Stuart Fiction

An ax-wielding monk hacks at the door. Toby Peters is on the other side, running as fast as his recently broken leg will allow. Alongside him is Salvador Dalí, dressed in a rabbit suit, insistently muttering "grasshoppers" as they try to make their escape. Dalí insists on being carried across the lawn, so Peters hobbles along with the surrealist in his arms. They get in the car just as the monk chops down the front door. The car doesn't start, and the monk charges silently, the ax in the air.

Stone Barrington's newest client seems to be a magnet for trouble. A poised lady of considerable wealth, she's looking for help discouraging the attentions of a tenacious gentleman. But no sooner does Stone fend off the party in question than his client becomes involved in two lethal crimes.

Teddy Fay is ready to embark on the European press tour of Peter Barrington’s latest film Storm’s Eye, when he receives an unexpected visit from Lance Cabot, director of the CIA. Several CIA agents have been turning up dead. The commonality? They were all part of a mission Teddy was involved in: Golden Hour. Lance wants Teddy to use his trip as a cover to investigate who is behind these killings.

When he's apprised at the last minute of a mandatory meeting abroad, Stone Barrington rushes off to Europe for a whirlwind tour of business and, of course, pleasure. But from the start the trip seems to be cursed, plagued by suspicious "accidents" and unfortunate events, and some of Stone's plans go up in flames - literally. Not a believer in coincidence, Stone sets out to learn the true source of his curious misfortune and finds that what appeared to be bad luck may, in fact, have been a warning.

As Molly Dark knows all too well, the problem with being able to see ghosts is that they never tell you what you wish to know. For instance, how a proper young lady like Miss Dark is supposed to support an impoverished family after her father has died a ruined man. Or how she is going to impersonate a missing princess long enough to steal a fortune out from under the collective noses of a whole family of royal monsters. Or exactly why the charming imposter claims to be none other than Grand Duke Vasily Nikolaevich, when he certainly isn’t a prince…or a vampire.

When Nikolai Romanov came looking for my brother, I emptied my savings hoping I could pay off his debt. But I didn't have even close to enough, so the bastard decided to take me instead. I didn't expect a Russian mafia boss like him to be gentle with me...and he wasn't. Not when he spanked me for daring to wear panties under the dress he chose for me, and certainly not when he stripped me out of that same dress and made me scream in his bed.

Teddy was all set for a campout at his friend Sage’s family ranch - but then Sage gets terrible news: The skull of a rare dinosaur that was being excavated on his property has mysteriously vanished overnight in the middle of a rainstorm, even though it weighed 500 pounds. Not a single footprint has been left behind. Since the dinosaur was top secret, the police don’t believe anyone outside the dig could have stolen it. A T-rex skull can sell for millions of dollars, and everyone is a suspect - including J.J. McCracken, the owner of FunJungle.

Shuggie’s mother Agnes walks a wayward path: She is Shuggie’s guiding light but a burden for him and his siblings. She dreams of a house with its own front door while she flicks through the pages of the Freemans catalogue, ordering a little happiness on credit, anything to brighten up her grey life. Married to a philandering taxi-driver husband, Agnes keeps her pride by looking good - her beehive, make-up, and pearly-white false teeth offer a glamourous image of a Glaswegian Elizabeth Taylor.

After an escaped kangaroo starts a fire that burns down his house, Teddy Fitzroy accepts an invitation to go to Malibu with his girlfriend, Summer, and her mother, Kandace. He’s hoping to spend some time relaxing on the beach, but wherever Teddy goes, trouble isn’t far behind. First, a massive dead whale has washed up on the beach—and before anyone can determine what killed it, it explodes. Doc, the head vet from FunJungle, suspects something fishy is going on and ropes Teddy and Summer into helping him investigate.

Stone Barrington hasn’t heard from his cousin, Dick Stone, in years. Then, an otherwise pleasant meal at Elaine’s is interrupted by the CIA with news of Dick’s death—apparently by his own hand. It seems that Dick Stone, a quiet family man who doubled as a CIA agent, methodically executed his wife, daughter, and then himself...or did he? Appointed executor of Dick’s will, Stone must settle the estate and—with the help of his ex-partner Dino and friend Holly Barker—piece together the elusive facts of his cousin’s life and death as a CIA operative.

Ruined beyond repair and shunned by London society, lovely Miranda Rohan rebelliously embraces the freedom that comes from having nothing left to lose. However, this dangerous course throws her under the power of the darkly enigmatic Lucien de Malheur - known to many as the Scorpion. Seeking to destroy the Rohans, Lucien traps Miranda in a marriage she thinks is based on friendship but instead is rooted in vengeance.

After a series of nonstop adventures, Stone Barrington is eager for some peace and quiet in a rustic British setting. But no sooner does he land in England than he’s beset by an outrageous demand from a beautiful lady, and an offer he can’t refuse. Unfortunately, Stone quickly learns that his new acquisition comes with some undesired strings attached - namely, a deadly mystery involving the complex relationships of the local gentry, and a relentless adversary who raises the stakes with every encounter.

Forensic artist Gwen Marcey is between jobs when she accepts temporary work in Pikeville, Kentucky - a small town facing big-city crime. But before Gwen can finish her first drawing of the serial rapist who is on the loose, the latest witness vanishes. Just like all the others. Gwen suspects a connection between the rapist and the "accidental" deaths that are happening around town, but the local sheriff has little interest in her theories. When her digitally-obsessed teenage daughter joins her, Gwen turns her attention to a second assignment.

Celtic mythology, Arthurian romance, and an intriguing interpretation of British history - these are just some of the themes embraced by the anonymous authors of the eleven tales that make up the Welsh medieval masterpiece known as The Mabinogion. They tell of Gwydion the shape-shifter, who can create a woman out of flowers; of Math the magician whose feet must lie in the lap of a virgin; of hanging a pregnant mouse and hunting a magical boar.

For more than a decade, while the First War of Scottish Independence rages, fierce warrior Conall MacGregor has dreamed of the revenge he will have against the man who robbed him of his family and home. To this end, he abducts the daughter of his enemy, hoping to force a marriage and reclaim what is rightfully his. He has no idea that the stubborn lass will turn his world upside-down, and that he will be the one held captive.

She steps into the room and it’s like going back in time. Catapulting her right into the heart of the 1940s. The spindle of the record player frozen and ready to play. The flowery wallpaper faded but intact. A soldier’s uniform pressed and hung on a door, coal still in the fireplace.

Twelve-year-old Theodore “Teddy” Roosevelt Fitzroy believes that Henry, the hippopotamus at the brand-new FunJungle, has been murdered. The zoo’s top brass claim the hippo went belly up the natural way, but Teddy and his feisty friend Summer McCraken have other ideas. Could the culprit be FunJungle’s animal-hating head of operations? Or is it FunJungle’s owner - Summer’s dad - a man who is much more concerned about money than animal welfare? The deeper Teddy and Summer dig, the more danger they’re in - because when it comes to hippo homicide, the truth can’t be caged!

Tom's family has moved into their dream home. But pretty soon, he starts to notice that something is very wrong—there are strange messages written on the wall and locks on the bedroom doors. On the OUTSIDE. The previous owners have moved just across the road and they seem like the perfect family. Their daughter Amy is beautiful and enigmatic, but Tom is sure she's got something to hide. And he isn't going to stop until he finds the truth behind those locked doors.... Will their dream home become a nightmare?

Stone Barrington is back in New York, and after a rather harrowing sojourn in Key West, he's looking to stay closer to home and work on some simple divorce and custody cases for Woodman & Weld. But when he crosses paths with a fetching Broadway actress-and sometime lip model- Stone gets a little more deeply involved with business than he'd expected. When his new lady love turns out to be a lady with a shady past, Stone and downtown cop Dino Bacchetti realize that her beauty may have an unusually high price.

Life’s not going well for forty-year-old Abby. When her beautiful and charismatic best friend dies suddenly, she’s left reeling. Hetty’s always been such a dominant force in her life; now Abby must figure out who she is – and who she wants to be – without Hetty by her side. Abby has always been the odd one out in Hetty’s wealthy, privileged friendship group. Despite their differences, Abby has managed to carve out a place for herself. But Hetty isn’t an easy friend to have. She blows hot and cold, alternating between fierce loyalty and unwarranted cruelty.