Sharon Kay Penman follows up her acclaimed novel Lionheart with this vivid and heart-wrenching New York Times bestseller about the last event-filled years in the life of Richard I of England, Coeur de Lion. November 1192. After his bloody crusade in the Kingdom of Jerusalem, Richard and his crew are overcome by a sudden storm, its fierce winds propelling the ship onto the Sicilian shore. But this misfortune is just the beginning. Forced to make a dangerous choice, Richard finds himself in enemy territory, where he is captured—in violation of the papal decree protecting all crusaders—and handed over to the Holy Roman Emperor. Imprisoned in the notorious fortress at Trifels, from which few ever leave alive, Richard, for the first time in his life, experiences pure, visceral fear—while his mother, Eleanor of Aquitaine, moves heaven and earth to secure his release. Amid betrayals, intrigues, infidelities, wars, and illness, Richard’s courage and intelligence will become legend.
When a wealthy businessman is faced with a kidnapping, the ransom could ruin his biggest deal ever ? unless Detective Steve Carella can find the culprits before the kidnapping turns to murder. McBain has the ability to make every character believable ? which few writers these days can do.? ? Associated Press McBain forces us to think twice about every character we meet?even those we thought we already knew." ? New York Times Book Review
The author of five bestselling novels, including Under Cover of Darkness and The Pardon, James Grippando writes compulsively readable thrillers that could be drawn from today's headlines, only better. Now his trademark gifts are wonderfully demonstrated in a taut new tale of intrigue that will keep you guessing to the final, breathtaking scene. Just two years out of law school, Nick Rey is on the career fast track at a hot Miami law firm when he is suddenly plunged headfirst into a dangerous bid to save his father. Matthew Rey has been kidnapped while on business in Columbia's exotic port city of Cartagena. The ransom demand of three million dollars is far more than the Rey family can ever hope to raise. Fortunately, Matthew had purchased an insurance policy to protect against just such a threat. Unfortunately, the kidnappers seem to know all about the policy, and the insurance company, suspecting fraud, is refusing to pay out. With nowhere to turn, Nick links up with Alex, a beautiful, street-smart woman who may be the only person capable of negotiating with Matthew's abductors. But Nick soon discovers that the gravest dangers to him and his family are not the kidnappers and their guns, but the men in suits: lawyers, to be exact, at a powerful firm with something to hide, and they will stop at nothing to keep Nick from unleashing the truth.
When revenge turns into a fake engagement... It was supposed to be a simple case of revenge: get to know King Tech owner and CEO Beckett King, learn his secrets, and ruin his life like he ruined my brother’s. But Beckett King offers me a deal I can't refuse. Not only does he want me to pretend to be engaged to him, he needs to marry me to get his grandmother off his back. And at the end of the year, we can go our separate ways, only I’ll be a whole lot richer. I won’t fall for his irresistible good looks, or that aw, shucks country-boy charm he still possesses from growing up on a ranch. I'm smarter than that. I refuse to let this be an opposites attract scenario. He has a lesson to learn and I'm the best one to teach him. But that’s the tricky thing with revenge. It doesn’t always go as planned. King's Ransom is a standalone novel in the contemporary western romance Oil Kings series written by an award-winning author. For readers who also like Ann Mayburn, Carly Phillips, Carrie Ann Ryan, Cat Johnson, Catherine Cowles, Chelle Bliss, Cherise Sinclair, Cheyenne McCray, Claudia Burgoa, Debra Holt, Devney Perry, Diana Palmer, Esther E. Schmidt, Genevieve Turner, Helen Hardt, Jane Henry, Janet Dailey, Jeanne St. James, Jenna Jacob, Jennifer Ryan, Julia Sykes, Kennedy Fox, Kim Loraine, Lani Lynn Vale, Lauren Blakely, Lauren Landish, Laylah Roberts, Lexi Blake, Linda Lael Miller, Lindsay McKenna, Lorelei James, Lori Wilde, Maisy Yates, Max Monroe, Melissa Foster, Nicole Snow, Renee Rose, Samantha Madisen, Shayla Black, Sophie Oak, Stephanie Rowe, Susan Stoker, Vi Keeland, Vivian Arend, Willa Nash, Willow Winters, Zoe York, Erin Wright, Laramie Briscoe, Kylie Gilmore, Kait Nolan, Tracy Alvarez, Lili Valente, Vanessa Vale, Tawdra Kandle, Colleen Hoover, Maya Banks, Penelope Sky, Kendall Ryan, Kennedy Fox, Chelle Bliss, Sarina Bowen, Penelope Ward, Marie Force, Melissa Foster, Kristen Proby, Devney Perry, Susan Stoker, Tessa Bailey, Jana Aston, Sally Thorne, Christina Lauren, Elle Kennedy, Julia Kent, Sylvia Day, K.A. Linde, Jessica Hawkins, Rachel VanDyken, Jodi Ellen Malpas, L.J. Shen, Natasha Madison, Emily Henry, Corrine Michaels, and Kylie Scott. romance books, contemporary romance, small town, best friends, cowboy romance, western romance, marriage and family, series starter, first in series, romance series, romance saga, romantic family saga, bestseller romance, steamy, sexy, heartwarming, heart-warming, family, love, love books, kissing books, emotional journey, captivating romance, emotional, healing, hot, hot romance, forbidden love, second chance romance, loyalty, swoon, funny romance, modern romance, forbidden romance, enemies to lovers, friends to lovers, family business, strong female lead, strong heroine, top romance reads, best seller, romance novels, love story, angst, American western, unrequited love, adult romance, mature romance, rodeo, heartbreak, breakup, strong woman, contemporary women, full length, steamy, angsty, first love, romance series, series, mistaken country westerns, series starter, first in series, revenge romance, Montana, oil money, farming and ranching romance.
In the 23rd installment of the bestselling Aunt Dimity series, a dark and stormy night kicks off a ghost chase in rural England On a dull and dreary October day, Lori Shepherd and her husband Bill set off for the historic town of Rye, on the southeast coast of England, for a quiet weekend together without the kids. Bill must first pay a visit to a reclusive client--but after Lori drops him off, a powerful storm drives her off course and leaves her stranded in an ancient, rambling inn called The King's Ransom. When Lori is spooked by ghostly noises in the night, Aunt Dimity reminds her rather tartly that not all ghosts intend to harm the living. But the longer Lori is stuck at the inn, the stranger things seem. She learns that the inn was once a hangout for smugglers, and that it's riddled with secret tunnels the smugglers used to reach a network of hidden caves. Then there's the inn's cook--a brawny, gruff ex-con--who seems to have a beef with a mysterious French guest. Are the noises Lori hears made by the spirits of long dead smugglers? Or should she be more worried by the inn's living inhabitants? Joining forces with her new friend Bishop Wyndham, and guided by Aunt Dimity's wise counsel, Lori sets out to discover once and for all who--or what--is haunting The King's Ransom.
When a mysterious envelope arrives for Jake Ransom, he and his older sister, Kady, are plunged into a gripping chain of events. An artifact found by their parents—on the expedition from which they never returned—leads Jake and Kady to a strange world inhabited by a peculiar mix of long-lost civilizations, a world that may hold the key to their parents' disappearance. But even as they enter the gate to this extraordinary place, savage grackyls soar across the sky, diving to attack. Jake's new friends, the pretty Mayan girl Marika and the Roman Pindor, say the grackyls were created by an evil alchemist—the Skull King. And as Jake struggles to find a way home, it becomes obvious that what the Skull King wants most is Jake and Kady—dead or alive.
When those you have loved and lived for betray you, how do you go on? Book Two of "The Bewildering Adventures of King Bewilliam" finds Robin, the hero of The Lost King, at sea both literally and figuratively. At first directionless and purposeless, he determines to reunite with his sons and with them restore his shattered kingdom but Fate has different plans for the lost king. Driven far from his home in the Chalklands, Robin pits his will against a dragon, a fortress's duplicitous and deadly guards, high winds on the open water, and a horrifying sea monster only to meet his most formidable opponent.
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER Sharon Kay Penman follows up her acclaimed novel Lionheart with the vivid and heart-wrenching story of the last event-filled years in the life of Richard I of England, Coeur de Lion. November 1192. After his bloody crusade in the Kingdom of Jerusalem, Richard and his crew are overcome by a sudden storm, its fierce winds propelling the ship onto the Sicilian shore. But this misfortune is just the beginning. Forced to make a dangerous choice, Richard finds himself in enemy territory, where he is captured—in violation of the papal decree protecting all crusaders—and handed over to the Holy Roman Emperor. Imprisoned in the notorious fortress at Trifels, from which few ever leave alive, Richard, for the first time in his life, experiences pure, visceral fear—while his mother, Eleanor of Aquitaine, moves heaven and earth to secure his release. Amid betrayals, intrigues, infidelities, wars, and illness, Richard’s courage and intelligence will become legend. Look for special features inside. Join the Random House Reader’s Circle for author chats and more. Praise for A King’s Ransom “Masterful . . . [Sharon Kay] Penman has absorbed herself so fully into the heart and mind of her protagonist that an undeniably flawed but refreshingly human Richard [the Lionheart] virtually walks off the pages.”—Booklist “Historical fiction of the first order . . . Instead of history that reads like a novel [Sharon Kay] Penman achieves something greater: a novel that reads like history.”—Willamette Week “A well-researched and impressively detailed narrative displaying a strong commitment to historical accuracy and richly drawn, sympathetic characters.”—Library Journal “Once you start reading you won’t want to stop.”—British Weekly “Massively entertaining.”—Kirkus Reviews
A sleeper terrorist in rural Gloucester awakens with a message from the caves of Afghanistan. He is given a plan to kill the Royal Family and members of Parliament. The tool of choice is so obvious a sight that it is almost invisible to most people. Meanwhile a man with a centuries old claim to the British Throne plans a devastating flood in London and cause untold deaths and damage to bring down the monarchy, and restore the Tudor Dynasty to the British throne. Combined these two threats attack the very foundations of British Society. Only one couple, working for a secret organisation set up by King Charles centuries before, and hidden in the British Security Services, stand in the way of disaster to protect Queen and Country from these twin attacks. Their only hope is diligence and cooperation from the police and Intelligence Services in a race against time.
