Rural Fiction

All her life, Epiphany Salerno has been tossed like a dandelion seed on the wind. Now, at 16, she must move to the low-rent side of Blue Sky Hill and work where she's not wanted: in an upscale home on The Hill. J. Norman Alvord's daughter has hired a teenager to stay with him in the afternoons. Widowed and suffering from heart trouble, Norman wants to be left alone. But in Epie's presence, Norman discovers a mystery. Deep in his mind lie memories of another house, another life, and a woman who saved him.

The time: the waning years of the 1990s at the dawn of the millennium. The place: an isolated rural town called Auburn, which could be anywhere at all - a town where everyone knows everyone else - where dark secrets run through its veins like blood. Everyone knows that 16-year old Mikey Childress is "different." A target for bullies since he was a small boy, everything Mikey does attracts abuse: the way he walks, the way he talks, the way he looks. Everyone knows he's not like the other boys in Auburn - the boys who play hockey, who fight, the boys who pursue girls.

Part love story and part ghost story, this is an unforgettable New York Times best seller about a science journalist and a North Carolina librarian who dare to believe in the impossible. As a science journalist with a regular column in Scientific American, Jeremy Marsh specializes in debunking the supernatural - until he falls in love with the granddaughter of the town psychic. When Jeremy receives a letter from Boone Creek, North Carolina, about ghostly lights appearing in a cemetery, he can't resist driving down to investigate.

Dating Matthew O’Brien - a playboy and younger man - cost Laila Riley her career and her parents’ respect: a high price, even for love. So when Laila decides it was just a fling, she breaks it off, despite Matthew’s objections. But the O’Brien family has other ideas, and they conspire to get Laila to join them on a Dublin holiday. It’s a great time to get away from it all, but Laila has reservations about the trip. Matthew’s bound to be there, and she’s far from immune.

Tucked away in the foothills, surrounded by pine forests, loaded with kids who still play outside, Millwood is the small town everyone knows. For Heather Bradley, it's a place that keeps her family safe; her biggest worries are the daily grind of her job and the kids coming home late. She doesn't know that unfathomable forces are set to converge on her town and thrust their neat lives into darkness, but when her oldest son Stuart opens a one-sided door in the woods and a black cloud pours out, the Bradleys and their whole town find themselves locked in a desperate struggle for survival.

The Lone Texan features Sage McMurray, a recent widow whose life is about to take another unexpected turn. One would think that the loss of a husband was plenty for anyone to deal with, but then Sage is taken hostage in a robbery and auctioned off to the highest bidder. The bidder in question, however, has more than a few surprises in store.

After 30 years, Wilson Lewis is forced to face a painful truth: the romance has gone out of his marriage. His wife, Jane, has fallen out of love with him, and it is entirely his fault. Despite the shining example of his in-laws, Noah and Allie Calhoun, and their 50-year love affair, Wilson himself is a man unable to express his true feelings. He has spent too little time at home and too much at the office, leaving the responsibility of raising their children to Jane. Now his daughter is about to marry, and his wife is thinking about leaving him.

Camden Hunter doesn't belong here. I've spent my entire life in the small town of Sutten Mountain, where everyone knows everyone, and you can spot trouble from a mile away. Camden is trouble. He's an arrogant, self-absorbed billionaire from the city with too much money and not enough manners. And he just opened a fancy art gallery next door to my bakery. When he comes to me desperately needing a favor, I can't help but propose a deal: I'll cater his grand opening, and in return, he has to spend a day with me as a local—to experience the beauty and talent this town has to offer.

I've been pining for Abel Miller since we were teenagers. He's sexy as hell and has always played a starring role in all my fantasies. Too bad he only sees me as his best friend's little sister. He's also a broody playboy who takes home a new girl every night, while I'm looking to find forever with someone. Abel and I couldn't be more different. When my dad gets sick and says he just wants to see me safe, settled, and happily in love, Abel shocks me by offering to pretend to be my husband.

Fans of Patrick Taylor's bestselling Irish Country novels know Dr. Fingal Flahertie O'Reilly as the irascible senior partner of a general practice in the colorful Irish village of Ballybucklebo. But there was a time, shortly after arriving in Ballybucklebo, that Dr. O'Reilly was not widely accepted by the villagers. This touching short story tells of how O'Reilly, with a little help, began to overcome their objections.

Karen Sommerfield has been hiding from the big questions of her life - the emotional distance in her marriage, her inability to have children, and her bout with cancer. Getting lost in her high-powered career provides the sense of purpose she yearns for. Until the day she's downsized out of her job and the doctor tells her the cancer may be back. It's a double blow that would send anyone reeling.

A body is found on a quiet lane in Exmoor, victim of a hit and run. He has no ID, no wallet, no phone, and - after being dragged along the road - no recognisable face. Meanwhile, fresh from his last case, DCI Craig Gillard is unexpectedly called away to Devon on family business. Gillard is soon embroiled when the car in question is traced to his aunt. As he delves deeper, a dark mystery reveals itself, haunted by family secrets, with repercussions Gillard could never have imagined. The past has never been deadlier.

Gilles, vingt-neuf ans, se retrouve amoché dans le Montréal d’après la pandémie : il a perdu son travail de guide touristique, sa copine et son logement. En désespoir de cause, il se réfugie chez son grand-père Henri, qui possède une ferme en Estrie. Très réticent au départ, le citadin prendra peu à peu goût à la vie à la campagne et à la tâche quotidienne que lui confie son grand-père : promener les chèvres. Cet été-là, une flopée de personnages venus d’un peu partout voudront faire route avec cet étrange promeneur de chèvres.

Actor Kelsey Grammer, best known for his roles in the TV sitcoms Cheers and Frasier, delivers Bitter Brew, a compelling mystery featuring Detective Bill Walsh, an upstate cop in the quiet, rural town of Beatriceville, 200 miles north of New York City, who suspects foul play in the death of millionaire city transplant Jonathan Kimball, even though the evidence points to suicide, not murder.

Bienvenue à Pagford, petite bourgade anglaise paisible et charmante : ses maisons cossues, son ancienne abbaye, sa place de marché pittoresque... et son lourd fardeau de secrets. Car derrière cette façade idyllique, Pagford est en proie aux tourmentes les plus violentes, et les conflits font rage sur tous les fronts, à la faveur de la mort soudaine de son plus éminent notable.

My father is back from the dead. He won't leave town without me, and no one can figure out why. Is it because of what I am? Does he want to use me as part of his religious cult? My mates are furious, and I can't help but feel like I have brought this trouble on them. The supernatural community is upset by the light I've brought on them with the rightful murder of my mother and Jed. My classmates have been swayed by the cruel rumors that my bully has put out. Worst of all? The boys keep saying I can shift, but I've had no luck. And what is this about a possible mating heat?

Working as the head trainer at Lodestar Ranch is my chance to prove I have what it takes to be a woman in a man's world. The only problem? My boss is the world's grumpiest cowboy… and I can't keep my eyes off him.

It's hard to forget a beautiful woman who picks your pocket the first time you meet. Darby Cahill recognizes Mariah Ayres the moment she walks into his bar looking for a job. He shouldn't hire her - or crave more after one impulsive kiss. But what starts as curiosity about her motives turns to concern when he senses how much danger she's in. Mariah has been running ever since she left her fiancé at the altar. Now she's playing the part of the perfect employee, terrified that her past will catch up with her.

Danniella is running from her past, so when she arrives at the beautiful seaside resort of Whitsborough Bay, the last thing on her mind is making friends. Alison is fun, caring and doesn't take herself too seriously. But beneath the front, she is a lost soul. Karen's romance has taken a back seat to her fitness business. But she doesn’t want to give up on love quite yet. When the women meet at their local bootcamp, a deep friendship blossoms. And soon they realise that the secret to happiness is where they least expected to find it....

Some people might dream of inheriting a hotel somewhere as picturesque as Buckhorn, Montana. To Casey Crenshaw, though, her late grandmother’s property is a white elephant to be sold as quickly as possible. The place has been boarded up for years, and locals have murmured about ghost sightings ever since a young woman was murdered there. But it’s not the imaginary ghosts that worry Casey - it’s the flesh-and-blood man who’s throwing a wrench into all her plans. Finn James intends to find out what really happened at the hotel years ago.