Read Online: Historical Fiction
The Speed of Light
So, though I soon realized I wasn't entirely unaccustomed to being out in the open, for the first few days I had a bit of a feeling of groping my way around, like someone taking a while to get used to the light after a long confinement in darkness. I left Spain on a Saturday and only arrived in U...
The Unspeakable
As examples of oppressive Internet cuteness go, the D.P. is in the upper stratospheric reaches. People send in photos of their puppies, accompanied by descriptions that are often in the first person, as though the dogs have composed their own dating profiles. The goal is to win a coveted “Puppy o...
Seeds of Summer
As she neared, Natalie had the oddest sensation come over her—as though she knew the lady. Willard stepped in front of Natalie and blocked the middle-aged woman from view, his arms crossed over his chest. “What are you doing here?” Condemnation filled his voice. Natalie eased to his side to get a...
The Darkest Sin (2011)
London rain was as predictable as the world spinning on its axis, but this storm seemed to be gaining strength, the pellets of water beating against the drains and bouncing off the walkways in the street below. The stormy weather matched his mood. Still staring out the window, he pulled the stopp...
Snake in the Glass
Somehow I was not surprised to find Denis waiting yet again when I got downstairs on Thursday morning. Mutely he thrust more bills at me. “This should cover it. Can I work today?” “This morning, I guess. If you want to leave stuff in overnight, that’s okay.” He nodded, more to himself than to me....
From Pasta to Pigfoot
Faye was singing loudly in the shower, unaware of her audience. Chuckling at the tuneless sounds emerging from the bathroom, Martha returned to the sanctuary of her kitchen. Ten minutes later, wafting a cloud of Miss Dior shower gel in her wake, Faye padded into the bedroom, her towel wrapped sec...
The Chinese Beverly Hills
The keening outside was unbearable. Fire glinted through pinholes, wind slapped the silica and foil shelter. He was a religious man, Missouri Synod Lutheran, and he prayed for his partner and himself. He had to see his wife and children again. “Our Father who art in Heaven…” He forced his mind to...
It's Not Christmas Without You (The Holloway Series)
The lights, the cookies, the holiday spirit, the cookies, the carols…the cookies. She’d spent every holiday of the last twenty-six years in Holloway, West Virginia, the small town a few miles from the Maryland border where she grew up and her parents and brother still lived. She planned on breaki...
The Salt Eaters (2011)
Velma Henry turned stiffly on the stool, the gown ties tight across her back, the knots hard. So taut for so long, she could not swivel. Neck, back, hip joints dry, stiff. Face frozen. She could not glower, suck her teeth, roll her eyes, do any of the Velma-things by way of answering Minnie Ranso...
Deadly (Born Bratva Book 5)
But there are a few things I’ll need first. Anastasia accompanies me down to the basement and I can’t help but laugh when she sees The Dungeon for the first time. I let her peek inside as we pass by, the spartanly furnished room with his manacles and other restraints obvio...
Unknown
They thought she was drowned. When she coughed and struggled the men looked at each other in amazement and began to talk loudly in a language she didn’t understand. Minella opened her eyes to try and see what they looked like. They wore bright jerseys and round black caps like French fishermen, b...
Sex Wars
Pearlo discovered that it had never been printed in the States. He was determined to share it with as many people as possible. “It hit me like a thunderclap,” he said to Victoria. They often read in bed together, discussing ideas and debating. The physical intimacy was quite secondary. Pearlo was...
The Confession
What are you doing in there? Do you need help getting dressed?” “I’m moving as fast as I can Mom. Can you help me with my shorts? I can’t get the leg past the cast.” Lydia laughed as she helped her daughter get dressed. “In a few hours, this monstrosity will be gone, and you can finally have a li...
Miz Scarlet and the Bewildered Bridegroom
Must be all the hiking I do, I thought to myself, even as my brain tried to process the sight at the top of the stairs. Lacey, dressed in a practical cotton nightgown, was being restrained by a man wearing a ski mask. A ski mask in summer? “Stay where you are or I’ll toss her over the railing!” c...
Corporate Daddy
It wouldn’t dare, Logan decided, for fear of being plucked and banished. She looked down her lengthy nose at Amanda Sue, who sat in her father’s lap, his tie once again clamped firmly between her teeth despite all his efforts to prevent it. She looked like a pink-and-white puppy with a favorite s...