The Twisted Road To You

Jonathan Perris Can’t Save His Clients …Until He Saves Himself 1907: Rising from the devastation of a massive earthquake and fire, San Francisco is once again on the move. But a strike by streetcar drivers threatens to halt the Golden City in its tracks. Protests turn to violence and violence leads to death. Soon a young guard is convicted of willfully killing a protester and the public is out for blood. Jonathan Perris, an immigrant attorney from England, has opened a law firm with an eye toward righting wrongs, and the guard’s conviction may fall into that category. But the talented barrister soon finds his newfound career shaken by a tragic event: the gruesome homicide of the beautiful and mysterious Lena Mendelssohn—a woman he’s been squiring around town. It’s difficult to run a law firm when you’ve been arrested for murder.

Struggling with both PTSD and the trauma of his ex-wife's infidelity, retired Marine Wesley Holt seeks a simple civilian life. His favorite waitress at the Perfect Diner secretly stirs his heart. Yet Wes--scarred by betrayal and racked by guilt over his fallen comrades in Afghanistan--stays quiet, convinced he can never love again...or be loved. Waitress and single mother Carlie Stewart hides fear behind her smile. Her ex-husband has escaped from prison and wants their son--and revenge. When the fugitive arrives to wreak havoc, Wes insists Carlie and her son stay with him for protection. Finally daring to let her guard down, Carlie divulges her dark past to Wes, and to her surprise, Wes appreciates her strengths and longs to trust her with his tattered heart. The safer they feel with each other, the more trust and passion grow. But can they overcome the demons in their pasts--and the heartbreak they've carried into the present--to build a lasting future together?

Seasoned detective, Jason Carmichael, is assigned the task of determining the controversial death of a fellow deputy in the mountains east of Sonora, California. Assertions of suicide, a possible accident, or a drug-related hit plague Jason since there is no conclusive evidence to prove either. Sheriff Owen Wheeler assigns a gutsy, self-confident woman as an aide to Jason. Attractive and married, the woman demands the deceased deputy be, at least, afforded the dignity of an official burial. An act she feels will finally bring him home. Having this woman at his side was not Jason's choice, but soon finds out what his life would be without her. A tiny circle is Jason's only compelling evidence to solving the case until their paths cross with that of a rogue cop who makes an unsolicited remark while being questioned as part of another wider investigation. Will Jason condemn this rogue or thank him?

Twisted Roads of Destiny is a compilation of short stories with imaginative characters trapped by circumstances that appear to be beyond their control. These stories might bring to question the role that destiny plays in your own life. Although there are no definitive answers to that question in this book, I hope you will enjoy the intrigue. The first two stories, ""Trapped in Eden" and "Wheels of Justice," are about ordinary people who become players in a world of crime. Some willingly played the game while others stood by helplessly ensnared by a powerful drug cartel, during which certain characteristics interestingly evolve as they deal with the circumstances around them. Other stories are about love and devotion and demonstrate how making decisions can sometimes change a person's destiny. Whether you believe in predestination, fate, or something else, I hope you will travel the Twisted Roads of Destiny at least one more time.

It is 1991. Arezoo, an Iranian woman is living in Berkeley, California with her second husband, Robert, and working as a university professor. Recurring, terrifying dreams of eminent death lead her into therapy with a widely respected psychotherapist. As her memories unfold during therapy sessions, she flashes back to painful memories of her first marriage to Afshin, an Iranian man. Still, the dreams continue, prompting Arezoo to try hypnosis. Arezoo's life takes an unexpected turn under hypnosis and she begins to channel the dramatic life story of Sogand, a woman who lived in a village in Persia (now Iran) in the late 1800's. This seemingly inexplicable experience, and her sudden, intimate knowledge of Sogand's identity leads Arezoo back to Iran after many years in America. Through this woman's history Arezoo makes some life changing discoveries - key to both her past and her ex-husband's tortured, secret life. Fae Bidgoli, author of The Cracked Pomegranate, once again displays her intimate understanding of the power of redemption. In The Twisted Path Home, Fae shows how by releasing judgment and fear, and releasing generational, cultural, and self-abuse, we find our purpose in life and become joy. Fae's beliefs reflect her opposition to the inequality between men and women that she saw in her native Iran. She left Iran in 1978 as a young adult, hoping to find in the United States the freedoms she longed for throughout childhood and adolescence. In Iran, writing was an outlet for those longings. In the United States, she is free to follow her dreams and to write her stories.

Going beyond the fanatical anti-Semitism of Hitler and his chiefs, Schleunes analyzes "the internal structure of the [Nazi] regime, the role of its bureaucracies, and the rivalries between competing power groups ... to trace the early stages of discrimination against Jews and their exclusion from public life that led ultimately to their deaths."--p.vii.

She gave up everything in the hope of a new life. He was determined to make his own future. But when murder and betrayal interrupt their plans and upend their lives, they must run from everything they held dear—or die. Daughter of one of the most powerful families in the desert realm of Arthan, Kenna’s betrothal to the eldest son of a noble family in the newly-formed kingdom of Venallis offered the perfect combination of duty and the adventure she longed for, filling the road ahead of her with promise. Second son of the High Lord, Niall would never inherit the wealth and position destined for his brother, instead finding purpose in service to King Fergal of Venallis. The path set for him was a straight and unwavering one: returning home for his brother’s wedding was only a minor bend in the road. Until they heard the cry of the banshee and everything changed—forever.