by Philip Eliot | Feb 12, 2026 | Contemporary Romance |
A rejected proposal. A secret pregnancy. The ex who never stopped loving her. One small town with a long memory. Ten years ago, Kandra Sullivan turned down Noah Lockhart’s proposal and chased her dreams out of Cross Creek, leaving him on one knee with a ring she never even looked at. She left to become a photographer. She became a model instead. And when the man she trusted threw her away the moment she needed him most, she had nowhere left to go but home. Now she’s back—broke, pregnant, and pulling pints at the only bar in town. Noah should hate her. He’s spent a decade telling himself he does. But Cross Creek has a population of 2,500, and in a town that small, avoiding your ex requires more effort than he’s got. Especially when his three brothers won’t stop meddling, Roy’s bar keeps throwing them together, and the woman who shattered him still owns the one piece of his heart he could never take back. Kandra knows she doesn’t deserve another chance. She’s carrying someone else’s child and a decade of regret. But Noah isn’t the cold, bitter man he pretends to be, and every moment she spends with him makes it harder to remember why she ever walked away. When her secret comes out in the worst possible way, they’ll both have to decide: let the past destroy them, or fight for a future neither of them expected. ? Second Chance Romance ? Secret Pregnancy ? Small-Town Reconnection ? Grumpy Hero with a Wounded Heart ? He Never Stopped Loving Her ? Prodigal Return ? Found Family ? Band of Brothers ? Grand Romantic Gesture Heat Level: Steamy Vibes: Emotional, Angsty, Heartwarming Setting: Cross Creek, Colorado Ending: HEA, Interconnected Standalone (Cross Creek Book 1) Perfect for fans of: Devney Perry, Sarina Bowen, Melanie Harlow, and Elsie Silver Some hearts never heal. Others just need a second chance.
by Philip Eliot | Feb 12, 2026 | Thriller & Suspense |
“A fast-paced, tense, character-driven, medical mystery thriller by a master of suspense.” Midwest Book Review “All the right ingredients—suspense, mystery, emotional depth, and sharp storytelling.” Readers’ Favorite “Michael Baker is not the good doctor you think he is. You should not trust him with your patients.” When rising star surgeon Michael Baker moves home to care for his estranged alcoholic mother, his life falls apart. One patient dies, another lands in the ICU, he loses his chairmanship, and the new chairwoman takes a nasty tumble on the roof. His mother cries murder, but did her alcohol-addled brain suffer one fall too many? Or, as the note suggests, is he the cause? From the author of the award-winning cozy mystery series, The Fog Ladies, a suspense story about mother/son tensions and failures, buried secrets, ruined life dreams, revenge, and murder.
by Philip Eliot | Feb 12, 2026 | Historical Fiction |
Winner of the Spur and Western Heritage Award for Best Western Novel. “One of the dozen or so best novels written by an American in this century.” —Jon Tuska, editor of The American West in Fiction ” The Time It Never Rained was inspired by actual events, when the longest and most severe drought in living memory pressed ranchers and farmers to the outer limits of courage and endurance.” —Elmer Kelton, Seven-time Spur Award–winning author Rio Seco was too small to afford a professional manager for its one-room Chamber of Commerce. And Rio Seco, meaning “dry river” in Spanish, symbolizes the biggest enemy of the ranchers and farmers in 1950s Texas, an enemy they can’t control: drought. To cranky Charlie Flagg, an honest, decent rancher, the drought of the early 1950s is a battle that he must fight on his own grounds. Refusing the questionable “assistance” of federal aid programs and their bureaucratic regulations, Charlie and his family struggle to make the ranch survive until the time it rains again—if it ever rains again. Charlie Flagg, among the strongest of Elmer Kelton’s memorable creations, is no pasteboard hero. He is courageous and self-sufficient but as real as his harsh and unforgiving West Texas home country. His battle with an unfathomable foe is the stuff of epics and legends. “Elmer Kelton does not write Westerns. He writes fine novels set in the West. Here a reader meets flesh-and-blood people of an earlier time, in a story that will grab and hold you from the first to the last page.” —Dee Brown, #1 New York Times– bestselling author of Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee
by Philip Eliot | Feb 12, 2026 | Mystery |
Chilling surprises await a grad student when she visits her family’s secluded estate in this classic gothic mystery by a New York Times –bestselling author. Laurie has finally returned to Idlewood, the beloved family home deep in the Maryland woods where she found comfort and peace as a lonely young girl. But things are very different now. There is no peace in Idlewood. The haunting sound of a distant piping breaks the stillness of a snowy winter’s evening. Seemingly random events have begun to take on a sinister shape. And dotty old Great Aunt Lizzie is convinced that there are fairies about—and she has photographs to prove it. For Laurie, one fact is becoming disturbingly clear: there is definitely something out there in the woods—something fiendishly, cunningly, malevolently human—and the lives of her aging loved ones, as well as Laurie’s own, are suddenly at serious risk. Praise for Elizabeth Peters “No one is better at juggling torches while dancing on a high wire than Elizabeth Peters.” — Chicago Tribune “[Peters] keeps the reader coming back for more.” — San Francisco Chronicle “Elizabeth Peters is nothing less than a certified American treasure.” — Jackson Clarion-Ledger
by Philip Eliot | Feb 12, 2026 | Thriller & Suspense |
A small-time New Hampshire detective suspects the governor is behind a double murder. Parker Hanson is a former reporter who doesn’t own a gun and recently had major heart surgery. Until now, his biggest cases have involved finding lost relatives and proving infidelity. So when Parker stumbles onto state fraud that results in two peoples’ deaths, he finds himself in unfamiliar territory. But his uncompromising sense of fairness won’t allow him to fail. Aided by his female ex-Army Ranger neighbor, Parker takes on powerful adversaries to bring justice for his client. Filled with heart-pumping suspense, gripping action scenes, and a healthy dose of humor, this crime thriller from veteran journalist Dennis Pierce will keep readers on the edge of their seats until the very end. If you like detective fiction with clever writing and relatable, underdog heroes, you won’t want to miss this book. “Parker is an engaging character, one to root for.” — Kirkus Reviews
