In present-day Vermont, a woman kills her ex-husband with an old, second-hand gun that turns out to have a history with Detective Joe Gunther. Thirty-two years earlier, as Joe and his wife Ellen struggled with her terminal bout of cancer, local store owner Klaus Oberfeldt was robbed and beaten to death by a local thief using that same gun. Overwhelmed by Ellen’s illness, Joe’s personal grief hampered his investigation, and the suspect, Pete Shea, vanished before they could catch him. As Gunther and the Vermont Bureau of Investigation delve into this now suddenly renewed case, they discover that the political opponent of Joe’s longtime girlfriend, Gail Zigman (who is running for state senate) has close financial ties with one of the suspects in the old Oberfeldt investigation.
But the deeper he digs, the deeper Joe becomes immersed in his own personal history with Ellen and with Gail, and when the Oberfeldt case takes a turn for the unexpected, Joe realizes that he is faced with a politically perilous situation—and a possibly lethal one personally.
Clay and Jeff Holt continue their search for the mastermind behind the illegal scheme to acquire vast amounts of land in the Western territories. When the steamboat they are on reaches New Orleans, they find out that the man they are after has gone off to the Rocky Mountains to tour the new lands.
Clay and Jeff pose as scouts to track their quarry down -- knowing that this could be their last chance.
Red Wind Crossing by John Nesbitt (Western)
Clevis always said that when he saw a pretty girl walking down the street and looking over her shoulder, he paid attention, especially if she was walking fast. From the time he saw Helen hurrying down the street, Clevis knew she was in some sort of trouble. He wanted to help, but helping Helen was no simple matter. She was trapped in a dark web of lies, deceit . . . and murder.
Frank Allards oldest and best friend has been assassinated by an unknown gunman, so when Sheriff Amos Burns asks him to come help track down Toms killer, Frank abandons his comfortable life for a perilous mission.
During the search, Frank meets Joyce Lenifee and falls in love, creating a dangerous complication that could compromise his mission especially after he discovers the identity of Toms killer.
For nearly thirty years, Bill Pronzini has been writing Western stories and novels, yet this is the first time fourteen of his finest short stories are being brought together in book form. Pronzini offers rich variety in every element of his writing. Joining the familiar figures of lawmen, cowhands, and the like, are some seldom featured characters such as bartenders, saddle makers, traveling dentists and tramp printers.
His settings run the gamut from a small, mythical town in Montana to the very real Death Valley, and his stories show a similar range: from grim character studies to action, mystery, and farcical humors.
Lazlo's luck has finally found him when he stumbles upon a brush-covered crevice that is the hiding place of a vein of gold. But what seems at first to be the find of a lifetime may end up killing Lazlo. For he still has to bring his treasure back to civilization, through unforgiving territory filled with gold-hungry hardcases.
When Barry Fairbrother dies in his early forties, the town of Pagford is left in shock.
Pagford is, seemingly, an English idyll, with a cobbled market square and an ancient abbey, but what lies behind the pretty façade is a town at war.
Rich at war with poor, teenagers at war with their parents, wives at war with their husbands, teachers at war with their pupils...Pagford is not what it first seems.
And the empty seat left by Barry on the parish council soon becomes the catalyst for the biggest war the town has yet seen. Who will triumph in an election fraught with passion, duplicity and unexpected revelations?
Larger Print Paperbacks
His only love sprang from his only hate...
Isn't that just like life to mirror something out of Romeo and Juliet? And Benedict Cassidy has good cause to hate Emily Mackenzie's father -- the corporate pirate stole his company. So what if Emily's pregnant with Ben's child? Or that he can't help loving her? She's still a traitor and the daughter of a traitor. And forgiveness doesn't come easily to Ben.
If Emily hadn't agreed to marry him, he'd have fought the woman for custody once the baby was born. Instead, he's going to watch his wife like a hawk until he's got his business back and his child safely in his arms.
There are good secrets -- and bad ones
Leslie Sanderson's brother, Cal, is dead -- and he's left behind two children no one knew he had. She and Kip Webster, Cal's closest friend, "inherit" these secret kids.
As they form their makeshift family, Leslie and Kip decide to share a house. And that leads to other kinds of sharing.... One night, just before Christmas, Leslie tells him about the devastating thing that happened when she was young -- something she's kept secret all this time.
Because in Kip, she finds the promise of safety, acceptance and love. The promise of what family should be. The promise of Christmas....
Most men have nine months to prepare to be a father. Not Beau Stanton. Still, he's determined to be a great dad to the fourteen-year-old problem child who shows up on his doorstep. And that means the end to his days as a footloose bachelor. That's not difficult -- until he meets Nancy McGuire.
Nancy has her own problems. She's a single mom who doesn't need a man like thrice-divorced Beau. She's been there, done that and got the T-shirt. No need to repeat.
As the season of goodwill toward men approaches, these two families of two are thrown together. Hard to believe, though, that in this case two and two can ever make four.
THE WRONG BROTHER?
For Keely Stafford this holiday season already left something to be desired. First, she'd caught Bradley Alexander, her now ex-fiance, in the act with another woman. Then he--and millions of dollars--had gone missing, and the police thought she was involved. Talk about a blue Christmas! She needed help, and she was about to get it--from a most unlikely, if rivetingly handsome, source....
From Lex Alexander, black-sheep brother of said ex-fiance. He'd left home at eighteen and had returned only to get the family fortune back. It looked like lovely, fragile Keely Stafford was the key to everything he was looking for. And money was just the beginning...
Settling down was not on J.T. Hunt's to-do list--until his ailling father delivered an ultimatum. Now the millionaire bachelor was suddenly shopping for a bride. But, happily-ever-after came with strings attached: His prospective wife had to marry him for love.
To Amy Kelton it was like a fairy tale. First, she got trapped in an elevator with a tall, dark and sexy stranger. Now "Jared Taylor" had chosen her--a lowly assistant--over her beautiful, successful stepsister. Talk about being swept off your feet! But, when Amy uncovered "Jared's" secret, she had to make a choice--ignore her heart's desire or accept the dashing bachelor's glass slipper and run with it....
