Showing results by narrator "Andrea Bates" in All Categories

The brutal murder of a school teacher appears to be an open and shut case. Despite the overwhelming evidence against homeless drifter James Gaines, public defender Faith Winston makes sure she is assigned to defend him. But Faith has an agenda of her own—even if it means a guilty man will go free. Chief of Police Ryan Crosby ended his relationship with Faith in a breakup that shattered them both, but he has not stopped loving her. When Faith's representation of Gaines makes her a target for revenge, Ryan reenters her life to protect her.

Allison Sandoval is on the run after discovering the secret her new husband, Rafael, the leader of a South American country, has kept hidden from the world. She must tell what she knows and stop Rafael, but she is on her own, physically weakened by his abuse, and she is running out of time. Former Navy SEAL Zach Corrigan, owner of a Special Ops organization, accepts the job to find Allison, a woman he is told is mentally ill and suffers from hallucinations and paranoia.

Though they work independently and at times are oceans apart, their ties to each other remain strong. They're related by blood or bond - this group of men and women in law enforcement, government intelligence, and the military who do what others cannot to serve, defend, and protect. Chief Of Police Mitch Turner is finally getting close to getting the evidence he needs to prosecute crime boss, Christopher Rossington.

Blues-singer Maxx Maxwell is smart, talented, and gorgeous–at least since she had her nose fixed, went blonde, and bought a push-up bra. So what if she’s living in a scruffy apartment in Hackensack, New Jersey, and the waitress job she’s taken to make ends meet is driving her crazy? Her band, Maxximum Blues, is really taking off, thanks to the talents of guitarist Jimmy Nashville, a heartbreakingly handsome guy whose life is complicated by an assortment of girlfriends.

It's Halloween, one of the busiest seasons of the year for Samantha Sweet and the crew at her pastry shop, Sweet's Sweets. After baking a zillion pumpkin cookies, ghostly cupcakes, and an all-black cake for a young witch's wedding, the gang is looking forward to a gala costume party at the neighborhood bookshop. But when one of the guests is murdered and a rare book vanishes—practically in front of their eyes—the evening takes a whole different turn and Sam finds herself in the midst of another mystery.

Samantha Sweet and Beau Cardwell are getting ready for their September wedding, with the whole Sweet clan about to show up for the celebration.

Dealing with her mother may turn out to be the least of Sam’s problems when an unwelcome visitor walks into her pastry shop - Sam’s old heartthrob, the charmer Jake Calendar. Jake wants money for a Hollywood get-rich-quick scheme and he wants Sam to finance the deal. Can Sam convince him that the answer is "no"? Or will he sabotage the plans for her wedding?

Two things are weighing on Samantha Sweet's mind this summer - organizing the Sweet Somethings chocolate festival and tracking down information on the mystical carved wooden box that came into her life nearly two years ago, changing her forever. At last she believes she has located the person who can give the answers.

Revenge is often a cold dish, but in the tiny northern New Mexico town of Sembramos emotions are running decidedly hot. When two men convicted of murdering a local girl are released from prison after serving only a few years, their convictions overturned, the town's old pain rises to the surface and tempers flare. Samantha Sweet has her hands full with Easter at Sweet's Sweets, while her husband, Taos County Sheriff Beau Cardwell, is charged with keeping order among the two hundred residents of Sembramos.

It's a freezing January day when Samantha Sweet finds herself facing the unpleasant task of going back to her old job of breaking into houses. Meanwhile, a customer who's just a little bit too nice seems to be worming her way into Jen's confidence. Sheriff Beau, on the other hand, is dealing with a car-crash-turned-murder, and somehow it all seems to tie together in a great big sticky situation.

When a woman walks into Samantha Sweet’s pastry shop, claiming to have amnesia, it’s a puzzle that seems to have nothing to do with Sam’s new commission for a fantastic one-of-a-kind order of chocolates, although "Jane Doe" seems to know a lot about that. Sam calls Sheriff Beau to solve the mystery of who this stranger is and where she belongs. But Beau’s attention is occupied by other things: nearly his entire force is out sick with some kind of flu bug, and now a murder far from Taos requires his full attention. “Jane’s” forgotten memories become vitally important....

Samantha Sweet learns that an Irish great-uncle left her an inheritance, so she and Beau change their honeymoon plans and go to the Emerald Isle. Will the gift be something lavish and wonderful? Or is there no pot of gold waiting for Sam? Meanwhile, before Sam fully has the answers to her questions, a new mystery presents itself when a local charter boat is found adrift near the rocky Irish coast, its occupants missing. The family of the captain wants answers and when it looks like a group of Americans might be implicated, the Galway homicide detective in charge of the case enlists Beau’s help.

Samantha Sweet's life is a little crazy right now, beginning with her daughter's wedding, which coincides with Sam's receiving a huge new contract for her chocolate factory. The day after the wedding, someone takes a shot at Sam, and she discovers the bad guys are back.

After Godiva's son Torch buys a condo in Las Vegas, his grandmother Flossie and great uncle Sterling decide to pay him a visit. When the old vaudeville magicians drag him to the Pageant of Peacocks starring sexy Mara the Magnificent, it's love at first sight. The romance blossoms, but when Torch returns from a meeting in LA, Mara seems cold and distant. Torch turns to his mother, the advice columnist, for a helping hand.

It’s Spring Break, and a trio of California college kids head out, not to the beach, but to the mountains of New Mexico, where they plan on a week of snowboarding, beer, and fun. But the instructions to reach their vacation rental are less than precise, and it’s late and snowy when they arrive at Taos Ski Valley. Days later, Casey’s sister is calling the only friend she knows in Taos—Kelly Sweet—hoping to get word to her brother that their mother’s condition has worsened and she doesn’t have long to live. No one has heard from Casey, and she urgently needs to reach him.

The Bone Man is Vicki's fourth novel in the Tally Whyte homicide counselor series. A tale of suspense and mystery, The Bone Man takes Homicide Counselor Tally Whyte from Boston and Martha's Vineyard to New Mexico and Chaco Canyon in search of a dead friend's murderer and a carving known as The Blood Fetish.

This adventure novel begins in an old underground mine in the North Cascades of Washington, next to the Canadian border. Danger, romance, and intrigue follow Sara and Brad through the Idaho Primitive Area and the treacherous canyon of the Middle Fork of the Salmon River. They sometimes stray from their work plans to search for a lost gold mine or prospect for gemstones in the rugged Sawtooth Mountains of Idaho.

The Assassin's Wife is a thrilling tale of political intrigue set in current America. A jealous, deranged husband assassinates the president-elect of the United States two weeks before inauguration, and, for the first time in history, a vice-president-elect must step up and take the oath of office. Madison Hemsley-Tarlton, a war hero and former governor, will be the new president...if she can stay alive long enough.

When a normally meek Bay Area insurance agent suddenly turns into a voracious, homicidal maniac with an uncontrollable appetite, doctors quickly determine that the cause must be a brain parasite that can only be extra-terrestrial. Now, San Francisco Police detectives Karen Hall and Yuri Markov are on a mission to end this wave of violence before more citizens become infected.

Dead bodies, suffering souls – Freddie didn’t mean to kill the mugger – she barely had time to think. But when it was over, her boyfriend was in the hospital and the teenaged assailant was dead. Now, trying to cope with aggressive reporters, inquisitive cops, concerned relatives, and her own nagging conscience, Freddie finds one source of solace: the strength and comfort offered by Mike Danken, an ex-cop-turned-minister.

After young Richard's mother dies, he overhears the wealthy family friends, Ashton and Iris Burke, saying that they could not take him into their home. He is later adopted by the Johnsons, but hates the working class life that he endures throughout his childhood. After serving in the military, Richard goes to college where he studies architecture, the same profession as Ashton Burke.