new series of lighthearted historical mysteries set in 1890s San Francisco, former Pinkerton operative Sabina Carpenter and her detective partner, ex-Secret Service agent John Quincannon, undertake what initially appear to be two unrelated investigations. Sabina's case involves the hunt for a ruthless lady "dip" who uses fiendish means to relieve her victims of their valuables at Chutes Amusement Park and other crowded places. Quincannon, meanwhile, is after a slippery housebreaker who targets the homes of wealthy residents.

On a sultry night in June 1897, Pyotr Ivanovich Balenov, a young Russian, and two young women transport a dead man through the narrow streets of a working-class neighborhood in northeastern Paris. They throw the body into the canal and the girls flee to the Latin Quarter to hide with one of the Russian's anarchist "comrades".

Can the true identity of the Sherlock Holmes imposter be revealed at last? Sabina Carpenter and John Quincannon are no stranger to mysteries. In the five years since they opened Carpenter and Quinncannon, Professional Detective Services, they have solved dozens, but one has eluded even them: Sherlock Holmes or, rather, the madman claiming his identity who keeps showing up with a frustrating - though admittedly useful - knack for solving difficult cases.

Georgia Waltz has things many people only dream of: A plush Manhattan apartment overlooking Central Park, a Hamptons beach house, valuable jewels and art, two bright daughters, and a husband she adores, even after decades of marriage. It's only when Ben suddenly drops dead from a massive coronary while training for the New York City Marathon that Georgia discovers her husband - a successful lawyer - has left them nearly penniless. Their wonderland was built on lies.

Dr. Susan J. Noonan provides people experiencing depression with strategies to take stock of their mental state, to chart a course toward emotional balance, and to track their progress on the journey to well-being. Dr. Noonan explains how to obtain care from professionals, outlines what medical options are available, and lists everyday things people can do to feel better. Integrating medicine, psychology, and holistic care while exploring the basics of mental health, she touches on diet, sleep habits, physical activity, and mindfulness techniques.

Marriage is hard work. After the fairy tale "I Dos" come chores, bills, fights, and plain weariness. Many couples are unsure how to fix their problems and wonder if their relationships really have what it takes to go the distance. (Hint: They do!) Luckily, relationship experts Jim and Elizabeth Carroll have created a program proven to mend marriages, revive relationships, and make the happily-ever-afters come true.

"What would you do if you knew you could not fail?" These words, attributed to First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt, have inspired tens of millions to face their fears and dare to follow their hearts. This can-do compendium is a veritable tool kit for transforming listeners from reticent to role model.... From the authors of Living Life as a Thank You, this volume presents true stories of ordinary people with extraordinary fortitude.

Ivy and Rose Adams may be sisters, but they're nothing alike. Rose, the eldest, is the responsible one, while Ivy is spirited and brazen. After the unexpected death of their father, the women are left to reconcile the estate, but they make a shocking discovery: not only has their father left them in financial ruin, but he has also bequeathed their beloved family house to a brother they never knew existed.

Paris, 1660: As the daughter of itinerant actors who once lit up the Parisian stages, Claudette always thought her future lay in the theater. But a series of chance encounters pulls her into the alluring orbit of the most beautiful woman in all of France: Athénaïs de Montespan, the mistress to Louis XIV and reigning "Shadow Queen". Impetuous by nature, Athénaïs wields a disconcerting amount of power - a fact that has ruffled many of the Sun King's key advisors. Needing someone to act as her eyes and ears, Athénaïs hires Claudette as a personal attendant. The young stagehand leaves the world of theater only to find that court is very much like a stage....

In the 1940s, Coden, Alabama, was a hideaway for movie stars - an isolated playground tucked among live oaks and placid bay waters where pleasure and vice could be indulged. By the summer of 1974 Coden’s glamour has faded, but it doesn’t bother Mimi Bosarge, who is just happy to have a job as a live-in tutor with the wealthiest family in town, the Hendersons. When the Hendersons generously open their arms to Annie, a troubled teenager with no recollection of her past, Mimi’s greatest concern is creating a curriculum for the family’s new ward.

A con man always has a bag of tricks, ready to fool the unsuspecting, and almost everyone is unsuspecting until they get taken. When that happens, they turn to Carpenter and Quincannon, Professional Detective Services, to recover their money and what’s left of their dignity, and perhaps even to save their lives.

Part memoir, part cultural exploration, this book covers the author’s journey as she grows up in an evangelical Christian home, leaves religion behind as a young adult, and goes on to raise children in a family outside of religious belief. Maria Polonchek weaves a personal story with up-to-date studies and philosophic exploration of what it means to raise secular children in an otherwise religious world.

Getting into college is just as hard as figuring out how to pay for it. In this original audiobook, prospective students and their parents will learn how to think like informed consumers as you make this very important - and costly - decision. National expert, Reyna Gobel, MBA, provides you with money-saving processes to determine which colleges are right for you, which ones offer the best financial-aid package, and how to plan for this expense.

A debutante's missing body, murder most foul, and weird spectrallights in the fog make for a thrilling gas light-era tale of mystery and detection. In 1895 San Francisco young debutantes don't commit suicide at festive parties, particularly not under the eye of Sabina Carpenter. But Virginia St. Ives evidently did, leaping from a foggy parapet in a shimmer of ghostly light.

Carpenter and Quincannon, Professional Detective Services is a fixture in San Francisco at the dawn of a new century. While the future is unclear, Sabina and John know one thing for certain: they will protect their clients from flimflammers, thieves, and murderers, and do whatever it takes to run these dregs of society into the arms of the law. Sometimes, that requires a subtle touch. Professor A. Vargas, self-styled medium extraordinaire, and his partner Annabelle, use guile and trickery to swindle bereaved men and women eager to contact the spirits of deceased loved ones.

Meet Julie Chavan. Julie is trying to rescue the legendary New York publishing house West 57. Everyone else in her life is trying to rescue Julie - her mother, her ex-fiancé, her ex-best friend, and even the ghost of her dead father. They all think they know what Julie needs. What Julie actually needs is a big best seller for West 57, but her debut of the year's hottest book is spinning wildly out of control.

The Barter is a ghost story and a love story, a riveting emotional tale that also explores motherhood and work and feminism. Set in present-day Texas, and at the turn of the 20th century, the novel follows two young mothers at the turning point of their lives. Bridget has given up her career as an attorney to raise her daughter, joining a cadre of stay-at-home mothers seeking fulfillment in a quiet suburb. But for Bridget, some crucial part of the exchange is absent: something she loves and needs.