Brenda Novak

Kurzbeschreibung Insel der Sehnsucht (Sanctuary) - Nora Roberts Die erfolgreiche Fotografin Jo Hathaway hat ihr Leben fest im Griff - jedenfalls bis zu dem Tag, als sie in ihrer Post anonyme Fotos findet: Schnappschüsse und Nahaufnahmen von ihr selbst. Sie ist zutiefst beunruhigt - wer konnte ihr unbeobachtet so nahe kommen und diese Bilder machen? Als dann auch noch die Fotos einer wunderschönen, nackten, toten Frau geschickt werden, bricht Jo zusammen - diese Frau war ihre Mutter. Jo war noch ein kleines Mädchen, als ihre Mutter eines Nachts spurlos verschwand. Der schmerzliche Verlust entzweite und zerstörte die Familie Hathaway. Daraufhin floh Jo, wild entschlossen, ihre Familie und ihr Elternhaus nie mehr wieder zu sehen. Widerstrebend beschließt sie nun, wegen dieser Fotos nach Hause zu fahren, um dort die Antwort auf ihre Fragen zu finden. Ihr Elternhaus auf der wildromantischen Insel Desire ist mittlerweile ein kleines Hotel, das ihr Bruder führt. Die Begegnung mit den Geschwistern und dem Vater führt erneut zu geschwisterlichen Rivalitäten, Eifersüchteleien, Schmerz und Bitterkeit. Aber auch auf Desire ist Jo nicht sicher; wieder tauchen Fotos auf. Jos Freund aus Kindertagen, der Architekt Nathan Delany, steht ihr zur Seite und aus Zuneigung wird schnell Liebe. Nathan aber scheint nicht nur über die Geheimnisse von Jos Seele Bescheid zu wissen ... In der Konfrontation mit dem Mörder muss Jo sich schließlich ihrer eigenen, tragischen Vergangenheit stellen...

In trying to unravel the truth behind the murder of his ex-wife and son, Sebastian Costas has followed a ghost of a lead all the way to Sacramento. The evidence suggests a murder-suicide, but something he heard a week before the killing won't allow him to accept that. He believes her second husband - a cop - killed them and then faked his own death. But proving it isn't easy. Then he gets a call from Jane Burke, an investigator with The Last Stand.

The Cisco triplets are appalled by their widowed father's behavior. He seems to care more about his gold-digging fiance than he does about his own son and daughters. Even worse, Dad put their spunky grandmother -- head of the family candy company -- in a nursing home against her will. Setting out to spring Granny Cisco, college seniors Sara, Hannah, and Sam soon prove that trouble comes in threes. Apparently, so does love. As the triplets get their grandmother the medical care that will make her independent again, all three find unexpected romance. If everything goes according to plan, there's going to be quite a crowd at Granny's house come Christmas -- and more proof than ever that there's no place like home for the holidays.

Aislinn Andrews met Lucas Greywolf under unusual circumstances--she caught the escaped convict raiding her refrigerator. But was he a troublemaker who aroused dissidence among Arizona's Native Americans...or a hero who'd gone to prison for a crime he hadn't committed? It didn't really matter now, since Lucas Greywolf had taken her hostage. He was going home to the reservation of his birth, honor bound to pay last respects to his dying grandfather. And Aislinn was his ticket home. Through their journey across the hot Arizona desert, Aislinn was alternately intrigued and infuriated by this rebel with a cause. This defiant, determined man made no secret of his hatred for her kind: the Anglos who betrayed his people. Yet among his people, Aislinn saw another side to Lucas Greywolf as she was swept into a world where sacred tradition clashed with despair and poverty, where family, heritage, and honor was all that remained. Transformed by his world, by his strength, by her growing love for this complicated, proud man, she gave in to her heart's demands, knowing that Lucas would soon return to prison. Neither anticipated the gift he'd leave behind. Honor Bound is a classic romance that explores the myriad emotions that drive men and women to find each other--to cross the boundaries of fear, uncertainty, even hate, to explore the uncharted territory of love.

Reverend Lee Barker went missing nineteen years ago... And the people of Stillwater, Mississippi, believe they know why. They're convinced he was murdered by his stepson, Clay Montgomery. But only Clay--and his mother and sisters--can say for sure. They were the only ones there that fateful night. And they're not talking.Allie McCormick is a cold-case detective from Chicago. After a difficult divorce, she's returned to Stillwater with her six-year-old daughter to start over. But when Clay's powerful enemies join forces to put him behind bars, Allie feels duty bound to uncover the truth. Her instincts tell her he didn't murder Barker.Maybe Clay's a dark and brooding man with more than his share of secrets, but he was just sixteen at the time. And he's not a cold-blooded killer. At least, that's what Allie believes--until she finds proof that behind the preacher's pious demeanor lurked a monster. Then she has to ask herself if justice has already been done....

The life of a country doctor with a teenage daughter was certainly a full one. But widower Beau Dugan never realized what he'd been missing until Clary Parsons came back to Wellsburg. She was prettier, livelier and more intriguing than he remembered, but she was not home to stay. Perhaps he might change her mind... When Clary took in all the familiar sights of the old 'burg,' everything seemed about the same, give or take a decade. Everything except Beau Dugan - he was simply breathtaking! Still, she had a new, exciting L.A. life-style. So why did the fast lane suddenly pale in comparison to her sleepy hometown?

When Zoe Duncan's thirteen-year-old daughter goes missing from her own backyard, the police think Samantha ran away because she's unhappy about her mother's upcoming marriage, but Zoe doesn't believe it. In fact, she's will to do anything to bring Sam home, even if it means losing her job, her beautiful home, her fiance . Even if it means divulging all her secrets to a private investigator. Jonathan Stivers is a P.I. who donated his time to The Last Stand, a victim's charity in Sacramento. He's good at what he does, the best. But never has he had fewer leads to work with, or been more attracted to a client. Jonathan's sure of only one thing: Sam was taken by someone close to the family. He doesn't know how close until he realizes that the 'perfect' couple next door is anything but.

When Lucky Caldwell was ten, her mother, Red--the best-known hooker in Dundee, Idaho--married Morris Caldwell, a wealthy and much older man. It didn't last, of course, but Morris's kindness was the highlight of Lucky's life.Mike Hill, Morris's grandson, doesn't feel too well-disposed toward Red or her kids. He believes they alienated Morris from his family. Even Morris's Victorian mansion, on the property next to the Hill ranch, wasn't inherited by one of his grandchildren. Instead the house went to Lucky, who left it sitting empty for years.Now that Red and Morris are both dead, Lucky has finally come back to Dundee. She plans to restore the derelict place--and to look for her real father, who has to be one of three men named in her mother's diary.That means Mike has a new neighbor.One he doesn't want to like...

A shocking betrayal... Riches. Power. An ancient heritage of pride. The Earl of Druridge wanted only for an heir. So when he learned that his wife was carrying another man's child, he was filled with a thirst for vengeance. But he wasn't the one who caused Katherine's death. Or was he? To his horror, he remembers nothing of that dreadful night, when, when their last shocking confrontation ended in scorching flame and cold blood. A forbidden love... Rachel McTavish, the beautiful daughter of a coal miner, knows something about the fire that took Lady Katherine's life. In secret, the strong willed girl strikes a bargain with the desperate earl: he must send his physician to help her dying mother or he may go to the scaffold and the devil. The Earl agrees, but Rachel is still unsure that her revelation will be enough to save him when so many wish him dead. Passionately drawn to the nobleman, despite all the doubt and mystery that shroud him, Rachel wonders if he can really be a murderer. Or if he is the only man who will ever own her heart.

When a young man's mutilated body is found at an Oregon rest stop, along with his pregnant girlfriend who is alive, but comatose, psychologist Claire Norris is assigned to treat the survivor at a private mental hospital where she, along with an ex-homicide detective, attempt to unravel this twisted case.

The first story is by Victoria Alexander is "Promises to Keep". Katherine is a lonely 70 year old who sees Santa at a department store. She is 70 years old and has many regrets in her life, including the loss of her soul mate in 1942. Suddenly she finds herself swept back to that very point in her life that she always wished to change. She gets a real second chance to make things right this time. But is it too late? Is he still there? Sandra Hill’s story is called "Naughty or Nice". It's a journey through Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, following a young woman, Jessica, through her 'Christmas Curse'. Jessica is dressed as Santa and is about to commit a crime, when she takes a hostage who coicidentally looks just like Brad Pitt who is also dressed like Santa. The two find themselves experiencing 'love at first sight'. The third story, by Dara Joy, is called "Santa Reads Romance". A female romance writer, May, goes to Maine and rents a cabin in the middle of nowhere to work on her book in peace. A blizzard begins and a man dressed as Santa shows up at her door. (He is a publisher doing a favour for a friend, while trying to find a mystery author and his overdue manuscript.) May knocks him out, thinking he is dangerous. Then they are stuck together, because of the howling blizzard. The last story is by Nelle McFather. It's called "A Gift for Santa". This is a tale of a single mother who finds true love and happiness on Christmas from a stranger named Nick.

"After a painful divorce, Maisey Lazarow returns to Fairham, the small island off the North Carolina coast where she grew up, to heal and to help her troubled brother. Her tenuous relationship with her mother is further strained when Maisey tries to discover what really happened to their older sister whom her mother claims never existed"--