Showing results by narrator "Andrea Bates" in All Categories

In post-WWII San Francisco, Dune House is an oddity—A sprawling, heavily-gated mansion with no telephone, no radio, and no electricity. The city is abuzz when it learns that Julia Paget, the rich, reclusive mistress of Dune House, is conducting a search for her long-lost heir. When newly-engaged Lark Williams visits Dune House to find the truth, Julia Paget forbids her from leaving.

When Olive Wallace offers to take several friends and relatives on a once-in-a-lifetime bus tour through post-WWII Europe, they all jump at the chance—even though Olive can be petty, demanding, and judgmental. But do they really care about seeing the wonders of Europe—the magnificent Roman temples and the majesty of Carcassonne, an ancient, fortified city in southern France—or are they just trying to stay in Olive’s good graces?

It’s Spring Break, and a trio of California college kids head out, not to the beach, but to the mountains of New Mexico, where they plan on a week of snowboarding, beer, and fun. But the instructions to reach their vacation rental are less than precise, and it’s late and snowy when they arrive at Taos Ski Valley. Days later, Casey’s sister is calling the only friend she knows in Taos—Kelly Sweet—hoping to get word to her brother that their mother’s condition has worsened and she doesn’t have long to live. No one has heard from Casey, and she urgently needs to reach him.

It's Halloween, one of the busiest seasons of the year for Samantha Sweet and the crew at her pastry shop, Sweet's Sweets. After baking a zillion pumpkin cookies, ghostly cupcakes, and an all-black cake for a young witch's wedding, the gang is looking forward to a gala costume party at the neighborhood bookshop. But when one of the guests is murdered and a rare book vanishes—practically in front of their eyes—the evening takes a whole different turn and Sam finds herself in the midst of another mystery.

Samantha Sweet is back at Sweet's Sweets, turning out her amazing cakes and pastries for the busy holiday season, when Emily Plankhurst, the new young librarian in town, stops in. Emily tells Sam a strange story involving a hidden niche in the library revealed to her in a vision, supposedly, by her dead grandmother. It turns out the hidden space contains a rare painting, The Ghost of Christmas, which was believed to have been destroyed in a fire twenty-five years ago at the luxury home of a hedge fund billionaire.

The brutal murder of a school teacher appears to be an open and shut case. Despite the overwhelming evidence against homeless drifter James Gaines, public defender Faith Winston makes sure she is assigned to defend him. But Faith has an agenda of her own—even if it means a guilty man will go free. Chief of Police Ryan Crosby ended his relationship with Faith in a breakup that shattered them both, but he has not stopped loving her. When Faith's representation of Gaines makes her a target for revenge, Ryan reenters her life to protect her.

Samantha Sweet is back at Sweet's Sweets, her bakery with a magical flair, while husband Beau is now a full-time rancher. When he hires a young cowboy to help out, no one suspects that Danny Flores comes with a lot of baggage until Lila, the girl he left behind, shows up. She says she has romance on her mind, but Danny finds her manipulative and domineering. He changed his number and moved out of state, but she has managed to track him down.

This adventure novel begins in an old underground mine in the North Cascades of Washington, next to the Canadian border. Danger, romance, and intrigue follow Sara and Brad through the Idaho Primitive Area and the treacherous canyon of the Middle Fork of the Salmon River. They sometimes stray from their work plans to search for a lost gold mine or prospect for gemstones in the rugged Sawtooth Mountains of Idaho.

The fug that poisoned the world has struck the Wind Breaker crew. After years of daring escapes and dangerous capers, it was only a matter of time before Captain Mack's crew felt the sting of the toxin that blankets their continent. They must split up, seek the aid of old rivals, and brave secret facilities to find the substance that may be the key to recovery. Join Nita and her friends on what may well be their final adventure.

In a sparsely populated part of the Pacific Northwest, World War II has ended and sorrow for lost loved ones contrasts with new beginnings and high expectations. Sara Mullins, a female mining professional without management or union protection breaks into this masculine domain and helps in the creation of the clandestine group The Dry Diggin's Club, where “what happens at the club stays at the club.”

When a woman walks into Samantha Sweet’s pastry shop, claiming to have amnesia, it’s a puzzle that seems to have nothing to do with Sam’s new commission for a fantastic one-of-a-kind order of chocolates, although "Jane Doe" seems to know a lot about that. Sam calls Sheriff Beau to solve the mystery of who this stranger is and where she belongs. But Beau’s attention is occupied by other things: nearly his entire force is out sick with some kind of flu bug, and now a murder far from Taos requires his full attention. “Jane’s” forgotten memories become vitally important....

After Godiva's son Torch buys a condo in Las Vegas, his grandmother Flossie and great uncle Sterling decide to pay him a visit. When the old vaudeville magicians drag him to the Pageant of Peacocks starring sexy Mara the Magnificent, it's love at first sight. The romance blossoms, but when Torch returns from a meeting in LA, Mara seems cold and distant. Torch turns to his mother, the advice columnist, for a helping hand.

The Assassin's Wife is a thrilling tale of political intrigue set in current America. A jealous, deranged husband assassinates the president-elect of the United States two weeks before inauguration, and, for the first time in history, a vice-president-elect must step up and take the oath of office. Madison Hemsley-Tarlton, a war hero and former governor, will be the new president...if she can stay alive long enough.

When a normally meek Bay Area insurance agent suddenly turns into a voracious, homicidal maniac with an uncontrollable appetite, doctors quickly determine that the cause must be a brain parasite that can only be extra-terrestrial. Now, San Francisco Police detectives Karen Hall and Yuri Markov are on a mission to end this wave of violence before more citizens become infected.

Samantha Sweet learns that an Irish great-uncle left her an inheritance, so she and Beau change their honeymoon plans and go to the Emerald Isle. Will the gift be something lavish and wonderful? Or is there no pot of gold waiting for Sam? Meanwhile, before Sam fully has the answers to her questions, a new mystery presents itself when a local charter boat is found adrift near the rocky Irish coast, its occupants missing. The family of the captain wants answers and when it looks like a group of Americans might be implicated, the Galway homicide detective in charge of the case enlists Beau’s help.

Though they work independently and at times are oceans apart, their ties to each other remain strong. They're related by blood or bond - this group of men and women in law enforcement, government intelligence, and the military who do what others cannot to serve, defend, and protect. Chief Of Police Mitch Turner is finally getting close to getting the evidence he needs to prosecute crime boss, Christopher Rossington.

When her cover is blown in a criminal operation to apprehend a human trafficker, FBI Special Agent Mallory Burke is put in a car destined for a mountain cabin to be tortured and killed. But a snow storm results in an accident that leaves all but Mallory dead and she finds herself in the midst of the raging storm and in the care of Police Captain Gage Broderick. Mallory's relief that Gage is a cop is short lived. He has secrets of his own. Gage is haunted by an incident in his recent past.

Samantha Sweet and Beau Cardwell are getting ready for their September wedding, with the whole Sweet clan about to show up for the celebration.

Dealing with her mother may turn out to be the least of Sam’s problems when an unwelcome visitor walks into her pastry shop - Sam’s old heartthrob, the charmer Jake Calendar. Jake wants money for a Hollywood get-rich-quick scheme and he wants Sam to finance the deal. Can Sam convince him that the answer is "no"? Or will he sabotage the plans for her wedding?

When NewPro Stock collapses, Taylor and her husband Alan lose millions, forcing them to sell their home and business. But they're not going down without a fight. They're determined to track down the elusive Edward Brand, the mastermind behind the enormous fraud. Taylor and Alan are about to learn two hard facts: A man who doesn't want to be found can be extremely dangerous...and in the world of high-level scams absolutely nothing is what it seems.

As a teenager and young adult, Jen Connor has withstood violent rape, a near-fatal illness, the loss of a husband, and the smashing of all her dreams. But that was only the beginning. Now, at 30, she faces a new set of challenges. As she returns to Los Angeles, the site of many of her nightmarish experiences, from her new home in Seattle, she knows what awaits her: powerful, vindictive former in-laws who are determined to reclaim Jen's son at all costs.