Showing results by narrator "Deborah Balm" in All Categories

Constable Will Danbury has infiltrated a school to investigate an alleged crime. What he finds is a deeper, darker mystery—and a potent attraction to the alluring headmistress, Jacqueline Trouvere. But a constable can't get romantically involved with a suspect, even one he thinks is innocent, without committing career suicide. As headmistress of a school devoted to saving the innocent daughters of London's soiled doves, Jacqueline's life is complicated. Will tempts her in ways she never thought to experience, but she believes no respectable gentleman could love a former courtesan.

London, 1727. When Miss Eden Lowther catches the eye of Lord Percival Falloure, Marquess of Tavistoke, she's delighted, for his wicked lordship is anything but boring. The canny coquette who declined five suitors the season prior sets out to capture the infamous "Terror of the Ton" for keeps, but the man she finds behind the façade isn't at all what she expects.

Nikolas Whitworth is handsome, charming. And a traitor. He can outwit and out-con any Englishman - and any Englishwoman. When his debts are called in, a savior appears, the criminal mastermind known only as the Tailor. Nikolas is bought and sold; his future, no longer his. But when a beguiling thief picks his pocket, Rosalyn Devereaux steals more than his coin. The Tailor notices her skills, and demands Rosalyn enlist in his cause. With every moment beside Rosalyn, Nikolas changes from a life of lies, to a man with conviction.

An apparent suicide and an apparent case of stalking bring two very different investigators together. This isn't an ordinary day's work for them, especially when personal feelings start to emerge. And the deeper their investigations go, the harder it gets to uncover the truth. From London to Shanghai, this thrilling and surprising mystery will take you on a journey that keeps you guessing until the very end.

Glynis Solomon came from a long line of angry, broken females. She had fought every day of her young life, to survive the regular outbursts of her violent, alcoholic mother. Barely coping psychologically, she was dragged through the social care system, confused and afraid as her silent rage simmered. She kept herself tightly, like a coiled spring, observing all around her but never speaking. At the age of 10, she was put into long-term foster care with Billy and Jessica Coleman.

Annie Besant’s magnetic eloquence is brilliantly apparent in this volume of her writings and lectures on the spiritual life. The welfare of humanity and the world around us is our utmost concern, says Besant, and the primary tool of transformation is our own consciousness. Our inner life must change if outer conditions are to be improved. Besant illuminates the way with topics such as calmness of mind, devotion, knowledge, karma, reincarnation, and Divine Law. Quotes from poetry and the world’s scriptures provide additional inspiration.

With her guiding hand, Lady Ada turns the mundane into the magnificent, lumps of charcoal into beautiful sketches — and second-hand clothes into gorgeous gowns. Only her debilitating stutter is beyond reach. When her cruel brother is accused of treason, he threatens her — she must help him, or be thrown into an asylum, claiming her stutter as evidence of an unsound mind.

Bold and brilliant, Georgiana has a gift for fixing machines - from clocks to carriages - while her father has a penchant for finding trouble. In an accidental fire, Georgiana and her father scar the once handsome face of Lord Pichon, cousin to the queen. Rumors of Georgiana’s gift raise her family’s status. Her incomparable beauty captures the eye of many gentlemen and the wrath of Lord Pichon. Abandoned by his peers and alone in his cold castle, Lord Pichon is determined to enact revenge.

After two years of clandestine operations, Agent Carrie Harris doesn’t know why she’s been attached to the Metropolitan Police. Could it be, as her superiors say, to hone her skills at breaking down doors and catching bad guys? Or is it to become accustomed to working as a team when she’s been so used to operating alone? Putting her uncertainties behind her, Carrie leans into her new role. Can she rally against those up high who want her to have nothing to do with the investigation?

Computers have become an indispensable part of our lives. Considering the possibilities you can unlock and accomplish with a computer, there’s no wonder almost every home today owns at least one computer. But getting started with a computer might seem like quantum physics to some. Computers today are something of a mystery to some. Many users look at a computer and only know the basic functions, or rather how to operate it.

Love. Loss. Revenge. What secrets lie buried in the desert sands? What hidden secrets are revealed when blood is spilled? Torn between love and betrothal, and death and survival, Muni is a young woman of privilege and comfort thrown into a world of betrayal, revenge, and otherworldly, supernatural forces. Her journey leads to grim discoveries, heartbreaks, and the fantastic as she learns to unlock not only the power within, but also that from a time long forgotten. Will the sins of the past seal her fate, or secure her destiny?

Headstrong Emma of Ashford is marrying Lord Alan, the man of her dreams, when her wedding is interrupted. A woman claims to be his long-lost betrothed. But is she truly the woman thought dead since she was a child? Emma is visited by a ghost. Is this spirit the long-dead Carlyn who has come to help Emma declare the other woman an impostor? Or just another deception? Can Alan and Emma defy the king and family to find the truth of the woman's identity? Can their love be saved?

Lady Bryce has a gift. She can enter dreams and persuade her will onto others. It has served her well, especially in eliminating unsatisfactory suitors of her father's choosing. But when she encounters Lord Rowland, she wants him more than anything and decides to visit him in his sleep and make him desire her above all others. When she has driven Rowland to the edge of longing, she extracts a promise that he will marry her. As time passes, Bryce and Rowland fall in love. But will their love be able to conquer all once Bryce’s secret is revealed?

Rose Warren and Simon Trumbull may have been betrothed since birth, but that doesn't mean they have to like each other. Rose is sure the notorious playboy Simon will never willingly settle down, and Simon, well . . . he agrees. Never one to be forced into anything, he'd rather drink and gamble with his mates than spend time with the bookish, bespectacled Rose. When the two are thrown together to investigate a potential poisoning mystery, neither expects the sparks that fly.

Emily Moss cannot stand the roguish Alexander Bredon. As this season's most desired debut, she could have any man she wants. Unfortunately, Lady Lancaster pairs her up with none other than the incorrigible man himself. With mutual dislike and contempt, Alex would rather be doing anything other than escorting the high and mighty Emily, until a secret about her falls into his lap. Suddenly, he realizes there may be more to the lady than he originally thought. Perhaps the only thing that can keep them from killing each other is falling for each other instead.

Sarah Jardin has been quite dreadfully in love with David Rochester her whole life. As the youngest of five daughters, her family and society neglect her. She's outspoken, brash, and terribly ungraceful. In short, not at all a lady . . . until she's taken under the benevolent wing of Lady Lancaster and invited to join the Young Ladies Garden Society. But Sarah's new life—filled with the mysteries and intrigues of high society—is interrupted by an unexpected scandal. Her scandal. I

Waking in paradise with no memory of who she is, can Agent Harris piece together the true picture and retrieve her skills before it’s the last thing she ever sees?

At Eleanor of Aquitaine's palace in Poitiers, fourteen-year-old Lady Joanna of Agen is coming of age. Her aunt and guardian, Alice, rescued Joanna from her brutal father by bringing her to court. But now Alice fears Joanna could once again be at risk from the men around her. When Queen Eleanor's son, Henry, arrives at court, Joanna quickly catches his eye. But Alice overhears the lewd conversations of the male courtiers and worries that Joanna's honor is at stake.

After a grueling training exercise in the Scottish mountains, Agent Carrie Harris is called to a place hidden from all civilization. Ill-prepared and under-equipped, she discovers a secret world filled with gruesome evidence of events she can’t comprehend.

On what seemed like an ordinary morning, Carrie finds herself in the crossfire of a violent bank robbery. As the horrible scene plays out before her experienced eyes, she must find a way to survive the encounter, and save the day.