Laural Merlington has narrated 292 audiobooks on Listento.it by 176 authors, with an average listener rating of 4.4★ across 3,316 ratings. The most-rated is Scythe.
Wishes for Christmas
Summary
Christmas is a time for family and friends to gather and celebrate old bonds...and form new ones. New York Times best-selling author Fern Michaels brings together the beloved heroines from two celebrated series - the Sisterhood and the Godmothers - for a holiday to remember forever.... Throughout the years, the ladies of the Sisterhood have delivered their own style of vigilante justice to those who most deserve it. But this Christmas, instead of finding and punishing bad guys, all Maggie Spitzer wants is to bring a little more joy to the world - and especially to a beloved teacher from her past. And as the Sisters unite to find her, they learn that no holiday treat is as fulfilling as giving to others.... It's a lesson that would come as no surprise to Teresa Amelia Loudenberry - "Toots" to all who love her. With a little help from the other Godmothers, Toots is preparing for Charleston's annual holiday showcase of historic homes. Her mansion is festooned with antique ornaments, beautifully arranged by Charleston's most exclusive design firm. But when the Godmothers sense trouble with one of the decorators, they must tackle a mystery and hope for a happy ending.... While staying at the Grove Place Inn as a guest of the Sisterhood's Myra Rutledge, Godmother Sophie meets the inn's owner, Holly Noel Simmons. Despite her name, Holly's feeling none too festive around her handsome employee Gannon Montgomery. Gannon blames Holly for his former company's downfall. Yet the holiday season holds surprises for everyone, and the promise of far sweeter Christmases yet to come.... When Sisters and Godmothers unite, the result is a warm and wonderful holiday - with a special touch of magic....
©2015 Fern Michaels (P)2015 Brilliance Audio, all rights reserved.
The End of the Dream: The Golden Boy Who Never Grew Up and Other True Cases
Summary
An explosive account of lethal greed and twisted desire from the files of America's number-one true-crime writer, Ann Rule.
They were best friends, four talented and charismatic young men who lived charmed lives among the evergreens of Washington state: Kevin, the artist; Steve, the sculptor; Scott, the nature lover and unabashed ladies' man; and Mark, the musician and poet. With their stunning good looks, whip-sharp minds, athletic bodies - and no lack of women who adored them - none of them seemed slated for disaster.
But few knew the reality behind the leafy screen that surrounded Seven Cedars, Scott's woodland dream home - a tree house equipped with every luxury. From this idyllic enclave, some of these trusted friends would become the quarry for a vigilant Seattle police detective and an FBI special agent, who unmasked clues to disturbing secrets that spawned murder, suicide, million-dollar bank robberies, drug-dealing, and heartbreaking betrayal. When the end came in a violent standoff, the ringleader of the foursome - the fugitive dubbed "Hollywood" for his ingenious disguises and flawless getaways; the persuasive talker who turned his friends into accomplices - faced a final chapter no one could have predicted. In a blast of automatic gunfire, the highest and lowest motives of the human heart were, at last, revealed.
Along with four other true-crime tales, The End of the Dream is a masterful and compelling tour of the criminal mind from Ann Rule.
©1998 Ann Rule (P)2013 Brilliance Audio, Inc.
Safe and Sound
Summary
The Sisterhood: a group of women from all walks of life bound by friendship and a quest for justice. Armed with vast resources, top-notch expertise, and a loyal network of allies around the globe, the Sisterhood will not rest until every wrong is made right. Now in their 29th adventure, the members of the Sisterhood team up to find a gifted but neglected child the home he deserves. Isabelle Flanders Tookus isn't expecting to involve the Sisterhood in a new mission when she strikes up a friendship with a curly-haired boy in her local park. Ben Ryan is eight years old, sweet, funny, and smarter than most adults - a child genius, in fact. He's also in much deeper danger than he realizes. Ben is the grandson of millionaire Eleanor Lymen, who hired Izzy years ago to design an institute for gifted children. Ben's mother passed away, and Ben now lives with his stepfather, Connor, and Connor's wife, Natalie. Yet as Izzy soon learns, Ben's home life is far from happy. Connor and Natalie are constantly fighting. They've been using Ben's trust fund to support their lavish lifestyle while shamefully neglecting Ben. And with Natalie getting greedy, Ben's safety is now in jeopardy. Izzy's first step: call in the Sisterhood. The second: track down Eleanor, who has mysteriously vanished on a secret mission of her own, trying to right an old wrong. Izzy, Annie, Myra, and the rest of the Sisters come together at Pinewood, thrilled to be united once more. Together, they'll lay a trap for Natalie and Connor, one that will protect Eleanor's beloved grandson, get him into the happy home he deserves, and provide the kind of creative, satisfying payback the Sisters dish out so well....
©2018 Fern Michaels (P)2018 Recorded Books
An Unexpected Frost
Summary
In the second installment of the gripping Tucker's Way series, Tucker faces the biggest crisis of her life. Tucker has finally overcome a lifelong fear of trusting others and let her kind neighbor, Ella, into her heart. Despite their different backgrounds, Tucker and Ella share a deep affection and, together with their good friend Smiley Carter, they support one another and care for Tucker's three troubled grandchildren. As Tucker's bonds with Ella and Smiley deepen, Tucker's grandson disappears and the bank threatens to foreclose on her farm. Then the worst happens - Ella is diagnosed with lung cancer. How can Tucker find her faith during a time when God has never seemed farther away?
©2015 David Johnson (P)2015 Brilliance Audio, all rights reserved.
Worth More Dead and Other True Cases
Summary
Why would a man kill his lover's husband and then his wife, the woman who fought successfully to have him paroled from prison? Why would he risk arrest by kidnapping the child of another woman who adored him? Because they were...Worth More Dead
A cold case reopened - and solved - with dogged police work and new evidence. One of the shocking true crimes of passion and greed from Ann Rule's Crime Files.
Former Marine sergeant and judo instructor Roland Pitre Jr. claimed it was all an elaborate plan to win back his wife's love - it wasn't supposed to end with her dead body in the trunk of a car. Nearly twenty years later, he acknowledged that he had hired someone to kill his estranged wife in 1988, though his alleged excuse for why a monstrous "mistake" happened is as shocking and convoluted as the crime itself. Eventually, he was charged with first-degree murder in the long-unsolved death of Cheryl Pitre, after a mysterious witness betrayed Pitre to save his own skin. Tracing back the dark and bloody path of Pitre's life, two generations of detectives found a chain of brutal and terrifying crimes by a man who manipulated the courts and prisons to walk free.
©2005 Ann Rule (P)2013 Brilliance Audio, all rights reserved. Recorded by arrangement with Pocket Books, a division of Simon & Schuster, Inc.
Gotcha!
Summary
They're back…! Sometimes, justice is a long time coming. That’s the case with Julie Wyatt, whose story strikes close to home for the original founder of the Sisterhood, Myra Rutledge, and her best friend - and fellow Sister - Annie. Julie is convinced her greedy daughter-in-law Darlene had something to do with the mysterious circumstances surrounding her son Larry’s death. She desperately wants to get a confession out of Darlene - and to ensure the safety of Larry’s daughter, Olivia. As Myra, Annie, and their cohorts dig deeper into Darlene’s shady dealings, events unfurl in a way that no one could have predicted, bringing to light the true meaning of loyalty and courage - and the kind of friendship that can create miracles.…
©2013 Fern Michaels (P)2013 Brilliance Audio, Inc.
Lethal Justice
Summary
The women of the Sisterhood are fun, smart, sassy, and determined to get their way every time. But most of all, they are the best friends a woman wants by her side in good times and bad. Meeting once again in Myra Rutledge's beautiful Virginia home, they're ready to face a new challenge and right a vicious wrong... Alexis Thorn, once a successful securities broker, spent a hellish year behind bars for a crime she never committed. Now she has her freedom, but she's left with haunting memories of being hauled from her office in handcuffs...of the cell door clanging shut behind her...of her pleas going unheard. Meanwhile the real criminals - her former employers, Roland Sullivan and his lover Arden Gillespie - continue to make millions by conning the innocent, especially preying on the elderly and taking their life savings. Alexis dreams of getting even. The legal system failed her, but the Sisterhood won't. They have a delicious plan that can give Sullivan and Gillespie a taste of their own bitter medicine...
©2007 Fern Michaels (P)2006 Brilliance Audio, Inc.
Marrying Miss Marshal
Summary
From a USA TODAY best-selling author and read by an Audie award-winning narrator. Being town marshal is no job for a lady, but Danna Carpenter is determined to prove herself to everyone who doubts her. That includes tenderfoot detective Chas O’Grady, who arrives in town on the hunt for cattle rustlers. City slicker Chas finds nothing but trouble in the small Wyoming town and surrounding wilderness. With no one else to rely on, detective and marshal strike a deal to work together. When they are pushed into a marriage of convenience, Chas and Danna must learn to open their hearts—or lose everything.
©2011 Lacy Williams (P)2015 Lacy Williams
Fool Me Once
Summary
No other author plumbs the depths of the human heart - or portrays the joys of human redemption - quite like Fern Michaels. In Fool Me Once, she captures the fraught, yet richly satisfying story of one woman's search for the mother she never knew...and her discovery of the woman she's yet to become.Olivia Lowell always believed her father's claim that her mother died in childbirth, until the shocking day a lawyer informs her that her mother has just passed away, leaving her a fortune. The money comes with a caveat - and a confession. In her will, Olivia's mother reveals that she and two college friends committed a crime long ago, and now she wants Olivia to track down her accomplices and convince them to come clean.Feeling betrayed by her father, and unsure that she even wants her mother's tainted money, Olivia must decide if she can handle the secrets of the past. Fulfilling her mother's request won't be easy, nor will mending her relationship with her father. But with the help and affections of a handsome young lawyer, and the sweet companionship of her beloved terriers, Olivia will come to understand who her mother really was, and who she, herself, was meant to be...
©2006 Fern Michaels (P)2006 Brilliance Audio, Inc.
Japan 1941
Summary
When Japan attacked the United States in 1941, argues Eri Hotta, its leaders, in large part, understood they were entering a conflict they were bound to lose. Availing herself of rarely consulted material, Hotta poses essential questions overlooked by historians in the seventy years since: Why did these men - military men, civilian politicians, diplomats, the emperor - put their country and its citizens in harm's way? Why did they make a decision that was doomed from the start? Introducing us to the doubters, bluffers, and schemers who led their nation into this conflagration, Hotta brilliantly shows us a Japan never before glimpsed - eager to avoid war but fraught with tensions with the West, blinded by traditional notions of pride and honor, nearly escaping disaster before it finally proved inevitable.
©2013 Eri Hotta (P)2013 Tantor
Truth or Dare
Summary
The Sisterhood: a group of women bound by friendship and a quest for justice. Now their male allies, the Men of the Sisterhood, have formed a top-secret organization of their own, with the same goal of helping the helpless and righting the wrongs of the world.... When the call comes, the Men of the Sisterhood drop everything to help their friends. This time it’s Cyrus, their four-legged hound dog and unofficial mascot. While member Joe Espinosa is driving along an isolated country road with Cyrus in tow, he catches a glimpse of movement in the woods bordering the road and notes Cyrus pawing desperately at the car window. As soon as he pulls over to investigate, Cyrus bolts out the door and leads Joe to three children clustered together - bedraggled, silent, and scared out of their wits. As soon as he has brought the children to safety, Espinosa arranges an urgent meeting. Charles, Abner, Jack, Dennis, Harry, and the rest of the crew gather at BOLO headquarters to hear a shocking story that confirms their worst suspicions. Many more children are still in danger. But in order to protect and avenge the victims, the team must use more cunning than ever before. With so many vulnerable young lives at stake, one mistake would be too many....
©2018 Fern Michaels (P)2018 Recorded Books
Far and Away
Summary
All three of the Godmothers novellas together for the very first time! Old friends reunite for an adventure unlike any they’ve faced before in the latest novel by beloved storyteller and #1 New York Times bestselling author Fern Michaels. As Sophie De Luca has learned, many things really are better the second time around, whether that’s a wonderful year of marriage with Goebel, her sweet second husband, or strengthening her bonds with childhood friends Toots, Ida, and Mavis. Yet ever since she and Goebel moved into their new home, Sophie has sensed something a little...unusual. Old houses often contain items left behind from previous owners, but what remains in this case is a painful secret. Facing this past presents a special kind of challenge, but with her three extraordinary friends by her side, Sophie is ready to confront a terrible wrong that occurred within the house decades ago. And, just maybe, each of the lifelong friends will get the chance to claim a sweet, surprising future chiming with wedding bells when the task is done.... Praise for Fern Michaels and The Godmothers Series “Whoever thought the ‘golden years’ were boring never met the Godmothers.” (RT Book Reviews) “Michaels’ engaging version of the Golden Girls.” (Booklist)
©2017 by Fern Michaels. (P)2017 Brilliance Publishing, Inc., all rights reserved.
No Regrets: And Other True Cases
Summary
A ship's pilot legendary for guiding mammoth freighters through the narrows of Puget Sound, Rolf Neslund was a proud Norwegian, a ladies' man, and a beloved resident of Washington State's idyllic Lopez Island. Virtually indestructible even into his golden years, he made electrifying headlines more than once: after a ship he was helming crashed into the soaring West Seattle Bridge, causing millions in damages; and following his inexplicable disappearance at age 80. Was he a suicide, a man broken by one costly misstep? Had he run off with a lifelong love? Or did a trail of gruesome evidence lead to the home Rolf shared with his wife, Ruth? On an island where everyone thought they knew their neighbors, the veneer of the Neslunds' marriage masked a convoluted case that took many years to solve. And, indeed, some still believe that the old sea captain will come home one day. "The Sea Captain" is a classic tale as blood chilling as murder itself. Along with six other equally riveting, detailed accounts of destruction and murder committed without conscience or regret, Ann Rule takes listeners into frightening places they never could have imagined in No Regrets.
©2006 Ann Rule (P)2013 Brilliance Audio, Inc.
"All the Real Indians Died Off"
Summary
In this enlightening book, scholars and activists Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz and Dina Gilio-Whitaker tackle a wide range of myths about Native American culture and history that have misinformed generations. Tracing how these ideas evolved, and drawing from history, the authors disrupt long-held and enduring myths such as: "Columbus Discovered America" "Thanksgiving Proves the Indians Welcomed Pilgrims" "Indians Were Savage and Warlike" "Europeans Brought Civilization to Backward Indians" "The United States Did Not Have a Policy of Genocide" "Sports Mascots Honor Native Americans" Each chapter deftly shows how these myths are rooted in the fears and prejudice of European settlers and in the larger political agendas of a settler state aimed at acquiring Indigenous land and tied to narratives of erasure and disappearance. Accessibly written and revelatory, All the Real Indians Died Off challenges listeners to rethink what they have been taught about Native Americans and history.
©2016 Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz and Dina Gilio-Whitaker (P)2017 Tantor
The Widow Spy
Summary
The Widow Spy is the firsthand account of a true Cold War spy operation in Moscow told exclusively by the CIA case officer who lived this experience. Martha D. Peterson was one of the first women to be assigned to Moscow, a very difficult operational environment. Her story begins in Laos during the Vietnam War where she accompanied her husband, a CIA officer. She describes their life in a small city in Laos, ending with the tragic death of her husband. Then her own 30-year career begins in Moscow, where she walks the dark streets alone, placing dead-drops and escaping the relentless eye of the KGB. Experience her arrest and detention in Lyubianka Prison, as only she can relate it. What she reveals in The Widow Spy has never been told.
©2012 Martha D Peterson (P)2018 Tantor
Don't Look Behind You: And Other True Cases
Summary
I'll be watching you.
Walking home on a dark night, you hear footsteps coming up behind you. As they get closer, your heart pounds harder. Who is closing in with dangerous intent - a total stranger? Or someone you know and trust? The answer is as simple as turning around, but don’t look behind you . . . run.
Ann Rule, who shared her own nerve-jangling account of unknowingly befriending sadistic sociopath Ted Bundy in The Stranger Beside Me, chronicles other fateful encounters with the hidden predators among us in this riveting collection, fifteenth in the best-selling series drawn from her personal files. First in line is a stunning case that spanned thirty years and took a determined detective to four states - ending, finally, in Alaska - where he unraveled not one but two murders. A second case appears to begin and end with the hunt for the Green River Killer, focusing on a Washington State man who was once cleared as a suspect in that deadly chain of homicides. But the millionaire property owner believed he had successfully buried his own murderous past and the awful truth behind his young wife’s disappearance. She vanished soon after she left for a day at the Seattle World’s Fair, and her three small children grew up believing their mother had abandoned them. But one amazing witness remained - the missing woman’s best friend, who heard her last words in a frantic phone call - “He’s coming!” - before the line went dead. Only since Robert Hansen’s suicide has the monster within been revealed.
In another true story, a petite woman went to a tavern, looking only for conversation and fun. Instead, she met violent death in the form of a seven-foot man who had seemed shy and harmless. You’ll feel a chill as you uncover these and numerous other cases of unfortunate victims who made one tragic mistake: Trusting the wrong person - even someone they’d known intimately, or thought they knew.
©2011 Ann Rule (P)2013 Brilliance Audio, all rights reserved. Recorded by arrangement with Pocket Books, a division of Simon & Schuster, Inc.
The Jury
Summary
The women of the Sisterhood know life isn't fair, but that doesn't mean they have to like it - or let it pass. Instead, these best friends share their joys, troubles, triumphs, heartaches and one collective mission: to right wrongs and bring justice where it is desperately needed. Even reeling from the loss of one of their own, the Sisterhood is always prepared to rally behind a new friend. For years, Paula Woodley has suffered the broken bones and shattered self-esteem caused by an abusive marriage. But what can she do? Her high-profile, Washington power-broker husband is not a man to be crossed. Or so he thinks. The Sisterhood may not be an organization found in any of his memos, but he's about to take a meeting with them - and they'll be setting the agenda...
©2006 Fern Michaels (P)2006 Brilliance Audio, Inc.
Death over Easy
Summary
Restaurateur Robbie Jordan is ready for the boost in business a local music festival brings to South Lick, Indiana, but the beloved event strikes a sour note when one of the musicians is murdered.... June's annual Brown County Bluegrass Festival at the Bill Monroe Music Park in neighboring Beanblossom is always a hit for Robbie's country store and cafe, Pans 'N Pancakes. This year, Robbie is even more excited because she's launching a new bed-and-breakfast above her shop. A few festival musicians will be among Robbie's first guests, along with her father, Roberto, and his wife, Maria. But the celebration is cut short when a performer is found choked to death by a banjo string. Now all the banjo players are featured in a different kind of lineup. To clear their names, Robbie must pair up with an unexpected partner to pick at the clues and find the plucky killer before he can conduct an encore performance....
©2018 Edith Maxwell (P)2018 Tantor
Biscuits and Slashed Browns
Summary
As Robbie arranges a breakfast-themed cook-off at Pans 'N Pancakes, visitors pour into Brown County for the annual maple extravaganza. Unfortunately, that includes Professor Connolly, a know-it-all academic from Boston who makes enemies everywhere he goes - and this time, bad manners prove deadly. Soon after clashing with several scientists at a maple tree panel, the professor is found dead outside a sugar shack, stabbed to death by a local restaurateur's knife. When an innocent woman gets dragged into the investigation and a biologist mysteriously disappears, Robbie drops her winning maple biscuits to search for answers. But can she help police crack the case before another victim is caught in a sticky situation with a killer?
©2018 Edith Maxwell (P)2018 Tantor
Seven Steps to Managing Your Memory
Summary
As you age, you may find yourself worrying about your memory. Where did I put those car keys? What time was my appointment? What was her name again? With more than 41 million Americans over the age of 65 in the United States, the question becomes how much (or, perhaps, what type) of memory loss is to be expected as one gets older and what should trigger a visit to the doctor. Seven Steps to Managing Your Memory addresses these key concerns and more, such as: What are the signs that suggest your memory problems are more than just part of normal aging? Is it normal to have concerns about your memory? What are the markers of mild cognitive impairment, dementia, Alzheimer's, and other neurodegenerative diseases? How should you convey your memory concerns to your doctor? What can your doctor do to evaluate your memory? Which healthcare professional(s) should you see? What medicines, alternative therapies, diets, and exercises are available to improve your memory? Can crossword puzzles, computer brain-training games, memory aids, and strategies help strengthen your memory? What other resources are available when dealing with memory loss? Seven Steps to Managing Your Memory is accessible yet comprehensive, featuring clinical vignettes and character-based stories that provide real-life examples of how to successfully manage age-related memory loss.
©2017 Oxford University Press (P)2018 Tantor