Brenna has lived most of her life just left of the right side of the law. While on vacation at a secluded ski resort, her past finally catches up with her. Her father, who she hasn't seen since she ran away at sixteen, suddenly wants to reconcile. Before she can make sense of that overture, the FBI whisk her off to Minneapolis. In exchange for a clean slate, she is recruited to work as a mole in the home of known mobster and suspected drug lord, Anthony Giordano. Under the alias, Raven Black, she becomes nanny to Giordano's children. Brenna's hands are full just learning to mother two spoiled kids, while her main objective, finding information that would put their father away for life, remains elusively out of reach. Will the secrets she discovers bring absolution from the past she's tried so hard to leave behind or simply tear her heart in two?

They say Lake Superior never gives up her dead. They also say you can’t keep a good man down. Sometimes spur-of-the-moment murders don't go as planned. When Blake and Shelby Gunner are hired to find a stolen fishing boat, they never expect it will turn into a murder investigation. But after Jack’s dog, Arthur, discovers a stranger’s body in the water not far from the bed & breakfast, the Gunners are pulled in to solve the case. Discovering the man’s identity and why he was in town leads to a murky past with connections to a number of upstanding Port Scuttlebutt citizens. Can Blake and Shelby stop a killer before someone else is pulled beneath the waves of madness?

Blake and Shelby Gunner’s plans to renovate the old boathouse go awry when murder comes calling... Autumn in Port Scuttlebutt usually means a stormy Lake Superior, crisp temperatures, vibrant fall colors, and an invasion of deer hunters. This year, there’s also a shallow grave. Someone killed Pete Dugan’s ex-wife and planted her under his woodpile. The police consider him the obvious suspect, but the Gunner’s have other ideas. What does the death of a pet squirrel, the sighting of a mysterious car, a break-in at the bed & breakfast, and the reappearance of three ex-cons into the community have to do with the murder of a middle-aged legal assistant? No detective worth a grain of salt believes in coincidence. So when things start piling up that seem too quirky to be happenstance, Blake and Shelby have to decipher the clues and come up with the truth before a killer gets away with murder.

One lost summer is time best left forgotten... When Minneapolis attorney, Billie Fredrickson, inherits her uncle's small California winery, she has no intention of actually moving to the west coast and starting a new life. Her only thought is to get it off her hands as quickly as possible. But her return to the winery after an absence of twenty years opens up more than the reading of her uncle's will. Childhood memories, long-buried, begin to surface, prompting questions that no one is able or willing to answer. A late night prowler, a break-in at the winery, and an unearthed box of shocking photographs is someone's way of pulling the welcome mat out from under Billie's feet, but it only makes her dig her heels in deeper. Secrets lie buried beneath Fredrickson Winery's innocent facade and Billie intends to get to the root. But disturbing the past lays bare the skeletons of others, including her mother's. Can she live with the consequences of full disclosure or will she run home where everyone is Minnesota nice?

Blake and Shelby Gunner think they’re living the perfect life. He’s a hotshot homicide detective and she is doing what she loves best, small theatre acting. But after an arrest goes badly and Blake is shot and injured, they decide to leave the crime-ridden city for the quiet, quirky little hamlet where he grew up. Nestled along Lake Superior in the upper peninsula of Michigan, Port Scuttlebutt isn’t as calm and serene as they anticipated. Below an innocent Mayberry surface are secrets as dangerous as the great lake’s rip currents. Staying at The Drunken Sailor Bed and Breakfast, they learn that the proprietor’s wife was killed in an unsolved hit-and-run and there’s more to this mystery than meets the eye. The mayor, the librarian, a homeless man, and a rich old woman all have legitimate motives for murder. Can the Gunners figure it out before the killer’s next victim is lying dead in the road? ~~Editorial Reviews: "ROADKILL by Barbara E Brink has it all. It is an on the cozy-side mystery, fast-paced suspense, and laugh out loud humor. Her characters are strong, easy to like or not, and I found myself easily stepping into the world of Port Scuttlebutt, MI. Blake and Shelby Gunner are in the middle of a life-changing decision when murder and mayhem threaten to derail their dreams. Blake, a former cop is drawn into an old mystery fraught with personal danger. Shelby loves her man and isn’t about to let him go solving mysteries and murders by himself, and decides she’s the perfect woman for the job. Author Barbara E Brink’s talents shine most brightly in this first book of the Double Barrel Mysteries series. -Joy DeKok, Author of Between the Lies.

At the grand opening of the Port Playhouse, Shelby Gunner directs her first Christmas play to a packed house. Spirits are high after the show, and amid the hubbub and excitement, someone leaves a baby outside her dressing room door. The same night, a young woman and her newborn are discovered missing. As snow piles up and the temperature drops, time is of the essence to bring them safely home. A suicidal man, found unconscious near Lake Superior, may be the last person to have seen them. Ironically, he can't help because he made a wish... that he had never been born.

Much like a church potluck, you will find a variety of story flavors here: suspense, historical, romance, literary, young adult, and inspirational. For dessert lovers, I’ve added plenty of sweet, humorous selections to satisfy your funny bone. You can read one a day like a special treat or binge read them all in one sitting. No matter the genre, an entertaining story is refreshing for the mind and comfort food for the soul. I trust these feel-good stories, sprinkled with hope, love, humor, and family ties will be an enjoyable escape from your daily grind. Hiding in the Classics: A snapshot of generational book lovers. Irish Luck: Minnesota 1889, a young girl and her mother, lost in a snowstorm, find sanctuary in the cabin of a kindly widow. Guppies in the Ocean: A humorous tale of best friends trying to make it in the big city. Kansas Winds: Rob Richards goes home to say goodbye to his dying father and finds that even though he’s moved on from the family farm, the family has not moved on from him. The Shot Heard Round the Block: Nosy neighbors and an albino squirrel with a death wish. The Curtain: A man’s wife lies in a coma while he ponders life, love, and other mysteries with the woman behind the curtain in the next bed. Buffalo Gal: A photographer lost in the North Dakota Badlands. The World According to Abby: Middle school angst and fitting-in. In the Potter’s Hands: Mother/daughter issues and letting go. Life in the Slow Lane: Farm-life and a close-knit family tugs on the heartstrings. Blending Mercury: A glimpse into genius. Expectation of Life: A woman fleeing an abusive marriage finds kindness and hope. Queen for a Day: South Dakota state fair’s pig contest has never been so grand. The Cost of Survival: 1950s Oregon, a young orphan living with his grandparents deals with death and confusion by running away. Normal as a Loon: An activist neighbor only Jesus could love. An American Family: A soldier’s family deals with life after his suicide. Love at the Insta-Lube: A young woman’s obsessive crush. Twisted Hearts: Mothers and sons. Widow’s Bite: Returning to the scene of the crime. Writer’s Block: Young woman answers ad for mail-order-bride and sets off for Deadwood, South Dakota.

Well-apparel'd April on the heel of limping Winter treads ~ William Shakespeare Blake and Shelby Gunner are confronted with two unlawful killings in this fifth installment of the Double Barrel Mysteries. It is spring in Port Scuttlebutt. The icy banks of Lake Superior are thawing, the forest is budding with new growth, and Shelby is overdue to give birth to their first child. Knowing they need the work, Detective Jackson throws Double Barrel Investigations the bone of a new case. An elderly couple's guard dog is shot on their own land and the owners want someone to pay. Blake suspects a near-sighted poacher, but after an ongoing feud comes to light between the couple and nearby neighbors, he realizes a whole lot more is going on. Farley Jones, the self-appointed mayor of Port Scuttlebutt, has made an ever-expanding enemy base. So, it's not surprising there are suspects aplenty when he turns up dead in a celebrity's fishing cabin. Getting justice for the most-hated man in town won't be easy or comfortable for Blake and Shelby, especially when they have to treat everyone like potential murderers. Even their own friends and family.

When a senator and pharmaceutical giant partner to experiment with a new drug on pregnant women, they tap into a world they never knew existed – the supernatural touching the natural – and it will cost the innocent more than they know. Split Sense interweaves the lives of two families, twins separated at birth, and two different but powerful gifts that each child discovers which impacts their lives and others in unbelievable ways. Zander Howard has been able to hear the thoughts of those around him for as long as he can remember. Sometimes he is overwhelmed with feelings of anger, joy, or fear that is not his own. He tastes words, feels sounds, is surrounded with voices in the dark of night. He is Howard Pharmaceutical’s prize guinea pig. He wishes to be free of the company and their mind games, but his father is caught up in their web of deceit and can’t bring the Company down without destroying his family in the process. Emma Tatum has been sheltered in a small town with loving parents who have no idea she’s not their own flesh and blood. She also has a gift. The ability to heal with music. She sees colors of mercy and grace fly from her fingers with each note she plays. When the twins are reunited, nothing will stop them from seeking the truth about their origins, but someone is willing to commit murder to keep the project secret, while others want to possess the power of the twins. For a boy who has been used his entire life, learning to trust isn’t easy. But through Emma, Zander has a glimpse of a loving God whose plan of providence has brought them together at just the right time. (This is a thriller with Christian elements, people struggling with faith to reconcile events in the storyline. Just as the real world has believers and unbelievers, my fictional world is populated with the same.) Split Sense won The Grace Awards for speculative fiction published in 2011.

This includes all three of the Fredrickson Winery Novels: ENTANGLED, CRUSHED, and SAVOR. If you're looking for mystery, romance, and great wine, you've come to the right place. Head to the warm Napa Valley. The folks at the Fredrickson Winery are waiting for you… ENTANGLED A Minneapolis attorney inherits a small California winery, reawakening memories that have lain dormant for twenty years. Secrets lie buried beneath Fredrickson Winery's innocent facade and Billie intends to get to the root. But disturbing the past lays bare the skeletons of others, including her mother's. Can she live with the consequences of full disclosure or will she run home where everyone is Minnesota nice? CRUSHED Newly hired as chief winemaker, Margaret Parker's past collides headlong with the present when her son's deadbeat dad returns from Italy demanding custody just when she thinks she's falling for the new guy in town. Then her father is unexpectedly released from prison, and starts a little trouble of his own. All during the busiest time of the year––harvest. With murder in the mix, it's definitely going to be a red wine this year. SAVOR Newly married, Billie and Handel find themselves knee-deep in another mystery. Defending a wealthy San Francisco businessman against capital murder charges, Handel soon discovers that media attention brings more than fame and fortune. When Billie’s life is threatened, he believes it’s connected to the case, and he’ll do whatever it takes to keep her safe.