SLEIGH BELLS RING
<p> <b>“The Stone magic makes these books such a pleasure to read and share.” — <i>Rendezvous</i></b></p> <br><p><b>“Her characters live with the shadows over their lives and make the best of them, honorably, courageously, and generously. We can be happier for knowing these people in the short run, and better for knowing them in the long run.” — <i>Reviewer’s Choice Reviews<i></b></p> <br><p><b><i>A splash of suspense, a dash of Christmas magic, and a sleighful of love. . . </b><i></p> <br><p>A ghost of Christmas past makes the holidays a difficult time for homicide lieutenant Nicholas Hunter. It was just days before a long ago Christmas that Nick’s dangerously unbalanced mother disappeared with his four-year-old brother—the brother that the then eight-year-old Nicholas had vowed always to protect. Thirty years later, Nick continues his unrelenting search for the brother he lost, and now—once again at Christmastime—a psychopath is forcing women from Nick’s past to publicly humiliate themselves in an effort to destroy their careers and draw Nick into a life-or-death game of catch-me-if-you-can. It is against this dramatic backdrop that Nick, who has always believed that there is no place for love in his deeply scarred heart, meets Claire.</p> <br><p>Claire was an innocent sixteen-year-old when she became the victim of an apparent hit-and-run accident. The life-threatening head injury she suffered imparted an extraordinary gift, but also left her with an intense foreboding of imminent personal harm so terrifying that she felt compelled the flee the city she loved. Now, fifteen years later, Claire returns to Seattle intent on unmasking and conquering that enigmatic fear—only to discover that its cause is very real.</p> <br><p>At a tender age, Allison Prentice comes to the devastating conclusion that she is simply the wrong child for her wildly successful, perfectionist parents. No matter how hard she strives to meet their unbounded expectations, her parents' approval remains an elusive dream. Even her brilliant academic achievements receive faint praise. For the shy, unhappy Allison, the solution is escape: as a child, into her own private world; then, as soon as she graduates from high school, from the city in which she grew up. When Allison finally returns to Seattle, it is as a superstar intellectual property litigator. She is just beginning to find happiness—and love with a man named Lucas—when the psychopath chooses her as his next pawn.</p> <br>