Showing results by narrator "Nicol Zanzarella" in All Categories

There's a saying in Barstow, California, a decaying city in the scorching Mojave desert . . . The Interstate here only goes in one direction: Away. But it's the only place where ex-LAPD detective Beth McDade, after a staggering fall from grace, could get another badge . . . and a shot at redemption. Over a century ago, and just a few miles further into the bleak landscape, a desperate stranger ended up in Calico, a struggling mining town, also hoping for a second chance.

Sierra Cody is on fire. A rising star in women's professional downhill mountain bike racing, she has all the tools to become a world champion. All she needs to do is fully commit herself. Something far easier said than done. Dr. Kara Davies, a highly regarded and accomplished physician, is well on her way to achieving her dreams in chiropractic research. Commitment to her goals has never been an issue, but her personal life is a different story.

Arkon, the Grand Sorcerer of Venice, grapples with two unyielding foes: duty and the enigmatic Wolf Mage. Unfortunately, he can't escape either while the war with the Varangians continues to tear Europe apart. Zarya Verasha, once loyal to the Emperor until his betrayal, seeks vengeance. Armed with a list of six names, she wants Arkon's aid to take them down and end the war's ceaseless turmoil.

Years ago, Beth Lathrop and her sister Kate suffered what they thought would be the worst tragedy of their lives the night both the famous painting Moonlight and their mother were taken. The detective assigned to the case, Conor Reid, swore to protect the sisters from then on. Beth moved on, throwing herself fully into the art world, running the family gallery, and raising a beautiful daughter with her husband Pete. Kate, instead, retreated into herself and took to the skies as a pilot, always on the run.

It’s the age of whaling and beachcombing, and life is hard on Sylt - especially for women forced to get by on their own. Ever since the death of her parents, Jordis has lived with her grandmother in the village of Rantum. The two of them survive by beachcombing and by secret fortune-telling, using the oracle runes that are a crucial part of the ancient Norse religion. Under the local minister’s skeptical eye, Jordis befriends his daughter, Inga. Jordis confides her love for the young blacksmith, Arjen, to her new friend, only to discover that Inga, too, hopes that Arjen will propose to her.

Life in the windswept village of Rantum in the North Sea is fraught with peril and hardship. Most families must rely on arranged marriage just to survive. But free-spirited Maren Luersen doesn't care for riches - her heart belongs to handsome but poor Thies Heinen. He may not have prospects or fortune to offer, but Maren knows their intense love can overcome any obstacle, and she is determined to be his bride.

The fire may be out, but smoke and suspicion still linger in Santa Lucia. Though the townspeople still gather for espresso at the town cafe and swap recipes at the butcher shop, their iridescent blue sky is clouded by a veil of uncertainty and mistrust. The statue of the Madonna, set in a wall outside the cafe, watches it all in collected silence. But when New Yorker Alessandro arrives to claim his inheritance - the derelict castle and the charred olive trees that surround it - it unearths secrets thought long buried.

One of the nation's leading psychologists asks why today's corporate leaders desire but reject creative solutions - and finds some surprising conclusions.

Chicago, 1898. Rough-around-the-edges Harriet Morrow has long been drawn to the idea of whizzing around the city on her bicycle as a professional detective, solving crimes for a living without having to take a husband. Just twenty-one with a younger brother to support, she seizes the chance when the prestigious Prescott Agency hires her as its first woman operative. The move sparks controversy—with skeptical male colleagues, a high-strung office secretary, and her boss, Mr. Theodore Prescott, all waiting for her to unravel under the pressure . . .

If life were fair, ace pilot Jose Carriles should have ended up a desk jockey like his former friend Corin Timony, back on the lunar colony of New Destiny. Instead, he’s the pilot of the Mosaic—a massive ship taking the Interstellar Union’s first-ever mission to outside our solar system. Timony should have been the best spy at the Bazaar, the lunar colony’s international intelligence arm. Instead, she’s been demoted to admin duties like monitoring long-range communications. She has no one to blame but herself—and maybe Carriles.

Cora and Hudson are in the middle of the mating dance, meaning he's overbearing, obsessed, and a little unhinged. The heat is on from both of their families to tie the knot officially. However, when White Castle is suddenly overrun with an army of ghosts, Cora and the gang get sucked into another supernatural disaster. At the center of the chaos? Eloise Roberts. But to wield that kind of power, she'd need more than demons, shifters, or vampires—she'd need a deity.

In the heart of a magical Venice, where power and privilege rule, a conspiracy threatens to tear the Republic apart. Stella is an unregistered magic user, risking everything to keep her secret hidden, including ignoring the advances of the irresistible shifter prince, Dom Aladoro. When a chance encounter brings them together in the dark alleys of San Marco, they find themselves embroiled in a dangerous search for missing magic users. As they navigate the treacherous waters of the city's elite, they uncover a plot that could unravel the very fabric of their world.

On a mission to recover a billion-dollar research satellite from the seas north of Australia, Starcatcher and her crew vanished without a trace—victims of a ruthless and calculated attack. Under the command of Captain Amanda Lee Garrett, the US Navy's Seafighter Task Force is dispatched to ensure that it will never happen again. They will meet a powerful enemy unlike any they have ever encountered. If they are to prevail, they must look beyond the awesome naval arsenal at their disposal and find out how good they really are...

How can a colony on Mars survive when the greatest danger on the planet is humanity itself. All contact is lost with the first human colony on Mars during a long, intense sandstorm. Satellite imagery of the aftermath shows extensive damage to the facility, and the fifty-four colonists who called it home are presumed dead. Three years later, a new mission sets down on the planet surface to investigate what remains of the derelict site.

Things are finally going right for Ezra. She's living in Florence, and her skill with rare sigil magic is unbeatable. Everything was going fine . . . right up until a crazy cabal of magicians decide to drag her back to Venice. Not only is her new captors determined to sell golem soldiers to the Varangians, they want Ezra's magic to make it happen. To save herself, Ezra will have to swallow her own prejudices and go to the one person in Venice that could help her; The Djinn King of Wands, Zahir Matani.

After vowing never to return, Kara Wade is back in New York City. She’s come to claim the body of her twin sister, Kelly, and to find out how she died. No secret as to the cause of death - a nearly nude, 12-story plunge from a room in the Plaza Hotel - but Kara is determined to learn what led to that plunge. Enlisting the help of an old lover, now an NYPD detective, Kara delves into her sister’s life. Startling and bizarre facts begin to surface. Instead of answers, Kara finds more questions. Who was the stranger Kelly became during the months prior to her death?

Nico D'Argento has a pirate problem in the Adriatic that is only getting worse. As a general in Venice's navy, he should be above petty vendettas, but the Pirate King has robbed one ship too many, and now Nico is out for blood. Sophia Osara wants what any Pirate King wants, to roam the seas, get a pile of booty, and harass the navy any chance she gets. She wants one prize above all, to capture Nico D'Argento and ransom the arrogant bastard back to the Republic for a premium price. Both get more than what they bargain for when Sophia captures Nico's ship.

The only survivor of the ill-fated ISA mission is now stranded on Mars. Having been designated a bio-hazard by Earth, any hope of returning home is all but gone. She is alone, isolated, and abandoned. That is, until another human shows up in the main colony airlock. However, he's barely alive and soon dies without regaining consciousness. More disturbing though, a DNA test identifies him as a colonist who has already died, several years earlier, impossible as that may be.

Now that the truth of the genetic experiments on Mars has been revealed, new missions are on their way to gain control of this extraordinary technology. In the process, they seek to exploit and enslave the colonists—turning them into nothing more than lab rats. Worse, these newcomers are well armed, and prepared to go to war with each other to win control of the colony and its people.

Stephen King's The Gunslinger meets Breaking Bad in Laura Bickle's novel Dark Alchemy. Some secrets are better left buried … Geologist Petra Dee arrives in Wyoming seeking clues to her father's disappearance years ago. What she finds instead is Temperance, a dying western town with a gold rush...