Ben Crowell remembers the Great Caddo Lake Pearl Rush of 1874. He was fourteen that year, and his home, the riverboat community of Port Caddo, was dying. By the end of the summer, the pearl boom was over, Port Caddo was doomed, and the mystery over who killed Judd Kelso began. It took Ben forty years to solve the mystery, and once he did, the proof came only for him to witness. He is the only living soul who will know what happened that September night in 1874. At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

Two memorable novels from Spur Award-winning author Mike Blakely at one low price Summer of Pearls The coming of the railroad nearly spelled the end of the riverboat community of Port Caddo until the Great Caddo Lake Pearl Rush of 1874. Ben Crowell remembers it well: that summer, he fell in love. That autumn, Judd Kelso, a local riverboat owner, was killed. The pearl rush was over within a few months, but Judd Kelso's murder remained unsolved, and only Ben Crowell seemed interested in finding out who killed Kelso and why. Spanish Blood In 1870, Bart Young heads for the New Mexico Territory, where he has heard men are making fortunes overnight in land speculation on the old Spanish grants. He expects to be rich before the year is out. But the ranchers are stubborn, the local officials are corrupt, and Bart isn't the first hopeful to arrive. His dream seems a lost cause . . . until he stumbles onto evidence of a lost grant bigger than he could have ever imagined: the entire Sacramento Mountain Range. At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

The Summer Walkers is the name the crofters of Scotland's North-west Highlands gave the Travelling People - the inerrant tinsmiths, horse-dealers, hawkers and pearl-fishers who made their living 'on the road'. These people are not gypsies - they are indigenous Gaelicspeaking Highlanders who are heirs to a vital and ancient culture. This book documents their way of life and explores their customs, superstitions, unique language, stories, poetry and songs rough photographs and remembrances. The result is a poignant and deeply moving record of a way of life now on the verges of living memory.

A woman's unsolved family history comes back to haunt her in an eerie, old, isolated manor in the Scottish Highlands. Ailsa Calder has inherited half of a house. The other half belongs to a man who disappeared from her life without a trace twenty-seven years ago—her father. Leaving London behind to settle the inheritance, Ailsa returns to her childhood home, nestled amongst the craggy peaks of the Scottish Highlands, joined by the half-sister who's almost a stranger to her. Ailsa can't escape the claustrophobic feeling that the house itself is watching her—as if her past hungers to consume her. She also can't ignore how the neighborhood animals refuse to set one foot within the gates of the garden. When the first nighttime intruder shows up and the locals in the isolated community pry into her plans for the manor, Ailsa becomes terrified that the mysteries surrounding the beautiful old home will cost her everything.

In her memoir, Strand of Pearls, author Deborah Livingston recounts her journey from childhood abuse, frequent tragedy, and adult addiction to a spiritual transformation that brought her an inner peace and joy available to us all. Deborah was the first of three children born to a Canadian father and a New England motherparents who were worlds apart in their own upbringings and views of the world. From two to sixteen, when she was finally able to break free, Deborah suffered abuse at the hands of her father. Her freedom from that abuse took her to abuse at the hands of others and to a tragic accident that cost the life of a friend. Her misfortunes early in life and her inability to see them as the pearls they actually were led to serious addiction in her early forties. And yet this addiction saved her life, preparing her for the inner transformation she would experience. In Strand of Pearls, Livingston invites the reader into the most painful, raw moments of her past so that the light of the present might shine brighteras an invitation to others to embrace hope, faith, and gratitude in their lives.

A modern day Beauty and the Beast tale about a white skinned pearl in a world of dark skinned coals.

Bean (née Pearl) and Henry, misfits and best friends, have the strangest mothers in town. Henry's mom Sally never leaves the house. Bean's mom Lexie, if she is home, is likely nursing a hangover or venting to her friend Claire about Bean's beloved grandfather Gus, the third member of their sunny household. Gus's death unleashes a host of family secrets that brings them all together. And they threaten to change everything—including Bean's relationship with Henry, her first friend, and who also might turn out to be her first love.

From the internationally acclaimed bestselling author of Code Name Verity comes a stunning new story of pearls, love and murder – a mystery with all the suspense of an Agatha Christie and the intrigue of Downton Abbey. Sixteen-year-old Julie Beaufort-Stuart is returning to her family's ancestral home in Perthshire for one last summer. It is not an idyllic return to childhood. Her grandfather's death has forced the sale of the house and estate and this will be a summer of goodbyes. Not least to the McEwen family – Highland travellers who have been part of the landscape for as long as anyone can remember – loved by the family, loathed by the authorities. Tensions are already high when a respected London archivist goes missing, presumed murdered. Suspicion quickly falls on the McEwens but Julie knows not one of them would do such a thing and is determined to prove everyone wrong. And then she notices the family's treasure trove of pearls is missing. This beautiful and evocative novel is the story of the irrepressible and unforgettable Julie, set in the year before the Second World War and the events of Code Name Verity. It is also a powerful portrayal of a community under pressure and one girl's determination for justice.

Using an assortment of her favorite maxims, adages, and sayings, Patti's inspiring collection gives practical guidance and instruction on how to live a fulfilling and rewarding life. Her humorous anecdotes and touching personal experiences transform what could have been abstract advice into unforgettable, real-life wisdom. Collected over a lifetime from friends, family, books, songs, and numerous other sources, "Patti's Pearls" offers profound and provocative insight into subjects ranging from facing fear to finding faith. Patti presents the timeless wisdom that has enabled her to handle the tremendous challenges of her roles as wife, mother, daughter, sister, performer, and friend.

Covering subjects ranging from modern technology and current events to human nature and drinking beer in the fourth grade, a treasury of "Pearls Before Swine" daily and Sunday strips.