Stories by @penguininja

The Perfect Suspect

Dr Tom Hackett had the perfect life - young, successful and a dream job working in New Orleans. All that changes when his wife is murdered, her body mutilated, the victim of a seemingly random attack. Desperate to leave those memories behind, he returns home to Australia and accepts a job in Sanctuary, an idyllic resort far from the dark shadows of New Orleans. But there is no sanctuary from his past, and when a spate of gruesome murders hits the sleepy town, Tom suddenly finds himself the prime suspect - all the victims are women he knows, and all who are killed have an uncanny similarity to his wife. With Tom's life on the line, can he afford to trust anyone? With the police and the killer closing in, Tom must uncover Sanctuary's chilling secret, or remain the perfect suspect.

Lakesedge

There are monsters in the world. When Violeta Graceling arrives at haunted Lakesedge estate, she expects to find a monster. She knows the terrifying rumors about Rowan Sylvanan, who drowned his entire family when he was a boy. But neither the estate nor the monster are what they seem. There are monsters in the woods. As Leta falls for Rowan, she discovers he is bound to the Lord Under, the sinister death god lurking in the black waters of the lake. A creature to whom Leta is inexplicably drawn… There’s a monster in the shadows, and now it knows my name. Now, to save Rowan—and herself—Leta must confront the darkness in her past, including unraveling the mystery of her connection to the Lord Under. 

The Narrowboat Girl

Young Maryann Nelson is devastated at the loss of her beloved father. But worse is to come when her mother, Flo, sees an opportunity to better herself and her family in a marriage to the local undertaker, Norman Griffin. Though on the surface a caring family man, Norman is not at all what he seems, as Maryann and her sister Sal soon discover. Unable to turn to their unsympathetic mother for support, the girls are left alone with their harrowing secret. But for Sal it is too much to bear . . . The chance of a new life opens up for Maryann when she befriends Joel Bartholomew. Aboard his narrowboat, the Esther Jane, she finds herself falling in love with life on the canal as she is swept away from Birmingham and all her worries. Until Joel's feelings for Maryann begin to change, awakening all the old nightmares that she had thought were long buried, and in panic and confusion she takes flight . . .

The Tulip Girl

Abandoned as a baby, spirited Maddie March has had to fight her way through life. So when she finds a home at Few Farm with Frank Brackenbury and his household, she welcomes the chance for a fresh start. Work on the farm is hard, but believing herself truly loved for the first time by the farmer's son, Michael, nothing can mar Maddie's newfound happiness. But 1947 brings a harsh winter, sweeping devastation over the farm and threatening the Brackenburys' livelihood. All seems lost, until Maddie has an idea that might save them all from poverty. But then she discovers she is pregnant...

Sons and Daughters

Charlotte is an only child, reared by a brutal father who cannot forgive her for not being the son he desires. Loved by most that she meets, Charlotte has a gift for friendship, and it is her work as a Sunday School teacher that gives her hope - and an escape from home. When Charlotte meets Miles Thornton, she is instantly drawn to him. He is new to the area and a widower, with three lovely young sons to look after but the one thing he has longed for is a daughter. As they grow to understand one another, it seems that Miles and Charlotte have more in common that meets the eye... Sweeping from the early 1920s through to the end of World War II, SONS AND DAUGHTERS is a compelling, traditional saga set against the Lincolnshire landscape.

A Time to Love Again

When India Baldwin went into work one Saturday to update her computer skills, she had no idea she would end up backdating herself! But one slip on the keyboard and the lovely young widow was transported back to the time of Charlemagne --- and right in the middle of a battlefield. Forced to take refuge with the virile Theuderic of Metz, India was at first put off by the arrogant warrior's overbearing views --- and his insistence that she share his bedroll. There was no way a modern-day career woman could adjust to life in such a barbaric age. But before she knew it, India found herself merrily munching on boar and quaffing ale, holding her own during their dangerous journey, and yearning for the nights when Theu's masterful touch left her wondering if she ever wanted to return to her own time

The Crystal Skull

“ It’s a lump of rock, Stella; nothing more. No stone is worth dying for.” Except it’s not just a lump of rock. It’s a blue crystal skull made by the Maya to save the world from ruin; a sapphire so perfect, so powerful that for centuries men have killed to own or destroy it. Ancient prophecies say that if the thirteen skulls already in existence are not reunited, the world will end on December 21, 2012. Cedric Owen, the skull’s last Keeper, died so that it might keep its secret for the next four centuries. Now Stella Cody has found it, and someone has already tried to kill her. Like Owen, she’s being hunted—but by whom? Desperate to unravel the mystery of the crystal skull, Stella must decode Cedric Owen’s coded writings, sketches and ciphers no scholar has been able to unravel. What she discovers is astounding: a shocking secret prophecy…and the staggering puzzle of four terrifying creatures, thirteen precious stones, and what will happen if Cedric Owen’s crystal skull falls into the wrong hands. But time is against Stella. She has only days—hours—left to uncover the only secret that may yet save the world. 12.21.12 The date is set. Time is running out. The end of the world starts now.

A Prisoner of Birth

If Danny Cartwright had proposed to Beth Wilson the day before, or the day after, he would not have been arrested and charged with the murder of his best friend. But when the four prosecution witnesses are a barrister, a popular actor, an aristocrat, and the youngest partner in an established firm's history, who is going to believe his side of the story? Danny is sentenced to twenty-two years and sent to Belmarsh prison, the highest-security jail in the land, from where no inmate has ever escaped. However, Spencer Craig, Lawrence Davenport, Gerald Payne, and Toby Mortimer all underestimate Danny's determination to seek revenge, and Beth's relentless quest to pursue justice, which ends up with all four fighting for their lives.

Da Vinci's Tiger

For fans of rich and complex historical novels like Girl with a Pearl Earring or Code Name Verity, Laura Malone Elliott delivers the stunning tale of real-life Renaissance woman Ginevra de' Benci, the inspiration for one of Leonardo da Vinci's earliest masterpieces. The young and beautiful daughter of a wealthy family, Ginevra longs to share her poetry and participate in the artistic ferment of Renaissance Florence but is trapped in an arranged marriage in a society dictated by men. The arrival of the charismatic Venetian ambassador, Bernardo Bembo, introduces Ginevra to a dazzling circle of patrons, artists, and philosophers. Bembo chooses Ginevra as his Platonic muse and commissions a portrait of her by a young Leonardo da Vinci. Posing for the brilliant painter inspires an intimate connection between them, one Ginevra only begins to understand. In a rich and vivid world of exquisite art with a dangerous underbelly of deadly political feuds, Ginevra faces many challenges to discover her voice and artistic companionship—and to find love.

A Man of Destiny

Peter Ashton, the hero, killing a man who was responsible for his mother's death. Then, as we turn over the pages, a drama of life, throbbing with real, and heart-tearing emotions, is unfolded - a drama of love and hate - of a man eaten up with bitterness, whose conscience alone denied him a place in the sun - a man who is rich beyond the dreams of men, yet whose heart is poorer than any pauper - a strong man - a great man, yet, by the same token a pathetic creature who, with monotonous clanging of prison gates, and harsh commands ringining in his ears, builds a new world on the tragic foundations of vengeance. This story moves swiftly from action to action - from clime to clime. One minute you are reading Peter Ashton being charged with murder, and the next the tropic splendour of jungle skies is bought into your very homes, as you read him struggling against the love of a beautiful girl, who, ironically enough, is the daughter of the man he loathes.

Strangers and Lovers

It stands on a spit of land jutting into the sea, set apart from the tawdry glitter of the Boardwalk at Hawkins' Cove - The Cloud, formerly a gracious Victorian mansion and now an exclusive resort hotel. Its guest are men and women whose lives, after this one memorable summer, will never be the same.

Ted's Lucky Ball

Unknown Synopsis

Mystery of Disaster Island

Linda and John Stafford begged their father to buy deserted Disaster Island. They don't believe in the old curse or the terrifying rumors. But could they be true?

Spontaneous Combustion

A warehouse fire rages out of control. Firefighter Shannon O'Shea enters the burning structure. A beam shakes loose, her path is blocked. And then a miracle... Firefighter Shannon O'Shea is lifted from the rubble of a burning building by an unknown fireman, his protective gear shielding his identity. She's convinced her mystery rescuer is John Forrester, the newest member of their team. But when John denies it, Shannon becomes suspicious. Nothing about John seems to add up. Is he behind the explosion and fire? The only way to find the truth is to get closer to her sexy, enigmatic colleague...and risk the heat of their attraction.

Spook

Every witch needs a familiar, and Grimalda's familiar is Spook, a little black dog. All Spook wants is to live a normal dog life in a normal family, and his prayers are answered when he falls off Grimalda's broom one Halloween and lands in the arms of a little boy named Jamie. Only Jamie's love and kindness stand between Spook and Grimalda's jealous wrath!

Secret Passion

Aura knew that she and James Ballentine could have something special going for them. But falling in love with him was a risk she couldn't allow herself to take. James has been disillusioned in the past. He needed a woman who had a spotless reputation, not one smirched with scandal like Aura. Somehow she must call a halt before matters went too far. But it seemed it was already too late

Devilish

Jane Jarvis and Allison Concord are desperate to get through senior year at St. Teresa's Preparatory School for Girls, where barbed wire keeps the boys out and the ancient nuns keep the girls in. Jane and Allison have always been too quirky and different to be popular, but at least they've had each other. Then, after a hideous, embarrassing disaster, Allison comes to school transformed. Suddenly she has cute hair and clothes. She's fluent in Latin, she won't even speak to Jane, and within days she's stolen Jane's ex-boyfriend, Elton. A strangely wise freshman boy, Owen, helps Jane discover the outrageous truth--that Allison has sold her soul to the devil. At first Jane doesn't quite buy it. She plays along with the weirdness--and even gambles her own soul in order to rescue Allison. But events take a turn for the real, and Jane will have to save Allison before the bizarrely exclusive Poodle Prom, a party of biblical proportions that just might blow apart the world as Jane knows it.

Remember Today

They met as children and vowed to be friends forever. Now Sierra is a movie star, James a writer, and everything conspired to keep them apart until their guardian angels stepped in. Set during the Depression, this is an unforgettable story of friendship and romance, told with wry humor and an unexpected look at the movie business of that time.

Playing Beatie Bow

Distraught over her parents' separation, Abigail follows a strange child called Beatie Bow and time slips back a hundred years where she becomes involved with an Australian shopkeeper's family

Circle of Light

Attorney Sarina Bretton is kidnapped from Earth by Captain Teir Reylock of the Coalition Defense League. As the legendary Great Healer, Sarina is destined to marry Lord Cam'brii, a stiff politician, but she falls in love with Teir instead. Although Teir returns Sarina's passion, he must fulfill his duty as her bodyguard to protect her from the Coalition's enemies, and from his own heart.