This Month from BookEnds… August 2018!

Monthly Spotlight:

Don’t Close Your Eyes by Christie Craig | Amazon | Barnes & Noble

What would you do if everything you thought was true about your family turned out to be a lie?

Annie Lakes has had the same recurring nightmare for years. Her heart pounding in her chest. A panicked voice, begging her to run faster. Her own bloodcurdling scream. But now Annie is starting to realize it’s more than just a bad dream. She’s starting to remember things about the night her cousin Jenny disappeared all those years ago. Things that make her believe her family was involved—and what they’re hiding is much worse than she ever imagined. But she can’t unravel this alone. She needs someone she can trust, someone like sexy Detective Mark Sutton….

Mark has seen enough—too much—to assume that Annie’s story is a dead end. It turns out that her family is hiding some killer secrets. A long time ago, Annie was just an innocent little girl who saw something she shouldn’t. Now she’s a target, and Mark’s running out of time to protect the woman he’s starting to fall for. But how does Mark face off against a murderer who just may be someone Annie loves?

Publishers Weekly says: “Craig demonstrates strong characterization skills in building Annie and Mark’s imperfect personalities, and her supporting characters will be worth getting to know in the future. Romantic suspense fans will mark this as a series to watch.”

Mystery

A Dark and Twisting Path by Julia Buckley (8/7) | Amazon | Barnes & Noble

Writer’s apprentice Lena London is happily working on a new collaboration with her idol and bestselling suspense novelist and friend Camilla Graham, but her joy is short-lived when a dark cloud descends upon the quaint town of Blue Lake, Indiana…

Lena’s best friend, Allison, is in a panic. On a walk in the woods by her home, Allison discovers the body of her mail carrier, an argumentative man who recently had a falling out with Allison’s husband. Lena quickly realizes that Allison has nothing to worry about as the murder weapon points to a different suspect altogether: Lena’s embattled boyfriend, Sam West.

Sam was cleared of his wife’s murder when she was found alive, and now someone is trying to make him look guilty again. Surveillance video of a break-in at his house shows a shadowy figure trying to incriminate him by stealing the weapon from his desk. Lena and Camilla work on a suspect list, but a threatening note and a violent intrusion at Graham House prove that the devious killer has decided to write them into the plot.

To Catch a Witch by Heather Blake (8/7) | Amazon | Barnes & Noble

Wishcrafter Darcy Merriweather might be a witch with the ability to grant wishes for others, but wishing isn’t going to help her catch a killer…

When wishcrafter Darcy Merriweather’s personal concierge company is hired by elite runner Abby Stillwell to organize the Wicked Mad Dash, a competition that takes place in the Enchanted Village, Darcy is more than willing to help her friend. As blizzard conditions rage on the morning of the race, Darcy’s main concern is the terrible weather―until Abby goes missing…and is later found dead, buried in the snow.

As Darcy investigates her friend’s untimely death, she learns that she didn’t really know Abby well at all. And those closest to the woman―her secret fiancé, her roommate, her ex-boyfriend, and her co-workers at Balefire Sports―seem to have plenty to hide too. As Darcy digs deeper, she uncovers complicated relationships, a possible embezzlement scheme, and allegations of cheating against a top athlete.

Just when Darcy is convinced she’s hit a dead end in the case, a startling burglary and the hunt for Abby’s elusive ex send Darcy down a dark, dangerous trail. It will take the help from friends, family, and a little bit of magic for Darcy to stop a stone-cold killer from striking again.

Samhain Secrets by Jennifer David Hesse (8/28) Amazon | Barnes & Noble

It’s that haunted time of year, when skeletons come out to play. But Edindale, Illinois, attorney Keli Milanni discovers it isn’t just restless spirits who walk the night . . .

After her recent promotion to junior partner, Keli is putting in overtime to juggle her professional career and private Wiccan spiritual practice. With Halloween fast approaching, her duties include appearing as a witch at a “haunted” barn and hand-holding a client who’s convinced her new house is really haunted. But it’s the disappearance of Josephine O’Malley that has Keli spooked.

The missing person is Keli’s aunt, an environmental activist and free spirit who always seemed to embody peace, love, and independence. When Josephine is found dead in the woods, Keli wonders if her aunt’s activities were as friendly as they seemed. As Keli comes to terms with her loss–while adjusting to having a live-in boyfriend and new demands at work–she must wield her one-of-a-kind magic to banish negative energy if she’s going to catch a killer this Samhain season. Because Keli isn’t ready to give up the ghost . . .

The Trouble With Truth by Kathy Krevat (8/28) | Amazon | Barnes & Noble

Things are looking up for single mom Colbie Summers. After relocating back to her California hometown with her adolescent son and taste-testing feline, Trouble, she’s ready to take her gourmet cat food company to the next level. Until helping a teenager gets Colbie mixed up in a fresh case of murder…
 
 Trying to balance her hectic family life with her growing business—including a coveted contract with the local organic food store—leaves Colbie scrambling to keep all her balls in the air. But when a Sunnyside resident is found dead in his garage, she takes on a new role: harboring a suspected killer.
 
The eighteen-year-old murder suspect, a former foster kid and Colbie’s part-time chef, had a powerful motive to snuff out the high-profile businessman. The real question is, who didn’t? Sifting through the victim’s sordid history unearths a cat’s cradle of crimes, including money laundering and abuse. Now, to clear an innocent girl’s name, Colbie must sniff out the truth before a killer who smells trouble goes on the attack again.

Romance

Darkest Heart by Juliette Cross (8/20) | Amazon | Entangled

Wrong side of heaven… right side of redemption.

Anya—a stoic, blue-winged angelic warrior— was bitten by a demon prince in battle, and now she has precious little time to find a cure for his deadly venom. But the only archangel with the power to stop the dark poison from corrupting her body and soul is missing. She’ll have to trust her guide, the outcast high demon Dommiel, who is as handsome as he is dangerous if she has any hope.

An outcast of his own kind, high demon Dommiel stays under cover while the war between angels and demons rages on. But when the only person who ever showed him kindness asks for his help, he has no choice but to try to save the angel. Venturing back into the dens he has avoided for so long, Anya makes him want and feel things he never thought possible. But Dommiel knows there is no way an angel can ever love a demon…

Do or Die Cowboy by June Faver (8/28) | Amazon | Barnes & Noble

Putting it all on the line for love…
Cowboy musician Tyler Garrett has a once-in-a-lifetime chance to put aside his rough-and-tumble rancher’s lifestyle and realize his dream. He’s on the road to Dallas to record a demo when that dream gets kicked sideways by a beautiful woman on the run.

Leah Benson will do whatever it takes to keep her daughter safe. But when her dangerous past catches up with her, she needs a hero―and luckily for her, Tyler Garrett was born and bred for the role.

Coming Soon:

Debut author Mona D. Shroff’s HEADS OR TAILS, an #OwnVoices story about a gourmet roastery owner who had a baby out of wedlock fifteen years ago–something good Indian girls don’t do–and now has to decide if legal help for her daughter is worth revealing to her long-lost love that they have a child together, told in alternating past and present sections that reveal what tore them apart and whether they can have a second chance, to Brittany Lavery at HQN, in a nice deal, in a two-book deal, by Rachel Brooks at BookEnds (world).

Michelle Hazen’s UNBREAK ME, a contemporary romance about a New Orleans cowboy battling systemic racism post-Hurricane Katrina and a woman recovering from a public trial following a sexual assault, to Kristine Swartz at Berkley, in a pre-empt, in a two-book deal, for publication in summer 2019, by Naomi Davis at BookEnds (world).

Dylan Taylor-Lehman’s SEALAND: THE ASTONISHING TRUE STORY OF THE WORLD’S FOREMOST MICRONATION AND THE FAMILY WHO FOUNDED IT, the story of how a pirate radio DJ founded his own micronation on an abandoned naval platform, to Lia Ottaviano at Diversion Books, in a nice deal, by Amanda Jain at BookEnds (world).

Laurel Blount’s A PROMISE FOR ANNA and A WIFE FOR THE RANCHER, to help a traumatized child, a blue-collar single dad and a shy bookstore owner are forced to set aside a long-standing rivalry—and find themselves stumbling headlong into an unexpected romance, to Connolly Bottum at Harlequin Love Inspired, in a nice deal, in a two-book deal, for publication in 2019, by Jessica Alvarez at BookEnds (world)

BookEnds Grows!

Welcome to BookEnds Sunyi Dean, we are so excited for both you and Naomi!