Showing results by narrator "A. Erin Walker" in All Categories

In Aspen, Colorado, in 1941, Rachel Brewster is a slalom skier at the National Downhill and Slalom Championships. Little Ray, as she is called, finishes nowhere near the podium, but she manages to get pregnant. Back home, in New England, Little Ray becomes a ski instructor. Her son, Adam, grows up in a family that defies conventions and evades questions concerning the eventful past. Years later, looking for answers, Adam will go to Aspen. In the Hotel Jerome, where he was conceived, Adam will meet some ghosts.

Cults prey on the very attributes that make us human: our desire to belong, to find a deeper meaning in life, to live everyday with divine purpose. Their existence creates a sense that any one of us, at any time, could step off the cliff’s edge and fall into that daunting abyss of manipulation and unhinged dedication to a misplaced cause. Perhaps it’s this mindset that keeps us so utterly obsessed and desperate to learn more, or it’s that the stories are so bizarre and unsettling that we are simply in awe of the mechanics that make these infamous groups tick.

What would guilt make you do? Hadleigh Keene died on the road leading away from Hollyhock Asylum. The reasons are unknown. Her sister Morgan blames herself. A year later with the case still unsolved, Morgan creates a false identity, that of a troubled housewife named Charlotte Turner, and goes inside. Morgan quickly discovers that Hollyhock is… not right. She is shaken by the hospital’s peculiar routines and is soon beset by strange episodes.

Lauren and her family—lucky bastards—have been granted the use of a spectacular brownstone, teeming with history and dizzyingly unattractive '70s wallpaper. Adding to the home’s bohemian, grungy splendor is the bar occupying the basement, a (mostly) beloved dive called The Sweet Spot. Within days of moving in, Lauren discovers that she has already made an enemy in the neighborhood by inadvertently sparking the divorce of a couple she has never actually met.

Lorelai D'Anjou's life has never been easy. The sole survivor of a dark magic that destroyed her entire family, she has spent the last eight years caring for the ailing, impotent monarch who saved her life and claimed her for his own. When the king is murdered by his selfish brother, Lorelai's world is suddenly narrowed down to two choices: marry her husband's killer, or die. Now, she flees for her life, a fugitive in her own kingdom as she seeks allies to help her take back her stolen throne.

It's been twenty years since Detective Chelsey Calhoun lost her sister, and she's been searching ever since: for signs, for closure, for other missing girls. Happy endings are rare in Chelsey's line of work. Until one day, local teenager Ellie Black is found in Washington State woods. Two years after her disappearance, she's an echo of herself, but alive. But something's not right about this girl. Where has she been, and who is she protecting? Chelsey has to find out. For herself, for her sister, and before the next girl is taken.

Darcy has been bewitched by Elizabeth Bennet since he met her in Hertfordshire. He can no longer fight this overwhelming attraction and must admit he is hopelessly in love. During Elizabeth’s visit to Kent, she has been forced to endure the company of the difficult and disapproving Mr. Darcy, but she has enjoyed making the acquaintance of his affable cousin, Colonel Fitzwilliam. Finally resolved, Darcy arrives at Hunsford Parsonage prepared to propose - only to discover that Elizabeth has just accepted a proposal from the colonel, Darcy’s dearest friend in the world.

Elizabeth Darcy receives a letter from her father informing her that her sister needs her. So Elizabeth travels from Pemberley to her old neighborhood to do what she can to support her sister in her time of distress.

Heidi is settling in at Broomsfield Academy. She and Melanie are trying to get along and Heidi is getting used to her classes, all her new friends, and her very first crush, Hunter! The problem is: Hunter is really popular. How will Heidi get him to notice her? Her friends tell her to just be herself, but that sounds so boring! After all, Heidi is a witch-in-training. She knows she can find the perfect love spell to make Hunter fall in love with her. What could possibly go wrong?

When journalist Zoe Quint loses her husband and child in a tragic accident, she returns home to Guyana to grieve, but her curiosity leads her to the Americans who have set up camp in a rundown village nearby. Their leader, Jim Jones, dark-eyed and charismatic, claims to be a peaceful man who has promised his followers a paradise. But everything changes when Zoe meets one of his followers, Lucy. Lucy grabs Zoe’s arm, raw terror in her eyes, and passes her a note with a phone number, begging her to call her mother in America. Zoe is determined to help Lucy.

Jane Austen's Emma has been described as a detective story without a body - except for those who read carefully, there actually is a body, and the potential for an excellent mystery story. Set about a year after Emma closes, The Highbury Murders pays homage to the wit of Jane Austen and the whodunits of Agatha Christie. You do not need to have read Jane Austen's books to enjoy this novel, but if you have - if you regret that she wrote only six - The Highbury Murders is a welcome extension to her world.

Twenty years ago, seven-year-old Charmaine Tillman vanished without a trace from a crowded school fair. Her disappearance shattered her family, destroyed her father, and turned her mother into a relentless force in the public eye. Her older sister Taylor transformed the tragedy into a media empire built on the desperate hope that one day, Charmaine would come home. Now, against all odds, Charmaine has returned.

Accidentally abandoned and stranded by a raging blizzard in the picturesque town of Tucker, Maine, Crown Princess Jasmine Arcules finds herself alone and unguarded for the first time in her life. Meanwhile, widower Sam Cutler is dreading the Christmas season. Struggling to be a good father to his nine-year-old twin daughters, he's wracked with guilt and battling painful memories. The last thing he needs is a beautiful stranger invading his world.

A Simon & Schuster audiobook. Simon & Schuster has a great book for every listener.

The gym is where Claire shines and she’s on her way to qualifying for the state championships. But at school, she’s known as a troublemaker—which is fine with her since it helps her hide her reading problem. Claire has never been able to make sense of the wobbling jumble of letters on a page. When a sympathetic principal wonders if she’s acting out because she may have dyslexia, she’s stunned. Claire has always assumed she’s dumb, so she’s eager to get evaluated. But her mother balks.

Ten bestselling, critically acclaimed authors deliver a fresh novel of interconnected stories that follows a group of young adults over the course of a few wild, transformative hours at an epic house party. House Party offers a delightful snapshot of diverse classmates getting ready to say goodbye to high school and hello to life’s next chapter—but not before they make their final night together one they’ll never forget!

Bea's parents think she can accomplish absolutely anything—and she's determined to prove them right. But at the end of seventh grade, on the same day she makes a gutsy play to send her softball team to the league championships and Xander, the boy she likes, makes it clear that he likes her too, a scandal shakes up her world. Bea's dad made a big mistake, taking money that belonged to a client. He's now suspended from practicing law, and another lawyer spread the news online. To make matters worse, that other lawyer is Xander's dad.

A tiny honeybee emerges through the wax cap of her cell. Driven to protect and take care of her hive, she cleans the nursery and feeds the larvae and the queen. But is she strong enough to fly? Not yet! Apis builds wax comb to store honey and transfers pollen from other bees into the storage. She defends the hive from invaders. And finally, she begins her new life as an adventurer. The confining walls of the hive fall away as Apis takes to the air, finally free, into a clear blue sky full of promise.

Each year, the start of summer brings bustle and much-needed tourist dollars to the little town of Albany Beach, Delaware. For Natalie Sullivan, this season is proving more stressful than others. Their two children are thriving, but she’s experiencing pangs of loss at the end of her childbearing years. When sixteen-year-old McKenzie starts gushing about Bella, the new coworker at her summer job, Natalie suddenly finds her past and present in conflict. The more McKenzie talks about Bella, the more Natalie wonders: could Bella be her daughter?

Sasha has one speed—fast. She loves to do lots of things, all at once, as fast as possible. Mr. Sloth has one speed—slow. He loves to do things one at a time, at a nice easy pace. Can Mr. Sloth’s mindful ways teach Sasha to slow down and enjoy life? Bestselling author Katy Hudson gently weaves a mindfulness theme into this unlikely friendship tale between an energetic girl and a sloth, encouraging children to stop, breathe, and be present in every moment.