Pretty Girls Dancing

Years ago, in the town of Saxon Falls, young Kelsey Willard disappeared and was presumed dead. The tragedy left her family with a fractured life. Now another teenage girl has gone missing, ripping open old wounds for the Willards. Bureau of Criminal Investigation agent Mark Foster has stumbled on uncanny parallels in the lives of the two missing girls that could unlock clues to a serial killer's identity. That means breaking down the walls of the Willards' long-guarded secrets and getting to a truth that is darker than he bargained for.

Years ago, in the town of Saxon Falls, young Kelsey Willard disappeared and was presumed dead. The tragedy left her family with a fractured life. Now another teenage girl has gone missing, ripping open old wounds for the Willards. Bureau of Criminal Investigation agent Mark Foster has stumbled on uncanny parallels in the lives of the two missing girls that could unlock clues to a serial killer's identity. That means breaking down the walls of the Willards' long-guarded secrets and getting to a truth that is darker than he bargained for.

In the middle of winter, a fire blazes through a dance studio. Seventeen young dancers die. Their promising careers cut short by a tragic accident. But where others see tragedy, DCI Katie Maguire sees murder. This is not the first fire to sweep through Cork. And in one recent case, the victims were dead before the fire was lit. Katie Maguire is determined to see justice done, unaware she's about to face her most chilling killer yet...

“Wow, what a book!! I don’t think I drew a full breath for the entire time I was reading… I took it everywhere I went… I needed to read it at every opportunity!… Unbelievably twisty… I loved every word of it!” Goodreads Reviewer ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Jo pulled together the victims’ pictures. In all cases their arms were askew, in a way that looked like—what? It was like they were freeze-framed in the middle of some action. It was like they were dancing. When loving wife Jeanine is found dead in a small leafy town in Massachusetts, newly promoted Detective Jo Fournier is shocked to her core. Why leave her body posed like a ballerina? Why steal her wedding band and nothing else? Hungry for answers, Jo questions Jeanine’s husband, but the heartbreaking pain written on his face threatens to tear open Jo’s old wounds. It’s the same pain she felt when her boyfriend was cruelly shot dead by a gang in their hometown of New Orleans. She couldn’t get justice for him, but she’s determined to get justice for Jeanine’s devastated family. But before Jo can get answers, another woman is found, wedding ring stolen, body posed in the same ritualistic way. Digging through old files, Jo makes a terrifying link to a series of cold cases. She knows a serial killer is on the loose, but nobody will listen to the truth—not her bosses, nor the FBI. Still, Jo won’t let her superiors keep her from stopping the murderer in his tracks, even if it means the end of her career. Just as she is beginning to lose hope, she finds messages on the victims’ computers that feel like the crucial missing link. Knowing the killer is moments away from selecting his next target, will Jo be able to take him down the before another innocent life is lost? A USA Today bestseller, The Dancing Girls is the first book in an absolutely unputdownable and gripping crime thriller series. Fans of Robert Dugoni, Lisa Regan and Melinda Leigh will devour it in one sitting and will never see that OMG twist coming! Everyone is utterly addicted to The Dancing Girls: “Loved it, loved it, loved it!!… If I could give it 6 stars I would! In this current climate of ‘twists you will never see coming’—believe me… you will never see this coming!…Cannot wait for the next book!… Best book I have read.” NetGalley Reviewer ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ “Wow, Wow, Wow… Extremely addictive and left me wanting more. This book has everything… and a huge, unexpected twist you will not see coming. I can’t emphasize enough how much enjoyment I got from reading this… Well-deserved five stars—Wow.” Goodreads Reviewer ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ “Holy Freaking Hell when is the next book out?! From start to finish this book is just WOW!… Keeps you on the edge of your seat… Full of twists and turns… Talk about mind-blowing… Want to shout about it from the rooftops… I cannot recommend this book enough.” Baker’s Not So Secret Blog ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ “Wow! Wow! Wow! The twists left my head spinning! Oh so smugly, I thought I had the ending figured out when—whammo!—twist came out of nowhere. ‘Did NOT see that coming’ is an understatement. Blindsided! Wow.” Goodreads Reviewer ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ “I was just blown away by its climax, wandering around going OMG… Found it totally gripping… impossible to put down.” Muse Books ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ “An unpredictable rollercoaster ride with more twists and turns than you would find on a snakes and ladders board… I felt as though I had been punched in the gut and they left me breathless.” Ginger Book Geek ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Ever since she and her mother rescued Angel from her parents, Frankilee Baxter has been miserable. In addition to being more pretty and talented than Frankilee, Angel begins dating the boy Frankilee likes. Frankilee devises a plan to get rid of Angel, but, what she doesn't bargain for is getting involved in a burglary, a kidnapping and a shooting.

An often overlooked segment of Maine (and American) history is the story of women in the working class dance industries. Generally looked upon with a gasp of shock, burlesque and vaudeville dancing, and later taxi dancing and marathon dancing, were often the only way for women to survive (In taxi dancing, men paid women by the dance; while marathon dancing was a contest and women tried to outlast each other on the dance floor.) In turn-of-the-20th-century Maine, this new form of dancing was taking off, as it was elsewhere in the country. Historian Trudy Irene Scee explores the dance industries of Maine, how they were effected by national events, and how events in Maine effected national trends. She explores the difficulties women faced at that time and how they turned to new forms of entertainment to make money and pay for food and shelter. The focus of the book centers on the 1910s through the 1970s, but extends back into the 1800s, largely exploring the dance halls of the nineteenth century (be they saloons with hurdy-gurdy girls and the like, or dance halls with women performing the early forms of taxi- and belly dancing), and includes a chapter on belly dancing and other forms of dance entertainment in Maine in the 1980s to early 2000s. The newest form of dance—striptease dancing—is not be examined specifically, but is discussed as it pertains to the other dance forms. The book forms a unique look at one segment of Maine history and is a terrific addition to the literature on women’s issues.

For many years, movie audiences have carried on a love affair with the American West, believing Westerns are escapist entertainment of the best kind, harkening back to the days of the frontier. This work compares the reality of the Old West to its portrayal in movies, taking an historical approach to its consideration of the cowboys, Indians, gunmen, lawmen and others who populated the Old West in real life and on the silver screen. Starting with the Westerns of the early 1900s, it follows the evolution in look, style, and content as the films matured from short vignettes of good-versus-bad into modern plots.

Wildly original novelist, essayist, and performance artist Jonathan Aames delivers his best collection yet—a hilarious, risqué, and loveable selection of articles, essays, and fiction, including several previously unpublished pieces.With an HBO pilot based on this collection’s centerpiece (“Bored to Death”), his two hilarious novels, The Extra Man and Wake Up, Sir!, in development as films (with screenplays by Mr. Ames), a critically acclaimed graphic novel, The Alcoholic, under his belt, and an ongoing series of literary and not-so-literary stunts, Jonathan Ames has proven himself to be a writer of diverse and stunning talents. In The Double Life Is Twice as Good, fans will be treated to a deft and charming compilation of Ames’s journalism, personal essays, and short fiction. Featuring illuminating profiles of Marilyn Manson and Lenny Kravitz, his adventures at a goth festival in the Midwest, a story written for Esquire on a napkin, as well as a comic strip collaboration with graphic artist Nick Bertozzi, Ames’s unique style and personality-driven humor shines throughout this wickedly funny collection. Also included is the aforementioned short story, “Bored to Death,” a Raymond Chandler–esque tale about a struggling writer-turned-detective who becomes quickly embroiled in the search for a missing college co-ed. Described by The Portland Oregonian as “an edgier David Sedaris,” it’s no wonder that this comic mastermind’s already fervent and dedicated fanbase is continually growing.