John Rawlings, the apothecary with a talent for detective work, and John Fielding, the phenomenal blind magistrate whose Runners formed London's early police force, make a welcome return in this evocative Georgian mystery. John Rawlings is among the beau monde enjoying a performance of 'The Beggar's Opera' in Drury Lane when the leading actor - the notorious philanderer Jasper Harcross - dramatically falls to his death on stage. As Rawlings and the Blind Beak hunt for vital clues, they discover a hotbed of rivalry both on and off the stage which produces numerous suspects and questions. As the search takes on a new intensity, John Rawlings soon finds himself on an intriguing trail of obsession that leads to the dark heart of a cold-blooded murder.

From Publishers WeeklyEight years ago, Duncan McKenna and his three daughters won a punishing around-the-world-sailboat race. Though Kate, Ashley and Caroline McKenna are haunted by the journey's aftermath, they support their beloved father in keeping its ugly truths hidden. Then reporter Tyler Jamison arrives on idyllic Castleton Island, claiming he wants to write a story about the race. Tyler is actually bent on learning which of the McKenna girls gave birth to a child during it-a child illegally adopted by his brother, who may lose a custody battle if the identity of the birth mother isn't discovered. While Kate and Tyler circle each other in mingled suspicion and sexual attraction, her sisters struggle with Duncan's alcoholism and their own demons. Events reach crisis point during a sudden summer storm that forces the family to confront their fears and lies. Some improbable plot contrivances mar the novel's realistic texture, and the girls' support of their father's destructive dreams often seems disturbing rather than devoted. Despite these lapses, Freethy's (Love Will Find a Way, etc.) zesty storytelling will keep readers hooked, and the sisters' loving but prickly interactions will make anyone with a sibling smile. Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc. From BooklistReporter Tyler Jamison knows that the once-famous McKenna family is hiding something but doesn't know that it could devastate Tyler and his brother. Eight years earlier, Duncan McKenna and his three teenage daughters, Kate, Ashley, and Caroline, won the Winston Around the World Challenge with their sailboat, Moon Dancer. But instead of feeling jubilant after the hard-earned victory, each of them falls into a personal hell, Duncan's fueled by alcohol. They've stuck together and kept their secret, and now, out of the blue, a reporter is trying to pry it out of them. Then Kate begins to develop an attachment to Tyler, feeling guilty because of the lies she has told him to protect her family. Tyler wants to start a relationship with her, too, but he has also told lies, even though they're lies of omission. He knows that when he reveals who he really is, the hatred will be so great that any chance at love will be permanently destroyed. What really happened during the race? Freethy skillfully keeps the reader on the hook, and her tantalizing and believable tale has it all-- romance, adventure, and mystery. Shelley MosleyCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Myron Bolitar's father's recent heart attack brings Myron smack into a midlife encounter with issues of adulthood and mortality. And if that's not enough to turn his life upside down, the reappearance of his first serious girlfriend is. The basketball star turned sports agent, who does a little detecting when business is slow, is saddened by the news that Emily Downing's 13-year-old son is dying and desperately needs a bone marrow transplant; even if she did leave him for the man who destroyed his basketball career, he wouldn't wish tsuris like that on anyone. And he's not at all interested in getting involved with Emily again, not even to track down the one mysterious donor who may be able to save the boy. But when Myron learns that Jeremy Downing is his own son, conceived the night before Emily and Greg Downing married, he embarks on a search for someone who disappeared a lifetime ago. And what he finds leads him to a powerful family determined to keep an old secret, a disgraced reporter who may have plagiarized a novel to create a serial killer, a very interested FBI agent, and a missing child.

The Frayn family of Washington, D.C., is coping pretty well with twenty-first century realities of life-snipers, bomb threats, natural disasters, etc. Then, in the moment it takes Claire Frayn to dig for her umbrella, her politically outspoken brother Steven is shot down right next to her on the library steps.Steven's murder shatters the tightly knit Frayn family, and his sister Claire becomes determined to unravel the mystery of why her brother was killed. Searching for answers, Claire meets Victor, an enigmatic stranger who claims to know who killed Steven. Claire begins an unusual correspondence with the suspected assassin, but instead of uncovering the truth of her brother's death, she finds herself drawn to this man, and increasingly apprehensive about cooperating with Victor's plans to avenge Steven's death.A gripping family drama with an unusual love story at its center, this is an intimate portrait of grief, the futility of revenge, and the miracle of forgiveness.

It's time for the Holiday Streetwalk in River Heights. That's when the stores serve cider and cookies, carolers sing on street corners, and there's face painting, clowns, and costumes for everyone to enjoy. But the best part is when the mayor turns on the Christmas tree lights and Mr. and Mrs. Claus arrive in a horse-drawn sleigh.One lucky child will get to present Mr. and Mrs. Claus with the key to River Heights, and this year it's Bess Marvin! There will be reporters and TV cameras on the big day, but Bess's chance to be a star is ruined when the key to the city disappears. Can Nancy, Bess, and George unlock the secret of the missing key before Bess's special day is spoiled?

A WOMAN WORTH WAITING FOR...Undercover Agent Joshua Carter had only wanted to help sweet Amanda Wainwright. Instead, her being seen with him had put the shy secretary's life in danger...and under his twenty-four-hour protection.But from the moment virginal Amanda stepped into the playboy's apartment, it was Josh's life that was on the line, because he still remembered one long-ago, stolen kiss. And although Josh had tried to act honorably by giving Amanda space, her fragile vulnerability still called to him and awakened every male instinct. Now Josh wanted a future. Could he make this inexperienced beauty see beneath the playboy facade to a heart that beat true blue?

SHAYNE'S SUPERNATURALS is a collection of novels and novellas that took romance into unknown realms before "paranormal romance" was even a genre. Experience breathless passion, heart-stopping thrills, and the truest magic of all, the magic of love, with NY Times bestselling, RITA® Award winning author Maggie ShayneWhen private detective M.C. Hammersmith finds herself on the wrong side of a mob boss, she is desperate enough to leave the city and take refuge with her exotic aunt, who considers herself a witch. Going through one of her aunt's tomes, she reads an ancient protection spell, and is shocked when a hero steps right out of the eighteenth century into her aunt's living room.A short novel (over 100 pps) that is sure to appeal to fans of fun paranormal romance."One of the pre-eminent voices in paranormal romance today." ~RT Book ReviewsFans of TVs Supernatural, and film like Practical Magic will love this tale!*Formerly titled Musketeer by Moonlight