New Releases: August

Twang by Julie L Cannon

Twenty-three-year-old Jennifer Clodfelter believes she is destined to be a country music star. When her passion, determination and homemade demo tape were rejected by every music label in Nashville, she refused to give up. In just three years, a combination of guts and raw talent have propelled her on a journey of fame beyond her best dream. Now Jennifer has all she ever wanted, only to discover that there is a dark side to the glitz and number one hits. She will have to decide whether to sing her pain to a loving audience or find the courage to face the music in the private studio of her heart.

The Treasure of the Celtic Triangle by Michael Phillips

Join Percy Drummond on a search that takes him from Scotland to Ireland and a treasure that is closer than imagined. Having accepted his uncle’s dying request, Percy begins an unforgettable quest to solve the hidden mystery of the Westbrooke estate. Meanwhile, circumstances in Wales threaten his success—and the future. As the key to the mystery seems to slip further from him, will Percy discover that treasure is closer than he imagined?

To Love and Cherish by Tracie Peterson and Judith Miller

When Melinda Colson's employer announces they'll be leaving Bridal Veil Island to return to their home in Cleveland, Melinda hopes her beau, Evan, will propose. But Evan isn't prepared to make an offer of marriage until he knows he can support a wife and family. Letters strengthen their love, but Melinda remains frustrated at being apart from the man she wants to spend the rest of her life with. Will Melinda and Evan ever get the chance to stand at the front of a church and promise "to love and cherish"?

Still Life in Shadows by Alice J Wisler

It's been fifteen years since Gideon Miller ran away from his Amish community in Carlisle, Pennsylvania as a boy of fifteen. Gideon arrives in the Smoky Mountains town of Twin Branches and settles in at the local auto mechanic's garage. He meets a host of interesting characters -the most recent acquaintances are Kiki, an autistic teen, and her sister Mari. Known as the "Getaway Savior" he helps other Amish boys and girls relocate to life in modern America. One day the phone rings. On the other end is his brother Moriah calling from Florida. Of course Gideon welcomes his brother to stay with him and offers him a job. But Moriah is caught in a web which ends in his death and forces Gideon to return to the town of his youth, with his brother's body in the back of a hearse and Mari and Kiki at his side. He must face not only the community he ran away from years ago but also his own web of bitterness. Will he be able to give his anger over to God and forgive his father?

Something Blue by Dianne Christner (to be reviewed)

Life is going well for Megan. She’s always wanted to marry a missionary and now she’s working with Chance, a charming and daring missionary pilot. Then Micah Zimmerman moves into her parent’s home as a pastoral candidate for their Conservative Mennonite church—and he doesn’t look anything like the gawky young man who had a crush on her in college. As Megan struggles with her own personal identity and faith, she begins to see the true difference between Chance and Micah. Will her insight come too late, or is there still time to find the hero of her dreams?

Rebecca's Rose by Jennifer Beckstrand

With her mother ill, Rebecca Miller must take care of the house, the farm, and her younger siblings. Although she feels trapped at times, Rebecca is determined to fulfill a promise made to a dying friend. Then she meets a boy with good looks and a mischievous glint in his eye who just might help her keep her vow. Levi Cooper was born into an Amish community and lived there until his father died and his mother married an Englischer. When shunned by their Amish relatives, they lived as Englischers. Now haunted by painful memories and on the path to self-destruction, Levi meets a lovely Amish girl who is looking for adventure. Rebecca’s growing attachment to Levi could lead to the loss of everything she holds dear. And will the secrets he keeps separate them forever?

Over the Edge by Mary Conneally

Seth Kincaid survived a fire in a cave, but he's never been the same. He was always a reckless youth, but now he's gone over the edge. He ran off to the Civil War and came back crazier than ever. After the war, nearly dead from his injuries, it appears Seth got married. Oh, he's got a lot of excuses, but his wife isn't happy to find out Seth doesn't remember her. Callie has searched, prayed, and worried. Now she's come to the Kincaid family's ranch in Colorado to find her lost husband.Callie isn't a long-suffering woman. Once she knows her husband is alive, she wants to kill him. She's not even close to forgiving him for abandoning her.Then more trouble shows up in the form of a secret Seth's pa kept for years. The Kincaid brothers might lose their ranch if they can't sort things out. It's enough to drive a man insane--but somehow it's all making Seth see things more clearly. And now that he knows what he wants, no one better stand in his way. Book 3 in series.

Mortal Fire by C F Dunn

When Emma D'Eresby - a 29 year-old, self-contained Professor of History - leaves her Cambridge college for a post in an exclusive university in Maine, USA, she hopes to learn more about a curious 17th-century journal in the College library. Instead, it leads her to a secret that should never have been uncovered. In the States, Emma meets the enigmatic 33-year-old surgeon, Matthew Lynes, a quiet and thoughtful widower. Driven to learn more about him, Emma takes the unique journal from the College library in which she believes there are clues to his family's English past. Meanwhile, the sinister Professor Kort Staahl mounts a psychotic attack on her. Matthew's courageous intervention saves her, but as he nurses her back to health, his unusual attributes raise questions he is unwilling to answer. As Part One ends, she returns to her claustrophobic family, avoiding her domineering father and wrestling with despair ...

A Man of Honor by Loree Lough

On a steamy spring morning, Dusty Parker—part-time pastor, part-time search-and-rescue team member, and full-time administrator of a school for troubled boys—joins the search for a missing teenage girl. He partners with volunteer and inner-city school teacher Grace Sinclair, and what they find bonds them in ways neither could have expected. As they begin to build their lives together, a visitor from the past causes Dusty and Grace to further open their hearts and home. But a threat is looming on their seemingly perfect lives and in one terrifying night, everything changes. Book three in series.

Living in Harmony by Mary Ellis

Amy King--young, engaged, and Amish--faces difficult challenges in her life when she suddenly loses both of her parents in a house fire. Her fiancé, John Detweiler, persuades her and her sister Nora to leave Lancaster County and make a new beginning with him in Harmony, Maine, where he has relatives who can help the women in their time of need. John's brother Thomas and sister-in-law Sally readily open their home to the three newcomers. Wise beyond his years, Thomas, a minister in the district, refuses to marry Amy and John upon their arrival, suggesting instead a period of adjustment and counseling. During this time Amy discovers an aunt who was shunned. She wishes to reconnect with her, but this puts a strain on her relationship with John. Can John and Amy find a way to live in happily in Harmony before making a lifetime commitment to one another?

Irregardless of Murder by E E Kennedy

Amelia Prentice, a forty-something high school English teacher comfortable in her predictable routine, regains consciousness after tripping over the corpse of a former student in the safest of places, the public library. Returning to the classroom, she tries to pretend nothing happened. But when it becomes obvious that the victim’s death wasn’t an accident and she is now a murder suspect, she realizes that her life will never be the same.

Her Good Name by Ruth Axtell

In the 1890 thriving coastal town of Holliston, Maine, the leading lumber baron's son, Warren Brentwood, III, returns from his years away at college and traveling to take up his position as heir apparent to his father's business empire. Esperanza Estrada is the daughter of a Portuguese immigrant fisherman who has grown up surrounded by a brood of brothers and sisters and a careworn mother. When she overhears of a position to clean house at a local professor's home on Elm Street, she jumps at the opportunity. When rumors about Espy and this respected, married gentleman of the community begin to circulate, the entire church congregation and then the community pronounce judgment on her behavior. A man who heads a mission for the homeless finds Espy and offers her shelter. Espy finds the true love of God while working at the mission. Will she be able to forgive the townspeople and return home?

The Haven by Suzanne Woods Fisher

When Sadie Lapp steps off the bus in Stoney Ridge after being in Ohio for the winter, she is faced with a decision--one that goes against her very essence. Yet it's the only way she can think of to protect a loved one.Schoolteacher Gideon Smucker has been crazy about Sadie since boyhood. But his response to her surprising decision undermines his own reputation--and his relationship with Sadie.College student Will Stoltz is spending the spring at the Lapp farm as a guard for a pair of nesting Peregrine Falcons--courtesy of the Lancaster County Game Warden. Will needs to get his life back on track, but his growing friendship with Sadie threatens his plans.The lives of these three individuals intertwine, and then unravel as unexpected twists create ripples through the town of Stoney Ridge . . . and through Sadie's heart.

The Face of Heaven by Murray Pura

In April 1861, Lyndel and her young Amish beau, Nathaniel King, find themselves at odds with their pacifist Amish colony. Nathaniel enlists in what will become the famous Iron Brigade of the Union Army. Lyndel enters the fray as a Brigade nurse on the battlefield. Despite the pair’s heroic sacrifices, the Amish only see that Lyndel and Nathaniel have become part of the war effort, and both are banished. And a severe battle wound at Gettysburg threatens Nathaniel’s life. Lyndel must call upon her faith in God to endure the savage conflict and to face its painful aftermath, not knowing if Nathaniel is alive or dead. Will the momentous battle change her life forever, just as it will change the course of the war and the history of her country? Book 2 in series.

Dying to Read by Lorena McCourtney

Cate Kinkaid is just dipping her toe into the world of private investigating until one of the many résumés she has floating around lands her a real job. All she has to do is determine that a particular woman lives at a particular address. Simple, right? When the big and brooding house happens to contain a dead body, this routine PI job turns out to be anything but simple. Is Cate in over her head?

Digital Winter by Mark Hitchcock and Alton Gansky (to be reviewed)

Twenty-two-year-old savant Donny Elton can't tie his shoes, but his computer skills are unsurpassed. Egged on by a shadowy figure only he can see and hear, Donny creates an evolving computer virus that knocks out satellites, power grids, and communication systems. The world is thrown back into a lifestyle it hasn't known for a hundred years. Surgeons find themselves operating without electricity. The military can't use its computers... This gripping story of darkness and heroism highlights prophetic themes and the very real danger of a cyber attack.

The Deliverer by Kathi Macias

From a life sentence in prison, Uncle Jefe, who held her as a sex slave in his San Diego brothel, uses his underground connections to kidnap and drag Mara back into the dark shadows of human trafficking. Now in the struggle for her life and her ultimate freedom, Mara finds herself kidnapped and experiencing something she never dreamed possible. She finally finds herself yielding to the One who can truly set her free—not only from her past life and all the fears and scars that go with it, but from herself and her own sin. Book 3 in the Freedom series.

Central Park Rendevous Novella Collection (to be reviewed)

Welcome to the Big Apple where four generations of heroes find a love that never ends. Home from Afghanistan, Sean Wolfe is avoiding his dreams. Will Jamie Russo and an old coin give him new hope? Once betrayed by love, Alan James is embittered. Will a sweet reunion in Central Park heal his broken heart? Helen Wolfe is struggling to provide for herself and her family. Is Bernie O’Day her answer to prayer? Damaged in body and soul by war, William Wolfe’s fiancée has rejected him. Will he ever risk his heart again? Will love persevere despite unimaginable odds? Ignore the cover - the book is much better than the cover indicates.

Beauty to Die for by Mindy Starns Clark and Kim Alexis (to be reviewed)

Juliette Taylor walked away from her career as a supermodel twenty-five years ago. Now approaching fifty, she co-owns a beauty supply company. Her niche is pampering Christian women who usually spend more time caring for others than for themselves. When Juliette arrives at the Palm Grotto Spa to host a spiritual retreat, she runs into an old modeling colleague, Raven, who had always been disliked in the industry. Not long after Raven makes a cryptic threat to Juliette, the back-then beauty is found dead, poisoned by something in the green clay of a chai soy wrap. Suspicion is directed at Juliette who has history with Raven and certainly knows how to use beauty products. Now she must find the real killer before the police really take care of her.

Angel of the Cove by Sandra Robbins (to be reviewed)

Anna Prentiss has never wanted to be anything but a nurse. Before she can start school in New York, however, her brother sends her to Cades Cove, deep in the Smoky Mountains, to spend a summer apprenticing to the local midwife. Anna is determined to prove herself and then head to the big city. But nothing could have prepared Anna for the beauty of the Cove, or the community and friendships she finds there. And she certainly wasn't prepared for Simon Martin, the handsome young minister, or the feelings he arouses in her. Has God's plan for Anna changed? Or is she just starting to hear Him clearly? First book in a new series.

Abducted by Janice Cantore

After solving the mayor’s murder and exposing corruption among the top brass in Las Playas, Carly Edwards is happy to be back on patrol with her partner, Joe, putting bad guys behind bars. For once, everything in life seems to be going right.But then everything starts going wrong. Slow to recover from an injury, her ex-husband, Nick, begins pulling away just as they were starting to get close again. Meanwhile, when Joe’s wife lands in the hospital with a mysterious illness, their baby is kidnapped. As Carly chases down every lead in a desperate search to find the baby, her newfound faith is pushed to its limits. Sequel to Accused.

The Scent of Rain by Kristen Billerbeck (to be reviewed)

Daphne Sweeten has left Paris - and a career she loves - in order to marry a man she loves even more. But when he stands her up on their wedding day, Daphne's left reeling. Trained as a professional "nose" or perfume creator, Daphne soon realizes that her sense of smell has somehow disappeared too. In the days following she moves to Dayton, Ohio, to take on a job creating fragrances for household products. Without her sense of smell, she must rely on her chemistry skills, and hope her handsome new boss, Jesse Lightner, doesn't notice before she can figure out how to get it back.

House of Mercy by Erin Healy

Beth has a gift of healing-which is why she wants to become a vet and help her family run their fifth-generation cattle ranch. Her father's dream of helping men in trouble and giving them a second chance is her dream too. But it only takes one foolish decision for Beth to destroy it all. Beth scrambles to redeem her mistake, pleading with God for help, even as a mystery complicates her life. But the repercussions grow more unbearable-a lawsuit, a death, a divided family, and the looming loss of everything she cares about. Beth's only hope is to find the grandfather she never knew and beg for his help. Confused, grieving, but determined to make amends, she embarks on a horseback journey across the mountains, guided by a wild, unpredictable wolf who may or may not be real.

Faithful to Laura by Kathleen Fuller

Laura Stutzman leaves her Kentucky community for Middlefield, Ohio, with one purpose: to find Mark King, the man who pledged his love to her, then left. Sawyer Thompson is a Yankee who spent his teen years in an Amish home. Now an adult, he has to make a decision-go back to the life he knew as a child or join the church. As their friendship grows, Laura begins to let her guard down. New information about Sawyer's past threatens the couple's budding relationship. As Laura struggles to trust God, will Sawyer do whatever it takes to remain faithful to Laura?

A Path Toward Love by Cara Lynn James

Young widow Katherine Osborne returns to her family's rustic camp on Raquette Lake in the Adirondack Mountains. She's determined to live a quiet life, but her socialite mother is equally determined to push her into a new marriage while she's still young. Andrew Townsend has known Katherine since they were children. He's curious what changed the free-spirited girl he once knew into this private, somber young woman. Katherine has kept hidden the details of her unsuccessful marriage. But how can she trust the God she feels has let her down?

For Such a Time as This by Ginny Aitken

Drought has forced farmers around the small town of Bountiful to mortgage their property. Then word comes of plans for a spur line to run through the area and join the railroad in nearby Milton. Folks with money see an opportunity to fill their coffers by buying farmland cheap then selling to the railroad for a profit. The Bank of Bountiful, owned by Eli Whitman, appears to be doing that, as well. Widowed Eli sought a hard-working, educated Christian woman to care for his children and his home. Olivia Moore filled the bill, and as soon as Eli recognized her as an excellent investment, he offered her first employment then a marriage of convenience. When Papa tells Olivia the Moore family must move according to Eli's terms for the new railroad line, she fears for their safety. It is up to Olivia to convince her husband to renege on his demands, though she swore before their marriage she would stay out of his business.

Dark Ride by Todd Lloyd

The Dark Ride carries tones reminiscent of C.S. Lewis’s The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. Four teenagers from the town of Cassidy, Tennessee find themselves trapped inside a ride called The Enchanted Forest at Storybook Hollow Amusement Park. Their adventure takes a supernatural turn for the worse. “ A chilling tale for the ages.”

The Christ Virus by Dave Slade

An anti-hate bill becomes law in 2019 eviscerating much of the Bible. In response Pastor Luke Chavez forms an underground movement to protect the church. A bioweapon created by the U.S. military is stolen by Mahdi's Chosen, a terrorist group headed by Sulaiman Hadid. He believes Allah has called him to prepare the world for the return of the Mahdi. Only thing stands in his way-- the Christian church. The government mandates a radical program to protect Americans against a bioterrorist attack. But the underground church rejects the plan because of a biblical warning, providing Sulaiman the opportunity he has been seeking. In a race against time a virologist searches for a way to stop an apocalyptic virus as Luke battles to save the church. Two men. Two religions. Two worlds apart. One driven by a sacred calling to destroy, the other to defend.

Ryan's Crossing by Carrie Daws

After ten years, Ryan s parents found his runaway sister, Amber. Now, as he drives to meet up with her and his parents before her wedding, his mind fills with the changes coming. Besides figuring out where she will fit into his life, a job change is on the horizon for him. But should he stick with small town life? Or should he move to Portland, Oregon? Meeting the family his sister is marrying into only brings more questions. Maybe moving to nearby Portland is the better choice. But something about the town of Crossing calls to him. Is it the friendly people who openly accept him as Amber s brother or the cute brunette who happens to be sister of the groom? As Ryan weighs the pros and cons, He decides to put God to the test. Will He answer? Will He let him know which choices to make? And what if Ryan doesn t like the answer?

Heaven by Alexandra Adornetto

Bethany, an angel sent to Earth, and her mortal boyfriend, Xavier, have been to Hell and back. But now their love will be put to its highest test yet, as they defy Heavenly law and marry. They don’t tell Beth’s archangel siblings, Gabriel and Ivy, but the angels know soon enough, and punishment comes in a terrifying form: the Sevens, who are rogue angels bent on keeping Beth and Xavier apart, destroying Gabriel and Ivy, and darkening angelic power in the heavens.

The only way Bethany and Xavier can elude the Sevens is to hide in the open, and blend in with other mortals their own age. Gabriel and Ivy set them up at college, where they can’t reveal their relationship, and where there is still danger around each corner. Will Bethany be called back to Heaven – forever – and face leaving the love of her life? The final book in the Halo series.