Donna Ball has 24 audiobooks on Listento.it, narrated by 6 narrators, with an average listener rating of 4.1★ across 17 ratings. The most-rated is Pieces of Eight.
Pieces of Eight
Summary
From the award- winning author of Flash.... A deadly explosion at an archaeological dig on Dogleg Island plunges police chief Aggie Malone and her canine partner Flash into a dark mystery from the past. On the other side of the bridge, Deputy Sheriff Ryan Grady, still reeling from the brutal assassination of his ex-partner, stumbles onto the site of a mass murder. In the midst of a state-wide manhunt for a desperate fugitive, Aggie deals with a new island administrator who threatens the future of police department, while a mysterious stranger with an agenda of his own stalks Grady. As the pieces of the investigations fall into place, Aggie and Grady begin to see that their cases, though separated by 50 years, are more alike than they are different...but only Flash knows how they are connected. And by whom. When a family tragedy is traced back to the elusive Ghost Syndicate, the fight for justice turns fiercely personal for Aggie, Grady, and Flash. And this time it’s a fight they can’t afford to lose. Don’t miss this exciting sequel to Flash of Brilliance, nominee for Dog Writers of America’s Best Fiction Book of the Year!
©2019 Donna Ball (P)2019 Blue Merle Publishing
Murder Creek
Summary
Book 14 in the award-winning Raine Stockton Dog Mystery series. Raine Stockton knows dogs, not kids. Nonetheless, she is supremely confident in her ability to take care her fiancé’s 10-year-old daughter Melanie for a week while he is out of town. After all, how hard could it be? But things get complicated when Raine and her golden retriever Cisco rescue a dog who is locked in a hot car in a remote Smoky Mountain park and subsequently discover the owner of that car drowned in the creek only a few dozen yards away. Was it an accident, or was it murder? Raine is certain that she recognizes the abandoned dog from her puppy training class, six years ago. Mere months later, the dog, along with his three-year-old owner, disappeared from the child’s bedroom during the night and were never seen again. Now, the dog is back, and Raine is convinced his reappearance might hold the key to the truth about the missing child. The problem is that no one believes her. While Raine tries to unravel the mystery of the abandoned dog’s past - and a six-year-old missing child case - her ex-husband - criminal investigator Buck Lawson - opens an investigation into the death of the man in whose car the dog was found. He, soon, finds himself involved in another cold case - one that leads him from an apparent serial killer in Florida to a murder in his own hometown. The one thing that ties the two cases together is the dog, whose shadowy history opens the door to questions better left unasked and whose answers may prove to be deadly. But when lives are in danger, it is up to Raine and Cisco to track down the truth, even though it means risking someone she loves.
©2020 Donna Ball (P)2020 Blue Merle Publishing
Deadfall
Summary
Audiobook 12 in the best-selling Raine Stockton Dog Mystery series. Hollywood has come to the scenic Smoky Mountain community of Hanover County, and dog-trainer Raine Stockton can’t resist the opportunity when her dogs are offered a chance at a role in the film. Naturally, she expects her showy golden retriever, Cisco, to win the part, but Cisco’s impetuous nature does him in, and the role goes to her twin Australian shepherds, Mischief and Magic. For the first time in his young life, Cisco is left behind. Filmmaking turns out not to be as exciting as Raine had expected, and the only upside to the long, mostly boring days is the new friend she makes on the set, a stuntwoman by the name of Dallas McKenzie. But it doesn’t take Raine long to discover Dallas is a woman of secrets and lies, and trouble seems to follow her wherever she goes. The set is plagued by accidents and vandalism, and Dallas always seems to be at the center of everything that goes wrong. But even Raine can’t imagine how wrong things have yet to go. Meanwhile, Raine agrees to investigate a case for her lawyer friend Sonny involving a service dog who is accused of biting a child. The case seems open-and-shut until Cisco, who is beginning to show some talent as a medical alert dog, sniffs out evidence that throws previous theories into disarray - and may shed some light into the mysterious happenings on the movie set. But when Cisco and Raine start to track down answers, they find murder instead. In a world where nothing is what it seems, it’s up to Raine and Cisco to find the truth...before it’s too late.
©2017 Donna Ball (P)2019 Donna Ball
The Devil's Deal
Summary
From the winner of the Dog Writer’s Association of America “Best Fiction Book of the Year 2017”award comes this thrilling new installment in the Raine Stockton Dog Mystery series. The annual Hansonville, North Carolina Founder’s Day Festival always draws plenty of locals and tourists alike who are eager to immerse themselves in the Smoky Mountain culture and show their support for local businesses and civic organizations. For dog trainer and Humane Society volunteer Raine Stockton, it’s a perfect opportunity to raise money for the local animal shelter. But when a stranger wanders into her fund-raising booth with his young daughter and their beautiful black Lab, the peaceful country afternoon is turned into chaos. Within moments the man is arrested for murder, his child is placed in foster care, and Raine finds herself the temporary custodian of what may well be the most valuable dog in the world. While Raine’s ex-husband, the newly appointed county investigator Buck Lawson, tries to sort out the tangled threads of a murder case that isn’t even his own, Raine discovers that the man they’ve taken into custody is the world-famous research scientist Dr. Jason Broderick and that the Labrador, Bongo, is one of an elite group of dogs Broderick has bred and trained to detect concealed micro-technology. Raine can’t believe that someone she so admires could be guilty of murder, particularly when she learns that one of his associates is her own fiancé, Miles Young. But is her faith in both men misplaced? It turns out that Bongo has skills that go beyond even those of his fellow scent-detecting canines - skills that are worth billions of dollars to some people, and are worth killing for to others. When the unthinkable happens and an innocent life is placed in jeopardy, Raine is forced to make a terrible choice: one that will shake her to her very core and cause her to question not only herself, but everything she has ever believed.
©2018 Donna Ball (P)2019 Donna Ball
All That Glitters
Summary
Raine Stockton looks back on how she first met Cisco, her incorrigible golden retriever pup, in this Raine Stockton Dog Mystery Christmas short story. Times are hard in the small Smoky Mountain town of Hansonville, North Carolina, and for former forest service employee Raine Stockton this Christmas will be harder than most as she prepares to spend her first holiday without her family, without a job... and without a dog. When a mysterious Secret Santa starts making dreams come true all over the county everyone's spirits are on the rise, but Raine can't help but wonder whether there is more to this enigmatic philanthropist than meets the eye. Meanwhile, the police are baffled by a string of crimes that are unlike anything the small town has ever seen before. It will take a mischievous golden retriever pup to find the clues that solve both mysteries... and to heal Raine's broken heart.
©2012 Donna Ball (P)2014 Donna Ball
Dog Days
Summary
The dog days of summer bring murder to the Smoky Mountains in this 10th installment of the best-selling Raine Stockton Dog Mystery Series. For Raine Stockton, owner and proprietor of Dog Daze Boarding and Training, August is the busiest time of year. She has all she can handle with a kennel full of dogs, a very strange new employee, and a personal life that seems to be falling apart at the seams. The last thing she needs is another complication. But when she takes in a gorgeous white golden retriever that was found covered in blood and wandering alone in a national park, the complications have only begun. When the new dog escapes during the night, the search for her leads Raine and her irascible search-and-rescue dog, Cisco, to the scene of a tragic accident at the bottom of a gorge. But was it an accident, or a well-planned murder? The answer to that question draws Raine into a dangerous intrigue in which she doesn't know who to trust...one that will turn an afternoon at the fair into a deadly ordeal, and could end up costing Raine her life.
©2015 Donna Ball (P)2016 Donna Ball
The Dead Season
Summary
January is known as the dead season in the small Smoky mountain community of Hanover County, North Carolina. For dog trainer and wilderness expert Raine Stockton, who hasn't had a client in six month, this season has been deader than most. When the New Day Wilderness Program for Troubled Teens offers her a job leading a group of students on a winter camping expedition as part of their rehabilitation program, Raine jumps at the chance - particularly since it means she will be able to take her golden retriever, Cisco, with her. But something is not right at New Day, and Raine and Cisco soon find themselves caught in a web of intrigue, suspicion and sabotage. As the group moves deeper into the wilderness beneath steadily worsening weather, Raine begins to fear she and Cisco may soon find themselves trapped on the mountainside... with a killer.
©2012 Donna Ball (P)2014 Donna Ball
Flash of Brilliance
Summary
There's nothing like family during the holidays...unless one of those family members is in jail, and you're the cop who was responsible for putting him there. Police Chief Aggie Malone is facing her first Christmas as a married woman, and hoping for a relatively uneventful holiday in the quiet Gulf Coast community of Dogleg Island where she, along with her perspicacious border collie Flash, is in charge of keeping the peace. She is still trying to find her place in the big, boisterous Grady family, but unlike Flash - and her own husband, Deputy Sheriff Ryan Grady - Aggie does not see the appeal of the holiday, and the magic of the season is completely lost on her. The old-fashioned Christmas Grady has planned for his bride begins to unravel when Aggie's investigation into a homicide hit-and-run leads to the arrest of her own brother-in-law and exposes a crime syndicate that's responsible for spreading millions in counterfeit bills throughout the southeast. A police informant turns up dead, and evidence suggests his murder may be the result of corruption at the highest levels of law enforcement. Flash, who is an expert at putting things together, understands that all these pieces of the puzzle are related, and with Aggie's help they'll soon be able to see the big picture. But not even Flash can foresee the demons their search for the truth will unearth. When the shadows from the past reach forward to cloud their future, Aggie, Grady, and Flash find the limits of their loyalty tested, even as they discover the lengths to which they will go to protect the ones they love.
©2017 Donna Ball (P)2017 Blue Merle Publishing
Silent Night
Summary
It's Christmas time, and for Raine Stockton and her Search and Rescue dog, Cisco, Hansonville, North Carolina is just like a Norman Rockwell painting - except for the rash of thefts of baby Jesus figurines from nativity scenes, an abandoned box of golden retriever puppies that someone leaves beside her mailbox, and a mysterious gift from one of Cisco's a grateful admirers. Raine already has her hands full with her own misbehaving pooches, unexpected house guests, and a complicated new relationship. But when a newborn is abandoned in the manger of the town's living nativity and Raine walks in on what appears to be the scene of a murder, she has more to worry about than keeping the Christmas spirit alive.
©2011 Donna Ball (P)2014 Donna Ball
Land of the Free
Summary
No one knows the mountains of North Carolina like Raine Stockton and her search and rescue dog, Cisco. When they are called in to search for an elderly man who has wandered away from home, it seems like a routine mission until Raine looks through her binoculars and sees something she wasn't supposed to see. A dead man is very much alive, a felon is walking around free, and Raine is the only person who can testify to the fact. The problem is that no one takes her claims seriously...except the person who wants her dead. Unwillingly thrust into the midst of an unpleasant child custody battle and a hotly contested political race, Raine finds herself questioning her own judgment and is uncertain who to trust. Is she suffering from PTSD, or has a nightmare from her past materialized to haunt her? The police tell her one thing, her common sense tells her another. But when murder strikes too close to home, the hypothetical question becomes all too real, and no one is above suspicion: not the man Raine loves, not the man she once married, not even Raine herself. And they all must choose how far they're willing to go to protect the ones they love. In this thrilling conclusion to the trilogy that includes Home of the Brave, Dog Days, and Land of the Free, Raine and Cisco face their biggest challenge yet, and when it is over nothing will ever be the same.
©2016 Donna Ball (P)2017 Blue Merle Publishing
Rapid Fire
Summary
Raine's old boyfriend Andy Fontana is back in town...and at the top of the FBI's Ten Most Wanted List. With a fortune in diamonds hidden somewhere in the wilderness, several recent acts of eco-terrorism and an unsolved murder laid at Andy's door, the feds turn to Raine Stockton, with her unsurpassed knowledge of the mountains and her reputation as a wilderness tracker, to help bring Andy to justice. The only problem is that Raine still believes Andy is innocent... With the help of Cisco, her golden retriever, Raine must uncover the truth about the man she once loved and uncover a killer in the process.
©2008 Donna Ball (P)2014 Donna Ball
The Sound of Running Horses
Summary
Still recovering from the traumatic events of the past year, newlyweds Aggie Malone, police chief of Dogleg Island, and Deputy Sheriff Ryan Grady are looking forward to a casual day trip to Wild Horse Island, a nearby nature preserve, with their precocious - and uncannily perceptive - border collie, Flash. But when Flash discovers a body in a shallow grave on the island, and Aggie and Ryan learn of an attack on the park ranger, a tangled knot of conspiracy, murder and deception begins to unfold. Fifteen hundred miles away, an ex-con and a 15 year old girl embark upon a crime spree that will earn them the nicknames "Bonnie and Clyde". As they make their way inexorably south, Aggie, Grady and Flash are thrust into the middle of a murder investigation that leads to the arrest of one of their neighbors and the attempted suicide of another. When a search of the dead girl's belongings reveals a priceless emerald bracelet and two of the island's most popular residents go missing, the puzzle becomes even more complicated. Grady and Aggie struggle to put all the pieces into place while Flash, ever obsessed with understanding the human condition, wrestles with a more painful dilemma: how do you tell the good guys from the bad guys when they are so often the same person?
©2016 Donna Ball (P)2016 Donna Ball
Bone Yard
Summary
Fourth Installment in the Raine Stockton Dog Mystery Series: a short novella Dog trainer Raine Stockton has lived all her life in the quiet community of Hansonville, North Carolina. She is the daughter of a judge, the niece of a sheriff, and the ex-wife of a deputy. She does not lead the kind of life, generally speaking, in which people get buried in her backyard. But when Cisco, Raine's mischievous golden retriever, digs up human bones beneath the site of what will soon be her new training kennel, mayhem ensues. With the state police swarming everywhere, references to a mass grave and suspicions of a serial killer, Raine is surrounded by chaos. But when her beautiful collie Majesty keeps disappearing and cryptic messages from a pet psychic only add to the confusion, Raine soon finds herself plunged into the midst of a mystery that is far too close to home. Can she and Cisco track down the truth before it's too late?
©2012 Donna Ball (P)2014 Donna Ball
Flash
Summary
Aggie Malone is a dedicated young cop who has spent her entire life just looking for a place to call home. She never thought she'd find it in a quaint Florida village called Dogleg Island, where almost nothing ever happens. Deputy Ryan Grady is an easygoing playboy who carries a surf board in the trunk of his patrol car and lives in the same rambling beach cottage his grandfather built 70 years ago. He grew up on Dogleg Island and can't imagine ever living anywhere else. It's always been the most peaceful place he has ever known. Flash is a black and white, blue eyed border collie with amazing powers of perception, recollection, and deduction. He was born to be nothing more than a pampered family pet, however, and his skills might never have been uncovered. A single night of blood and terror changed the lives of these three forever, and forged a bond between them that nothing will ever break. While each of them struggles to deal with the scars left by that night, they must also bring a killer to justice - a killer who is also stalking them. And only Flash knows who it is.
©2015 Donna Ball, Inc (P)2016 Donna Ball
Christmas on Ladybug Farm
Summary
Christmas on Ladybug Farm is a short novel with a bonus holiday recipe section! 'Twas the Night Before Christmas... It's Christmas Eve, and Cici, Bridget and Lindsay are busy preparing for their annual holiday party. The tree is sparkling, the turkey is roasting, the stockings are hung and the eggnog is chilled. The scene is set for the perfect Christmas...with one or two exceptions. The entire state is in the midst of a heat wave. No one can find any mistletoe. The Christmas tree lights keep exploding, and, perhaps worst of all, something has gone terribly wrong with Ida Mae's fruitcakes. It wouldn't be Ladybug Farm if everything went according to plan, and as the ladies deal with one mishap after another, they remember Christmases past, laughter shared, and lessons learned. But when nightfall descends upon Ladybug Farm and one of their own still has not come home, they begin to worry that this Christmas will be one to remember for all the wrong reasons. All they can do is cling to each other as they watch and wait...and pray for miracle.
©2011 Donna Ball (P)2014 Blue Merle Publishing
Christmas at the Hummingbird House
Summary
A heartwarming holiday tale from the author of A Year on Ladybug Farm. Paul and Derrick have hit their stride with the Hummingbird House Bed and Breakfast, a destination of distinction in the heart of the Shenandoah Valley. Guests are coming from all over the country to enjoy their Christmas weekend extravaganza, featuring sleigh rides, champagne suppers, holiday concerts, and spa treatments. Of course there are a few glitches: 20 Christmas trees to be decorated in less than a week, an absentee massage therapist, and - perhaps most distressing of all - the unexpected presence of three school-age children in the Hummingbird House, courtesy of their saucy young housekeeper Purline. While Purline tries to teach her children, as well as her bosses, the true meaning of Christmas, the lost and the lonely - often disguised as the wealthy and the privileged - are drawn to the Hummingbird House. Among them are the author of a famous book on miracles who has lost his faith, a family secretly on the verge of disaster, and a husband and wife facing their last Christmas together. With the help of a Harley-riding stranger, a series of unexpected events, and the innocent good intentions of their hosts, healing comes to the wounded and miracles unfold, proving once again that at the Hummingbird House you may not always find what you expect, but you'll always find what you need.
©2015 Donna Ball (P)2016 Donna Ball
A Wedding on Ladybug Farm, Book 6
Summary
When Bridget, Cici and Lindsay left behind their safe suburban lives for a stately old mansion in the Shenandoah Valley, they redefined the concept of family. The friends, like the house, have faced many challenges and undergone major changes over the years. But the one thing they never imagined was that one day they would be expanding their house of women to make room for a husband. A second marriage in midlife is never easy, and Lindsay and Dominic know they will be facing their share of adjustments when they begin their life together. But she has the Vera Wang; she has a famous style columnist as her wedding planner; her best friend is the most popular caterer in the county, and she is marrying the love of her life. What could possibly go wrong? When the wedding takes place at Ladybug Farm, the answer is: almost anything. The three friends have weathered many storms together, but this one could shake the foundation of their life together. Only when they are faced with the loss of someone they all hold dear do they come to a renewed appreciation for the depth of their devotion to each other, the power of love, and the real meaning of family.
©2014 Donna Ball (P)2014 Donna Ball
Vintage Ladybug Farm
Summary
Come home to Ladybug Farm, the place for everyone who has ever had a friend... or a dream. Four years have passed since best friends Cici, Bridget and Lindsay left the suburbs for an old mansion in the Shenandoah Valley. They've survived broken plumbing, leaky roofs, and marauding sheep. They've faced fire, hail, snow, and financial set-backs. Yet somehow through it all they've managed not only to build a home, but a family. And now, much to their amazement, all their dreams seem to be coming true. The vineyard has been restored and Ladybug Farm Winery is on the verge of bottling its first vintage. Their friends Paul and Derrick are building a house next door. High school and college graduations are just around the corner for the two young people they have shepherded for the past four years. Life couldn't be more perfect. But Ladybug Farm still holds a few surprises for them all... Someone is getting married. Someone is keeping a monumental secret. And someone is leaving Ladybug Farm forever.
©2012 Donna Ball (P)2014 Donna Ball
Home of the Brave
Summary
Raine Stockton and her high-spirited, big-hearted golden retriever, Cisco, are accustomed to being heroes wherever they go. But there's a new dog in town, and Raine and Cisco find themselves unexpectedly upstaged by a flashy K-9 addition to the sheriff's department. Nike and her handler, Jolene, are part of a new government-funded program for law enforcement agencies, and though Raine admires Nike's talent almost as much as she resents Jolene's arrogance, she can't help wondering why the Department of Homeland Security would send such an expensive gift to their sleepy, little Smoky Mountain community. Sheriff Buck Lawson has his hands full with an upcoming election, a bizarre murder, and a special appearance by a celebrity politician at the Fourth of July parade, and he is not about to look a gift horse - or dog - in the mouth. But when things go horribly wrong at a children's camp just outside of town, where Raine and Cisco are spending the holiday weekend, the scattered puzzle pieces begin to form a terrifying picture. In a desperate battle against an enemy whose face they can't even see, Raine, Jolene, Cisco, Nike, and Buck must work together and reach for depths of courage they never knew they had to save the lives of those they love.
©2014 Donna Ball (P)2015 Donna Ball
Sweet Tea and Jesus Shoes
Summary
Come sit on the porch a spell. Let's talk about times gone by and folks we remember, about slow summer evenings and lightning bugs in a jar. Listen to the music of a creaky swing and hand-cranked ice cream and cicadas chorusing in the sultry night air. Let's talk about how things used to be in the South - and for some of us, they way they still are. Welcome to the world of Sweet Tea and Jesus Shoes, where award winning authors Deborah Smith, Sandra Chastain, Virginia Ellis, Debra Dixon, Donna Ball and Nancy Knight come together for the first time to create this poignant, humorous collection of nostalgic tales. Here life's lessons are handed down - liberally sprinkled with hilarity - from eccentric relatives, outrageous pets and unrepentant neighbors, and served up with a generous dollop of that most valued of all Southern commodities: good old fashioned storytelling. From Mississippi to Georgia, from Florida to Tennessee, these daughters of the South will take you on a lush tour of the times and places they know best, each voice as refreshing and inviting as a glass of cold sweet tea on a hot afternoon. So come. Let us take you back. Let us take you home.
©2000 BelleBooks (P)2012 BelleBooks