Showing results by narrator "Kate Rudd" in All Categories

The pain of China’s Cultural Revolution well behind them, Benfu and his treasured Calla Lily are content in their old age surrounded by their family of adopted daughters. Once abandoned, the girls are now cherished members of the Zheng family. Yet there remains an emptiness in their hearts: their only biological daughter, Dahlia, was abducted as a newborn 30 years before. When their daughter Linnea discovers an unexpected clue about what really happened to Dahlia, the elderly couple’s hopes are reignited.

It should be the happiest weekend of Officer Stevie Taylor's life. She's finally going to marry Police Chief Zane Duncan and live happily ever after in Solitude, Oregon. But all wedding plans grind to a halt when a dead body is found at a nearby campground. A vacationing A-list TV actor has been murdered...and all hell is about to break loose.

Stories with depth, strong protagonists, and high tension are told while pulling at your heartstrings or making you smile with understanding. Go on adventures with heroes old and young, and visit many new worlds.

A thrilling debut, reminiscent of new fan favorites like One of Us Is Lying and the beloved classics by Agatha Christie, that will leave readers guessing until the explosive ending. “Welcome to dinner, and again, congratulations on being selected. Now you must do the selecting.” What do the...

When Jonathon Roth and his family are invited by their neighbors, the Beasleys, to join them at a luxury retreat in Cozumel, who can refuse? It’s the perfect winter getaway. Relaxing on the beach, gourmet food, sightseeing, and free accommodations. But if it sounds too good to be true, it is. Villa Sara de Calakmul, owned by mysterious tycoon Jacob Calakmul, is more isolated compound than private resort. Armed guards patrol the jungle perimeters. Pictures of previous guests—long disappeared—adorn the walls.

Life for private investigator Lizzy Gardner will never be the same. It's been three weeks since her fiancé Jared, was shot on what was supposed to be their wedding day. He's in a coma now, and Lizzy is being forced to make a decision she might not be able to live with. But a string of deaths has forced her to get back to work. While they appear to be unrelated accidents at first glance, a closer look shows they all have something in common.

Burned out and tired as hell, the only thing ex-cop Holt Bradford wanted to do was relax. But when beautiful single mom Suzanna invaded his solitude to search for the missing Calhoun emeralds, he couldn't say no. Holt was no longer the bad-boy teen Suzanna remembered. He'd grown into a dangerously sexy man--all the more reason to keep a safe distance. Suzanna wouldn't risk her well-ordered life for a man who could make her mouth go dry with a simple glance.

By day, bashful wallflower Emma Duffy works at her family's bed-and-breakfast. By night, she secretly pens erotic romance hot enough to melt the snow in their cozy Rockies town. But Emma's real life is about to heat up when her mother books the entire inn to a professional snowboarder, hoping the publicity will put them on the map. In a karmic twist of fate, that guest is Wyatt Lawson, the man with whom Emma had shared the secret one-night stand that became the inspiration for her novel and its dreamy hero.

Three cases - two missing persons and one apparent suicide - are pushing PI Jessie Cole and crime reporter Ben Morrison closer to the edge.

It's never wise to talk to strangers...and that goes double when they're dead. Unfortunately, seventeen-year-old Anna Morgan has no choice. Resting on a park bench, touching the turnstile at the Metro station - she never knows where she'll encounter a ghost. These mental hitchhikers are the reason Anna has been tossed from one foster home and psychiatric institution to the next for most of her life.

Escaping from a madman should have been the end of her nightmare. Instead it was only the beginning...Lizzy Gardner was just seventeen when she was kidnapped by the psychopath known as Spiderman, a serial killer terrorizing her California hometown. Imprisoned and tormented for months, Lizzy narrowly escaped with her life and Spiderman vanished without a trace. But if she thought he would forget her, she was dead wrong.

Rescued from a world of poverty, Cettie Pratt has avoided a bleak destiny—until now. Deceived and manipulated, she has been groomed for the ultimate betrayal: to destroy her best friend and stop peace from uniting two war-torn worlds. Her path leads her to a mysterious underworld where appearances can be deceiving. Sera Fitzempress knows the value she has to her enemies. As heir to the empire, she must keep her foes at bay and prevent them from unleashing a being of unspeakable evil upon the world while fighting a brutal war.

After a pilgrimage to the East Kingdoms seeking a blessing from the Fountain, source of the land’s magic, Sir Ransom Barton returns home in search of two dreams: Claire de Murrow, the heiress he loves, and a patron for his warrior skills. Unexpectedly, Ransom finds himself in the favor of Devon, the notorious Elder King. Brought into the ruler’s mesnie and given two wards of his own, Ransom is devoted to his privileged new position. He’s also privy to the running of the realm and to all its courtly intrigues.

Arson investigator Ryan Piasecki was a man who got the job done no matter what the obstacle...or how beautiful she was. Ambitious executive Natalie Fletcher's new business was going up in smoke, literally, and she needed Ryan's help to catch the arsonist. But if he wasn't careful, the sparks flying between him and this hothouse rose would erupt into a five-alarm blaze - and they'd both be engulfed by the Night Smoke.

Cedar McLeod would like nothing more than to return to Tír na nÓg, help rebuild the mythical kingdom, and start a new life for herself and her daughter, Eden. But peace isn’t what Cedar finds after being reunited with her little girl. Nuala - who kidnapped and terrorized Eden in her previous bid for power - has returned and is making a persuasive claim for the vacant throne. The devastation such a ruler would bring upon both the kingdom and the human world is unthinkable. With no one else to stake a convincing counter-claim, Cedar steps forward.

Acting jobs are scarce now for former TV teen detective Antigone Alden. So when a teaching position opens up at Southern Coastal University, Tig packs up her teenage daughter and heads home to the Outer Banks of North Carolina...now Tig is a local reporter's prime suspect in the murder of the former theater professor. Given his reputation as ladies' man, there are plenty of people with a motive. Tig isn't a detective. She just played one on TV. Will that be enough to help her find the killer?

Television director Brooke Gordon thinks that baseball player Parks Jones is an insufferable cad with an inflated ego. Unfortunately, he's also brilliant and her client's spokesman. Brooke is determined to ignore the intense attraction she feels while directing Parks in a commercial. But Parks is willing to break a few rules to convince Brooke that love isn't just a game to him. It means forever.

If I want to get married and have a family (and I do), it's time for a plan!! from Hallie McCarthy's diary The alarm on Hallie's biological clock is buzzing away. She's hitting the big three-0 and there's no prospect of marriage, no man in sight. But Hallie's an organized, goal-setting kind of...

After Raine discovers that she has magic, she attends a school to help her develop it. But when evil forces threaten her, she must take on the danger to restore balance.

The beloved author of Early Morning Riser brings us glittering stories of love—friendships formed at the airport bar, ex-husbands with benefits, mothers of suspiciously sweet teenagers, ill-advised trysts—in all its forms, both ridiculous and sublime. Includes “Chicken-Flavored and...