Showing results by narrator "Romy Nordlinger" in All Categories

Fitzgerald's debut novel, This Side of Paradise, tells of a handsome young man, Amory Blaine, whose romantic relationships with women are touched with a reflection of his own narcissism. First published in 1920, it covers Amory's life at Princeton and later as a soldier during World War I. The central character is loosely based on Fitzgerald himself, and the female characters are mostly based on actual women in his life as well. The book was a solid success and helped Fitzgerald persuade Jazz Age icon Zelda Sayres, fictionalized in the novel, to marry him.

The lush vegetation and burning sun of Haiti was a world away from Agnes Woodridge's New England home. Despite herself, the lovely young woman felt a tremor of fear of the unknown when she entered the great mansion of Seacrest to take care of a mysterious disturbed little girl, Germaine Dodge. Agnes would have trembled still more if she knew of the curse that hung over this place of so much evil and so many secrets.

The speaker is too high on LSD to explain what he means, but at one time he had been in love with Ruth's sister, Mary, whose sun sign is Aquarius. And it is Mary's disappearance that brought Ruth to Cranston House, a sinister, run-down hotel occupied by Dr. Eric Palmer and his youthful drug cultists. Ruth is told that Mary is "away for a while". But no one will say where, or for how long. Suddenly Ruth herself becomes a virtual prisoner. The more she learns about the dangerous drug experiments Palmer sponsors, the more terrified Ruth becomes.

Was a noose tightening around a horrified Deborah Foster? It was the night of evil ritual. The worshippers of the devil danced around the ruined abbey, now transformed into a temple of terror. Deborah had come there hoping to unmask her sister’s killer. Suddenly against her will, Deborah felt herself succumbing tothe unholy spell woven by the frenzied witches. Relentlessly they began to encircle her. Panic gripped her for she knew they had chosen her as their next victim.

Anna Percival drifted through the shadowy rooms of the old dark house in a sleepwalker's trance. And wherever she went a strange death was sure to follow. Many years before, at Land's End Manor, lived another Anna, a murderess of uncommon cunning and cruelty. Gossipy villagers tried to make Anna Percival believe that the other Anna's evil spirit lived in her! Yet even as death thrived at Land's End, Anna Percival found her own safety threatened again and again. Was she out to take her own life as well as the lives of others?

Dunbar Manor had always been a place of fear for Ann Randall. Years ago, her mother had been killed there by a black-hooded figure who escaped capture. There were those who said that the phantom-like "thing" still roamed the eerie grounds at the dark of the moon. Ann had never expected to return to Dunbar Manor. But one night she awoke in one of its shadowy rooms, her money gone, to find herself the fiancée of a sinister man she had never seen before! She was informed that soon she would become the mistress of the great estate.

Regina Widden stirred restlessly in her bed as she fought to pull herself out of her nightmare.... At last, she opened her eyes and found that she was on a narrow cot in a small cottage. She turned to see a candle in a pewter holder burning on a wooden table beside her. Suddenly, the door burst open and a young girl rushed in. Regina recognized her friend, Peggy.

Karen arrives at he Bagnold plantation in Haiti determined to uncover the truth about her cousin Sheila’s mysterious death. Sheila’s husband, Henri Bagnold, is not above suspicion - though Karen finds herself inalterably drawn to the handsome artist. But Henri is not the only one who had a motive for murder. His beautiful adopted sister, Jean Marie, or his attractive blonde secretary, Dorothy, also had reason to want Sheila dead. So did Leonard, Henri’s cousin, who committed suicide after Sheila’s death and is said to stalk the Bagnold plantation now in zombie form.

Arundel was cursed with a still unexplained secret from its sinister past. And when a series of strange, near-fatal accidents befell her, Marie was certain that the mysterious menace of the old mansion was reaching out to claim her as its next victim. At first she clung to her new-found love for comfort and protection. Suddenly, she became aware that the killer who pursued her from the shadows of that doomed house could very well be her own husband!

From the moment she came to live at Phantom Manor, a rotting pile of stone she had suddenly inherited, Jan Davis became the terrified victim of a series of “accidents.” The lurking murderer could be anyone whose life was tied to the dread secret of the eerie mansion: a homicidal, half-witted young man; a jealous relative who wanted the manor for herself; even a neighboring landowner with whom Jan had fallen in love. But the hidden villain of Phantom Manor could also be one of the “unliving” - the legendary ghost that stalked its shadowy corridors....

Will Anita lose her husband to the ghost with the porcelain face? When they inherit an ancient mansion, Anita and her husband Charles move in. From the very beginning of their arrival at Shorecliff, Anita notices the change that comes over her husband. Charles turns into a sullen and brooding stranger. He becomes obsessed with the legend of Amanda, a vain and beautiful murderess who kept forever young by wearing a mask of porcelain. Though dead 100 years, Amanda seems to have taken complete control of Charles.

Pamela Wales, the young governess at Ravenswood, can hardly believe her luck. The man she adores - the brooding master of the palatial estate - wants her for his wife. For a little while, she is so happy that she ignores the servants' gossip of old scandals and her fiance's involvement in a recent murder. Suddenly, she is almost killed. Then a ghost pursues her through the mansion's sinister corridors.

“Todd Doughty is one of the happiest people on the planet. He finds things big and small that make us smile, and in this wonderful book he shares them with a world he cherishes.”—John Grisham “A poetic, sparkling gem you’ll want to pick up every time you need a smile. It’s the...

The desperate summons could not be ignored. Stephen Briar's note was more than the grief-stricken missive of a newly widowed brother-in-law. Since Ann's untimely death, evil had settled over Briarcliff, and Stephen was fighting for his survival. Jessica Rice sought to uncover the truth about the accident that had claimed her sister's life, but the mystery only deepened. Intrigue wove around intrigue, casting all the occupants of Briarcliff under the gloom of suspicion. No one could be trusted - including Stephen. Jessica had never felt so alone, or so gravely in danger.

As Sassamanash Farms hunkers down for the long winter, Monica agrees to let the local animal shelter host their Christmas-themed fundraiser there. The draw of the event—a chance to have your pet's picture taken with Santa—brings in animal lovers from far and wide. But when the crackling fire dies down and the festive holiday props are all carted away, Monica discovers a very un-jolly sight next to the barn—the dead body of one of the shelter's biggest donors. With the farm's good name in jeopardy, Monica goes to work to root out the killer.

"My name's Bonnie Torres. Recent college grad, magic user, and severely unemployed. Until I got a call out of nowhere to interview for a job I hadn't applied for. It smelled fishy, but the brutal truth was I needed the work - so off I went. Two days later I'm a PUPI (Private, Unaffiliated, Paranormal Investigator) - me and Nick, Sharon, Nifty, and Pietr. Five 20-somethings, thrown into an entirely new career in forensic magic. The first job we get is a doozy. Worse, there are high-profile people who want us to close up shop and go away."

The Red Diary, an erotic tale from rising romance star Toni Blake, takes readers on a sensual adventure in a story of seductive retribution. Lauren Ash keeps a private journal filled with her deepest, most intimate sexual fantasies... When house painter Nick Armstrong finds it, he plans to use...

Nadine Eberhardt's seemingly idyllic life is shattered when an unexpected visitor arrives on her doorstep, unraveling the threads of her carefully woven existence. As the revelation of her husband's secret love child emerges, Nadine is thrust into a world of emotional turmoil, forcing her to confront the fractures in her seemingly perfect marriage. In the wake of this revelation, Nadine makes a poignant decision to return to Lavender Bay, seeking solace in the embrace of her family and the familiar faces of lifelong friends.

Present Day Maureen Peterson is the eldest of the Cook sisters, a role that often comes with its own set of expectations and responsibilities. To the outside world, Maureen's life appears perfect: she is happily married, is the proud mother of three children, and has a successful career. However...

Present Day: Angie Cook is wholly devoted to her business, Coffee Girl, investing every ounce of her energy into its success. The only distraction in her otherwise single-minded focus is Java Joe, the rival coffee shop across the street, though Angie considers it and the guy who owns it as more...