James Lee Burke Novels & Stories

Lara Smith is a 30-year-old woman who has been living a dull and lonely life. She doesn't have a family of her own, she doesn't have her own savings, and she is working hard like a dog, just to make ends meet. She wished to be like Amanda Montserrat, a beautiful, rich and a powerful woman who owns Etoile Cosmetics company. The world is her oyster, and she lives a perfect live. She's a trillionaire, she's a genius woman running a cosmetic empire on her own and she is engaged to be married to Emmett Albreicht, who is an extremely famous hotel magnate. While on a company field trip, Lara was involved in a tragic accident, and she was in a comatose state for a year. As she wakes up from her slumber, she realized in horror that she is she's been trapped into a different body! She is now living the life of Amanda Montserrat and she doesn't have any choice but to live a different life while thinking on how to get back to her original body!

Being a mute used to be simple before all the craziness started. I just can't talk and that's who I am. Mum has learned to accept that and I guess so have I. Everything was just fine in my high school in Shanghai. I had finally made it to year twelve and even though I was in China, I was actually being treated as a human being despite my disability. Things were definitely not perfect but I would give anything to go back to that, like it was before. I heard my first voice that year, right at the beginning of year 12. I didn’t really have any real friends, but I was used to it and before the voices started, I was fine with that. But it all changed when I first heard them. The voices inside their heads started then and my life was never the same. They weren't just thinking about school or they girls or guys they were into, no they were thinking about doing things, doing horrible things to each other and I was the only one that knew how messed up they really were.

After four years of marriage, James Lawson, who had never posted anything on social media, unexpectedly updated his status: "What an adorable little foodie!" The attached photo showed a young woman wearing pink cat ears, eating at a Korean BBQ restaurant. Her cheeks were flushed red from the spicy food as she stuck out her tongue. It was Sophie Jones, a new content creator at his company. Within a minute, our mutual friend commented: "Dude, you forgot to switch accounts!" Just like that, James's new post disappeared as quickly as it had appeared, only to show up moments later on Sophie's feed. Then James's name lit up my phone screen. In the past, I would have already taken screenshots and called him first to confront him. It would have inevitably ended in a heated argument. But this time, I calmly watched his call go to voicemail without answering.

Angela Lee, a 19-year-old-girl who is so beautiful and innocent and she's never been in love before. Her parents had left her at the orphanage when she was a baby. Since then she has lived her life in tears, but she never gave up and stayed strong. Her fate gets worse when her dominant boss forces her to be his and turns her life into hell.

Dana Montecarlo woke up from a 5-year coma due to a severe traffic accident. She woke up from her hospital bed, with her loving husband on her side, Garrett Montecarlo. Dana was happy and relieved to know that her husband survived the car crash, and he's alive and well. But there seems to be something different about her husband, especially with his kiss. It wasn't that passionate as it used to be. She's wondering why her husband can't look at her straight in the eye. He's acting aloof and distant towards her, as if they were total strangers. What could've happened to her husband after the car crash?

Note: This is the second book in the "Are You Our Daddy?" series but can also be read as a standalone.   “Please don’t do this. You know I have nowhere to go, don’t you? Please, I still love you. All you’re being told is false. Listen, I am going to tell you the whole truth now. I was actually the one who... who...”   “Look, Salindra,” James cuts in quickly.   “No, James.” Isabella continues. “Please let me speak, you’re going to want to hear this. My name is not even…”   “Salindra!” James shouts.   “I get you. I know you must be all spiked up and all. But it is you who really need to listen to me. Look, I... I never loved you,” he blurts out, swallowing hard.   ~~~   Isabella Harrington, under her father's command, pretends to be poor to test her husband's genuine love. After falling in love at first sight with James Collins, she marries him, hiding her true identity as a billionaire heiress. On their second anniversary, eager to reveal her family background, she instead discovers his infidelity, and she’s confronted with a divorce letter, forced by James’ family to sign.   Homeless and heartbroken, she returns to her family, where they welcome her with open arms.   Michael Howard, who had secretly admired Isabella from afar even before her marriage, is forced into an arranged marriage by his family, just when Isabella got divorced. James, the ex-husband, crosses paths with Isabella again, not as a nobody, but as the chairman of the hospital where he works and also as the renowned phantom medic. Can Isabella reclaim her life and find true happiness with Michael, or will the shadows of her past continue to haunt her?  

James left Texas 6 years ago to further his education. After graduating with an MBA, he goes back to his hometown to visit his parents and old friends whom he missed a lot. He also yearns to rekindle his friendship with his childhood bestfriend. But one obstacle stands in the way of all that...his best friend`s little sister Mary, a sexy green eyed bombshell. One who loved to make things difficult for James ever since they were kids. An obnoxious little twerp!

Falling victim to an ingenious scheme, the entire Caden family was burned alive. Risking her own life, Thea Callahan pulled James Caden out of the inferno.Ten years later, James made a triumphant return with two purposes in mind. One was to repay Thea for saving his life, and the other purpose was to take revenge on those who killed his family.Upon meeting Thea once again, he made her a single promise: as long as she was with him, she would have the entire world in the palm of her hands.

The day my ex finally made it big, the doctor told me I had less than three months to live. On TV, a reporter was interviewing James Larson. “Mr. Larson, what drove you to success?” James chuckled, but his eyes were misty. “The biggest push? Probably when I was diagnosed with kidney disease eight years ago, and my ex walked out on me.” “I’m grateful she didn’t marry me. That was the wake-up call I needed.” After the interview, he called. “Amelia Simmons, I made it. Do you regret it now?” I rested a hand on the spot where my kidney used to be and let out a bitter laugh. “I do. And I have cancer now. Happy?” James sounded satisfied. “Serves you right.” He never knew—I got cancer because I gave him my kidney all those years ago.

She was just a jilted bride-to-be looking to drown her sorrows. He was a billionaire bachelor resigned to an arranged marriage. But when their worlds collided one fateful night, Lily Walker and James Watson did the unthinkable - they got drunk-married in a spirited act of rebellion. Now, Lily finds herself thrust into James' ultra-elite social circle where his vengeful ex-fiancée Chloe will do anything to take her down. Chloe wages a relentless campaign to sabotage the new couple, Stop at nothing to destroy Lily and dissolve the marriage she sees as a sham. Banding together against the salacious gossip and endless scheming, Lily and James gradually fall for each other's fiery spirits. But darker secrets and escalating scandals loom, threatening to tear them apart for good. Can they fight against the vicious social vultures and build a real partnership? Or will high society's devious shadows finally force Lily out of the lavish life she never asked for?