The Secret Keeper

Withdrawing from a family party to the solitude of her tree house, 16-year-old Laurel Nicolson witnesses a shocking murder that throughout a subsequent half century shapes her beliefs, her acting career and the lives of three strangers from vastly different cultures. By the best-selling author of The Distant Hours. Reprint. 200,000 first printing.

With a secret threatening to escape her lips at any moment, Juliana St. John is caught between love and honor as she takes on her new life as a mistress to household of Sir Thomas Seymour in the second novel of the Ladies in Waiting series. What she sees in secret, she may not tell. Mistress Juliana St. John is the lovely, forthright daughter of a prosperous knight’s family. Though all expect her to marry the son of her late father’s business partner, time and chance interrupt, sending her to the sumptuous but deceptive court of Henry VIII. Sir Thomas Seymour, brother of the late Queen Jane, returns to Wiltshire to conclude his affairs with Juliana’s father’s estate and chances upon her reading as lector in the local church. He sees instantly that she would fit into the household of the woman he loves and wants most to please, Kateryn Parr. Juliana’s mother agrees to have her placed with Parr for a season and Juliana goes, though reluctantly. For she keeps a secret. Juliana has been given the gift of prophecy, and in one vibrant vision she has seen Sir Thomas shredding the dress of a highly born young woman, while it was still on her body, to perilous consequence. As Juliana accompanies Kateryn Parr to court, Henry’s devout sixth queen raises the stakes for all reformers. Support of firebrand Anne Askew puts the queen and her ladies in life-threatening jeopardy, as does the queen’s desire to influence her husband’s—and the realm’s—direction and beliefs. Later, without Henry’s strong arm, the court devolves to competition, duplicity, and betrayal. The risks could not be higher as Juliana must choose between love and honor, personal fulfillment and sacrifice. Ultimately, her course is driven by a final kept secret, one that undoes everything she thought she knew.

P.I. Dick Hardesty listens with polite interest to his partner Jonathan's stories of his days working for 90-year-old multimillionaire Clarence Bement, helping the old man tend his garden. But when Bement is found dead, an apparent suicide, Jonathan is adamant that the old man would never have killed himself, a theory also held by Bement's grandson, Mel Fowler. When Mel hires him to investigate, Dick learns Bement's lawyer also died mysteriously, barely a week before Bement. Dick finds himself immersed in a world of greed and familial dysfunction, searching for a missing new will, and Jonathan becomes the target for someone who believes the old man entrusted Jonathan with a secret he is not aware he has.

A free first-in-series complete novel with no cliffhanger. Peyton Stratford is her family’s unofficial keeper of all things secret, from the petty and mundane to the potentially life-changing. But Peyton is keeping a secret of her own. And it’s a doozy. Pastor Brice Northam is used to hearing secrets. After all, it’s part of his job description. But he’s about to hear one that’s going to challenge him almost as much as his feelings for the person confessing. Peyton needs some serious help from Brice, but how much does she dare tell him? And what, exactly, is Brice hiding from Peyton—and himself? Clearly they both have some serious soul-searching to do. But maybe, just maybe, the answer to secrets isn’t silence. Or more secrets. Maybe it’s love. * * * Note: While the Secret Keeper series does feature some characters who are Christian (the hero is a pastor, so that’s a dead giveaway), it is not a Christian romance in the traditional sense, and some characters find themselves in adult situations and using strong language. Not that the pastor approves! But he’s fallen in love with a complex, modern woman whose life is anything but predictable. If you think you could too, then dive in. Bring your sense of humor and your compassion, and then hold on for the emotional ride of your life! Chick lit, romantic comedy, rom com, humorous love story, second chance

Life is perfect. Sure, Peyton has her hands full with the addition of rambunctious twins, but she’s settling in to life in Springfield, the church has been rebuilt after the tornado, and even her and Brice’s nemesis, Pastor Long, makes a surprise announcement that would have Peyton breaking out in a fist pump if she weren’t working on self-control. But suddenly Brice is struck down—literally—and Peyton finds herself fighting for both his recovery and her ability to cope. On top of that, the arrival of a handsome stranger arouses some unwelcome but undeniable feelings. And even Pastor Long isn’t done with surprises—and this one isn’t nearly so pleasant. How did Peyton’s perfect life go so wrong? And what, if anything, can she do to protect her family? When outside forces threaten all she holds dear, it’s time for Peyton to rise to the challenges—and hold on for all she’s worth.

Nothing helps a tween girl deal with life quite like a chat with her diary! This cute little volume, wraparound band included, complements other Secret Keeper Girl® resources from Dannah Gresh. Short reminders, Bible verses, and fun graphics sprinkled throughout help reinforce what you and your 8- to 12-year-old daughter have talked about during your dates and other mother-and-daughter times… drama with friends and mean girls what she thinks about boys her attitude toward her body and her appearance bad stuff in her world her friendship with Jesus My Secret Keeper Girl Diary will strengthen your daughter’s grasp of biblical modesty, true inner beauty, and meaningful friendships as she grows, learns, and begins to think about herself in a new way. Hello Kitty, move over!

Delphi Keep is awash in activity, and for Ian, Theo, and Carl, their safe haven might be nearing its end. The Royal Navy has taken the keep to use as a hospital and the tunnels running under the keep and the castle are ideal to set up a central communications outpost for the approaching war. The earl is happy to help the effort, but now the keep is no longer safe for the orphans and they must be evacuated to his winter residence. Ian, Theo, and Carl know that if they're sent away, they'll no longer be protected. But more important than their safety is deciphering the third prophecy. All clues point to a quest. The orphans don't know where they must go, but they know they must rescue the Secret Keeper. To do that, however, they need to work out who this Secret Keeper is. And what, exactly are the secrets he's keeping?

When Reuben discovers an old pocket watch, he soon realizes it holds an incredible power: it can turn you invisible for fifteen minutes. And the watch's power is even more extraordinary than he knows. Soon, he's on the run from a despot determined to possess it for himself ...

A Collection of Poems

Keeping the stories relating to childhood sexual abuse and violence secret within families seems core to the traumatic effect such abuse has on the lives of not just the person who has been abused, but also on their children and even their children’s children. This book demonstrates the uses of narrative practices both as a means to explore, through a collaborative research process, the effect of this traumatic legacy within families, and also the use of narrative as a dynamic therapeutic process which finds creative ways for people to break through the silence and live beyond being defined by abuse and violence. The contributors to this volume range in age, background and experience, but are linked through the common theme of inter and transgenerational trauma.

‘I flew through this book in a day! I loved it. It really had me desperate to know more’ NetGalley Reviewer, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ To unlock her secret, you must tell yours.

Present Day. After tragedy plunges her into grief and unresolved anger, Sarah Ashby returns to her childhood home determined to finally follow her long-denied dream of running Old Depot Grocery alongside her mother and grandmother. But when she arrives, her mother, Rosemary, announces to her that the store is closing. Sarah and her grandmother, Glory Ann, make a pact to save the store, but Rosemary has worked her entire life to make sure her daughter never follows in her footsteps. She has her reasons--but she'll certainly never reveal the real one. 1965. Glory Ann confesses to her family that she's pregnant with her deceased fiancé's baby. Pressured into a marriage of convenience with a shopkeeper to preserve the family reputation, Glory Ann vows never to love again. But some promises are not as easily kept as she imagined. This dual-timeline story from Amanda Cox deftly explores the complexity of a mother-daughter dynamic, the way the secrets we keep shape our lives and the lives of others, and the healing power of telling the truth.

Secret Keeper Devos journal is a great follow-up study to the Secret Keeper book. It invites teenage girls to interact with biblical texts on modesty and God's view of true beauty. With blank pages for the reader's responses, this 30-day devotional will challenge girls to view themselves as masterpieces created by God.

From one of the world’s number top selling crime writers comes the extraordinary twentieth Kay Scarpetta novel. A woman has vanished while digging a dinosaur bone bed in the remote wilderness of Canada. Somehow, the only evidence has made its way to the inbox of Chief Medical Examiner Kay Scarpetta, over two thousand miles away in Boston. She has no idea why. But as events unfold with alarming speed, Scarpetta begins to suspect that the paleontologist’s disappearance is connected to a series of crimes much closer to home: a gruesome murder, inexplicable tortures, and trace evidence from the last living creatures of the dinosaur age. When she turns to those around her, Scarpetta finds that the danger and suspicion have penetrated even her closest circles. Her niece Lucy speaks in riddles. Her lead investigator, Pete Marino, and FBI forensic psychologist and husband, Benton Wesley, have secrets of their own. Feeling alone and betrayed, Scarpetta is tempted by someone from her past as she tracks a killer both cunning and cruel.

Does the seller of a house have to tell the buyer that the water is turned off twelve hours a day? Does the buyer of a great quantity of tobacco have to inform the seller that the military blockade of the local port, which had depressed tobacco sales and lowered prices, is about to end? Courts say yes in the first case, no in the second. How can we understand the difference in judgments? And what does it say about whether the psychiatrist should disclose to his patient's girlfriend that the patient wants to kill her? Kim Lane Scheppele answers the question, Which secrets are legal secrets and what makes them so? She challenges the economic theory of law, which argues that judges decide cases in ways that maximize efficiency, and she shows that judges use equality as an important principle in their decisions. In the course of thinking about secrets, Scheppele also explores broader questions about judicial reasoning—how judges find meaning in legal texts and how they infuse every fact summary with the values of their legal culture. Finally, the specific insights about secrecy are shown to be consistent with a general moral theory of law that indicates what the content of law should be if the law is to be legitimate, a theory that sees legal justification as the opportunity to attract consent. This is more than a book about secrets. It is also a book about the limits of an economic view of law. Ultimately, it is a work in constructive legal theory, one that draws on moral philosophy, sociology, economics, and political theory to develop a new view of legal interpretation and legal morality.

Unhappy to be the only one in his house without Christmas secrets, Joshua is relieved when Grandma comes and helps him have some secrets of his own.

From National Book Award finalist, Mitali Perkins, comes a dramatic tale about a displaced Indian family in the 1970s. When Asha’s father loses his job and leaves India to look for work in America, Asha Gupta, her older sister, Reet, and their mother must wait with Baba’s brother and his family, as well as their grandmother, in Calcutta. Uncle is welcoming, but in a country steeped in tradition, the three women must abide by his decisions. Asha knows this is temporary—just until Baba sends for them. But with scant savings and time passing, the tension builds: Ma, prone to spells of sadness, finds it hard to submit to her mother- and sister-in-law; Reet’s beauty attracts unwanted marriage proposals; and Asha's promise to take care of Ma and Reet leads to impulsive behavior. Asha’s only solace is her rooftop hideaway, where she pours her heart out in her diary, and where she begins a clandestine friendship with Jay Sen, the boy next door—against the rules of the house. Asha can hardly believe that she, and not Reet, is the object of Jay’s attention. But when tragedy strikes, Asha must make a painful choice that will change their lives forever “Well-developed characters, funny dialogue, and the authentic depiction of spunky Asha's longing for romance and female self-determination, set in a culture that restrains women's choices, make this book an attractive pick.”—School Library Journal "Achingly realistic."—Kirkus "An intimate and absorbing drama.”—Publisher's Weekly "Heartbreaking and hopeful." —ALA Booklist