Fresh FIction Box Not To Miss
Lynn Painter | Exclusive Excerpt: HAPPILY NEVER AFTER
Excerpt / March 15, 2024

HAPPILY NEVER AFTER Excerpt   Max   I KNOCKED ON the hotel room door and waited. This was my least favorite part. More often than not, the bride who desperately wanted out of her own wedding was an emotional mess afterward, shocked by the end of what she thought would be the beginning of the rest of their lives together. And I was not the reassuring kind. Back pats and handkerchiefs were not my thing. I just needed my money and to get the hell out of there. On a side note, who the hell doesn’t have Venmo or PayPal? I heard a noise just before the door flew open. “The Objector!” A blonde in a Red Hot Chili Peppers T-shirt that went down to her knees grinned at me. “I’m Asha. We talked on the phone . . . ?” Ah, yes. The bride’s best friend and my college roommate’s cousin. “So you’re Tom’s cousin.” “Yes!” She grinned again, and I realized she was totally buzzed. “Come in!” She held open the door, and I followed her inside what was obviously the bridal suite. Huge living room, bedroom to the left that appeared to have rose petals everywhere, and…

Jaclyn Reding | Exclusive Excerpt: WHITE MIST
Excerpt / March 14, 2024

Excerpt from WHITE MIST by Jaclyn Reding   She was utterly surrounded by them. Eleanor could feel their frozen gazes on her at all sides, watching her in silent study as she sat with her hands folded, gloved fingers laced together in her lap.  No matter where she looked, no matter how she tried to avoid them, they were there.  If she closed her eyes, she could almost hear them, their voices whispering to her on the flurry of the island wind— Run… Get out now… Before it is too late…  Eleanor’s eyes shot open. A medley of assorted deer, wildcat, and furry pine marten met her gaze, stuffed and mounted on gray stone walls that were unfinished and rose a good twenty feet above her head.  Nearby, a fierce-looking claymore whose scratched and pitted blade had no doubt contended with more than its share of severed heads hung alongside a dagger that looked quite able to gut an ox. Oh dear, she thought to herself.  What in heaven had she just done? Eleanor sat alone, back lamppost straight, knees pressed tightly together, wondering not for the first time what could have possessed her to come there. Perhaps she should…

Susan May Warren | Exclusive Excerpt: ONE LAST SHOT
Excerpt / March 12, 2024

“Boo, wait,” said Oaken, but she flashed him a smile. “We’re good, Oaken. See you tomorrow.” Then she headed outside. The sun was still up but falling into the backside of Mt. Talachulitna, gold shining upon the whitened peaks, bronzing the waters of Cook Inlet. She unlocked the Rogue and it beeped. “Boo, wait up!” What is with this guy? She opened the back door, threw her pack in, and turned. He jogged up to her. Stopped. Met her eyes, hands on his hips, and took a breath. “What?” “I know.” She just blinked at him. Swallowed. “What?” Her voice emerged high and silly. “Boo Hoo.” Her jaw tightened and she looked away. Back. “Wow.” He hadn’t moved his gaze from her. A beat, and something in his expression softened. “And I get it,” he said gently. She had to reach out and brace her hand on the top of her car. “What?” “I know how it feels to be judged, wrongly, by the media. By the world. To have words you didn’t mean—” “Oh, I meant them.” He cocked his head, narrowed his eyes. “I’ll bet you did. At the time. But . . . my guess is that there was a…

Seanan McGuire | Exclusive Excerpt: AFTERMARKET AFTERLIFE
Excerpt / March 7, 2024

A Special Excerpt from AFTERMARKET AFTERLIFE by Seanan McGuire, the 13th book in the NYT-bestselling and Hugo nominated InCryptid urban fantasy series   The cinnamon rolls were done, out of the oven, and had been solidly decimated as member after member of the family came drifting in, lured by the scent of bacon, coffee, and carbs. Even James had eventually woken up and come down from his room, although he had refused my fresh homemade waffles in favor of blueberry Eggos from the freezer. I would have been offended, but given that he was wound so tight with anticipation that I wouldn’t have been surprised if he spontaneously froze himself into a block of ice, I figured he could be allowed a little comfort food. He didn’t bother with the toaster, instead passing them to Annie to heat before he smeared them with a layer of whipped butter and began dipping them in his coffee. No one reacted. Every family has their weird food habits, and ours sometimes seems to have more than most. It’s better not to comment. Kevin glanced at his watch. He still wore an old-fashioned one, gears and glass on a leather strap. It was a…

Christina Dodd | Exclusive Excerpt EVERY SINGLE SECRET
Excerpt / March 6, 2024

The lighthouse at Point Offbeat faced into the teeth of the storm. Banshees howled around the tower, screaming unintelligible threats, the light circled and flashed through the clouds, and lightning blazed. During the two and a half years Helen had lived here, she’d only seen this kind of storm once before. She had gloried in it. The wildness, the waves, the glory was in absolute opposition to everything in her carefully orchestrated and carefully preserved life. Tonight she thought hell had spat up the storm as a curse and a warning. She stood on the viewing platform, four stories off the ground and near the jutting edge of the cliff, facing into the slashing rain. At the base of the cliff, the Pacific Ocean roared and clawed, sending spray so high into the air she could taste salt before icy rain sluiced it away. Or maybe she tasted her own tears. Everything was black: sky, clouds, violence and nature’s indifference. And white: the froth of the waves, the blinding flashes of lightning, the electrical discharges that danced through the air. Standing out here, Helen was courting death. She deserved death. She had arranged to have a friend killed. But like…

Tracy Brown | Exclusive Excerpt BROOKLYN
Excerpt / February 26, 2024

From BROOKLYN, by Tracy Brown. Copyright © 2024 by the author, and reprinted with permission of St. Martin’s Publishing Group.   CHAPTER ONE Church Girl December 1995 The church was rocking like a rap concert. People were on their feet finishing the pastor’s sentences like lyrics to a song they all knew. Reverend Elias James stood tall in the pulpit with the Bible gripped firmly in his hand. His deep, melodic voice boomed across the sanctuary, eliciting shouts of “Hallelujah!” and “Amen!” from the crowd. Brooklyn Melody James was a seventeen-year-old beauty. Named after the borough where she was born, she seemed to embody the spirit of the place. Tough, trendy, edgy, and popular. Although she was born there and bore its name, she had few memories of the place. Her parents had moved to Staten Island, the city’s forgotten borough, when she was just a child. In a place with such an interwoven community, her golden skin, bright eyes, and dimpled smile made her a magnet for just about every type of attention. Boys wanted to date her, girls wanted to be her friend, and everyone seemed eager to be liked by her. As the middle child in her family, she…

Christine Feehan | Exclusive Excerpt LEOPARD’S HUNT
Excerpt / February 22, 2024

LEOPARD’S HUNT Exclusive Excerpt   Maya sighed. She knew she wasn’t capable of a relationship with Gorya. What could she possibly give him? She was damaged goods. How could she fight for him if she wasn’t prepared to live with him? She struggled to think of a way out for them both. She knew there wasn’t one. Either she accepted the situation and his claim on her or she took the out he was giving her and walked away, leaving him to do whatever he felt he had to do. Gorya still faced the window, refusing to look at her. He might have regained control, but that only added to the determination in every line of his body. From the back, he looked relaxed, once more the man who appeared to command everyone around him when he chose. She found it interesting that he could appear so easygoing and charming, and yet the moment he entered a room, those around him knew he was in charge and listened to every word he said. “Maybe before we make permanent decisions, we should just slow everything down.” Maya couldn’t think what else to say to him. She needed time. Sliding the pack…

Patrice McDonough | Exclusive Excerpt MURDER BY LAMPLIGHT
Excerpt / February 21, 2024

Excerpt from MURDER BY LAMPLIGHT by Patrice McDonough   Prologue A clanging jolted little Jacko from his broken sleep. Under a threadbare blanket, he curled himself against the stinging cold. Shivering, he saw the fog of his breath and felt the gnawing hunger in his stomach. During his weeks inside the walls, the boy had learned that a workhouse child was an empty belly with hollow eyes and darting hands ready to grab any unguarded crust. The pinch of hunger made thieves of them all. Tired and weak, he had to get up if he wanted to eat. And he’d better be quick, or he’d feel the crack of Matron’s hand and would face a day with nothing until dinner. But when he heard the keys jangle and saw the sliver of light at the bottom of the door, he froze on his cot. Barely breathing, he listened until the lamp moved on and a key scraped at another door. Relief flooded. Then he buried his face and sobbed. “Jillie.”     Chapter One November 1866 Julia Lewis edged her way through the gawping crowd. Then a young policeman blocked her way when she finally broke through. “Sorry, miss.” The…

Christi Caldwell | Exclusive Excerpt THE DIAMOND AND THE DUKE
Excerpt / February 21, 2024

THE DIAMOND AND THE DUKE Excerpt   His arms clasped behind him, the duke paced back and forth before the hearth. Never before had she seen him in such a state . . . which was saying a good deal, as she’d seen him many ways these past years: Stunned when his daughter had been caught in a compromising position with Ellie’s brother Courtland. Terrified and pacing in a similar way when Cailin had been giving birth to her first babe. Even that day, with the lines at the corners of his mouth tense, and his skin pale, he’d not looked as he did now. Just then, the Duchess of Bentley slid into her husband’s path, cutting off his stride. The devoted couple exchanged quiet words. Periodically, they nodded. His throat muscles moved, and his eyes gleamed, and the sight of that suffering . . . a portend of what was to come any moment when Wesley Audley finally entered the household, was too much. Ellie wrenched her gaze away, stealing a peek at the clock atop the mantel. “How are you reading right now?” Lottie said in hushed tones to their eldest sister. “I need a distraction,” Hattie said…

L.R. Jones | Exclusive Excerpt THE WEDDING PARTY
Excerpt / February 19, 2024

I don’t know how to talk to people if it’s not about dead bodies, murder, and alibis. I just don’t. I don’t pretend otherwise. That’s why Aiden and I get along. After years in law enforcement, he’s like me. Translation: he has no social skills. Date night to us is takeout and a murder file. In other words, why, why, why did I agree to attend a party of any kind, let alone in another city that ensures I’ll have to travel with a friend I haven’t seen in years? My resistance and second thoughts are so extreme that I don’t start packing until thirty minutes before Lana will be at my house. At present, I’m staring into my closet, wondering which of my numerous dresses fit and don’t fit since I’ve worn none of them in far too long. The idea of dressing up is not such a bad thing. I like dresses. I like being a woman. And truth be told, it’s been a long time since I was a woman, not just an FBI agent. And I’m certainly not worried the dresses will soften me up and hurt my job or backbone. There’s no reason I can’t…