A plucky crusader falls for a down-on-his-luck stranger—only to learn too late that he's the villain determined to destroy her town Franny Morgan is a small-town café owner with an insatiable need to rescue lost souls, perhaps because she couldn't hang onto her two sisters after their parents died. Now she's involved in a letter-writing campaign to save the small dusty town where she winds up. Nathan Russell is a down-on-his-luck carpenter who shows up on her doorstep, willing to trade work on her rundown building for food and a roof—not because the wealthy investor needs either but because he's determined to fulfill the obligations his brother abandoned, and the first step is to meet the blue-haired crackpot who won't stop writing him demand letters. Finding that the crackpot is actually a curvy blonde fairy with a heart as big as the world would be a very pleasant surprise, if not for the fact that he's lying to her with every breath. Falling for each other is a very bad idea, and being together is an impossible dream…until fate steps in and forces their hands.

The Federal Reserve—the central bank of the United States—is the most powerful peacetime bureaucracy in the federal government. Under the chairmanship of Alan Greenspan (1987-2006), the Fed achieved near mythical status for its part in managing the economy, and Greenspan was lauded as a genius. Few seemed to notice or care that Fed officials operated secretly with almost no public accountability. There was a courageous exception to this lack of oversight, however: Henry B. Gonzalez (D-TX)—chairman of the U.S. House of Representatives Financial Services (banking) Committee. In Deception and Abuse at the Fed, Robert Auerbach, a former banking committee investigator, recounts major instances of Fed mismanagement and abuse of power that were exposed by Rep. Gonzalez, including: Blocking Congress and the public from holding powerful Fed officials accountable by falsely declaring—for 17 years—it had no transcripts of its meetings; Manipulating the stock and bond markets in 1994 under cover of a preemptive strike against inflation; Allowing $5.5 billion to be sent to Saddam Hussein from a small Atlanta branch of a foreign bank—the result of faulty bank examination practices by the Fed; Stonewalling Congressional investigations and misleading the Washington Post about the $6,300 found on the Watergate burglars. Auerbach provides documentation of these and other abuses at the Fed, which confirms Rep. Gonzalez's belief that no government agency should be allowed to operate with the secrecy and independence in which the Federal Reserve has shrouded itself. Auerbach concludes with recommendations for specific, broad-ranging reforms that will make the Fed accountable to the government and the people of the United States.

Three former CIA officers--the world's foremost authorities on recognizing deceptive behavior--share their techniques for spotting a lie with thrilling anecdotes from the authors' careers in counterintelligence.

Issues bearing on lying and deception impact every act of communication we undertake and our evaluation and analysis of every message we process.

Monique is popular with many admirers, but is one admirer getting too close for comfort? Monique may seem outgoing and bubbly on the outside, but really she is a lonely and self-conscious teenage girl. She craves the attention of her mother and stepfather, who are absorbed in their own lives and Monique's little brother. She feels invisible in her own home. When she comes into contact with her biological father, she thinks she may have caught a break. Instead, her mother forbids her to have a relationship with him, and her family may end up in court. Monique seeks solace in myteensite.com, where she receives romantic messages from the mysterious JS. Despite her best friends' repeated warnings about the overzealous suitor, Monique falls more and more for JS. He is so different from all the others, and he wants to take her away from her chaotic life. Will Monique realize the danger of JS before it's too late? Or will she fall into his trap of Deception and be gone forever?

Will the light that fills her draw him out of the darkness? Special Forces veteran Gabriel Coronado is haunted by nightmares that keep him in the shadows, exiling himself from human companionship as he wrestles with his demons. Walking the night to outrun his memories of those he wasn't able to save, he comes to the rescue of a small, valiant woman who puts herself in danger to save a young runaway. Jilly Sullivan's life is dedicated to making a difference for the poor, championing one hopeless cause after another, spending time in the worst parts of town. When a desperate criminal overpowers her and a nameless hero saves her from harm, both their courses are altered forever. Gabriel finds himself drawn to the vibrant light that is Jilly, and she lures him from the darkness in which he's most comfortable. The more time they spend together, the more powerful their bond becomes. He comes to the defense of a young boy victimized by a brutal drug dealer, and when that drug dealer assaults Jilly in retaliation, Gabriel rescues her but quickly retreats to the darkness where he believes he belongs. Can Jilly, rocked by her brush with evil, convince this man to believe that he deserves to live in the light?

Can a man who’s never trusted anyone and a woman who’s trusted all the wrong men defy the odds and open their hearts to each other? From New York Times and USAToday bestselling romance author Jean Brashear, another emotional story set in beloved Sweetgrass Springs, Texas… The most reviled man in Sweetgrass Springs, Tank Patton lives on the razor’s edge of control, locked down and solitary by choice, keeping himself apart the only way he knows to avoid the legacy of violence handed down from his father. When he meets a young mother in dire straits, he gives her and her winsome children the immediate help they need, intending to give her wide berth from then on. Chrissy Daniels desperately hopes she can make a new life for herself and her children in Sweetgrass Springs, and that means being strong and self-reliant, no more leaning on men who are losers or worse—yet she finds herself touched by the bone-deep loneliness she senses in the man everyone has warned her is a brute and not to be trusted. Despite his intentions, Tank finds himself drawn back to Chrissy’s warmth and the sweetness of her children, yet he knows that to truly care for them means keeping his distance. Chrissy battles her long history of choosing men unwisely, yet she finds herself unable to turn away from this man she’s beginning to suspect is more decent than anyone believes—including Tank himself. But can a man who’s never trusted anyone and a woman who’s trusted all the wrong men defy the odds and open their hearts to each other?