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Patricia Dolan is alone with a stolen Vermeer painting in an Irish cottage by the sea. How she got here is part of the story she tells us: about her father, a Boston cop; the numbing loss of her daughter; and her charming Irish cousin, who has led her to this high-stakes crime. Her vigil becomes a tale of love, regret, and transformation. As Patricia immerses herself in the passions of her Irish heritage, she discovers what has been hidden beneath the surface of her own life--and what she must do to preserve the things she values most.

Chicagos East Side and its Fox Valley suburbs form the backdrop for Growing Up and Finding Her, a memoir told with the poignancy that only a true story can deliver. Authors Brad and Mary Buettner recount how their lives stream together following the difficult challenges of the 1950s and 60s when their families struggled to overcome poverty, misfortune, and mental illness. The contrast between Brad Buettners small-town environment and Mary Ellen Janowskis big-city experience is one aspect of the story. However, when Brad is six, the death of his sister, Bobby, plunges his family into a spiral of grief and anguish. Meanwhile, Mary battles personal insecurities after being rejected by her closest friend. The pair grapple with life independently until red corduroy, of all things, provides the nudge that blends them together in a union lasting more than forty-five years. In this moving tale, Richard Nixon and Dwight Eisenhower make a brief appearance, and the Vietnam War poses an unexpected obstacle three days before the couples wedding. Growing Up and Finding Her is a story of pain, friendship, and love which unfolds with sincere warmth and humor.

Buckeye Promises is an anthology of three clean, inspirational romances set against the backdrop of WWII. A heartwarming collection from an award-winning author. A Promise Kept Softness removed the lines around her eyes. “I love you, Art Wilson.” Before he could respond, she stood on tiptoe and stole the rest of his breath with a kiss. He deepened the kiss and thoughts of abandoning the walk played in his mind. Can new love endure heartbreak? Josie Wilson’s newlywed life is perfect—until her hopes and dreams are shattered by a miscarriage. She’s not sure her wounded heart will ever heal. Then Art asks her to open their home to a distant cousin who’s been evacuated from England. Will the child open her heart? Or will she remain closed off to the prospect of future pain? Art Wilson adores his bride, but he never anticipated how challenging marriage could be. When grief over the baby they’ve lost forms a chasm between him and his new wife, he wonders if he has made a horrible mistake. Why can’t Josie support him and understand his long hours are necessary as the industry is reeling in the early days of World War II? Will the ravages of war and personal grief tear Josie and Art apart, or will they keep the promises made to each other on their wedding day? A Promise Born “Do not decide what I can handle. All I want is honesty. If you’re going to steal a kiss, you’d better explain why I’m not good enough.” Tears pricked her eyes, and she batted against them. “I deserve that.” In the midst of World War II, when the Navy WAVES give Evelyn Happ the chance to get out of Washington, DC, and contribute to the war effort, she can’t leave fast enough. The fact that she can use her college degree to contribute to the war effort makes the assignment even better. She arrives in Dayton, Ohio, to learn the engineers and military professionals don’t take her seriously at all. Why is it so hard to believe that she’s more than a pretty face? Mark Miller believes the WAVES are an unneeded distraction—the top secret project he’s assigned to is critical to the war and he and his team must focus on cracking the enigma code. Nothing they try works until a beautiful ensign offers solutions that help the engineers succeed in their mission. He’s not sure what to think about her, but has to admit that she’s brilliant enough to see the problem from a fresh perspective. He’s never met anyone like her and wants to know more. When the actions of a spy put both Mark and Evelyn under suspicion, their loyalties to the country and each other are tested. Will their blossoming relationship survive, or be another casualty of war? A Promise Forged Kat transformed in front of him. Her chin came up, her fingers stopped twitching with the fabric of her gown, and a real sparkle bubbled in her eyes. It was like watching Snow White come to life when the prince kissed her. Kat Miller has dreamed of playing baseball her entire life. When she earns a spot on a team in the All-American Girls Professional Softball League, she finds that things aren’t as glamorous as she imagined. She struggles with long road trips, grueling practices, and older teammates who are jealous of her success. And to top it all off, an irritating reporter is constantly getting under Kat’s skin. Events in Jack Raymond’s career have left him cynical and distanced from God. He never wanted to write at a small paper, and he certainly didn’t want to be assigned to something as inconsequential as a women’s softball team. Then Kat walks into his life. The fiery, young softball player somehow climbs the walls around his heart and makes him want to hope again. When lies fly and the league appears to fail, will Kat and Jack’s new love survive?

Collected together for the first time, this action-packed omnibus is filled with secrets, lies, and the silver smile of the deadly Xenomorphs. Across three epic novels, see how the Xenomorph doctrine of Weyland-Yutani and Venture is a short and angry road to hell. The Cold Forge Weyland-Yutani has suffered a devastating setback: the loss of the Xenomorphs they aggressively sought to exploit. True to form, they have a redundancy already in place… the facility known as The Cold Forge. When company man Dorian Sudler is sent to assess their progress, he discovers that there’s a spy aboard who may destroy the entire station… That is, if the Xenomorphs don’t do the job first. Prototype Corporate spy Tamar Prather steals a Xenomorph egg from Weyland-Yutani, taking it to a lab run by Venture... Former Colonial Marine Zula Hendricks has been tasked with training personnel to deal with anything that gets thrown their way, but nothing can prepare them for the horror that breaks out of Venture’s lab. Into Charybdis “Shy” Hunt and the tech team from McAllen Integrations thought it was an easy job—set up environmental systems for the brand new Hasanova Data Solutions colony, built on the abandoned ruins of a complex known as “Charybdis.” There are just two problems: the colony belongs to the Iranian state, and the complex is located above a series of hidden caves. Charybdis has a darker history than any could imagine, and its depths harbor deadly secrets. The deeper they dig, the more Shy is convinced there's no one they can believe. When a bizarre ship lands on a nearby island, one of the workers is attacked by a taloned creature, and trust evaporates between the Iranians and Americans. The McAllen integrations crew are imprisoned, accused of being spies, but manage to send out a distress signal... to the Colonial Marines.

Denver private eye Johnny Lane is so busy he has to contract out his overflow cases. When a young woman approaches him to find her birth parents, he's willing to take the case for almost nothing. Almost. It would be a breath of fresh air after all the lowlife cases he's now stuck with . . . and there is something about the woman. the last thing Johnny expects is the path the case leads him down. As the chasm between words and reality grows wider, past and present deeds start unraveling with deadly force. "For those of us who believed Jim Thompson would never be equaled, great tidings, he's back in the form of Dave Zeltserman. Hilarious in the darkest fashion, violent, bitter, psychotic and unputdownable... FAST LANE left me bruised, battered and exhilarated." KEN BRUEN