Showing results by publisher "Blackstone Publishing" in Holidays

It is 1890, and in the days before Christmas, Sherlock Holmes and Dr. John Watson are visited at Baker Street by a new client. Eve Allerthorpe, eldest daughter of a grand but somewhat eccentric Yorkshire-based dynasty, is greatly distressed, as she believes she is being haunted by a demonic Christmas spirit. Her late mother told her terrifying tales of the sinister Black Thurrick, and Eve is sure that she has seen the creature from her bedroom window. What is more, she has begun to receive mysterious parcels of birch twigs, the Black Thurrick’s calling card.

Belinda "Lindy" Jamison has moved to the Cotswolds for a fresh start and to open a dancing school - her lifelong dream. Pushing 40 and still looking for Mr. Right, Lindy is determined to no longer wait for happiness but to reach for it with both hands. Soon Lindy has a motley crew of would-be dancers. But her most intriguing pupil is Roger Wentworth, a 40-something bachelor with a shy and awkward manner, but a heart of blazing gold.

Anna Vere has escaped to the Cotswolds for Christmas to try to heal from her broken engagement and, far worse, her broken dreams. When her reserved room at a bed-and-breakfast is flooded, she takes up the offer of camping out in Willoughby Close, the converted stables of the nearby manor house...and is taken under the wing of sexy local carpenter Colin Heath. What starts out as merely helping a neighbor in need turns into far more as Colin and Anna share a surprisingly intense and emotional connection, weaving their own Christmas magic as they spend the holiday together.

When Simon Blacklock, a handsome, whimsical stranger, breezes into her shop and buys a cupcake and then returns the next day and the day after, Olivia begins to dream. Can romance blossom amid the sugar and flour? And after a lifetime of living on the sidelines, is she brave enough to star in her own story?

Laney McGregor’s previous holiday season ended in disaster. Add to that her recent Election Day loss, and her spirits are decidedly un-bright. She’s determined to spend a quiet Christmas at home in Mapleton, helping out on her family’s tree farm when needed but mostly keeping to herself. That is, until a job opportunity sweeter than sugar plums gets dangled in front of her … if only she’ll participate in a sequence of Christmas clichés.

“On the first day of Christmas my true love gave to me the reason your husband had to die.” Anna Greenan finds the cryptic lyric shoved against her front door. Each day of Christmas brings Anna a new stanza with a new clue. Will this mysterious Christmas carol lead Anna to uncover her husband’s murderer or will these notes lead to her demise?

When Laurel West discovers her estranged sister Abby has checked herself into rehab and wants her to take care of her 14-year-old son, she doesn’t hesitate to step in. Abby was there for Laurel a long time ago, and she longs to be able to offer the same. However, as a single woman who still dreams of the fairy tale, Laurel isn’t prepared for teenaged Zac’s sullen moods or silent rage. When he’s expelled from school, she decides to take drastic measures and temporarily relocate them to her great aunt’s cottage on the windswept hills of the Orkney islands north of Scotland?

Sherlock Holmes’s discovery of a mysterious musical score initiates a devious Christmas challenge set by Irene Adler, with clues that are all variations on the theme of “theft without theft”, such as a statue missing from a museum found hidden in the room it was taken from. In the snowy London lead-up to Christmas, Holmes’s preoccupation with the “Adler Variations” risks him neglecting the case of his new client, Norwegian arctic explorer Fridtjof Nansen, who has received a series of threats in the form of animal carcasses left on his doorstep.

Amateur sleuth and proud owner of Dogwood Donuts Maggie Sharpe was gearing up for the holidays and having just another normal day in charming southern Missouri, when an unfortunate accident occurred in front of her shop in the wee hours of the morning. When a bus full of elderly potential witnesses on their way to a Christmas event puts out a distress call, Maggie feels obligated to find some answers. She discovers that what she thought was an accident was actually a murder, which makes things anything but jolly in Dogwood Mountain.

Snowed in at a castle full of handsome lords, three young ladies are about to have the holiday of their lives.... In Map of a Lady’s Heart by Caroline Linden, Viola Cavendish has her hands full making sure the Christmas house party runs smoothly. In Hot Rogue on a Cold Night by Maya Rodale, Lady Serena Cavendish was born and bred to be a duchess. In Snowy Night with a Duke by Katharine Ashe, the last time Lady Charlotte Ascot bumped into the Duke of Frye, she climbed a tree to avoid him.

It’s official - for Juliette Connolly, Christmas is a bust, and she’s definitely not in the holiday spirit. She’s been dumped by her boyfriend and replaced by a younger model. Then a clause in her contract means she and a mysterious colleague have to work over Christmas. But there’s much more to Andrew Campbell than meets the eye. Especially when it turns out he’s the Scottish laird of the haunted house they’re filming in.

Sheep farmer Bryony Whittaker already has every reason to hate Kynaston Germaine. He’s forcing her father to sell their beloved Yorkshire farm, and wants to turn it into a dry-ski resort, of all things. Then Bryn’s sister Katy takes her own life, and Bryn’s hatred for Kynaston can no longer be tempered. She vows revenge, and moves to New York to team up with Kyn’s brother Morgan, who harbors a dangerous grudge against him. Once there, Bryn’s cousin Hadrian grows increasingly concerned by Bryn’s obsessive need for retribution.

When Ben Winters and Lara Cottridge hear that a Vermont radio station is hosting a Christmas contest with a $10,000 prize for a charitable project of the winner’s choice, they seize the challenge. Although strangers, they both are obsessed with all things Christmas and each has their own worthy pet project in mind. News of the contest creates a lot of buzz, but most participants fall at the first hurdle - a timed online quirky Christmas quiz. The second, an on-air quiz whittles the field down to two - Briarhill Falls residents Lara and Ben, who are surprised that they have never met.

After a tough year losing her mom and bills mounting, Holly Yates is in for a lonely Christmas. But when she hears a news report that the small principality of Coronia is looking for their lost princess, Holly is astounded to recognize the baby photo. It’s her!

New York wedding planner Jessica Christie always goes above and beyond for her clients. So, stopping in Alaska to pick up the famed Jingle Bell flower for her famous client’s bouquet doesn’t seem too outrageous - until she ends up stranded there. Matt Holden has spent the last five years since his fiancée died, living in a virtual bubble in Alaska. His research work as a botanist and assistant at the local reindeer farm keep him busy during the holidays.

It's Christmas 1940, and Nimway Hall opens its ancient and enchanting heart to the wedding of Josie and Gideon! Wartime intelligence agents Josie and Gideon are in for a wild adventure as they negotiate the hidden dangers of planning a wedding in the midst of a war.

A never-before-seen Christmas guest arrives to the island, filled with secrets of her own. The Sheridans welcome a brand-new baby. Complications arise left and right as the Sheridan sisters grapple with another season of changes. The Sheridan sisters’ mother, Anna Sheridan, never spoke much about her family, which is why the appearance of her younger sister is a surprise for all of them. She brings with her a host of troubles at the very worst time, as Audrey arrives home from a tumultuous semester at Penn State, just as Christine gives birth to her very first child.

Melinda Sweet loved her husband before she learned of his wealth and she loves him still, despite the fact that it’s gone. Unfortunately, while she knows the collapse of his Chicago financial services business had nothing to do with him, he believes otherwise. His upbeat adjustment to their new - and temporary - life on his grandfather’s rundown honey farm is a foil to cover the burden of failure. She wasn’t expecting to throw - in five weeks - the traditional Sweet Christmas Open House, but it’s a good earning opportunity and how hard could it be?

Andrew Montgomery is the black sheep of the Montgomery family. Seventeen years ago, Andy and his best friend, Kurt, took off for the army and planned to never look back. Once overseas, they realized the depths of their mistake. But once Kurt died in combat, Andy decided to turn his back on his past for good. Years later, Andrew is bound to the US again with an injury. A phone call a few weeks before Christmas changes everything and beckons him home. His father has been involved in a horrible car accident. When Andrew returns to the island, he finds himself in the center of so many ghosts.

Hemlock Falls is one of the most picturesque villages in Upstate New York, with the Hemlock Inn, owned by the amateur sleuth Quilliam sisters, as its centerpiece. For the Quilliam sisters, there’s nothing jolly about this Christmas. Meg and Quill are near-broke. At least there’s one bright start on the horizon: A big-time magazine and television show will feature the Inn. But soon the editor’s husband skis to his death. Now, if the Quilliams are to save the Inn from a lawsuit, they’ll need to prove this was no accident.