Olivia's Christmas trip to Venice, Italy, should be a holiday dream come true. But when her unattended luggage becomes the focus of a handsome Italian policeman’s bomb investigation, she worries she won't even make it out of the Marco Polo Airport. Practically handcuffed to the best-looking man she’s ever seen, can Olivia convince him she isn’t a terrorist before he writes her off for good? Christmas in Venice is the perfect little treat to start the holidays off with a smile. (This short story is adapted from the first chapter of Meadow Taylor’s newest full-length novel, Midnight in Venice, available now.) Review: The story is a gift to the reader and shows the fun that can be had by reading a small story and expecting BIG THINGS for the rest of the story. —Authorsden

While on vacation in Italy, Sonia decided to marry Francesco, a beautiful young man she’d only just met. They fell in love in Venice, the thrilling city of water, and it was as if they were under a magic spell. They should have lived happily-ever-after, but all too soon Sonia runs away, back to her hometown. She hadn’t factored in the linguistic and cultural isolation of life in Venice, but what really drove her away was that she, with no family of her own, just couldn’t get used to her husband’s warm, loving clan. When her husband comes to find her, she rejects him again. Can there be any hope for a future between two so very different people?

From the author of The Billionaire’s Secrets and Falling for Rain, Midnight in Venice is a captivating new contemporary tale of romance and suspense set in the magical city of Venice, Italy Readers met and fell in love with Olivia Moretti in Meadow Taylor’s hugely popular holiday story Christmas in Venice, where Olivia is rescued by a gorgeous Italian cop, Alessandro Rossi, during an airport bomb scare. Now, as the new year begins, her joy at having landed her dream job in Venice’s thriving art world is surpassed only by the realization that she and Alessandro are falling in love—and her surprise that he turns out to be not just the son of a tycoon, but a gifted pianist and former racecar driver who is equally at home in the city’s bejewelled palazzos as patrolling its streets. Olivia can’t believe that her life now includes masked balls, exquisite music, romantic trips to Paris—and true love. But all this is put in jeopardy when a business trip to New York City finds her accused of a crime she didn’t commit—and not even Alessandro believes she’s innocent. Can her new love uncover the truth and keep Olivia’s Italian dream from becoming a nightmare? A thrilling, passion-filled story set among the dazzling palaces, canals, and piazzas of one of the world’s most beautiful cities, Midnight in Venice is perfect for fans of Danielle Steel, Nora Roberts, and lovers of contemporary romance everywhere.

Featuring sexagenarian amateur sleuths Etta and Dora, and Leon the (self-proclaimed) noble Basset Hound who takes care of them, this collection of three short stories is guaranteed to keep you cosy on cold winter nights. Follow the intrepid trio as they set off from their home in Southern Italy to explore their own country, finding new friends, exciting adventures and mysteries to solve wherever they go. ◆ A Tuscan Threat sees our heroes spending a chilly Halloween in a remote area of Tuscany, where they reveal a truth far more terrible than any groaning ghoul or wailing witch that ever haunted the dark autumnal night. Will they solve the puzzle in time to save a family from tragedy? ◆ In the second of the three tales, A Christmas Mystery in Venice, the adventurers arrive in the already beautiful floating city resplendent under the twinkle of millions of Christmas lights. But when a child disappears, festive cheer is set aside in a bid to follow the most cryptic clue they've ever had to solve. ◆ Finally, pull on your snow shoes for some Devilish Deeds in the Alps. A promise of a treasure hunt to find valuables reputedly hidden by the Nazis many decades earlier has our heroes and their new friends excited, but a close encounter with the demonic Krampus during the festival of St Nicholas leaves everyone shaken. However, the hand that attacks their host and leaves him for dead is decidedly human - has the evil of the Nazis come back to terrify the present? *** ◆◆◆ Pair the intrigue of the maestro Agatha Christie with the humour of T E Kinsey, sprinkle a few feasts as yummy as a Joanne Fluke cake-inspired murder, and then season with the Italian flair for which Adriana Licio is renowned. The result is this delightfully heart-warming collection of short cosy mysteries, rich with Christmas cheer, a few Halloween scares and a plethora of mysteries to solve. ◆◆◆ Don't miss out on this feel-good companion to the wonderfully adventurous The Homeswappers Mysteries series.

When Diane returned to Venice for the Christmas masked ball, she was shocked and thrilled to see Domenico, the husband she d thought dead! But she needs to know that Dom still holds her in his heart before she takes her place in his bed again!

Paris 1870. Raised for a life of parties and servants, Camille and Mariele have much in common, but it takes the horrors of war to bring them together to fight for the city and people they love. The story of two women whose families were caught up in the defense of Paris is deeply moving and suspenseful ~~ Margaret George, author of Splendor Before the Dark: A Novel of the Emperor Nero Tod is not only a good historian, but also an accomplished writer … a gripping, well-limned picture of a time and a place that provide universal lessons ~~ Kirkus Reviews. A few weeks after the abdication of Napoleon III, the Prussian army lays siege to Paris. Camille Noisette, the daughter of a wealthy family, volunteers to nurse wounded soldiers and agrees to spy on a group of radicals plotting to overthrow the French government. Her future sister-in-law, Mariele de Crécy, is appalled by the gaps between rich and poor. She volunteers to look after destitute children whose families can barely afford to eat. Somehow, Camille and Mariele must find the courage and strength to endure months of devastating siege, bloody civil war, and great personal risk. Through it all, an unexpected friendship grows between the two women, as they face the destruction of Paris and discover that in war women have as much to fight for as men. War has a way of teaching lessons—if only Camille and Mariele can survive long enough to learn them. M.K. Tod's elegant style and uncanny eye for time and place again shine through in her riveting new tale, Paris in Ruins ~~ Jeffrey K. Walker author of No Hero’s Welcome

From the author of The Billionaire’s Secrets, Midnight in Venice and Falling for Rain, a heartfelt, witty and heartwarming short story for the holiday season, set in one of Europe's most enchanting cities... Inspired by the beauty depicted in the movie In Bruges, Paula decides to spend Christmas by herself in the gorgeous Belgian canal city. One evening at a cozy bistro, she is very pleasantly surprised to meet her old college boyfriend and very first love, James. As they walk through the snowy streets, they laugh at their younger selves and ponder the unexpected course their lives have taken over the past nine years. Paula, a promising actress, became a teacher, while James abandoned medical school to serve as a medic in Afghanistan. But as Christmas Day approaches, James's painful war memories threaten their rekindled love.