Local Women

When a local mother and her six-year-old daughter, Delilah, suddenly vanish, their close-knit suburban community is rocked by fear and suspicion. How could such a terrible thing have happened in their small town? Then, 11 years later, Delilah shockingly reappears. Everyone wants to know what really happened to her. But there are secrets hidden deep in the past—and when the truth about those missing years begins to surface, no one is prepared for what they’re about to find out.

Author Carol F. Karlsen reveals the social construction of witchcraft in 17th-century New England and illuminates the larger contours of gender relations in that society and attempts to answer the question why some women were vulnerable to accusations of witchcraft and possession.

Betty Boyd Caroli's engrossing and informative First Ladies is an essential resource for anyone interested in the role of America's First Ladies. Caroli observes the role as it has shifted and evolved from ceremonial backdrop to substantive world figure. This expanded and updated fifth edition presents Caroli's keen political analysis and astute observations of recent developments, including Melania Trump's reluctance to take on the mantle and former First Lady Hilary Clinton's recent run for president. Caroli here contributes a new preface and updated chapters.

Twenty years ago 21-year-old Sophie Collier vanished one night. She left nothing behind but a trainer on the old pier - and a hole in the heart of her best friend, Francesca. Now a body's been found. And Francesca's drawn back to the seaside town she's tried to forget. Perhaps the truth of what happened to Sophie will finally come out. Yet Francesca is beginning to wish she hadn't returned. Everywhere she turns are ghosts from her past. The same old faces and familiar haunts of her youth.

When Samantha Harrigan attends the local rodeo, she doesn't expect to wind up in jail. But that's precisely what happens when she tries to stop a drunkard from abusing his horse. At least she isn't alone. Tucker Coulter, a handsome local veterinarian, comes to her defense - and is arrested too. The charges are dropped, but Sam's troubles have only started. Her champion quarter horses are falling ill and the culprit is poison. As the insurance beneficiary, Sam is the prime suspect. Unswayed by the rumors floating around town, Tucker offers to help prove her innocence.

Popular culture has taught us to picture the Old West as a land of men, whether it's the lone hero on horseback or crowds of card players in a rough-and-tumble saloon. But the taming of the frontier involved plenty of women, too - and this book tells their stories. At first, female pioneers were indeed rare - when the town of Denver was founded in 1859, there were only five women among a population of almost a thousand. But the adventurers arrived, slowly but surely. 

Una Richardson is devastated after the death of her mother. Hoping for a fresh start, she responds to an advertisement and steps into the rich, comforting world of elderly Mrs Elspeth McKenzie. But Elspeth's home is not as safe as it seems. Kathryn, her cold and bitter daughter, resents Una's presence. More disturbing is the evidence suggesting two girls lived here before. What happened to them? Why will the McKenzies not talk about them? As the walls close in around her, Una fears she'll end up just like the other girls.

Many new believers have questions about what it means to live as a Christian in the context of a local church, and pastors are looking for resources to pass along to their congregations to help them think biblically about the Christian life. Church Questions is a series by 9Marks that seeks to provide Christians with sound and accessible biblical teaching by answering common questions about church life. Each booklet offers biblical answers and practical applications with the goal of nurturing healthy church practice and commitment.

Elise King is a successful and ambitious detective—or she was, before medical leave left her unsure if she'd ever return to work. She now spends most days watching the growing tensions in her small seaside town of Ebbing: the weekenders in their fancy clothes, renovating old bungalows into luxury homes, and the locals resentful of the changes. Elise can only guess what really happens behind closed doors. But Dee Eastwood, her cleaner, often knows. She's an invisible presence in many of the houses in town, but she sees and hears everything.

After years of sharing her small-business tips and marketing tricks with readers of her popular blog, ChunkOfChange.com, and her column in the Long Beach Post, Olga Mizrahi has taken her message to the streets, urging business owners to focus in while reaching out. You'll be excited and motivated to state your difference clearly to the world--and your neighborhood--while confidently selling yourself and your business.

On a winding mountain road into the town of Denton, Pennsylvania, Detective Josie Quinn finds the body of a local teenage girl, Dina Hale. The sight of plum-colored bruises gathering around the girl’s neck pierces Josie’s heart, but the discovery of a second girl’s empty purse in the dirt nearby gives her a flicker of hope that one person, at least, made a lucky escape. Dina’s parents are grief-stricken as the town rallies together in a desperate search for the second girl, who waitressed with Dina. The two best friends were on their way to a shift when they were attacked.

Born and raised in Hawai‘i by a father whose ancestors are indigenous to the land and a mother from the American South, Jessica Machado wrestles with what it means to be “local.” Feeling separate from the history and tenets of Hawaiian culture that have been buried under the continental imports of malls and MTV, Jessica often sees her homeland reflected back to her from the tourist perspective—as an uncomplicated paradise. Her existence, however, feels far from that ideal. Balancing her parents’ divorce, an ailing mother, and growing anxiety, Jessica rebels. 

Hester Wallace is proud of her independence. She needs only one man in her life - her nine-year-old son, Radley. But when Rad starts idolizing their neighbor Mitch Dempsey, Hester wonders if her son needs a male role model. Hester would do anything for her boy, but inviting Mitch into their lives is dangerous. She might start to rely on Mitch…or worse, fall in love with him.

The annual fishing tournament and festival in Hokes Folly, North Carolina, is the high-water mark event of the year. Antiquarian bookseller Jenna Quinn, owner of the Twice Upon a Time bookstore, is ready to catch some new customers with her fishing-themed book display at the festival. That is, she was...until a local author was found dead in his booth. All fingers point to Frank Sutter, a former detective with the police department. His soon-to-be ex-wife had been dating the victim, and Frank had been seen having an argument with him earlier that day.

Life is a work in progress, as ever-changing as a sandy shoreline along the beach. During the years Joan Anderson was a loving wife and supportive mother, she had slowly and unconsciously replaced her own dreams with the needs of her family. With her sons grown, however, she realized that the family no longer centered on the home she provided, and her relationship with her husband had become stagnant. Like many women in her situation, Joan realized that she had neglected to nurture herself and, worse, to envision fulfilling goals for her future.

From the 1880s to the 1950s, the Harvey Girls went west to work in Fred Harvey's restaurants along the Santa Fe railway. At a time when there were "no ladies west of Dodge City and no women west of Albuquerque," they came as waitresses, but many stayed and settled, founding the struggling cattle and mining towns that dotted the region. Interviews and historical research help recreate the Harvey Girl experience. The accounts are personal, but laced with the history the women lived.

Ophelia Simmons is back home at the Paradise, the former brothel where her romance-author mother raised seven daughters, contemplating her next career move and dodging Great Aunt Bernie's matchmaking attempts. She is about to meet her match in Jake Brennan, the ruggedly handsome owner of a local winery where Aunt Bernie convinces her to take a job for the summer. At first Ophelia and Jake's personalities clash, but soon enough sparks start flying.

The Montgomery Bus Boycott, which ignited the civil rights movement of the 1950s and 1960s, has always been vitally important in American history. This is the autobiographical account of the creation of the boycott by one of its principal organizers. With the publication of this book, the boycott becomes a milestone in the history of American women as well.

What’s a local girl to do when she catches her long-term boyfriend doing the nasty on their sofa with another women? Cry? Fall apart? Not Lily! Armed with a new look, her best friends, and a fresh take on life, Lily hightails it to Spain for sun, sangria, and Spanish men. But Lily quickly discovers that leaving bad mojo behind isn’t as easy as getting on a plane.

Local TV news reporter Karli Lewis has one goal: escape the Iowa cornfields and podunk local news scene and hit the bright lights of the TV networks of Chicago. From drug busts to house fires and a devastating flood, Karli's career is on the rise, thanks to her talented and dizzingly handsome yet enigmatic news photographer, Jake Gibson. Chicago may be calling Karli, but Jake is a dedicated hometown boy and is staying put.