Showing results by narrator "Alexandra Bailey" in All Categories

In 1980 Cathy N. Davidson traveled to Japan to teach English at a leading all-women’s university. It was the first of many journeys and the beginning of a deep and abiding fascination. In this extraordinary book, Davidson depicts a series of intimate moments and small epiphanies that together make up a panoramic view of Japan.

Objects for sale at the Nakano Thrift Shop appear as commonplace as the staff and customers that handle them. But like those same customers and staff, they hold many secrets. If examined carefully, they show the signs of innumerable extravagancies, of immeasurable pleasure and pain, and of the deep mysteries of the human heart.

When a celebrated actress dies under shocking circumstances, she leaves behind an older sister, Sakumi, who suffers from memory loss in the wake of an accident. Struggling to remember whom she loves and what she lost, Sakumi embarks on a unique emotional journey, accompanied by her dead sister's lover and her clairvoyant kid brother.

It is 1943, and WW2 is raging. After parting with her husband, Michael, in London, Monika Ritter is sent to the Swiss city of Bern to begin her career with the OSS. Bern is an international hub for the secret war being fought between the spies of America, Britain, and their counterparts in the German secret service. There, her new boss, the spymaster Allen Dulles, introduces her to a mysterious German double agent who might prove to be an invaluable asset.

It began in the graveyard.... Ever since her boyfriend Nathan had died in a tragic accident, Emma had been coming to the graveyard at night. During the day she went through the motions at her prep school, in class, with her friends, but that’s all it was. For Emma, life had stopped with Nathan’s death. But tonight was different. Tonight Emma and her dog were not alone in the cemetery. There were two others there - Eric, who had just started at her school, and an ancient woman who looked as though she were made of rags.

An homage to Dashell Hammet’s Thin Man movies with a modern day spin on Nick and Nora Charles When her career is outsourced to Asia, fledgling romance author and empty-nester Gracie Elliott wants a job that will allow her time to write. So she opens Relatively Speaking, becoming a wing woman to the senior set. Since her clients need several hours each morning to find their teeth, lube their creaky joints, and deal with lower GI necessities, and they always turn in after the early bird specials, she has plenty of time to pen her future bestsellers.

Emma and her friends have survived the Necromancers sent to the city to kill them. They've gone to ground in a cottage north of the city, but time is not on their side. There are no barriers that can keep the dead out, and the dead obey their Queen. It's only a matter of time before they're found. Nathan has been blessed by the Queen of the Dead. She has granted him a physical body. He can eat, he can breathe, he can speak and be heard. The Queen calls this resurrection. Nathan calls it Hell. The living think he's alive. He's not.

Embracing the idea that our children deserve our honesty, vulnerability, and leadership, you’ll discover a powerful framework for raising your family with integrity and confidence. Giving and receiving the trust, communication, cooperation, respect, and joy that every parent and child deserves ultimately allows our children to become the leaders our future so desperately needs.

When Katie meets aloof but gorgeous Tomohiro, the star of the school's kendo team, she is intrigued by him...and a little scared. His tough attitude seems meant to keep her at a distance, and when they're near each other, strange things happen. Pens explode. Ink drips from nowhere. And unless Katie is seeing things, drawings come to life. Somehow Tomo is connected to the kami, powerful ancient beings who once ruled Japan - and as feelings develop between Katie and Tomo, things begin to spiral out of control.

Magazine crafts editor Anastasia Pollack may finally be able to pay off the remaining debt she found herself saddled with when her duplicitous first husband dropped dead in a Las Vegas casino. But as Anastasia has discovered, nothing in her life is ever straightforward. Strings are always attached. Thanks to the success of an unauthorized true crime podcast, a television production company wants to option her life—warts and all—as a reluctant amateur sleuth. Is such exposure worth a clean financial slate?

Life is looking up for magazine crafts editor Anastasia Pollack. Newly engaged, she and photojournalist fiancé Zack Barnes are on a winter cruise with her family, compliments of a Christmas gift from her half-brother-in-law. Son Alex’s girlfriend and her father have also joined them. Shortly after boarding the ship, Anastasia is approached by a man with an unusual interest in her engagement ring.

Jack the Ripper. Jeffrey Dahmer. John Wayne Gacy. Locusta of Gaul. If that last name doesn’t seem to fit with the others, it’s likely because our modern society largely believes that serial killers are a recent phenomenon. Not so, argues Debbie Feltonin fact, there’s ample evidence to show that serial killers stalked the ancient world just as they do the modern one.

The next morning, Anastasia once again heads to Ira's house before work to drop them off. When she arrives, she discovers Ira’s attacker dead in Santa’s sleigh. Ira becomes the prime suspect in the man’s murder and begs Anastasia to help clear his name.

Anastasia Pollack’s left with two teenage sons, a mountain of debt, and her hateful, cane-wielding communist mother-in-law. Not to mention stunned disbelief over her late husband’s secret gambling addiction and the loan shark who’s demanding 50,000 dollars. Anastasia’s job as crafts editor at American Woman magazine proves no respite when she discovers a dead body glued to her desk chair. But when evidence surfaces of an illicit affair between the victim and Anastasia’s husband, Anastasia becomes the prime suspect.

I think I've seen it all, but life continues to spring surprises. The latest shocker? I've just been crowned queen of the underworld. Yeah, me. I may possess a rare gift for reanimating the dead, but I don't know the first thing about governing disparate factions of supernatural creatures. I mean, I can barely maintain order in my own chaotic personal life, which is heading into a romantic tailspin.

Retirement Can Be Murder is the story of Carol Andrews and her Beloved Husband, Jim, members of the fastest growing demographic in history, the Baby Boomer generation. Carol dreads Jim's upcoming retirement more than a root canal without Novocain. She can't imagine anything worse than having an at-home husband with time on his hands and nothing to fill it—except interfering in the day-to-day activities of their household and driving her crazy. Until her plans to stall Jim's retirement result in Jim's being suspected of murdering his retirement coach.

What are Amy and Adam going to do about their love life? Neither Amy's traditionalist Japanese parents nor Adam's snobby, upper-class mother will accept their relationship. To make things worse, Amy and Adam are involved in the "color game" at school, an experiment that's designed to make students aware of class and racial prejudices.

Overdue bills and constant mother vs. mother-in-law battles at home are bad enough. But crafts editor Anastasia Pollack's stress level is maxed out when she and her fellow American Woman editors get roped into unpaid gigs for a revamped morning TV show. Before the glue is dry on Anastasia's mop dolls, morning TV turns crime drama when the studio is trashed and the producer is murdered.

An anthology of three Anastasia Pollack mini-mysteries, companions to the bestselling and critically acclaimed Anastasia Pollack Crafting Mystery series. Crewel Intentions Crafts editor and reluctant amateur sleuth Anastasia Pollack receives a desperate phone call from former American Woman fashion editor Erica Milano. Erica is now in Witness Protection and living under a new identity in Western Pennsylvania. But someone is stalking her, and Erica has compelling reasons why she can’t go to the police or notify her Witsec handlers.

Anastasia Pollack’s son Alex is dating Sophie Lambert, the new kid in town. For their community service project, the high school seniors have chosen to raise money for the county food bank. Anastasia taps her craft industry contacts to donate materials for the students to make Christmas ornaments they’ll sell at the town’s annual Holiday Crafts Fair.