books im giving for christmas this year
Discover the perfect books to gift this Christmas! Explore our curated list of must-read titles for every reader on your list. Find the best holiday reads now!
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Courting Trouble
by Lisa Scottoline
In Courting Trouble, New York Times bestselling author Lisa Scottoline is back with another fast-paced thriller, which sends a young woman lawyer racing to find out who's trying to kill her -- after she's wrongly been reported murdered. Anne Murphy is smart, gorgeous, and young, the redheaded rookie at the Philadelphia law firm of Rosato & Associates. She leaves town for the Fourth of July weekend to prepare for a high-profile trial, but when she buys her morning newspaper, her own photo is plastered all over the front page. And the headline- -- LAWYER MURDERED -- supposedly refers to her. Anne sets out to find her killer, playing dead in order to stay alive. She tries to go it alone but quickly realizes that she'll have to trust people she barely knows -- colleagues who hate her guts, a homicide squad that wants her out of the crime-fighting business, and a new love who inconveniently happens to be opposing counsel. The investigation takes all of Anne's boldness and ingenuity -- plus a pair of red satin hot pants. But her knack for courting trouble makes it almost impossible for Anne to play well with others, defend the lawsuit, and fight her urge to sleep with the enemy. Then an unexpected event places her in lethal jeopardy and leaves her with everything to lose -- including her life.
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Gallows Thief
by Bernard Cornwell
A spellbinding historical drama about an ex-soldier in 1820s London who must help rescue an innocent man from Death Row, by bestselling author Bernard Cornwell It is the end of the Napoleonic Wars and England has just fought its last victorious battle against the French. As Rider Sandman and the other heroes of Waterloo begin to make their way back to England, they find a country where corruption, poverty, and social unrest run rampant, and where "justice" is most often delivered at the end of a hangman's noose. Nowhere in London are the streets as busy as in front of Newgate Prison, its largest penitentiary, where mobs gather regularly to watch the terrible spectacle of the doomed men and women on the gallows' stands. Rider Sandman -- whose reputation on the battlefields of France is exceeded only by his renown on the cricket fields of England -- returns home from war to discover his personal affairs in a shambles. Creditors have taken over his estate, leaving him penniless -- and forcing him to release the woman he loves from her obligations to marry him. Desperate to right his situation, he accepts the offer of a job investigating the claims of innocence by a painter due to hang for murder in a few days' time. The Home Secretary makes it clear that this is pro-forma, and that he expects Sandman to rubber-stamp the verdict.But Sandman's investigation reveals that something is amiss -- that there is merit to the young artist's claims. He further discovers that, though the Queen herself has ordered a reinvestigation of the circumstances, someone else does not want the truth revealed. In a race against the clock, Sandman moves from the hellish bowels of Newgate prison to the perfumed drawing rooms of the aristocracy, determined to rescue the innocent man from the rope. As he begins to peel back the layers of an utterly corrupt penal system, he finds himself pitted against some of the wealthiest and most ruthless men in Regency England. Gallows Thief combines the rich historical texture of Edward Rutherford and the taut suspense of Caleb Carr to create an eviscerating portrait of capital punishment in nineteeth-century London.
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This Time Love
by Elizabeth Lowell
Whether she's creating incomparable stories of passion and redemption or breathtaking tales of romantic suspense, there is simply no finer storyteller at work today than the phenomenal New York Times bestselling author Elizabeth Lowell. Joy Anderson was innocent, young, and trusting when she met Gabe Venture. An aspiring journalist with worlds to conquer, Gabe came to New Mexico to explore the natural wonders of Lost River Cave, with Joy acting as his guide. Surrounded by staggering beauty, they both surrendered to a passion too powerful to deny-and Joy gave herself freely to the most extraordinary man she had ever known. But Gabe was destined for great things, and even the intensity of their shared feelings could not bind him to this place or this romance. And so he left Joy with memories, a broken heart . . . and, months later, a cherished, if painful, reminder of their lost love: a daughter. Seven years have passed, and Joy—now a respected professor—has put what once was behind her, though the memory will always remain alive in the light that shines in the eyes of her beautiful child. Now Gabe, at the pinnacle of his profession, having tasted the fame and adventure that lured him away, has returned. The opportunity to revisit the endangered Lost River Cave—and a second chance at the young love he so heedlessly tossed away—is something he cannot let slip by. But the Joy awaiting him is not the same naive and eager innocent he once left behind. Worldly and independent, she has nursed her wounds and moved on. And he has arrived far too late, she tells him, to be welcomed back into her heart. But is it ever too late for love? Fresh and alive with rich, bold emotion, Elizabeth Lowell's classic love story shines anew, proving once and for all that an already accomplished novel of poignancy and power can be remade into something truly remarkable through the deft and loving touch of a master.
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On a Wicked Dawn
by Stephanie Laurens
Amelia Cynster is stunned to hear these words from Lucien Ashford—the enigmatic sixth Viscount Calverton and the man she has always loved—just before the handsome rogue passes out at her feet. Dawn is breaking and she's already risked scandal by lying in wait for him just outside his London home. And though torn between indignant affront and astonished relief, she's nevertheless thrilled that Luc has agreed to her outrageous marriage proposal. However, rather than submitting to a hasty wedding as Amelia had planned, the exasperating lord insists on wooing her properly…in public and in private. She longs for their time alone, when she can learn all about seduction from a master, yet frustratingly, they all too often find themselves beneath the stifling gaze of the ton. But there is method behind the viscount's madness—he has a secret reason for wooing Amelia. And like all desirable things, his passion has a price.
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When Strangers Marry
by Lisa Kleypas
Lysette buried her face against Max's throat. "But he's going to take me away. Don't let him, don't -- " "You're not going anywhere," Max interrupted. "Calm yourself, Lysette. It's not good for you to become excited." His possessiveness made her strangely giddy. As far as he was concerned, she was his, and no one was going to take her away from him. Max stared at Etienne. His voice was soft, but it contained a note that chilled Lysette's blood. "If you so much as disarrange a hair on her head, I'll tear you apart." Lysette couldn't believe it, but she didn't care about her ruined reputation. The only thing that mattered was that she wouldn't have to marry Etienne.
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Daddy's Little Girl
by Mary Higgins Clark
A story of murder; and its effects years later on the man convicted of the crime and the woman who helped convict him.