Showing results by narrator "Madeline Mrozek" in All Categories

Sofia Salgado's latest case at Maloney Investigations has some pretty tempting ingredients: blackmail, male strippers, and whipped cream. When a friend of Sofia's mom finds herself the victim of blackmail, stuffy Aidan has to go undercover as an exotic dancer, much to Sofia's delight. Can Aidan make it in the cutthroat world of male stripping? Can Sofia stop her mom getting too involved? Does whipped cream have fewer calories when it’s licked from a man’s naked torso?

When PI Franki Amato was invited to watch her 60-something landlady, Glenda, compete at the French Quarter’s annual kickoff to Mardi Gras weekend, she had reservations. After all, the event is called the Greasing of the Poles, and Glenda is an ex-stripper. But she never expected the fun event to turn her world upside down—and, literally, the victim’s.

It’s Mardi Gras season in New Orleans, but PI Franki Amato has too many problems to celebrate. A proven Sicilian lemon tradition hasn’t landed her a proposal, so her nonna has amped up the meddling to get her married, and pronto. Franki’s also under pressure to solve the strange murder of a family friend’s nephew, Nick Pescatore, who was found on a Mississippi River steamboat rumored to be haunted.

Six years ago, 10-year-old Sophie Albright disappeared from a shopping mall. Her mother, Jesse, is left in a self-destructive limbo, haunted by memories of her intense and difficult child, who was obsessed with birds. Trapped in her grief and guilt, Jesse stumbles through her workdays at a bookstore and spends her off hours poring over Sophie’s bird journals or haunting the mall to search for the face of her missing child.

Seth Whitacre, a centuries-old psychic witch, is determined to exact his revenge on everyone who stands between him and his ultimate goal: taking over the town of Clearwater and turning it into a stronghold for people with abilities - people like him. When Krissa thwarted his attempt to regain his full strength, she became his number-one enemy.

There I go again, touching things I shouldn’t. A knife my antique-dealer mother bought at an estate sale holds the memories of a terrified young woman about to be abducted by a werewolf. You see, I’m a psychometrist. I can read the memories people leave on the objects they touch. And this ability gets me into a lot of trouble. I feel obligated to save the young woman before she is killed. And it turns out that she’s not the first woman this shifter has taken. Nor will she be the last. The others are turning up dead.

Franki Amato is in Venice to celebrate her best friend’s Christmas Eve nuptials. She’s looking forward to a relaxing break from the PI grind and a romantic gondola ride with her Casanova. But when a chef goes belly-up after making violet risotto for the reception, her holiday plans start sinking like La Serenissima. Dead set on finding the killer and saving her BFF’s wedding, Franki navigates the city’s streets and canals, which are darker and more twisted than catacomb tunnels, and all while the ghosts of past and present are quite literally haunting her.

My name is Darla, and I’m a psychometrist. When I touch objects, I pick up the memories and emotions of other people who have touched them. I was well into my midlife when I was recruited to serve on the Memory Guild, a secret society of supernaturals and paranormals. Based in one of the nation’s oldest cities, the Guild preserves historical memory while fighting lies and conspiracy theories. And now a psychopath is trying to assassinate the members of the Guild. Including yours truly. I’m your typical overworked woman. Except I also have a price on my head.

Private investigator Franki Amato has just turned 30, and she feels anything but festive. To add insult to birthday injury, she has to investigate a surreal strip club homicide - with her 60ish ex-stripper landlady. Adding to her troubles, she has to figure out what a missing amber pendant and a mysterious amaretto bottle have to do with the murder, not to mention why she's being followed. When a second dancer goes down and a third is threatened, Franki turns to a weird witch to crack the case and cancel a curse.

For PI Franki Amato, New Orleans is anything but The Big Easy. Her best friend and employer has assigned her an unsettling investigation - the murder of a gorgeous cosmetics CEO at an allegedly haunted plantation. Adding to Franki’s stress, her meddling Sicilian nonna is planning her engagement even though her boyfriend, Bradley, hasn’t popped the question, and his new secretary seems determined to ensure a proposal never happens. As Bradley grows distant and the plantation grows dangerous, Franki turns to a psychic who is deathly afraid of ghosts.

When Sofia returns from vacation, she discovers that her pet seagull Fred has become her greatest enemy: the paparazzi. Her former agent has dressed him with a tiny camera and created a wildly successful YouTube channel using his footage. To ensure his loyalty, her agent has been bribing Fred with caviar, feeding into his addiction and stoking a fire within his tiny bird heart that can only be quenched by more caviar.

You always knew there was something fishy about Snow White's story, didn’t you? Seven lusty men. One young, nubile woman. Living innocently together in a cottage in the woods. But life ain't no fairy tale. Now Bitchy, the eighth dwarf, tells the real story of Snow White and it's nothing like you imagined. Or maybe it is.

Fallyn D'Amato came back from her honeymoon only to find her new life in shambles. Her hopeful future by Vince's side has been torn to bits at the hands of her vengeful brothers. When their newlywed bliss doesn't come together as planned, Fallyn's only choice is to break Vince's heart and shatter her own.

It’s a slow, steamy summer in New Orleans’ French Quarter, but Franki Amato is busy planning her bridal shower—that is, until a hit-and-run outside a coffee shop gets her PI senses percolating. The victim is linked to crimes at a fancy society wedding in a haunted hotel where Franki’s fiancé’s family is staying. As for the java joint, it’s straight out of a hardboiled detective movie, and there’s something hinky about its walnut liqueur coffee.

Every decade, an ancient pirate ship appears on Bewitcher's Beach's shore, and residents celebrate a reunion holiday with the ghosts of long-dead pirates. But where there are ghosts, there is also danger, and with the spell that once protected the town gone, Noema's found family is exposed. When the town votes for Noema's plan to restore the protection spell, she finds the grimoire with the answers is missing and the last warlock to attempt the magic is dead.

In a town I love for its warmth and charm, the only thing burning hotter than the holiday lights is a series of ruthless arson attacks. When my beloved video rental shop becomes the latest target, I find myself caught in a dangerous game with a shadowy arsonist who seems determined to destroy the very heart of my home. As the townspeople flee in fear, including the guy I'm dating, I’m faced with a choice: leave behind the place I’ve come to love or stay and fight to protect it.

This thrilling new novel tells the story of a soccer mom turned soldier. Shay Donovan is separated from her family during an outbreak where millions of infected humans become enraged, destroying in their path and killing anyone they see. Shay finds herself in a brutal fight for her life in a desperate attempt to find her husband and two young daughters. This novel, is much different than other zombie stories. Shay is an average American house wife, finds herself alone during an outbreak where those who are infected become enraged.

Catriona Masterton's fiancé, Ethan, is normal. In other words, he's the exact opposite of the Masterton clan. What on earth will Catriona's normal fiancé think when he comes home with her to meet her parents? What will he think when he discovers his soon-to-be in-laws invited Cat's ex to join them for a holiday dinner? Find out in a laugh-out-loud journey of self-discovery, familial pandemonium, and love.

Paisley Spencer's phone dies right when she's lost in a bad part of Phoenix. She ventures into an all-night liquor store to ask for directions, and when she returns to her car, three guys are waiting....

After an attempt on her life, Elliana's parents hire a bodyguard to protect her. And not just any bodyguard. Nope. They hire her teenage crush, Mateo Alvarado. Handsome, tall, muscular, and way too cocky.