8184 Book(s) Related to the sleepless night of the maid chapter 1

DEATH BY TEMPTATION is Book #14 in the #1 Bestselling Caribbean Murder series, which begins with DEATH BY HONEYMOON (Book #1)—a free download! It is also a stand-alone novel.In DEATH BY TEMPTATION, Cindy and Mattheus arrive for a vacation at St. Lucia. The island has been recommended by Mattheus’s friend Rod, whose daughter is honeymooning there. But when Rod’s daughter, Kara, suddenly goes missing after going for a swim alone one afternoon, a frantic search grips the island. Swept up in the horror, Cindy and Mattheus immediately join in. When Kara’s overbearing father, Rod, arrives at the island, Matheus is torn away from the case to comfort his friend. And when the dead body of another young woman turns up a few days later at the same beach, Cindy is convinced the cases are connected. Alone, Cindy delves deeper into the investigation, but what she may find, is what she may never suspect…

Death by Seduction (Book #13 in the Caribbean Murder series)

DEATH BY DEVOTION is Book #9 in the Bestselling Caribbean Murder series, which begins with the free book DEATH BY HONEYMOON (Book #1)--a #1 Bestseller with over 100 five star reviews on Amazon! Before they get engaged, Cindy urges Mattheus to meet his long-lost Caribbean daughter, whom he has never met. Sixteen years ago, after a one night stand, the woman became pregnant, and Mattheus quickly left. Mattheus’ beautiful, volatile, fifteen year old daughter, Andrea, badly needs him, and she wants him to come to Anguilla, where she lives, so they can get to know each other. One caveat, though: he has to come without Cindy. Andrea has a mother, and one mother is enough. Mattheus feels his daughter is in trouble, feels compelled to go, and abruptly leaves Cindy behind. Convinced that her relationship with Mattheus is over, Cindy returns to the States, ready to start her life again. A few days after she gets back, amidst the excitement and a wonderful job offer, she receives a startling call from Mattheus down in Anguilla: Andrea’s stepfather has been killed and Andrea was found beside him, covered in his blood. Mattheus, desperate, begs Cindy to come down and help. Not only has his daughter been taken into custody—but now he is a suspect as well. Unable to say no, Cindy returns to the Caribbean to help find the true killer and to attempt to free both Mattheus and his daughter—but she soon finds that she’s up against an underground web of danger on the island, and it may be too late to save all of them—including herself. DEATH BY DEVOTION is both a stand-alone novel, and is also Book #9 in the Caribbean Murder series.

DEATH BY ENGAGEMENT is Book #12 in the #1 Bestselling Caribbean Murder series, which begins with DEATH BY HONEYMOON (Book #1)—a free download! It is also a standalone novel.In Death by Engagement (Book #12 of the Caribbean Murder Series), Cindy and Mattheus joyously head to Aruba to search for a wedding venue for their destination wedding. Thrilled, they enter the magical, romantic world of wedding planning and along the way, meet another recently engaged couple, also looking for a place to be wed. But the beauty of Cindy and Mattheus’s time together is suddenly interrupted, when they learn that the young woman they had just met has plunged to her death at a nearby cliff.Although she left a suicide note, the girl’s devastated father refuses to believe she took her own life. He begs Cindy and Mattheus to investigate and see if foul play was at work. Although Mattheus refuses, Cindy is compelled to give it a chance, a decision which causes increasing tension in Cindy and Mattheus’s relationship, and which brings out aspects of each of them never seen before.As Cindy explores the inner workings of the young woman’s life and family, many shocking surprises also take place in her relationship with Mattheus. Not only does Cindy have to remain strong and persistent in uncovering the cause of the death, she must go through many personal changes to deal with what’s happening in her own life.A surprise end on all fronts turns all expectations upside down.

DEATH BY BETRAYAL is Book #10 in the #1 Bestselling Caribbean Murder series, which begins with DEATH BY HONEYMOON (Book #1)--a FREE download on Amazon! Cindy and Mattheus part ways, and while he stays in the Caribbean to protect his daughter and her mother, she returns home. Cindy’s sister, Ann, meets her at the airport to welcome her back to this new chapter of her life. Cindy starts to settle back in, to meet old friends and make plans to take on a new job—when a shocking call suddenly comes. It is a call Cindy never could have expected in her wildest dreams, a call that rips her world apart. Someone close to her—too close—has been found murdered in Bermuda. Cindy has no choice but to get on the next plane to Bermuda and hunt for the killer. Before long, Cindy finds herself enmeshed in an underworld of big business and crime. Beside herself, hitting dead ends, Cindy is forced to call Mattheus to help. Once again, their stormy relationship deepens and takes a new turn, as they plunge into solving this crime together. But it all may be too late….

Duke Damon Nigrescent and his younger sister Daria Nigrescent of the Nigrescent famil, the only aristocratic family that had more powers than all the Monarchs. Not much was known about them and I didn’t want to dig any further either but , there was something pulling me towards this castle. The moment I stepped foot inside I had a feeling that I wouldn’t be able to get out of there anymore. The Nigrescent family was known for having blue eye and white hair , a physical appearance like that of a creature out of a fantasy book . Duke Damon was incredibly handsome . All my classmates’ eyes were fixated on him, while mine were on Lion, my secret crush without actually realising that the Duke’s attention was on me. He was an annoying stalker that scared the crap out of me when we first met . When it was time to leave , I couldn’t go. Lion was about to confess to me. The moment I had been waiting so much for had finally arrived but before I could make it there , I accidentally ended in the middle of a ritual and unbenounce to everyone, I became Duke Damon’s bride. From that day everything changed completely as all the secrets that had been buried came to life. My ordinary happy life was part of the past , now , I was faced with all kind of dangers , duties , love , heartbreak and….vampires. At first I loathed the idea of being his bride but with each passing day I find myself longing for him, attracted to his muscled strong body and handsome face that made my heart flutter making me confused about my real feelings. We were united because of his curse, but can I let go of this passion in exchange for the freedom I so desperately desire ?

When an old friend’s husband goes missing, she calls Cindy for help. Fresh from her own tragedy, Cindy returns to the Caribbean, this time to the gorgeous, lush island of Grenada, to find him.Cindy, still grieving her own husband’s death, stays at her friend’s incredible villa on the ocean, as she does her best to help track down her friend’s husband, Ames. As Cindy investigates, she meets the different characters on the island, some local, some fantastically rich, all of whom seem to be involved with each other, either romantically or in shady business dealings. As Cindy uncovers secret affairs, odd money dealings and drugs, she realizes there is a complex web on the island, hidden from public view. And as she digs deeper into Ames’ life, she is shocked to discover how many secrets he had been hiding from his wife—and that she never really knew the man she loved. The police at first refuse to take her seriously, but they soon gain respect for her tough intelligence, courage and determination. Cindy’s relationship with one cop in particular, Mattheus, develops in unexpected ways, as they give each other solace from their losses.But Cindy digs too deep. Soon, she finds her own life in peril, as she heads into the dark underside of the island. Startling developments in the investigation lead to a shocking ending, as a body is discovered, and Cindy alone must find out if they’ve convicted the wrong person…DEATH BY DIVORCE is Book #2 in the Caribbean Murder series, following DEATH BY HONEYMOON (Book #1).Book #3 in the series--DEATH BY MARRIAGE--and Book #4 in the series--DEATH BY DESIRE--are now also available.

In a zombie apocalypse, survivors build a fortress-like base. My girlfriend and I are its lead researchers, racing to create the serum that could end the world’s collapse.

On a sampling run outside the walls, she chooses to save the “genius” colleague she just brought back—and leaves me behind to be swallowed by a horde.

With no way out, I inject myself with an unfinished prototype. I survive… but I come back as a zombie.

The difference is: I don’t lose my mind. I keep my human intelligence—and I can command other zombies. They bow instinctively, as if they’ve sensed a king.

Inside the base, that so-called genius is working with raiders beyond the walls, pushing a fake serum to control the troops and selling the defenses piece by piece to the enemy.

As the base collapses, the drugged soldiers turn on each other atop the ramparts. The chain of command snaps. Everyone is waiting to die.

Then—at the moment the walls give way and screams drown out gunfire—I stand on the ruins outside, raise my hand, and sweep it forward.

The horde behind me doesn’t attack the survivors. Like a disciplined army, it bypasses them and surgically crushes every invader.

Only then does the woman who abandoned me realize what she destroyed.

But I don’t need her regret anymore.

In this damned wasteland, nobody wants to travel with a burden.
But there were four filthy little ones who stubbornly insisted on following me, refusing to fight back or retaliate.
I looked at them, then at the approaching horde of zombies in the distance, and tossed a loaded pistol in front of them.
"Want to follow me? Fine."
I coldly placed a knife to the neck of the outermost zombie. "Here, if you want me, the lone wolf, to take you along, you'll have to prove you're not trash!"
"Take it and shoot it in the head! That's the only ticket to joining my team!"
The sixteen-year-old girl, tears streaming down her face, gritted her teeth and pulled the trigger.
I knew I could never shake them off again.

In my last life, I risked everything to protect my fiancée, only for her to shove me into a horde of zombies with nothing but, "You owed David this."
When I got a second chance, I found myself back right before the rescue chopper took off at the start of the apocalypse.
As I watched her cling to the cabin door, refusing to leave because she was waiting for her ex, I stepped back without hesitation: respect, best wishes, stay together forever. This time, I'm done being the pathetic simp who gets played for a fool.
I snatched the top-tier crystal core first, awakened an apocalyptic-level power, and watched with a cold smile as the cheating couple turned on each other in the middle of a pile of corpses, stabbing and screaming in despair. When the end of the world comes, you deal with the bleeding hearts first—then you rise to godhood.

Four years. Ninety-nine times on the altar, and the Alpha I was going to mate held the door for every one of them.
I heal from anything. That is the only reason they picked me.
The Moon Goddess promised that the hundredth offering would buy back the night somebody stole from me. The night Cassian knows it was me who dug him out of that mine, and looks at me the way he used to.
Not this one. In this one I am what his priestess practises on.
So I never refused. Not once, not through any of the fevers.
Tonight is the hundredth. The drug hasn't taken, and the two of them are talking on the other side of the door.
"It'll hold. We built that voice out of her own memories."
"The heart tonight, not an eye. When she wakes, don't let anything slip."
There is no Moon Goddess. There never was.
And he doesn't know my healing was never mine. Something else lives in my chest, and it stays there because my heart does.
Take it out and I don't wake up.

My teammates viewed me as a mobile food supply and planned to butcher me before they ran out of rations.
They thought that as long as I died, they would win this "survival game."
However, they would never know that what I brought back from the depths of the ruins wasn't fear, but the highest-level administrative privileges of the entire logistics system. While they killed each other for a bag of expired biscuits, I had already locked the exit to this hell. Sorry, but in this settling of accounts, you aren't even qualified to be treated as bargaining chips.

I used to think I had the perfect family.
My husband Nico started coming home less and less, always saying he had a meeting. But the truth was, he had another woman, Alessia. And it had been going on for a while.
The affair I could've handled. What really killed me was that my son Leo and my daughter Mia had known all along. They'd even started calling his mistress "Mom."
They thought I was clueless. But I'd known for months, his assistant had told me everything.
I tried so hard to win them back. I did more for them, cared more, tried harder. But they kept choosing Alessia.
That day, I stopped trying.
They could all have each other—Nico, Alessia, Leo, Mia.
I hoped they'd be happy together.

I lost my memory.
When I woke up, my biological parents and aloof wife were fussing over the fake young master's bedside.
I, the real young master who had just awakened from a coma, only received my wife's cold command: "Sebastian needs a blood transfusion. Go donate."
Looking at the scars on my wrists from her suicide attempt, my amnesiac mind only felt absurdity.
I calmly donated blood, then turned and signed the divorce papers, leaving with nothing, and unilaterally published a notice severing all ties with my family.
Later, the fake young master's conspiracy was exposed. My arrogant female CEO wife destroyed her entire family, flew halfway around the world overnight, and knelt at the airport, tears streaming down her face, begging me to come home.
I, however, took the hand of a haired female professor and looked at her coldly: " Sorry, I already have a partner ."

I died on the barren wasteland in a raging blizzard.
Before my death, many from the pack came to say goodbye.
Even Seraphina, my lifelong rival, came.
Only Kael, my Alpha mate of five years, was absent.
He was with that rogue Jennifer, watching the moon's reflection in Silver Moon Falls.
In my final moments, I received his mind-link.
"When the Moon Goddess guided me to find you as my fated mate, you were just a Beta. To inherit the Alpha position, I had no choice but to choose you. All these years I've been giving you suppressants, forbidding you from getting pregnant, and you agreed to it all. You've been a competent Luna."
"If there's a next life, I'll still choose you. In this life, rest in peace. I'll personally arrange your funeral."
Sensing this mind-link, my rival Seraphina sneered mockingly: "Karolyn, you really weren't cut out to be a Luna."
"In the next life, don't compete with me anymore."
Her words proved prophetic. When I opened my eyes again, we had both returned to the day of the Darkwood family's mate selection ceremony.
Kael said coldly: "Karolyn, the Moon Goddess has chosen you as my fated mate. You will be Darkwood's Luna."
Without hesitation, I stepped back and pointed to Seraphina.
"I think the Luna position is better suited for Seraphina."

I ranked first and snagged the most prestigious job offer in the city. Yet, not a single person congratulated me.
Because for the past twenty years, every top student who received this offer from the medical school "committed suicide" that very night.
Reporters blocked the school gates, grinning as they asked if I planned to jump off a building or swallow a bullet. My roommate grabbed my collar, screaming curses, wishing me dead.
Too bad they all completely miscalculated. I come from a filthy rich family, I’m perfectly sane, and top psychologists have signed off that I have zero suicidal tendencies. I have no reason to die.
So, I looked straight into the live cameras and declared: "If my body is found tomorrow morning, it’s not suicide. It’s murder!"
After all, for that final exam, I turned in a blank paper.

In my past life, my husband Pietro locked me in a dark basement and tortured me to death. My only crime? I couldn't get pregnant.
When I opened my eyes again, I was back at the family’s arranged marriage banquet.
Pietro was an illegitimate son, desperate to secure his status through marriage. In my previous life, he chose me—the Godfather's daughter. But this time, he publicly wrapped his arm around my ambitious stepsister, Livia.
Livia had always envied my status. She craved power and desperately wanted to be the Don's wife. Seeing them together, I knew instantly: Pietro had been reborn, too.
Don Ettore laid down the law: Whoever sired a son first would inherit Castel City.
My sister thought she had just been handed a crown.
But she didn't know the truth. The barren one... was Pietro.

My husband, Victor Falcone, was a mafia godfather whose very name makes the entire underworld tremble.
A year ago, he barely survived an assassination attempt. The trauma gave him severe amnesia, completely wiping out the three months we spent keeping each other alive in the slums.
When he woke up, he was a different man—cold and ruthless. He treated my stepsister like his untouchable first love, spoiling her rotten.
And me, his legal wife? In his eyes, I was just a greedy, desperate woman who wouldn't take a hint.
"Drop the cheap pity act," he’d sneer. "You’re not worth a single hair on Lilia’s head."
Even so, I chose to stay by his side, desperate to spark his memory.
Until today. A rival cartel tied me and his precious "angel" to iron pillars on an abandoned pier.
Beneath our feet is a raging, pitch-black ocean. A thug has the ice-cold barrel of a gun pressed hard against my temple.
Which one of us will he choose?

I was a billionaire's canary. Never asked for it — but every time I slept with him, he paid another chunk of my mom's medical bills. Later he made me his secretary, and stupidly, I thought we'd built something real. Turns out I was wrong. He drained my entire savings to buy his mistress a $500K necklace. "What do you mean, your money?" he sneered. "Every penny came from me." I begged. He laughed. Then the hospital called: Mom didn't make it. That's when I stopped being anyone's canary — and started billing him back, in full.

I don't realize how badly I've been wronged until they're strapping me to the gurney.

My name is Camille Brooks. I'm one of the best cardiothoracic surgeons in the city, and I have never lost a patient on my table.

My fiancé, Adrian Vance, is the golden boy of the entire hospital. We're supposed to get married next month.

It's a stormy night when he calls, telling me to get to the hospital right now. There's a patient bleeding out, and only I can save them.

I race through the rain, but I get stuck in traffic halfway there. By the time I push through the OR doors, the patient has no pulse.

The family points at me. They say I botched the procedure and killed him. And Adrian Vance, my own fiancé, takes the stand and shows up with "ironclad evidence" against me.

I have nothing to fight back with. I go to prison. My parents can't handle it. It destroys them both. They take their own lives.

It's only after I die that I learn who really held the scalpel that night: Daisy Whitman, the woman Adrian never got over.

I was just the fall guy.

Then I open my eyes.

I'm back. One hour before everything falls apart, riding through the rain toward the hospital.

This time, I'm going to survive.

And I'm going to watch both of you burn.

My stepsister killed someone while driving high and made me take the fall.
She knelt in front of me, crying, "I'm so scared."
My mom snatched the only piece of evidence and told the police it was me.
My fiancé, Darian, took my hand and said, "Trust me. I'll marry you in three years."
Three years. Not one person came to see me.
The day I was released, it poured rain.
I clutched that engagement ring and walked back to that house.
The door was unlocked. The moment I pushed it open, I found him kissing my stepsister.
She spun around, ducking into Darian's arms.
"Sis... you're... you're out already?!"

My boyfriend successfully proposed with a spectacular drone light show.
The whole city erupted in celebration: “Mr. and Mrs. Hansen—finally, a couple united!”
Yet, nestled in his arms was none other than his secretary.
The "Mrs. Hansen" everyone speaks of is now nothing more than a forgotten memory, buried beneath the earth.

“A dynamic story line that grips from the first chapter and doesn't let go.”--Midwest Book Review, Diane Donovan (regarding Once Gone)From #1 bestselling mystery author Blake Pierce comes a new masterpiece of psychological suspense.In A TRACE OF CRIME (Book #4 in the Keri Locke mystery series), Keri Locke, Missing Persons Detective in the Homicide division of the LAPD, follows a fresh lead for her abducted daughter. She winds her way through a twisted underworld, and step by step, she gets closer to finding her daughter.Yet she has no time. Keri is assigned a new case: a dad calls from an affluent community and reports that his teen daughter vanished on the way home from school.Shortly after, ransom letters arrive. Twisted, filled with riddles, they make it clear that there is little time to save the girl. They also make it clear that this is the work of a diabolical killer who is toying with them.Keri and the police must scramble to find the kidnapper, to understand his demands, to decode the letters, and most of all, to outwit him. But in this master game of chess, Keri may find herself up against a foe even she cannot understand, and for the missing girl—and her own daughter—she may just be too late.A dark psychological thriller with heart-pounding suspense, A TRACE OF CRIME is book #4 in a riveting new series—and a beloved new character—that will leave you turning pages late into the night.“A masterpiece of thriller and mystery! The author did a magnificent job developing characters with a psychological side that is so well described that we feel inside their minds, follow their fears and cheer for their success. The plot is very intelligent and will keep you entertained throughout the book. Full of twists, this book will keep you awake until the turn of the last page.”--Books and Movie Reviews, Roberto Mattos (re Once Gone)Book #5 in the Keri Locke series will be available soon.

Ravenshade: Blood Moon is more than just a story about vampires and wolves — it’s a dive into a dark, mysterious world where secrets whisper through the fog.
The town of Ravenshade lives under a constant veil of mist, where humans walk unaware of the shadows that watch them.

Selene Darkblood was born to lead an ancient vampire clan, but fate takes an unexpected turn when she meets Rael — a lone wolf haunted by his past and burdened with powers he barely understands.
Between them, something forbidden ignites: powerful, dangerous, and impossible to resist.

As their worlds collide, alliances are tested and the fragile peace between vampires and wolves begins to crumble. Under the crimson glow of the Blood Moon, the line between desire and destruction fades.

This is a story about choices, loyalty, and the courage to love when the world says you shouldn’t.
Welcome to Ravenshade — where blood, love, and destiny intertwine.

“Bloodline of Mayan Gods” is a dark Vampyr Erotica Novel Series that ventures into the shadows, exploring the complexities of betrothal and the struggles of navigating the fierceness of the mate bond.
Her fate was sealed the minute she took her first breath, half-human, half-vampyr royal heir to the throne, betrothed to Prince Rryan by the vows of her own mother. She was born into the brutal, unforgiving realm of Mayan Vampyr Gods.
Years later, Prince Rryan now sits on the throne as King. A full blood Mayan Vampyr, known as the ‘Ripper’, rules with a bloodlust. His Only weakness, her!
Syla was kept hidden from him after the death of her mother. Years passed until the day she was sold to him, dirty and beaten, unrecognizable. Captured by ruthless traders of blood slaves for the king, but he saw something in her eyes, something familiar, something he couldn’t let go of; it tugged at his memory. Suddenly, he knew, she discovers that her entire life was a lie. He knows who she truly is.. As he tries to navigate and control the beast within him, as well as his fierce need to reclaim her as his.

No one will stop him from having her; he doesn't care about boundaries or human laws that do not exist within his realm.
She wants him as badly as he wants her; the pleasure and pain he gives her makes her love him even more. He will destroy everyone and everything to keep her safe by his side; only she can calm his rage and satisfy his needs.

*This series is intended for a mature audience. I could tell you more, but I prefer that you experience their journey firsthand. Their story is just beginning, and they are not alone.

For seven years of marriage, I don't dare make a sound around my husband.
All because he can hear everyone's voices—everyone's except mine. He says he's allergic to mine.
I've tried everything to change my voice—even had vocal cord surgery.
But no matter how hard I tried—every time he'd just cover his ears like I was hurting him.
I've cried myself to sleep so many times, feeling guilty.
Until our son's birthday.
Standing by our front door, our little boy grinned up at his dad and asked, "Dad, can I pretend to be allergic to mom's voice too? Just like you?"

Three years ago, a private plane crash took my father, my mother, my brother Carter, and Grayson, the man I'd loved for seven years and was about to marry.

To hold onto everything they left behind, I cried until my eyes were raw, destroyed my stomach, and fought my way through boardrooms and Wall Street vultures.

On countless nights, I held their photographs and cried until I passed out.

What I never understood was why Willow, the foster sister we'd taken in, vanished without a trace after the crash.

Until today, three years later, when I drive back to the family estate with a diagnosis in my bag telling me I have three months to live.

I push open the heavy door and hear laughter. I see my family—the family that's supposed to be dead—gathered around Willow and her three-year-old son, singing happy birthday.

Turns out no one in this world ever loved me at all.

Why do they all get to live while I'm the only one who have to die?

Because of her husband, Megan Ashton went to prison.
Inside Prison she learnt everything they could ever be, and she became known as the Female Sovereign.
Master of Medicine.
Master of martial artist, and the most wealthy woman in the country.
When she became of prison, she thought everything was going to live happily ever after, but her husband slammed her with a divorce paper, forgetting all the good deeds Megan had done for him.
Megan just smiled in her mind.
“I will pay you back”

“A dynamic story line that grips from the first chapter and doesn't let go.”--Midwest Book Review, Diane Donovan (regarding Once Gone)From #1 bestselling mystery author Blake Pierce comes a new masterpiece of psychological suspense.In A TRACE OF VICE (Book #3 in the Keri Locke mystery series), Keri Locke, Missing Persons Detective in the Homicide division of the LAPD, follows a fresh lead for her abducted daughter. It leads to a violent confrontation with The Collector—which, in turn, offers more clues that may, after all this time, reunite her with her daughter.Yet at the same time, Keri is assigned a new case, one with a frantic ticking clock. A teenage girl has gone missing in Los Angeles, a girl from a good family was who duped into drugs and abducted into a sex trafficking ring. Keri is hot on her trail—but the trail is moving fast, with the girl being constantly moved and with her abductors’ single, nefarious goal: to cross her over the border with Mexico.In an epic, breathtaking, cat and mouse chase that takes them through the seedy underworld of trafficking, Keri and Ray will be pushed to their limits to save the girl—and her own daughter—before it is all too late.A dark psychological thriller with heart-pounding suspense, A TRACE OF VICE is book #3 in a riveting new series—and a beloved new character—that will leave you turning pages late into the night.“A masterpiece of thriller and mystery! The author did a magnificent job developing characters with a psychological side that is so well described that we feel inside their minds, follow their fears and cheer for their success. The plot is very intelligent and will keep you entertained throughout the book. Full of twists, this book will keep you awake until the turn of the last page.”--Books and Movie Reviews, Roberto Mattos (re Once Gone)Book #4 in the Keri Locke series will be available soon.

“A dynamic story line that grips from the first chapter and doesn't let go.”--Midwest Book Review, Diane Donovan (regarding Once Gone)From #1 bestselling mystery author Blake Pierce comes a new masterpiece of psychological suspense.In A TRACE OF MURDER (Book #2 in the Keri Locke mystery series), Keri Locke, Missing Persons Detective in the Homicide division of the LAPD, remains haunted by the abduction of her own daughter. Encouraged by the new lead that has landed, the first in years, she pursues it with all that she has, determined to find her daughter and bring her back alive.Yet Keri, at the same time, receives a phone call from a frantic husband, a famed Beverly Hills plastic surgeon, who reports that his wife has been missing for two days. A wealthy socialite with no enemies and little reason to leave her life, he fears the worst has become of his wife.Keri takes on the case, assigned a new partner whom she hates, as Ray still recovers in the hospital. Her investigation leads her deep into the elite Beverly Hills world of the idle rich, to encounters with lonely housewives, and those with shopping-addicted, empty lives. Keri, in over her head in this world, becomes increasingly puzzled by the conflicting signals: did this woman, with a stalker and a lurid, secret past, run away, or was she abducted?Or did something far more sinister happen?A dark psychological thriller with heart-pounding suspense, A TRACE OF MURDER is book #2 in a riveting new series—and a beloved new character—that will leave you turning pages late into the night.“A masterpiece of thriller and mystery! The author did a magnificent job developing characters with a psychological side that is so well described that we feel inside their minds, follow their fears and cheer for their success. The plot is very intelligent and will keep you entertained throughout the book. Full of twists, this book will keep you awake until the turn of the last page.”--Books and Movie Reviews, Roberto Mattos (re Once Gone)Book #3 in the Keri Locke series will be available soon.

Mature Content Warning!
An erotic reverse-harem romance. Two men with one woman.

Riya had a perfect life: Happy family, wonderful boyfriend, wild friends and amazing grades. Everything was perfect.

But her life takes an unexpected turn when her parents force her into a marriage, and all her beliefs are set to trial.

She is sold for a deal, quarantined in the pandemic, and her monogamous beliefs are shaking. She is trying to choose one when she doesn't really want to.

So will she get everything she desires or will she have to compromise?

Updated daily.

He was once the supreme commander who guarded the frontier for five long years.

When he finally returned home, he discovered a nightmare waiting for him.

His young daughter had been brutally tortured by the mafia, her blood nearly drained from her body.

His wife had suffered endless humiliation at the hands of a ruthless crime lord.

In her darkest moment, the little girl cried out in despair:

"Daddy, where are you? Please save me!"

The moment he heard her plea, his fury became unstoppable.

Alone, he stormed through the enemy's territory and wiped out the entire criminal syndicate.

When powerful families and elite assassin organizations joined forces to crush him, he sent only a single message.

Within hours, armies, mercenaries, and loyal allies from every corner of the world answered his call.

Those who dare harm his daughter will pay with their lives.

The king has returned.

And this time, there will be no mercy.

Torn between the man she loves, and the man who loves her....

Cordia has always been strong-willed, but she knows her family expects her to accept the hand of her childhood friend, Jaris, in marriage. As the conflict continues to escalate, Cordia hopes it will last long enough for her to find a way to free herself without breaking her friend’s heart.

On the eve of war, Cordia meets a mysterious newcomer. There’s just something about Will that she finds both intriguing and dangerous. She makes a plan to write to him. Perhaps by the time the war is over, Will’s feelings for Cordia will have blossomed into love.

But by the time war begins to wind its way through Missouri, one of these men will be dead, and Cordia will find herself betrothed to a man she loathes. Will she have the courage to follow her heart, or will she do as she is told and acquiesce to a loveless marriage to a heartless traitor?

Bonus story Cordia's Hope!

Forbidden love on the frontier....
Hope is content staying in her hometown of Lamar, Missouri, focusing on her life as a schoolteacher instead of finding love. But when she hears the truth about her parents' romance during the Civil War, how her mother Cordia set out to find her father Will after a deadly battle, Hope is determined to have that sort of adventure as well.

Accepting a teaching position in a frontier town in Texas isn't quite what she was expecting--there are no marauders or gunslingers--but there is one man with a shady past, and when the entire town tells her to stay away from Judah Lawless, Hope finds herself drawn to him.

Is Judah dangerous, or will Hope finally find the romance she's been looking for?

“A dynamic story line that grips from the first chapter and doesn't let go.”--Midwest Book Review, Diane Donovan (regarding Once Gone)From #1 bestselling mystery author Blake Pierce comes a new masterpiece of psychological suspense. A TRACE OF HOPE is the final book in the Keri Locke series, bringing the series to a dramatic conclusion.In A TRACE OF HOPE (Book #5 in the Keri Locke mystery series), Keri Locke, Missing Persons Detective in the Homicide division of the LAPD, is closer than she’s ever been to finding her daughter. Finally, she gets a fresh lead—and this time, she will do whatever it takes to bring her home alive.At the same time, a new, urgent case is assigned to Keri: an 18 year old girl has gone missing after being hazed by her sorority. As the race is on to find her, Keri plunges deep into the world of pristine college campuses, and comes to realize that all is not what it seems.A dark psychological thriller with heart-pounding suspense, A TRACE OF HOPE is book #5 in a riveting new series—and a beloved new character—that will leave you turning pages late into the night.“A masterpiece of thriller and mystery! The author did a magnificent job developing characters with a psychological side that is so well described that we feel inside their minds, follow their fears and cheer for their success. The plot is very intelligent and will keep you entertained throughout the book. Full of twists, this book will keep you awake until the turn of the last page.”--Books and Movie Reviews, Roberto Mattos (re Once Gone)

She saved his life. Now he’ll stop at nothing to claim hers.

Isla Monroe never expected to become entangled with the most feared man in Valmont City. As a struggling medical student haunted by her past, she only wanted to help when she saw a man drowning in a frozen lake. But the moment she pulled him from the icy depths, her fate was sealed.

That man was Lorenzo De Luca—billionaire, mafia boss, and a man who had given up on life. When he wakes in Isla’s tiny apartment, his first instinct is suspicion, not gratitude. In his world, kindness is a weakness, and trust is a death sentence. But Isla isn’t afraid of him, and that makes her dangerous.

Lorenzo disappears, but Isla isn’t free of him. A year later, he storms back into her life—not to thank her, but to claim her. His enemies have learned about the woman who saved him, and now she’s a target. The only way to keep her safe is to pull her into his dangerous world.

Saving him was just the beginning. Loving him might be her downfall.

“I, Riccardo Saviano, future Alpha of the Grey Shadow Moon Pack, reject you, Artemisia Guerrieri, Daughter of Alpha Franco of the Blood Moon Pack, as my mate and future Luna.”

One single sentence.

One stupid single sentence was all it took to disintegrate my life.

And the day of my birthday, on which this sentence was audaciously uttered to me, I lost the love of my life, my future mate, and my wolf, all at once.

As I’m still assembling the pieces of my shattered heart years later, there they come.

Like lightning out of a crystal blue sky.

My Mates.

But wait…

If I am mated to triplets, how come I’m about to be mated to 5 gorgeous men?

*** TW: explicit and foul language; spicy content; explicit sex scenes ***

"I’ve wanted you since the moment I saw you walk into that biology classroom six years ago."

Cedric froze. He thought he was just an anonymous server in a high-end mafia club, wearing a wire for the police to clear his $500,000 debt. But the man sitting in the VIP booth—Gianni Falcone, the most dangerous crime lord in New York—wasn't a stranger. He was Gus Franco, the quiet kid from high school who used to stare at the back of Cedric's neck.

"I watched you waste yourself on people who didn't deserve you," Falcone whispered, his hand cupping Cedric's jaw with terrifying gentleness. "I orchestrated everything. The debt, the job, the desperation. I burned down your world just to clear a path for you to walk into my arms."

Cedric realized too late: He wasn't here to catch a criminal. He was the prize waiting to be claimed.

In the terminal stage of cancer, my only life-saving chemotherapy opportunity was bought out by Patrick for Laura, who only had early-stage cancer.

I gave up the treatment plan that doctors said could save my life and swallowed strong pain-blocking medication. The consequence was organ failure and death within three days.

During these three days, I gave up everything.

When I gave all my hard-earned achievements to Laura, my parents smiled with relief.

When Patrick presented the divorce papers and I signed them readily, he sighed and said I was very sensible.

When I pushed Anna to call Laura "mom," she said excitedly that mommy was the best.

Even when I transferred all my properties and assets to Laura, they didn't notice anything wrong.

They just looked at me with relief and said: "Our sensible Flora has finally come back."

But I'm also curious - after I die, will they ever think of me?

"If you want me to believe you weren't sent by my enemies," Massimo said coldly, pointing at the balcony railing, "then jump."
She froze for a moment. The drop behind her was real, the danger undeniable. Any sane person would have stepped back.
But Isabella smiled.
"I'll do anything for you."
And then she jumped.
Massimo De Luca, the ruthless mafia king feared by everyone in the city, never expected the daughter of his enemy to be the one person who could make him lose control. When Isabella Rossi walks into his world, she isn't looking for safety. She is chasing danger, temptation, and the man everyone warns her to stay away from.
Born into wealth but drawn to darkness, Isabella becomes trapped between a forbidden desire and a deadly family war. Massimo believes she is a weapon sent by his enemies, and he plans to use her for revenge. But the more he tries to break her, the harder it becomes to ignore the connection burning between them.
Behind their dangerous attraction lie hidden secrets, betrayal, and a revenge that could destroy them both. She wants the monster behind the legend. He wants to punish the daughter of the man who ruined his family.
But what happens when the woman he planned to destroy becomes the only person who can save him?

"That man hurt you, and I have avenged you."
The moment the dark knight tossed the severed head of her rapist at her feet, Celene's fate was sealed.
Once the beloved princess of Andreia, she lost everything when her father died—betrayed by her murderous stepmother, conquered by the tyrant King Japhet, and brutalized by royal guards.
Left for dead in a secret cell, she is saved only by a mysterious knight who offers her vengeance… in exchange for her loyalty.
Framed for regicide and condemned to the Forest of the Damned, a cursed realm of monsters and magic, Celene faces a choice no princess should ever have to make: die a traitor, or pledge herself to a dark power that will remake her body, her blood, and her destiny.
Now, hunted by armies, haunted by a goddess's bargain, and torn between the knight who saved her and the prince who wants her destroyed, Celene must decide.
Will she unleash the wrath of a cursed princess to burn her enemies to ash… or embrace the power within to stop a war that will consume both worlds?

Hate.

Oh yes, I fucking hate Chase Hartley. I mean he's... cocky, a college hockey star, and to top it all, he's my soon-to-be stepbrother. Because my dad decided to get married and have me trapped under the same roof with him for the entire summer.

But everything changed the day we kissed.

Everything turned forbidden.

WARNING: THIS NOVEL IS SPICY. LESS HOCKEY. MUCH SEX

Seven years ago, Cate Sullivan was presumed dead following a tragic fire while she was carrying twins. The man who loved her with all his heart, Dylan Carter, buried her himself… but he didn't recover.
Surprisingly, She survived. Devastated, psychologically damaged, and suffering from amnesia, she has been raising twins for the past seven years in poverty, unaware of the billionaire who lost her and is still looking for the woman he never stopped loving.
That changes on a snowy night when he finds a young boy stealing from Cate's grave… a boy who looks like him. Because contrary to what he thought all these years, his deceased lover has returned along with his twins.
But someone is determined to keep the truth buried forever. As old memories resurface and dangerous secrets unravel, Cate and Dylan are pulled back into a love story destroyed by betrayal, obsession, and seven years of heartbreaking separation.
Yet the closer they grow, the more deadly the past becomes. Because the woman who tried to erase Cate once before is prepared to do it again.
In a story filled with painful misunderstandings, hidden identities, emotional reunions, and a love powerful enough to survive death itself, one question remains: What happens when the man who buried you discovers even in poverty and memory loss you never stopped loving him?

“Sophie Love's ability to impart magic to her readers is exquisitely wrought in powerfully evocative phrases and descriptions….FOR NOW AND FOREVER is the perfect romance or beach read, with a difference: its enthusiasm and beautiful descriptions offer an unexpected attention to the complexity of not just evolving love, but evolving psyches. It's a delightful recommendation for romance readers looking for a touch more complexity from their romance reads.”--Midwest Book Review (Diane Donovan) “A very well written novel, describing the struggle of a woman (Emily) to find her true identity. The author did an amazing job with the creation of the characters and her description of the environment. The romance is there, but not overdosed. Kudos to the author for this amazing start of a series that promises to be very entertaining.”--Books and Movies Reviews, Roberto Mattos (re For Now and Forever)FOREVER AND FOR ALWAYS is book #2 in the romance series THE INN AT SUNSET HARBOR, which begins with book #1, FOR NOW AND FOREVER—a free download!35 year old Emily Mitchell has fled her job, apartment and ex-boyfriend in New York City for her father's abandoned home on the coast of Maine, needing a change in her life. Tapping her life savings to restore the historic home, and with a budding relationship with the caretaker, Daniel, Emily prepares to open the Inn at Sunset Harbor as Memorial Day comes.But all does not go as planned. Emily learns quickly that she has no idea how to run a B&B. The house, despite her efforts, needs new, urgent repairs she cannot afford. Her covetous neighbor is still determined to make trouble for her. And worst of all: just as her relationship with Daniel is blossoming, she learns he has a secret. One which will change everything.With her friends urging her to return to New York City and her ex-boyfriend trying to win her back, Emily has a life-changing decision to make. Will she try to stick it out, to embrace small-town life, her father’s old house? Or will she turn her back on her new friends, neighbors and life—and on the man she has fallen in love with?FOREVER AND FOR ALWAYS is book #2 of a dazzling new romance series that will make you laugh, make you cry, will keep you turning pages late into the night—and will make you fall in love with romance all over again.Book #3 will be available soon.

"She's wolfless. She's worthless. She's not fit to be my Luna."
Those were the last words her fated mate spoke before claiming another woman as his Luna—after Thalia sacrificed her own wolf in a forbidden blood ritual to save his life.
Broken and abandoned, Thalia thought she had lost everything.
But the Moon Goddess had other plans.
Her wolf didn't die that night.
It split.
Now, three powerful Alphas are bound to the pieces of her broken soul:
The Pack Healer, whose gentle touch awakens a desire she can't deny.
The Rogue Alpha, who would burn the world before letting anyone hurt her again.
And the mate who rejected her, now on his knees begging for forgiveness.
As ancient magic awakens and rival packs close in, Thalia must uncover the truth behind her shattered wolf before it destroys everything.
And suddenly the question isn't who she belongs to anymore...

I thought drowning while trying to save a little girl was the end of my story. Turns out, it was just the beginning of my empire in the Land of the Dead.
Now, I'm the infamous owner of the afterlife's most intimate boutique. My clients? A community of skeletons so conservative, they excuse themselves before holding hands and have been sleeping in separate beds for thirty years of marriage.
To make sure my boyfriend Carlos doesn't forget me, I convinced him to become my interdimensional supplier. But my thriving business comes at a deadly cost: every product he sends drains his life force. And just as I make this horrifying discovery, I learn the little girl I died saving is in deadly danger once again, as her stepmother plots against her again.
With the love of my life fading away and an innocent child's life on the line, what price am I willing to pay for a second chance at life?

On our wedding day, she vanished wearing the gown I had bought for her.
I didn’t chase her. Instead, I went back to the operating table.
For three years, I had paid off her debts and filled the holes she left behind—enough for her to live a second life. My heart couldn't take it anymore; I had a stent implanted, though she never knew.
Three days later, I died in the hospital corridor. My ECG flatlined.
She didn’t know. She was still at a cocktail party in another city, clinking glasses with someone else.
A month later, she came back, kneeling before my tombstone in tears.
But it was all too late.

I’m a retired Special Forces soldier. After I got out, I handled problems people didn’t want on paper, and I’ve seen enough dirty work to last a lifetime.

When I finally retired for real, I wanted a normal life.

So I came back to the orphanage where I grew up, planning to adopt a quiet seven-year-old boy I’d kept in touch with for years.

But the moment I arrived, I was told he’d already been “adopted.”

I called the family to make sure he was safe. On the line he said, “I’m fine.”
Then I heard it—fingernails tapping in a pattern: three short, three long, three short.

The distress signal I had taught him.

I stormed into the director’s office and forced the truth out: the adoption papers were fake. He wasn’t taken into a home. He was sold.

They think I’m just a returning orphanage worker.
They have no idea what I’ve done out there—and no idea I’m very good at cleaning up this kind of mess.

I was an orphan, and a rare heart condition ate away at me for twenty years. The night I died in that cold hospital room, a reaper in a black robe came for me.

He told me if I crossed into a world of werewolves, into the Moonheart Pack, and made Estelle's family genuinely love me — Estelle being the real daughter who'd died a horrible death there — and if I rewrote the ending where they all went mad and tore each other apart, I'd get my health back for good. A second life.

For twenty years in that body, I loved every single one of them with everything I had.

My husband Rhett was the youngest Alpha the pack had ever had. I mentioned once that I wanted Alaskan wild berries, and he drove a thousand miles overnight to get them. My mother Sylvia, the pack's head healer, made me tonics herself every single day. My father Everett and my brother Callum spoiled me so much the whole pack envied me for it.

I thought I'd actually rewritten my fate. I thought I was the happiest person alive.

Until that night.

I'm carrying a berry pie I baked myself toward the council hall when I hear my mother's voice, flat and cold.

"Estelle's heart is finally in perfect condition. Now's the best time to take it."

"Her heart buys Lila's life. She should be grateful for it." Rhett says it like it's nothing. "Once we take the heart, I'll dissolve the mate bond myself."

So this is it. All that kindness was just to grow a healthy heart for their adopted girl.

Three years. I've spent three years trying to love them, to thaw them out, to change things.

Then let it end here.