Daddy’s Gone A Hunting by Mary Higgins Clark

(Posted for Diann Stark)

Concerned by something she discovered at her family's furniture business, CPA Kate Connelly asks former employee Gus Schmidt to join her there in the predawn hours. But the building explodes as they enter, killing Gus and leaving Kate comatose--and the prime suspect in an insurance scam. As things start to unfold, the past is re-examined. 

Audio book 10 hours 1 minute, 338 pages.

Already Home by Susan Mallery

(Posted for Diann Stark)

Jenna moves back to her home town after her marriage ends. She supported her husband’s dreams for so long she forgot about her own dreams. Jenna leases a building in town to start her own dream, she wants to teach people to cook. It didn’t take her long to realize she was in way over her head. With the help of a streetwise store manager and her adopted mom she was able to start making it work. Then walks in her biological “hippie” parents who want to reconnect with her. Jenna tries to balance starting her new business, getting to know her birth parents and siblings, having a new love interest, and dealing with her ex. Jenna always wanted the ‘perfect family’, she soon realizes there is no such thing.

Audio book 9 hrs. 10 minutes, 384 pages.

Beachcomber by Karen Robards

(Posted for Diann Stark)

When Christy Petrino discovers that her fiance, Michael DePalma, and the law firm where she works are linked to the mob, she breaks her engagement and quits her job. But no one walks away from the DePalma family so easily. While making a “run” for the mob to win back her freedom, her late-night drop-off is only the beginning of a tide of terror. In the shadows of the Outer Banks, Christy senses she is being followed...and suddenly she is a witness in a police investigation of a serial killer known as the "Beachcomber" -- who targets young women who all resemble "her." Handsome surfer Luke Rand offers the best kind of shelter in his strong arms. But as their sensual attraction flares, Christy hears warning bells telling her "if you want to survive a hot and deadly summer, trust no one....”

Audio book 10 hours 25 minutes, 352 pgs.

 

Coraline by Neil Gaiman

Coraline is bored.  School doesn’t start for another week.  She has explored every inch (she thinks) of the new flat she and her Mother and Father moved into. She has counted the windows (21) and the doors (14). Wait…14? Where does the 14^th door go to? It is locked. Mother gets the key, opens the door, and shows her…a brick wall. The door goes nowhere.  When the house was divided into flats, the door was bricked up.

One day Coraline finds herself alone and bored once more, so she gets the key and unlocks the door. This time, she finds a hallway through the door. She goes through, and finds another flat, with another Mother and another Father, toys that come alive, and a beautiful, pink and green bedroom.  It seems like a wonderful world, but Coraline soon realizes that it is a distorted reality, and she finds herself in danger.   But Coraline remembered what her Dad told her about being brave: Being didn’t mean you weren’t scared, really scared, badly scared, and you did the right thing anyway. So Coraline does the right thing.

A wonderfully scary tale for ages 8 and up.

208 pages