Island Fiction

Travel magazine writer Celeste Bell is in a terrible mood. Not only was her flight to the Caribbean diverted to a Massachusetts island, now it looks like she'll have to spend Christmas there. Single and still mourning the loss of her mother a year earlier, Celeste is desperate to avoid any emotional entanglements and all holiday festivities. She just doesn't feel like celebrating. But that's exactly what community center director Nathan White and his young daughter, Abigail, want to do. Nathan is entirely focused on making sure that his daughter has a happy Christmas.

On a winding cliff edge on the wild Irish coast, two cars collide. In one is Maura Claffey’s niece, Finn, and her baby daughter. In the other, Kathryn with her own newborn—and her own secrets. Both women survive, but one of the girls does not. In the aftermath, bruised and heavily medicated, both women struggle to come to terms with what happened that day.

Miles from the laid-back lifestyle of No Name Key, and just shy of the raucous nightlife of Miami and South Beach, lies Coconut Grove, a tropical oasis with a distinct Bohemian flair. Lately, a seedy underside has emerged along the Grove's waterfront, preying on adventurous young women. Somewhere amid all the glitz and glamour, hides a thief who stole a fortune in Aztec emeralds. Or did he? Jesse McDermitt must first determine if the victim herself is a thief. The trail of clues leads him to evidence that the thief may be involved in a string of more heinous crimes.

Archer Steele is one of the leading vintners on the East Coast. He’s arrogant, aggressive, and has never been interested in settling down, which is what makes his hookups with his sister’s beautiful blonde best friend, hair and makeup artist Indi Oliver, the perfect escape. But Indi’s toying with moving to the island, and when she ends their no-strings trysts to focus on her business, Archer isn’t ready to let her go....

As Little Bridge Island Public Library’s head of children’s services, Molly hopes the messiest thing in her life will be her sticky-note covered desk. But fate - in the form of a newborn left in the restroom - has other ideas. So does the sheriff who comes to investigate the “abandonment”.

Danger lurks in the sleepy little town of Marathon, in the middle of the Florida Keys, as well as in the swamps of the Everglades. But danger doesn't expect to run into a man like Jesse. A man who will not only respond swiftly in facing it, but with a vengeance unexpected.

Lucretia and her mother have come to tiny Candle Island, Maine (Population: Summer, 986; Winter, 315) to escape—escape memories of the car accident that killed her father and escape the journalists that hound her mother, a famous and reclusive artist. The rocky coast and ocean breeze are a welcome respite for Lucretia, who dedicates her summer days to painting, exploring the island, and caring for an orphaned osprey chick. But Candle Island has secrets of its own

Miss Atalanta Ashford is sightseeing near Venice when a mysterious veiled lady approaches her with the urgent request to look into her daughter's mysterious death on the idyllic Greek island of Santorini. Whilst working as a companion for the eminent Bucardi family, the unfortunate girl took a plunge from the dramatic cliffs during a walk alone. But is all as it seems? Sailing to Santorini and going undercover as the new companion, Miss Ashford soon discovers that her client hasn't told her the full truth.

Ellis Island, 1902. Francesca arrives on the shores of America, her sights set on a better life than the one she left in Italy. That same day, aspiring linguist Alma reports to her first day of work at the immigrant processing center. Ellis, though, is not the refuge it first appears thanks to President Roosevelt's attempts to deter crime. Francesca and Alma will have to rely on each other to escape its corruption and claim the American dreams they were promised.

Since he won the Academy Award for best original screenplay a few years ago, Grant McCarthy's personal and professional lives have fallen apart. Abby, the woman he was supposed to marry, is engaged to someone else, and Grant is back at home on Gansett Island helping run the family marina business while his father recovers from a serious injury. While all of Grant's focus should be on winning back the love of his life, the pesky marina restaurant manager Stephanie is working her way under his skin—and into his bed.

It's Christmas time at the Pearl Sands, but Charlie is finding it difficult to face the challenging feelings of the holiday season in her new home. When an eccentric and wealthy woman seeks out her investigating skills, she jumps at the chance to leave the emotional holiday behind and heads to an exclusive holiday party. Can Charlie uncover which guests have sinister intentions and which guests are simply there for a good time?

Toni Benson’s life has been a roller coaster. Years ago, the heartbreak caused by a cheating ex-husband left her in tatters. Then she discovered the run-down fixer-upper that would become the Sweet Island Inn. For a while, things were good. But when her brother Henry’s tragic death sends her reeling all over again, she is back to square one. So she sets off on an overseas journey, in hopes of learning from scratch what kind of woman she is meant to be. She wasn’t looking for love. But it found her anyway.

Peter Willems is the outcast of the islands, in this, Joseph Conrad’s second novel published in 1896, inspired by his experience as ship’s mate on the trading vessel Vidar. Willems is confidential clerk to Hudig, a powerful merchant trading out of Macassar, in the Dutch East Indies, on the island of Sulawesi. But very soon Willems is on the run from a scandal and finds himself up-river at Almayer’s remote trading post. An all-consuming liaison ensues between Willems and Aissa, the local chief’s daughter.

It was the blood I noticed first. Running down the neck of the man on the ferry. Then his bruised knuckles, dark eyes, and arrogant smirk. The handcuffs came last. No one else paid him attention, but I couldn't look away. Or deny my instant lust. I had no idea he was being imprisoned on the remote, dark Scottish island I knew well. Or that he'd been kidnapped, not arrested. I went from that naïve girl on the boat, dreaming of stolen kisses, to the one who held the key to his prison cell. When heat turns to hate, all that's left is ruin.

Dr. David Lawrence has spent the last two years atoning for his sins and recovering from the devastating breakup with Gansett Island golden girl Janey McCarthy. As the island's only doctor, he's had ample opportunity to show his fellow island residents that there's more to him than the guy who disappointed Janey so profoundly. Now if only he could find a way to forgive himself, he might be able to move on with his life without the woman he'd expected to love forever...

Adam McCarthy needs a few days at home on Gansett Island to soothe his battered soul. On the ferry ride home, he runs into an old family friend. Abby Callahan has come home to Gansett after two epic failures in the game of love. Before too long, Adam has appointed himself her guardian and is determined that the only sleeping around she's doing is with him. That is unless his brother Grant is willing to risk his newfound happiness to keep Adam from rebounding with his ex.

In this continuation of the story of Anne Shirley, Anne leaves Green Gables and her work as a teacher in Avonlea to pursue her original dream (which she gave up in Anne of Green Gables) of taking further education at Redmond College in Nova Scotia. Gilbert Blythe and Charlie Sloane enroll as well, as does Anne's friend from Queen's Academy, Priscilla Grant. During her first week of school, Anne befriends Philippa Gordon, a beautiful girl whose frivolous ways charm her.

After a job gone wrong, I find myself in the back of a transport van on my way to the women's prison in my city. Only... We never make it there. Three canisters of knockout gas later, I'm ten thousand feet in the air with a dozen other prisoners being told to jump or die. I choose to jump. The island I land on isn't an ordinary island. The worst of the worst are put here by a private army to do the jobs normal people are too scared to do—their very own suicide squad.

Gansett Island has withstood the fury of Hurricane Ethel, and now the cleanup is underway for many islanders, including McKenzie Martin, who barely escaped the storm with her life and that of her son, Jax. After Police Chief Blaine Taylor rescued them and brought them to his home, her island neighbor, Duke Sullivan, showed up with belongings he collected from the collapsed cottage she recently inherited from her grandmother. When Duke invites McKenzie to use his empty garage apartment while she figures out her next moves, McKenzie is thankful for his offer—and his friendship.

Reclusive collector Cutter Merlin is seldom seen in Key West - lately, not at all. Officer Liam Beckett visits Merlin’s curious house and discovers the gentleman in his study. In his death grip: a volume of occult lore and a reliquary. His eyes are wide with fright, his mouth a horrified rictus where spiders now dwell. Kelsey Donovan returns to the old house to catalog her estranged grandfather’s collection of artifacts and antiquities, vowing to see his treasures divested properly.