Showing results by narrator "Abby Craden" in All Categories

Bribery and Corruption Casebook: The View From Under the Table is a one-of-a-kind collection of actual cases written by the fraud examiners who investigated them. These stories were hand-selected from hundreds of submissions and together form a comprehensive, enlightening, and entertaining picture of the many types of bribery and corruption cases in varied industries throughout the world. Each case outlines how the bribe or corruption was engineered, how it was investigated, and how perpetrators were brought to justice.

Christmas may be coming, but it's just another day at the ranch as far as Eli Pickett is concerned. Someone has to take care of the herd and that means no holiday vacation for him. Cassandra Horn is trying to make it to her parents' winter cabin in Wyoming before the blizzard hits. She desperately needs a vacation from the chaos of Manhattan, but Cass never makes it to the cabin. A raging snowstorm causes her car to crash, where she's found unconscious by Eli. He takes one look at Cass's big blue eyes and dark curls, and like a Christmas miracle, falls head over heels in love.

Evelyn's deeds are coming back to haunt her. Free to travel among the stars, the former warlord is enjoying her freedom, even if she’s occasionally exasperated by the women who’ve attached themselves to her. They accompany her as she encounters wonders, from dryad terraforming ships to the orcish arenas of Skaloth. Yet Evelyn has enemies, and they have not forgotten her. They target one of the few people she truly cares about, knowing that Evelyn will come. When she does she may be drawn into a trap from which even she can’t escape.

Gillian "Gem" Martin is the lead biologist at a wildlife sanctuary on the Northeast coast and head of the Wildlife Emergency Response Team called in when catastrophes, man-made or natural, threaten the endangered species she studies. Austin Germaine is a troubleshooter, the hired gun for a big oil company, whose job is to help contain leaks and prevent media coverage of a pending disaster until the danger can be eliminated. If it can be.

Growing up abandoned by her father and raised by a single mother, Celeste was determined to create the perfect family - but even perfect families have secrets. Her days are filled with a rewarding career, a devoted husband, and her four-year-old daughter. Celeste is the only one who knows the precarious house of cards her family is built upon - until the day her daughter falls critically ill. Then her world quickly spirals out of control, her secret threatening to destroy her marriage, family, reputation, and sanity.

AJ Beckett is just trying to get Parker, her seven-year-old autistic daughter, through life in one piece. As a paramedic, AJ puts others' needs above her own; in her personal life, she keeps everyone an arm's length away. That distance disappears when a chance run-in with actor Melanie Cooper leaves her sticky, angry, and fed up.

Belle Abbot is pathologically shy, and because of this she's living a nightmare due to the fact that she's also a national treasure hounded by the media. James Bennett is known the world over as the perfect catch, handsome, wealthy, and the owner of an intimidating castle on a Cornish Cliff, Chy An Als Point. Belle and James meet, and in one night they fall in love. The problem is Belle's dating James' brother.

Just weeks after World War II ends, three women from different corners of the world arrive in Germany to run a Displaced Persons camp. They long to help rebuild shattered lives—including their own… For Martha, going to Germany provides an opportunity to escape Brooklyn and a violent marriage. Arriving from England is orphaned Kitty. She hopes working at the camp will bring her closer to her parents, last seen before the war began. For Delphine, Paris has been a city of ghosts after her husband and son died in Dachau.

The Grey Wolves series follows the adventures of three high school seniors, Jacque, Jen, and Sally, as the girls are introduced to the hidden world of the Romanian grey wolves. The grey wolves' universe is populated with dominant male Alpha werewolves who slowly succumb to the darkness within them unless they find their true mates. It just so happens these three ladies are destined to become true mates to some of the most powerful males in the Canis lupus world. But destiny won't be fulfilled without a fight.

Knox Lawson thought his life had suddenly become a bizarre alpha-wolf movie when he started sprouting fangs and claws, and he only knows one person who can help explain what's happening. SWAT werewolf Rachel Bennett has been hounded by nightmares since a vicious attack left her with PTSD. Not knowing who or what she can trust anymore, she's relieved to be assigned to a high-profile protective detail. Diving into work might be the distraction she needs, until she notices the mysterious hunk who seems to follow her wherever she goes - and recognizes him.

His name was Joshua Carter. Now it's whatever she wants it to be. She is a Deliverer. She lures young men and delivers them to be sold. She delivers the strikes that enforce their obedience. She delivers the training that determines their purchase price. As long as she delivers, the arrangement that protects her family will hold. Delivering is all she knows. The one thing she can't deliver is a captive from slavery. Until him. And her stubborn slave thinks he can deliver her...from herself.

If you're the parent of a "smart but scattered" teen, trying to help him or her grow into a self-sufficient, responsible adult may feel like a never-ending battle. Now you have an alternative to micromanaging, cajoling, or ineffective punishments. This positive guide provides a science-based program for promoting teens' independence by building their executive skills - the fundamental brain-based abilities needed to get organized, stay focused, and control impulses and emotions.

A middle-of-the night phone call summons NYPD Detective Chiara Corelli and her partner, Detective P. J. Parker, to a politically sensitive murder scene. The victims - a US Senator, the pastor of a mega church, and a self-made music industry billionaire - appear to have been killed during a sex orgy.

Mason James is the responsible one who stayed behind to run the ranch while his brother, Rock, took off to play professional hockey. Women have used him before to get to his brother - and Mason intends never to get burned again. But after he meets quirky Tessa Kane at his brother's wedding, Mason discovers he's ready to take a chance on love. Tessa Kane is a reporter on the verge of losing a job she desperately needs - unless she's clever enough to snag a story on the famous Rockford James. But when she falls for her subject's brother, she's caught between a rock and a cowboy.

Born into a life of secrets and service, Chrysabelle's body bears the telltale marks of a comarré - a special race of humans bred to feed vampire nobility. When her patron is murdered, she becomes the prime suspect, which sends her running into the mortal world... and into the arms of Malkolm, an outcast vampire cursed to kill every being from whom he drinks. Now, Chrysabelle and Malkolm must work together to stop a plot to merge the mortal and supernatural worlds.

In the chaotic aftermath of 9/11, Secret Service agent Cameron Roberts and her lover, first daughter Blair Powell, must contend with recriminations from within the government and danger from without as they struggle to uncover those who betrayed the nation and nearly claimed Blair’s life.

Jennifer Adams, best friend to Jacque Pierce and Sally Morgan, is spicy, outspoken, a little crazy, and human . . . or so she thought. Jen has just found out that human DNA is not the only thing that resides in her veins; she happens to share that little pesky werewolf gene, although it isn't more than just a drop. Now that she and her friends are living in Romania with Fane's pack, she is also oh so conveniently stuck with the object of her affection, the fur ball Decebel.

Valerie Westland isn't looking for love when she ends up on a date with Cressida Davis, despite the instant attraction or her inability to stop flirting with her. With a past she can't move on from and a heart she doesn't deem worthy of giving away, can the pair find a way to each other, or are opportunities gone forever when one refuses to seize the moment?

Five short stories that give glimpses into the lives of Griffin, Jorie, and the other characters from Second Nature.

Meg Tallmadge is a veterinarian at a clinic in Laramie, Wyoming. She’s got a great job, great friends, deep ties to the family ranch, and big plans for her vet future. Sure, there are bumps in the road, like her mom’s continued denial about who Meg is and her painful and infuriating attempts to make Meg a “proper” woman. Then there’s Meg’s recent breakup with a girlfriend, which has her wondering why she can’t seem to open up to relationships.