BOOKS

Literary Fiction

Crime Fiction

Dark Web Suspense Series (Books 1-2)

Strangers on This Road Suspense Series (Books 1-12)

 

Literary Fiction:

The First Time We Met (Kindle & paperback)

College junior Eva Meade does not want to be a bridesmaid.

Painfully shy and socially inept, she’s well aware that the ability to do Calculus won’t help her navigate a wedding weekend swarming with glamorous celebrities. But her cousin asked her, Eva said yes, and now it’s happening.

Somehow she gets through it, even surviving the embarrassing reality of meeting her celebrity crush, the “sexiest man of the year,” British movie star Matthew Kean. And then life throws Eva a devastating curve ball, a year of pain and isolation, which changes everything she thought about herself.

From stepping onto a ferry in Southern California, to stumbling into first love in Europe, to claiming her own best life, Eva finds that what matters most is being true to the person you are, and knowing what you want. Even if what you want isn’t possible.

 

Crime Fiction/Suspense:

Down an Unknown Road [2023 release]

You never know what’s going to change your life. A lucky break, a tragic hour, a chance meeting. And nothing is ever the same again.

For Samantha McLaren, a particular snarky comment from her older sister is the catalyst that impels her to quit her meaningless job and jump headfirst into the unknown. Good friends and luck lead her to Rome, where she accepts the role of assistant to the owner of a contemporary art gallery. A whole new world of opportunity, a chance to start over, to learn a new language, to become a better version of herself. It’s everything she could have hoped for.

But—there’s the curse. Samantha’s predecessor disappeared eight months before, and since then no one has stayed in the position. Of course, it’s all nonsense.

And then there are the rumors. Salacious reports that her charismatic employer is much more than just her boss. There’s the disturbing offer of bribery. The threats when she refuses.

And then there’s a murder…

Past Damage (Kindle & paperback)

After getting out of a toxic relationship and into a successful career in web design, Julia Wray is in a great place in her life. Running into her high school friend and former crush Eddie Fung in the supermarket is just another sign that things are looking up.

Except Eddie’s involved with another woman, and Julia’s creepy ex is still hovering around the edges of her social circles. When Eddie asks for Julia’s help with a bizarre family problem, events begin to spiral in disturbing and dangerous ways.

Swept into a dark tangle of fraud, blackmail and murder, Julia and Eddie are far out of their depth—as well as in the hotseat of local gossip. Only by digging deeper, taking risks and trusting each other will they find their way out.

The Element of Truth (Kindle & paperback)

Cal senior Sunny Quinn always trusts her instincts. So when she sees Des Merrick for the first time, and feels an immediate and intense connection with him, she believes it’s the real thing.

And then it’s over, before it can even begin, leaving her with a life lesson and not a little doubt and pain.

Three years later, Sunny’s happily settled in San Francisco, working as a café manager, when news of the violent death of a former UC Berkeley classmate sets off a chain of bizarre and disturbing events. She was afraid of Tobias Bronson, the man who came very close to stalking her, and now someone has murdered him. Dark forces are suddenly at work in Sunny’s life, drawing her into an incomprehensible mystery—and back into the company of Des Merrick, who isn’t the person she thought he was. Who he really is remains to be seen.

Threatened by unseen enemies, joined by unlikely—and maybe untrustworthy—allies, Sunny finds herself faced with an unthinkable choice. To walk away, or to risk everything to discover the truth.

 

Dark Web Suspense Series (Books 1-2):

Spiders in a Dark Web (Kindle & paperback)

Just beyond my sight was a vast menacing darkness, a web of greed and lies and violence. It touched me, had touched my parents, though we never knew it existed. And now that I’d seen it, I couldn’t ever go back to unseeing. I was a part of it now. Connected by a dozen different strands, held fast by its shadowy influence.

Her cousin Marianne is the only family Lola Bright has left. They’ve grown apart over the years, but Lola had no idea how far—not until Marianne shows up at her LA apartment and tells her to run.

Hiding out in a vintage camper in Half Moon Bay, anxious and alone, Lola finds herself inexplicably drawn to a man surrounded by his own troublesome mysteries. Caught in a web of unknown dangers, she decides to risk exposure to learn the truth about her cousin—and finds out much more than she ever wanted to know.

Following a trail that takes her from New York to Arizona and back to California, from the arms of a lover to a jail on Rikers Island to a dive bar in Tucson, Lola becomes enmeshed in a dark and dangerous mystery that will leave no part of her life unchanged.

Dark Web of Deceit (Kindle & paperback)

It’s been raining for weeks, delaying construction on Lola Bright and Peter Owen’s new home. After almost a year together, things are looking pretty sodden in their relationship, as well. Why is Peter so prickly and distant? When did she become jealous, and so full of doubts?

One text message changes everything. Lola’s cousin Marianne, who they believed to be safely unreachable in Witness Protection, is caught in a life or death situation and needs their help in tracking down a possible lead. Lola and Peter agree to spend a few days in Honolulu, combining an impromptu vacation with detecting on her behalf—a deceptively simple proposition.

Even as they enjoy the warm weather, beautiful beaches and a chance to reconnect, sinister forces are moving just out of sight. Allies may be enemies, stories don’t add up, and innocent people are in danger.

Caught in a twisted investigation involving murder, blackmail and the FBI’s Most Wanted, Lola and Peter will have to get through it together, at any cost.

 

Strangers on This Road Suspense Series (Books 1-12):

Strangers on This Road (Kindle & paperback)

One beautiful day in the quiet Catalina Island town of Avalon, Lainey Parker met her destiny…

Lainey has lived in Avalon for nearly a year, working at the local grocery store, taking time to decide what she wants to do with her life now that she’s finished high school and left her unhappy childhood home. She’s just getting by, minding her own business, not looking for adventure or excitement. Never in her wildest dreams imagining that she would be thrown headlong into the middle of an international crime investigation, complete with shadowy villains. Or that she would soon be spending time with an unbelievably handsome and charming stranger, who raises more mysterious questions than he answers—a stranger with whom she shares a strong, strange kinship from the first moment they meet.

Danger in Academia (Kindle & paperback)

Who knew academic life could be so dangerous?

Lainey Parker, now a senior at Columbia College in New York, is as concerned as the rest of her classmates when her favorite professor goes missing. But unlike her fellow students, Lainey happens to witness two very suspicious characters searching the professor’s office for a mysterious “item.” As she struggles to stay focused on her studies, Lainey finds herself on the edge of a disturbing puzzle with more questions than answers. Why would anyone want to hurt a quiet, scholarly professor of music? What dark secrets could Professor Kovic need to hide?

When a certain agent for Interpol shows up to investigate, the very same man who broke Lainey’s heart four years before, things really begin to get interesting—not to mention deadly.

Enemy at the Wedding (Kindle & paperback)

A beautiful, idyllic setting… A happy bride and groom… And enemies lurking in the shadows, waiting to strike…

Lainey Parker is thrilled to be traveling to England with her boyfriend, Aiden Kinnear, to attend his cousin’s very fancy wedding—and also extremely nervous to be meeting Aiden’s mom for the first time. But the suspense of meeting the family is nothing compared to the shock of finding an all-too-familiar enemy in the quiet English countryside, or being thrown once again into the midst of a dark and dangerous plot.

As Lainey and Aiden struggle to cope with unending festivities, evil exes and a horde of eccentric relatives, they must quickly solve the mystery—without getting killed in the process.

The Heartbroken Brides (Kindle & paperback)

Two women—Maria Concepción Argüello, the 1806 Presidio commandante’s daughter, and Carol Kinnear, present-day victim of a car accident…

Sometimes history repeats itself—with deadly results.

Lainey Parker and her fiancé, Aiden Kinnear, plan a long weekend in San Francisco in order to wind up his deceased aunt’s estate and visit some old friends. Of course they have no idea that it won’t be a peaceful getaway, providing a much-needed break in their busy lives and a chance to discuss their own wedding plans. Fate plunges the pair into the heart of a strange mystery, involving a tragic piece of California history and an unseen menace—as well as bringing back unsettling and unfinished business from Lainey’s own past. As they near a solution, they are caught in a web of danger and misfortune, threatening to end their life together before it can fully begin.

Death on the Menu (Kindle & paperback)

It began with the bloody body of a man in the storeroom. Who killed him? Why leave him in a trendy restaurant? And why do the police think Molly had anything to do with it?

Molly Faraday, aspiring screenwriter and former soap starlet, is horrified to discover a murdered man at the L.A. restaurant where she works. It’s the first time she’s ever seen a dead person—which is disturbing enough without being considered as a possible suspect. And then a sinister black SUV starts to follow her around. Interpol agents appear at her work. Nothing is as it seems. Suddenly Molly finds herself caught in a bizarre mystery, confronted by ruthless villains, attempted murder and mistaken identity—not to mention her conflicting feelings for two attractive men.

As she struggles to play her part in a dangerous game, Molly must decide who she can trust.

The Night Ferry (Kindle & paperback)

A vacation in Europe is the start of a dangerous adventure…

When Megan Hofflin steps aboard the night ferry from Stockholm to Helsinki, she has no idea that the course of her life is about to change. Enter Allegra, a beautiful woman who collapses into Megan’s arms, gasping for breath—followed by Allegra’s dour yet oddly appealing companion, Cai. The couple is shrouded in fear, driven to deadly measures to achieve their ends, desperate for Megan’s help. Try as she might, Megan just can’t seem to resist their charm, finding herself drawn inescapably deeper into the mystery.

Suddenly, rational Megan must try to make sense of the bizarre and terrifying events happening all around her, as well as her oddly intense feelings for Cai, as they race from Finland to Denmark on a wild chase for a valuable object with unknown enemies closing in on every side.

The Missing Tourist (Kindle & paperback)

Just when Megan thought she was settled into her new life, everything fell apart…

Megan Hofflin’s first winter in Copenhagen has barely begun, and she already loves everything about it—especially living with her boyfriend, Cai. That is, until Cai begins to act very strangely, disrupting their happy home. Things go from bad to worse when he suddenly disappears, with no explanation, right when family friends—people Megan barely knows—are coming to visit. Still, entertaining guests sounds a lot better than worrying alone. She might as well clean the house, stock the fridge and make the best of it.

When a mysterious message arrives from Cai, Megan is forced to trust her new companions, Lainey and Aiden, as the three of them dash to Paris to discover the secret Cai is hiding and help solve the puzzle of the missing British tourist. Racing against time, with only scattered clues to go on, they follow a trail leading to a surprising journey’s end.

Beneath These Streets (Kindle & paperback)

Beneath these streets lie dark and haunting secrets…

What begins as an ordinary Monday for Becca Rossiter ends with a visit from the police. A local high school history teacher has been murdered, a colleague from the historical association where she works. Becca’s involvement with the tragedy is slight at best—until she receives a surprising plea for help from the dead man’s son, Cal Fellows, who’s determined to learn the truth behind his father’s death.

Drawn into a perplexing and dangerous mystery, together Cal and Becca must unravel tangled secrets from San Francisco’s past, delving into the darkest roots of the Gold Rush city, in order to discover the killer.

Murder on Santorini (Kindle & paperback)

An idyllic vacation, interrupted by murder…

Becca Rossiter arrives on the Greek island of Santorini bathed in bright sunshine, with three weeks of vacation and a promising romance ahead of her—a dream come true. Only one day later, and the dream has changed into a nightmare. With her friend and local archeologist, Cal Fellows, she witnesses a brutal killing in the steep and twisting streets of Ia. Eluding the murderer, they escape and report the crime, hoping that will be the end of the matter.

But as they continue their travels through the Cyclades, Becca can’t shake the uneasy feeling that they’re being followed. Throw in a mysterious Greek millionaire, a spoiled Mediterranean beauty, a surprising arrival from California and a series of deadly threats, and before they know it Becca and Cal find themselves caught in a complicated web of secrets, villains and deceit.

An Empty House (Kindle & paperback)

“What happened to Sarah Baxter?”

Tremaine Hall stands empty and derelict. Nearly fifty years ago, a woman left her home and disappeared without a trace—never to return…

Paige Brody is broke and unemployed, uneasily wondering how she’ll pay next month’s bills. After two layoffs and a terrible relationship, she’s ecstatic to find herself hired as an assistant to an unconventional and talented photojournalist, finally landing what seems like the ideal job. R.B. Withering is a woman of few words and independent means, relying on Paige’s help to begin work on her next piece. They arrive in London without a hitch—and then R.B.’s smooth-talking cousin appears, and bad luck quickly follows.

What starts as a short research trip to a tiny village in England unravels into murder, missing persons and layers of mystery, throwing Paige into an investigation that reveals startling things about her own past. Far from home, with only strangers to count on, Paige seeks to find answers in her own life as well as to the puzzles before her.

Saints and Enemies (Kindle & paperback)

From the moment she arrives, nothing is as it seems…

Taking a much-needed break from her thriving career as an artist and gallery owner, Hannah Wood plans to spend a few weeks housesitting with her friends the Hofflins at a beautiful home in Marseille. A free place to stay, sunny skies and white sandy beaches in the picturesque south of France—she’d be a fool to refuse. Unless, of course, she knew what those weeks would bring. First she steps off the train and runs straight into her charismatic, estranged ex-husband. And then her path crosses that of a vicious and ruthless woman who’s no stranger to her friends. Then a near-hit-and-run almost puts an end to her life.

Trapped in a series of increasingly dangerous and disorienting events, Hannah must quickly separate the friends from the enemies, the enemies from the villains—and try to stay alive in the process.

In a House of Strangers (Kindle & paperback)

She’s dead. Oh, God, she’s dead...

Mindy Faraday’s life just fell apart. Within weeks, she went from self-assured future lawyer to defeated, aimless mess, living in sweatpants in her parents’ spare room. Her family, with no idea what to do with her, hopes a change of scenery might help. Shipped off to visit her aunt in Portugal, Mindy arrives in Lisbon to find no shortage of distractions to take her mind off her problems. Her attractive step-cousin, Luciano, for one, as well as his siblings, lively Renata and reserved Claudio.

Warmly welcomed by her Aunt Jane and Tio Jorge, overseas for the first time in a beautiful city, Mindy begins to see her situation in a new light. Maybe her older sister Molly had it right all along, and life shouldn’t be carefully planned in advance.

And then troubling things begin to happen. Mindy finds herself caught up in an intense and unexpected love affair, and becomes a witness to events she can’t explain. Anxious and isolated, she struggles to make sense of what she’s seen—until a shocking tragedy forces her to face her issues, trust her instincts and make more than one unbearable choice.