Island Women

Los Angeles, 1908. Ex-heiress Anna Blanc is precariously employed by the Los Angeles Police Department, reforming delinquent children and minding lady jailbirds. Badly. What she really wants is to trap criminals and be alone with the delicious Detective Joe Singer—both pursuits that could get her fired. If she loses her income, she’ll be on the street. While hunting truants in Griffith Park, Anna and Joe discover the body of a young John Doe. With Anna’s job on the line, Joe warns her away, but Anna can't resist. She's on the case.

Five-Star-Chef Zoe Griffin walked away from her dream job. Did she make a mistake? Her engagement off, Zoe Griffin retreats to tiny Wildflower Island in the Puget Sound. Hiding out as a cook and maid at a shabby bed-and-breakfast seems crazy for a chef who’s used to running her own five-star kitchen. And just as she starts to feel at home, her klutzy mishaps make Zoe fear her handsome new boss will fire her.

When young nurse Emer loses her beloved sister, she is haunted by grief and desperate to escape her memories. Taking a job in Vinalhaven, a rocky outpost in the wild Atlantic, feels like the refuge she so badly needs. Her patient, Susannah, has lived in isolation for many years, since the tragic death of her sister Kate caused her to withdraw from island life. However, when Emer discovers a bundle of letters in a rainbow quilt in her bedroom and shares the story of her own loss, Susannah opens up.

Oona grew up on the island of Inis: a wind-blasted rock off the coast of Ireland where the men went out on fishing boats and the women tended turf fires; where the only book was the Bible; and where girls stayed at home until they became mothers themselves. The island was a gift for some, a prison for others. Even as a child, Oona knew she wanted to leave, but she never could have anticipated the tumultuous turn of events that would ultimately compel her to flee. Now, after 20 years - after Oona has forged a new, very different life for herself - her daughter vanishes.

"I found fame and fortune," she explains, "but I lost my home, myself and a sense of belonging. It took many years to find 'me' again." Women of every age, every stage and every face will relate with her "identity crisis." A crisis that is all too common in this post-modern era as women search for authentic validation. Teen girls will be particularly inspired by her struggle to live by the motto: "Beauty is as beauty does."

What's worse than Paige Grant getting stuck in a window while breaking into her late grandmother's Lavender Island ranch? Being discovered - and saved - by next-door neighbor Adam Mason. The Grants and Masons haven't exactly been friendly in recent decades, despite Paige's teenage crush on handsome, standoffish Adam. But the down-on-her-luck actress now needs more than saving.

Both a gripping locked room mystery, and a transporting, evocative portrait of a woman in crisis, Trouble Island marks the enthralling standalone suspense debut from Sharon Short, promising to be her breakout novel, inspired by a real island in Lake Erie, and true events from her own rich family history.

Lake Winnipesaukee in central New Hampshire is a paradise on earth. A perfect place to unwind—until a ruthless killer starts taking innocent lives. Following a horrific double homicide, the small communities surrounding the lake are wondering who the next victim will be and what the killer wants. Russian-American police officer Vanya Petrova is enraged that someone has shattered paradise on her lake community. She seems to be the central figure in this murderer's bloody rampage. Vanya suspects she's somehow acquainted with the sick man responsible for the bloodshed.

A well-kept secret from the average tourist, Rockfish Island is the chosen destination for an all-inclusive corporate getaway with a fun-filled weekend of glamping and horseback riding planned, each guest expecting a good time despite mounting tensions and ladder-climbing aspirations. When a shot rings out in the early morning, the celebratory atmosphere dissolves, and Sheriff Lane, with Ranger Philip Russell in tow, must discern if the corresponding death is an accident, a matter of opportunity, or a murder for hire.

When newly single and heartbroken Paige inherits an isolated cottage facing out to the wild sea on Dune Island from her great-aunt Violet, she is shocked. Paige never even met Violet, and she’s heard family stories about how a terrible incident involving the wealthy neighboring Hathaway family during World War Two led Violet to withdraw from everyone. But why would Violet leave everything to her? Then Paige finds an old envelope containing her aunt’s only piece of jewelry.

The Beachside Inn is up and running, but that doesn’t mean the work is done. In fact, things are busier than ever! After months of preparation, Angela and Lydia are finally hosting their first guests - including Patrick, who needs a place to stay while he hunts for a new house. It’s a summer of changes and challenges, but with laughter, love, and faith, anything is possible.

A year ago, Lydia became a widow at 38 when she lost her beloved husband to cancer, and despite the support of her friends and her teenage daughter Holly, she’s had a hard time moving on from the loss. She feels stuck, uncertain of how to carry out her husband’s final wish that she do something that scares her. Angela Collins has what seems like the perfect life - a beautiful little boy, a loving husband, and a good career. But that all comes crumbling down.

"Wir haben deine Frau. Der Preis für ihre Freiheit beträgt zwei Millionen Euro. Ihr Leben liegt in deinen Händen." Als der vermögende Unternehmer Flosi nach einem langen Arbeitstag nach Hause kommt, muss er feststellen, dass sein Haus durchwühlt wurde. Glas ist geborsten, das Abendessen auf dem Fußboden verteilt, und von seiner Frau Guðrún fehlt jede Spur. Eine auf dem Küchentisch hinterlassene Nachricht bestätigt Flosis Befürchtung: Guðrún wurde entführt. Wenn er nicht das geforderte hohe Lösegeld zahlt, wird seine Frau sterben.

Gen is more than ready to step up to her new role as Maddie's mother. The way that Maddie became Gen's daughter doesn't matter; all that matters is that she is. But as Gen wraps her mind around her new role and embraces all things girly and pink, she gets a delicious surprise. As wonderful as this surprise is, can their brand new family handle any more change?

Friendship and inner strength bind four women together. Whenever one struggles, the others are there to lift them up. They know they’ll come out of these trials stronger, better, and happier—and with lifelong friendships to treasure.

Would you risk your life for total strangers? When she is assaulted while on vacation in Key West, the unforgettable Kate Bowers marshals her skills as a former homicide detective and Army MP. As she hunts down her assailant, she discovers women enslaved in a high-end sex trafficking operation on a luxury super-yacht. That’s only the first complication. The president’s daughter is missing and in mortal danger.

Meet zany Molly Hanson, part of a husband and wife commercial fisherman that’s mostly her husband. Still learning the ropes, she loves her idyllic watermen island village of Smithtown, but her blundering courage and unsafe curiosity cannot be contained when she uncovers a female tattooed torso floating in the water.

Watching her sister Angela pursue her passion has inspired Brooke to follow her own dreams. For years, she’s harbored a secret fantasy of opening up a bakery of her own in Marigold, but maybe it doesn’t have to be just a fantasy. Although starting a new business is a daunting prospect and a lot of work, Brooke finally feels ready to take the leap. Guests at the inn have been raving about her pastries, and her family is behind her all the way, so now she just needs to find the startup capital.

Sarah Wheeler knows what she wants. Marriage and children are not part of her plans. She’s seen too many marriages fall apart. The last thing she wants is to be a statistic. As for children, Sarah doesn’t see herself as the nurturing type. She’s content helping her mother run the Key Lime Garden Inn on Captiva Island and working as Director of Community Relations at Southwest Florida’s Outreach Center. Work leaves her with little time for romance—until infuriating, charming, and intriguing Trevor Hutchins distracts Sarah and throws her off balance.

Carol Ruckdeschel is the wildest woman in America. She eats road kill, wrestles alligators, rides horses bareback, and lives in a ramshackle cabin that she built herself in an island wilderness. She’s had three husbands and many lovers, one of whom she shot and killed in self-defense. A combination of Henry David Thoreau and Jane Goodall, Carol is a self-taught scientist who has become a tireless defender of sea turtles on Cumberland Island, a national park off the coast of Georgia.