Showing results by narrator "Susan Boyce" in All Categories

In the gentle coastal town of South Cove, California, all Jill Gardner wants is to keep her store - Coffee, Books, and More - open and running. So why is she caught up in the business of murder? When Jill's elderly friend Miss Emily calls in a fit of pique, she already knows that the city council is trying to force Emily to sell her dilapidated old house. But Emily's gumption goes for naught when she dies unexpectedly and leaves the house to Jill, along with all of her problems...and her enemies.

As owner of Coffee, Books, and More, Jill Gardner looks forward to the hustle and bustle of holiday shoppers. But when the mayor ropes her into being the liaison for a new work program, 'tis the season to be wary. Local businesses are afraid that the interns will be delinquents, punks, or worse. For Jill, nothing's worse than Ted Hendricks - the jerk who runs the program. After a few run-ins, Jill's ready to kill the guy. That, however, turns out to be unnecessary when she finds Ted in his car - dead as a doornail.

Mae Benson was happy—a beloved wife, beloved mother, beloved neighbor. But even she wasn’t ready for the tragedy looming around the corner. The accident that claims her husband’s life rocks the whole family. And it’s not the only thing stirring up trouble. Mae’s oldest, Eliza, is facing an unexpected pregnancy with a fiancé she no longer wants to be with. Her daughter Holly is caught in a marriage on the rocks. Headstrong daughter Sara is reeling in the throes of a forbidden work-place romance. And her youngest son, Brent, is drowning in sorrow and guilt.

Jill Gardner, the owner of Coffee, Books, and More, has been suckered into playing a '20s flapper in murder/dinner theater. Though it is for charity.... Of course everyone is expecting a "dead" body at the dress rehearsal...but this one isn't acting! It turns out the main suspect is the late actor's conniving girlfriend, Sherry...who also happens to be the ex-wife of Jill's main squeeze. Sherry is definitely a master manipulator...but is she a killer? Jill may discover the truth only when the curtain comes up on the final act...and by then it may be far too late.

Getting ready for Halloween, the ladies at the Cackleberry Club Café are busy carving jack-o'-lanterns, stocking up on candy, and baking pumpkin bread. But someone's jumped the gun on the tricks. As mayoral candidate Chuck Peebler leaves the café, he gets struck with a crossbow arrow and is killed instantly.

Things are finally looking up for the Benson family. After a year of tough choices and big leaps of faith, it seems like love, success, and happiness are right in their grasp. But with a wedding on the horizon and a successful new restaurant growing faster than anyone ever expected, everyone certainly has their hands full. In fact, it’s starting to cause problems. Little cracks are appearing in the surface. And the historic storm brewing offshore might turn those cracks into craters.

Housed in a rustic red barn, the Simple Gifts crafts shop celebrates the talents of the Amish of Willow Ridge and the faith that inspires them. For the acceptance of simplicity opens the path to love. As far as Edith Riehl is concerned, the baby twins thrust suddenly into her arms are a heaven-sent gift. Unable to conceive, she longs to be a mother with a home of her own.

Toni Benson’s life has been a roller coaster. Years ago, the heartbreak caused by a cheating ex-husband left her in tatters. Then she discovered the run-down fixer-upper that would become the Sweet Island Inn. For a while, things were good. But when her brother Henry’s tragic death sends her reeling all over again, she is back to square one. So she sets off on an overseas journey, in hopes of learning from scratch what kind of woman she is meant to be. She wasn’t looking for love. But it found her anyway.

It wasn’t meant to be uncovered. But when her son Brent stumbles across something curious hidden in the workshop, innkeeper Mae Benson must relive events she thought she had left thirty years in the past. Her boyfriend Dominic is doing his best to help. But the arrival of a movie crew on Nantucket to film the adaptation of his latest novel has upended everything at the Sweet Island Inn.

Jill Gardner, proprietor of Coffee, Books, and More, has discovered that the old stone wall on her property might be a centuries-old mission worthy of being declared a landmark. But Craig Morgan, the obnoxious owner of South Cove's most popular tourist spot, The Castle, makes it his business to contest her claim. When Morgan is found murdered at The Castle shortly after a heated argument with Jill, even her detective boyfriend has to ask her for an alibi. Jill decides that she must find the real murderer to clear her name.

First the large, powerful feline discovers that, through some strange, inexplicable phenomenon, he now has the ability to understand human language. Then he discovers he can speak it as well! It’s a nightmare for a cat who’d prefer to sleep the day away carefree, but Joe can handle it. That is, until he has the misfortune to witness a murder in the alley behind Jolly’s Deli - and worse, to be seen witnessing it. With all of his nine lives suddenly at risk, Joe’s got no choice but to get to the bottom of the heinous crime.

The cold, blustery Midwest winters don't exactly agree with Betsy Devonshire, but since moving to Excelsior, Minnestoa, she sure has met a lot of warm, friendly people. So she isn't too surprised when the town's most talented needleworkers volunteer to restore a damaged tapestry that was found in the basement of a local church. Betsy even offers to donate materials for the project, thinking that the free publicity will boost sales at her financially troubled needlecraft shop. But soon Betsy is afraid of losing more than her business....

Summer has come to Willow Ridge, and Rachel Lantz is looking forward to a whole new season in her life as well - marriage to strapping carpenter Micah Brenneman, her childhood sweetheart. But when a strange Englisher arrives in the café claiming to be the long-lost sister of Rachel and her twin Rhoda, Rachel feels the sturdy foundation of her future crumbling - including Micah's steadfast love.

South Cove's local businesses are up in arms after volunteer fire chief Barry Gleason threatens to shut down anyone who doesn't comply with the fire code. But when Barry schedules a training burn in an old abandoned barn, he is the only one who doesn't come out alive. Jill Gardner - owner of Coffee, Books, and More - smells murder in the ashes. She'll have to work quickly to nab a killer with a short fuse - or else everyone's holiday will end with a fizzle.

In the year since he lost his wife in a tragic accident, Lester Lehman has found healing and purpose—helping construct Dale Kraybill's new bulk store, enjoying the Kuhn sisters' hearty meals, and settling into a tiny, built-for-one lakeside house. Falling in love again is surely not on Lester's mind. Yet despite his firm "no," two available ladies have set their kapps on the handsome widower—in a boisterous rivalry that weaves mayhem among the wedding festivities.

In the aftermath of WWI, Grace Abernathy is determined to reunite with her family, crossing an ocean to convince her widowed sister to return home to England. But Toronto holds more tragedy and her nephew, Christian, is now in the custody of his paternal relatives, the formidable Easton family, who rejected Grace's sister because of her low social status. Unconvinced that the Eastons can be fitting caretakers, Grace jumps at the chance to become Christian's nanny and to observe the family up close. But she is shocked to discover herself falling for Andrew Easton, the boy's guardian.

Delaney Nichols, originally of Kansas but settling happily into her new life as a bookseller in Edinburgh, works at The Cracked Spine in the heart of town. She's recently befriended a few medical school students after they came into the shop to sell some antique medical tomes. But when one of the students' friends is found murdered outside in the alley, Delaney takes it upon herself to help bring the murderer to justice.

Jill Gardner has volunteered her Coffee, Books, and More to host a Christmas adopt-a-pet party. Among the potential forever friends is a male terrier named Baby, whose owner died of a heart attack. With few clues to go on, even finding the name of Baby's human is a daunting task. But there's no challenge too big for Jill this holiday season. Playing Santa's Little Helper, Jill is determined to find out what happened - and to fulfill a long-time coming Christmas wish.

Psychotherapist and breakup expert Rachel A. Sussman, LCSW, reveals the secrets every woman needs to get her life back on track. Drawing on hundreds of counseling sessions she's conducted with women at all stages of recovery, Sussman developed a proven three-phase process for healing from a breakup.

When you enlist in the United States military, you don't just sign up for duty; you also commit your loved ones to lives of service all their own. No one knows this better than Elaine Brye, an "Army brat" turned military wife and the mother of four officers—one each in the Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marine Corps. For more than a decade she's endured countless teary goodbyes, empty chairs at Thanksgiving dinners, and sleepless hours waiting for phone calls in the night. She's navigated the complicated tangle of emotions that are part and parcel of life as a military mother.