New York Times bestselling author Deanna Raybourn tops today’s Buffet with Midsummer Night, a mystery set in Victorian England featuring her intrepid amateur sleuth and socialite, Lady Julia Grey, and her devastatingly handsome partner in crime, Nicholas Brisbane. This novella is the long-awaited story of the pair’s wedding, a dashing—and potentially deadly—affair not to be missed…
The second book on today’s list is another novella by Deanna, the Christmas-themed Silent Night, which also stars Lady Julia.
Deanna is a sixth-generation native Texan. She grew up in San Antonio, where she met her college sweetheart. She married him on graduation day and went on to teach high school English and history. During summer vacation at age 23, she wrote her first novel. Fourteen years and many, many rejections later, she signed two three-book contracts with MIRA Books. Her debut, Silent in the Grave, was published in 2007.
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Midsummer Night (A Lady Julia Mystery)
Historical Fiction > Mystery
Author: Deanna Raybourn
Midsummer in Victorian England—an auspicious time for a wedding. Brisbane has taken charge of the music. Julia has, perhaps mistakenly, allowed her sisters to choose the dress. And Belmont Abbey is overflowing with guests awaiting the blessed day. What could go wrong?
Combine the close-knit chaos of village life, pagan traditions bursting through staid Victorian conventions, and the congenial madness that tends to swirl around Lady Julia’s family and you get an unforgettable wedding. But add in a dangerous past nemesis who has come to wish them not-so-well, and their day to remember just might take a fatal turn…
Silent Night: A Lady Julia Christmas Novella
Historical Fiction
Author: Deanna Raybourn
After a year of marriage—and numerous adventures—Lady Julia and Brisbane hope for a quiet, intimate Christmas together—until they find themselves at her father’s ancestral estate, Bellmont Abbey, with her eccentric family and a menagerie of animals.
Nevertheless, Julia looks forward to a lively family gathering—but amongst the celebrations, a mystery stirs. There are missing jewels, new faces at the Abbey, and a prowling ghost that brings back unwelcome memories from a previous holiday—one that turned deadly. Is a new culprit recreating crimes of the past? And will Brisbane let Julia investigate—?
THE COURIER: A LOOK AT THE WORLD OF TERRY IRVING
Contemporary Fiction
Author: Terry Irving
Get ready for the ride of your life
It’s 1972. The Watergate scandal has Washington on edge. Rick Putnam, a Vietnam veteran and motorcycle courier for one of the capital’s leading television stations, is trying to get his life back together after his nightmarish ordeal in the war. But when Rick picks up film from a news crew interviewing a government worker with a hot story, his life begins to unravel as everyone involved in the story dies within hours of the interview and Rick realizes he is the next target.
Wicked and Wonderful
Historical Romance > Regency
Author: Valerie King
Her heart may long for more…
Judith Lovington escaped a vile man years ago and found sanctuary in a traveling troupe of actors. Fending off the unwanted attentions of rakish gentlemen has become second nature to her. But when Lord Kelthorne begins his assault, never has temptation been stronger. How will she withstand his heated kisses when he represents all that she lost so many years ago and all that she desires now?
But his wicked intentions drive her into his arms…
Kelthorne meant only to have a little fun when he first caught and kissed Judith in his apple orchard. Though intent on mending his ways and marrying a proper young miss, he can’t forget the lovely songstress and sets about to break down her every reserve. As he takes his stolen kisses, however, his clever seductions set to work on his own heart. But will he surrender to love at long last?
The Substitute Bride (Montana Born Brides)
Romance > Contemporary
Author: Kathleen O”Brien
Once upon a time, Marly Akers had believed that, for better or worse, people made their own luck…
Marly wonders how she could ever have believed it. Jilted and pregnant, she’s come back to Marietta with her tail between her legs, the blow to her ego huge as she begins working at her family’s small newspaper, the Copper Mountain Courier, and sharing a tiny apartment with her disapproving mom.
Things can’t get any worse. Or maybe they can. Drake Everett, who secretly captured her teenaged heart and then publicly trampled on it, decides to make her re-acquaintance. Though Drake isn’t the sharp, funny, cocky, arrogant rich boy of yore. These days he seems sharp, funny… and supportive and decent, and Marly realizes she could fall for him all over again… if she listens to her heart. But what about her reporter’s head, which has sniffed out a story that paints Drake as the sweet talker she’s always known…?
Embattled Hearts
Romance > Mystery & Suspense
Author: J.M. Madden, Viola Estrella
John Palmer hasn’t felt like a real man since he was injured during combat in Iraq. Though not content with his new life, he is mostly adapting, just like the other vets at the Lost ‘N’ Found Investigative Service. When Shannon Murphy is hired on as the new office manager, life suddenly gets a lot more interesting. Before long, John finds himself wondering if he could ever be the kind of man Shannon needs.
Shannon Murphy wasn’t really looking for love when she hired on at LNF, but finds herself hopelessly attracted to the sex-on-wheels former Marine, John Palmer. The man is grumpy and nearly impossible to work with, but his brand of masculinity appeals to her on a basic level. Soon Shannon is wondering just what it would take for John to want her the way she wants him.
When an old enemy tries to settle a vendetta against Shannon, John insists on protecting her. He moves into her house, fanning the spark of attraction into a blaze. But the danger continues to escalate. Will the connection that they’ve found survive when they’re thrust into a fight for their lives?
Scandal at Dawn (A Regency Rhapsody Novella Book 1)
Historical Romance > Regency
Author: Elizabeth Cole
A notorious baron aims to prove himself to a proper lady, whose lack of sight does not impair her better sense…
When a cruel prank leaves the blind Olivia Blake ripe for humiliation on a ballroom dance floor, she is rescued…by an infamous rake. Soon she is seduced by the charm of Adrian Calwell, the scandal-chased Baron of Norbury, who is much more than he seems.
Adrian’s only goal in rescuing Olivia was to thwart another man’s heartless trick. But Olivia proves to be well worth it, and Adrian is impressed by the unusual young lady. Unfortunately, his reputation as a scoundrel sets the Blake family against him.
He is forbidden to court her, but when rumors threaten Olivia’s own reputation, Adrian takes matters into his own hands. It will take all of Adrian’s ingenuity and all of Olivia’s daring to find the truth and prevent a scandal at dawn.
Black Is Not A Color (The Ava Series Book 2)
Women’s Fiction
Author: Rozsa Gaston
When Ava Fodor returns to New York from Paris, she leaves behind her budding romance with Pierre and turns her attention to another man: Zsolt Fodor, her father. He’s a penniless Hungarian poet transplanted to New York in the wake of the failed 1956 Hungarian uprising. Raised by her New England grandparents, Ava barely knows him. Dramatic, effusive, emotional, he’s everything her grandmother warned her against. Yet his crazy conversation fascinates her. His chicken paprikash isn’t bad either.
Pierre’s pull draws Ava back to France, to the medieval walled city of Carcassonne. There, his tender care of his ailing mother awakens Ava to something lacking in herself. Unless she finds it, she can’t give him her heart.
When her father has a heart attack, Ava is thrust into a caregiver role, looking after a man who never looked after her. She’s terrible at it. So was her father, so he forgives her. But can she forgive him? Until she learns to love the man she has every reason to abandon in his hour of need, she can’t move on. Only her father can show her the way. But will she let him? And if she can, will it be too late for Pierre and her?
TODAY’S BARGAINS……………What’s this?
The Scribe
International Mystery & Crime
Author: Antonio Garrido, Simon Bruni
Regularly $4.99, Today $1.99
The year is 799, and King Charlemagne awaits coronation as the Holy Roman emperor. But in the town of Würzburg, the young, willful Theresa dreams only of following in the footsteps of her scholarly father—a quiet man who taught her the forbidden pleasures of reading and writing.
Though it was unthinkable for a medieval woman to pursue a career as a craftsperson, headstrong Theresa convinces the parchment-makers’ guild to test her. If she passes, it means access to her beloved manuscripts and nothing less than true independence. But as she treats the skins before an audience of jeering workmen, unimaginable tragedy strikes—tearing apart Theresa’s family and setting in motion a cascade of mysteries that Theresa must solve if she hopes to stay alive and save her family.
A fugitive in the wilderness, Theresa is forced to rely on her bravery, her uncommon education, and the compassion of strangers. When she encounters Alcuin of York, a wise and influential monk with close ties to Charlemagne, she believes her luck might have finally changed. But the biggest secret lies between Charlemagne and her father.
The Magic Knot (Love Spell Paranormal Romance)
Romance > Mystery & Suspense
Author: Helen Scott Taylor
Regularly $2.99, Today $0.99
A woman searching for her father in the mystical depths of rural England, a man from a secret magical world that defies belief. Together they must survive the danger and magic of this dark fairytale world before they find happiness.
A contemporary fantasy romance set in the English Westcounty and Ireland. The Magic Knot combines the mystery of Celtic Cornwall with the myths of ancient Ireland in a contemporary setting to give a story full of romance and adventure. You’ll never think of fairies in the same way again. Winner of the American Title IV contest run by Romantic Times Magazine in conjunction with Dorchester Publishing.
Speaks the Nightbird: A Novel
Mystery > Historical
Author: Robert R. McCammon
Regularly $14.99, Today $1.99
Came the time when the two travellers knew night would catch them, and shelter must be found.
God and Satan are at war in the colonial Carolina town of Fount Royal, and even the citizens suspect that a witch is behind the tragedies that have plagued the town. The chief suspect is the beautiful and haunted widow Rachel. Traveling judge Isaac Woodward and his bright young clerk Matthew Corbett arrive to conduct a trial—and uncover the true evil at work in Fount Royal.
NOS4A2
Horror
Author: Joe Hill
Regularly $9.99, Today $1.99
NOS4A2 is a spine-tingling novel of supernatural suspense from master of horror Joe Hill, the New York Times bestselling author of Heart-Shaped Box and Horns.
Victoria McQueen has a secret gift for finding things: a misplaced bracelet, a missing photograph, answers to unanswerable questions. On her Raleigh Tuff Burner bike, she makes her way to a rickety covered bridge that, within moments, takes her wherever she needs to go, whether it’s across Massachusetts or across the country.
Charles Talent Manx has a way with children. He likes to take them for rides in his 1938 Rolls-Royce Wraith with the NOS4A2 vanity plate. With his old car, he can slip right out of the everyday world, and onto the hidden roads that transport them to an astonishing – and terrifying – playground of amusements he calls “Christmasland.”
Then, one day, Vic goes looking for trouble—and finds Manx. That was a lifetime ago. Now Vic, the only kid to ever escape Manx’s unmitigated evil, is all grown up and desperate to forget. But Charlie Manx never stopped thinking about Victoria McQueen. He’s on the road again and he’s picked up a new passenger: Vic’s own son.
The Belial Stone (The Belial Series 1)
Fantasy > Paranormal & Urban
Author: R.D. Brady
Regularly $3.99, Today $0.99
Professor Delaney McPhearson’s life is turned upside down when her best friend, archaeologist Drew Masters, is found dead. Before she can deal with the heartbreaking loss, she is viciously attacked in her home by a man with inhuman fighting abilities.Former Navy SEAL and head of security for a global think tank, Jake Rogan drops everything when he hears his foster brother, Tom Jeffries, has gone missing. There seem to be no clues, no information about his whereabouts. He has just vanished. But Jake won’t rest until he finds him.
Laney and Jake join forces when they learn that the fates of their loved ones are intertwined. And somehow all the danger that dogs their steps, revolves around an eccentric archaeologist’s controversial work on Gobekli Tepe, and the search for an ancient source of power.
Their personal quest soon becomes a race to protect humanity’s very existence. But how can they defeat a foe who has been planning his moves for millennia?
To save mankind, Laney and Jake know they must succeed. But to succeed, they must live long enough to fight.
… See the rest of today’s Editor’s Picks here on page 2