Showing results by narrator "Ellen Quay" in All Categories

This last year has been a total disaster, but my failed six-month marriage takes the cake. While my ex is out having the time of his life, my coping mechanisms consist of an unhealthy obsession with true-crime podcasts and trying to revive my floundering social media account. So, when I get an offer from one of social media’s darlings—Nikki Aker—to make gingerbread centerpieces for her Christmas wedding, I can’t refuse. Not only because the job pays well, but it’s a last-ditch effort to increase my following before I’m forced to get “a real job.”

Cassie West licenses crimes for V.I.C.E, spending long hours convincing grieving families to allow her to sell their tragedies to the highest bidder. Life is hard and the cost of living high, but she and her husband Harris have never been happier. After years of trying, Cassie is finally pregnant. But leaving work late one evening, Cassie starts to worry. Harris isn't responding to texts or calls. Even worse, dozens of emergency drones seem to be heading in the same direction as she is: straight to their home.

At Sunnyside, women serve in silence. Mae—an outspoken, rebellious outcast—has a penchant for getting in trouble. Her only ally is Lily, the perfect follower. When their husband dies and the cult’s new leader claims Lily as his bride, the facade of peace crumbles. Mysterious deaths haunt the commune, and Mae’s attempts to protect Lily only get her banished to the woods, leaving Lily vulnerable without her protection. Faced with a heartbreaking choice, Mae makes a desperate decision the night before Lily’s wedding and escapes the cult.

1868. Elspeth Thompson is the middle daughter in a family with tightly held secrets. While she loves her family, she longs to break out from their overprotective hold, to find herself, to be noticed for who she is rather than as chaperone to her beautiful younger sister, Kirsty, or underling to her elder sister, Muireall. A chance meeting under scandalous circumstances offers her the opportunity to be seen for herself, but the repercussions could lead to the downfall of her family.

What if love is the key? Avery Clark needs a break. Between her photography business not doing as well as she’d hoped and incessant family drama that does nothing to ease her spiking anxiety, she needs something to go her way.

New York City, 1968. Elka Hansen, a former teen cover girl, is done with modeling. Now she’s a hostess for the Palm Court restaurant in the beautiful Biltmore Hotel. As she sees it, Elka’s other job is to watch out for her younger sister, Colleen, an idealistic but reckless college student at Barnard.

In Ellie Caster’s town of Bishop’s Gap, the Casters and the powerful Levy family have been feuding for generations. The families share just one thing in common—they both dread the mark, a scorch that appears at random on their doors, bringing a curse from the Burning Tree. When the mark hits Ellie’s door, her sister Jean falls into a coma. Ellie knows the Burning Tree is to blame, and desperate to save her sister, she braves the forbidden woods to confront it. But this choice ignites a chain of unintended consequences, forcing her to work with her nemesis, Charlotte Levy.

Iris Evans is all grown up and back in Garfield with a fresh license in veterinary medicine. A Christian since the age of 12, Iris has always been the smart, compassionate, and outspoken darling of her family, working diligently to seek out and follow God’s plan for her life. She never expected that plan to include a friendship with the man who kidnapped her niece 10 years ago, a friendship she’s kept secret for five years. A friendship sure to tear her away from the sister she adores.

Welcome to Barksdale, where all the dogs strive for perfection. Every shopkeeper claims to be the “best groomer” or sell the “best biscuits.” And at Barksdale Academy, the pressure is on for one pup to be named Best in Show. Duke’s cousin Coco, a French bulldog from Paris, is visiting for the K-2 loyalty exam. During this exam, the Underdogs and their classmates will participate in a field day event against a rival school.

When the body of social worker Dermot Carine is discovered in a hotel room, the ripples of suspicion start to spread in many directions. Dermot’s sister has come to town searching for answers. But before the killer is identified, long-held secrets will threaten to break apart families, ruin marriages, and leave more than one person dead.

When Meri Sinclair inherited Dangerous Reads, she didn’t just get a bookshop. She inherited a legacy. It’s Danger Cove’s only bookstore, and her grandmother had made sure that it's a warm and friendly places for readers of all ages. Determined to get off on the right foot, Meri has organized a series of author readings, starting off with Cal Montague, a Danger Cove native who grew up to become a solid B-list actor, and his tell-all his memoirs, Tales I Shouldn’t Tell.

Book number two of the award winning Brooke & Abby cozy mystery series, where clues from the past help solve modern murder cases. Why does Abby tarot card her way back to Ancient Rome when there’s no need to? After all, the recent death in town has been declared by the local pathologist to be simply an accidental, epileptic tragedy and nothing more. Or is it?

When insurance tycoon Cornelius Nordeman is recruited to work for the Exposition Corporation, the New Yorker brings his family to live at the Palmer House Hotel, far away from any reminders of a recent tragedy. He’s hopeful this move will offer respite from his family's grief. Elizabeth Nordeman, his daughter, has something to prove, which leads her to seek work as a florist at Marshall Field’s, Chicago's finest department store.

It’s 1938, and Ann Brooks has big dreams of her new life as a Seattle College coed. She’s left the old-fashioned ways of her small country town behind to pursue higher education and a teaching career. But not everyone is ready for change. Society still preaches that a woman’s place is in the home. Some refuse to see Ann as an equal deserving of an education - let alone a career - and Ann's friends think school is simply a springboard to pursue a marriage of wealth and convenience.

How do two modern, quirky, 20-something gals solve murders in a small, cozy USA town? Easy. With a little time travel, some humor, and a lot of hard work. When the skeptical Brooke first meets the psychic Abby, she’s not impressed. But with the help of her comfort cat, her middle-aged roomie, her childhood friend, and a hunky detective hinting at a sweet romance, Brooke not only accepts that Abby has real gifts, it’s clear that these five people and one cat make up a crack team.

In the quaint but frigid Chicago suburb of Lake Park Villa, grumpy food critic Josie Tucker is on the trail of a would-be killer. Is wealthy cough drop heiress Lynetta Downes about to lose her life? Or is she simply losing her marbles?

1869 Bareknuckle champion, James Thompson, is confident his future continues with beautiful women and victories in the boxing ring. Men admire his skills, power, and quick fists, and are more than willing to bet their hard-earned coins on his name. Women admire his handsome face, his undaunted confidence, and his powerful body.

After a hit-and-run car crash, Caitlyn's life is put on hold. Her broken leg refuses to heal, and she is questioning her future career plans as a doctor. She realizes the only way forward is to find out what happened, who hit her and left her to die, and—most importantly—who was at fault. She dusts off her (very average) hacking skills, and enlists the help of Thomas Dean, a former cop turned PI, and a permanent wheelchair user after a spinal cord injury. He hopes he still has what it takes to get the job done.

Twelve-year-old Tessa was looking forward to baking cookies, relaxing, and spending time with her best friend Dennis in their clubhouse, but with the sudden arrival of Katie—her perfect gymnast cousin from the US—Tessa's plans change. Katie isn't very nice at the best of times, but now has turned downright hostile, and is threatening to ruin everyone's summer.

The life of Maria St. Nicholas seemed to be lifted from a generic Christmas movie. She was born and raised as an orphan in Mistletoe, Pennsylvania, home to the world’s only mistletoe factory. At 18, she left her hometown for New York with big dreams. Those dreams were dashed when her fiancé broke her heart on Christmas Eve. Now “Mistletoe’s a weed.” She buries herself in work, wine, and Christmas movies while in a rut deeper than the dent in her couch. Changes are in store this season when an old friend tracks her down with news.