Ladies Of The Lake

After two young women's deep bond is torn apart, what will it take to bring them together again? In The Ladies of the Lake, the beloved author of Saving Amelieand Night Bird Callingreturns with a transformative new historical novel about the wonder and complexities of friendship, love, and belonging. When she is forced to leave her beloved Prince Edward Island to attend Lakeside Ladies Academy after the death of her parents, the last thing Adelaide Rose MacNeill expects to find is three kindred spirits. The "Ladies of the Lake," as the four girls call themselves, quickly bond like sisters, vowing that wherever life takes them, they will always be there for each other. But that is before: Before love and jealousy come between Adelaide and Dorothy, the closest of the friends. Before the dawn of World War I upends their world and casts baseless suspicion onto the German American man they both love. Before a terrible explosion in Halifax Harbor rips the sisterhood irrevocably apart. Seventeen years later, Rosaline Murray receives an unsuspecting telephone call from Dorothy, now headmistress of Lakeside, inviting her to attend the graduation of a new generation of girls, including Rosaline's beloved daughter. With that call, Rosaline is drawn into a past she'd determined to put behind her. To memories of a man she once loved . . . of a sisterhood she abandoned . . . and of the day she stopped being Adelaide MacNeill. Written by a four-time Christy award-winning author! Ideal for book clubs--contains helpful discussion questions at the end! Perfect for fans of L. M. Montgomery, Louisa May Alcott, and Lauren Willig's Band of Sisters.

From Haywood Smith, the New York Times bestselling author of THE RED HAT CLUB novels comes a pitch perfect story of four sisters who are forced to come together after years of silence Sisters Dahlia, Iris, Violet, and Rose—all with grown children of their own—have a complicated relationship, so when their grandmother's will requires them to spend the whole summer—without friends or family—"camping in" at her run-down lodge on re mote Lake Clare in order to inherit the valuable land, old rivalries and new understanding emerge, with plenty of laughs along the way. Desperate to save her Buckhead home from foreclosure after being left in the lurch, recent divorcee Dahlia must complete the summer and sell her share immediately. Practical, even-tempered Violet will be no problem, but Iris has been Dahlia's nemesis since she learned to say, "no" to her big sister. And super-sweet, quirky Garage Sale Queen Rose is so "green" she'd test the patience of a saint. As tempers flare and old secrets are revealed, four grown women discover that the past is never truly buried, in Haywood Smith's Ladies of the Lake.

Stony Sturm is a disabled former police detective who was forced into retirement from the LAPD. Departing under a cloud of suspicion after his partner was murdered. For several years since then has been idling away his days. A wealthy San Diego criminal lawyer approaches him at his favorite Donut Shop demanding that he opens up a cold murder case. The lawyers young daughter in-law, Melody, was discovered at Lake Perris; nude, raped and murdered. No one has been caught nor punished. The Riverside Police maintain she was a victim of a serial killer who murdered twelve women. The serial killer ended his killing spree after her murder. The police claim he is dead or has disappeared. Stony, an uncertain middle-aged man is reluctantly drawn back into the criminal investigation of Melodys murder as a private investigator. He rapidly rediscovers his previous skills and investigates relentlessly in spite of major objections of the police and politicians. With the able support of Alice Persia, the lawyers executive assistant and the protection of Howard Youngfeather, a former special services soldier, Stony uncovers a series of unanticipated criminal operations, including a major government scandal. In the process of solving Melodys murder he witnesses an explosive assassination of a senior gang snitch, and avoids an attempted IED attack upon himself. What seemed like a straight forward murder investigation leads him into a complicated venture involving MS-13 gangs and government perfidy. A former Sheriff who assisted Stony is brutally murdered. A raw unrelenting story of a man who finds himself and the truth, which exposes many issues of todays complex convoluted world of crime, politics and corruption. A gripping mystery story, of diligent sleuthing, and raw revenge, that builds to an explosive conclusion.

Zany Gilda Joyce leaves her wacky disguises at home but brings all her psychic and investigative skills with her as she sets out to investigate a mysterious death at a Catholic girls? school. Is Our Lady of Sorrows really haunted by the ghost of Dolores Lambert? Or is the student body suffering from group hysteria? Solving this mystery will put Gilda in more danger than she ever imagined? and will put all of her brashness, bravery, and smarts to the test.

Can she withstand the storms of life that blow her way? Gloriana Womack's family is much smaller since scarlet fever killed her mother and two of her siblings. She's dedicated her modest life in Duluth, Minnesota, to holding the remains of her fractured family together, caring for her father and younger brother. But it is hard not to be overrun by worry when her father is often gone on long fishing trips, their livelihood coming from the waters of the temperamental and sometimes deadly Lake Superior. Luke Carson has come to Duluth to help shepherd the arrival of the railroad to the city's port, and he's eager to be reunited with his brother and sister-in-law, who recently moved there and are expecting their first child. Competition for the railroad is fierce, with the neighboring city of Superior, Wisconsin, fighting for the tracks to come through their town instead. But the real danger lies in a man who has followed Luke across the country with revenge on his mind. When tragedy brings Gloriana and Luke together, they help each other through their grief and soon find their lives inextricably linked. If they survive the trials ahead, could it be possible they've been destined for each other all along? "Peterson delivers a touching tale of love built out of shared grief in this enjoyable first installment of the Ladies of the Lake series. . . . Peterson creates a memorable romance between Luke and Gloriana that's rooted in mutual hardship and renewed faith. This series is off to a strong start."--Publishers Weekly

She's made big promises. It'll take everything she's got to keep them. Crisscrossing the Great Lakes onboard her father's freighter ship, the Mary Elise, Elise Wright has grown up cooking and caring for the crew. It is a life she loves. Unlike her estranged sister, Elise has turned down numerous opportunities for a "respectable life" with their wealthy relatives. And now, because of promises she made to her dying mother, she's bound to the ship and her deeply grieving father more than ever. Nick Clark is grateful to be hired on as the Mary Elise's first mate as he works to overcome his own guilt and others' censure for a fatal decision he made captaining another ship. He feels protective of the Wrights and their generous natures, especially when a rough new sailor seems intent on causing serious trouble. As the sailor's misdeeds grow, tragedy swells up from another corner. Left to pick up the pieces of the commitments they've made to themselves and to each other, Nick and Elise will have to rely on their faith to see them through.