I, Michael Bennett by James Patterson Little, Brown and Company July 2012 Format: Hardcover, 416 pages First line: Starting to gasp as she climbed the increasingly steep slope of the tangled hiking trail, Mary Catherine was about to take a breather when the tree line opened. From the inside cover:The NYPD’s Micheal Bennett is James Patterson’s greatest detective ever. POLICE OFFICERS SHOT Detective Michael Bennett arrests an infamous Mexican crime…

Summerland by Elin Hilderbran Little Brown and Company June 2012 Format: Hardcover, 416 pages First line: Nantucket: the name of the island brought to mind rolling surf, cobblestone streets, the brick mansions of whaling captains, a battered Jeep Wrangler with a surfboard strapped to the roll bars. From the inside cover: A perfect summer night ends in a deadly crash – and four lives are changed forever. On a warm…

Forbidden Falls by Robyn Carr Mira Books December 2009 Format: e-book, 384 pages First line: Recently ordained minister Noah Kincaid was surfing the Internet, killing time, when quite by chance, he happened to find a church being auctioned on eBay – in some little place he’d never heard of – Virgin River. Synopsis from B&N:  Virgin River is abuzz with the news that a stranger bought the town’s abandoned church…

That Holiday Feeling by Debbie Macomber, Sherryl Woods, Robyn Carr Mira Books October 2009 Format: e-book, 384 pages First line:  “Dad, you don’t understand.” Synopsis from B&N:    Silver Bells by Debbie Macomber In this classic story, Debbie brings those Manning men and Manning sisters home for a mistletoe marriage when a single dad finally says “I do.” The Perfect Holiday by Sherryl Woods Will bachelor Trace Franklin become a…

Return to Rose Cottage by Sherryl Woods Mira Books November 2010 Format: Paperback, 488 pages First line: The headline said it all: Guilty Man Freed. Synopsis from B&N: New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling author Sherryl Woods draws you into the world of Rose Cottage, where the D’Angelo sisters reunite with family and find lasting love. The Laws of Attraction High-powered attorney Ashley D’Angelo has finally burned out. After…

Wallflower in Bloom by Claire Cook A Touchstone Book June 2012 Format: Hardcover, 272 pages First line: My brother was dazzling, as usual. From the inside cover: From the acclaimed bestselling author of Must Love Dogs comes a winning and witty new novel about a woman who emerges from the shadow of her overbearing family and finds herself “dancing with the stars.”  Deirdre Griffin has a great life; it’s just…

The Last Queen by C.W. Gortner Ballantine Books May 2009 Format: Paperback, 400 pages First line: I was thirteen years old when my parents conquered Granada. From the back cover: In this stunning novel, C. W. Gortner brings to life Juana of Castile, the third child of Queen Isabel and King Ferdinand of Spain, who would become the last queen of Spanish blood to inherit her country’s throne. Along the…

By Hook or By Crook by Betty Hechtman Berkley Prime Crime June 2009 Format: Paperback, 272 pages First line: Nobody noticed the bag at first. From the back cover: Yarnaholic Molly Pink has become known in Tarzana, California, for her sleuthing skills, thanks to the help of her crochet group. But the latest mystery may be too much for these stitchers to unravel… There’s nothing the Tarzana Hookers love more…

The Masque of the Black Tulip by Lauren Willig New American Library October 2006 Format: Paperback, 464 pages First line: I bit my lip on an “Are we there yet?” From the back cover: Modern-day graduate student Eloise achieved the academic coup of the century when she unmasked one of history’s greatest spies, the Pink Carnation, who saved England from Napoleon. But now she has a million questions about the…

Midnight Promises by Sherryl Woods Mira Books July 2012 Format: Paperback, 384 pages First line: The bride wore a cocktail-length, off-the-shoulder gown in shimmering off-white satin and an antique lace mantilla – a family heirloom – reluctantly provided by her soon-to-be mother-in-law. From the back of the book: When Elliot Cruz first courted struggling single mom Karen Ames, it was a romance worthy of any Sweet Magnolia fantasy. The sexy…

Whiplash by Catherine Coulter Jove Books, New York July 2011 Trade Paperback, 433 pages First line: Erin used her third-generation lock picks. From the inside cover: When Yale professor Dr. Edward Kender’s father undergoes chemotherapy for colon cancer and the supply of the critical drug Culovort suddenly runs short, Kender hires P.I. Erin Pulaski to prove that something more sinister is going on at Schiffer Hartwin Pharmaceutical. On the same…

First line: Shane Stryker was determined enough to never walk away from a fight and smart enough to know when he’d been beat. From the back cover: Horse whisperer Shane Stryker is done with passion. This time around, he’s determined to meet someone who will be content with the quiet life of a rancher’s wife. And the fiery pint-size redhead who dazzles him at the local bar definitely does not…