Island Fiction

Police Chief Aggie Malone is facing her first Christmas as a married woman, and hoping for a relatively uneventful holiday in the quiet Gulf Coast community of Dogleg Island where she, along with her perspicacious border collie Flash, is in charge of keeping the peace. She is still trying to find her place in the big, boisterous Grady family, but unlike Flash - and her own husband, Deputy Sheriff Ryan Grady - Aggie does not see the appeal of the holiday, and the magic of the season is completely lost on her. The old-fashioned Christmas Grady has planned for his bride begins to unravel when Aggie's investigation into a homicide hit-and-run leads to the arrest of her own brother-in-law and exposes a crime syndicate that's responsible for spreading millions in counterfeit bills throughout the southeast.

Far in the future, Earth’s oceans have risen. Coastlines have changed to create new islands far from shore. Even worse, Earth has been invaded by aliens known as the Hunters. They are masters of camouflage and enjoy hunting down humans and other creatures for sport. On the island of Humanhattan, one family is ready to make the dangerous trip to the safety of the government Fortress. But when Rio and his friend, Ani, are separated from their parents, they have to rely on their wits and quick reflexes to avoid the deadly Hunters. Will the two young friends survive until help arrives?

For decades, the singular and provocative paintings by Cree artist Kent Monkman have featured a recurring character—an alter ego of sorts, a shape-shifting, time-travelling elemental being named Miss Chief Eagle Testickle. Though we have glimpsed her across the years, and on countless canvases, it is finally time to hear her story, in her own words. And, in doing so, to hear the whole history of Turtle Island anew.

Cassandra Haslam loves plans. Lunch plans, wedding plans, and floor plans—they all bring her joy. In fact, she's had her entire life planned out—career, marriage, and family—since age 10. She's smart, hardworking, and a go-getter, and everything has fallen into place so far. Until her husband dies suddenly, right when she's about to enjoy the fruits of all of her hard work and planning, leaving Cass reeling and...well, without a plan. When her youngest graduates three months later, making her an empty-nester, Cass decides it's time to make a new plan for herself. A paradise plan.

Detectives Macleod and McGrath join a bizarre cast of characters at a remote country estate on the Isle of Harris, where fantasy and horror are the order of the day. But when regular accidents happen, Macleod sees a killer at work and needs to uncover what links the dead. Hampered by a snowstorm that has closed off the outside world, he must rely on Hope McGrath before they become one of the victims.

It's the grand opening of Daybreak Island's cat cafe, where customers can get cozy with an assortment of friendly felines - and maybe even take one or a few home. Co-owner Maddie James is purring with excitement over her new warm-and-fuzzy venture, until she becomes entangled in a petty drama between one of her volunteers and a wealthy woman who insists on adopting a calico kitty. The catfight that ensues is bad enough for business. But when the snubbed socialite is found dead with a tell-tale catnip toy on the scene, suspicion lands squarely on Maddie's staffer.

New Year's Eve, Loloma Island, Fiji. At one of the most exclusive island resorts in the Pacific ocean, the champagne is poured, the fireworks are ready, and the countdown to new year is just beginning. It's set to be a night that no one will forget. Especially when a body washes up on the shore... But it's impossible to find answers when everyone here has a motive.

Dear Listener, Island Flame is a classic tale of romance on the high seas, featuring two extraordinary characters: the headstrong Lady Catherine Aldley and the legendary pirate Jonathan Hale. No book is more special to me. I was thrilled when it was published, and now, more than thirty years later, I am just as excited to share it again with you. I don’t have to tell you that their tumultuous escapade sizzles with passion (lots of passion!), but what I hope you will take away most from Cathy and Jonathan is that dreams do come true - in love and in life. Mine did, and I hope yours will too.

It’s November 1935 and Polly spends her days in paradise, cracking coconuts and swimming in the warm surrounding waters of the South Pacific. Every day is filled with blue skies, the familiar rhythm of island drums and dance, and nightly feasts of freshly caught fish and harvested vegetables shared with the other villagers. If only she could be at peace, but this great descendant of the famed mutineer, Fletcher Christian, longs for adventure and change. Her wily spirit finds just that when a steamship arrives ready to trade.

When I agreed to stand by my best friend, Basia, on her big day, I had no idea what I was in for. Bouquets and unflattering evening wear I can handle. But between disgruntled dates, a beach venue, and suspicious packages, what else can go wrong? Oh, right - my parents don't know I've moved in with Slash. Oops? Thankfully, I've got everything semi under control, at least as far as Basia and Xavier know. They can leave for their honeymoon happy, knowing Elvis, Slash, and I will keep things safe at home.

En el verano de 1963 un náufrago, Roberto de la Grive, llega a una nave abandonada en los Mares del Sur donde encuentra sólo animales desconocidos y máquinas extrañas. Frente a la nave hay una isla de ensueño, tan cercana como inalcanzable. Confinado en este exiguo espacio y perdido en el vasto mar, Roberto nos pone al corriente sobre su pasado a través de las cartas que escribe a una enigmática «Señora». Pero Roberto ha viajado hasta allí con una misión muy concreta: resolver el misterio por el cual pugnan las nuevas potencias de la época, el secreto del Punto Fijo.

Jack, with the help of the ladies, began to use their powers in new ways and discover new islands. They haven't found everyone yet, and they won't stop until they do. With new dangers on every island, Jack and the girls struggle to live and carve out a space to call home. Especially with signs of life showing and not the friendly type.

Marine biologist and former secret operative Doc Ford is lazily poling his skiff along Southwest Florida's flat copper sea in search of sea anemones when he runs into the body of the most hated man on Sanibel Island: Marvin Rios. And when the Island's simplest and sweetest resident is arrested for the murder, Doc heads straight into the heart of the sunshine state's dark side - to save his friend from being framed, and to save Sanibel Island from a rising tide of land-grab schemes, blood money, and violence.

When Jimmy McMullen, a fireman, is killed in the line of duty, his wife, Jackie, and ten-year-old son, Charlie, are devastated. Charlie idolized his dad, and now the outgoing boy has become quiet and reserved. Trusting in the healing power of family, Jackie decides to return to her childhood home on Sullivan's Island. Awaiting them is Annie Britt, the matriarch who has kept the porch lights on to welcome them. Thrilled to have her family back again, Annie promises to make their visit perfect - even though relations between mother and daughter have never been smooth.

Molly Bell Redwine was raised to believe that nothing is more important than "The Family". But everything Molly values is challenged when her domineering mother dies, her husband leaves her for a younger woman, and her Atlanta family scatters to the four winds. She takes refuge by visiting friends in Martha's Vineyard, a very different world that hastens her changing identity.

Ben and his tribe of beautiful monster-girls have a new mission: Sail to the island of dragons, rebind them to Ben’s women, and use the fire-breathing beasts to wipe the orcs off the map. But a storm knocks them off course, and they end up on another mysterious island. An island inhabited by winged, butterfly-women who are faced with a deadly and unknown enemy.

Beekeeper Holly McNee Kensen quietly lives in a world of her own on Sullivan’s Island, tending her hives and working at the local island library. Holly calls her mother "The Queen Bee" because she’s a demanding hulk of a woman. Her mother, a devoted hypochondriac, might be unaware she’s quite ill, but that doesn’t stop her from tormenting Holly. To escape the drama, Holly’s sister, Leslie, married and moved away, wanting little to do with island life. Holly’s escape is to submerge herself in the lives of the two young boys next door and their widowed father, Archie.

Of course, I've noticed Angel and Devil noticing me. I've felt their eyes and the deep pulse of their heated wanting. I've also seen plenty of men coming and going from their house all summer long, year after year, and I don't want to be one in a long line. The energy of Palm Island is so strong, it's hard not to get swept up in it sometimes. Temporary lust, the hedonistic thrill of excess I'm only human after all. But something stops me every time I want to give in and let go.

When a traveling show of impressionist art comes to Nags Head, North Carolina, librarian Lucy and the staff at the Bodie Island Lighthouse Library are inspired to create an educational display about art history. Their launch of the display is a huge success, but the morning after, they discover that a reproduction of a famous painting has gone missing. No one knows why anyone would bother stealing it: the picture is of no value—the real, priceless painting is under lock and key at the art show itself.

The frigid swells off the coast of Antarctica buffer Team Cousteau’s kayaks as they weave through the icy water. They’re losing daylight, and at risk of failing their fieldwork assignment. But Cruz Coronado’s thoughts are elsewhere. Nebula is closing in, and time is running out. The evasive explorer spy is still out there. And in his gut, Cruz knows his final mission will have deadly consequences.