Showing results by narrator "Tara Ochs" in All Categories

Who better than food and cocktails columnist Hayley Powell to book a caterer for the Island Times holiday party? But Hayley's quest for a cook turns into the pursuit of a killer who caters to no one....

As the owner of It's Vintage, Y'All in Sugar Creek, Georgia, Cookie Chanel has agreed to share her expertise with author Juliana McDaniel. But on her way to town, Juliana is shot dead, and that was all she wrote. Cookie picks up the thread of the story with help from her psychic cat and a couple of inquisitive ghosts. To unmask this killer, she'll have to lift the lid on family secrets and hidden motives - because she might wind up getting capped herself if she doesn't cloche this case....

Dale M. Kushner's novel The Conditions of Love traces the journey of a girl from childhood to adulthood as she reckons with her parents' abandonment, her need to break from society's limitations, and her overwhelming desire for spiritual and erotic love. In 1953, 10-year-old Eunice lives in the backwaters of Wisconsin with her outrageously narcissistic mother, a manicureeste and movie-star worshipper. Abandoned by her father as an infant, Eunice worries that she will become a misfit like her mother.

What would you do if you were going to die soon? What wisdom would you impart to the world if you knew it was your last chance? Sara Frankl's eventual death was indeed tragic, but the vignettes she presents are unforgettable. Choose Joy is a must-have for those searching for meaning and beauty in a world full of tragedy. Her words breathe with vitality and life, and her stories will inspire smiles, tears, and the desire to "choose joy".

A story from the anthology Masters of True Crime, which spans murder cases from the beginning of the 20th century to today. This is a must-hear for fans of true crime and will also be compelling to mystery and thriller listeners.

Fed up with dating after a disastrous setup, the only thing Hayley wants to snuggle up to is a box of made-to-order chocolates from plus-sized, plus-mouthed chocolatier Bessie Winthrop. But when Bessie is found dead in her kitchen, only Hayley suspects that Bessie's "heart attack" might actually be a candy-coated murder.

In Avonar, Gerick investigates the ancient king D'Arnath's own daughter, held captive by the Lords of Zhev'Na for a thousand years-or so she claims. Entangled in bonds of love, family, and secrecy, Gerick unravels the mysteries of ancient kings, ancient evil-and the dreadful truth of his own destiny.

Spices are flying off the shelves of Spice It Up!, and Piper Prescott couldn’t be happier. It's that time of year again - time for the annual Brandywine Creek Barbecue Festival. Soon contestants and BBQ aficionados from all over the Southeast will converge on the town. Many of Brandywine Creek's citizens plan to participate in the week-long festivities and are busily concocting savory rubs and sassy sauces. Among the locals vying for the grand prize are Becca Dapkins and Maybelle Humphries.

Along with all the perks of becoming an adult come challenges and the need to learn skills that help you self-regulate as you venture into new experiences. Highlighting five key areas of life - physical, mental, emotional, social, and financial - Be You, Only Better offers science- and experience-backed tools and easy-to-implement techniques for success. Skill-building and self-care practices - such as journaling, getting enough sleep and exercise, embracing nature, managing time and money, and practicing gratitude, mindfulness, and optimism - are presented.

When the short bypass around Green opens with much fanfare, downtown dries up faster than cement on the roadway. Businesses close, and the hospital becomes a clinic. Mayor Eva must decide whether to sell her historic store or close it. The Holey Moley Antique Mall seems less like a dream and more like a nightmare. While the road is progress to some, it seems to be leading Green toward a national trend - a town that is merely a shadow of itself.

Although we all know that we will inevitably experience the loss of those we love, our reaction to death is usually one of shock, horror, devastating sorrow, and resistance. Re-Arranged: Never the Same: The Nature of Grief serves as a companion to help listeners through the grieving process.

For two centuries, the planet of the Dedelphi has been riven by war. Though delicate, swanlike creatures, the planet’s natives are fierce in battle, and their ceaseless conflict has reduced their world to a wasteland. To save themselves and their world, the Dedelphi have forged a fragile peace and called for outside intervention. The Earth corporation Bioverse constructs a plan to heal the shattered planet. It’s the most ambitious engineering project the universe has ever seen, and if it backfires, the result will almost certainly be genocide.

With wedding plans well underway, Lois Barker plots to gracefully get rid of her groom's catfish collection - stuffed, ceramic, woven. Her husband-to-be, Chris, on the other hand, has decided to get rid of something else: his homestead, which he gives to a needy Mexican family at church. Life is full of possibilities, and the community of Green is tickled pink that their newspaper owner is settling down with one of their own.

Will Lois Barker put down roots in Green...or will small-town life be too tough? The charming and uncertain journalist is delighted with her decision to keep The Green News-Item and excited about the possibility of romance with her good-looking catfish farmer/coach neighbor - and the growth of her fresh faith and friendships. Her second year in Green has scarcely been rung in, though, before Lois is wrung out.

Green survived a tornado, but now the town faces a new storm - one that threatens the schools! As Green continues to recover from a horrendous tornado, newlyweds Lois and Chris just want to return to a normal life in their home on Route 2. But even more threats to Green loom on the horizon. The state of Louisiana announces plans to close Green's schools, which will put Chris out of work and end a long-standing tradition of community pride.

When Faith Hunter agrees to help PI Bob Roget find an identity thief at a local scrapbook retreat, her friendly croppers’ weekend quickly morphs into a dangerous one. As croppers share their own memories, a killer collects them for her new identity, and doesn’t appreciate Faith in the picture. Faith struggles to balance her professional, detecting and personal lives as threats and secrets keep her off-balance. Things turn deadly when a woman is killed and Faith is blackmailed.

Set in San Francisco and North Carolina, the linked stories in Damn Love introduce us to characters struggling with love in all its complicated forms, including a young doctor getting over a breakup with the help of a patient, a newly married gay man who reconnects with his estranged mother, a trio of physicists caught in a surprising love triangle, and a soldier who takes secrets with her to the Iraqi desert.

Trina Warren didn’t think she was going to be a hero. She thought she was going to go to fourth period, hopefully avoiding any more hassle from the jocks about dropping their plates at her waitressing job the night before. Then there was a bang, and an overturned chair, and everything was different. Now Trina finds herself in a fantasy world, pursued by a faceless, nameless monster that only she can stop.

A story from the anthology Masters of True Crime, which spans murder cases from the beginning of the 20th century to today. This is a must-hear for fans of true crime and will also be compelling to mystery and thriller listeners.

Lia Stanton, a woman who likes things safe, accidentally gets caught in a wormhole when she's just supposed to be getting a nice, easy fluff piece to write. It throws her forward in time and space, landing her on a planet she doesn't recognize. On the heels of her arrival, she's accused of espionage and forms a connection to a man she never should have met. Troll Maglaya is on his third tour of duty on Jarved Nine. Just when he thinks nothing here can surprise him, he's assigned to watch a suspected spy. As soon as he sees Lia, he knows her claim of time travel is true - he's carried a drawing of her for years, one made fifty years earlier.