Spotlight: Buried Cold Case Secrets by Sami A. Abrams

BURIED COLD CASE SECRETS by Sami A. Abrams (on-sale Dec.28, Love Inspired Suspense): Recovering her missing memories could be the key to solving a murder. Searching for her best friend’s remains could help forensic anthropologist Melanie Hutton regain her memories of when they were both kidnapped—unless the killer gets to Melanie first. For her safety, Melanie must rely on Detective Jason Cooper, who still blames her for his sister’s death. Can Jason set the past aside to solve the cold-case murder…and shield Melanie from the same fate?

Excerpt

“Does it still hurt?”

She jumped.

“Didn’t mean to startle you. Guess I have a habit of doing that.” Jason rested against the neighboring tree.

Several deep breaths later, she forced a smile. “It’s okay.”

He narrowed his gaze and studied her a moment. “Well? Does it?”

“A little.” Truthfully, a lot, but Jason didn’t need to know that. “I, uh, wanted to thank you for watching out for me today.”

“Just doing my job.” The muscles in his neck and shoulders tensed.

“We both know it’s more than that.” She wiped her hand down her face. “Jason. We’re going to be working together for the foreseeable future. Do you think we can call a truce, at least while we do our jobs?”

His jaw twitched, and he remained silent.

She’d asked a lot, but the strain between them had to stop. She watched him for a few minutes then shook her head.

“Never mind.” She pushed from the trunk and limped to the hole in the ground. Her lead-filled heart threatened to drop to her feet. To think that fifteen years ago, she’d had a crush on him. He’d teased her and Allison, but he’d never allowed others to speak unkind words to them. If only she could return to those carefree days. The days before she had died on the inside and her friend had died for real.

Someday, Allison, I’ll find your body. I promise.

She swiped the wetness from her cheeks and lowered herself into the grave. The movement mimicked her mood. She picked up her trowel and searched for more bones.

An hour later, Melanie’s headache had become unbearable, causing her stomach to roil. Just what she needed, to lose her lunch in front of Jason. Scanning the grave, she spotted the paintbrush she used for delicate work. She grasped the handle, but dropped it. She tried again, but her fingers refused to cooperate. Her eyelids grew heavy. Something was off. She sat on the edge of the hole.

“Jason, help.” Her words were slurred. She struggled to stay upright. The trees in front of her blurred and swayed.

He kneeled down and came face-to-face with her. “What’s wrong?”

“I don’t know.”

“Help me out here. What’s the last thing you did?”

“I—I…” She struggled against the gray cloud jumbling her thoughts. “Took a break a while ago. Only digging since.”

His gaze flew to a spot behind her.

She wilted into him. Her vision tunneled, and darkness closed in.

“Keith! Grab the cooler and her bag!”

Jason’s frantic voice registered, but her body had shut down.

His warm arms lifted her. Her head bobbed and landed on his shoulder.

Her cheek bounced against his chest in cadence with the pounding of his feet on the path.

His rhythmic breathing was the last thing she heard before the world went dark.

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About the Author

Two-time Genesis winner Sami A. Abrams and her husband live in Northern California, but she’ll always be a Kansas girl at heart. She enjoys visiting her two grown children and spoiling their sweet fur babies. Most evenings, if Sami’s not watching sports, you’ll find her engrossed in a romantic suspense novel. She thinks a crime plus a little romance is the recipe for a great story. Visit her at http://www.samiaabrams.com. 

Spotlight: The Shoe Diaries by Darby Baham

THE SHOE DIARIES by Darby Baham (on-sale Jan.25, Harlequin Special Edition): It’s never too late to put your best foot forward. From the outside, Reagan “Rae” Doucet has it all: a coveted career in Washington, DC, a tight circle of friends and a shoe closet to die for. When one of her crew falls ill, however, Rae is done playing it safe. The talented but unfulfilled writer makes a “risk list” to revamp her life. But forgiving her ex, Jake Saunders, might be one risk too many.

Excerpt

He was inches away from me when I fell into his arms and began crying. All the anger I’d felt toward him, the hurt he caused me, the stupid ways he’d played me…they all meant nothing in this moment. He was here when I needed him the most. And I could no longer hold my tears back as he stood without a word and let me soak his shirt with sobs for minutes, only occasionally rubbing my hair to bring me comfort.

“Maybe we should go for a walk,” he finally said.

“A walk sounds good.”

“Wait, what are you doing here?” I asked once I had a moment to calm down. We’d walked to Jake’s car to get some privacy while I tried drying up my tears, but the peace and quiet away from the hospital walls also brought me back to reality. It certainly didn’t help that Jake had the kind of car a man gets when he has no intention of having obligations any time soon: a two-seater, silver Jaguar F-TYPE. It was gorgeous on the outside, intimate inside and was also a stark reminder of the reason we broke up in the first place.

“Christine’s mom called me. I assume she was just going through the numbers she had of her friends, and I was still on the list.”

“Oh.”

I guess I’d forgotten that Mama Vasquez had Jake’s number from when we were in college. And that we hadn’t exactly updated her to let her know he shouldn’t still be on the call list of people to inform if something went wrong.

“And so you came all the way from New York?”

“Actually, no. I was in town already for work. It’s why I called you the other night as well. Was hoping we could talk after all these years. But then when Chrissy’s mom called, I just figured it was fate I was here, and so I should come.”

“You definitely came around that corner just as I needed you to,” I admitted with a sigh. “I’m sorry about that, by the way. I just… I couldn’t cry in there and then I saw you and—”

“Hey, you don’t have to apologize for that. I’m—I don’t want to say glad but—grateful I was there when you needed someone.”

“Thank you. I don’t want to make this about me, though. She’s the one in there fighting for her life. I was simply trying to encourage her to keep doing so because… I’m… I’m just not ready to lose my friend.” I held back more tears that were aching to flow down my cheeks.

“And it’s okay to feel that,” he said, lifting my head so we were eye to eye. “It’s okay to not be everyone’s strength all the time. That’s all I’m saying.”

“Yeah, I hear you.”

“I don’t think you do, but that’s okay, too. Just know you don’t have to be strong with me. I can take your tears and your questions.”

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About the Author

Darby Baham is a debut author with Harlequin Books Special Edition, where she signed a three-book deal in August 2020. She is also a senior managing editor with The Council of State Governments (CSG) Justice Center. 

Spotlight: New Year Kiss With His Cinderella by Annie O'Neil

NEW YEAR KISS WITH HIS CINDERELLA by Annie O'Neil (on-sale Dec.28, Harlequin Medical Romance): From a midnight kiss…to a reunion in the ER! When Dr. Carter shares a New Year's kiss with a captivating stranger, he doesn't expect a reunion. Then he walks into Saint Dolores’s ER the very next day…and discovers she’s his new colleague! Awkwardly, their smoking-hot attraction hasn’t gone away! But for Carter, life has meant staying mobile, and he can’t simply lay down roots. Yet there’s something about Nurse Avery and Nashville that’s starting to really feel like home.

Excerpt

“You’re that confident, are you?” she asked, her tongue dipping out for a quick swipe along her lips.

She was warming to him. Good.

The guy who’d climbed on the bull after her had been thrown off and someone else was climbing on. Carter would glue himself to the bull if that’s what it took to stay on the longest. But it wouldn’t take that. Back in Texas, he’d called his riding paying the bills. His sister had called it sheer stupidity. They’d both been right.

“Never met a bull who didn’t take to my winning personality.” He tipped the brim of his hat to her.

Her eyes didn’t leave his. “If you win my money, I’m not taking it.”

“And I’m not letting you walk away empty-handed.”

She frowned. “I guess you’d better come up with something else, then. I don’t steal prizes that aren’t mine.”

He held his hands out, then ran them alongside his body. “Apart from my guitar, this is the only other thing I’ve got on offer.”

He wasn’t actually broke. He wasn’t a thief, either. That role in the family was already taken.

A loud roar from the crowd filled the air as another contender climbed aboard the longhorn.

She tilted her head to the side, and he took the few moments she was assessing him to do the same. Skin that looked so soft there probably wasn’t a thread count high enough for it. A body that rocked the hell out of her double-denim getup. A pair of cowboy boots that definitely weren’t just for show. Goddamn she was sexy.

“Well, then,” she said. “I guess you’d better get on up there and show me what you got.” When she met his gaze, he was pretty sure he wasn’t only seeing neon lights flaring in her eyes.

She put out her mittened hand. They were going to shake on it, apparently.

Carter smiled. Progress. She liked him, too. Enough to want to see him show his stuff atop a mechanical bull anyway. Maybe she merely wanted a good laugh. Either way, he could work with that. Not that he’d be seeing her again, but…it was New Year’s Eve. The bit of him that believed in destiny, that hoped that fate wasn’t something only poets spoke of, wanted her appearance in his life to signify something more than a chance meeting. Yet another moment in time that would slip through his fingers when reality reared its head and cut things short. Again.

It surprised him how much he wanted her to be a sign of good things to come. Needed it, even. Perhaps if he won that kiss…

He put his thumb and index finger on the tip of her thumb. “May I?”

She didn’t say anything, but she didn’t refuse. Just watched, mesmerized, as he tugged off her mitten, slowly, so that when their hands finally met, it would be flesh on flesh.

The atmosphere changed. The sounds of the crowd dulled and somehow, the way the world can sometimes, everything stilled so that it seemed like it was just the two of them out here in the middle of Nashville with nothing but a few flakes of snow between them.

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About the Author

Annie spent most of her childhood with a leg draped over the family rocking chair and a book in her hand. Novels, baking and writing too much teenage angst poetry ate up most of her youth. Now, Annie splits her time between corralling her husband into helping her with their cows, listening to audio books whilst weeding and spending some very happy hours at her computer writing.  

Spotlight: Golden Crown by Kathleen Maree

(Arthur Academy, #2)
Publication date: November 25th 2021
Genres: New Adult, Romance

Synopsis:

“If the world is full of monsters, how do we know who wears the crown…” 

Hendrix:
In the dark of the night he bared his soul, delivering a shocking event that should’ve changed everything. 

So why in the light of day, does everything appear the same…? 

The further I’m immersed in this world he calls the ‘elite’, the more I don’t understand. And it’s not only his world I’m afraid I’m falling for, but the Golden Crown himself as well.  

But Pax still has secrets.  

And I want him to trust me, like a flame wanting fire. 

Because despite his world being nothing as it seems, I’m not sure I could walk away even if I wanted to.  

Because the truth be told, I don’t want to. 

I want him. 
 

Paxton:
In the dark of the night I revealed a truth, delivering the brutal reality of what the elite really means. 

So why in the light of day, does everything appear the same…? 

It’s the same cat and mouse games, and the same political, power tricks where the Golden Crown is all they see. It’s all they want to see. 

Except for her. 

But there are things I can’t tell her. Things I don’t think she’ll understand yet. 

And I need her to trust me, like a fire needing flame. 

Because despite me knowing what this world does to those who fall victim to it, I’m not sure I could walk away from Hendrix, even if I wanted to.  

Because the truth be told, I don’t want to. 

I want her.

Excerpt

I put aside the questions I wanted to ask her about how those scars got on her perfect skin and shoved down the anger trying to take over when all I wanted to do was to kill the one responsible for hurting her. 

Because that’s not what she needed right now. 

But I swear on everything I am that no one will ever lay a hand on this girl as long as I’m breathing. 

She was mine.

Mine to protect. Mine to care for. 

Mine to love.

That last thought was what I let soar to the surface because this girl beneath me meant more than anything I would have ever dreamed.

My palm drifts from her cheek to the side of her head, where my fingers glide down the braid she always wears. A simple thing to most people, but for someone like me who was taught how to read situations like it was my second nature, I knew the reason she wore her hair like this wasn’t because she liked the style. From what I’d discovered, I knew Hendrix had a story, but I never dreamed that a girl like her would have endured this much pain. 

This much torment. 

By the hands of someone who was supposed to protect her too. This girl had a strength and a beauty inside of her that went so far beyond the realm of what I would’ve thought possible, that I almost felt like I wasn’t deserving of her. But to have her look at me like I’m the only star shining in her sky, and for her to let me into her deepest fears, had me wanting to do everything in my power to make sure it stayed that way.

No matter the cost.

When my hands find the end of her braid, I tug on her bottom lip with my teeth before pressing a final kiss there and pulling back. My eyes were seeking an answer to my question as I finger the hair-tie that holds her hair in her safe place down her side.

“May I?” I croak, like it was a moment I would relive forever.

Her eyes widen before she nods shakily, and after a moment I carefully slide the tie out of her hair. I run my fingers through the long, black strands until it fans out beside her, and do nothing but gaze down at this goddess from my god-damn dreams. She nervously slips off her glasses and rests them on the table beside us, before running her hands up my naked chest to the tips of my shoulders.

“Hendrix, I…” I start, but before I can get out more words, she initiates a kiss and pulls my head down to hers. I ease more of my weight on her, careful not to crush her but needing to feel as much of her as possible. My palms cup her thighs, squeezing her ass until my hands are gripping her waist beneath her sweatshirt. She shivers when her bare stomach presses against mine. I move my assault from her lips to a path down her neck and feel her legs falling slightly open so I can settle my body between hers. My fingers move up her stomach until I’m feeling every inch of the bare skin on her breasts, and I take my time kneading them until I earn myself the reward of her soft moans and breathy whispers when she says my name.

“Pax….”

I slowly tug her hoodie up and over her head until her luscious hair cascades around us like hells waterfall. 

My dark angel sent only for me.

Our mouths and tongues are at war with one another, like they would never get enough, until I feel her tiny hands head south down my chest and stomach until she reaches the top of my jeans.

And I don’t stop her.

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About the Author

Kathleen grew up in the south-western suburbs of Sydney, where family holidays by the beach and tormenting her two younger brothers, was how she spent her early years. But at the young age of 11, when she submitted a short story to a talented writing competition through the NSW schools program, not only did she win it, but she quickly found a love for it as well.

Throughout her schooling, writing was a hobby, along with sketching and various sports. But fast forward to her adult years when she moved to Europe to follow her husbands field hockey dream, and her love for writing surged to the surface.

Her debut story, Cut, was penned over two years where her hobby seemed to lead to the completion of Pennys' world. The rest of the series came the following year.

Kathleen enjoys writing stories full of self-discovery, emotional journeys and of course, love.

Something else she loves is hearing from her readers, so feel free to follow her blog or drop her an email.

For signed copies of her novels, more information about upcoming stories, or to follow her blog, please visit her website www.kathleenmaree.weebly.com

Dream often. Believe always.

Kathleen xo

Connect:

http://www.kathleenmaree.com/

https://www.facebook.com/kathleen.maree.author

https://twitter.com/kathleen_maree

https://www.instagram.com/kathleenmaree.author/

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/13919300.Kathleen_Mare_

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Spotlight: An Unexpected Distraction by Catherine Bybee

Family secrets and fresh romance collide in this heartpounding Richter series installment by New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Catherine Bybee

About An Unexpected Distraction

Jacqueline "Jax" Simon knows how to expose secrets: she's a skilled operative with MacBain Security and Solutions. When Jax hears her parents are divorcing, she races to London to find out why. She's determined to learn the truth, especially when her investigation uncovers why her parents sent her to Richter, The German military school that made her a fighter.

Andrew Craig collects Jax at Heathrow Airport as a favor. He's heard she's a handful, but he didn't know she's dangerously gorgeous too. His instant attraction could change his life...or end it.

Jax doesn't want to fall for Andrew, but soon he's worming his way into her life. Together, they infiltrate Richter to discover if it has returned to its covert purpose: training children to be spied and assassins and blackmailing parents to look the other way. As the attraction between the two intensifies, so do the secrets exploding all around them. How deadly those secrets—and who will survive?

Excerpt

Andrew stood aside, put his beverage down. “I’ll walk you out.”

Outside the bar, the cold, damp London air snapped her spine straight.

“Where is your car?”

Jax pointed across the street and up toward her brother’s place. “I’m capable of getting there on my own.”

“I would suspect anyone who jumps out of airplanes and plays on America’s military bases is capable of more than crossing the street.”

“Then why are you out here?”

The light turned green and they started walking.

“I want to help.”

“Help with what?”

“Your investigation. That’s why Harry asked you to come, isn’t it?”

“Is that what he told you?”

“He told me he needed family reinforcements to get his dad to move out of his flat.”

That sounded like the words her brother would use.

“I have a feeling my father is going to be just as helpful putting this to rest as my mother.”

“He didn’t seem excited to see you.”

“Thank you for pointing that out.”

Andrew paused his step. “I’m sorry. That was insensitive.”

She stopped, turned to look at him. “I’m pretty sure I remember telling you my family was cold. Back when I thought you were a driver who didn’t know them personally.”

“Right. I’m sorry about that, too.”

Jax started walking again. “I tipped you.”

He followed. “I’ll pay you back.”

They crossed another intersection, and she slowed her pace as the rental car came into view.

She wondered if there was a way for Andrew to help her. “Do you work with my dad?”

He shook his head. “No. I’m in finance, but with the private sector. Hedge funds have no appeal to me.”

“There’s more money in it.” Jax stopped at the car.

“And less quality of life. Look at your brother, he doesn’t have any hair left.”

“True.”

Andrew reached out his hand.

She looked at it.

He wiggled his fingers as if asking for something. “Your phone. In case you need backup.”

“There’s an entire team here in London.”

He pointed to his chest. “But only one of me.”

That sounded like a line. But she handed him her phone anyway.

He pressed a button to power it on, then turned it toward her so it would open.

A sly smile sat on his lips as he put in his phone number.

When his phone buzzed, he silenced it quickly, obviously pleased with himself.

“Was this about me getting ahold of you, or you getting ahold of me?”

“Yes.”

Jax narrowed her gaze, saw the same attraction she had the night they’d met. “I’m not here for that.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” His eyes twitched. His smile grew.

Instead of calling him out, she reached for her keys.

He opened the door and waited for her to get behind the wheel “Petrol,” he said.

Jax looked up at him, confused. “What?”

“My last credit card transaction was at the petrol station.”

It was hard not to smile. “You’re an interesting man, Andrew.”

He leaned down with a knowing smile. “You have beautiful legs, Jax.”

She was blushing . . . she could feel the heat in her cheeks.

He closed the door and stepped back.

Jax drove away without saying goodbye, knowing full well she’d see him again.

Buy on Amazon Kindle | Audible | Paperback | Bookshop.org

About the Author

Catherine is a #1 Wall Street Journal, Amazon, and Indie Reader bestselling author. In addition, her books have also graced The New York Times and USA Today bestsellers lists. In total, she has written thirty-six beloved books that have collectively sold more than 10 million copies and have been translated into more than twenty languages.

Raised in Washington State, Bybee moved to Southern California in the hope of becoming a movie star. After growing bored with waiting tables, she returned to school and became a registered nurse, spending most of her career in urban emergency rooms. She now writes full time and has penned The Not Quite series, The Weekday Brides series, The Most Likely To series, and The First Wives series.

Learn more about Catherine and her books at www.catherinebybee.com

Spotlight: The Five-Day Reunion by Mona Shroff

THE FIVE-DAY REUNION by Mona Shroff (on-sale Jan.25, Harlequin Special Edition): They ended their marriage but they never fell out of love. Law student Anita Virani hasn’t seen her ex-husband since the ink dried on their divorce papers. Now she’s agreed to pretend she’s still married to Nikhil until his sister’s wedding celebrations are over—because her former mother-in-law neglected to tell her family of their split! The closeness they share during the marriage act gives Anita new insight into the man she once loved so deeply. And reignites Nikhil’s feelings for her…

Excerpt

She was struggling with pinning pleats behind her left shoulder when Nikhil groaned. She watched him through the mirror as he slowly attempted to sit up in bed. He ended up lying back down, holding his head.

“Electrolytes next to you,” she said, finally securing the pin. The sari sagged a bit, but whatever. She’d managed it in the end.

She tried not to look at him. He was ridiculously handsome first thing in the morning. Tousled dark hair and scruff on his chin. The soft, bewildered look in his dark eyes, matched with a slight pout of full lips.

She had always loved waking up next to him. He was sexy and handsome—some mornings, she couldn’t believe her good fortune. That she was the one who got to wake up next to him every day. That she was the one he loved above all else.

Or so she had thought.

“Electrolytes.” She raised her voice a bit. “On the nightstand.”

He started at her voice, which only made him moan again. “Neets?”

He really needed to stop calling her that. “Anita,” she corrected him as she donned large dangly earrings and a necklace and reached for her matching bangles, desperately trying to ignore how sensual her name sounded in even his dry-throat voice.

“What the hell are you doing in my room?” he croaked at her.

“Right now, it’s our room. We’re supposed to be married, remember?” Her bangles jingled as she slid them on, the sound reminding her of wedded bliss.

“I’m trying to forget.”

Did he remember kissing her? Didn’t matter. “You certainly tried to forget last night.” She looked at her phone. “You have forty-five minutes to get up and be presentable. The grah shanti starts at eight thirty.”

He grunted. She walked over and shook him. He reeked of alcohol.

“What are you doing?” he grumbled, clutching his head in obvious pain.

“Tina’s first puja is in forty-five minutes, downstairs, and you need to be there.” She handed him the glass of electrolytes. “Though I get paid regardless of whether or not you show. I told your mother I would not be responsible for your attendance.”

He sat up and took the glass, looking at it like it might bite him. “I’m sure she drew up the appropriate documents.”

“No. I did.” She smirked at him.

He scowled at her as he sipped the electrolytes

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About the Author

Mona is obsessed with everything romantic, including chocolate, coffee and wine. PW calls her "a writer to watch" and Sonali Dev called her first novel, Then, Now, Always a "sweet, angsty romance." She's blessed with an amazing daughter and loving son who have both gone to college. Mona lives in Maryland with her romance-loving husband.