Showing results by narrator "Coleen Marlo" in All Categories

The Lamaze method is virtually synonymous with natural childbirth in America. In the 1970s, taking Lamaze classes was a common rite of passage to parenthood. The conscious relaxation and patterned breathing techniques touted as a natural and empowering path to the alleviation of pain in childbirth resonated with the feminist and countercultural values of the era.

On the morning of her wedding to Calder Hart, amateur sleuth Francesca Cahill is lured away to a private viewing of a portrait that could destroy her entire family: the nude Hart commissioned of her. Her desperate quest to recover the scandalous portrait leads her into a dangerous trap with no way to escape - until it's too late. And when Francesca finally arrives at the church, it's vacant. She has unintentionally jilted Hart at the altar.

Francesca Cahill comes from one of New York's best families. Her mother is a leading socialite, her father, a millionaire. Their expectations for their daughter are simple - marry well, and soon. But the intrepid and self-styled "Crime-Solver Extraordinaire" has other plans.... Francesca discovered she had a penchant for sleuthing when she met Rick Bragg, New York City's powerful and enigmatic Police Commissioner. Together, they solved what was known as the crime of the century. Now, their paths are destined to come together once again, but this time far more dangerously and fatefully.

Welcome to the world of Francesca Cahill, crime-solver extraordinaire. Francesca is no ordinary heroine. She refuses to bow to convention, wears her heart on her sleeve, and is determined to right the ills and injustices of society. Deadly Love begins Francesca's mad escapades when the neighbors' little boy is kidnapped right out of his bed during a society ball. It is January 18, 1902. Francesca stumbles across the ransom note just as she meets New York City's newly appointed police commissioner.

O. Henry was a prolific American short-story writer - a masterof surprise endings - who wrote about the life of ordinary people in New YorkCity. In "The Gift of the Magi," one of his best-known works, a young coupleat Christmas time who, despite having little money, buy secret gifts for eachother. A moral lesson on the importance of love and sacrifice, "The Gift of theMagi" has been adapted to film more than a dozen times throughout the world.

There are so many ways to find out. From a cell phone. From a bank statement. From some weird supermarket encounter. One morning in early January 2005, Wendy Plump's friend came to tell her that her husband was having an affair. It was not a shock. Actually, it explained a lot. But what Wendy was not prepared for was the revelation that her husband also had another child, living within a mile of their family home. Monogamy is one of the most important of the many vows we make in our marriages.

When the son of a Chicago billionaire is murdered, the only lead in this high-profile crime is an exclusive dating service that discreetly caters to the rich and famous. Who better to go undercover in that world of promising matches and questionable motives than an ace cop who is as attractive as she is tough? Detective Kristen Conner may not be able to figure out her own love life, but she is about to get a crash course on finding Mr. Right, even as she finds herself in the crosshairs of a determined killer’s gun.

A Gothic novel from Louis Charbonneau. When a woman's lover returns home, he brings more terror than comfort. This story of romance and suspense is a classic in the genre.

Twelve-year-old Joan is sure that she is going to hate her new home - but almost right away she finds a kindred spirit. “You’re lucky I didn’t just start throwing rocks at you. I can hide in the trees and nail a kid with a rock from 30 feet away”. That’s Sarah, who prefers to be called “Fox”, who lives with her writer father in a rundown house in the middle of the woods - near Joan’s suburb, but it feels like a totally different world. Joan and Sarah - Newt and Fox - spend all their spare time outside, and soon start writing stories together.

Sometimes the biggest ripples come from the smallest events. Like the day that Emma Guthrie, drop-out college student, walks into world-famous movie star Garrett Walker's trailer, and walks out on her way to becoming Mrs. Emma Walker, wife of an A-list actor. With her husband's encouragement, Emma pens a screenplay based on her life, which becomes a blockbuster sensation. Through it all, Garrett is her ally and her mentor... until Emma discovers an incriminating text message on Garrett's cell phone.

To be successful in the 21st century global marketplace you need many things--determination, well-articulated goals, and a bit of luck. But more than anything else, you need kindness. Kindness becomes the key business asset when you couple a caring attitude toward others with a focus on achieving your goals. Often people see business as a choice between being kind and being successful. This is a fictitious trade-off. Nice people are more successful.

Twenty-two minutes - that's all it takes for reporter Geri LaRue to realize her friend, award-winning journalist Leta Blackburn, is missing. Leta would have been covering the sensational story - and investigating the forensics report that showed the priest was engaged in sexual activities at the time of his murder. With a ruthless colleague suggesting Geri knows more than she'll admit, she turns to a prominent shrink for help, taking with her a folder full of notes that points to the rarest and most deadly of killers: a woman.

On June 23, 2000, the iron-ore carrier MV Treasure, en route from Brazil to China, foundered off the coast of Cape Town, South Africa, spilling 1,300 tons of oil into the ocean and contaminating the habitat of 75,000 penguins. Realizing that 41 percent of the world's population of African penguins could perish, local conservation officials immediately launched a massive rescue operation.

Gladys Pratt was in control, the mistress of her own domain. In the 60s she and her husband were running a lodge in a remote area of the Yukon. Communication to the outside world was by mail, if it got out. Gladys was a tyrant. Deeply unhappy in her own life, she made life miserable for everyone around her - her house-keeper, her cooks, and the young women who worked as her waitresses during the summer months.

As a diagnostic radiologist who has watched patients, friends, and family suffer with and die from cancer - and who was deeply affected by the enraged husband of one particular patient - Dr. Margaret I. Cuomo has been inspired to seek out new strategies for waging a smarter war on cancer. About 1.6 million new cases of cancer are diagnosed a year, and more than 1,500 people die each day. We’ve been asked to accept the disappointing strategy to “manage cancer as a chronic disease.”

It’s not the end of the world. That’s what 39-year-old Tess Eliot has to remind herself after losing her newspaper column ("Tess Knows Best") and being dumped by her boyfriend for a younger woman (a feng shui expert? Really?). Then Tess is hired to write an etiquette guide preparing readers for the Ancient Mayan doomsday of December 21, 2012, and she has to ask herself: Could the world really be coming to an end? At first, Tess fakes her way through chapters like "Boundaries in the Bunker" and "Cannibalism: Yes or No?" But after uncovering a secret plot for world destruction, she is forced to embark on a life-changing odyssey.

Journalist Geri LaRue is outraged when she loses the paper's "Off the Record" column to an insufferable colleague. To salvage her career and her waning self-confidence, Geri needs a break -- and fast. The perfect story comes when successful businesswoman Kathleen Fowler is found dead -- her battered body dropped from the balcony of her home to the cliffs below. But Geri doesn't have to chase this story; she inherits it.

Every year, some two million parents in the US suffer the death of a son or daughter. The unnatural sequence of the child's preceding the parent in death creates a wrenching loss and overwhelming emotional and spiritual disorientation. Most of these bereaved parents find relief from their isolation only in the company of others like themselves. The Grieving Garden offers support, understanding, and, ultimately, comfort and hope from those who have sowed the same tears over the death of a child.

Charlotte Brennan is no stranger to heartache and mortification. Her past is full of both. So when amazing and incredibly intense Hector Ayala literally jumps into Charlee's life, her walls are immediately up. Letting her guard down and sharing her past and deepest secret is not happening. Charlee is not looking to get her heart crushed once again. However, her willpower proves to be no match for Hector's mesmerizing pull.

Kristen Conner goes undercover to catch a serial killer who chooses his victims in the most unlikely of places...only to discover she is his new target. Chicago has a new resident: a soulless killer on a decade-long murder spree. When a young woman is found dead in her fashionable townhome, the FBI is convinced an elusive, organized killer is at work again - a man the local press has dubbed the Cutter Shark. Detective Kristen Conner is a good cop and tough as they come - but she’s never faced an adversary like this.