Crimes of Passion: 6 Romantic Suspense Books (A Crimes of the Heart Collection)
$0.99
Love and danger collide in 6 romantic suspense books featuring strong
women who meet their perils--and their men--on their own terms.
CRIMES OF PASSION:
A Crimes of the Heart Collection brings together books by 6 of the most
popular writers of romance and suspense today, all in a
LIMITED EDITION bundle.
Over 1500 reviews across the books (all of which can be read standalone--no cliff-hangers), with a
4.5 star average!
____________
BODY OF EVIDENCE - Rachel Grant
HER SANCTUARY - Toni Anderson
TWENTY-EIGHT AND A HALF WISHES - Denise Grover Swank
LOOSE ENDS - Terri Reid
LOVE AND SMOKE - Jennifer Blake
PAST TEMPTATION - M A Comley
____________
BODY OF EVIDENCE (Evidence Series) - Rachel GrantIn
North Korea retrieving the remains of GIs, archaeologist Mara Garrett
is arrested and sentenced to death for spying. Curt Dominick, an
ambitious, infuriatingly sexy US attorney mounts a rescue mission that
morphs into an explosive chase across the Pacific. Desire clashes with
loyalty when the conspiracy they uncover threatens not only their lives
but national security.
____________
HER SANCTUARY (HER - Romantic Suspense Series) - Toni AndersonRunning
for her life, ex-FBI agent Elizabeth Ward escapes to the solitude of
Montana with a new identity. Nat Sullivan, struggling to keep his ranch
from bankruptcy, doesn't need a beautiful stranger complicating his
life. But Elizabeth isn't what she seems. And when a murderer and rapist
track her down, they all discover the power of revenge -- and
redemption.
____________
TWENTY-EIGHT AND A HALF WISHES (Rose Gardner Mystery - Book 1) - Denise Grover SwankRose
Gardner's had visions before, but never of herself dead. When her
overbearing momma winds up murdered instead, she's the prime suspect.
Rose makes a bucketlist of 28 wishes, targeting neighbor Joe, with
secrets of his own, for #15: Do more with a man. Then her house is
broken into, someone else she knows is murdered, and suddenly, dying a
virgin in jail isn't her biggest worry.
____________
LOOSE ENDS (A Mary O'Reilly Paranormal Mystery - Book 1) - Terri ReidCombining
her cop experience with a talent to communicate with ghosts, PI Mary
O'Reilly's big challenge is convincing the handsome police chief she's
not nuts. But when the ghost of a woman drowned in a Senator's swimming
pool 24 years ago points to a connection with the cold cases of five
missing girls, Mary becomes a target of a serial killer out to tie up
all his loose ends.
____________
LOVE AND SMOKE (Contemporary Collection) - Jennifer BlakeRiva
Staulet triumphed over past betrayal to reinvent herself as a woman of
wealth and power. Noel has always been a Southern gentleman of
rock-solid principle, stalward in his sense of justice. When a ruthless
politician from her past resurfaces, Riva must risk utter ruin to prove
him a murderer. And as death and disaster loom, Noel must choose to
stand with her or against her.
____________
PAST TEMPTATION (Temptation Series) - M A ComleyUntil
now, Nicole's main focus in life has been running her successful
business while raising her daughter, Sammy Jo, single-handedly. Now,
Nicole's ex-boyfriend, Josh, has turned up determined to rekindle the
relationship he ran out on. But before they get the chance to pick up
where they left off, Nicole's personal life is put in mortal danger.
From “Loose Ends – A Mary O’Reilly Paranormal Mystery”
Chapter One:
(Present day)
Moonlight stole through the living room windows of the small two-story home in the quiet town of
Freeport, Illinois. Its light cast shadows around the tastefully
decorated room, turning ordinary objects into spectral stalkers.
The
wind ruffled the sheer curtains that swept over the polished wood
floor. In the hall, an antique grandfather clock struck the hour of midnight. Clear tones echoed the twelve chimes throughout the quiet house.
Silence
shrouded the home for a moment. Then a muffled noise came from behind
the door that led from the basement stairs. Thump. Thump. Thump. It
moved closer. The polished ceramic doorknob rattled. Thump. Thump.
Thump. The door shook from the force of the
blows. Thump. Thump. Thump. Once again the lock and hinges held the door
in place. Thump. Thump. Thump. Finally, the wood around the brass lock
splintered and the door crashed open.
He
slowly shuffled from the doorway toward the staircase that led
upstairs. Upstairs to the beautifully appointed bedroom. The bedroom
where one woman slept. Alone and unprotected.
The
wind moved through the curtains on the landing, midway up the stairs.
The wind caught his scent and carried it forward - the sickly sweet
scent of a decomposing body. He paused for a moment on the landing and then continued slowly up the stairs.
All of his movements were marked by a clear trail of blood. Streaks of blood mottled the floor, the Oriental rug and now, the top of the stairs.
The bedroom door at the end of the hall was slightly ajar. Thick white carpeting muffled his footsteps. He slowly pushed the door open and entered the room.
Moonlight spilled over the bed. Mary’s long, light brown hair was spread across the pillowcase, a blanket covering half of her face. She was snoring lightly and her arm was stretched over her head.
He moved closer to the bed.
She
wanted to hold her breath. The smell was almost too much to take.
Instead, she concentrated on keeping her breath steady and rhythmic as
if she were really asleep.
He stopped next to the bed and leaned forward. Hanging over her in the dark.
She heard the drops of blood hit the ivory 400-count down comforter. Plunk. Plunk. Plunk.
“Damn!”
She
turned in her bed and looked up at him. He was dressed in gray, a
Union soldier. His uniform was riddled with bullet holes and thick, red
blood slowly seeped from each opening. But the blood dripping on her
bed was not coming from those oozing apertures. No, the blood dripped
from the stump where his head used to be.
Plunk. Plunk. Plunk.
She watched as the blood pooled on the comforter.
“Crap, this is going to stain!”
She closed her eyes for a moment and then pushed herself up in her bed.
“Look, I’ve just had a really bad day and I can’t deal with you tonight. Okay?”
He
paused… and straightened. After contemplating her response for a
moment, he shrugged his shoulders, turned and slowly shuffled out of the room.
“And try to keep your blood off the new tiles in the kitchen,” she called after him.
She put her elbows on her knees, laid her head in her hands and sighed. Was she ever going to get a good night’s sleep?
Well, she might as well go and see what kind of mess he left downstairs.
She slipped out of her bed, examining the comforter for damage. Fortunately, when he had departed so had his blood.
“Bonus,” she muttered.
Pulling
on a short, silk robe, she tied it as she headed down the stairs. She
watched him retreat through the broken door, then closed it and moved a
chair in front of it in until she could replace the lock – this time, she decided, with a deadbolt.
“Deadbolt – good one,” she chuckled.
Glancing around the room, she could see that other than a rumpled rug, he did surprisingly little damage.
“Not bad for a headless dead guy.”
.jpg)
.jpg)
