Lauren Voss has a nice, quiet, orderly life running her grandmother’s Heron Bay Resort on the Texas coast. Three years removed from a break-up that left her ex—and her life—behind in San Diego, she’s adjusted to the slow pace in Rockport, seeking out neither new friends nor lovers. Vandalism at the resort’s clubhouse—and a cryptic message written in blood—brings Detective Harley Shepherd, with her obnoxious Hawaiian shirts, into her life. A tragedy sent Harley Shepherd running to the sleepy fishing village of Rockport, where violent crime is rare. So different from her life as a homicide detective in a large city, she embraced the quiet and easy-going attitude of the town, determined to put her past behind her. Was it luck or fate that had her catch a case of simple vandalism? The lovely Lauren Voss made no attempt to hide her dislike of both her—she reminded Lauren of her ex—and her Hawaiian shirts. Was the vandalism a prank, as Lauren suspects? When a body is found floating near the resort’s pier, Harley is convinced it’s related. As the formality and animosity between them changes and a friendship forms, the women find themselves growing closer as a killer terrorizes the peaceful town they both now call home.

When a seventy-one-year-old man is shot dead in his home, it seems like a random act of violence. But the hundreds of photos of Detective Tori Hunter found at the scene seem to say otherwise. And when the gun that proves to be the murder weapon in the brutal murder of Tori’s family some thirty-something years earlier is found, Tori is not only facing her past, but a massive conflict of interest. Booted from the case, Tori finds herself going it alone, searching for answers about the long-ago murder of her family. Tori doesn’t just want justice. She wants revenge. With the help of an FBI hacker, her partner Casey O’Connor, and her wife Sam Kennedy, Hunter may finally get the revenge she’s been searching for. Don’t miss this final chapter in the acclaimed Tori Hunter series.

Abby Carpenter is in a tailspin knowing she is about to spend ten days in the company of her ex-girlfriend—who is now engaged to her brother—for a family holiday gathering in Red River, New Mexico. The same ex-girlfriend who last year at Christmas had lured her into bed. Abby’s solution? A pretend girlfriend for the holidays would surely keep her ex away and in her own room at night, right? Nic Bennett’s life has been far from ideal and Christmas is her most dreaded holiday of all as she relives horrors from the past. When an attractive stranger approaches her with the offer of a chance to get away for ten days, she agrees. But with a counteroffer that brings both anxiety and excitement to the desperate Abby. Among the holiday lights and snow-covered grandeur, the lines between pretend and reality blur as the two women have the time of their lives. Soon Abby learns it isn’t her ex she can’t resist. And Nic learns what it means to be part of a family for Christmas.

The isolated, sleepy little village of Timber Falls—built on the bend of a swift mountain river—swells during the summer months as tourists flock to town to run the river, lured there by the Class V rapids. Haley Martin used to be what the locals called a “river rat”, back during the days of her college years. Now she owns the Timber Falls Bar and Grill, drawn back to the picturesque village seven years ago after the tragic death of her wife. Carter, a disgraced LAPD detective, was offered an out—a position on a team of unorthodox FBI agents. After a month of training, she is sent out on her own without a team or a partner. When the gruesome murder of a college student—a river rat—sends the FBI agent to Timber Falls, Carter has no idea what she’s about to find there. She knows she’s looking for a serial killer that’s preying on tourists. But she has no idea that she might find some peace—and love—along the way.

Following the death of her grandmother, reluctant heiress Madilyn Marak agrees to stay with her grandfather at the estate for the summer. While there, she finds a diary—The Apple Diary—written by her great-grandmother Isabel, telling the story of a long ago love affair with a woman named Lorah. After reading about the affair, in the summer of 1933, Madilyn feels a bond with the two women and is determined to bring Isabel’s beloved orchard—which had fallen into ruins—back to life again. The normally quiet and reserved Madilyn finds a new joy in life as she becomes friends with the outgoing and energetic Dylan Hayes who has come to live on the property and replant the orchard. As she is transformed from a stoic and passive heiress to a happy and spirited woman, she realizes the similarities of her journey and that of Isabel’s. Like Isabel, will she marry a man she doesn’t love? Or will she find the strength that eluded Isabel and follow her heart?

Once, all barrier islands were natural places where sand dunes and sea grasses, waterbirds and beach creatures flourished, undisturbed by human development. Matagorda Island still is. Part of a chain of five major barrier islands that shelter the Texas coastline from the Gulf of Mexico, Matagorda Island is the only one completely under public ownership-- the only one with a fate entirely in the hands of the people. This guide to the island seeks to acquaint first-time visitors and seasoned naturalists alike with the natural wealth and ecological fragility of Matagorda. In chapters on geology, history, ecology, vegetation, mammals, birds, herptiles, fish, and invertebrates, the authors show how the island is a living ecosystem, where every plant, animal, and sand dune has a role to play in maintaining the balance of nature. They also discuss the human history of Matagorda--the Karankawa Indians, European explorers, Civil War-era settlers, lighthouse keepers, and the U.S. Air Force, which used Matagorda for a bombing range during the 1940s and 1950s. Useful appendices on plants, wildflowers, and birds; maps; and line drawings amplify the text. This unique combination of human and natural history gives a full sense of what the island's past has been and what its future can be. It offers hope that on this one island, at least, humans can learn to enjoy a natural environment nondestructively, respecting the intricate web of relationships that connects the land and all living creatures.