Small Mercies Dennis Lehane

Richard Franklin has left his Midwestern roots behind to live on the coast of Maine with his family. But in the autumn of the year 2000, he must return to his Illinois birthplace on a sorrowful journey. His wife Michelle has been killed in New England by a hit-and-run driver who is never found, so back home he comes with her cremated remains, to fulfill a final wish and on her birthday scatter her ashes in the park along the river in Blackwater Valley—simply Blackwater Val to locals—the small town where they both grew up and fell in love. With him he brings his six-year-old daughter Katie who still grieves for her lost mother: Katie, who can sometimes guess who’s going to be on the phone before it rings. Who can stop all the clocks in the house, and break up clouds in the sky with her mind, and heal sicknesses, and who sometimes sees things that aren’t there...people who are no longer alive. All gifts she inherited from her mother. Only something isn’t quite right in the Val. Sinkholes are opening up, revealing the plague pits the sleepy hamlet was built over in the 1830s, when malaria and cholera outbreaks ran riot. Mysterious bird and fish die-offs begin to occur, and Katie can see ghosts of the dead gathering all around. But what she can’t see is the charred, centuries-old malevolence which has been waiting for her, and wants her for its very own. Or the pale Sallow Man who haunts the town’s nighttime streets...or the river witch—another Blackwater Val, of sorts—each of whom will be drawn one by one into the nightmarish bloodletting about to take place. ©️ Crystal Lake Publishing

A small accident that happened to Rajata in the courtyard of Prambanan Temple brought him to meet Kalyana, a woman who was finishing her novel because she would soon go abroad with Armand, her future husband. The encounter, which they thought was fleeting, turned out to be continued when Kalyana, hurt by Armand’s actions, invited Rajata to accompany him to visit Yeh Pulu, Bali. Rajata, who was trying to forget his love for a girl from his high school days, accepted the invitation. In Yeh Pulu, a local elder gave Kalyana a startling vision of an incident from several centuries ago. Intrigued by what really happened at that time, they decided to ask for a favor from Harso, Kalyana’s old friend who worked at CERN, Switzerland. Unexpectedly, their investigation, which relied on a sophisticated computer named Lidia lead them into an amazing adventure, an adventure that opens new perspectives to their understanding about history, and triggered them to learn from history in facing the future.

The air between them became hotter as she bit her lip, trying to stop herself from smiling so much. The closet was dark and stuffy, so small that their bodies were almost touching, her heart thumped like crazy. "D-Derek" She called out as he hummed in response, holding unto his sides for some unknown reason. "Will you be my boyfriend?" She blurted out, closing her eyes so she wouldn't see his reaction, he groaned, it almost broke her heart but when she looked down, she saw his shirt was now soaked. Blood trailing down his abdomen which made her gasp, slamming open the closet door. "Somebody call an ambulance!" She yelled as the guy she had just asked out dropped limp to the ground like a pack of soggy spaghetti. *A Nigerian themed novel* |16+

When my son was born, I noticed a small, round birthmark on his arm. But the weird thing? By the time I opened my eyes again after giving birth, it was gone. I figured maybe I'd imagined it. That is, until the baby shower. My brother-in-law's son, born the same day as mine, had the exact same birthmark. Clear as day. That's when it hit me. I didn't say a word, though. Not then. I waited. Eighteen years later, at my son's college acceptance party, my brother-in-law stood up and dropped the truth bomb: the "amazing" kid I'd raised was theirs. I just smiled and invited him and his wife to take their "rightful" seats at the table.

The sleepy English locality of Middletown is about to get even sleepier, as a strange malady starts to affect the population. It spreads quickly, causing the authorities to quarantine this small city, and seek out the only person who might be able to help: Doctor Andrew Strauss. However, Strauss has a secret, one that has linked him to this place all his life, one that has linked him to a particular person there, though he doesn’t yet know who. But he’s not the only one hiding things – and as he ventures into Middletown to collect samples with an army escort, a mixture of UK and US troops, cracks soon begin to appear in the operation. Especially when his team comes up against the most terrifying threat humankind has ever known.

26-years-old Stacy Cyrus is living her life in a very normal way: working in a small newspaper company; feeding her stray cat occasionally; indulging herself reading books; going to the nearest cafe for Strawberry cakes. Until one her best friend, Mikaela pleads with her to help in her job in a royal suite. All she needs to do is wear a nice dress, put on makeup and wait until Mikaela comes. But she hasn't signed up for a handsome, tall man to appear in the room in a tuxedo and demanding her to strip.

Cassandra grew up in a wealthy and well-known family in the small town of Palo. The only daughter and sole heiress of the Regaña family. She is living like a princess until she founds out that her father lost everything in a bet. In just a snap of a finger, everything she valued was taken away from her- including the hacienda. The hacienda is the only place she doesn't want to let go of because of her mother. Now she was left with no choice but to seek the person who got their hacienda and how to claim it back, only to find out that it was Kyle Sebastian- the man she loved in the past. She doesn't know why he hated her. But out of desperation, she is willing to trade herself for the man who only wanted to get revenge. Can she take all the pain or just give up? Will love still prevails? Will they find forgiveness in their hearts?

17-year-old Roger Willis was forced to move to the small town of Viridian Falls along with his parents to save their failing marriage. Roger thought his life was over then but when he was admitted at the public high school, he instantly befriends everyone. He meets the shy redhead Carmine Reid and he develops a crush on her. When Roger was invited to a house party, he got super drunk and was attacked by a werewolf gone rogue. He manages to survive with the help of an unknown person. Roger soon meets the mysterious substitute biology teacher Idris Lykaios who immediately recognized his scent. Idris came to the town to track down a rogue member of their pack, the very same one who attacked Roger. When Roger saw Carmine being kidnapped, he tracks her down using the scent of her shawl. Roger was then led to a trap and he eventually learns that Carmine was a member of an all-female pack and their goal is to kill every male werewolf in town. Idris sensed what was going on and came to Roger’s rescue. Roger soon discovers that Idris is in fact a werewolf and that he has also become one. As Idris takes Roger under his wing, he develops some sort of attraction towards the young werewolf. Idris soon realized that Roger had imprinted on him and the bond was becoming stronger. When Roger defeats the alpha of a rogue pack, he becomes their alpha. This is a clear threat to his own pack. Will Idris follow the beating of his heart or will he kill Roger who was now an alpha of a rogue pack?

Natalia Shaw and Noah Shaw had always looked very happy to the general public, and everyone who knew the Shaw couple wanted to be like them. But there was something else... Nobody else knew about it, even Natalia's best friend, but Noah had a bad habit of hurting Natalia. It had started out small, like all bad habits did, but then later, Noah had morphed into someone that Natalia could not recognize. Piero Teodoro D' Ricci was Noah newest acquaintance, and he got invited to Noah's home by Noah, himself. Piero is able to recognize the signs of abuse, no matter how subtle, and after meeting Natalia, the warning bells in his head kicked in. He left their house eventually, promising to get to the heart of the case. He met Natalia again in a social gathering, and then he proceeded to use that to his advantage, and spoke to her, trying to get her to tell him what she was passing through. Natalia did not open up, but she did get two of his business cards "in case she lost one.", he had said. The abuse from Noah got to a head and Natalia eventually decided to contact Piero, and then she let him know that she was ready to open up and receive his help. Natalia and Piero worked together, and all seemed fine until she showed up with divorce papers and got beaten up by her husband, Noah. Piero stood by Natalia in the dark, as she did not want him to in public, as a friend and attorney. And maybe as something else too. What happens when Noah finds out that his wife was in cahoots with an acquaintance of his? And what would happen to Natalia when her drunken affair with Piero gets to light?

The last thing Lark Ward wants to do is return to Lovell. In a small town that keeps a big secret and memories of her unhappy childhood.For the sake of her aunt, she returns to where those who call themselves her family live, but they are not. They do not recognize her as their own, but one of them saw her as his mate. But she's not one of them. How to break the imposed connection? Will she be able to ignore someone else's life? Can he escape fate?