Showing results by narrator "Julie McKay" in All Categories

It’s autumn in Sea Harbor, and as the tourists leave, a mysterious guest arrives. When she’s implicated in a crime, the Seaside Knitters must quickly table their knitting project and search out a motif for murder. Fall is usually a relaxing time in Sea Harbor, but it’s turning out to be a busy season for Izzy Chambers Perry. Not only is she helping the Seaside Knitters make a magnificent throw to celebrate the 40th wedding anniversary of her aunt and uncle, but she and her husband are finally selling the cottage she lived in before she got married.

When small-town police officers discover the grave of a young boy, they’re quick to pin the crime on a convicted criminal who lives nearby. But when it comes to murder, Officer Susan Marlan never trusts a simple explanation, so she’s just getting started. Meanwhile, college professor Eric Evans hallucinates a young boy in overalls: a symptom of his schizophrenia - or so he thinks. But when more bodies turn up, Eric has more visions, and they mirror details of the murder case.

Thick flakes of snow are falling on Fifth Avenue at twilight - and then the body of a young man suddenly falls among them, mysteriously out of the sky. Momentarily the wheels of traffic are halted, but other wheels spin relentlessly on - the wheels of death, the wheels on which bloody murder moves silently through Manhattan’s streets. Once again Miss Hildegarde Withers, the schoolteacher-detective, matches her wits against an unknown X, armed only with the precious gift of common sense and a cotton umbrella.

In the beautiful, barren landscape of the Far North, under the ever-present midnight sun, Frances and Yasha are surprised to find refuge in each other. Their lives have been upended - Frances has fled heartbreak and claustrophobic Manhattan for an isolated artist colony; Yasha arrives from Brooklyn to fulfill his beloved father's last wish: to be buried "at the top of the world. They have come to learn how to be alone.

Chicago, 1938. Late one night, before the 10:00 show, the body of a prominent radio actress is found dead in the station's lounge. All the evidence points to murder and one young up-and-coming radio actress, Vivian Witchell, as the next victim. But Viv isn't the type to leave her fate in the hands of others - she's used to stealing the show. Alongside charming private detective Charlie Haverman, Vivian is thrust into a world of clues and motives, suspects and secrets. And with so much on the line, Viv finds her detective work doesn't end when the "On-Air" light goes out.

Drawing on exclusive, in-depth interviews with managers of some of the world's most iconic brands, Romancing the Brand arms you with an arsenal of classic and emerging marketing tools - such as benefit laddering and word-of-mouth marketing - that make best-in-class brands so successful. The book is filled with examples, strategies, and tools from powerful brands that consumers love, including Coke, Dos Equis, Smartwater, the Atlanta Falcons, Domino's Pizza, Bounty, Turner Classic Movies, and many more.

Fueled by paranoia and visceral suspense, and crafted with masterful restraint, these 17 stories explore what happens when our fears cross over into the real, if only for a fleeting moment. Identities are stolen, alternate universes are revealed, and innocence is lost as the consequences of minor, seemingly harmless decisions erupt to sabotage a false sense of stability. False Bingo is a collection of realist fables exploring how conflicting moralities can coexist: the good, the bad, the indecipherable.

The revised story of Checkmate is the first in The White House National Security series and features young scientist Dr. Cameron Talbot who invents a breakthrough technology to defend against cruise missiles. She needs support from skeptical company officers, funding from a reluctant Congress, and help from Lt. Col. Hunt Daniels, detailed to The White House NSC. With disaster brewing overseas, threats to New Delhi, the Taj Mahal, and to Cameron herself, she and Hunt find themselves enmeshed in terrorist plots and political wrangling at the highest levels.

Writer Halley Brennan couldn't dream up a better love story than her own. Married for eleven years, she and her husband, Adam, are still living their happily ever after. They both know what they want - and don't want - for their life together. And that includes being child-free. But when one of them has a change of heart about wanting a baby, it brings their marriage and life plans into harsher focus. Devastated that this bombshell might destroy their relationship, Halley finds comfort in her closest friends.

Williston, North Dakota, was a sleepy farm town for generations - until the frackers arrived. The oil companies moved into Williston, overtaking the town and setting off a boom that America hadn't seen since the Gold Rush. Workers from all over the country descended, chasing jobs that promised them six-figure salaries and demanded no prior experience. But for every person chasing the American dream, there is a darker side - reports of violence and sexual assault skyrocketed, schools overflowed, and housing prices soared.

The doctors assure Erin Bennett and her parents that they can't find a physical cause for her headaches. But the throbbing, violent pain is so intense that Erin knows she needs help. Even landing the lead in the senior musical opposite David Devlin, the good-looking, popular guy everyone else is wild about, doesn't give Erin much pleasure. In fact, she finds David so annoying that her headaches are getting worse. Erin knows that the headaches started just after the death of her younger sister, Amy, one year ago. She though her grieving was over, but somehow the headaches must be connected to Amy.

Cassie Blake seems to lead a charmed life as the heiress to Fenton's, San Francisco's most exclusive department store. But when she discovers her husband Aidan, a handsome UC Berkeley professor, has had an affair with a student, she flees to the comfort of her best friend Alexis' Presidio Heights mansion, where she wonders if she should give their marriage one more chance.

Anita Hughes' Monarch Beach is an absorbing debut novel about one woman's journey back to happiness after an affair splinters her perfect marriage and life - what it means to be loved, betrayed and to love again.

At 25 years old Stephanie Yoder was already fed up with the monotony of 9-5 life. After much agonizing, she quit her stable desk job to backpack around Asia. During a year of travel through Japan, China and South East Asia she became a minor Chinese celebrity, was attacked by giant parrots and met the love of her life. In A Year Without Make-Up, Yoder chronicles some of her craziest adventures along with providing helpful tips and encouragement for others looking to make a life change.

Hallie Elliot has a perfect life. She is an up-and-coming interior designer in one of San Francisco's most sought-after firms and has just recently become engaged to Peter, a brilliant, young journalist. But when she stumbles upon Peter and her boss in what seems to be a compromising position, her trust in her perfect life is shaken. So Hallie escapes to Lake Como, Italy, to spend time with her half sister, Portia Tesoro, an Italian blueblood dealing with the scandal of a public estrangement from her cheating husband.

Seventeen-year-old Kyle was blinded when a chemistry experiment exploded. His doctors don't know whether he'll get his vision back, and he's deeply depressed. Carley understands how miserable it is to be in the hospital. At sixteen, she's had plenty of experience. But Carley is keeping a secret from Kyle. She knows boys like girls who are pretty - and she's not. Scarred by a facial deformity, she has always used her sense of humor to cope. But now that she's become so close to Kyle, she's worried that if his bandages are removed and he sees her, it will be the end of their relationship.

"What's Happened to Me?": Sarah finds herself in a strange place, and she can recall only one thing - her name. A young man, Heath de Charon, explains to Sarah that he found her unconscious on the grounds of his family's estate and has been caring for her. "When the Clock Chimes": Drake Iverson lands a summer job on Sandstone Mountain. There are no computers; he has to do all the work by hand in a large leather-bound book. He doesn't mind, as long as he can be near Gina, who is pretty and kind. "The Mysteries of Chance": Dylan Sorenson offers his help to a girl who seems to be in distress.

Nathan Malone has been homeschooled his whole life. He’s never spent much time with kids his own age and he’s never dated. His mother is now busy with his new twin sisters, so Nathan must enroll at the local high school for his senior year. On the first day, a girl on a motorcycle catches his eye and Nathan is excited to discover the girl is also in his English class.

Since the age of 12, McKenzie Arnold has spent every summer at Albany Beach, Delaware, with her best friends, Aurora, Janine, and Lilly. The seaside house teems with 30 years of memories - some wonderful, others painful - and secrets never divulged beyond its walls. This summer may be the last they spend together, as Janine contemplates selling her family cottage.

When small-town girl Kennie Sue Ledbetter wakes up in a Reno hotel between two guys in rumpled tuxedos, she thinks things can't get any worse. When she steps on the wedding bouquet and sees the ring on her finger, she knows things can't get any worse. But then she finds out she's married to the guy who won her in a coin-toss in front of the wedding chapel, and "worse" has a name and a face: Alexander Carruthers, the gorgeous silver-tongued devil who believes in love at first sight, in fate, and in doing whatever it takes to keep her.