Showing results by narrator "Sandra Murphy" in All Categories

Sixteen years after a family feud drove her from the cozy Northwoods village of Whispering Pines, Wisconsin, former detective Jayne O’Shea returns to prepare her grandparents’ lake house for sale. Once there, not only does she find that the house has been trashed, her dog discovers a dead body in the backyard. Jayne intends to stay out of it, but when it becomes obvious the sheriff isn't interested in investigating the death, Jayne can't stop herself. Her list of suspects grows faster than the plants in the commons’ pentacle garden.

When a tourist is found dead and a villager is accused of murder, Reeva knows the village has bigger problems than icky ice cream. It’s time for Long and McLaughlin Private Investigators (a.k.a. Reeva and Ruby) to put their sleuthing skills into action and catch the real killer.

We know that our friendships increase our happiness, our health, and our longevity, yet people in the US have fewer close confidantes today than we did three decades ago. Even though there’s a huge amount of information in the media discussing these relationships, and our social media feeds run 24/7, most of us haven’t come up with a constructive approach to friendship. But learning to be a better friend is the first step to acquiring and cultivating better, more rewarding friendships.

Historic Yellowstone National Park captures the most interesting moments in the park’s history, the slices of life in Montana and Wyoming that provide an idea of what life was like for those who chose to explore this gloriously beautiful corner of the United States. There’s the presence of Native Americans in the early years of the area’s history, the early explorers and expeditions, its debut as the very first national park, the explosive growth of tourism, and the people who made history in this astonishing and mysterious Rocky Mountain landscape.

Tucked next to a pristine lake, the part-Medieval Europe, part-Renaissance Faire hamlet of Whispering Pines, Wisconsin, is a utopia...except for the recent murders. One month after arriving in the Northwoods, former detective Jayne O'Shea has settled comfortably into small-town life and is making good progress with her task of getting her grandparents' house ready for sale. Then, the shocking death of one of the carnies rocks the community, and the villagers look to Jayne for help.

The Northwoods village of Whispering Pines used to be a safe haven for outsiders, but after three deaths in two months, it’s become a hotbed of murder. Exhausted from being the only law enforcement official on duty, while also trying to open a bed-and-breakfast, Jayne O’Shea welcomes the escape she finds in her grandmother’s journals. Each entry gives her a deeper understanding of why her grandparents moved to the secluded spot so long ago. But as questions are answered, deeply hidden secrets are unearthed.

Celebrate the season in Whispering Pines with snow, mistletoe, and murder. Preparations for the Yuletide festival are in full swing, and so is the gossip about a blackmailing villager. Sheriff Jayne O’Shea doesn’t have time or patience for small-town rumors. After two long years overseas, her father is coming for a visit and everything has to be perfect. Then, just as things start falling into place, the blackmailer is found dead. As if that wasn't enough, strange packages start showing up on doorsteps around the village, each containing a clue as to how the receiver will die.

Sometimes, what’s needed most is hiding in plain sight. It’s been almost a year since Sheriff Jayne O’Shea arrived in Whispering Pines. Deciding to stay was the best decision she ever made, but the closer the anniversary gets, the gloomier she feels. It doesn’t help that she and Tripp have been arguing. Neither does the dense fog blanketing the village. Or the group of cranky wedding planners staying at the B&B.

Things are heating up in Whispering Pines, and it’s not just the weather. Sheriff Jayne O’Shea is on edge. Hopeful applicants have taken over the commons area, all of them begging to become residents. Villagers who left long ago have returned, causing an uproar among the locals. The slow burn feud between the sister witches has reached the boiling point. And her parents are acting just plain weird. Fortunately, it’s time for the annual Beltane celebration, the last opportunity for everyone to gather before tourists invade the village for the summer.

As the vernal equinox brings welcome warmth and the promise of the coming tourist season to Wisconsin's Northwoods, it also brings an invading Wiccan coven. Sheriff Jayne O’Shea isn’t worried about the witches. It’s the fact that her mother is coming for her first visit in nearly 20 years that has her on edge. Their reunion goes well, better than expected, and then a coven member disappears.

A monster of a blizzard is on the way, but the hardy folks of Whispering Pines aren’t bothered by the weather. Not when there are supplies to gather and neighbors to catch up with. As everyone finally settles in to ride out the storm, Sheriff Jayne O’Shea gets a phone call. A stranger has stumbled into the village. She’s covered in bruises and mumbling about a car crash. Determined to figure out what happened to her, and to rescue any other potential victims still out there, Jayne braves the howling winds and arctic temperatures. Then another call comes in....

In Whispering Pines, even downtime can be deadly. The quiet time of year as settled over Whispering Pines. For months, Sheriff Jayne O’Shea had been looking forward to a little R&R but now she’s not so sure. What’s she supposed to do with herself? Take up knitting? When a brawl breaks out at the local pub during the Thanksgiving gathering, a patron is critically wounded. Not the kind of distraction Jayne was looking for.

The new tourist season is about to start. The witches, carnies, fortune tellers, and other lovable outcasts of Whispering Pines are abuzz with excitement. Sheriff Jayne O’Shea, however, is nervous. After their tragic last season, the lakeside hamlet became known as the Murder Capital of Wisconsin, and she would love to redeem their reputation. Everyone has assured her they’re ready and that it’s going to be a great opening weekend, but Jayne can’t shake the feeling that something is wrong.

Visitors claim they feel summoned to Whispering Pines, Wisconsin, but can’t explain why. Residents say the same thing. Kitchen witch Reeva Long tried to leave many times, only to have fate call her back. Most recently, a year ago to settle her estranged late husband’s estate.

Since childhood, Courtney has loved fairies. After her mother died when Courtney was 10, she lost touch with that feeling of magic. A year ago, at age 29, she rediscovered it when she left her father's landscaping business to spread her wings and start a fairy garden business and teashop in beautiful Carmel, California. At Open Your Imagination, she teaches garden design and sells everything from fairy figurines to tinkling wind chimes. Now she's starting a book club tea.

When her tinsmith father and brothers head West, Polish immigrant Marie Kotlarczyk has no choice but to go along. Family, after all, is family. The Dakota Territories are anything but welcoming to the Kotlarczyks, and as the months trip by, Marie must pick up the hammers she’s secretly desired but also feared. When she faces the skeptical people of Flats Town, the demands of the local Army commander, and her public failures, her inner voice grows destructively, forcing Marie to decide exactly who she is and what it means to be a woman smith.

Proper Boston widow Jane Weber moves to the Dakota Territories under layers of lies to save her reputation. Stirring up controversy, Jane rooms with the last Blackfoot Sioux in town while navigating a mercurial friendship with the fiercely independent town grocer. In Flats Junction, though, everyone has an untold story. Battling her shortcomings, falsehoods, and swallowing her inherent curiosity, Jane must choose how she will truly reinvent herself, and where she belongs.

Whether you just want a job that lets you travel the world for free, or you're looking for a career that lets you set your own hours and do what you love, this audiobook will show you how to become a tour guide with clear, practical advice and easy to follow steps. It will teach you what you need to say, how to advertise your services and how the pros make their money. It will teach you how to start your first tour, how to get repeat business after you've finished it and even what life is really like 'out there on the road.'

Courtney has thrown a few fairy garden parties—for kids. But if a local socialite is willing to dip into her trust fund for an old sorority sister’s fortieth birthday bash, Courtney will be there with bells on. To make the job even more appealing, a famous actress, Farrah Lawson, is flying in for the occasion, and there’s nothing like a celebrity cameo to raise a business’s profile.

It’s time for the annual Whispering Pines Tour of Gardens, and plant lovers are arriving by the busload. Discussions of raised beds, fertilizers, and proper amounts of water and sunlight can be heard all around the village. But just as the tours begin, chaos erupts. Someone has vandalized the gardens.