Build-in Book Search
Midnight
Dean Koontz
Thriller / Mystery / Science Fiction & Fantasy
The citizens of Moonlight Cove, California, are changing. Some are losing touch with their deepest emotions. Others are surrendering to their wildest urges. And the few who remain unchanged are absolutely terrified-if not brutally murdered in the dead of night. Dean R. Koontz, the bestselling master of suspense, invites you into the shocking world of Moonlight Cove-where four unlikely survivors face a terror beyond the darkest realms of human nature. Here is the ultimate masterpiece of fear by the one and only Dean R. Koontz. . .
Tick Tock
Dean Koontz
Thriller / Mystery / Science Fiction & Fantasy
Tommy Phan is a successful detective novelist living the American Dream in southern California. One evening he comes home to find a small rag doll on his doorstep. It’s a simple doll, covered entirely in white cloth, with crossed black stitches for the eyes and mouth, and another pair forming an X over the heart. Curious, he brings it inside. That night Tommy hears an odd popping sound and looks up to see the stitches breaking over the doll’s heart. And in minutes the fabric of Tommy Phan’s reality will be torn apart. Something terrifying emerges from the pristine white cloth, something that will follow Tommy wherever he goes. Something that he can’t destroy. It wants Tommy’s life, and he doesn’t know why. He has only one ally, a beautiful, strangely intuitive waitress he meets by chance—or by a design far beyond his comprehension. He has too many questions, no answers, and very little time. Because the vicious and demonically clever doll has left this warning on Tommy’s computer screen: The deadline is dawn. Ticktock Time is running out.
California Gold
John Jakes
Historical Fiction / Science Fiction / Children's
James Macklin Chase was a poor Pennsylvanian who dreamed of making it rich in California. But at the turn of the century, the money to be made was in oil, citrus, water rights, and the railroads. Mack would have it all, if he had his way. And along the way, the men and women he met, the passion he found, the enemies he made, and the great historical figures like William Randolph Hearts, Leland Stanford, and Theodore Roosevelt, he encountered, helped bring glory to the extraordinary century.
"Riveting...CALIFORNIA GOLD strikes pay dirt....This sweeping epic is a dynamite tribute to the sheer pluck of one man who scorns all obstacles. He instills vibrancy in all his characterizations."
RICHMOND TIMES-DISPATCH
A Literary Guild Main Selection
Long Road to California
Myanne Shelley
Fiction / Ebooks
Caleb and Nina Byrnes, long married and struggling financially, travel from Texas to California, following the route Caleb's grandmother took when her family migrated from the Dust Bowl. As Nina chronicles the journey, they discover a secret in Grandma's past. Learning about Vera's hardships offers perspective into their own lives. And tracking down old friends may help Vera in her waning years.Caleb and Nina Byrnes, long married and struggling financially, travel from Texas to California, following the route Caleb's grandmother took when her family migrated from the Dust Bowl in the 1930s. As Nina, an amateur photographer, chronicles the journey, they discover a secret in Grandma Vera's past. Learning about Vera's hardships and perseverance offers perspective into their own lives. And tracking down old friends may just help Vera in her waning years.
A California Christmas
Brenda Novak
Contemporary Romance / Romance/suspense / Historical Romance
Spend the holidays in Silver Springs, where the greatest gift of all is the love you never expected. Up-and-coming TV anchor Emery Bliss can't imagine anything more humiliating than the sex tape her ex revenge-posted online. That is, until it causes her to lose her job on top of her self-esteem. Seeking solace—and anonymity—in Silver Springs, Emery isn't looking to get involved with another man any time soon. But when she's thrown back into contact with Dallas Turner, she sees something that his many detractors have missed.Being home for the holidays and his adoptive mother's wedding isn't where mountain climber Dallas feels most comfortable. Thanks to his troubled childhood, he'd rather be on a rock face alone than trying to connect with people. Emery, however, makes him want to overcome his past...somehow.Both Emery and Dallas had been planning on a quiet, solitary Christmas, but the sparks between them are lighting a fire strong enough...
California Dreaming
Shawn Lane
Gay & Lesbian / Romance
You can never go home again. But Mick Lawler is doing just that after ten years. Mick left California when his first love, Joe, chose his twin sister, Raine, over him. Joe and Raine married and a broken-hearted Mick left behind everything he'd ever known.Settling first in Chicago, Mick met his fellow lawyer, Zach Covington. When Zach left Chicago for sunny Florida, Mick went along. Life is great. He has a good job, a nice apartment, and Zach close by. Sure, Mick is in love with seemingly unobtainable, Zach, but just having Zach in his life is enough.When Raine calls to tell him Joe is dead, Mick agrees to return but not alone. Zach insists on going. Once there, Mick has to deal with his grieving twin, his estranged parents, and his newfound, sudden sexual relationship with Zach. But his family want their prodigal son to move back home. Sounds great. But there's Zach and Florida. His new idea of home.
Route 666
Part #5 of "Imp World: California Demon" series by Debra Dunbar
Science Fiction & Fantasy / Romance / Mystery & Thrillers
Camp Time in California
Mary Pope Osborne
The #1 bestselling Magic Tree House series is ready to whisk you away through time with Jack and Annie—this time to the Yosemite National Park!The magic tree house whisks Jack and Annie to the Yosemite National Park in 1903. They are surprised to join John Muir and President Theodore Roosevelt on the most significant camping trip in conservation history!Did you know that there's a Magic Tree House book for every kid?Magic Tree House: Perfect for readers who are just beginning chapter booksMerlin Missions: More challenging adventures for the experienced readerFact Trackers: Nonfiction companions to your favorite Magic Tree House adventuresIf you're looking for Merlin Mission #35: Night of the New Magicians, it was renumbered as part of the rebrand in 2017 as Merlin Mission #7.
Kidnap on the California Comet
M. G. Leonard
Children's / Classics / Fiction
Board the California Comet and help Harrison Beck to solve another heart-stopping mystery in the second Adventures on Trains story, Kidnap on the California Comet, from the bestselling authors M.G. Leonard and Sam Sedgman. After the excitement of his adventures aboard the Highland Falcon Thief, Harrison Beck can't wait for the opportunity to go on another amazing train journey. So when his Uncle Nat invites him aboard the California Comet, the iconic three-day train journey from Chicago to San Francisco, he leaps at the chance to travel. But when the daughter of billionaire entrepreneur August Reza goes missing en route, Hal finds himself with another mystery to solve. Can he uncover the kidnapper before the journey's end?An adrenaline-fuelled journey across America from bestselling authors M.G. Leonard and Sam Sedgman in the second mystery adventure in the major Adventures on Trains series.'A chuffing triumph' The Times Children's Book of the Week on...
California Time
Frederic Raphael
Literature & Fiction / Nonfiction
Victor England, the great film director, returns to Hollywood to finalise arrangements for his next production. Everything seems propitious: he has a firm contract with a studio that owes him a substantial debt of gratitude and whose top executives are top friends of his. Why, then, is he left to languish in the grand hotel owned by Verdugo, which in Spanish means executioner? What is the relationship between Victor, who can write equally well with left hand or right, and Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, about whom he once made a film, a film which is showing on TV as he enters his suite? Who is the beautiful girl whom he sees in the lobby, and is she the same girl who is later found dead under sinister circumstances? Is Victor England a victim or a killer?There have been many novels about Hollywood. There has never been one like this. Frederic Raphael's vision of California Time is of a 'sequence of presents', and his innovations in the form of the novel serve only to add to the...
Loose Ends - California Corwin P.I. Mystery Series Book 1
D. D. VanDyke
Mystery
When a young girl is kidnapped, street-smart but damaged San Francisco ex-cop California "Cal" Corwin is engaged to find and rescue her before murder raises the stakes. As a straightforward case takes unexpected twists, Cal must quell a growing fear that an anguished mother may never see her child again. Cal struggles to tie up loose ends before evil claims its next victim.Includes the bonus story - Off The Leash a California Corwin Short Story.When a young girl is kidnapped, street-smart but damaged San Francisco ex-cop California "Cal" Corwin is engaged to find and rescue her before murder raises the stakes. As a straightforward case takes unexpected twists, Cal must quell a growing fear that an anguished mother may never see her child again. With a shadowy crime lord lurking behind every unexpected clue, Cal struggles to tie up loose ends before evil claims its next victim.Loose Ends is the first book in the Cal Corwin P. I. mystery series from D. D. VanDyke, though the books can be read in any order. Set against the rich backdrop of the San Francisco Bay Area, Cal Corwin novels brim with intrigue and fully fleshed characters from cops and criminals to hit men, oddball family and unexpected allies.What people are saying about Loose Ends:"This is a real page turner and hard to put down. The characters are like people you know. I could smell the Cheetos, the computer geek Mickey was eating, in the office...an excellent mystery and the beginning of what promises to be a very good series." - Gwen N."Loose Ends was a great read, if you're looking for a solid mystery this is a book worth your time. I was hooked by the story from the very beginning and I barely put it down until I finished it." - Melissa V."There are some great fully realised characters here, and never a dull moment. Full of action, plenty of twists and turns, as well as as real shocker of an ending, this makes a strong start for what promises to be a gripping new series." - N.A. StephensonThe California Corwin P. I. Mystery Series:- Loose Ends Book 1- In A Bind Book 2- Slipknot Book 3- The Girl In The Morgue Book 4 More to come!
California Secrets
Jules Bennett
Will he still love her every touch...when he finds out who she really is?For years, Ethan Michaels has plotted to reclaim the resort his mother founded. His plan never included a lover...or a pregnancy. But his desire-fueled fling with smart, stunning Harper Williams results in just that. Now he's getting used to the idea of a baby...until he finds out Harper's father is the very man who stole everything from him years ago.
California Blend Summer Vacation: the Heart's Journey Home, #1
Nikki Jackson
It's summer vacation, and all Tori Logan wants to do is hang out with her two best friends, practice her mixed martial arts, and go to FBI spy school. Summer means freedom from adults...and their expectations of who and what she should be. As if being seventeen isn't hard enough, Tori faces an especially difficult set of circumstances. Her mother died when she was young, leaving Tori with a father whose idea of parenting seems to include trying to buy her love with expensive toys...and leaving Tori with his live-in girlfriend while he gallivants around the world. Fiercely independent, Tori has always relied on her own strength to get by. And with her two best friends at her side, Tori believes she can handle anything. But life has other plans, and they include Tori coming to grips with some hard—and surprising—truths about both her past and her future. Please note - part of a series and ends on a cliffhanger
California Trail Discovered
Marie Sontag
All Daniel wants to do is get back to Illinois to find out who murdered his parents. He doesn't want to travel the Oregon Trail with his guardian, Jim. He doesn't want twelve-year-old Virginia Reed, a member of the Donner Party, as a friend. And he certainly doesn't want anything bad to happen to his little sister Hannah as they travel West. Confronted by both good and bad Indians, good and bad whites, how will Daniel be able to protect Hannah on the long trek? Will he ever discover the mystery behind his parents' deaths? Will he ever find a real family again?
More Than This
Part #1 of "California Obscura" series by Alexa Land
Gay and Lesbian / Romance / Fiction
California Dreaming
Bella Andre
Romance / Contemporary / Ebooks
Meet the Davenport family! Six brothers and sisters who call picturesque Carmel-by-the-Sea home. Successful, brilliant, and passionate, the only thing they all still need is the perfect partner in love and life. Hotshot movie star Archer Davenport has never met a stunt he couldn't ace, a challenge he couldn't overcome, or a woman he couldn't have. When he breaks his leg during a dangerous stunt, the production company insists on hiring a live-in caretaker for him. He refuses the help...until he meets Tessa Taylor. She's not only caring and beautiful, she's also as tough on him as a drill sergeant. Tessa knows all about confident men. She used to be married to one and that didn't go well. Her only solace is her painting, even if she has no talent, as her late husband always claimed. Her biggest problem on this job, however, is that sexy, magnetic Archer makes her toes curl with desire every time he's near. She does everything she can to try to...
Coming From California (The Pioneer Brides 0f Rattlesnake Ridge Book 2)
Part #2 of "The Pioneer Brides 0f Rattlesnake Ridge" series by Catherine Bilson
Which man will win this pretty schoolmistress’s heart? When Daisy Jackson applied for the role of Rattlesnake Ridge’s new schoolmistress, she may have omitted a few important details, like her young age and lack of teaching experience. And it certainly doesn’t help that the town council holds her mixed-ethnicity against her, too.Luke Rockford fell head over heels the very moment he laid eyes on Daisy, but he wasn’t the only one. His rival, Deputy Grant Watson also set his sights on the pretty teacher. The arrogant lawman is accustomed to getting what he wants, even if he has to bend the rules to claim it, from the job promised to Luke to any woman in town.With so much to do before the school year begins, Daisy hardly knows which way to turn. Can she put down roots and fall in love before the town council runs her out of Rattlesnake Ridge?
California Waves
Bella Andre
Romance / Contemporary / Ebooks
Meet the Davenport family! Six brothers and sisters who call picturesque Carmel-by-the-Sea home. Successful, brilliant, and passionate, the only thing they all still need is the perfect partner in love and life. When Herschel Greenfield achieved his dream of becoming an astronaut and going on space missions, he thought he knew the risks—but he never expected his splashdown would go wrong and he'd nearly drown. He tells everyone he's fine, but if that's true, then why can't get into the ocean? Somehow, some way, he needs to conquer his fear so that he can continue going into space. When pro-surfer Mila Davenport suffered a career-ending accident that almost cost her life, she had to adjust to an entirely new life where she spent more time on land than in the sea. While she loves her new career as a realtor, nothing makes her feel more alive than riding the waves. Certainly, no man has ever come close to giving her that same rush that...
High Priest of California & Wild Wives: Two Novels
Charles Willeford
In the darkest hard-boiled tradition Charles Willeford mixes sex, brutality, deception and crime in his classic amoral pulp novels of the early 1950s.In his first published novel, The High Priest of California is Russell Haxby, a “smiling villain:” treacherous, lecherous–a beast (a wolf in a suit), a used car salesman in love with the world, a monster of life obsessed by women, by the pursuit of women, by one particular woman–a tragic woman. Simply stated, this book is the tale of a man bent on destruction for gratification. Haxby wants what he wants and will get what he wants whatever the consequences. No, this is a book about consequences; about how to dodge consequences at all costs in order to preserve one’s solitude. This is not your typical noir, crime, pulp novel–it’s the study of a character and immersion into the mind of a sociopath.In Wild Wives Jake Blake is a private detective short on cash when he meets a rich and beautiful young woman looking to escape her father’s smothering influence. Unfortunately for Jake, the smothering influence includes two thugs hired to protect her—and the woman is in fact not the daughter of the man she wants to escape, but his wife. Now Jake has two angry thugs and one jealous husband on his case. As Jake becomes more deeply involved with this glamorous and possibly crazy woman, he becomes entangled in a web of deceit, intrigue—and multiple murders.With brilliant, sardonic writing full of vile surprises and deep characterizations of near-psychopaths and their victims caught in complex webs of fantasy and futility, Charles Willeford created a world in which the predatory cannibalism of American capitalism provides the model for all human relations, in which the American success ethic mercilessly casts aside all who are unable or unwilling to compete, and in which the innate human appreciation of artistic beauty is cruelly distorted by the exigencies of mass culture. Enter the muck.
California Girls
Susan Mallery
Romance / Fiction / Chick Lit
The California sunshine's not quite so bright for three sisterswho get dumped in the same week...Finola, a popular LA morning show host, is famously upbeat until she's blindsided on live TV by news that her husband is sleeping with a young pop sensation who has set their affair to music. While avoiding the tabloids and pretending she's just fine, she's crumbling inside, desperate for him to come to his senses and for life to go back to normal.Zennie's breakup is no big loss. Although the world insists she pair up, she'd rather be surfing. So agreeing to be the surrogate for her best friend is a no-brainer—after all, she has an available womb and no other attachments to worry about. Except...when everyone else, including her big sister, thinks she's making a huge mistake, being pregnant is a lot lonelier—and more complicated—than she imagined.Never the tallest, thinnest or prettiest sister, Ali is used to being overlooked, but when...
Dead in Long Beach, California
Venita Blackburn
Named a Most Anticipated Book of 2024 by The New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, Today, Electric Literature, Alta, the Chicago Review of Books and The Millions"You can try bracing yourself for the ride this story takes you on, but it's best to just surrender. Your wig is going to fall off no matter what you do." —Saeed Jones, author of How We Fight for Our LivesA gut-busting and heartbreaking descent into one woman's fraying connection to reality, from a soon-to-be superstar.Coral is the first person to discover her brother Jay's dead body in the wake of his suicide. There's no note, only a drably furnished bachelor pad in Long Beach, California, and a cell phone with a handful of numbers in it. Coral pockets the phone. And then she starts responding to texts as her dead brother.Over the course of one week, Coral, the successful yet lonely author of a hit...
Airframe
Michael Crichton
Mystery / Thriller / Science Fiction
The twin jet plane en route to Denver from Hong Kong is merely a green radar blip half an hour off the California coast when the call comes through to air traffic control: 'Socal Approach, this is TransPacific 545. We have an emergency. ' The pilot requests priority clearance to land - then comes the bombshell - he needs forty ambulances on the runway. But nothing prepares the rescue workers for the carnage they witness when they enter the plane. Ninety-four passengers are injured. Three dead. The interior cabin virtually destroyed. What happened on board Flight TPA 545?
Clouds over California
Karyn Parsons
From the author of the highly acclaimed How High the Moon comes a moving and heartfelt novel about how a girl's family and friendships are turned upside down—just as the world is changing in 1970s Los Angeles. Stevie’s life is fluctuating rapidly. She's starting over in a brand new middle school. Quiet and observant, it's hard for her to make friends. Plus, her mind is too occupied. The tension in her home is building as her parents' arguments are becoming more frequent. To top it all off, Stevie's older cousin Naomi is coming to live with the family in an attempt to keep her from a "bad" crowd—The Black Panthers. Stevie agrees to keep Naomi's secrets. She's the cool big cousin, after all, and Stevie can't help but notice the happy, positive effect the Black Panthers are having on Naomi's confidence and identity—just like how Mom is making decisions for herself, even when Dad...
Chaos in California
Lucy Quinn
Welcome to northern California, where the redwoods meet the sea, surfers catch the waves, and... people grow cannabis? In their quest to prove Dora's innocence in a murder back in Pensacola, Dora and Evie find themselves at a remote cannabis farm, where they are sucked into another murder mystery to solve.
South California Purples
Baron Birtcher
“The novel combines the mystery and honesty of Craig Johnson’s Longmire with the first-person narration of a fiercely independent Oregon character.” —Sheila Deeth, author of John’s Joy Winner of the 2018 Killer Nashville Readers’ Choice Award2017 Foreword Indies Finalist for Historical A Korean War veteran, Ty Dawson finds refuge running his family’s cattle ranch, the Diamond D, one of the largest in Oregon—and there’s no place he’d rather be. But in 1973, the country falls into turmoil with the last soldiers returning from Vietnam, the stand-off at Wounded Knee, and the ongoing Watergate scandal. And it isn’t long before Ty finds his own peace and quiet shattered by outside forces. A string of mysterious cattle deaths leads to the murder of a cowhand, but that’s just the beginning. News leaks that...
Escape From Camp California
Courtney Sheinmel
Travel around the United States of America with twins Finn and Molly in this new chapter book series that highlights a different state in each book! This time, they're in California!Magic and mystery from sea to shining sea!Finn and Molly are magically transported to San Francisco, California, where they must help wildfire refugees before returning home to Ohio.Each Magic on the Map book includes a map of the US, a map of the state that Finn and Molly visit, and 10 amazing facts about that state!
The California Dashwoods
Lisa Henry
Make a new future. Choose your true family. Know your own heart.When Elliott Dashwood's father dies, leaving his family virtually penniless, it's up to Elliott to do what he's always done: be the responsible one. Now isn't the right time for any added complications. So what the hell is he doing hooking up with Ned Ferrars? It's just a fling, right?Elliott tries to put it behind him when the family makes a fresh start in California, and if he secretly hopes to hear from Ned again, nobody else needs to know. While his mom is slowly coming to terms with her grief, teenage Greta is more vulnerable than she's letting on, and Marianne—romantic, reckless Marianne—seems determined to throw herself headfirst into a risky love affair. And when Elliott discovers the secret Ned's been keeping, he realizes that Marianne isn't the only one pinning her hopes on a fantasy.All the Dashwoods can tell you that feelings are messy and heartbreak hurts. But Elliott...
California Can Wait
Marci Bolden
Starting over will have to wait. Reporter Andrea Davidson isn't running from her mistakes. There's no escaping the career-ending mess she fell into back home. But she is moving forward, and is halfway to a new life in California when someone breaks into her motel room. She's lost her computer and her dignity, but that's only the beginning of her newest problem: local news editor Graham Bradley. Graham Bradley doesn't know a thing about the newspaper business. A widower with a promise to keep, he's got more than just his own personal welfare riding on this small-town paper. The last thing he needs is a pushy woman with a secret in her past and a vicious red pen throwing all his mistakes and insecurities front and center on his desk. Faced with an impossible choice, Graham hires Andi, but hopes she's not just the last-and maybe worst-in a long line of bad decisions. Saving the small-town Gazette is the second chance both Andi and Graham need. But with...
California Schemin'
Part #45 of "Girl Detective" series by Carolyn Keene
Children's Books / Mystery & Thrillers / Young Adult
Nancy's cases are more mysterious than ever with exciting three book plot arcs!
The California Gold Rush
Elizabeth Raum
You are a New Englander with a bad case of gold fever. Gold has been discovered in California, and you want to go claim some for yourself. Here's a chance to set off on your own quest for gold. Everything in this book happened to real people, but you are in control now and YOU CHOOSE what you do next. The choices you make could lead you to treasure or trouble. Will you strike it rich?
Birds of California
Katie Cotugno
Young Adult / Romance / Fiction
"Exquisite and delicious...Katie Cotugno has outdone herself."—Taylor Jenkins Reid, author of Daisy Jones & The Six and Malibu RisingSparks fly and things get real in this sharply sexy and whip-smart romantic comedy set against the backdrop of a post #metoo Hollywood from New York Times bestselling author Katie CotugnoFormer child actor Fiona St. James dropped out of the spotlight after a spectacularly public crash and burn. The tabloids called her crazy and self-destructive and said she'd lost her mind. Now in her late twenties, Fiona believes her humiliating past is firmly behind her. She's finally regained a modicum of privacy, and she won't let anything—or anyone—mess it up.Unlike Fiona, Sam Fox, who played her older brother on the popular television show Birds of California, loves the perks that come with being a successful Hollywood actor: fame, women, parties, money. When his current show gets...
California on Horseback
Tammy Godfrey
Scarlett Graham could think of a million better ways to start her summer vacation; sprawled out in the backseat of a minivan wasn't one of them. To make matters worse, listening to her father singing along with every classic rock song while her Uncle Max and my mom joining in all the time. When they were not singing, Uncle Max and mom were aimlessly chatting with Beth, giving her a headache that would never end. Of all the places to take a family vacation. Scarlett's parents chose a Dude Ranch in the middle of nowhere, Montana. They had noted excitedly, "We'd be able to ride horses and learn how to square dance." How thrilling. Not! Her little brother Rhett stayed behind with another Aunt and Uncle to work on a lame school project. Lucky him. While Beth, my boy crazy cousin, replaced him. Fate, or perhaps the devil, comes to Scarlett's rescue when she meets Ephraim Carson, the adopted son of the Sanderson owners of the ranch and Scarlett's first crush ever. Even though...
Captain Bayley's Heir: A Tale of the Gold Fields of California
G. A. Henty
Children's / Historical Fiction
While hunting in India, General Mathieson escaped certain death when a courageous young man, John Simcoe, disrupt a tiger attack. Believed to have perished on a ship lost at sea some time later, the general is surprised and much pleased When Simcoe reappears in England twenty years later. However, Mathieson\'s niece Hilda Covington suspects that Simcoe may not be the man he claims to be. When the general\'s will is changed shortly before his suspicious death and the rightful heir, young master Walter is kidnapped, Hilda and her good friend Netta make it their mission unravel the mystery of John Simcoe. Can Mathieson\'s Hilda and Netta find out the truth about John Simcoe? Will they find Walter before it is to late? These and other questions will be answered in The Lost Heir by G.A. Henty. Set in mid-ninteenth century India and England, this book includes more than forty geographical, historical, and explanatory footnotes to aid the modern reader.
California Fire and Life
Don Winslow
Mystery & Thrillers
Jack Wade, a claims adjuster for California Fire and Life Mutual Insurance Company, is one of the best arson investigators around. He's a man who knows fire, who can read the traces it leaves behind like a roadmap. When he's called in to examine an unusual claim, the tracks of the fire tell him that something's wrong. So wrong that he violates his own cardinal rule--"You don't get personal, you don't get emotional. Whatever you do, you don't get involved"--and plunges into the case.
Real estate mogul Nicky Vale's house is one of the most valuable properties on this stretch of the Southern California gold coast--large, luxurious, crammed with antiques, set on a nice piece of land with a perfect ocean view. After a disastrous blaze tears through a wing of the house, it's only normal that Vale would file an insurance claim. But a $3 million claim is rarely normal, especially not when it's filed within hours of the horrific death of the owner's young and beautiful wife. The County Sheriff's Department investigator, Brian "Accidentally" Bentley, has declared the fire, well, accidental--caused by Mrs. Vale's passing out in bed with a bottle of vodka and a lit cigarette--although a careful look at the evidence points to something more sinister.
When Jack begins his investigation, he draws on his skill, experience and sheer stubbornness to uncover the truth of what's going on, but each step leads him further into a situation that's becoming increasingly dangerous. Soon arson is the least of Jack's worries, as the case grows to involve the Russian mob, Vietnamese gangs, real estate scams, counterfeiting and corporate corruption. In addition, Jack's forced to confront his own ghosts, including a fatal professional error, and to cope with the sudden reentry into his life of the best thing that ever happened to him: Letitia del Rio, a Sheriff's deputy whose bombshell looks are exceeded only by her smarts and guts.
As the investigation spins out of control, Jack finds himself pulled so far in that he might not make it out. His outrageous behavior and defiant integrity, usually about as helpful to him as third-degree burns, may now be the only things that will keep the investigation--and Jack himself--from being snuffed out.
California Girls!
Ann M. Martin
Children's Books / Young Adult
Who would believe it--the Baby-sitters have won the lottery! And with their winning money, the girls are all going with Dawn to. . .California!
What adventures they have. Jessi lands a (tiny) part in a TV show, Kristy gets into a kind-of fight with Dawn's We ❤️ Kids Club, and Stacey turns into a surfer girl! And in between all that excitement, they still have time for baby-sitting, sight-seeing, and the beach.
How can they go back to Stoneybrook now that they've turned into California girls?
Love and War in California
Oakley Hall
The Sweeping Novel of a Twentieth-Century California Life Love and War in California tells the story, through the eyes of Payton Daltrey, of the last sixty years of an evolving America.The award-winning author Oakley Hall begins his newest work in 1940s San Diego, where his endearing, wide-eyed narrator must define his identity in terms of self, family, and World War II. As his classmates disappear into the war one by one, he becomes obsessed with abuses of power and embroiled with the charming, dangerous Errol Flynn; with the Red Baiting of the American Legion; with the House Un-American Activities Committee; and with the Japanese interment at Manzanar. Nevertheless, Payton, too, must go to the war, where he is a part of the invasion of Europe and that proving of the American soldier: the Battle of the Bulge. After war's end and time in New York, he returns to California as a writer and a seeker, whose old, long-lost love rises from the ashes to show...
Flip: A California Romance
Bret Harte
Fiction / Poetry
Francis Bret Harte (August 25, 1836[1] – May 5, 1902) was an American author and poet, best remembered for his short fiction featuring miners, gamblers, and other romantic figures of the California Gold Rush. In a career spanning more than four decades, he wrote poetry, fiction, plays, lectures, book reviews, editorials, and magazine sketches in addition to fiction. As he moved from California to the eastern U.S. to Europe, he incorporated new subjects and characters into his stories, but his Gold Rush tales have been most often reprinted, adapted, and admired.
Bride Sews with Love in Needles, California
Erica Vetsch
Historical Fiction / Religion & Spirituality
When her brother is injured fighting in France, Meghan enlists her fellow Harvey Girl waitresses to sew a Red Cross signature quilt to raise money for wounded doughboys. Local horse breeder Caleb McBride longs to join the battle, but the army won't take him. Because he has kept his shameful infirmity a secret, the townsfolk have labeled him a coward and war profiteer. When Meghan uncovers his malady, her poor opinion of Caleb unravels. Can this beautiful seamstress find a way to mend his heart?
The Life of Bret Harte, with Some Account of the California Pioneers
Henry Childs Merwin
Biography / History
Francis Brett Harte was born at Albany in the State of New York, on August twenty-fifth, 1836. By his relatives and early friends he was called Frank; but soon after beginning his career as an author in San Francisco he signed his name as “Brett,” then as “Bret,” and finally as “Bret Harte.” “Bret Harte,” therefore, is in some degree a nom de guerre, and it was commonly supposed at first, both in the Eastern States and in England, to be wholly such. Our great New England novelist had a similar experience, for “Nathaniel Hawthorne” was long regarded by most of his readers as an assumed name, happily chosen to indicate the quaint and poetic character of the tales to which it was signed. Bret Harte’s father was Henry Hart; but before we trace his ancestry, let us endeavor to see how he looked. Fanny Kemble met him at Lenox, in the year 1875, and was much impressed by his appearance.
A California Story
Namit Arora
Ved, a 36-year-old Indian in Silicon Valley, works for Omnicon, the world's largest computer networking company whose culture he finds both sad and comical. Its quietly brewing troubles will soon engulf him, even as he must deal with the turmoil in his relationships with Sasha, a Russian escort, and Liz, a spiritual-liberal American. Amid all this, his traditional parents visit him from India. On a weekend outing with them, a man mistakes him for an Arab and violently assaults him in a hate crime.
Dancer Dawkins and the California Kid
Willyce Kim
A sapphic novel ahead of its time that delights in queer joy, love, and adventureDancer Dawkins is a swift-footed, weed-smoking football stud. Her lover, Jessica, left their place in Los Angeles to join a Napa Valley cult, where she believes she has found salvation. Willie Gutherie, the cigar-smoking, self-proclaimed California Kid, collides with Dancer in San Francisco, and the two join forces to liberate Jessica from the clutches of cult leader Fatin Satin Aspen. Willyce Kim's campy, women-centered Western novel is a celebration of queer joy. While her vibrant vignettes are filled with California whimsy through a kaleidoscope of food and sports metaphors, darker political undercurrents of the Vietnam War and the infamous Bohemian Grove inhabit this uncanny adventure. Buckle up for this wild, spunky, and unabashedly queer ride!
San Diego 2014: The Last Stand of the California Browncoats
Mira Grant
Horror / Science Fiction & Fantasy
It was the summer of 2014, and the true horrors of the Rising were only just beginning to reveal themselves. Fans from all over the world gathered in San Diego, California for the annual comic book and media convention, planning to forget about the troubling rumors of new diseases and walking dead by immersing themselves in a familiar environment. Over the course of five grueling days and nights, it became clear that the news was very close to home…and that most of the people who picked up their badges would never make it out alive.
California Demon
Debra Dunbar
Science Fiction & Fantasy / Romance / Mystery & Thrillers
Eden Alvara is a licensed Vulture, picking through the aftermath of violence in demon-plagued LA, and fencing her finds to help support her family. But when a crooked cop reports her for a salvage she didn't take, all hell breaks loose. Stripped of her license, Eden finds herself with a price on her head. When the mercenaries hunting her raid her home, brutalize her family and abduct one of her sisters, Eden turns to the enigmatic Bishop—a man with a reputation for violence who, for the right price, can find just about anything or anyone. With time running out to find her sister before she's sold into slavery, Eden is determined to get her back—even if she has to slaughter her way through a gang affiliated with the traffickers and face down one of the powerful demons in control of the city. She'll need every bit of her burgeoning magical powers to bring her sister back alive—and she'll need to put herself in debt to...
The Young Miner; Or, Tom Nelson in California
Jr. Horatio Alger
Children's / Young Adult Fiction
Our young man Tom is in California to hopefully strike it rich in the gold fields. The story shows how he worked hard but also had plenty of help to get closer to his goal. I suppose the boys lapped up this sort of thing like cream back then, but there are more factors to success than just hard work. Tom was lucky with the people he met on his adventure, and the ending of the book would have been quite different and perhaps much more realistic if he had fallen in with different characters. I entertained myself even more while reading by searching out the Lesson in each chapter. They were not always spelled out and were never preachy, but they were there. Here is my list. Actually, quite a few of them would still be good advice today: Chapter 1: work hard and be reasonable with your expectations Chapter 2 : don\'t drink and don\'t gamble Chapter 3 : take care of your parents; and smoking is a bad habit Chapter 4 : don\'t rely on \'luck\' to create your future Chapter 5 : don\'t hang out with the bad guys Chapter 6 : don\'t sleep too soundly Chapter 7 : don\'t assume you are smarter than everyone else Chapter 8 : you will get what you deserve eventually in some form, whether good or bad Chapter 9 : you should be man enough to stare misfortune in the face when it is in front of you: don\'t run from it or think it is worse than it is Chapter 10 : be careful when answering the personal questions of a woman with a gun Chapter 11 : be careful what you wish for Chapter 12 : accept the responsibility for things that go wrong when under your care Chapter 13: accept the need to work Chapter 14 : when discussing mountains or trees or anything else, size is not everything Chapter 15 : if you meet a bear in the woods, don\'t turn and run away Chapter 16 : when you don\'t have everything you wish for, make do with what you have Chapter 17 : remember to do your duty when you need to, don\'t just stand around with your mouth hanging open Chapter 18 : use your common sense Chapter 19 : a bargain is a bargain Chapter 20 : sell when the price is right Chapter 21 : buy when the deal is good Chapter 22 : once again, don\'t gamble! Chapter 23 : don\'t think too much of the past, just vow not to repeat any foolish actions and then keep going forward Chapter 24 : do your best at all times Chapter 25 : never think of stealing Chapter 26 : pay your debts before buying things you don\'t need Chapter 27 : a dead river is the best place to find gold Chapter 28 : gold is only valuable for what it will bring Chapter 29 : appearances are deceiving Chapter 30 : a business man should not be completely hard-hearted Chapter 31 : be bold when bidding but don\'t bid if you don\'t have the money to pay Chapter 32 : do not misuse the advantages you are given in life
Indian and Scout: A Tale of the Gold Rush to California
F. S. Brereton
Unlike some other reproductions of classic texts (1) We have not used OCR(Optical Character Recognition), as this leads to bad quality books with introduced typos. (2) In books where there are images such as portraits, maps, sketches etc We have endeavoured to keep the quality of these images, so they represent accurately the original artefact. Although occasionally there may be certain imperfections with these old texts, we feel they deserve to be made available for future generations to enjoy.
California Dreaming
Noa Silver
Having grown up on stories of her mother's wild youth in California, Elena Berg relocates from New England to the Bay Area in 2011 for a placement as an English teacher with Teach for America. Once there, she is eager to inspire a love of poetry and literature in her diverse but underprivileged students. Her own grandfather—a Holocaust survivor—was a storyteller and teacher who touched the lives of his students for years to come. Elena's mother followed in his footsteps, leaving behind the hippie lifestyle of her twenties to become a university professor.But Elena quickly finds herself feeling disconnected from teaching, unable to inspire her students, and before long, she grows disillusioned with her career. She transitions to a role in an education technology startup—though she questions her decision, her motivations, and her values.Coming of age between the Occupy and #MeToo movements and against the backdrop of the 2016 election and California's...
Digging for Gold: Adventures in California
R. M. Ballantyne
Fiction / Children's / Travel
Digging for Gold - Adventures in California is presented here in a high quality paperback edition. This popular classic work by R. M. (Robert Michael) Ballantyne is in the English language, and may not include graphics or images from the original edition. If you enjoy the works of R. M. (Robert Michael) Ballantyne then we highly recommend this publication for your book collection.
The Treasure of Pearls: A Romance of Adventures in California
Gustave Aimard
Adventures
Gustave Aimard was a 19th century author whose historical fiction centered on Latin America and the frontier, helping establish him as one of the era\'s popular Western writers.
Crossing California
Adam Langer
Literature & Fiction / Plays & Drama / Biographies & Memoirs
Crossing California is a cinematic and unforgettable look at the end of an era, the turning point when the idealism of the sixties gave way to the pragmatism of the eighties.California Avenue, in Chicago’s West Rogers Park neighborhood, separates the upper-middle-class Jewish families on the west from the mostly middle-class Jewish households east of the divide. This funny and heartbreaking novel, which spans the Iran hostage crisis through the inauguration of Ronald Reagan as president, tells the story of three families and their teenage children living on either side of California. It follows their loves, heartaches, friendships, and losses during a memorable and defining moment of American history.
The Doomswoman: An Historical Romance of Old California
Gertrude Franklin Horn Atherton
Unlike some other reproductions of classic texts (1) We have not used OCR(Optical Character Recognition), as this leads to bad quality books with introduced typos. (2) In books where there are images such as portraits, maps, sketches etc We have endeavoured to keep the quality of these images, so they represent accurately the original artefact. Although occasionally there may be certain imperfections with these old texts, we feel they deserve to be made available for future generations to enjoy.
Owen Clancy's Happy Trail; Or, The Motor Wizard in California
Burt L. Standish
Burt L. Standish, a pen name used by Gilbert Patten, was a popular 20th century writer of dime novels and short stories, with his best known work being the Frank Merriwell stories
Hotel California
Barney Hoskyns
"Hoskyns brings a genuine love as well as an outsider's keen eye to the rise and fall of the California scene. . . . This is a riveting story, sensitively told."--Anthony DeCurtis, Contributing Editor, Rolling StoneFrom enduring musical achievements to drug-fueled chaos and bed-hopping antics, the L.A. pop music scene in the sixties and seventies was like no other, and journalist Barney Hoskyns re-creates all the excitement and mayhem. Hotel California brings to life the genesis of Crosby, Stills, and Nash at Joni Mitchell's house; the Eagles' backstage fistfights after the success of "Hotel California"; the drama of David Geffen and the other money men who transformed the L.A. music scene; and more.