They bought men from a prison to fulfill their every need. What could possibly go wrong with such a simple little purchase?
WARDS OF THE WOMEN introduces three desperate girlfriends who, on the surface, appear to have it all, but underneath are in the midst of various crises. Mysterious deaths, extortion, straying husbands and illegitimate children have suddenly overtaken the lives of Violet Christianson, Shayne Wentworth, and Fifi Gentry. Eventually, when Violet becomes fed up with all of their circumstances, she does what any sensible woman would do—blackmails the state prison warden into letting each of them buy an inmate from the jail for their own personal fulfillment. But never in their wildest dreams did they imagine all the chaos that would ensue from a simple little purchase…
Denise N. Wheatley is a lover of romance, happy endings and the art of storytelling. She’s best known for her chick lit novel I WISH I NEVER MET YOU, which was published by Simon & Schuster in 2004. She has since traditionally published several novels and novellas, including contemporary, suspense and paranormal romance. She strives to creative characters who are strong, colorful and relatable, and tell entertaining stories that embody matters of the heart.
Denise received a B.A. in English from the University of Illinois at Chicago, the city where she was born and raised. She’s written screenplays and ghostwritten for some of your faves, and when she’s not sitting behind a computer, you can find her in a movie theater, on a tennis court, watching true crime television or chatting on social media.
Strength can be drawn from pain…if the heart can heal faster than it bleeds.
Dara Khan Androcles was trained from childhood to be a healer. But as a demon-possessed invader threatens Safehold, and she defends a wounded warrior on the battlefield, her hidden inner dragon thirsts for blood.
When she lifts the warrior’s blond, blood-encrusted hair away from his ear, she discovers he is more than King Hengist’s outlander ally. He is an immortal. The elven heir to the throne of Cymry.
Loren ta Cedric senses something different about flame-haired, falcon-eyed woman who saves him. A healer, wreathed in raw, dark power, who wields knives with deadly skill. A mortal who prays to the Lady, not the human gods. Now he owes this thoroughly distracting female a Life-Debt. Which, in the heat of their flight to Loren’s homeland to raise an army, somehow becomes Life-Mate.
Dragon-human and elf, peasant and prince, logic says they have no future. Yet the power of their unlikely bond could be the only thing that saves their world from a demon poised to tear it apart.
Warning: This new twist on Cinderella contains a grouchy dragon, a sentient war mare with the dry wit of a certain English Dame, and a fiery heroine who strikes serious sparks with a mercenary elf.
As a child, invaders butchered Maleta’s parents and left her ravaged body for dead. Now, reborn as a finely-honed weapon for the Gray Goddess, Maleta has shed the burden of emotions for one goal—regain her homeland for her brother.
Cianan ta Daneal’s mission to the fractured land of Shamar is twofold: to overthrow a despotic queen, and to save a life. For months, he’s been haunted by recurring visions of a beautiful swordswoman slaughtered by a skeleton army. He never expected to lay eyes on that woman and recognize her as his Lifemate—or that she’d turn and run like hell.
Uniting Shamar’s diverse peoples in revolt is easy compared to the delicate task of wooing a woman who flinches from his touch.
Slowly, Maleta dares to hope that her country, what’s left of her family, and her shattered heart are safe in Cianan’s steady hands. But when the cold blade of fate strikes true, can she trust his love is strong enough to pull her back from the Abyss?
Warning: This new twist on Sleeping Beauty contains an assassin nun who knows no fear. Okay, just one fear, but it’s a biggie. And an Elven paladin with the Devil’s own negotiating skills. To coax her heart out of hiding, he’s gonna need every one of them.
Years ago, the pull of the full moon and a powerful curiosity drew Finora into a human fisherman’s bed—a man who stole her selkie skin and took its location to his grave. For seven years, trapped on land, she has searched fruitlessly. Hope fading with every passing year.
Tasked with finding and returning dragons to his mountain homeland in the east, Trystan follows a slim lead westward across an unfamiliar sea. When pirates attack his ship, leaving him with injuries too severe for his werewolf to heal, he comes face to face with the most unexpected of rescuers—Finora, her two, half-human children, and the biggest damned dog he’s ever seen.
Tristan and Finora’s attraction is instant, undeniable, and hopeless. Finora is pulled to the sea, Tristan is tied to the land. But Finora can help him complete his mission, and share one night of searing, heartbreaking passion. And memories only the deepest of betrayals could shatter…
Warning: Contains Celtic legends, seven-year curses, dragons with bad attitudes, imperiled children, a grumpy sea goddess, and wave upon wave of soul-searing pleasure.
Plagued with nightmares of a goblin child tormented by monsters—and with her usual cures having no effect—dream faerie Pryseis journeys to the Shadowlands to heal the child in person even though doing so risks the wrath of the faerie council. And, if she’s away from home too long, her very existence.
Caught and imprisoned by an ungrateful goblin sorcerer, she’s now trapped underground, chained, her despair growing as her time ticks down yet warmed by the memory of a man she has only touched in dreams.
Benilo ta Myran drained his spirit healing powers during the war, but he has no choice. The beautiful faerie in his dreams is in trouble, and not even his worried king and queen can stop him from trying to save her before the darkness snuffs out her light.
Finally they are together—chained side-by-side in a goblin dungeon. Their only hope for escape is to break the law to merge their powers in a ritual so intensely erotic it binds them for life. However short and nightmarish that life might be…
Warning:
Beware beautiful faeries and hot elves appearing in your dreams. They may lead you astray…and steal your heart.
On what should have been Verdeen’s proudest day, she is blocked from advanced warrior training because no war mare chooses to bond with her. Burning with humiliation, she accepts a lesser assignment to the Isle of Ice, serving as bodyguard to human riever, Daq Aryk.
Verdeen’s never paid much attention to men, so focused was she on her training. But she quickly realizes hieing off into a distant wilderness with Aryk is a bad idea. He makes her lose all focus and perspective.
Aryk faces a difficult task: molding six warring clans into a peaceful whole. He’s got nothing against women warriors, but Verdeen is young and inexperienced, her beauty a potentially fatal distraction. She’s a shield-maiden, not a bedmate. But the way she melts at his every touch erodes all his good intentions…and sense.
One kiss unleashes the kind of feverish desire that should occur only once in a lifetime—with a mate. But as their quest takes ever more dangerous twists and turns, their bond could be the one thing that unites a nation. Or make Aryk’s worst nightmare a blood-soaked reality.
Warning:Contains fire and ice, ever-gratuitous sex and violence, sword play and self-play, spying and lying, noble intentions and betrayal. In other words, a rollicking good roll in the proverbial hay.
Award-winning WI author Renee Wildes grew up reading fantasy authors Terry Brooks & Mercedes Lackey. A Joseph Campbell fan, when she discovered romance novels she was fated to write fantasy romance. A mythology & history buff, from ancient Sparta through the Dark Ages, a Navy brat and a cop's kid, she gravitated to protector/guardian heroes & heroines. She's had horses her whole life, becoming the only vet tech in a family of nurses. It all comes together in her Guardians of Light series for Champagne Book Group and her paranormal title "Marek's New World" for Tirgearr Publishing - fantasy, action, romance, heroics and lots of critters!
New York, 1955. Former socialite Henrietta ("Rhett") Bishop, destitute after her father gambles away the family fortune, takes a job at Redclaw Security. But Redclaw is no ordinary operation. Part detective firm and part enforcement agency, Redclaw regulates matters involving the growing population of shifters who have emerged since the onset of the nuclear age.
Peter Knight is a nuclear scientist shattered by the death of his wife. Blacklisted by the government and scientific organizations, he drowns his sorrows while searching for the people behind his wife's murder.
When Rhett is assigned to recruit Knight, their meeting is more than either bargained for—a rival organization will do anything to secure Knight for themselves. Following a lead to locate a missing cache of alien technology stolen from Redclaw, Rhett is thrown back into her previous glittering life with Knight as her pretend boyfriend. But when someone from the past turns up to start a bidding war on the artifacts, Bishop and Knight wind up in a fight for their very lives.
McKenna Dean has been an actress, a vet tech, a singer, a teacher, a biologist, and a dog trainer. She’s worked in a genetics lab, at the stockyard, behind the scenes as a props manager, and at a pizza parlor slinging dough. Finally she realized all these jobs were just a preparation for what she really wanted to be: a writer.
She lives on a small farm in North Carolina with her family, as well as the assorted dogs, cats, and various livestock.
She likes putting her characters in hot water to see how strong they are. Like tea bags, only sexier.
Now available: the chilling start to the high-octane, can't-put-it-down Leine Basso thriller series.
A deadly assassin. A perpetual target. A double-cross she never saw coming…
They say the truth will set you free, but what if it kills you first?
Leine eliminates terrorists for a living. After a routine assassination almost gets her killed, she chalks it up to a fluke. Her lover and fellow assassin, Carlos, has another idea altogether. He thinks their boss is setting them up for a fall.
When Carlos goes missing and a bombing thwarts another mission, Leine suspects the stakes are far higher than she could ever imagine, and wonders if the man in charge might have it in for her after all.
If you like no-nonsense heroines, page-turning plots, and twists you won’t see coming, then you’ll love D.V. Berkom’s tension-filled series.
Download A Killing Truth to find out how the story began…
"[Leine Basso] is a sassy, kick-arse, no-nonsense, I'll-eat-your-balls-for-breakfast type of woman. She simply rocks. Berkom's books are ones when you almost forget to breathe. They're fast-paced, taut with tension and sheer joy from start to finish." ~Cath'n'Kindle Book Reviews
"[A Killing Truth] introduces one of modern fiction's deadliest heroes..."~Reviewer Charles A. Ray
"This is my third Leine Basso, and like the others, the action never lets up. Leine is the female Jack Reacher only she does it all without being 6'5" and weighing 265 pounds, so that makes her more incredible. If you like page-turners, you'll love this book." ~ Polly Iyer, bestselling suspense author
"A Killing Truth would make an excellent introduction to D.V. Berkom's writing...she's one of my favorites... love how she just puts you right in the pages and you just don't want to end." ~Hornfan2
"The Leine Basso series by DV Berkom is jam-packed with action and adventure and Leine Basso is one bad*** protagonist..." Fundinmental Book Reviews
"As someone who has read all of the other current Leine Basso books first, I can say that A Killing Truth had me in suspense the entire time." Maranda, Amazon Reviewer
"Non-stop twists and turns. An excellent thriller that pits Leine against not only international criminals but her own boss." ~USMC-Mike
"What the world needs now is more female characters like bad ass Leine Basso. Bought the trio of books that follow this one because of how much I enjoyed the plot and twists along the way." ~shzann
A former assassin is drawn into the twisted game of a serial killer who may be a grisly remnant from her past.
What happens when a reality show turns deadly?
Determined to leave her old life behind, retired assassin Leine Basso accepts a job working security at one of television's most popular reality shows, Serial Date. When a contestant is found dead in the prop closet, it appears the killer is one of the 'bachelors' on the show- an ex-con billed as a serial killer- but the detective in charge of the case isn't so sure.
When Leine's estranged daughter is abducted by a man claiming to be the real killer, she's forced to rely on old skills to find her. She soon realizes the murderer may be a grisly remnant from her past and she'll need to use all of her cunning to stop him...
...and rescue her daughter.
If you like black humor, no-nonsense heroines, and heart-stopping action, you'll love Serial Date. Download it today!
"If you like fast-paced action, great lead characters, and don't mind a few F-bombs and the occasional gore, DV Berkom is the author for you." ~ BloodWrites
"Serial Date has everything a mystery/thriller needs to be successful, fast-paced and action packed, strong and memorable characters and a story that will grab you from beginning to end..." ~ Confessions of a Reader
"Why should you read it? In a nutshell it's a fast-paced, non-linear story with some creepy elements mashed together with a splash of romance and dark humour. What's not to like?" ~Indie eBooks
Dangerous obsessions take center stage when a former assassin and a homicide detective race against the clock to find a missing girl before she's sold to the highest bidder.
Identified as a person of interest in three cold case murders she didn't commit, and required to stay in L.A., retired assassin Leine Basso accepts a temporary position as a security specialist for A-list actor Miles Fournier. Soon, a woman contacts Miles, claiming to be his long-lost sister. Her twelve-year-old daughter, Mara, has been abducted and she's desperate to get her back.
Leine learns from a contact that Mara escaped, but the traffickers are determined to track her down and deliver her to their powerful client. Running out of time, Leine must find Mara before they do, or she will be lost forever.
"...I was thrilled with this book. I did not want it to end. I was on the edge of my seat at the end! Seriously a nail-bitter!" ~ April Holgate, Amazon Top 50 Reviewer
"Tight dialogue and nonstop action marks a novel that establishes new benchmarks for action thrillers. This is a solid five-star novel that you won't want to miss." ~Ray's Ramblings
"An intelligent thriller worthy of the Big Screen..." ~ BloodWrites
A retired assassin is called in when a celebration south of the border turns into a nightmare.
Everything's for sale...
Former assassin Leine Basso is hired by a wealthy Beverly Hills power couple to find their missing daughter, Elise, last seen partying with her boyfriend at a club in Tijuana. At first, police believe the two teenagers are the victims of a carjacking. But when Leine finds their missing vehicle with a mutilated body inside, and the local cartel warns her away, she knows if Elise isn’t already dead, she will be soon, or worse.
In the lethal world of organized crime, there’s always a worse.
As Leine races to uncover the reason behind Elise Bennett’s disappearance, she must also battle the powerful interests fighting to keep her from the truth.
Praise for the Leine Basso Thriller series:
"Now this, this is what thrillers are made of: grit, spunk, and no-nonsense unputdownability...Quite simply: Brilliant " ~ Cath 'n Kindle Book Reviews
"...Ms. Berkom gives us a badass heroine that's fun to root for. Once Leine discovers what is happening, there is no stopping her...an edge of your seat thriller that delivers!" ~ Night Owl Reviews
"Without a doubt one of the most engaging, complex and enthralling mysteries that had me totally in its grip..." ~ Confessions of a Reader
"Taken fans will be overjoyed with this gritty thriller...following Basso as she works her tradecraft is a pleasure..." ~ BestThrillers.com
"A really exciting heroine for action thriller fans everywhere, but a long overdue tough and plausible literary role-model for women."~ Ajoobacats Book Reviews
An adventurous young backpacker, captured and sold. A black market merchant who will stop at nothing to amass the power he craves. The one woman who can stop him before he destroys everything…
Haunted by memories of an op gone bad, former assassin Leine Basso travels to Bangkok in search of a missing backpacker. With help from an old contact, she discovers the man responsible for the girl’s disappearance is connected to a violent Hong Kong triad and is the linchpin of an extensive trafficking network—both animal and human.
Making enemies isn’t new for Leine, but making one in the triad is—she soon finds herself a prisoner on board a cargo ship headed for sub-Saharan Africa. To ensure her survival and to continue her hunt for the missing girl, she must join forces with Derek, an ivory poacher who promises to help her.
Ready to stay up all night? Everybody's favorite assassin is back with a vengeance in this high-octane, can't-put-it-down espionage thriller.
Espionage. Deception. A nation on the brink of war…
Just when former assassin Leine Basso thinks she’s free from the business of death, a desperate call from a friend drags her back into the dark world of espionage and arms dealers.
"Sucks you in on page one and doesn't set you free until the end. Another sure-fire winner in a spectacular series." ~Tim Tigner, International Bestselling Author of the Kyle Achilles series
"D.V. Berkom has created one kick-ass heroine in Leine Basso--a woman who can do it all in the dog-kill-dog world of international espionage." ~ J. Carson Black, New York Times Bestselling Author
"Warning: once started, The Last Deception is difficult to put down...[T]he globe-trotting Leine uncovers acts of international espionage that lead her on a desperate hunt for an elusive spy that could bring down the world." Midwest Book Review
A former assassin, battling her demons. A sinister enemy, determined to destroy her. A wily street kid caught in the middle.
Former assassin Leine Basso is fresh off an assignment rescuing an American teenager from a terrorist group in Libya when she thwarts the murder of a street kid in Tripoli. Leine agrees to help the girl, but must first visit a refugee camp to uncover the reason behind a rash of mysterious abductions.
Leaving the camp, Leine comes under a surprise attack--but only a handful of people knew her true mission. The more she discovers about the abductions, the more of a target she becomes, forcing her to revisit a dark and violent past she thought she'd left behind. But it's easy--too easy to fall back into her old ways.
And that could get her killed.
Will Leine be able to survive a dark return?
If you like gritty, fast-paced, can't-put-it-down thrillers with an action-packed story ripped from the headlines, then you'll love Dark Return. Download your copy today!
Praise for Dark Return:
“I couldn’t put it down. My entire Saturday has been spent reading Dark Return.” ~Sharon Simms
“One of the best reads to come out in this genre in quite awhile. You won’t want to put this book down.” ~Yvonne Reddy
“Excellent. There is no other way to describe it. I read it in one go it was that good. Leine is one hell of a badass.” ~Silver Surfer
“Dark Return was a thrill-a-minute, page-turning suspense that never lets up with action and intrigue. The author, DV Berkom, is a master when it comes to character development and the story line.” ~ Paula Lopez
"DV Berkom has honed her skills as writer to such a fine art that it is indeed very difficult to tear yourself away from any of her books." ~Manie Killian
"Fast paced and full of action, this book will keep you both entertained and intrigued from start to finish. Highly recommended!!" ~Derek Williams
"This book will captivate you from the first paragraph to the last. It is full of action and non-stop adventure..." ~txdoc
"Best book in the series, they just keep getting better and better!! Read them from the first in the series or just jump in here. Brilliant read." ~ Sally Sanders
"Berkom has matured as a solid writer with similarities to Mark Greaney, Mark Dawson (John Milton series), and a whisper of Barry Eisler." ~Library Champion
Former assassin Leine Basso has severed ties with everyone she loves to keep them safe while she hunts for the ruthless terrorist, Salome. There are rumblings that the French-born assassin is planning another attack and Leine’s determined to stop her before it’s too late.
Can Leine thwart her plans, or will Salome’s own twisted vengeance mean the end for Leine and everyone she loves?
From London to Edinburgh to the City of Angels, Salome’s making a comeback—and that comeback includes killing Leine.
A kidnapped girl. A ruthless criminal who preys on the innocent. Two killers who will stop at nothing to bring him down.
Former assassin Leine Basso was supposed to be in sunny LA, watching the first class of operatives graduate from the new anti-trafficking academy. Instead, she’s in North Dakota in the middle of a brutal winter, helping old friend Derek van der Haar track down and eliminate a deadly group of criminals hell-bent on providing young girls to the highest bidder.
The closer Leine and Derek get to the organization, the more dangerous the mission becomes. Soon, it’s evident that the traffickers are playing for keeps—and don’t care who they kill.
In a story ripped from the headlines, Dakota Burn reveals the dark underbelly of the Bakken oil fields, where human life is a commodity and outlaws still rule.
If you enjoy books by Mark Dawson, Barry Eisler, and Mark Greaney, you’ll love D.V. Berkom. Download this gritty, action-packed thriller today!
DV Berkom is the USA Today bestselling author of two action-packed thriller series featuring strong female leads (Leine Basso and Kate Jones). Her love of creating resilient, kick-ass women characters stems from a lifelong addiction to reading spy novels, mysteries, and thrillers, and longing to find the female equivalent within those pages.
Raised in the Midwest, she earned a BA in political science and promptly moved to Mexico to live on a sailboat. Several years and many adventures later, she wrote her first novel and was hooked. The Kate Jones adventure thriller, Bad Spirits, was first published in 2010 as an online serial, and was immediately popular with Kindle and Nook fans. Dead of Winter, Death Rites, and Touring for Death soon followed before she began the far grittier Leine Basso thriller series in early 2012 with Serial Date.
DV currently lives in the Pacific Northwest with her husband, Mark, and several imaginary characters who like to tell her what to do.
The line between passion and obsession runs through us all.
Levi Combs never planned to rocket to stardom.
Eva Florez knew he would the moment she saw him.
Gabe Adams didn’t want anything to do with celebrities.
But after Gabe’s sister sells his photos of Levi with a young starlet to a tabloid website, their lives become intertwined forever, bound by rage and retribution.
Blending the nuance and insight of literary fiction with the big-screen magic of a Hollywood thriller, Focus Lost whisks readers into a world of temptation, indulgence, and revenge, daring them to take a bite of the forbidden fruit.
The road twists and turns away from Los Angeles. A man and girl ride inside an open Jeep. The vehicle slows and bends onto a grassy lane. Trees line both sides, connecting above, cloistering the path. Branches smack against the grill and windshield, raining leaves on the passengers, actor Levi Combs and young starlet Emily James.
A blonde ponytail sprouts from Emily’s head. She rubs the debris from her bare, milky shoulders and legs and swats at the swarm of gnats swirling through the cab. “How did you ever find this place?”
“Driving late at night.” Levi downshifts into first gear to navigate the uneven terrain. Strands of his black curly hair bounce against the red bandana wrapped around his head. He nudges up the black Ferragamo sunglasses resting on the tip of his nose. “You’ll see, you need places like this to escape the cameras.”
Even at only seventeen, Emily already knows that. She had been a working actor since she was three. Levi didn’t get his break until he was twenty. “But what do you do out here?” Emily says, leaning toward the middle to avoid more of the invasive underbrush. She latches onto Levi’s forearm as he continues to work the gearshift.
“Just roam,” Levi says, powering the Jeep through the brush. A dilapidated farmhouse and barn appear ahead. He drives past the buildings into an overgrown orchard. Wild plants and grass extend up through the decaying branches spotted with leaves but bearing no fruit. “Solitude is your only friend in our business. Everyone either wants a share of what you have or to keep you from getting theirs.” He increases speed, swerving between the dying trees. The thick weeds and fallen branches scrape against the undercarriage.
Emily clutches the safety bar. “Shouldn’t you slow down?”
Levi accelerates, passing the last row of trees. “Hang on.”
The weeded field drops off into a canyon fifty yards ahead. Panic seizes Emily. “Come on. What are you doing? Just stop.” The space between the Jeep and the canyon decreases. Shrieking, Emily closes her eyes and curls up into a ball on the seat.
Levi stomps the breaks. The Jeep skids to a halt. Levi and Emily thrust forward. The seatbelts tighten and yank them back into the seats. The edge of the canyon appears just beyond the hood. A cloud of dust passes over them. Levi kills the Jeep. The sound of the engine fades into the fog blanketing the bottom of the canyon. Nearby rocky peaks poke through the mist like islands in a white sea. Unbuckling his seatbelt, Levi stands and looks out above the windshield. “Great view, huh?”
Emily uncoils and opens her eyes to the tranquil, majestic setting. She rips off the seatbelt and launches from the Jeep. “You’re an asshole.” She stomps to the edge of the canyon and stares into the emptiness.
Levi trails after her. “Relax. You weren’t in danger. I told you, I come here all the time.”
“But what if we had rolled over?” Emily asks, the fear revealing the young girl she never allows herself to be.
Stepping up next to her, Levi bumps his hip playfully into hers. “But we didn’t.”
“Still,” Emily says, accentuating her pouting with a little girl’s voice. “Why do you have to push everything?”
“That’s funny, coming from the queen of the fast lane. You know I wouldn’t let anything happen to myself. The world would be such a far drearier place without me.” Levi wraps his arm around her, wiggling it to loosen her up. “There’s a waterfall a short hike from here.” He spins her toward him. “What do you say we go for a swim?”
“I suppose.” A restrained smile creeps out through her dissipating anger. “But I’m still mad at you.”
About the Author
Doug Cooper is the author of the award-winning novels Outside In and The Investment Club and 2019 thriller Focus Lost. Always searching, he has traveled to over twenty-five countries on five continents, exploring the contradictions between what we believe and how we act in the pursuit of truth, beauty, and love.
