Showing results by author "Karen Harper" in All Categories

The vibrant pageant of Elizabethan England comes to life in Karen Harper's fifth novel in her acclaimed Elizabeth I Mystery Series. Hailed as "extraordinary" by The Los Angeles Times, these historical mysteries beautifully blend fact and fiction as the young Queen Elizabeth Tudor becomes an amateur sleuth to save her court, crown, and kingdom. Though summering in the lush countryside to escape the plague rampaging through London, the queen and her court cannot escape the reach of a multiple murderer who seems to disappear at will. In the gardens of Hampton Court, Elizabeth proudly shows a famed visiting lawyer her huge hornbeam maze. But the intricate labyrinth soon becomes a scene of horror as Elizabeth herself is attacked and the lawyer is murdered within its leafy dead ends. The queen calls upon her small, select band of advisors to help her ferret out the identity of the maze murderer.

Every case that Claire Britten cracks is a win, not only professionally but personally. The forensic psychologist has spent a lifetime fighting a neurological disorder, and her ability to conquer it is a testament to her razor-sharp intuition. Nick Markwood is used to winning in the courtroom, so when his latest case is overthrown by Claire's expert testimony, he can't help being impressed by her skill. He needs her on the team of his passion project - investigating unusual cases involving mysterious deaths.

Sarah Kauffman sought permission from her church elders to paint murals on a few of the Amish community's barns. Each was designed like an old-fashioned quilt square, representing a piece of the Amish traditions Sarah loved. The works of art were intended to draw more tourists to the Home Valley in the struggling economy. But instead, they invited a menace. One by one, each barn is set ablaze and destroyed.…The arson fires spread fear through the community - amongst Amish and Englischers alike. Now Sarah wonders if she's being punished for her pridefulness…or whether there's a more malevolent will at work.

It is the crowning day of twenty-five-year-old Bess Tudor's life as she returns from exile to become England's queen. But even as her magnificent procession wends its way to Westminster Palace, a shot rings out, muffled by the jostling crowd. Within moments of becoming England's ruler, Elizabeth learns of the brutal murder of a highborn lady of the court, the sister of one of her dearest friends.

This summer, Queen Elizabeth I is in no mood for games. She and her court were expecting to spend the warmer months lounging in great manor houses, feasting in the fields, tempting forbidden romance, and perhaps engaging in sport. But someone in the Queen's entourage isn't playing by the rules…and soon Elizabeth is dodging crossbows, longbows, and - worst of all - the threats of her greatest rival, Mary Queen of Scots. As bodies and clues pile up, the mystery and dangers deepen like the surrounding forests.

Returning to Cold Creek, Ohio, is an act of courage for Tess Lockwood. Abducted and held captive as a young girl, she is unable to remember anything about the crime that destroyed her childhood and tore her family apart. Now a grown woman with a bright future, she feels that she has put the past behind her. But when she inherits the family home, Tess must confront the demons that still haunt her and the town of Cold Creek.

Now adults, the three Lockwood sisters are still recovering from the events that led to the destruction of their family when they were children. Determined to move forward, Tess and Kate are making fresh starts in their hometown of Cold Creek, ready to put bad - even deadly - memories to rest. And they're hoping that their older sister, Charlene, can do the same.

Despite a traumatic childhood in Cold Creek, Ohio, the Lockwood sisters have reunited there for the wedding of youngest sister Tess to the town's sheriff. Maid of honor Kate Lockwood is determined to break through best man Grant Mason's defenses.

When forensic psychologist Claire Britten started working with lawyer Nick Markwood on his South Shores project, she had no idea it would endanger her life - and the life of her daughter. But when the little girl goes missing from her South Florida home and Nick insists his longtime nemesis is to blame, Claire frantically follows the trail to the Cayman Islands, desperate to save her daughter before it's too late.

It's been four months since forensic psychologist Claire Britten last crossed paths with danger. Finally feeling she can catch her breath, together with her partner, criminal lawyer Nick Markwood, Claire has settled into a new role, volunteering with a support group for children stressed by domestic violence. But a leisurely field trip to a wildlife sanctuary turns deadly, leaving Claire to question whether the death was an accident, suicide - or something far more sinister.

From New York Times best-selling author Karen Harper comes a novel based on the lives of two amazing sisters. One sailed the Titanic and started a fashion empire. The other overtook Hollywood and scandalized the world. Together, they were unstoppable. They rose from genteel poverty, two beautiful sisters, ambitious, witty, seductive. Elinor and Lucy Sutherland are at once each other's fiercest supporters and most vicious critics.

One morning Leah Kurtz goes to wake her adopted infant daughter and instantly knows something is terribly wrong. She is convinced that her baby has been switched with another child. Afraid that no one will believe her, Leah turns to an unlikely ally, despite the fact that her Amish community frowns on its members seeking help in the outside world. Dr. Mark Morelli studies the genetic illnesses that plague the Amish, but he has other, private reasons for coming to Maplecreek…reasons that may be tied to the mysterious disappearance of Leah's daughter.

Quiet, cautious Ella Lantz has spent her entire life in the close-knit Amish community of the Home Valley. Tending her lavender fields, she finds calm and serenity in purple blooms, heavenly scents and a simple life. But the sudden arrival of a strange visitor to her parents' home heralds a host of new complications. Alex Caldwell is unlike any man Ella has ever met - clearly, he's no "Pennsylvania cousin", whatever the elders may say. In fact, Alex is a Wall Street whistle-blower under witness protection…and he's brought a world of trouble to the Lantz doorstep.

Policewoman Kat Lindley is running from the big-city job that nearly got her killed, and from memories of the abused boy she failed to save. She agrees to undertake a dangerous masquerade within the peaceful Amish community of Maplecreek, desperate to save its children. Widower Luke Brand is a leader in the Amish community. But his people are under attack from unknown assailants. The community is reluctant to turn to the outside world - until a particularly vicious assault forces Luke to seek help.

Spanning half a century of Elizabethan and Jacobean history and sweeping from the lowest reaches of society to the royal court, this richly textured novel tells the real story of Shakespeare in love.

Forensic psychologist Claire Markwood has experienced her share of disaster. But nothing could prepare her for her sister, Darcy, going missing. Claire rushes to the butterfly sanctuary where Darcy has been working, prepared to do what she does best - work the clues. But her sister, along with her car and some of the sanctuary’s rarest species of butterflies, has seemingly vanished without a trace.

When an old college roommate invites Claire Britten to join her on an archaeological dig at a Florida peat bog, it's an offer the renowned forensic psychologist can't refuse. Claire's husband, criminal lawyer Nick Markwood, is comforted to see Claire working on a prehistoric burial site instead of an open grave for once. But Claire's investigative instincts kick in when some of The Black Bog's perfectly preserved corpses show signs of a grisly fate. What really happened to these people?

Elizabeth "Gera" Fitz Gerald had a privileged life in her youth in Ireland, daughter of the FitzGerald Dynasty. Her privileged world is overturned when her father, the ninth earl of Kildare, is imprisoned in the Tower of London by King Henry VIII and her family is destroyed by corruption charges and scandal. Torn from her island home and the rest of her family spread out across Europe, Elizabeth has no choice but to accept a place in England's glittering court.