Showing results by narrator "Jennifer Jill Araya" in All Categories

If we call someone extravagant, we’re usually thinking about his spending habits and luxurious way of life. So to use that word for a homeless man who had only one change of clothes—an itinerant teacher who depended on others for food and shelter—seems a stretch. Yet Jesus was the most extravagant person who ever lived. Carole Engle Avriett invites you to redefine your notion of “extravagant.” In this study of ancient customs and ways of life, you’ll gain an understanding of the cultural context of the Scriptures and of twelve key characteristics of God's nature.

While Phaedra Brighton might not have a Mr. Darcy (yet), she's quite content with her loving family and loyal cat. Phaedra's sister Hannah is the Jane to her Elizabeth, and Phaedra is ecstatic that Hannah has decided to move home for her next adventure—opening a business. All of Laurel Springs is out in full force to celebrate the grand unveiling of Hannah's new patisserie, Tout de Sweet, including local celebrity Rachel Brandon. Hannah is a master of her craft, with confections so divine, one bite will make you think you've died and gone to heaven.

Louisa Henry has had the worst year. She never imagined she would be a widow before the age of 40. To cope with the sudden loss of her husband, Lou moves across the country to live near her best friend in a town as cute as a button. Even though it means quitting her fancy New York editor job, she now owns the bookstore of her dreams.

When Tina Evans gets a call from her brother in the middle of the night, she doesn’t think much of it; she’s been fielding distress calls from Bill for the last twenty years, ever since the day their father killed their mother. At first, this call seems just like all the others: Bill’s holed up in a Brooklyn drug den and needs her to come rescue him. But when Tina gets there, her brother’s nowhere to be found. Instead, she discovers the body of a private detective hidden in the junk heap out back. He’s been shot to death, and his gun is missing from its holster.

The pink-and-white awning of Stoneybrook’s newest shop, Patchwork Quilts, has locals seeing red. Regardless of the warm welcome the town gave her, Mabel Bailey seems bent on sewing the seeds of competition with Frannie’s Quilt Stop. Slashing prices is one thing, but stealing quilt designs is a crafting faux pas. When Hadley finds Mabel dead in her quilt shop, the townspeople have to face the terrible truth that one of their own might have taken her out.

Just a typical day at your summer job. When recent business school grad and meticulous ten-year planner, Kat McLauren, takes an unplanned au pair position in the French Riviera to schmooze a future employer, she haphazardly upholds her reputation while rejuvenating a local tourism magazine, grappling with three unruly kids, and avoiding a romance with the host family's eldest son. But if a summer full of well-aged wine, sizzling flirtation, and a bit of betrayal can promise one thing, it’s that sometimes the best things in life are the ones we don’t plan for.

March 1942: Adolf Hitler is dead at the hands of the Royal Air Force. A vengeful Luftwaffe has exacted the Third Reich’s revenge on Great Britain, and London lies in flames. With the Royal Family fleeing to Canada and Great Britain’s Pacific colonies being ceded to Imperial Japan, the United States faces a stark, dangerous future alone. With a broad cast of characters underpinned by historical research, Acts of War examines the terrifying “What if…” of a German victory in Europe followed by upheaval in the Court of St. James.

An award-winning novel from one of Ukraine’s most prolific contemporary authors, Forgottenness tells a spellbinding story of belonging and uprootedness, as understood by two exiles across time. An exceedingly anxious narrator grapples with a host of conditions, from obsessive-compulsive disorder to a creeping sense of agoraphobia. As her symptoms deepen, she finds unexpected solace researching Viacheslav Lypynskyi (1882-1931), a social and political activist of Polish descent who played a pivotal role in the struggle for Ukrainian independence—and who nursed his own comorbidities.

Louisa Henry’s dream bookshop is up and running. On a trip to deliver a book to one of her customers, Lou stumbles upon the man’s dead body. The police are sure it’s a suicide, but Lou has questions. Clues at the scene and details about the man’s life just don’t seem to add up. The fact that the dead man was the town bully is only one of many things that gives Lou pause. Are the police jumping to the conclusion of suicide so they don’t have to arrest the person who did everyone a favor?

From cozy stables to stormy nights and magical places, Darkness Falling is a thrilling adventure where the fate of the world lies in the hands of four friends and their horses. The four Soul Riders, Lisa, Anne, Linda, and Alex, are facing their greatest test yet. Mr. Sands’ sinister plans are threatening to destroy life on Jorvik. Only the Soul Riders and their horses have the power to stop him and his Dark Riders. To succeed, the Soul Riders must learn to master the magic. But they are running out of time.

Lisa Peterson is a teenage girl who is coming to terms with the tragic loss of her mother in a riding accident. Lisa swore she would never ride again, but everything changes when she moves to the island of Jorvik and meets Starshine, a mysterious steed with a blue mane. In the stable, Lisa befriends Alex, Linda, and Anne, and together they start to realize that they all have magical connections with their horses—and each other.

Soul Riders tells the heroic tale of four young girls who have been chosen by destiny to save the world from the ancient demon: Garnok and his band of dangerous Dark Riders. Lisa is a teenage girl who is still coming to terms with the tragic loss of her mother in a riding accident and has sworn never to go near a horse again until she met Starshine, a mysterious blue-maned steed who comes to her in dreams.

The Soul Riders series tells the heroic tale of four young girls who have been chosen by destiny to save the world from the ancient demon: Garnok and his band of dangerous Dark Riders. Having split up on their own individual missions at the end of book 1, the Soul Riders are now in increasing danger. In a desperate act, Anne manages to save her friends by using her newfound magical abilities. Together again, the Soul Riders feel their powers intensify as they work in unison for the first time.

Seren Colburn's had nothing but bad luck her entire life, so she's not surprised when Dave, a possible buyer for her family mansion, mistakes her for a vagrant squatting in the unfurnished home. If she wasn't about to lose her movie-star grandmother's house to the bank, she wouldn't even be selling it.

The McKays' tumultuous divorce played out in the unforgiving public eye, mirroring Sheriff Mark McKay's humiliating defeat in the recent election. Just as it seems everyone is ready to move on, Mark is discovered lifeless, right in the middle of one of his ex-wife Courtney’s meticulously staged houses. The talented interior decorator finds herself at the epicenter of the accusations.

After more than a decade away, Mira James isn’t keen on returning to her Minnesota hometown for the holidays. Her childhood memories aren’t particularly jolly. Even less festive is the news of a serial killer on the loose. With only ten shopping days till Christmas, the Candy Cane Killer has been very busy slashing through the snow. Eager to earn her official PI stripes, Mira is anxious to track him down. But when the latest victim is a woman from her high school graduating class, the investigation hits a little too close to home.

When Fourth of July weekend coincides with Wenonga Days—the annual celebration of a locally famous Ojibwe leader—the town of Battle Lake double-dips on the tourist trade. This year the hullabaloo hasn’t even started and there’s already a story for reporter Mira James. The Chief Wenonga statue has disappeared, leaving behind drops of human blood and a big question for Mira: How and why would anyone steal a twenty-three-foot monument? Things go from curious to worse when a local man is kidnapped.

It may be six below zero, but an ice-skating jaunt gets even more chilling for private investigator in training Mira James. She’s just locked eyes with a frozen corpse floating under a sheet of ice. The man, a curious transient who’s been researching local history, also rescued Mira and her best friend from a mugging the night before. His death is no accident, but it is a mystery. To solve it, Mira follows a trail leading to the alleged haunting of a historic museum and a centuries-old tragedy that has yet to claim its final victim.

It’s cold enough to freeze a shadow when Battle Lake local Tom Kicker braves the killer temps to bag a deer—only to get shot to death by his best buddy, Clive, in a hunting accident. Tragic, yes. Accident? Mira James, just a few weeks into working toward her PI license, isn’t so convinced.

Mira James has had it up to here with Battle Lake, Minnesota. After her latest romantic prospects go bust, she’s ready to move back to the Twin Cities and get a lapful of cats. Funny how murder can stall the best-laid plans. Days before the August Moon Festival, high school cheerleader Lucy Lebowski, Mira’s library assistant and an all-around sweetheart, is murdered.