Dear Reader: When Ryder Sherbrooke finds a child nearly beaten to death in an alley in Eastbourne, he takes her home to Brandon House. She doesn't speak for six months. Her first words, oddly enough, are a haunting song: I dream of beauty and sightless night I dream of strength and fevered might I dream I'm not alone again But I know of his death and her grievous sin. Ah, and just what does this strange song mean that was seemingly imprinted on the child's brain? She names herself Rosalind de la Fontaine since she cannot remember who she is. In her first season in London in 1835, under the aegis of the Sherbrookes, she meets Nicholas Vail, the 7th Earl of Mountjoy, newly arrived from Macau. It is instant fascination on both their parts, but for different reasons. With Grayson Sherbrooke, they are led to an ancient copy of a mysterious book written by a sixteenth-century wizard. The book is written in a baffling code that neither Grayson nor Nicholas can read. But Rosalind can, easily. Strange things start happening. Both Nicholas and Rosalind know it has to do with the old book and, perhaps, even her past, particularly the song she first sang as a child. The urgency builds as they realize Rosalind is the key to a centuries-old mystery. Enjoy, Catherine Coulter
Dear Listener: Wild Star is the third of the Star novels that first appeared more than twenty years ago. It is a story that will have you forever guessing what's to come next. There are men and then there are MEN, and then there's Brent Hammond, a gambler who's handsome as sin, distrustful as only a betrayed man can be, and wilder than an unbroken stallion. When he meets Byrony by chance in San Diego, he can't help himself - he's charmed - until he sees her again in San Francisco as the petted wife of an older rich man. All his distrust and cynicism come out, and he treats her very badly indeed. He fights as only a man can who's willing to do anything to keep himself protected. Until her life is threatened, and he is the only one to protect her. Byrony is innocent, honorable, and more alone than a single star in a black sky. She is caught in a web of deception that will kill her if she can't escape it. She also has fallen in love with a man who despises her one minute and tries to seduce her the next. What she does shouldn't really surprise you because you'll see soon enough that she has guts. This third "quadruplet" is as sprawling and colorful as a medieval tapestry, with familiar characters from the other Star novels as well as new characters to both enchant and infuriate you. Let me know what you think of Wild Star. Catherine Coulter
Yale professor Dr. Edward Kender's father is undergoing chemotherapy when the supply of a critical accompanying drug, Culovort, suddenly runs out. Unwilling to accept the drug manufacturer's disingenuous excuse of production line problems, Dr. Kender hires private investigator Erin Pulaski to prove that something more sinister is going on at Schiffer Hartwin. Meanwhile, in Maryland, married FBI agents Lacey Sherlock and Dillon Savich are investigating a rather unusual case: Senator David Hoffman is experiencing a ghostly apparition with possible malicious intent. The case is baffling, and Sherlock and Savich are not sure what to believe, even after witnessing the disturbing specter for themselves. They're no closer to cracking the case when a call comes in from Connecticut: A top foreign Schiffer Hartwin employee has been found murdered behind the drug company's U.S. headquarters. Unbeknownst to the FBI, Erin Pulaski had uncovered a bombshell in her investigation: The Culovort shortage is set to bring in a windfall profit in excess of two billion dollars. Upon learning of the murder, Erin is certain it has something to do with her findings, but she risks exposing herself by coming forward. As the feds move in, the case becomes even more complicated for Erin, since the murder of a foreign national on federal land can mean only that the pharmaceutical house has a secret of epic proportions - one it would do anything to keep hidden.
Yale professor Dr. Edward Kender's father is undergoing chemotherapy when the supply of a critical accompanying drug, Culovort, suddenly runs out. Unwilling to accept the drug manufacturer's disingenuous excuse of production line problems, Dr. Kender hires private investigator Erin Pulaski to prove that something more sinister is going on at Schiffer Hartwin. Meanwhile, in Maryland, married FBI agents Lacey Sherlock and Dillon Savich are investigating a rather unusual case: Senator David Hoffman is experiencing a ghostly apparition with possible malicious intent. The case is baffling, and Sherlock and Savich are not sure what to believe, even after witnessing the disturbing specter for themselves. They're no closer to cracking the case when a call comes in from Connecticut: A top foreign Schiffer Hartwin employee has been found murdered behind the drug company's U.S. headquarters. Unbeknownst to the FBI, Erin Pulaski had uncovered a bombshell in her investigation: The Culovort shortage is set to bring in a windfall profit in excess of two billion dollars. Upon learning of the murder, Erin is certain it has something to do with her findings, but she risks exposing herself by coming forward. As the feds move in, the case becomes even more complicated for Erin, since the murder of a foreign national on federal land can mean only that the pharmaceutical house has a secret of epic proportions - one it would do anything to keep hidden.
Chandra de Avenell might look like a golden princess, but she fights like a warrior, dreams a warrior's dreams, and wears a warrior's pride like a suit of armor. She wants to be strong, independent, and free. She has no use at all for a husband. Enter the man her father has selected for her. Jerval de Vernon takes one look at Chandra, and he wants her. After he saves her from a very bad situation, he sets himself to wooing her-not an easy task. How does a man convince a woman he coerces into marriage to become a wife? To give him her loyalty and trust? Love is something he would like her to consider as well. But what if the wife has no intention of cooperating? Does he break her or finally give up to her?
#1 New York Times bestselling Catherine Coulter returns with a brilliant new novel in her FBI thriller series, in which agents Sherlock and Savich find themselves dealing with very powerful figures from the past who could wreak havoc in the present.
Seven years ago, Mia Briscoe was at a college frat rave with her best friend, Serena, when a fire broke out. Everyone was accounted for except Serena, who was never seen nor heard from again. Now an investigative journalist covering the political scene in New York City, Mia discovers old photos taken the night of Serena’s disappearance and begins to uncover a sinister string of events going all the way back to that disastrous party. Working with Sherlock, the secrets begin to unravel. But some very powerful—and very dangerous—people will do anything to keep them from learning the truth.
CIA Operative Olivia Hildebrandt is a team leader on a mission in Iran to exfiltrate a betrayed undercover operative. She’s nearly killed by an exploding grenade and saved by a team member. But by the time Olivia is released from Walter Reed Hospital, that team member and a critical flash drive he was carrying have disappeared. When Olivia is attacked on her first night home, Savich suspects that the strike is a direct result of the compromised mission and the missing team member and flash drive. But what intelligence was at stake and who betrayed them?
At the age of nine, Josephina Cochrane is mockingly dubbed the "Duchess" by her half-cousin, Marcus Wyndham. Little does Marcus suspect that the Duchess will one day reign sovereign over his own future. For the Earl of Chase, the Duchess's father and Marcus's uncle, leaves a double-edged inheritance, a legacy that will bind their fates. When the Earl of Chase dies without a son, Marcus stands to inherit his fortune and title. But the old earl, bitter that Marcus escaped the tragedy that claimed the lives of his two sons, has laced his legacy with vengeful stipulations. But there is another Wyndham legacy, one beyond the Earl of Chase's rank and holdings; a treasure from long ago that's shrouded in legend. Before the rival legacies can be settled, the Duchess and Marcus must solve two mysteries - one from the past and one that shadows the present.
At the age of nine, Josephina Cochrane is mockingly dubbed the 'Duchess' by her half-cousin, Marcus Wyndham. Little does Marcus suspect that the Duchess will one day reign sovereign over his own future. For the Earl of Chase, the Duchess's father and Marcus' uncle, leaves a double-edged inheritance, a legacy that will bind their fates.
When the Earl of Chase dies without a son, Marcus stands to inherit his fortune and title. But the old earl, bitter that Marcus escaped the tragedy that claimed the lives of his two sons, has laced his legacy with vengeful stipulations.
But there is another Wyndham legacy, one beyond the Earl of Chase's rank and holdings - a treasure from long ago that's shrouded in legend. Before the rival legacies can be settled, the Duchess and Marcus must solve two mysteries - one from the past and one that shadows the present.
Twenty-year-old Jessie Warfield is branded a disgrace for riding as a jockey on her father's racehorses, wearing men's clothing, exposing her skin to the sun and, in general, not acting like a lady at all. James Wyndham, eligible widower and owner of a nearby horse farm, is Jessie's rival on the race track. Outwardly competitive to the extreme with James, she is secretly in love with him. James, having known her since she was fourteen, sees her only as a little sister and a bratty one at that. Together they are the unlikeliest romantic duo among their native Baltimore riding set. When Jessie sets out to protect James from a marriage entrapment, she ends up compromising her own reputation and is pressured into leaving town. She flees to an unlikely haven: the estate of James's British cousins, the Earl and "Duchess" of Chase. There she is pampered, dressed, and transformed into a lady. Smitten by the new Jessie, James proposes and they marry. Their new, shared passion results in hideous nightmares - nightmares that soon reveal themselves to be recovered memories of a long-ago attempted rape and murder. When connections are made between those events and the pirate Blackbeard's diaries, the hunt is on for his buried treasure.
Twenty-year-old Jessie Warfield is branded a disgrace for riding as a jockey on her father's racehorses, wearing men's clothing, exposing her skin to the sun and, in general, not acting like a lady at all.James Wyndham, eligible widower and owner of a nearby horse farm, is Jessie's rival on the race track. Outwardly competitive to the extreme with James, she is secretly in love with him. James, having known her since she was fourteen, sees her only as a little sister and a bratty one at that.Together they are the unlikeliest romantic duo among their native Baltimore riding set. When Jessie sets out to protect James from a marriage entrapment, she ends up compromising her own reputation and is pressured into leaving town. She flees to an unlikely haven: the estate of James's British cousins, the Earl and 'Duchess' of Chase. There she is pampered, dressed, and transformed into a lady. Smitten by the new Jessie, James proposes and they marry.Their new, shared passion results in hideous nightmares—nightmares that soon reveal themselves to be recovered memories of a long-ago attempted rape and murder. When connections are made between those events and the pirate Blackbeard's diaries, the hunt is on for his buried treasure.
When Garron of Kersey returns home from the king's service to claim his title as Baron Wareham, he's shocked to find Wareham Castle very nearly destroyed by a man called the Black Demon. According to the last starving servants inside the castle walls, the Black Demon was looking for silver belonging to Garron's brother Arthur. Among his remaining servants is the enigmatic Merry, the bastard child of the castle's priest. Garron quickly suspects that she is much more than a servant: She reads and writes and makes lists, just as he does. They work together to bring Wareham back to its former splendor. But this is only the beginning. Did Arthur have a cache of silver? Who is the Black Demon? And the biggest question of all: Who is Merry?
