The Salamanders Have Moved In

Everything a detective novel should be–gripping, clever, and filled with deep characters.

Ninety-nine shovels of dirt on the grave, ninety-nine shovels of dirt…

Brilliant but troubled Detective Kacy Lang and her partner, Dave Capello, aren’t the perfect detectives, but they are the perfect team. When the body of Kacy’s twin brother washes up from the icy depths of the Chicago River she’s positive she knows who did it. The same man who buried her alive two years earlier. A killer more ghost than man as no one had ever seen his face and lived to tell about it.

Kyle had been a druggie and small time thug. He’d taken something, and someone out there was desperate to get it back. Bodies were piling up and her adoptive parents were at the top of Kacy’s list of suspects. The killer wasn’t finished, and the only thing she knew for sure… he was coming for her.

Only an enemy soldier could save her life-and her heart.

Highlander Callum MacDonell battled lowland Covenanters at the service of the King. Now charged with hunting an assassin, his journey will lead to a murderer’s passionate Covenanter sister, Mari McEwan.

Betrayed and abandoned by the man she loved, Mari faces judgment by a tribunal of her people demanding she name the father of her unborn child, or be exiled from her beloved home and family. As she stands trembling before her community, she knows she must refuse. And yet, if she does so, a cruel fate awaits her.

At the end of the world. Nick Peterson never expected to be stuck with a bunch of kids. A seventeen-year-old boy shouldn’t be responsible for keeping other people alive. But he didn’t have much choice in the matter. That’s what happens when everyone else dies.

A CIT (counselor in training) at a summer camp high in the Poconos, Nick is left in charge of nine kids and fellow CIT Jenny O’Brien. No big deal. But when the people in charge don’t return Nick and the others slowly learn the truth. No one will ever be returning.

A deadly virus has broken out across the world at the same time. A virus with a 100% fatality rate. Only those who are lucky enough to be on their own will survive. In fact, the last thing you want to come across is someone you don’t know.
Blessed with enough food to last them months, Nick and the others hunker down and try to figure out how to survive in this strange new world. Devising solutions and new ways of doing things to stay alive. But after a winter of starvation, Nick has no choice but to brave former civilization and pray the virus has died away. It is either risk death to get food or die of starvation.

The discovery of a sanctuary on the other side of the country becomes their goal. Loading everyone into a bus, they start their way there. Fighting both the few remaining people, and the elements, to reach safety only to discover it isn’t as safe as they hoped.

The end of everything will change a person. Make them see what is vital and what can get a person killed. But most important, how to lay down the foundations that will give future generations a chance to survive.
If they fail, the universe will forget the human race ever existed.

Upstairs Meets Downstairs in this 1920s Cozy Mystery

England 1921. Buxley Manor is lit up for Lady Elizabeth’s grand birthday ball. Champagne flows and debutantes dance into the night with young bucks, trying to forget the ravages of war. All the merriment comes to an abrupt end when the grand fireworks reveal a dead body.

Many people hated the murdered man but the gossip incriminates Lady Elizabeth’s father, the Earl of Buxley. Rumor has it that he murdered his cousin twenty years ago to get the title, although nothing was proven. The poor man has lived under a cloud of malicious gossip ever since. Battle lines are drawn as the villagers take sides again. Scotland Yard is brought in to investigate.

Determined to absolve her father, Lady Elizabeth, a former ambulance driver, joins hands with her quirky great aunts and the formidable Dowager Countess. Aided by loyal servants, fueled by endless cups of Darjeeling, these trailblazing women will not stop until they uncover the truth.

The dashing Detective Inspector is not very happy at the interference but he meets his match in the band of fearless women, young and old.

If you crave stories of resilient people who follow their heads, hearts, and dreams, and if you like light-hearted humor and fast-paced page-turners, then you’ll love Apple An’s inspirational account.

Fleeing the aftermath of the Tiananmen Square crackdown in 1989 and fueled by a burning desire for a better life, Apple embarks on a daring journey to pursue her doctoral education in America. With no backup plan, Apple must make this journey work. But she has no idea that her starting place, Las Cruces, NM, is a quiet desert town – a far cry from the bustling metropolis she envisioned.

Anxious, ignorant, and homesick, Apple faces challenges she never had before. But she is determined to be open-minded. Excited and curious, will she simply survive the fish-out-of-the-water situation many immigrants experience, or will she thrive in this unexpected American adventure?

In the shadow of China’s tumultuous mid-20th century, an ambitious civil engineer is determined to protect her baby girls.

Despite a childhood marked by tragedies, Jun carves out a stable life for herself while shrewdly and skillfully navigating a male-dominated and politically charged society. As she rises through the ranks in her profession, she turns to her in-laws to help care for her daughters.

But when the Red Guards threaten her young family due to their connection with her in-laws’ capitalist class, Jun fears their very existence is in jeopardy.

Amid frequent threats to their safety, can Jun rise above the challenges and safeguard both her family’s future and their fragile stability?

Mother of Red Mountains is a historical tale that creatively weaves together history, personal stories, and the complex culture of revolutionary China, magnificently crafted by Apple An. Showcasing the power of sheer grit and determination, this book traces the journey of a formidable woman who dares to dream against all odds.