Showing results by narrator "Lee Smith" in All Categories

On a bright June day in 1965, a dozen girls - classmates at a Blue Ridge women's college - launch a ramshackle raft on a trip down the Mississippi. Their journey, inspired by Huckleberry Finn, is duly reported in the Paducah, Kentucky newspaper. 35 years later, four of the "girls" reunite to cruise the river again. This time, it's on the luxury steamboat The Belle of Natchez. This time, when they reach New Orleans, they'll give the River the ashes of a fifth rafter: Margaret ("Baby") Ballou.

Reborn after near nuclear eradication, humanity struggles in a world defined by a secret history of conspiracy, rivalry and inhuman domination. As an ancient powerful race attempts to retake planet Earth, a courageous and sophisticated band of freedom fighters, the Cerberus rebels, leads the resistance in a daring battle to free humanity from the grips of an alien power struggle. In the Middle East's legendary Fertile Crescent, millennia-old artifacts are unearthed. Shockingly, they appear to belong to one of Cerberus's own.

My life depends on playing the role convincingly. I’ve been trained for that role since the age of 15. For 10 long years, I’ve been taught to be someone else, to respond to a different name, and to live in another woman’s shadow. Evie Warren is the most coveted mafia princess in the country, and I’m her double. I’m the decoy, her stunt girl, so to speak.

Liam Jones was the love of Juliet’s life. He was her brother’s best friend, then her best friend, then the father of her little boy. In those shining weeks after Zac was born, she had never been happier, and neither had Liam. And then one night, Liam disappeared without a trace. Ten-year-old Zac Hutchinson collects facts: octopuses have three hearts, Usain Bolt is the fastest man on earth. But no one will tell him what happened to his father and where he went.

Mario Woods is looking forward to one normal night before he graduates. He's spent most of high school riding solo. But when fate lands him a date for prom, he figures this might be his chance to be less of a loner.

Ian Hart stole a night of my life, but he took so much more. His obsession pinned a label on me. His lust put me in an impossible situation. Now I have to choose sides. I have to decide between right and wrong. Only, no matter what choice I make, each comes with dreadful consequences. There’s only one way this can end - how every tragedy ends.

Exiled from the Smoky Mountains for gunning down a man in self-defense, Breck Wallace tries to make a new home in St. Louis, even tries his hand at romance, but some men are too wild to settle down. Breck is soon back on the trail, where a vicious gang of trappers, after his goods, picks up his scent and begins to dog his every step, until Breck’s only choice is to bed down for the winter with a tribe of friendly Indians. In the frigid, brutal cold of a Rocky Mountain winter, he hopes to find peace...but death is not done with Breck Wallace.

The year is 1909. It has been 10 years since Thomas Argyle, Charlie Cooper, and Livia Naylor set off a revolution by releasing Smoke upon the world. They were raised to think Smoke was a sign of sin manifested, but learned its suppression was really a means of controlling society. Smoke allowed people to mingle their emotions, to truly connect, and the trio thought that freeing the Smoke would bring down the oppressive power structure and create a fair and open society. But the consequences were far greater than they had imagined, and the world has fractured.

Akashic Books continues its award-winning series of original noir anthologies with Sidney Noir. This collection comprises of all new stories set in Sidney, Australia, by 14 authors of crime fiction....

Antonio, a wealthy and popular merchant, is in financial difficulty. He approaches a Jewish money lender, Shylock, who agrees to provide 3000 ducats, with a very curious bond – a pound of the merchant’s flesh, to be levied if Antonio fails to make a timely repayment. Feeling confident that his argosies will arrive in time to cover the debt, Antonio agrees to this bizarre transaction.

Girls like me, we know how to survive. We each have our own little ways, but we acquire those skills at the same tender age. If you ask me how many times a person can die, I’ll tell you many times. As many times as a man stabs you in the stomach with betrayal and wrings out your heart with lies. Girls like me, we live. We don’t get a choice. We step over the cliff and fall. Eat, sleep, die, and repeat.

Rudyard Kipling’s best loved book, full of timeless and beloved tales of adventure. The story of Mowgli, the abandoned "man-cub" who is brought up by wolves in the jungles of Central India, is one of the greatest literary myths ever created. As he embarks on a series of thrilling escapades, Mowgli encounters such unforgettable creatures as the bear Baloo, the graceful black panther Bagheera, and Shere Khan, the tiger with the blazing eyes.

Clarissa Driscoll teaches accomplishments to the children of the gentry. But she was once the Earl of Kinsford’s equal in society, and she refuses to let him browbeat her. If Clarissa is a tad eccentric, well, the earl is a bit overbearing. These two strong wills make sparks fly.

Austin joins Dallas and Houston in Akashic's deep dive into the Lone Star State's darkest dimensions. Featuring brand-new stories by: Gabino Iglesias, Ace Atkins, Amanda Moore, Jeff Abbott, Scott Montgomery, Richard Z. Santos, Alexandra Burt, Lee Thomas, Miriam Kuznets, Jacob Grovey, Chaitali Sen, Molly Odintz, Amy Gentry, and Andrew Hilbert.

Once upon a time, a thief stole me in the middle of the night. He took what he wanted, gave me an illusion, and ripped it all away to claim his ultimate trophy. My heart may be physically weak, but fighting to live made me stronger. I won’t perish as easily as that. I’m turning the tables on him. After all, I learned from the best. I’m robbing him of what he stole from me.

Pearl Acton’s worst fears are coming true. She’ll be trapped in a loveless marriage—just like her parents—as her family seeks to quickly marry her off to the wealthy Mr. Clarence. Until an encounter with a quiet and soulful heir sparks a fragile hope that somehow Pearl might aid her family and marry for love.

I never dreamed of getting married. I dreamed about freedom. When my stepfather promised Leon Hart a partnership in his clandestine software company, he offered me as part of the package deal. It’s a win-win situation for both men. My stepfather gets rid of his damaged stepdaughter, and Leon becomes second-in-command of the biggest underground IT operation in the country. I’ll do what I must to escape my fate. Even if it means turning my powerful and dangerous betrothed into my worst enemy.

My love is wasted like gemstones in the dust, walked over by an oblivious shoe. It takes many suffering years and layers of mountains to squeeze carbon into a precious stone. Now that I’m polished and hard like a diamond, he doesn’t get to kick me back into the dirt. Men like him don’t love women like me. They don’t love. Period. But he made me. He’ll live with me. Because diamonds are forever.

Love is for people who don’t mind getting hurt. I vowed to never fall into that trap. I entered into war with my beautiful, corrupted, and dangerous husband. He warned me he always won. He told me I’d lose, but I didn’t want to believe him because there was too much at stake.

Mrs. Claudine Grant married when she was 18 and lost her husband less than six months later to the ravages of war. Her heart is too bruised for anymore foolish whims, and she's determined to never marry again.