Category Archives: Excerpt

Excerpt, Faithless in Death, In Death

Faithless in Death excerpt

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Out February 9, 2021

Time for a first look at Faithless in Death! Here’s the official description:

The scene in the West Village studio appears to be classic crime-of-passion: two wineglasses by the bed, music playing, and a young sculptor named Ariel Byrd with the back of her head bashed in. But when Eve Dallas tracks down the wealthy Upper East Side woman who called 911, the details don’t add up. Gwen Huffman is wealthy, elegant, comforted by her handsome fiancé as she sheds tears over the trauma of finding the body―but why did it take an hour to report it? And why is she lying about little things?

As Eve and her team look into Gwen, her past, and the people around her, they find that the lies are about more than murder. As with sculpture, they need to chip away at the layers of deception to find the shape within―and soon they’re getting the FBI involved in a case that involves a sinister, fanatical group and a stunning criminal conspiracy.

Some of you may have noticed the release date is tweaked slightly from our original pub date. Faithless in Death will now be in stores on Feb. 9 (which is why we always say titles and dates subject to change).

And now, without further ado, here’s Chapter One.

Laura

Books, Dragon Heart Legacy, Excerpt, The Awakening

The Awakening excerpt

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Nora’s newest trilogy – The Dragon Heart Legacy – debuts with The Awakening, out November 24.

Here’s the official cover copy:

In the realm of Talamh, a teenage warrior named Keegan emerges from a lake holding a sword representing both power and the terrifying responsibility to protect the Fey. In another realm known as Philadelphia, a young woman has just discovered she possesses a treasure of her own.

When Breen Kelly was a girl, her father would tell her stories of magical places. Now she’s an anxious twentysomething mired in student debt and working a job she hates. But one day she stumbles upon a shocking discovery: her mother has been hiding an investment account in her name. It has been funded by her long-lost father and it’s worth nearly four million dollars.

This newfound fortune would be life-changing for anyone. But little does Breen know that when she uses some of the money to journey to Ireland, it will unlock mysteries she couldn’t have imagined. Here, she will begin to understand why she heard a voice in her head saying Come home, Breen Siobhan. It’s time you came home. Why she dreamed of dragons. And where her true destiny lies through a portal in Galway that takes her to a land of faeries and mermaids, to a man named Keegan, and to the courage in her own heart that will guide her through a powerful, dangerous destiny.

And now, you can read just a bit to get ready for November 24. You’ll find the excerpt here.

Laura

Excerpt, Hideaway, reader discussions

Hideaway

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Out May 26

In a first for me, we have the excerpt before the cover copy. Hideaway is Nora’s big book for the year and is out on May 26.

All I know is what Nora told me while she was writing it, but that’s about seven conversations spanning months. For now, here’s the one-sentence description:

A family ranch in Big Sur country and a legacy of Hollywood royalty set the stage for Nora Roberts’ emotional new suspense novel.

You’ll get more information from the first chapter, which you can find here: Chapter One

Laura

Excerpt, Golden in Death, In Death

Golden in Death excerpt

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#50 – out Feb. 2

Fifty is a pretty hefty number, don’t you think? And Golden in Death meets that milestone extremely well.

Here’s the book jacket copy:

Pediatrician Kent Abner received the package on a beautiful April morning. Inside was a cheap trinket, a golden egg that could be opened into two halves. When he pried it apart, highly toxic airborne fumes entered his body—and killed him.

After Eve calls the hazmat team—and undergoes testing to reassure herself and Roarke that she hasn’t been exposed—it’s time to look into Dr. Abner’s past and relationships. Not every victim Eve encounters is an angel, but it seems that Abner came pretty close—though he did ruffle some feathers over the years by taking stands for the weak and defenseless. While the lab tries to identify the deadly toxin, Eve hunts for the sender. But when someone else dies in the same grisly manner, it becomes clear that she’s dealing with either a madman—or someone who has a hidden and elusive connection to both victims.

Here, without further ado, is the first chapter of Golden in Death.

Laura

Chronicles of the One, Excerpt, The Rise of The Magicks, trilogies

The Rise of Magicks Excerpt

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In yet another way to ease us all back to reality, how about the excerpt from The Rise of Magicks? By my count, as I write this, we’re 92 days from release on November 26 so it makes sense to have a little taste of what’s to come.

Here’s what the cover copy says:

An epic of hope and horror, chaos and magic, and a journey that will unite a desperate group of people to fight the battle of their lives.

After the sickness known as the Doom destroyed civilization, magick has become commonplace and Fallon Swift has spent her young years learning its ways. Fallon cannot live in peace until she frees those who have been preyed upon by the government or the fanatical Purity Warriors, endlessly hunted or locked up in laboratories, brutalized for years on end. She is determined to save even those who have been complicit with this evil out of fear or weakness if, indeed, they can be saved.

Strengthened by the bond she shares with her fellow warrior, Duncan, Fallon has already succeeded in rescuing countless shifters and elves and ordinary humans. Now she must help them heal and rediscover the light and faith within themselves. For although from the time of her birth, she has been The One, she is still only one. And as she faces down an old nemesis, sets her sights on the enemy’s stronghold, and pursues her destiny to finally restore the mystical shield that once protected them all she will need an army behind her.

Here’s the link to the Prologue + Chapter One.

Enjoy!
Laura

Excerpt, spoilers ahead!

Vendetta in Death excerpt

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We’re less than 70 days out so I think it’s time for a sneak peek at Vendetta in Death, don’t you? First, the book description.

She calls herself Lady Justice. She chooses a man as her target, then turns herself into tall blonde or a curvaceous redhead — an alluring, seductive illusion. Once in her grasp, her target is powerless.

The first victim is wealthy businessman Nigel McEnroy. His company’s human resources department has already paid out settlements to a couple of his young victims but they don’t know that his crimes go far beyond workplace harassment. Lady Justice knows. And in one shocking night of brutality, she makes him pay a much steeper price.

As Eve combs through the evidence of McEnroy’s secret life his compulsive need to record his misdeeds hints at a wide range of suspects, but Lady Justice remains elusive and escalates rapidly. If Eve can’t stop this vigilante, there’s no telling how much blood may be spilled.

Read Chapter One.

Speculate away in the comments.

Laura

Books, Cover reveal, Excerpt, Under Currents

Under Currents excerpt

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Under Currents is Nora’s single title release this year — due in stores on July 9. (Isn’t the cover gorgeous?)

The official cover copy reads:

From the #1 New York Times bestselling author, a novel about the power of family to harm—and to heal.

Within the walls of a tasteful, perfectly kept house in North Carolina’s Blue Ridge Mountains, young Zane Bigelow feels like a prisoner of war. Strangers—and even Zane’s own aunt across the lake—see his parents as a successful surgeon and his stylish wife, making appearances at their children’s ballet recitals and baseball games. Zane and his sister know the truth: There is something terribly wrong.

As his father’s violent, controlling rages—and his mother’s complicity—become more and more oppressive, Zane counts the years, months, days until he can escape. He looks out for little Britt, warning her Be smart. Be careful. In fear for his very life, he plays along with the insidious lie that everything is fine, while scribbling his real thoughts in a secret journal he must carefully hide away.

When one brutal, shattering night finally reveals cracks in the façade, Zane begins to understand that some people are willing to face the truth, even when it hurts. As he grows into manhood and builds a new kind of family, he will find that while the darkness of his past may always shadow him, it will also show him what is necessary for good to triumph—and give him strength to draw on when he once again must stand up and defend himself and the ones he loves…

Read the first chapter here: Chapter One.

And you can pre-order Under Currents in any of your favorite retailers:
Turn the Page: http://bit.ly/2yETAxO
Amazon: https://amzn.to/2yETRAQ
Kindle: https://amzn.to/2yFyDmi
BN: http://bit.ly/2yGcmVj
NOOK: http://bit.ly/2yCXMxW
IndieBound: http://bit.ly/2yGevjV
Kobo: http://bit.ly/2yF3Nu6
iBooks: https://apple.co/2yIPG6Q

Connections in Death, Excerpt

Connections in Death excerpt

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Time to plan your new year reading! The 2019 schedule is posted here.

Coming soon

Connections in Death leads off the new year reading on February 5.  In this 48th entry of the series Roarke is about to open a brand-new school and youth shelter. He and Eve know the hard life can lead kids toward dangerous crossroads―and with this new project, they hope to nudge a few more of them onto the right path. For expert help, they hire child psychologist Dr. Rochelle Pickering―whose own brother pulled himself out of a spiral of addiction and crime with Rochelle’s support.

Lyle is living with Rochelle while he gets his life together, and he’s thrilled to hear about his sister’s new job offer. But within hours, triumph is followed by tragedy. Returning from a celebratory dinner with her boyfriend, she finds Lyle dead with a syringe in his lap.  But Eve’s investigation confirms that this wasn’t just another OD. After all his work to get clean, Lyle’s been pumped full of poison―and a neighbor with a peephole reports seeing a scruffy, pink-haired girl fleeing the scene.

Now Eve and Roarke must venture into the gang territory where Lyle used to run, and the ugly underground world of tattoo parlors and strip joints where everyone has taken a wrong turn somewhere. They both believe in giving people a second chance. Maybe even a third or fourth. But as far as they’re concerned, whoever gave the order on Lyle Pickering’s murder has run out of chances…

You can read Chapter One of Connections in Death here.

Laura

Excerpt, Of Blood & Bone

Of Blood & Bone excerpt

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I know, I know, you’ve been waiting to learn what happens next in The Chronicles of The One.  I’m so happy to share with you the excerpt from Of Blood & Bone.

Here’s the jacket copy:

An epic of hope and horror, chaos and magic, and a journey that will unite a desperate group of people to fight the battle of their lives.

They look like an everyday family living an ordinary life. But beyond the edges of this peaceful farm, unimaginable forces of light and dark have been unleashed.

Fallon Swift, approaching her thirteenth birthday, barely knows the world that existed before―the city where her parents lived, now in ruins and reclaimed by nature since the Doom sickened and killed billions. Traveling anywhere is a danger, as vicious gangs of Raiders and fanatics called Purity Warriors search for their next victim. Those like Fallon, in possession of gifts, are hunted―and the time is coming when her true nature, her identity as The One, can no longer be hidden.

In a mysterious shelter in the forest, her training is about to begin under the guidance of Mallick, whose skills have been honed over centuries. She will learn the old ways of healing; study and spar; encounter faeries and elves and shifters; and find powers within herself she never imagined. And when the time is right, she will take up the sword, and fight. For until she grows into the woman she was born to be, the world outside will never be whole again.

The excerpt won’t answer all your questions but should answer some.

Of Blood & Bone is out December 4.  Your first look is here.

Laura