Tempt Me Not

Complex characters. Shocking twists. A debut crime thriller readers can’t put down.

When Maria Varela first made detective, more than a few cops called her a nepo-baby behind her back. Sure, having a legendary detective for a father hadn’t hurt her career, but he was retired, and the one closing cases was her, not him. Eventually all the arrests silenced even the loudest of the doubters.

Then a long dormant serial killer murders her brother.

Last seen in 1983, the Desert Saint killed five people. All shot twice in the head with the same gun. All with a token placed on the left hand. The best efforts of law enforcement to solve the murders had failed, and when the killings stopped, Las Vegas moved on. Now, only retired cops and the family members of the victims even remember who the Desert Saint was.

So why return now? And why kill her brother?

Capturing a killer no one else could is a hard enough task.

Figuring out why the Desert Saint came for her brother might tear Maria’s life apart.

Some crimes are best left unsolved.

There is a place on the coast of New England where a salty sailor gives sage advice, and a legendary mermaid appears at least once a century. Madeline owns an antique store in this charming town and knows everyone by name. But she keeps a secret buried deep inside-her ability to touch an object and feel the essence of the previous owner.

After purchasing a mysterious box at an estate sale, she has startlingly vivid dreams about Maria, a young headstrong Puritan whose “knowing” could get her branded as a witch, and whose forbidden love for a poor sailor turned pirate caused a scandal.

Desperate for answers, Madeline turns to Evan, a handsome history professor who tempts her to believe in love. Together they uncover Maria’s story, helpless to stop its trajectory toward tragedy. With Evan’s support, maybe she can lay the ghosts of the past to rest — including her own.

While on a blind date with a doctor and his mama, Lucy Fong gets a call that her estranged mom is found shot in the stomach in her private investigation office. She returns to Morro Cliff to search for answers and her sister… and finds only a dead body in her sister’s apartment.

When the local police chief zeros in on her sister as a “person of interest,” Lucy must brush up her sleuthing skills. It’s a race to find her sister before the police — and the killer — do. She must use all her wits (and those she can borrow) to find this hidden killer before he strikes at her family again.

1820 Scotland. Amidst the smoke-choked alleys of Glasgow and the untamed beauty of the Highlands, a spellbinding tale of love and rebellion unfolds.

Jane Stuart has lost everything. Her betrothed, her ancestral castle, and her cherished orchard — her life’s work — have all been ripped away. Now, exiled and adrift in the cold fog of Glasgow, she’s numb to the weight of her grief, resigned to a desolate future shrouded in loneliness and grey.

But fate has a different plan.

Percy Sommerbell is a musician, a free spirit who holds nothing but disdain for his industrialist father. But when familial duty forces Percy to travel to Scotland, he’s confronted with a painful truth — a truth that threatens to unravel the very fabric of his carefree existence. His family’s money, the fortune that funds his hedonistic enjoyment of all life’s pleasures, is generated by the suffering of children in his father’s mills.

In the midst of Glasgow’s smoke and shadows, Percy encounters Jane, a mysterious Highland beauty whose sad eyes and luscious curves promise both distraction from his guilt and inspiration for his music. Against all reason, Jane falls under Percy’s spell. But when the mills become the first spark in a violent radical insurgency, their budding connection faces a perilous trial beyond anything they could have imagined.

Drake Holstead is the trustworthy sheriff of a town torn apart by notorious criminals. When he first takes on his duty, he already has a solemn vow to keep; to protect Ella, the daughter of the former sheriff who has recently passed away. However, he will soon realize that keeping the young woman safe is no child’s play. The escape of a relentless killer with a wild thirst for revenge will complicate his demanding task. Will Drake manage to remain true to his word of honor and prevent the disaster before it’s too late?

Since Snake Horgan was arrested twelve years ago, only one thing was whirling around his mind; to take vengeance on Sheriff Elliott, the man responsible for his capture. But when he breaks out from jail, he is more than disappointed to discover that the sheriff is dead. Thirsty for revenge, he decides to punish his daughter instead. Having a vicious gang by his side, he will sneakily prepare his attack. The vigilant new town sheriff, though, will try to thwart his plans.. Will evil Horgan finally accomplish the evil mission he’s been dreaming of for twelve years?

While Horgan is on the trail of Ella, she and Drake will become closer… Will Drake succeed in protecting his town and saving the woman who stole his heart? Or will Horgan and his fellow criminals bring chaos to the peaceful town once more?