The Gospel writers Matthew, Mark and John were eyewitnesses to the life of Jesus. Luke was not, and in fact does not appear in the Bible until his travels with Paul around 50 AD. And while the other three Gospels are extremely similar, nearly half of Luke’s text is original, and cannot be found elsewhere, including some sixty stories and parables. The nativity scene we worship on Christmas Eve is from Luke. The only reference of Jesus’s childhood, being left at the temple, can only be found in Luke. How does the Virgin Mary’s song, the Magnificat, wind up in the Gospel of Luke? “I too have decided, after investigating everything accurately anew, to write it down in an orderly sequence for you,” Luke tells us. And he does, with more detail than the other Gospel writers, who trace Jesus’s lineage back to King David. Luke takes it back to Adam and Eve. So how does a man who was not a witness to the life of Jesus, and who does not appear until decades after his death, have the most relevant details on our Savior’s life? There can only be one answer.
Olivia Brooks has been able to keep her life in Sugar Mill, Louisiana held perfectly together, far away from the small town where she grew up. Even though her past still haunts her, she has found a perfect process of surviving, until a string of events brings Luke Plaisance to Sugar Mill and turns her organized life upside down. While Olivia fights to hold on to the life she’s created, unraveling it may be exactly what it takes for her to truly survive. She must accept her past in order to live, or let it threaten the only future she’s ever wanted. Because some secrets can’t stay buried… and shouldn’t. An inspiring and heartbreaking tale of abandonment, survival, and purpose. A harrowing journey of self-discovery and perseverance.
Sophie Ryan was a girl from the wrong side of town, pregnant, uneducated and alone Now she’s a sheriff’s deputy and has managed to put the past behind her. It’s been a long time since the gossips of Treetop, Wyoming, have speculated on the identity of Joe Ryan’s father, and Sophie would prefer that didn’t change. But on a crisp fall day, Sophie’s past comes back—in the form of Luke “Maverick” Salinger, the man who abandoned her when she needed him most. It’s Sophie’s job to arrest Luke on an old warrant, even though she knows the rumors will start to fly as soon as she gets the cuffs on him. The citizens of Treetop think they know who Joe’s father is, but the truth is a mystery—even to Sophie.
She’s caught in an MLM pyramid scheme. And now her first customer is dead. Camila Brady ran from her past for 13 years, but she’s finally ready to let it rest in peace. What better way than with a new business opportunity from an old friend? Camila is promised new friends, limitless profits, and all the essential oil hair accessories she could want. But then her first customer ends up dead. Caught in a pyramid scheme and hiding from police, Camila must separate enemies from allies. Her only chance to escape prison... or worse... is to find the truth buried within the Multi-Level-Marketing scheme. Can Camila catch the real killer, even though all evidence points to her? Or will she become the next causality of convenience to those selling lies? Here’s what readers are saying: “Finished in a whole day because I couldn’t put it down!” “The takes on the MLM were spot on and the twist at the end was amazing.” “Gripping from start to finish." If you love fun and twisty suspense, this murder mystery will have you flipping pages faster than you can say “Hey Hun!”
At the tender age of seventeen, Mary Beth discovered the family she thought would see her through anything couldn't accept her one mistake. Thank goodness for her best friends that stepped up to support her decision to keep her child. Seven years later together with her friends, she's created a successful business on the verge of a large expansion. But the desire to be accepted by her family continues to be a failure that taints all her accomplishments and has her making concessions she never thought she would. Elias Marquez was content with his life. He definitely wasn't looking for the vibrant redhead down the hall from him. After a chance encounter, he can't escape the need to be in her company again. He wants to explore the possibilities and the undeniable spark her touch inspires. Torn between trying to right the past and accepting that she can only control her own life is Mary Beth truly ready for the love Elias is prepared to offer as a future?
Fluorescent Dreams is a story about Jenny who has daydreams for her mental illness. The story is twofold, similar to The Wizard of Oz. The fantasies unfold throughout the novel, separate from a pleasant story of a wife and mother that runs parallel to the fantasies. Jenny Sagal moves her family from Chicago to a quaint town in Kentucky, planning to raise her two boys in an old-fashioned way. Jenny discovers, through daydreaming, that an entity called Ludicrous Lucifer and his Island Voodoo Gang are set to capture Jenny. Part I is set in Krack Krackle, the magical town south of Chicago. Part II changes the setting to a green-door asylum called The Winnipeg Health Hotel. Part III takes place inside the Trans-Home, because Jenny will have to reside there for one year after her release from the asylum owned by Ludicrous Lucifer and his Island Voodoo Gang. Part IV describes a playful, fun day ahead for Jenny. She meets a savant man named Monty, falling in love with him. Jennys final fluorescent dream in Part IV is a bold, sparkling, beautiful dream, leaving the reader to decide if it did come true.
Three days before Christmas, Alvirah Meehan - the famous lottery winner and amateur detective - and Regan Reilly try to meet the harsh demands and tough deadlines of the kidnappers who have held Reilly's father for a $1,000,000 ransom. To make matters worse, a winter storm is gathering, putting their lives in greater danger. DECK THE HALLSis filled with twists and turns, intrigue and danger, as well as a hearty dose of holiday cheer. In HE SEES YOU WHEN YOU'RE SLEEPING, Sterling receives his summons into heaven a few days before Christmas. In order to be deemed fit to enter heaven this year he is sent back to earth and given an opportunity to prove his worthiness by helping someone else. That someone is seven-year-old Marissa. She has been separated from her father and grandmother who have, following the threats of two mobsters, both been forced into the Witness Protection Program. Filled with suspense and humour, this is a delightful and warm-hearted tale of perseverance, redemption and love. Alvirah Meehan and Regan Reilly join forces once again in THE CHRISTMAS THIEFto solve a Christmas mystery. The time they must track down the beautiful ninety-foot tree that is hijacked on its way to the Rockefeller Centre for the Christmas season.
The NIV is the world's best-selling modern translation, with over 150 million copies in print since its first full publication in 1978. This highly accurate and smooth-reading version of the Bible in modern English has the largest library of printed and electronic support material of any modern translation.
Now, in one ebook boxed set, a collection of suspenseful and humorous holiday stories by Mary Higgins Clark, America’s Queen of Suspense, and her daughter, bestselling mystery writer Carol Higgins Clark. Deck the Halls Three days before Christmas, Regan Reilly, the dynamic young sleuth featured in the novels of Carol Higgins Clark, meets Alvirah Meehan, the famous lottery winner and amateur detective. When a call comes through on Regan's cell phone, telling her that her father and his driver, Rosita Gonzalez, are being held for $1,000,000 ransom, Alvirah insists that Regan allow her to lend a hand in trying to gain their release. While Regan may be a licensed private detective, based in Los Angeles, Alvirah has many valuable contacts among the ranks of New York's law enforcement community—including the head of the NYPD Major Case Squad, Jack “no relation” Reilly. Further complicating the situation is the fact that Regan's mother, the popular and very successful mystery writer Nora Regan Reilly, was hospitalized only the day before with a badly broken leg. Regan must comfort her while trying to meet the harsh demands of her father's kidnappers—and their tough deadline. The Christmas Thief The folks who picked a beautiful eighty-foot blue spruce from Stowe, Vermont, to be Rockefeller Center’s famous Christmas tree don’t have a clue that Packy Noonan, a scam artist just released from prison, hid priceless diamonds in it more than twelve years ago. Anxious to retrieve his loot, Packy breaks parole and heads to Vermont. When he learns that his special tree will be heading to New York City the next morning, he knows he has to act fast. What Packy doesn’t know is that Alvirah Meehan, everyone’s favorite lottery winner turned amateur sleuth, and Regan Reilly, a savvy young private investigator, are visiting Stowe with their friend Opal, who lost all her lottery winnings in Packy’s scam. And just when they’re supposed to head home, they learn that the tree is missing...and that Opal has disappeared. Dashing Through the Snow In the picturesque village of Branscombe, New Hampshire, the townsfolk are all pitching in to prepare for the first (and many hope annual) Festival of Joy. The night before the festival begins, a group of employees at the local market learn that they have won $160 million in the lottery. One of their co-workers, Duncan, decided at the last minute, on the advice of a pair of crooks masquerading as financial advisers, not to play. Then he goes missing. A second winning lottery ticket was purchased in the next town, but the winner hasn't come forward. Could Duncan have secretly bought it? Alvirah Meehan, the amateur sleuth, and private investigator Regan Reilly have arrived in Branscombe for the festival. They are just the people to find out what is amiss. As they dig beneath the surface, they find that life in Branscombe is not as tranquil as it appears. So much for an old-fashioned weekend in the country!
A dark thriller by Philip McLaren, Aboriginal author and winner of the 1996 David Unaipon Award, Scream Black Murder invites the reader into the mind of a vicious killer, as a game of cat-and-mouse ensues across some of Australia's lesser-known milieus.New Year's Day. The bodies of a young Aboriginal woman and her boyfriend are discovered brutally murdered in Sydney's Redfern. Koori detectives Gary Leslie and Lisa Fuller, from the new Aboriginal Homicide Unit of the NSWPD, are assigned to their first case and struggle to keep their eyes on the trail amid a hostile police department and their own emergent attraction.But when a young white woman is killed, the pressure on the young detectives to find the killer -- fuelled by an increasingly frenzied media -- becomes unbearable.
