Showing results by narrator "Ann M." in All Categories

Set largely in the 1990s, the 12 linked stories in Joel Mowdy’s first book take place in and around Mastic Beach, a community on New York’s Long Island that’s close to the wealthy Hamptons but afflicted by widespread poverty. Mostly in their teens and early 20s, the characters struggle to become independent in various ways, ranging from taking typical low-paying jobs - hotel laundry, janitorial, restaurant, and landscaping work - to highly ingenious schemes, to exchanging sexual favors for a place to stay.

Secrets...scandal...murder...An autistic boy and his brother need potter Shandra Higheagle’s help when a teacher’s body is found after a confrontation with the older brother. Shandra knows the boy is innocent. Digging into the teacher’s life, she and Ryan turn up scandal. Detective Ryan Greer has believed in Shandra’s dreams in the past, but she can’t always be right. When his investigation uncovers a principal on the take, females being harassed, and parents kept in the dark, he discovers more suspects than the brothers.

Journalist and Professor Susanne Althoff investigates the obstacles women and nonbinary entrepreneurs - especially those of color - face when launching, funding, and growing their companies, obstacles that persist because the current start-up world was engineered by and for White men. Through interviews with more than a hundred founders across the country and in all industries, Althoff paints a picture of an entrepreneurial system rife with bias and discrimination, where women receive less than three percent of this country's venture capital.

A fascinating journey through history and culture, examining how makeup affects self-empowerment, how people have used it to define (and defy) their roles in society, and why we all need to care.

Everyone knows Benjamin Franklin—the thrifty inventor-statesman of the Revolutionary era—but not about his love life. Poor Richard’s Women reveals the neglected voices of the women Ben loved and lost during his lifelong struggle between passion and prudence. The most prominent among them was Deborah Read Franklin, his common-law wife and partner for 44 years. Long dismissed by historians, she was an independent, politically savvy woman and devoted wife who raised their children, managed his finances, and fought off angry mobs at gunpoint while he traipsed about England.

A runaway bride, murder, and arson have Shandra Higheagle sleuthing again. Sorting through the debris of her best friend’s childhood, Shandra believes she must solve the murder before her friend becomes the next victim. Stumbling upon a dead body, Detective Ryan Greer is determined to bring the killer to justice before Shandra becomes too entangled in her friend’s dysfunctional past. He could be too late. Her deceased grandmother has already visited her dreams, putting Shandra in the middle of his investigation and danger.

When the doctor is a no-show for her appointment, Shandra Higheagle becomes wrapped up in another murder. The death of the doctor’s elderly aunt has everyone questioning what happened and who’s to blame. Shandra’s dreams soon tell her she’s on the right path but also suggests her best friend could be in grave danger.

When Shandra Higheagle’s dog brings her a dead body in a sleigh full of presents, her world is turned upside down. The man is a John Doe, and within twenty-four hours, another body is found. Detective Ryan Greer receives a call that has them both looking over their shoulders. A vengeful brother of a gang member who died in a gang war is out for Ryan’s blood. Shandra’s dreams and Ryan’s fellow officers may not be enough to keep them alive to share Christmas.

Upon learning a cousin is suspected of murder, potter Shandra Higheagle travels to the Colville Reservation to support her family in any way she can, including the insight she receives from her Nez Perce grandmother in dreams. When the tribal police and FBI refuse to look for additional clues or suspects, Shandra becomes even more determined to uncover the truth.

Once again, Shandra Higheagle finds herself a suspect in a murder investigation when an ex-lover is found murdered on a Huckleberry ski run. A past she'd planned to never divulge now must be shared with the first man she's trusted, Detective Ryan Greer. Ryan puts his job in jeopardy when he's booted from the case and uses all resources plus a few extra to prove Shandra is innocent. The information leads them down a road of blackmail and betrayal of the ugliest kind.

Silver Screen Kisses is a collection of stories inspired by movies that are on every favorite-movie list. Written by award-winning and best-selling authors, these contemporary romances take the listener back to Echo Ridge in the spring, when the promise of new love is budding just like the tulips around the Emerald Inn Bed & Breakfast.

The accident that took her father's life has always haunted Shandra Higheagle. When her dreams become too real, she knows it's time to discover the truth. It doesn't take long to suspect her father had been murdered and that someone is unhappy with her probing. Detective Ryan Greer knows Shandra well enough to insist he be kept informed of her investigation into the decades old death of her father. When signs implicate her mother, he can't withhold the information, even though he realizes it could complicate their relationship.

Desperate circumstances called for bold action. Lily couldn't resist the invitation to masquerade as her friend Emma to escape an undesired courtship. Her ruse backfires when she falls in love with Emma's intended. How could she possibly tell him her real identity? This deceit has also put her life in danger. Gus finds her working in a saloon and turns his back on her. Now her main objective is to win him back - no matter what it takes. A sizzling clean romance.

A handsome stranger. A whirlwind trip to India. A life forever changed. For Daly English, life is a series of one disappointment after another. Rather than dealing with the fallout, she locks herself in her studio and works tirelessly toward completing her art school portfolio. Unfortunately, fate isn't done with Daly quite yet. Time and time again, a handsome stranger refuses to be ignored, forcing her to come to grips with the loss she's been harboring for years and to trust herself to love again.

A short story about family relationships.

"Vor langer Zeit sprach diese Welt zu den Menschen. Sie sagte "Sieh, es gibt mich nicht mehr, und ich habe nichts mehr zu geben." Daraufhin bauten die Völker der Erde gigantische Kuppeln für ihre Städte, um sich vor den Stürmen und Fluten zu schützen. Doch der Energieverbrauch war immens. Viele wurden gezwungen, die Kuppeln zu verlassen und in den Brückenstöcken Zuflucht zu suchen. Sie nannten das Projekt "Utopia". Es war der Anfang vom Ende."

Although unable to explain why, Bob intuitively believed he would live for 92 years. As of next Saturday, only 18,980 days remained. He wasn't exactly sure what he was supposed to be doing with his life, he just sensed that he wasn't doing it yet. And then something happened! This is the story of the mysterious things that happened when Bob asked, "What happened?"

Monsters fascinate us. We cringe and say how could anyone do this, but we are fascinated and can't look away. The Murder of Clara Bates is a true story. The facts contained in this book have been taken from police and court records, the newspaper accounts of the murder of Clara Bates and the public records of those involved. In some cases, license was taken to recreate dialogue between those involved and some names have been changed to protect the privacy of the innocent.

Terror strikes the heart of a small South Carolina town's sheriff when the people in his charge begin to disappear. Ants is the gripping story of nature going terribly wrong.

Dela Alvaro, head of security for the Spotted Pony Casino, is asked to do a security check of a casino on the Oregon Coast. She no sooner starts her rounds at the casino and a child of a dubious couple is kidnapped. Special Agent Quinn Pierce of the FBI has been out to get the father for some time. One of Dela’s best friends from the Army is also at the casino and they catch up. The next morning, Dela finds her friend strangled.