Flowers Fiction

In a quiet village surrounded by ancient woods and the imposing Italian Alps, a man is found naked with his eyes gouged out. It is the first in a string of gruesome murders. Superintendent Teresa Battaglia, a detective with a background in criminal profiling, is called to investigate. Battaglia is in her mid-60s, her rank and expertise hard-won from decades of battling for respect in the male-dominated Italian police force. Soon she finds that buried deep in these mountains are whispers of a dark and dangerous history, possibly tied to a group of eight-year-old children.

Twenty-four years after losing her daughter in a tragic accident, Carol Denman has finally made peace with Katie's father. But releasing her ex-husband from blame and facing how deeply she held herself responsible were only the first steps in Carol's journey toward peace. Carol is determined to mend her broken relationship with her mother. But she soon discovers she isn't the only one who has been hanging on to bitterness. A road trip to face the past leads Carol's mother, Judith, to unearth the seeds of past mistakes and deep resentments in ways neither of them would expect.

Sarah Drayton is eager to spend time with her best friend at her crumbling Northumberland castle estate. Yet she finds herself being inveigled into a marriage of convenience with her friend's rakish brother. When James Langley returns to his family's estate, he can't be bothered to pay attention to his responsibilities as the heir. But his roguish ways have backed him into a corner, and he has little choice but to obey his father's stunning decree: marry before returning to war, or else. Suddenly he finds himself wedded to a clever and capable woman he does not love.

Hidden deep in the forest, schoolgirl Felicity Parker is found carefully laid out on a rock with nothing but a freshly picked bunch of flowers next to her lifeless form. Detective Jenna Alton is called in to investigate the gruesome discovery. With the body found just off a popular hiking route, Jenna believes the killer is a visitor to the town...until a second local girl is discovered.

"The Language of Flowers" by H. G. Wells is a short essay. H. G. Wells once different, humorous social satire and ironic. During the early Victorian revival of chivalry the Language of Flowers had some considerable vogue. The Romeo of the mutton-chop whiskers was expected to keep this delicate symbolism in view, and even to display his wit by some dainty conceits in it.

London is buzzing with the news that James Winters, the Duke of Wulverton—thought lost at sea a decade ago—survived in the harsh wilderness of the Yukon. Now he's been returned to his family, his responsibilities, and a nightmarish world of artifice and noise. He has three weeks to become a refined, elegant duke for the Queen . . . or doom the entire family to ruin and scandal.

Juniper St. James has never met her half-sister before, yet she finds herself with an invitation to her lavish New York wedding. With only a handful of stressful weeks to go until the big event, Juniper wants a fake boyfriend, and she wants Julian's help getting his college roommate and hot NFL star, Noah, to play the role. Julian reluctantly goes along with the trade, but spending long, late nights working on his case with Juniper makes him realize how surprisingly well he can tolerate her company. Or more than tolerate.

In this exciting seventh entry in Thomas Perry's Jane Whitefield series, Jane spirits James Shelby, a man unjustly convicted of his wife's murder, out of the criminal court building in downtown Los Angeles-but the price of Shelby's freedom is high.

Captain Worthington is injured in the battle of Trafalgar. Blinded by shrapnel, his life goes from being at the forefront of society to being almost cast off. He finds himself sitting with the wallflowers at a ball - something he doesn't take too kindly to. Miss Amelia Basingstoke has no dowry and enough dreadful relations to ensure that even on her third season, she is unmarried and a confirmed wallflower. Her only friend is a large boisterous dog of dubious character.

Lady Ophelia Darby exists in two worlds. In one, she is the impudent, willful daughter of a powerful marquess and darling of the ton. In the other, she moves through the underworld's shadows as songstress Lady Starlight, protected only by the notoriously wealthy scoundrel Devlin Byrne. But when she stumbles upon her beloved father's darkest secrets, the line between her two worlds quickly blurs. Now she needs the help of the one man a lady should never trust.

In different corners of the world four high-profile figures are assassinated in less than a week. Nobody links the deaths but one thing is certain: each of them has been stalked, sought out, and killed with care and preparation. Then a sinister connection is established: a single, blood-tipped rose is sent to each funeral and an unremarkable female agent is murdered in Switzerland.

When Sara Foster runs away from home at 16, she leaves behind not only the losses that have shattered her world but the girl she once was, capable of trust and intimacy. Years later, in Los Angeles, she is a sought-after bartender, renowned as much for her brilliant cocktails as for the mystery that clings to her. Across the city, Emilie Dubois is in a holding pattern. In her sixth year and fifth major as an undergraduate, she yearns for the beauty and community her Creole grandparents cultivated but is unable to commit.

While competing in a fishing tournament in a remote area of Northern Minnesota, Virgil Flowers receives a call from Lucas Davenport to investigate a brutal murder at a nearby resort for women only. As Virgil begins investigating, he finds a web of connections between the people at the resort, the victim, and some local women, notably a talented and popular country singer. The more Virgil digs, the more he discovers the arrows of suspicion point in many directions, encompassing a multitude of motivations: jealousy, blackmail, greed, anger, and fear.

Becoming the Earl of Castleton wasn’t something Arthur Brynnwood was expecting. Yes, his great-uncle was old, but Arthur had always imagined him living forever. But after he learned of his great-uncle’s passing he went from being just another gentleman to one of the highly sought after prizes by matchmaking mamas of the ton. Suddenly the responsibility of running such a vast estate was thrust on Arthur’s shoulders.

In this second installment of Carola Dunn's cozy mystery series set in 1923 England, plucky Daisy Dalrymple embarks on another assignment for Town and Country magazine and discovers that daffodil bulbs aren't all that's buried in a country estate's flower bed.

Regina (Reggie) Spark has loved Broderick Killoran, the resourceful and protective proprietor of the Devil’s Den, ever since he saved her from the streets and made her his right hand at the notorious gaming hell. For just as long, Reggie has never admitted her true feelings for him. Nor has she revealed her spirited ambitions - to buck convention and expectations and open a music hall. While Broderick built his gaming empire with ruthless cunning, his loyalty to his employees is boundless.

In society circles she's known as the Watching Wallflower - shy, quiet, and certainly never scandalous. Yet beneath Lady Sarah Frampton's demure facade hides the mind of The Lady of Dubious Quality, author of the most titillating erotic fiction the ton has ever seen. Sarah knows discovery would lead to her ruin, but marriage - to a vicar, no less - could help protect her from slander. An especially tempting option when the clergyman in question is the handsome, intriguing Jeremy Cleland.

Miss Maryann FitzWilliam is too witty and bookish for her own good. No gentleman of the ton will marry her, so her parents arrange for her to wed a man old enough to be her father. But Maryann is ready to use those wits to turn herself into a sinful wallflower. When the scandal sheet reports a sighting of Nicolas Ives climbing out the chamber windows of a house party, Maryann does the unthinkable. She anonymously claims that the bedchamber belonged to none other than Miss FitzWilliam, tarnishing her own reputation - and chances of the dastardly union her family secured for her.

Edward Stanhope, the icy Duke of Thornfield, likes his life in a certain order. Give him a strong drink, a good book, and his dog for company, and he’s content. But when he goes to his library and finds a woman sitting in his chair, petting his dog, what starts as a request for her to leave turns quickly to a fiery battle of wits, leading to a steamy kiss that could ruin them both if they’re caught. So, of course, damn it all, that’s when Edward’s aunt walks in and, thereafter, announces Miss Georgiana Bly as the future Duchess of Thornfield.

When I met Thayer Holmes, I had no idea how much he would single-handedly change my life. Our journey hasn't been an easy one, but it has been ours. We've fought through the impossible and come out stronger because of it. But happily-ever-after isn't a destination. It's a never-ending road trip with bumps along the way. Some bumps are bigger than others, but none of it matters as long as we have each other, right?