As Robert Parker's body is lowered into the grave, Herman Camm introduces himself to the mourning family. He is a beady-eyed, small-framed man with nice clothes and hat - and he is about to drastically change the lives of three women: Mae Lou Parker; her daughter Carrie; and Pearl Brown. On Christmas Eve, trouble arrives when Carrie reveals Herman is abusing her. Mae Lou is fed up with Herman spending time with other women but when she goes to confront him, she finds Herman pointing a gun at her friend Willie. All of the stories converge when Herman is found dead

New York Times bestselling author RaeAnne Thayne brings readers another heartwarming story of community and romance in Blackberry Summer, the first book in the Hope’s Crossing series. Claire Bradford needed a wake-up call. What she didn’t need was a tragic car accident. As a single mom and the owner of a successful bead shop, Claire leads a predictable life in Hope’s Crossing, Colorado. So what if she has no time for romance? At least, that’s what she tells herself, especially when her best friend’s sexy younger brother comes back to town as the new chief of police. But when the accident forces Claire to slow down and lean on others—especially Riley McKnight—she realizes, for the first time, that things need to change. And not just in her own life. The accident—and the string of robberies committed by teenagers that led up to it—is a message to the people of Hope’s Crossing. The sense of community and togetherness had been lost during those tough years. But with a mysterious “Angel of Hope” working to inspire the town, Riley and Claire will find themselves opening up to love and other possibilities by the end of an extraordinary summer… Previously published. Check out the rest of the books in the Hope’s Crossing series: Book 1: Blackberry Summer Book 2: Woodrose Mountain Book 3: Sweet Laurel Falls Book 4: Currant Creek Valley Book 5: Willowleaf Lane Book 6: Christmas in Snowflake Canyon Book 7: Wild Iris Ridge

“Mallery has set the bar high....The characters...come to life in their small-town setting and will touch readers’ hearts and funny bones.”—RT Book Reviews On Blackberry Island, friendship, love and forgiveness are as constant as the ocean waves, if only you can make room in your heart for hope. Michelle Sanderson may appear to be a strong, independent woman, but on the inside, she’s still the wounded girl who fled home years ago. A young army vet, Michelle returns to the quaint Blackberry Island Inn to claim her inheritance and recover from the perils of war. Instead, she finds the owner’s suite occupied by the last person she wants to see. Carly Williams and Michelle were once inseparable, until a shocking betrayal destroyed their friendship. And now Carly is implicated in the financial disaster lurking behind the inn’s cheerful veneer. Single mother Carly has weathered rumors, lies and secrets for a lifetime, and is finally starting to move forward with love and life. But if the Blackberry Island Inn goes under, Carly and her daughter will go with it. To save their livelihoods, Carly and Michelle will undertake a turbulent truce. It’ll take more than a successful season to move beyond their devastating past, but with a little luck and a beautiful summer, they may just rediscover the friendship of a lifetime. Don't miss The Boardwalk Bookshop by Susan Mallery! A heartfelt tale of friendship between three women brought together by chance who open a bookshop together on the boardwalk of the California beaches.

What do you do without your best friend? Jamie isn't afraid of anything. Always ready to get into trouble, then right back out of it, he's a fun and exasperating best friend. But when something terrible happens to Jamie, his best friend has to face the tragedy alone. Without Jamie, there are so many impossible questions to answer -- how can your best friend be gone forever? How can some things, like playing games in the sun or the taste of the blackberries that Jamie loved, go on without him?

Twelve-year-old June Farrell spends the summer at her Vermont home getting used to the woman her mother is planning to marry and practicing her pie-baking skills, as she hopes to win the blue ribbon at the fair.

"Austin's visit to his grandmother's is the first since Grandpa died. Austin notices Grandpa's things but feels the emptiness of his absence. This spare story vividly captures the emotions of painful times and shows how they ease with sharing and remembering. Boy and grandfather were close, but boy and grandmother seem destined to be just as close, with Grandpa's memory to bind them. Poignant and perceptive, this has impressive resonance, and readers won't easily shed its warm afterglow."--(starred) Booklist.

Just a few days after she gives birth alone in the Northwoods, a recently widowed young Chippewa woman stumbles into a nearby lumber camp in search of refuge and sustenance. Come summer, the camp owner sends Skypilot, his most trusted friend, to accompany Moon Song and her baby on the long and treacherous journey back to her people. But when tragedy strikes off the shore of Michigan's Upper Peninsula wilderness, Moon Song and Skypilot must depend on each other for survival. With every step they take into the forbidding woods, they are drawn closer together, until the tough questions must be asked. Will she leave her culture to enter his? Will he leave his world to enter hers? Or will they walk away from a love that seems too complicated to last? With evocative descriptions of a breathtaking landscape, Under a Blackberry Moon will sweep readers into a wild realm where beauty masks danger and only the truly courageous survive, even as the sweet love story along the way tightly grips their hearts.