Author: nuwuser

I told you not to come…

Slipped under the door of her Georgetown home, the note was an ominous reminder of Pat Traymore’s past. The beautiful young television journalist had come to glamorous, high-powered Washington to produce a TV series. Her subject: Senator Abigail Jennings, slated for nomination as the first woman vice president of the United States.

With the help of an old flame, Congresman Sam Kingsley, Pat delves into Abigail’s life, only to turn up horrifying facts that threaten to destroy senator’s reputation and her career. Worse still, sinister connections to Pat’s own childhood and the nightmare secrets hidden within are surfacing — secrets waiting to destroy her

( Courtesy of Simon & Schuster,   hardcover  248 pages )

Get ready to paint the town green.”New York Times” bestselling authors Maeve Binchy and Marian Keyes top an impressive roster of the Emerald Isle’s most popular women writers as they celebrate the joys and perils of love and the adventure and constancy of female friendships.

In Maeve Binchy’s “Carissima,” an ex-pat returns to Ireland and shakes things up for her family, who finds her free spirit scandalous. In “Soulmates,” by Marian Keyes, one woman’s relationship is so bleedin’ perfect that it’s driving her friends crazy. In Cathy Kelly’s “Thelma, Louise and the Lurve Gods,” two women on a madcap Stateside road trip encounter a pair of insanely good-looking men….These fabulous stories and a baker’s dozen more prove that when it comes to spinning a good yarn, the Irish are the best in the business.

( Courtesy of Good Reads,   paperback   337 pages )

In this extraordinary collection of stories, the New York Times-bestselling author of Evening Class and This Year it Will Be Differentonce again reveals her incomparable understanding of matters of the heart. In The Return Journey, Maeve Binchy brings us sons and lovers, daughters and strangers, husbands and wives in their infinite variety–powerfully compelling stories of love, loss, revelation, and reconciliation.

A secretary’s silent passion for her boss meets the acid test on a business trip….A man and a woman’s mutual disdain at first sight shows how deceptive appearances can be….An insecure wife clings to the illusion of order, only to discover chaos at the hands of a house sitter who opens the wrong doors….A pair of star-crossed travelers take each other’s bags, and then learn that when you unlock a stranger’s suitcase, you enter a stranger’s life. In their company are many more, whose poignant, ironic, often humorous stories–unforgettable slices of life–make up The Return Journey, a spellbinding trip into the human heart.

Maeve Binchy was born and educated in Dublin. She is the author of the bestselling books Evening Class, This Year It Will Be Different, The Glass Lake, The Copper Beech, The Lilac Bus, Circle of Friends, Silver Wedding, Firefly Summer, Echoes, Light a Penny Candle,and London Transports, three volumes of short stories, two plays, and a teleplay that won three awards at the Prague Film Festival. She has been writing for The Irish Times since 1969 and lives with her husband, Gordon Snell, in Dublin.

( Courtesy of Good Reads,   paperback  225 pages )

A Few of the Girls brings together, for the first time, thirty-six of Maeve’s very best stories—some published in magazines, others written for friends as gifts, many for charity benefits, all of them filled with her trademark warmth, wisdom, and humor. Written over a period of decades, these stories show that while times change, people often remain the same: they fall in love, sometimes unsuitably; they experience heartbreak, compassion and redemption; they hold to hopes and dreams; and they have friendships—some that fall apart, and a few special ones that endure. A foreword by her husband, Gordon Snell, offers a privileged, intimate glimpse into the writing process behind her extraordinary work.

( Courtesy of Barnes & Noble,   paperback  404 pages )

Mistletoe Murder
The First Lucy Stone Mystery!
As if Lucy Stone’s Christmas schedule wasn’t busy enough, she’s also working nights at the famous mail-order company Country Cousins. But when she discovers its very wealthy founder, Sam Miller, dead in his car from an apparent suicide, Lucy’s gift for suspecting murder shines bright. Now she must track down an elusive killer–one who won’t be satisfied until everyone on his shopping list is dead, including Lucy herself . . .

Christmas Cookie Murder
One of the best things about Christmas in Tinker’s Cove has always been the annual Cookie Exchange. But when long-simmering petty rivalries and feuds finally come to a boil, accusations of recipe theft lead to an act of murder. Despite all of the ingredients for danger, Lucy sets out on the trail of a killer and soon uncovers a shocking Christmas secret best left unopened . . .

“Reading a new Leslie Meier mystery is like catching up with a dear old friend.” –Kate Carlisle, New York Times bestselling author

( Courtesy of Good Reads,   paperback   250  pages )

Bestseller Michaels (Hokus Pokus ) headlines a quartet of heartwarming Christmas romances. In both Duarte’s “A Mulberry Park Christmas” (which shares a setting with Mulberry Park ) and Michaels’s title tale, childhood sweethearts are reunited despite the pressures of adult life. In “Dear Santa…,” Ross (Impulse ) strands mystery novelist Holly Berry in a blizzard-swept town, where she meets hunky hotelier Gabe O’Halloran and finds his five-year-old daughter is a determined matchmaker. Burton (I’m Watching You ) contributes “Christmas Past,” in which widowed homicide sergeant David Ayden helps talented photographer Nicole Piper cope with the legacy of her late, violently abusive husband. It’s a close fit, but each short story contains a full-fledged romance from first kiss to happy ending, both satisfying readers and encouraging them to seek out the authors’ longer works

( Courtesy of Publishers Weekly,   paperback   393 pages )

With yet another successful assignment behind them, the ladies of the Sisterhood have enjoyed a relaxing break together and celebrated the wedding of Myra and Charles on Big Pine Mountain. But as soon as the newlyweds return from their shortened honeymoon, they are hit with some exciting yet unsettling news. . .

It seems their dear ally Lizzie Fox, recently ensconced as Chief White House Counsel, is rumored to be near the top of the short list for a soon to be vacated seat on the Supreme Court. While the Sisters are thrilled for Lizzie, they are concerned about her being ripped to shreds in the approval process, partly due to her connections with the Sisterhood. They also fear it will delay or even derail their long-awaited pardon promised to them by President Martine Connor. It will take a masterful plan, and loyal friends aiding them at every turn, for the Sisters to succeed in protecting Lizzie while securing their own freedom at last.

( from the Sleeve,   paperback  344 pages )

Macomber (Between Friends; Navy Wife) covers familiar emotional ground in an unusual setting, giving readers a glimpse of life in a Minneapolis convent. In the early 1960s, three young women find themselves taking vows: Angelina Marcello, answering what she believes to be God’s call; Kathleen O’Shaughnessy, who is following the urging of her devout parents; and Joanna Baird, who is fleeing heartbreak (her fiancé arrived home from a tour in Vietnam with a pregnant Vietnamese bride a month before their planned wedding). They initially find fulfillment in service—Joanna as a nurse, Angelina as a home economics teacher, Kathleen as an elementary school teacher—but as the years pass, each confronts a crisis of faith that she cannot resolve within the convent walls. In the early 1970s, they return to secular life to face a society that has changed dramatically in the previous decade, particularly in relations between men and women. The premise is inventive, but the challenges the sisters face—a young student’s back-alley abortion, an alcoholic priest, encounters with violent and lascivious men—are predictable, and Macomber gives them stock treatment. The development of the women’s friendship occurs off the page, so that it seems jarring when they reminisce like soul mates at a reunion years later, with families in tow. Macomber’s historical research about the Second Vatican Council and church politics is seamlessly woven into the story and adds badly needed depth to the novel.

( Courtesy of Publishers Weekly,   paperback  396 pages )

A Heavensent Gift of Love In a season of giving, the beloved New York Times bestselling author Debbie Macomber sends joy winging our way with two miraculous full-length novels together in one volume.

Celebrate life, love, and the holiday spirit with three unforgettable heavenly helpers — the irrepressible angels Shirley, Goodness, and Mercy — as they work their inspiring, poignant, and sometimes hilarious magic on hearts in need.

A Season of Angels Wishes for love bring hope from above. But before the angelic trio can answer the Christmas prayers of three lonely women, there are memorable lessons that must first be learned …

Touched by Angels For some, New York City can be a sad and cold place at Christmastime. But with the help of Shirley, Goodness, and Mercy, three of the city’s most deserving souls will learn what miracles are all about …

( Courtesy of Good Reads,   paperback  627 pages )