Showing results by narrator "CSE Cooney" in All Categories

Originally meant to be brief and exceptional, solitary confinement in US prisons has become long-term and common. Prisoners spend 23 hours a day in featureless cells, with no visitors or human contact for years on end, and they are held entirely at administrators' discretion. Keramet Reiter tells the history of one "supermax", California's Pelican Bay State Prison, whose extreme conditions recently sparked a statewide hunger strike by 30,000 prisoners.

Just married, Lee and her husband, Detective Sergeant Pete Mondello, are settling into their new home when Lee is dubbed WICH-TV's new "Historical Documentary Chief Executive." Her first subject is the brand-new Salem International Museum, slated to be a location for traveling blockbuster exhibits, starting with "Seafaring New England." From research to collecting artifacts of Salem's long-ago days as a shipping capital, the project is a challenge—but when the driver of a truckload of antiquities turns up dead under a pile of fall leaves, it's not quite the kind of challenge Lee expected.

Desperate to find a director for their annual production, the Fox Hollow Players have a stroke of luck when Shell McMillan's actress mother lands a prominent theater director for the job. He's more gruff and demanding than the small-town cast and crew are used to, but his soft side for animals quickly endears him to pet shop owner Shell. Persuading her to let him use a shed on her property where he can work in peace, Shell is horrified when she finds his dead body there. And with obvious signs of foul play, she can't help but investigate the murder.

The challenges we face can be difficult even to think about. Climate change, the depletion of oil, economic upheaval, and mass extinction together create a planetary emergency of overwhelming proportions. Active Hope shows us how to strengthen our capacity to face this crisis so that we can respond with unexpected resilience and creative power

Daisy's worried one of her employees at Daisy's Tea Garden may be in a spot of trouble. Lately Karina's been loading up on soup and second-day baked goods at the end of her shift - and while the shop's scrumptious treats may be hard to resist, Daisy suspects there's more going on, especially since Karina has been seen hanging out in a rundown part of Willow Creek. Planning her own daughter's wedding is enough to keep her busy, but Daisy can't help feeling a protective maternal instinct - and an instinct to investigate.

Restaurant critic Derek Schumaker, notorious for his bitter reviews, is about to visit Daisy's Tea Garden, and Daisy and Aunt Iris are simmering with anxiety. A bad word from the culinary curmudgeon could really hurt their business, but Daisy tries to stay confident. After all, how can he resist her cucumber sandwiches with pimento spread—not to mention the cheesy cauliflower soup and strawberry walnut salad?

Carol J. Perry presents Book 5 in the Haunted Haven Mystery series.

The faculty of Willow Creek High School are having a get-together after the spring concert with refreshments provided, courtesy of Daisy's Tea Garden. Oolong tea and chocolate biscuits are just what the staff needs to help them unwind from Althea Higgins's demanding curriculum. Her lessons on such controversial subjects as school uniforms and under qualified substitute teachers are earning her an F from her colleagues. But a failing grade was preferable to Althea falling victim to foul play.

Celebrated glass-artist Dennis Lansing is returning to St. Petersburg, Florida, for an exhibit at the world-renowned Salvador Dali Museum. His unique style of embedding document images in his art is at the vanguard of contemporary glasswork. But as Savannah's first boyfriend and a former apprentice to her father, Dennis' return home has her reflecting on the past - a trip down memory lane that takes a dark turn when Dennis is found murdered at the museum with an old reference letter from her father in his pocket.

In the early 20th century over 200 of New York's most glamorous socialites joined the suffrage movement. Their names - Astor, Belmont, Rockefeller, Tiffany, Vanderbilt, Whitney, and the like - carried enormous public value. These women were the media darlings of their day because of the extravagance of their costume balls and the opulence of the French couture clothes, and they leveraged their social celebrity for political power, turning women's right to vote into a fashionable cause.

The staff at Salem, Massachusetts's local station, WICH-TV, is looking forward to the wedding of their program director, Lee Barrett. But when Lee heads off on her Maine honeymoon, she'll be haunted by the ghosts of her own past. Lee and Detective Sergeant Pete Mondello are finally tying the knot - and Lee is tying up loose ends before the big day. After the celebration, complete with a cake made by the station magician, there should be time to relax—but the Maine island happens to be near the site of the crash that killed Lee's parents, a mystery she's never been able to solve.

It's the dog days of summer in St. Petersburg, Florida, and Webb's Glass Shop proprietor Savannah Webb has an eco-friendly plan to help locals escape the heat - a recyclable bottle-crafting workshop taught by reticent store manager Amanda Blake. Turns out, the class is a bigger smash than expected, thanks in part to a pair of staggeringly old bottles brought in by snorkeler Martin Lane. Linked to a storied pirate shipwreck, the relics definitely pique Savannah's interest. But intrigue turns to shock when Martin's lifeless body washes ashore the next morning.

Hannah Yoder loves her quiet life on the banks of the Conestoga Creek. In 1842, this corner of Lancaster County is settled and peaceful - yet problems lurk beneath the placid façade. Hannah's father worries about the spread of liberal ideas from their Mennonite and Brethren neighbors. And Hannah blames herself for a tragedy that struck their home nine years ago. She strives to be the one person who can bind the threads of her family together in spite of her mother's ongoing depression and her sister's rejection of their family. But her world is threatening to unravel.

Daisy's orange pekoe is flowing at a fundraiser - and she's also made a new friend, Piper, a young woman whose hopes for motherhood were dashed by a foul-up at a fertility clinic. But before they can settle into a long conversation, the event is disrupted by masked protestors who object to building a shelter in Willow Creek. Among the angry crowd is Eli - who left his Amish community some time ago, with help from a lawyer named Hiram.

You probably don't realize that your supermarket is filled with foods that have a military origin: canned goods, packaged deli meats, TV dinners, cling wrap, energy bars…the list is almost endless. In fact, there's a watered-down combat ration lurking in practically every bag, box, can, bottle, jar, and carton Americans buy. Anastacia Marx de Salcedo shows how the Department of Defense Combat Feeding Directorate plans, funds, and spreads the food science that enables it to produce cheap, imperishable rations.

Karen Rose Smith presents Book 10 in the Daisy's Tea Garden Mystery series.

Working for Grimm isn't Marissa Locks' dream job. But when your parents trade you to a fairy godfather for a miracle, you don't have many career options. To pay off her parents' debt and earn her freedom, Marissa must do whatever Grimm asks, no matter what fairy-tale fiasco she's called on to deal with.

Pet shop owner Shell McMillan is thrilled to see everyone in Fox Hollow flocking to the local animal shelter's fundraiser, where they can get their old keepsakes and collectibles appraised and maybe even sell them for a tidy sum. But the event has drawn some shady characters as well, including Pete Martin, who seems determined to get his hands on a beat-up old jewelry box at any cost. Then Martin is found murdered, and Shell has to go from fundraising to finding a killer.

When Savannah signs on to perform glassblowing on a ship that departs from the UK, part of the appeal is that she'll get a chance to meet her boyfriend Edward's family. An added bonus is that Edward's cousin, Ian, will be joining them on board. But when Ian disappears at the beginning of the cruise, the ship's authorities initially consider it suicide. Savannah tries to balance her growing suspicions with work on her shows, but her relationship with the other glass artists begins to crack. She can't let love color her judgment when Edward suddenly jumps to the top of the suspect list.

Restaurant critic Derek Schumaker, notorious for his bitter reviews, is about to visit Daisy's Tea Garden, and Daisy and Aunt Iris are simmering with anxiety. A bad word from the culinary curmudgeon could really hurt their business. But how can he resist her cucumber sandwiches with pimento spread - not to mention the cheesy cauliflower soup and strawberry walnut salad? Schumaker takes a to-go order when the afternoon tea service is done, which Daisy hopes is a good sign. But when he perishes from a seizure, it looks like his food was dosed with something deadly.