When Jocelyn Tremayne saved her husband's reputation, she lost everything—including her faith in God. The idealistic bride once had a future all New York society envied. Now the young widow is suspected of an unthinkable crime. And to clear her name, she must uncover a conspiracy…and endanger her disillusioned heart. Although Secret Service agent Micah MacKenzie needs Jocelyn's aid to infiltrate the city's most privileged circles, he's determined to keep her at arm's length. But the more she risks to help him find the truth, the more he sees the wrongly judged woman she truly is. Now he will do whatever it takes to win her trust, rekindle her belief—and prove his love.
Bella Wallis is a respectable society woman with a secret identity: in an office buried deep within the seedy backstreets of London, she writes sensationalist novels exposing the scoundrels that litter high society under the pen name Henry Ellis Margam. So when a crested cigar case is found near the body of a murdered prostitute, Bella and her friends are determined to trace the murderer and write a mystery that will avenge the poor girl's untimely death. But the owner of the cigar case is a dangerous - and rich - man who has already destroyed the lives of others who have crossed him. Will Bella see justice done, or will she meet the same fate as so many of her characters...? The Widow's Secret is the first in the Bella Wallis series of mysteries and takes us from London to Paris, from the highest of society to the lowest of the low. It is an entertaining, effervescent romp and a wonderful introduction to this most charismatic of heroines.
“The Widows kept me on the edge of my seat. Montgomery is a masterful storyteller.” —Lee Martin, author of Pulitzer Prize-Finalist The Bright Forever Inspired by the true story of Ohio’s first female sheriff, Jess Montgomery’s powerful, lyrical debut is the story of two women who take on murder and corruption at the heart of their community. Kinship, Ohio, 1924: When Lily Ross learns that her husband, Daniel, the town’s widely respected sheriff, has been killed while transporting a prisoner in an apparent accident, she vows to seek the truth about his death. Hours after his funeral, a stranger appears at her door. Marvena Whitcomb, a coal miner’s widow, is unaware that Daniel has died and begs to speak with him about her missing daughter. From miles away but worlds apart, Lily’s and Marvena’s lives collide as they realize that Daniel was perhaps not the man that either of them believed him to be. *BONUS CONTENT: This edition of The Widows includes a new introduction from the author and a discussion guide "The Widows is a gripping, beautifully written novel about two women avenging the murder of the man they both loved."—Hallie Ephron, New York Times bestselling author of You'll Never Know, Dear "Jess Montgomery's gorgeous writing can be just as dark and terrifying as a subterranean cave when the candle is snuffed out, but her prose can just as easily lead you to the surface for a gasp of air and a glimpse of blinding, beautiful sunlight. This is a powerful novel: a tale of loss, greed, and violence, and the story of two powerful women who refuse to stand down."—Wiley Cash, New York Times bestselling author of The Last Ballad, A Land More Kind than Home, and This Dark Road to Mercy "[A] flinty, heartfelt mystery that sings of hawks and history, of coal mines and the urgent fight for social justice."—Julia Keller, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Bone on Bone
Who is Black Widow? Master spy? Avenger? S.H.I.E.L.D. agent? Natasha Romanoff is all this and much more. With a past cloaked in mystery and disinformation, it’s hard to tell truth from deception. That’s why Black Widow: Secrets of a Super-Spy is an invaluable guide to this most secretive of heroes.
The Murderer Began To Laugh. He Was Confident That The Police Would Come Up With Nothing& When A Diplomat At The Madagascan Embassy In Delhi Is Stabbed To Death In Mysterious And Quite Possibly Scandalous Circumstances, The Ambassador Calls Upon His Old Friend Jay Samorin To Help Find The Murderer As Quickly And Discreetly As Possible. In His Somewhat Unorthodox Approach To Solving Crimes, Samorin Crosses Swords With The Police Officer In Charge Of The Investigation, Deputy Commissioner Anna Khan, Recently Transferred From Kashmir Where Her Zealous Pursuit Of Suspected Terrorists Had Threatened To Cause An Uproar. But It Transpires That Each Has An Intensely Personal Reason For Their Obsession With Murder: Samorin'S Father, A Pilot And War Hero, Was Hanged For The Murder Of His Mother, While Anna Khan'S Husband Was Killed By The Kashmiri Mujahadeen. Forming An Uneasy Alliance, The Gifted Amateur And The Jaded Professional Start To Untangle A Shocking Web Of Corruption, Prostitution And Callous Medical Malpractice. It Is A Trail Fraught With Danger, Tainted By The Older, Deeper Mysteries That Lie Outside The More Tangible Boundaries Of A Criminal Investigation A Trail Leading Back Through The Darkest Recesses Of Their Own Lives To That Elusive, Haunted Place Known As The Village Of Widows&
Selling Songs and Smiles explores female sexual entertainment ("songs and smiles") during Japan’s Heian and Kamakura periods, examining the gradual construction of a transgressive identity ("prostitute") for women engaged in the sex trade. Over some four hundred years, the character and public image of sexual entertainment was shaped by growing restrictions on female sexual activity and increasingly negative views of the female body—themselves the result of socioeconomic change in society at large. Although it is possible to paint a picture of the general decline in the status of women in the sex trade, there were also ambiguities in how they were regarded by society in the very oldest extant references to them in historical sources. Using essays, diaries, legal documents, stories, and illustrated works, this original and distinctive study unravels social attitudes toward female sexual entertainers and examines changes in their trade and the treatment they received at the hands of the court, the bakufu, and religious institutions. Compellingly argued and stylishly written, Selling Songs and Smiles challenges several prevailing interpretations, most notably the organic connection posed by scholars between shamans and sexual entertainers. Based on her exhaustive research into multiple types of primary sources, Janet Goodwin views women involved in the sex trade neither as entirely social marginals nor artisans situated within normal societal bounds. What emerges from her study is the complex and often contradictory nature of the Heian and Kamakura discourse on sexual entertainment.
