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Audiobooks Narrated by Ann Marie Lee
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"No good deed goes unpunished: this time it's going to be brutal.
Christmas is coming and the world is joyful for everyone but Josie Bates. A devastating miscarriage, her employer's pending retirement, and her husband's overseas job have left her alone and adrift—until Lily Daye dies and names Josie executor of her estate. Josie has no idea who this woman is, but her will is simple and her possessions meager. In the spirit of the season, Josie accepts the job. Yet behind Lily's seemingly modest existence lies a complex, mysterious life. When an eccentric tech mogul turns up to contest the will, the only spirit Josie is channeling is one of outrage that her life is being upended and Lily's last wishes disrespected. Up against a high-powered, ruthless attorney, a court on a schedule, and an entitled man with more money than God, Josie is determined to protect her client's interests or die trying."
"Two events in Texas history shine so brightly that they can be almost blinding: the stand at the Alamo and the redemption at San Jacinto, where General Sam Houston's volunteers won the decisive battle of the Texas Revolution. But these milestones came amid a less obviously heroic episode now studiously forgotten—the refugee crisis known as the Runaway Scrape.
Propulsive and lyrical, Texian Exodus transports us to the frigid, sodden spring of 1836, when thousands of Texians—Anglo-American settlers—fled eastward for the United States in fear of Antonio López de Santa Anna's advancing Mexican army. Leading Texas historian Stephen L. Hardin draws on the accounts of the Runaways themselves to relate a tale of high stakes and great sorrow. While Houston tried to build a force that could defeat Santa Anna, the evacuees suffered incalculable pain and suffering. Yet dignity and community were not among the losses. If many of the stories are indeed tragic, the experience as a whole was no tragedy; survivors regarded the Runaway Scrape as their finest hour, an ordeal met with cooperation and courage. For Hardin, such qualities still define the Texas character. That it was forged in retreat as well as in battle makes the Runaway Scrape essential Texas history."
"It's two in the morning and an aging cargo ship lies off the Port of Los Angeles. Deep in the bowels of the vessel, an important man is dead and the woman who killed him is mortally wounded. On shore another man staggers out of the sea determined to save the woman before she dies or the ship sails. Exhausted and terrified, he goes to the only person he trusts to help, Josie Bates. He brings with him a history she can't ignore, a problem that seems insurmountable, and a plea she can't refuse. But Josie is up against international law, maritime justice, a Port Authority that doesn't want anything to get in the way of profit, the U.S. Coast Guard who dances to the tune of politics, and a captain who swears the people in question were never on his ship. With the clock ticking, Josie becomes ever more desperate to prove the woman is real and get her safely ashore. What Josie doesn't know is that the sands of time that are running out may be her own."
"A bachelorette party turns lethal—and the bride-to-be vows to solve the case in this engaging mystery . . .
Kristan 'Stan' Connor loves concocting tasty organic treats for dogs and cats—and she also loves her fiancé, pub owner Jake McGee. But she's not so enthusiastic about finding a dead body at her own bachelorette party . . .
Stan and Jake's wedding will soon take place on the town green in Frog Ledge, Connecticut, followed by a reception at their beloved Irish pub filled with friends, family, and their four favorite canine companions. Stan just has to endure the traditional girls' night out first. Male strippers jumping out of gigantic cakes aren't her preferred entertainment. But the hired hottie never gets around to taking it all off . . . because someone takes him out first with one of Stan's kitchen knives. A heartbroken Stan recognizes the victim as one of the deliverymen from the local farm—who must have been moonlighting for some extra cash. Now the guest list has turned into a suspect list—and Stan's making a vow to find the killer . . ."
"Even the hardest heart can be softened by love . . .
Cassandra Zerek is a true innocent in a wild and dangerous place—but her indomitable spirit and gentle soul make her stronger than anyone suspects.
The owner of a Colorado mining empire, Luke Taggart's wealth and position can buy him anything, yet he has grown bored with a life of saloons, gambling, and loose women. Nothing soothes his restless inner yearning—until he spies Cassandra, as fresh and pure as a spring morning, and vows he will possess her. The radiant, charmingly naïve young beauty seems blind to the depth of Luke's desire or the lengths he is willing to go to seduce her. But the lady is wise, with an unwavering faith in the magical powers of love. And she's determined to awaken the good man hiding in Luke's tormented heart, for only one precious gift will truly win her: his deep, passionate, and unsullied love."
"In the New England town of Frog's Ledge, the Holiday Light Festival is a Christmas tradition. Killing Santa is not. To bring joy back to the season, organic pet patisserie owner Kristan 'Stan' Connor will have to find another Santa before it's too late . . .
To the townspeople's delight, the annual lighting of the tree is a spectacular success. Unfortunately, Santa pulled up in his sleigh, DOA. At first Stan is sure it’s Seamus, her boyfriend's uncle, inside the red suit. But the victim turns out to be an employee from the town's Christmas tree farm. Rumor has it the deceased was a mean drunk with a soft spot for feral cats. Stan has no idea why he was dressed as St. Nick—or why he's dead.
Meanwhile, Seamus, a jolly Irishman who comes to America every December to visit his pub-owner nephew, is nowhere to be found. Could he just be off on a Boston bar crawl? Or is something more sinister under the tree? Seamus was supposed to be dressing up and posing for pet pictures with Santa at the shop, but the dogs and cats might have to find another lap to curl up in if Stan doesn't solve two mysteries soon. Or murder might be the only thing under the mistletoe this holiday . . ."
"Kristan 'Stan' Connor gladly turned tail on her high-flying job and moved to a quaint New England town to sell organic pet treats. But with her nose for solving murders, there's no such thing as a quiet life . . .
Summer is winding down in Frog Ledge, Connecticut, but Stan's love life and career are both heating up nicely. In between planning her new pet patisserie and café, Stan is settling into living-in-bliss with sexy pub owner Jake McGee. Love's on the menu for Stan's mom, Patricia, too, who's engaged to Frog Ledge's mayor, Tony Falco.
Mayor Falco's dogged ambition isn't popular among locals, but it's his executive coach, Eleanor Chang, who's inspired a dangerous grudge. When Eleanor is found dead, there's a whole pack of suspects to choose from. Stan has firsthand experience of Eleanor's unsavory business tactics. But finding out who forced her to take a fatal plunge off the corporate ladder means unearthing some shady secrets . . . and a killer who's too close for comfort."
"A baker opens up a new pastry shop exclusively for pets—but has to do a sleuthing job on the side when a chef turns up dead . . .
The dog days of summer have arrived in the small town of Frog Ledge, Connecticut, and business is booming for Kristan 'Stan' Connor. Her Pawsitively Organic pet food has even caught the attention of celebrity pastry chef Sheldon Allyn, who helps Stan open a fancy pet pastry shop in Frog Ledge. A partnership is born, and Sheldon invites Stan to Newport, Rhode Island, for an appreciation weekend he's hosting for all his independent chefs. But the gourmet getaway turns sour when one of the chefs turns up dead, and a second one goes missing . . .
As Stan tries to figure out who had a recipe for murder, the pool of suspects expands. And if she can't sniff out the culprit soon, this killer may just serve up a second helping of murder . . ."
"A Connecticut dairy farmer expires in a corn maze in this 'yummy new series' (Avery Aames, author of the Cheese Shop Mysteries).
The small town of Frog Ledge, Connecticut, has wholeheartedly embraced Kristan 'Stan' Connor's new business—preparing quality organic treats for dogs and cats. On a healthy diet, the animals may live longer . . . but one local farmer won't be so lucky.
As Halloween approaches, Stan is asked to cater a doggie costume party hosted by the Happy Cow Dairy Farm. Part of a local co-op, Happy Cow specializes in organic dairy products, and farmers Hal and Emmalee Hoffman have started opening up the farm for parties, offering a 'haunted' corn maze as an added attraction.
When Hal's lifeless body is found in the maze, the police at first suspect his wife, but Stan soon learns the dairy farmer had plenty of enemies—from bitter family members to shady business associates. If Stan can't extract a kernel of truth from the labyrinth of lies, she may be the next one to buy the farm . . ."
"A town historian is dead—and there may be ties to an old cold case—in this clever mystery starring a professional pet treat baker.
Kristan 'Stan' Connor is thrilled to be invited to the Groundhog Day festivities in quirky Frog Ledge, Connecticut. Her organic, home-baked pet treats are a big hit at the annual celebration, though an important guest is curiously absent . . .
When Helga Oliver, the town's elderly historian, is found crumpled in the basement of the Historical Museum, the close-knit town is devastated. But after some tenacious digging, Stan discovers Helga was pushed down the stairs—and that this picture-perfect New England town may hide some dark secrets.
Stan's dogged determination reveals Helga's ties to an unsolved death in 1948 . . . but how does that connect to Adrian Fox, who's just arrived in town to shoot an episode of Celebrity Ghost Hunters? Stan is going to have to be very careful in chasing down the killer—if she wants to live to see another winter . . ."
"Maybe the best thing that ever happened to Kristan 'Stan' Connor was losing her high-stress public relations job. Now there's plenty of time to spend in her sleepy new Connecticut town working on her dream: baking healthy, organic pet treats!
Before long the neighborhood dogs are escaping their yards to show up at Stan's doorstep, begging for the kinds of special homemade treats her Maine coon cat Nutty loves so much. And Stan's pet-loving neighbors are thrilled with the new organic options available to their furry family members. But not everyone loves Stan and her newfangled organic ways . . .
It seems Carole Morganwick, the town vet, is from the old school of pet care. But when Stan swallows her pride and brings a very unwilling Nutty in for a checkup, she not only finds Carole dead under a pile of kibble . . . but also learns that she's in the dog house as the prime suspect! Finding the real killer and clearing her name will require some seriously surreptitious sniffing around . . . and hopefully, curiosity won't kill this innocent cat . . ."
"The history of the Episcopal Church is intimately bound up with the history of empire. The two grew in tandem in the modern era, and as they grew they developed particular ideologies and practices around race. As slavery was carried over into the new political formations of the United States, so too were racially based exclusions carried over in the Episcopal Church.
Mission, Race, and Empire presents a new history of the Episcopal Church from its origins in the early British Empire up to the present, told through the lenses of empire and race. The book demonstrates the dramatic shifts within the Episcopal Church, from initial colonial violence to reflective self-critique. Jennifer Snow centers the stories of groups and individuals that have often been sidelined, including Native Americans, Black Americans, Asian Americans, women, and LGBTQ people, as well as the institutional leaders who sought to create, or fought against, a church that desired to be a house of prayer for all people."
