Showing results by narrator "Raquel Beattie" in All Categories

In 1985, Edward Shank famously gunned down the Beacon Hill Butcher, ending the serial killer’s reign of terror over the city of Seattle. But now in his eighties, Edward’s action-packed glory days are long behind him. The decorated former Seattle police chief has given up his high-maintenance Victorian home to his grandson Matt for a quiet life at the nearby Sweetbay Village Retirement Residence, where mac-n-cheese Wednesdays have become the highlight of his week.

A house embedded with an artificial intelligence is a common thing: a house that is an artificial intelligence, infused with a thinking creature that is not human? That is something else. But now Deniau's been dead a year, and Rose House is locked up tight, as commanded by the architect's will: all his possessions and files and sketches are confined in its archives, and their only keeper is Rose House itself. Rose House, and one other.

Khalani Kanes has never stood on the surface of the earth. In the underground city of Apollo, faith and dreams are as absent as the sun. She longs to visit Genesis, the infamous Domed City and the final place where humanity lives aboveground. But when Khalani is given a life sentence and thrown into prison for a theft she didn't commit, that wish shatters into oblivion.

Rosa Mandolini knows in her heart that her family are the greatest painters of magical illuminations in the city. But the eccentric Studio Mandolini has fallen on hard times and the future is no longer certain. While trying to help her family, Rosa discovers a strange magical box protected by a painted crow. But when she finds a way to open the box, she accidentally releases the Scarling, a vicious monster determined to destroy the Mandolini family at any cost.

Amber Patterson Parrish has come a long way. Hard work and immaculate planning turned her from invisible wallflower to prominent socialite, but there have been bumps along the way. Less than a year after her husband Jackson's tax-evasion scandal, Amber reigns supreme over the Bishops Harbor community. But with Jackson being released from prison, Amber's free time - and money - is vanishing. With shocking turns and entertaining characters, The Next Mrs. Parrish will make you rethink everything you thought you knew about duplicity and betrayal.

A telepath with a lethal twist. My name is Neely and I live among shapeshifters in the desert truckstop town of Sundance, California. As a wolf shifter, I'm not much of a threat. But as a telepath-spiker, I'm deadly. For six months, life has been peaceful. Business at my panaderia is holding steady, alpha leader Lucas Blacke and I are in a devoted relationship, and the kidnapping attempts have slowed to a crawl.

Written by two leading clinicians in the perinatal community, in collaboration with two promising leaders in this specialized field, Dropping the Baby and Other Scary Thoughts, 2nd edition offers a compassionate approach to breaking the cycle of scary thoughts that is invaluable to new parents and clinicians alike.

The deeper the secret, the darker the shadow. Ten years ago, Jolene nearly killed her friend Elizabeth in a gruesome accident. And no one has any idea. Not even Elizabeth. Jolene has been trying to outrun the guilt ever since, wandering from place to place and career to career. So she’s shocked when, after her latest move, she runs into the very person she’s been trying to avoid for ten years. Elizabeth still lives with scars from the accident. And she’s still clueless about what happened that fateful night.

Theodore is ready to take over the company his father left for him. He's spent his entire life working towards the moment he becomes president, every waking moment dedicated to that goal. Unfortunately, his family man boss isn't too keen on his strictly single ways and worries if he gets this job, he'll never start a family. That's when he lies and tells his boss he has a fiancé. Now, he not only has to prove he deserves the job, despite his rival doing everything he can to sabotage him, but he has to find himself a fiancé—and fast.

Cate Holloway knows the unspoken rule of New Orleans: avoid the powerful Gage crime family at all costs. Of course, that was before her brother got caught in their chaos. Now Cate has no choice but to confront the dark and forbidding prince of New Orleans himself . . . and beg for her brother's life. But Lachlan Gage is as lethal as he is beautiful . . . and the only currency he's interested in is her soul. Because Lachlan isn't just some ruthless criminal. He's fae. And he has his own secret reasons for binding her to him.

Running away and becoming someone new would be far easier if the demons of my past didn't insist on showing up at my doorstep. Turns out that leaving an evil Russian Bratva leader at the altar after helping stage his assassination only pissed him off and made me a target. I tried blending, but hiding in the shadows under a fake alias is no longer enough. It should have been easy to keep my distance from the MC member burdened with protecting me. He is just as averse to commitment as I am, yet he's been the only person ever to see me, even through all the smoke and mirrors I keep between us.

In the present day, Nena’s grandniece, Marta, balances a struggling legal aid practice with motherhood and the care of the now ninety-three-year-old Nena. When Marta agrees to help search for a daughter Nena left in the past, the two forge a fierce connection. Marta’s own supernatural powers emerge, awakening her to new possibilities that threaten the life she has constructed.

Cults prey on the very attributes that make us human: our desire to belong, to find a deeper meaning in life, to live everyday with divine purpose. Their existence creates a sense that any one of us, at any time, could step off the cliff’s edge and fall into that daunting abyss of manipulation and unhinged dedication to a misplaced cause. Perhaps it’s this mindset that keeps us so utterly obsessed and desperate to learn more, or it’s that the stories are so bizarre and unsettling that we are simply in awe of the mechanics that make these infamous groups tick.

Leela’s enemies are dying. They appear to be unrelated suicides, but she refuses to believe in mere coincidence. Someone is targeting these victims. But why? A single clue emerges, leading her to believe these deaths are linked to a cover-up job she did when she worked PR for the tech goliath Jolvix. It involves a high-tech novelty weapon, shrouded in secrecy, one she’s legally forbidden from discussing with anyone—including the hungry writer publishing an exposé on Jolvix who’s itching to get the full scoop.

Scarletta: bastard, daughter of a traitor. To the Italian Don of New York, I’m nothing more than a tool to be wielded. My obedience was the price I had to pay for the sins of my father. But Dominick Romano should have worked on gaining my loyalty because the chains he shackled me with have been undone. The Four Families have always run New York: Italian Mafia, Irish Mob, Russian Bratva, and the Jirocho Yakuza Clan. An alliance cloaked in proclamations of peace while they hold knives to one another’s backs. But a new player has emerged: The Syndicate.

Outpost and their allies, Lariw and Valhall, are close to solidifying the Helix Alliance, their first step in achieving their decades-old goal of annihilating Jax. The Alliance, which Jax refuses to join, will allow the Outpost led alliance navy to hassle Jax's merchants with the intention of eventually provoking an incident that will lead to war–a war Jax cannot win against a larger alliance navy. A nightmare scenario, since Outpost secretly intends to commit genocide against Jax.

Phoenix detective Veranda Cruz is dead set on taking down the Villalobos crime family, but the ruthlessness of her quarry demands a ruthless edge of her own. Targeted by an increasingly unstable foe, Veranda must protect her family and navigate adversaries within the force while she sets a trap for Bartolo. As the action heats up, Veranda and her new Homicide team - along with an arson investigator who kindles a flame of his own - are all drawn into a deadly gambit.

Alisha is the newest Talon of the Raptor Clan, mercenaries prized by rulers, nobles, and the wealthy as elite bodyguards. Her skill with a blade and her foresight won her a prized place as a Talon, but unlike other Talons, she has a unique magical sigil given to her by an unnamed goddess. Alisha's first assignment for the clan is guarding a spoiled young princess. Surrounded by dangerous plots, keeping the girl alive takes all of Alisha's guile.

Yasmin Hernandez - 4.0 student, hard worker, volunteer. Starting Blairwood University is her chance at a new beginning. It doesn't matter that it's all a lie, does it? Nixon Cole has it all - money, good looks, charm, and a national championship win to wrap it all up. But there is more hiding behind his charming smile than he lets on. Until he found out the secret she's been hiding.

To survive in the Los Muertos Cartel, you have to stay useful, especially when you're a woman. So I made sure I couldn't be replaced. Now my name is whispered about in the shadows—La Brujita de Los Muertos. Too bad I forgot that lies and deceit are the lifeblood of this toxic paradise. I should have seen the betrayal coming. My hands were always destined to be drenched in the blood of guilty men.