Secrets In Silk

Affairs, deceit, scheming, murder, and sex—it’s all here in this spicy, suspenseful read that will have fans of bestselling author Allison Hobbs both fascinated and disturbed by one hot murderess. Fiery vixen Silk Moreaux will do anything to get what she wants. Lying, stealing, and even killing don’t weigh on her conscience. But when a prophetess, Big Mama, warns her that she’ll come to a tragic end if she doesn’t change her wicked ways, Silk moves to a small town in Pennsylvania to reinvent herself. With a sweet, loving, childlike temperament, Silk endears herself to the community—especially the men, who slyly compete for her affection, bearing gifts and offering money for just a little bit of her time. She becomes especially close with grieving widower Raymond Dixon, who expects a hefty insurance payout. When Raymond receives his windfall, Silk rushes him to the altar. But when the money begins to dwindle, she devises a scheme—involving a handsome hustler, Tate Simmons—to ensure that she maintains the comfortable lifestyle she’s become accustomed to. Together, Silk and Tate plot a callous murder that could be their biggest payday ever. Can Silk’s greed ever be satisfied or will the karmic scale finally tip, resulting in her prophesied destruction?

Lord Ross Carlisle embarks on an adventure in Central Asia to rescue his brother-in-law from the Amir of Bokhara and discovers his estranged wife along the way.

When a Chinese monk broke into a hidden cave in 1900, he uncovered one of the world’s great literary secrets: a time capsule from the ancient Silk Road. Inside, scrolls were piled from floor to ceiling, undisturbed for a thousand years. The gem within was the Diamond Sutra of AD 868. This key Buddhist teaching, made 500 years before Gutenberg inked his press, is the world’s oldest printed book. The Silk Road once linked China with the Mediterranean. It conveyed merchants, pilgrims and ideas. But its cultures and oases were swallowed by shifting sands. Central to the Silk Road’s rediscovery was a man named Aurel Stein, a Hungarian-born scholar and archaeologist employed by the British service. Undaunted by the vast Gobi Desert, Stein crossed thousands of desolate miles with his fox terrier Dash. Stein met the Chinese monk and secured the Diamond Sutra and much more. The scroll’s journey—by camel through arid desert, by boat to London’s curious scholars, by train to evade the bombs of World War II—merges an explorer’s adventures, political intrigue, and continued controversy. The Diamond Sutra has inspired Jack Kerouac and the Dalai Lama. Its journey has coincided with the growing appeal of Buddhism in the West. As the Gutenberg Age cedes to the Google Age, the survival of the Silk Road’s greatest treasure is testament to the endurance of the written word.

Victoria has a secret... Reclusive designer Victoria Andrews hasn't gone outside in five years, though she yearns to escape the prison of her house. She designs sensual lingerie for the most exclusive dressmaker in London, although she has never known a man's touch. A Duke in disguise... Wounded and stranded in Scotland, Jonathan Nottoway, the Duke of Worthingstone, is avoiding the murderous scandal that darkened his family name. As his wounds heal, he spends several sensual nights with the beautiful seamstress who knows nothing of his true identity. A passionate awakening... Can a woman trapped by her emotional scars be able to love a duke, when it means abandoning her safe world to embrace the life of a duchess?

A USA TODAY BESTSELLER! "A powerful debut that proves the threads that interweave our lives can withstand time and any tide, and bind our hearts forever."—Susanna Kearsley, New York Times bestselling author of Belleweather and The Vanished Days A historical novel inspired by true events, Kelli Estes's brilliant and atmospheric debut is a poignant tale of two women determined to do the right thing, highlighting the power of our own stories. The smallest items can hold centuries of secrets... While exploring her aunt's island estate, Inara Erickson is captivated by an elaborately stitched piece of fabric hidden in the house. The truth behind the silk sleeve dated back to 1886, when Mei Lien, the lone survivor of a cruel purge of the Chinese in Seattle found refuge on Orcas Island and shared her tragic experience by embroidering it. As Inara peels back layer upon layer of the centuries of secrets the sleeve holds, her life becomes interwoven with that of Mei Lein. Through the stories Mei Lein tells in silk, Inara uncovers a tragic truth that will shake her family to its core—and force her to make an impossible choice. Should she bring shame to her family and risk everything by telling the truth, or tell no one and dishonor Mei Lien's memory? A touching and tender book for fans of Marie Benedict, Susanna Kearsley, and Duncan Jepson, The Girl Who Wrote in Silk is a dual-time period novel that explores how a delicate piece of silk interweaves the past and the present, reminding us that today's actions have far reaching implications. Praise for The Girl Who Wrote in Silk: "A beautiful, elegiac novel, as finely and delicately woven as the title suggests. Kelli Estes spins a spellbinding tale that illuminates the past in all its brutality and beauty, and the humanity that binds us all together." —Susan Wiggs, New York Times bestselling author of The Beekeeper's Ball "A touching and tender story about discovering the past to bring peace to the present." —Duncan Jepson, author of All the Flowers in Shanghai "Vibrant and tragic, The Girl Who Wrote in Silk explores a horrific, little-known era in our nation's history. Estes sensitively alternates between Mei Lien, a young Chinese-American girl who lived in the late 1800s, and Inara, a modern recent college grad who sets Mei Lien's story free." —Margaret Dilloway, author of How to Be an American Housewife and Sisters of Heart and Snow

Four young Englishwomen retrace the ancient Silk Road--4,500 miles in eight months by horse and camel.

David Hartford, Earl of Castledon, is unwilling to break out of his prison of sorrow after the death of his wife, though everyone expects him to remarry and beget an heir. Impulsive Amelia Andrews befriends Lord Castledon and decides that he would make the perfect match for her prim older sister. Amelia cannot help but see the lonely man behind David's grim exterior-- and caught beneath his piercing stare, she wonders how to melt his icy heart. When Amelia is caught in a web of ruin, David cannot stand aside and let her suffer. Can an unexpected marriage bring about a love even greater than the one he lost?

Along this captivating journey, Larry Andrews encounters a strange amulet, Hindu holy men, Buddhist monks, ancient sacred books and a hidden monastery at the edge of the Gobi Desert. A series of bizarre clues ultimately leads the author to the desert where he undergoes an intense period of spiritual reconditioning, returning home a changed man-a happy man-and a man with the sacred books and diaries of his incredible adventure in Central Asia. Book jacket.