The Lawyer and the Laundress by Christine Hill Suntz

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The Lawyer and the Laundress

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1837 – Canada

Lawyer James Kinney isn’t looking for love, and laundress Sara O’Connor doesn’t want to be found. When their paths cross in a British colony on the brink of rebellion, a marriage of convenience may be their best hope of survival.

Widower James Kinney knows his precocious daughter, Evie, needs more than his lessons on law and logic, but Toronto offers few options. Classes with the neighbor children seem ideal until James discovers Evie is secretly spending her time with Sara O’Connor, a kind and mysteriously educated servant. For propriety’s sake, James forbids their friendship. But then Evie falls victim to the illness ravaging the city, and James must call upon Sara’s medical knowledge and her special bond with Evie to save his daughter’s life.

When Sara’s presence in his household threatens scandal, however, James offers an unexpected solution: become his wife, in name only, and help him raise Evie to be a proper young lady.

If Sara can ignore the sparks she feels when they’re together, his logical proposal could keep her secret secure forever. But soon, the forces of rebellion unravel their tidy arrangement. When James is accused of treason, Sara must find the courage to face a past that could save her husband’s life.

A Troubling Suggestion by Betty Woods

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1833 – Tennessee

Clarisse Matthews still grieves the tragic loss of her fiancé and doubts she’ll ever love anyone again. Particularly if she has to divulge the secret abolitionist ideas she keeps hidden deep inside that only her beloved knew.

After the lady Luke Williams loved spurned him and married another man, he will never risk giving his heart to another woman. Especially not to Clarisse who had to have known about her best friend’s ruse and helped the woman to conceal it from Luke. He doesn’t need a lady by his side to manage his family’s plantation or forge a path to become an attorney.

But when Luke’s cousin is deceived by a rogue, who only Luke and Clarisse know the whole truth about, they form a reluctant alliance to protect his cousin. Their feigned attraction grows into genuine love. But will the differences between them become a wall too tall to climb or can they find a way to go around?

Love and Order by Jennifer Uhlarik

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1873 – Colorado

Wanted: Family, Love, and Justice

Separated as children when they were adopted out to different families from an orphan train, the Braddock siblings have each grown up and taken on various jobs within law enforcement and criminal justice.

Pinkertons Callie Wilson and Joe Trenamen come to Cambria Springs to stop a killer. But when evidence points to a ghost from Callie’s childhood, she must choose between two men she loves.
 
Falsely accused, bounty hunter Rion Braddock vows to prove his innocence. Former flame Maya Fellows and dime novelist Lucinda Peters both offer help, but is either beauty truly on his side?
 
In her first solo case, attorney Andi McGovern defends Rion, but the infuriating prosecutor, Daniel Littrick, outwits her. Following a hunch could win her case—or leave Andi dead.
 
Can these couples stop the true culprit and right the greatest injustice of Callie, Andi, and Rion’s lives?

Emily’s Trials by Henry McLaughlin

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1885 – Kansas

Emily Peyton is one of the first female attorneys in 1880s Kansas. After her father is injured in an accident, Emily takes on managing the practice in the face of prejudice and hostility. Many feel the law is no place for a woman. Emily’s first case is defending a man accused of murder and robbery. During the trial, she must deal with the blatant bias of the trial judge, who frustrates her ability to present her case. When her client is convicted, Emily blames herself and takes on the task of finding the real killer before her client is hanged. She risks her life in the face of threats to herself and her father if she continues to pursue justice. With the help of old and new friends, Emily tracks down the killer but faces her own death and that of the man she is falling in love with.

Code Name Edelweiss by Stephanie Landsem

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1933 – California

“What I am looking for—what I desperately need, Mrs. Weiss—is a spy.”

Adolf Hitler is still a distant rumble on the horizon, but a Jewish spymaster and his courageous spies uncover a storm of Nazi terror in their own backyard.

In the summer of 1933, a man named Adolf Hitler is the new and powerful anti-Semitic chancellor of Germany. But in Los Angeles, no-nonsense secretary Liesl Weiss has concerns much closer to home. The Great Depression is tightening its grip and Liesl is the sole supporter of two children, an opinionated mother, and a troubled brother.

Leon Lewis is a Jewish lawyer who has watched Adolf Hitler’s rise to power—and the increase in anti-Semitism in America—with growing alarm. He believes Nazi agents are working to seize control of Hollywood, the greatest propaganda machine the world has ever known. The trouble is, authorities scoff at his dire warnings.

When Liesl loses her job at MGM, her only choice is to work with Leon Lewis and the mysterious Agent Thirteen to spy on her friends and neighbors in her German American community. What Leon Lewis and his spies find is more chilling—and more dangerous—than any of them suspected.

Honey from the Rock by Lynnette Bonner

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1898 – Washington

Cora Harrison would like nothing more than to find a godly husband and enjoy the blessing of being a wife and mother. That’s why she’s happy when the new young doctor sets about to ask if he may escort her to dinner. However, the doctor is right in the middle of his request when who on earth should walk in but Kin Davis, Wyldhaven’s rogue traveler. The man she’s fought to forget with every ounce of her being for the past two years. Of course Kin would turn up with that annoying smirk right at this moment! The man is as incorrigible as a rock! So why does the strength in her legs instantly fail and her heart take to flight?

When Kin Davis walks into Dixie’s Boardinghouse and finds the town’s new doctor fawning all over Cora, irritation surges. Despite that, Kin holds no hope of attaining ‘Missionary’ Cora’s interest. She’d never fall for a scoundrel like him. Besides, he has to look after Isaiah Coleman, the kid he rescued from the streets of Seattle. And there’s his law practice to set up. He doesn’t have time to court a woman, no matter how pretty she might be or how pleasurable her company.

That’s what he keeps telling himself until Isaiah’s enemies follow him to town and Cora is put in the crosshairs. It’s then that Kin realizes Cora means more to him than life itself.

The Sugarplum Ladies by Carrie Fancett Pagels

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1867 – Canada and Michigan

When Canadian barrister Percy Gladstone finds his aristocratic British family unexpectedly descending upon him for Christmas, he turns to American social reformer Eugenie Mott and her fledgling catering crew, The Sugarplum Ladies, for help. Little does Percy, AKA Lord Kent, realize that this Christmas may start entirely new traditions. And little does Miss Eugenie Mott, to her chagrin, realize that the British idea of Christmastide extends through Epiphany! This Christmas is one to remember.

 

Tomorrow’s Steadfast Prayer by Naomi Rawlings

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1885 – Texas

The one thing she can’t do is fall in love… at least not if she wants to save her sister.

Alejandra Loyola knows she’s going to die. If having information about her uncle and cousin’s illegal cattle rustling operation isn’t enough to get her killed, then snitching on them to the law will surely mean her death—and she’s snitched more than once. The only question is, will she be able to see her younger sister provided for before she dies?

When successful Austin lawyer Harrison Rutherford is called back to his home town of Twin Rivers, Texas, after his father falls ill, he finds himself inundated with the burdens of running a large shipping business. The one surprise waiting for him is Alejandra Loyola. The maid who works for him is quiet and sweet. Now if only she trusted him enough to tell him what leaves shadows under her eyes and a haunted look on her face…

But the longer Harrison stays in Twin Rivers, the more something seems amiss. Rustlers have been wreaking havoc on local ranchers for over a year, and Harrison is starting to wonder if the secrets Alejandra is carrying have more to do with his father and the rustlers than he wants to admit.

As the rustling ring become more dangerous, will Alejandra trust Harrison enough to tell him what she knows? Or will the rustlers prove powerful enough to destroy not just the ranches surrounding Twin Rivers, but any hope for a future between them?

 

Julianne and the Judge by Melody Carlson

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1890 – Colorado

Fresh out of finishing school, Julianne Blackstone is eager to return to her sister’s ranch in Colorado, but her parents have other plans. Plans that involve money, matrimony…and mayhem.

While helping in her mother’s chic dress shop, Julianne rekindles an old friendship with young attorney Levi Stanfield and his father Judge Stanfield. But when she discovers her father’s self-serving plans are at odds with the law, her own life is placed in peril.

Torn between her parents and a strong sense of justice, can Julianne find her place in this new western world?

Christmas Homecoming by Lacy Williams

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1914 – Wyoming

All traveling nurse Libby wanted was a quiet Christmas to grieve losing her younger brother. She’s on a westbound train heading home when she and a friend find themselves in the middle of a hijacking and then taken hostage by a gang of outlaws.

Walt White is a U.S. Marshal who has been chasing down the Seymour gang for years. But he’s kidnapped along with two innocent women, he must figure out how to keep them alive—and it doesn’t help that he’s completely distracted by the beautiful Libby. He’ll need his wits about him if he hopes to save them.

As they work to engineer an escape, Walt realizes that Libby is resilient and cunning—and vulnerable, though she hides it well. He must give his all to protect her heart and bring her home in time for Christmas.

Twilight at Moorington Cross by Abigail Wilson

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1819 – England

Amelia Pembroke is in a unique position in Regency England: She can obtain financial freedom. But in order to do so, she must marry one of two gentlemen. The trouble is, she might be falling in love with another man entirely.

Everything changed the moment Amelia became heiress to Moorington Cross. A young widow and patient at Cluett’s Mesmeric Hospital, Amelia is stunned to learn that her doctor—and the only father figure she’s ever known—has altered his will naming her his primary beneficiary. Such an opportunity is beyond what any Regency-era woman could dare to dream—especially one with a sleeping disorder that finds her falling asleep at the most random of times.

There is, however, a perplexing condition attached to the will: she must wed one of two named men, wholly unknown to her. Doing so would provide her with a secure future. But how can she marry one of these men when her heart is intrigued by the charming solicitor, Mr. Hawkins?

Everything takes on a new sense of urgency—and danger—when Mr. Cluett is found dead in his bedchamber only hours after announcing his updated will. Now Amelia only has thirty days to decide which man she will marry. But she is just as determined to uncover the truth of her benefactor’s demise with the help of Mr. Hawkins. After all, this sudden turn of events couldn’t merely be a coincidence—could it?

A Heart’s Forever Home by Lena Nelson Dooley

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1896 – Texas

A single lawyer whose clients think he needs a wife. A woman who needs a forever home…or a forever family…or a forever love.

Although Traesa Killdare is a grown woman now, the discovery that her adoption wasn’t finalized sends her reeling. Especially when her beloved grandmother dies and the only siblings she’s ever known exile her from the family property without a penny to her name.

Wilson Pollard works hard for the best interest of his law clients, even those who think a marriage would make him more “suitable” in his career. And when the beloved granddaughter of a recently deceased client comes to him for help, he knows he must do whatever necessary to make her situation better.

As each of their circumstances worsen, a marriage of convenience seems the only answer for both. Traesa can’t help but fall for her new husband—the man who’s given her both his home and his name. But what will it take for Wilson to realize he loves her? Will a not-so-natural disaster open his eyes and heart?

The Brides of Bridge Ranch by Susanne Dietz

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1858 – Texas

Two generations find love in historic Texas…

For a Song
Two songbirds, red and yellow–it was a straightforward mail-order present for an upstanding widowed rancher’s little girl. But when a sister act of saloon singers (a redhead and a blond) arrives on the stagecoach expecting Jackson Bridge to give them a job, his daughter changes her tune and starts singing not for a pet, but for a pretty ginger-haired mother.

First Things First
Texas rancher’s daughter Georgie Bridge mourned when her first love, Ward Harper, left town to study the law, but now he’s back—as opposing counsel in a case against her father.

Carved in Stone by Elizabeth Camden

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1900 – New York

Her gilded world holds a deeply hidden secret. 

After years of tragedy, Gwen Kellerman now lives a quiet life as a botanist at an idyllic New York college. She largely ignores her status as heiress to the infamous Blackstone dynasty and hopes to keep her family’s heartbreak and scandal behind her.

Patrick O’Neill survived a hardscrabble youth to become a lawyer for the downtrodden Irish immigrants in his community. He’s proud of his work, even though he struggles to afford his ramshackle law office. All that changes when he accepts a case that is sure to emphasize the Blackstones’ legacy of greed and corruption by resurrecting a thirty-year-old mystery.

Little does Patrick suspect that the Blackstones will launch their most sympathetic family member to derail him. Gwen is tasked with getting Patrick to drop the case, but the old mystery takes a shocking twist neither of them saw coming. Now, as they navigate a burgeoning attraction and growing danger, Patrick and Gwen will be forced to decide if the risk to the life they’ve always held dear is worth the reward.

The Barrister and the Letter of Marque

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1818 – England

As a barrister in 1818 London, William Snopes has witnessed firsthand the danger of only the wealthy having their voices heard, and he’s a strong advocate who defends the poorer classes against the powerful. That changes the day a struggling heiress, Lady Madeleine Jameson, arrives at his door.

In a last-ditch effort to save her faltering estate, Lady Jameson invested in a merchant brig, the Padget. The ship was granted a rare privilege by the king’s regent: a Letter of Marque authorizing the captain to seize the cargo of French traders operating illegally in the Indian Sea. Yet when the Padget returns to London, her crew is met by soldiers ready to take possession of their goods and arrest the captain for piracy. And the Letter–the sole proof his actions were legal–has mysteriously vanished.

Moved by the lady’s distress, intrigued by the Letter, and goaded by an opposing solicitor, Snopes takes the case. But as he delves deeper into the mystery, he learns that the forces arrayed against Lady Jameson, and now himself, are even more perilous than he’d imagined.

Rekindling Trust by Sandra Ardoin

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1897 – Indiana

Abandonment. Betrayal. Injustice.
Two broken hearts given a second chance to mend.

Widow Edythe Westin yearns for a peaceful home and independence from her controlling father. The goal seems within reach until her rebellious young son is suspected of arson and assault. With nowhere else to turn, she defies her father and appeals for help from the only man she ever loved—the man who once deserted her when she needed him most.

Attorney Barrett Seaton returned to his hometown to make his brother’s final days comfortable. Seeing Edy again raises Barrett’s guard, especially when she remains under her father’s thumb…just like the day she rejected Barrett to marry another man. A second betrayal by Edy would destroy him as surely as her devious father destroyed his brother by railroading him into prison.

After over a decade of hurt, how will trust be renewed in time to save Edythe’s son from an injustice that will haunt him the rest of his life?

The Trouble with Jenny by Kathy Geary Anderson

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1900 – New Jersey/Wyoming

She’s always getting into trouble. He’s always getting hurt.

At the turn of the 20th century, New York socialite Jenny Westraven is in trouble . . . again. An orphaned heiress from a large banking family, she’s expected to follow the rules of society and marry according to her wealth and status. But Jenny craves adventure and anything BUT the ordinary. So, when her guardian aunt and uncle return from a European vacation to find Jenny working as a typewriter girl in a Newark law office, they are appalled. Worse yet, they interrupt a kiss between her and her young boss Mr. “Ben” Bennett.

Jenny has been getting Ben in trouble since he was ten, so he’s secretly relieved when her guardians reject him as a suitor. He has other plans for his life, and they don’t include his troublesome childhood friend. When Jenny uses outrageous methods to reject the suitors her family does approve for her, her aunt and uncle decide to send her to her brother in Wyoming.

Then, a family tragedy takes Ben out west as well, and his path crosses with Jenny’s once again. As they work together to end an injustice, what was merely an attraction between them develops into something more. Unfortunately, Jenny’s involvement with another man comes between them and puts her in the worst trouble of her life.

Now Ben must decide whether to risk his heart to rescue her once again or cut his losses and let her go.

Dogwood Plantation by Carrie Fancett Pagels

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1814 – Virginia

When a deadly yellow fever outbreak draws Cornelia Gill back home, her new independent life must be abandoned. Injured veteran, Carter Williams, likewise must return to Dogwood Plantation when he suffers grievous family losses. Both become caretakers to younger family members. As the War of 1812 heats up, two wounded hearts begin to heal. But can they manage all that life has handed them?

The Black Midnight by Kathleen Y’Barbo

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1889 – England

Two Series of Murders Seem Mysteriously Connected…

Three years before Jack the Ripper began his murderous spree on the streets of London, women were dying in their beds as The Midnight Assassin terrorized the citizens of Austin, Texas. Now, with suspicion falling on Her Majesty’s family and Scotland Yard at a loss as to who the Ripper might be, Queen Victoria summons her great-granddaughter, Alice Anne von Wettin, a former Pinkerton agent who worked the unsolved Austin case, and orders her to discreetly form a team to look into the London matter.

The prospect of a second chance to work with Annie just might entice Isaiah Joplin out of his comfortable life as an Austin lawyer. If his theories are right, they’ll find the The Midnight Assassin and, by default, the Ripper. If they’re wrong, he and Annie are in a bigger mess than the one the feisty female left behind when she departed Austin under cover of darkness three years ago.

Can the unlikely pair find the truth of who is behind the murders before they are drawn into the killer’s deadly game? From Texas to London, the story navigates the fine line between truth and fiction as Annie and Isaiah ultimately find the hunters have become the hunted. 

Tranquility Point by Pamela S. Meyers

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1916 – Wisconsin

Hannah Murphy is determined to make the summer of 1916, the best it can be before she heads off to law school in the fall. Like her mother and grandmother before her, she is inclined to “break the mold” when it comes to societal expectations of a young woman of means. Her mother was the first woman in town to wear bloomers, and Hannah becomes the first to ditch swim dresses in favor of a practical swimsuit that allows freedom to move through the water.

At the first gathering of the summer, she reacquaints with tall, handsome Ted Bauer, also an aspiring attorney. Ted, who is of German descent, had a huge crush on Hannah when he was in eighth grade, and she was in sixth. He’s no longer the gangly boy she remembers and is quite appealing. With Geneva Lake as their backdrop, their summer romance escalates, until the dark cloud of the Great War can no longer be ignored. Although the U.S. has not yet joined the fray, people of German descent are seen with mistrust, and Ted enlists with the British Army to take the heat of discrimination off his family. With the future on hold, Hannah bids her fiancé farewell as he goes to war. Only God knows if she will ever see him again or if they will ever be able to recapture what they had those few short summer months.