Showing results by narrator "Maria McCann" in All Categories

Kate McKinney didn’t move to the middle of nowhere to make friends, she came for the quiet. The kind that doesn’t scream at her through dispatch calls or drag her back to a life she’s trying to forget. But when an old man vanishes from his remote cabin and his niece goes missing right along with him, Kate starts listening harder. A battered truck. A back trail no one uses. And eyes that follow her home after dark. The local sheriff calls it concern. Kate calls it what it is, a warning. Her only early ally is Boone, the sharp-eyed rescue mutt who trusts no one but her.

Three former friends, now age 57, rally one another through changes and challenges when they get together again for their 40th high school reunion in Port Mariette, a blue-collar town near Pittsburgh in this “coming of age” tale.

The story of a fervent atheistic communist woman in Moscow who was denied entrance to medical school because she was Jewish. She applied to leave Russia and was denied, thus becoming a Refusenik. It describes her two-year tortuous struggle to leave, her humorous adjustment to American society, and her challenging journey to become a physician and learn what it meant to be Jewish. Her historian husband interweaves her life with the history of Soviet Russia and the Cold War period, including the fail of the Soviet Union.

When nurse and fledgling pilot Lucinda Rhodes hires guitar-playing private detective Rolly Waters to track down a Stratocaster guitar owned by her deceased father, Rolly is thrilled to take on her case, especially when he learns the guitar’s original owner may have been Jimi Hendrix.

The story begins in 1940s Palestine, where twins Rasheed and Rasheeda Dinar work in the family’s inn. When Rasheed falls in love with Natalia, a Jewish woman, he applies what he learned from the Jesuit priest who mentored him to his budding relationship, but by then relations between Arabs and Jews have become tense. And when those tensions come to a breaking point, Natalia mysteriously disappears, and Rasheed and Rasheeda are chased out of Palestine forced to flee to Beirut, Lebanon. As the years pass and the Dinar family expands and enters the 1970s, their convictions are tested.

Fish in a Tree meets Fighting Words in J. S. Lemon’s middle grade debut, a fiercely original story about friendship, healing, and the beauty of transformation. “What new classics should look like. A strange and beautiful tale . . . This story will spark important discussions.” —Newbery...

In his introduction to the book, best-selling author Loren D. Estleman says "It's hard work being Deborah Morgan". A multiple award-winning author in both the mystery and Western arenas, Morgan has collected here in Junction a selection of stories guaranteed to show you why.

The devastating long-term effects of abuse build up, rumble, and quake like a volcano deep within a survivor's psyche. Beyond Abuse takes you on an experiential journey out of victimization and toward being empowered. The book combines ancient wisdom, modern energetics, and proven scientific research, bridging gaps to human potential. The conscious journey exponentially increases our odds of overcoming abuse's unresolved and often ignored effects. Reclaim your soul through the craftily woven blend of story, technique, humor, and song to uplift and discover lightness of heart.

After absorbing the wisdom within this audiobook, bid farewell to your fears and anxiety. These simple, compelling techniques are going to transform your mindset and make you realize that the best chapters of your life are ahead of you!

In 1944, Petra Reynolds, a tender 12-year-old farm girl, resided in a tranquil Midwest town. Removed from the atrocities of World War II, Petra’s innocence is kept intact. However, she knows polio has already killed or maimed thousands of Americans. Petra’s friend, Benjy, a polio survivor, uses a wheelchair. Quarantine signs posted throughout town fill her with dread. There’s nowhere to hide. Petra’s life took an unexpected twist when, due to a playground incident, she found herself in the school‘s infirmary alongside the notorious eighth-grade rebel, Chester Harrison.

Serena Stapleton’s father insists she marry in order to satisfy his debt. Upset and angry, Serena boards a train to faraway California. Halfway through the journey, the train is held up by outlaws. Serena is struck on the head and thrown from the train. Tim Dawson, the widowed doctor in Fort Riggins, Montana, rushes to where Serena is injured. He takes care of her in his clinic. His mother insists the young woman recover in their home. Serena, waking to strangers and terrified, claims no memory of what happened to her—praying this might be her way out of the marriage contract.

Regina Baldwin was once one of the most famous runners in the world. Back in her prime, she ran a marathon in under three hours. After retiring from sports, she continues to host and MC races all over America. Her podcasts and documentaries have made her a fitness guru to millions. So, it’s all the more baffling when she drops dead whilst overseeing a marathon in Wrangler’s Hill. The evidence points to murder—but who would want to kill such a beloved figure? Amateur investigator Geneva Pomolo and her partner, Iris Reeves, are determined to find out.

When a world-class casino magnate from the Cayman Islands steps into Corky's Pub, he transforms the familiar into fantastic. Threading in and out of the lives of the rich and famous, tales of rock stars and the mafia are woven within the trials, anguish, and endurance of the average.

She came to the well alone to escape the whispers. A life marked by scandal had taught her to keep her head down and her heart guarded. But one afternoon, under a searing sun, a stranger speaks to her—not with judgment, but with curiosity, insight, and unsettling compassion. When this mysterious man threatens to upend everything she thought she knew, she faces a choice: bury her truth forever, or let it set her free. Set against the vivid backdrop of first-century Samaria, Davina blends rich historical detail with timeless questions of identity, shame, and second chances.

Claire Leccese is a romance novelist who writes happy endings for a living. Quite ironic, since she’s spent a lifetime battling demons from childhood trauma and has been anything but happy. She is plagued by self-doubt and an inability to trust people who claim to love her. Along comes Sydney Howard, a younger successful artist who rocks Claire’s world and “lit an agreeable blaze inside my belly…” However, as Sydney falls in love with the older woman, Claire’s fears overtake her and she runs away, vowing never to see Sydney again.

It is 1960 and15-year-old Frankie Moretti is living with her aunt and uncle in Baltimore. Her American mother has died, and her Italian father is at sea ten months of the year. Learning that Frankie has run away from two boarding schools, her father reluctantly takes her with him to live on Il Destino, the cargo ship he captains. When the two of them arrive at the ship, they find that one of the crew, the wiper, has been murdered.

Welcome to Grapevine High, where fear, love, and self-discovery collide. FEAR introduces River, a curious freshman, and Xane, a charismatic girl with a secret—she’s a Synth, a synthetic human learning to understand emotions. As Xane grapples with the concept of fear, they both face bullying, high school drama, and the courage to step out of their comfort zones. This novella sets the stage for Xane's ongoing emotional journey, where each book delves deeper into her quest to master human emotions.

A shy young fairy, named Pansy, longs to have exciting adventures. One day while in the forest with her friend, Lightning the firefly, she loses track of the time and is very late for dinner. In her hurry to get home, she becomes lost in the dark and meets a strange creature. When this happens, she discovers an old secret that could threaten the safety of her town.

Recently divorced, Palma, a forty-three-year-old Latina, takes stock of her life when she reconnects with her gangster younger cousin recently released from prison. Her sexual obsession with him flares as she checks out her other options, but their family secrets bring them together in unexpected ways. In this wildly entertaining and sexy novel, Ana Castillo creates a memorable character with a flare for fashion, a longing for family, and a penchant for adventure.

Ellis Coldwater is a pretty easy-going bank robber. Wendy Larkin is a pretty woman—a little shy, a little nervous, and a little married. What happens when these two get together “on the job”? Whose recipe for living life will lead to the most happiness, the most laughter, and the least amount of jail time? Our tale jumps in immediately as this novel adroitly rolls up its sleeve to expose the funny bone of crime, love, right, wrong, the pursuit of money, happiness, the vagaries of humanity that gives life meaning.