by Philip Eliot | Feb 3, 2026 | Contemporary Romance |
“Morris delivers…emotional heat!” — Publishers Weekly A love festival, an ancient legend, and a surprise fake marriage… What could possibly go wrong? Plain Janie Adams may be a rule follower, but she’s no fool. When her sleazy boss dangles a promotion in front of her—a dream job producing TV news—she takes off for tiny Rose Quartz, New Mexico, to produce a feature on the town’s annual Valentine’s Day festival. Rose Quartz is famous for two things: its successful marriages and its namesake mines producing the mystical Love Stone, reputed to keep lovers true. What starts as a simple assignment gets outrageously out of hand when sexy Mason Hart enters the picture. Owner of the last mine in town still producing the Love Stone, Mason is annoyingly brash, hotter than hell, and—thanks to a ludicrously antiquated family tradition—in a serious bind: If he doesn’t marry by his thirtieth birthday, only weeks away, he’ll lose all claim to the family mines and ranch forever. As an old legend resurfaces and Rose Quartz begins to work its magic, life as Janie knows it starts doing cartwheels. Abandoning her hometown and what she thought was her perfect job, she shocks everyone—especially herself—with an impulsive dive into a marriage of convenience. But as she begins to re-envision the person she thought she was, she realizes her fake marriage is truly just a business deal, and her gorgeous husband is nothing but a stranger. Will she wind up losing Mason—or gaining the life and love of her dreams? What readers are saying about enemies-to-lovers romance MARRY ME TWICE: • “a great story by an author with a great voice” • “a fun and quirky book” • “satisfying and entertaining” • “truly a beautiful well-written love story… I couldn’t put it down!” • “I enjoyed the discovery of this literary gem, anticipating each plot twist filled with heartwarming emotions, unique characters, grins and practical marriage wisdom.” Marry Me Twice is Book One in the Rose Quartz series. It is a standalone contemporary romance novel set in small-town New Mexico. Book Two, Cassidy’s Daddy , and Book Three, Midnight Dreams , are also available on Amazon. HEAT LEVEL: 3 Hatch Chili Peppers — This novel contains several fully developed lovemaking scenes, plus plenty of sexual tension between the hero and heroine
by Philip Eliot | Feb 3, 2026 | Thriller & Suspense |
Kill Bill meets the Joy Luck Club in this edge-of-your-seat debut novel about Lily Wong; a modern-day female ninja, dedicated to rescuing women from abusive relationships while trying to hide the truth about her real life from her overprotective family. After her sister is raped and murdered, Lily Wong dedicates her life and ninja skills to the protection of women. But her mission is complicated. Not only does she live above the Chinese restaurant owned by her Norwegian father and inspired by the recipes of her Chinese mother, but she has to hide her true self from her Hong Kong tiger mom who is already disappointed in her daughter’s less than feminine ways, and who would be horrified to know what she had become. But when a woman and her son she escorted safely to an abused women’s shelter return home to dangerous consequences, Lily is forced to not only confront her family and her past, but team up with a mysterious—and very lethal—stranger to rescue them.
by Philip Eliot | Feb 3, 2026 | Crime Fiction |
Brattleboro is the epitome of scenic Vermont. Quaint in its architecture and plainspoken in its politics, it dominates the state’s southeast corner as both an employment hub and an election year powerhouse-all while looking like a genteel, postindustrial New England mill town. And yet there is darkness here, too, and nobody knows it better than Joe Gunther. Over the years he has battled drug pushers and corporate swindlers, grappled with environmental conspirators, and foiled gangs and home invaders. But while usually successful in his fight for the town’s future, Gunther hasn’t always come out on top… Thirty years earlier store owner Klaus Ober-feldt was robbed and beaten senseless. When Klaus died six months later, a case of assault and battery became first degree murder. The guilty man eventually appeared to be a well-known, small-time crook, but enough time had elapsed for him to vanish. Gunther, distracted by his wife’s losing struggle with cancer in the same hospital where Klaus was slipping from life, did something that would plague him for the rest of his career: He let the case go cold, burying it in the past along with his private sorrows. Now serendipitously reopened, the Ober-feldt investigation forces Gunther to revisit ancient history and open old wounds. Torn between righting the past and confronting his demons, the veteran cop faces the most personal and dangerous case of his career. For somewhere on the idyllic Brattleboro streets stalks a long-lost murderer who never quite disappeared-and with Joe’s renewed interest, now has good reason to kill again…
by Philip Eliot | Feb 3, 2026 | Crime Fiction |
The Native American rescue artist goes back on the job in “another excellently engineered thriller” from the New York Times –bestselling mystery author (Marilyn Stasio, The New York Times Book Review ). After two decades protecting innocent victims on the run, and a year after getting shot on the job, Jane McKinnon, née Whitefield, has settled into the quiet life of a suburban housewife in Amherst, New York. But that all changes when she sees all eight female leaders of the Tonawanda Seneca clan parked in her driveway in two black cars. Jimmy, a childhood friend of Jane’s from the reservation, has been accused of murdering a local white man. But instead of turning himself in, he’s fled, and no one knows where he’s hiding. At the clan mothers’ request, Jane retraces a walking trip she and Jimmy took together when they were fourteen in hopes that he has gone the same way again. But it turns out the police are the least of Jimmy’s problems, and soon enough Jimmy and Jane are on the run together in this “first-rate suspense” novel from the Edgar Award–winning author ( Booklist , starred review). “Whitefield is an indelible figure—whip-smart, resourceful, brave and big-hearted.” — The Seattle Times “Jane Whitefield is unique in the annals of detective fiction. She is a throwback to a tribal world, still loyal to the beliefs of the Seneca Indians and still adhering to the call of a lost era. Thomas Perry has once again resurrected a remarkable character who seems imbued with a strange immortality and an unusual morality, and he is to be congratulated.” — The Washington Times
by Philip Eliot | Feb 3, 2026 | Cozy Mystery |
An alligator. A missing man. A murder that won’t stay buried. In the sleepy panhandle of Florida, Benjamin “Elmo” Simpson has carved out a comfortable niche as the go-to wild animal removal specialist. Life is sweet until a peculiar service request takes him to a local condo and an unexpected scene. Retired lawyer Fran Cohen is missing and in his apartment is a well-fed alligator that appears to have enjoyed a nice breakfast with…or rather, of …Fran. All evidence points toward murder, and local alligator farmer, Waldo “Rambo” Quigley has the motive and the means. When Rambo pleads for help to clear his name, old debts and a history of friendship leave Elmo no choice but to investigate. With his girlfriend, Nicola, by his side, and Rambo’s freedom on the line, Elmo’s on the hunt for the real killer, but don’t panic…Elmo’s got a plan…sort of. Maybe. Reptilian clues lead to unexpected allies, and the call of danger is addictive. Can Elmo uncover the identity of Fran’s killer before becoming the next victim, removed from the scene like an unwanted pest? Readers Love: Animal expert amateur sleuth Florida panhandle setting Small-town murder mystery Humor-forward cozy Twisty but clean whodunit
