Island Fiction

It’s been three months since Jesse McDermitt had any time off to go back home to Florida. When two surprise openings on the leave roster open up, he and his friend Rusty Thurman jump on it, and head back to the Keys for some scuba diving. The husband of a local reporter’s friend has nearly been killed. Not once, but four times in less than a month. The reporter is Jesse’s new girlfriend and they become curious. How does a man survive four attempts on his life?

Samantha Jameson finds herself washed up on Siren Island - well, if she was to be honest with herself, more like worn-out, defeated, and dead tired. Her whole life has been spent playing by the rules, and for what? An empty apartment, a career with no upward movement, and one failed relationship after another. When it all blows up in her face, what’s a girl to do but book a last-minute trip to the ridiculously named Laughing Mermaid Bed & Breakfast on an unknown speck of an island in the Caribbean?

It'd been a long time; a lot of things had changed. Since sailing away from Cane Garden Bay, Jesse McDermitt had changed. Waking one morning, the smell of rum still on his breath, Jesse realizes he doesn't much like the change anymore. The mask that he'd freely put on didn't fit right. It was the mask of a drifting, womanizing boat bum, and it concealed his inner turmoil. Peeling off the mask, he soon realizes what a mess he's in.

Hell Island does not appear on any maps. It is a secret place where classified experiments have been carried out. Experiments that have gone terribly wrong. When all contact with the island is inexplicably lost, four crack Special Forces units are dropped in. Their mission is to land on Hell Island and discover what has happened. Nothing can prepare them for what they find there. You could say they've just entered Hell. Only that would be wrong. This is much, much worse.

Fiona, Marlin, Natasha, and Charlie McCready are left on their own when their missionary parents are washed away in a tsunami. Fortunately, their great aunt Martha volunteers to have them live with her on her farm in British Columbia. But while they are traveling there, Martha dies unexpectedly, forcing Fiona, the eldest, to come up with a scheme to keep social services from separating the girls - a scheme that will only work if no one knows they are living on their own.

Jody, Ari and Carla have won golden tickets to the summer’s hottest music festival, which promises to be full of glamour, mystique and lots of freebies. But, arriving on the sun-drenched shores of a private Greek island among influencers and celebrities, the trio are dismayed to find the small festival site far from the beacon of music, art and ‘immersive experiences’ they were promised. Disappointed but not deterred, they vow to make the most of the trip.

Cindy Lawry needs a new roommate now that her sister has moved in with her fiancé. When she can’t find anyone, she puts up a flyer in the window of the Curl Up & Dye salon where she works as a hair stylist and at other places around town. With the summer season ending, she can’t afford to live alone, and she doesn’t want to move in with her mom and her new husband. So the roommate search is on, but she’s not getting many inquiries. After growing up in an abusive household, she’s anxious about letting a stranger into her home and her life.

When Tartelin answers an ad for a personal assistant, she doesn't know what to expect from her new employer, Marianne, an eccentric elderly woman. Marianne lives on a remote island that her family has owned for generations, and for decades her only companions have been butterflies and tightly held memories of her family. But there are some memories Marianne would rather forget, such as when the island was commandeered by the British government during WWII.

It’s exhilarating. I feel like a moth. I’m trying to figure out what that blinding, beautiful light is. So close. About to burn me alive. Giving in to the pull of the island, Owen Lamont has taken a writing position at The Birch Island Observer, a supernatural tabloid focusing on the weird and unexplainable. For Owen, that means every week is a new story. A new spirit to chase. A new monster hunting him in the dark. Now he’s being followed. Is the Woman in Black a government agent, an assassin, or something worse?

Laura Bennett has spent her life taking care of other people and running the Dip and Twist. With an ever-growing family, she's a mother to them all. But her baby is getting married, and her oldest has her own life changes to deal with. Suddenly, being alone doesn't sound so appealing anymore. Dean Campbell has always been the black sheep. The only one he cares about is his nephew, Palmer. Deciding at the last minute to attend Palmer's nuptials, Dean knows he's going to need to try not to be his grouchy self. But the mother-of-the-bride has him wanting to check plus-one on his invite.

The Island of Yew is divided into five kingdoms, the central of which, Spor, is a place ravaged by crimes and robbers. One day, a young girl, Sesely, living in the nicer kingdom of Heg, is enjoying a picnic with some companions. A fairy comes down and begs them to help change her into a human. Sesely and her friends, amazed, obey her orders and soon they find themselves in the company of a young man, named Prince Marvel. Prince Marvel desires to go on adventures and become a hero, which he is able to do easily enough in crime-ridden Yew.

Was pretending to sleep with tons of men to keep my crush from hooking up with them a Dirty Trick? Sure. Do I regret it? Not one bit. Telling Boston I have a thing for him would’ve been the logical thing to do. Unfortunately, logic hasn’t always been my strong suit. I decided to go the—“get under his skin until hostility turns into affection”—route instead, and I think it’s finally working.

Real estate developer Harold Longworth is facing life in prison for the murder of his wife in their Sagaponack, Long Island home. Just hired by the defense attorneys, former NYPD detective Giuseppe "Joey" Mancuso realizes that for a whole year before the trial, the attorneys have bungled the investigation. Was it on purpose? Are the attorneys covering something up? Joey and his half-brother, Father Dominic O'Brian, have 10 days before the end of the trial to find the real murderer.

Still recovering from the traumatic events of the past year, newlyweds Aggie Malone, police chief of Dogleg Island, and Deputy Sheriff Ryan Grady are looking forward to a casual day trip to Wild Horse Island, a nearby nature preserve, with their precocious - and uncannily perceptive - border collie, Flash. But when Flash discovers a body in a shallow grave on the island, and Aggie and Ryan learn of an attack on the park ranger, a tangled knot of conspiracy, murder and deception begins to unfold.

On Gullstruck Island, legend has it that the mountain ranges and volcanoes are in charge. Anger them, and you’ll pay the price. Keep them happy, and you’ll enjoy their protection. These stories of the land’s command come in handy for quiet, near-invisible Hathin when she must run for her life. Hathin’s sister, Arilou, is believed to be a Lost. The Lost are held nearly sacred by those on Gullstruck, for they can send their senses away from their bodies. When all the Lost drop dead - except Arilou - she and Hathin are swept into a grand conspiracy.

Driven by a desire for adventure and escape from day-to-day life, mother, wife, and gallery owner Rose Stephenson departs Spokane, Washington, for a weekend trip to a bed and breakfast on an island in the Pacific Northwest. Soon after arriving at Alder Island, Rose discovers a community of eccentric characters including Henry David James, a beautiful songwriter and dream follower. Through adventure, nature, music, and connection, Rose discovers a part of herself she thought she had lost...a discovery that leads her to ask what she will do with her one wild and precious life.

For Manuela del Carmen Caceres Galvan, the invitation to show her paintings at the 1889 Exposition Universelle came at the perfect time. Soon to be trapped in a loveless marriage, Manuela has given herself one last summer of freedom—in Paris, with her two best friends.

Abelard Hassam di Chirico Flint - Abel, for short - is a rich and silly mouse. He spends most of his days just having fun, going to picnics with his wife, playing croquet with friends, and dancing at parties. Unlike most other mice, Abel has never had to work for anything. All that changes one blustery fall day when his wife’s scarf flutters away in a gust of wind. Abel races off to rescue it and is swept away in a rainstorm. When the storm is over, Abel finds himself washed up a deserted island.

It's been 12 years since Jenny Wilks lost her fiancé in the 9/11 attacks in New York City. Since then she's been floundering, trying to find her way. Taking the job as lighthouse keeper on Gansett Island was the best thing she could've done for herself. On the island she's found amazing friends and a wonderful new life. There's only one thing missing and that's romance. She's recently asked her new friends to fix her up with some of the island's more eligible men. While her friends are busy arranging dates for her, Alex Martinez comes to cut the grass at the lighthouse.

Jesse McDermitt is finally ready to retire. But life has other plans. While diving on a remote reef deep in the backcountry of the Florida Keys with his wife, son and two friends, he discovers of all things, a car. Not just any car, but a 1928 Duesenberg Model J, the most powerful and stylish automobile of its time. The car was once owned by a Saudi prince who was attempting to develop Johnston Key in the heart of Turkey Basin before Henry Flagler even finished the rail line to Key West. But that’s not all Jesse discovers and what he finds next will make him the target of one of his own.