Showing results by narrator "Darla Middlebrook" in All Categories

Marge Christensen and her husband, Pete Peterson, want to adopt their two foster sons - but Eric's grandfather is threatening to get custody of the 12-year-old boy. To prevent this from happening, Marge and Eric take a road trip to Pasco, Washington, a typically quiet rural area near the Cascade Range, to visit with him. Before they can even say hello, the two find themselves staring down the barrel of a shotgun. In less than 24 hours, that same gun is used to kill a man.

Winters are typically quiet and uneventful in Northern Michigan - but when Marge Christensen arrives in Traverse City to visit her mother, who is rehabilitating from a series of small strokes, Marge and her aunt soon become embroiled in trying to solve the deaths of two old ladies. Although the women resided in different nursing homes, is there a connection - or are the witnesses simply senile old ladies who are imagining intruders?

Skillfully narrated by storyteller Darla Middlebrook, this Robert Louis Stevenson tale of Keawe, a poor Hawaiian man, who buys a strange bottle from a sad, elderly gentleman who credits the bottle with his fortune. The elderly gentleman promises that an imp residing in the bottle will also grant Keawe his every desire. Of course, there is a catch - the bottle must be sold at a loss, i.e. for less than its owner originally paid, or else it will simply return to him. The currency used in the transaction must also be in coin (not paper money or a bank check).

Although it is not entirely to her liking, grief-stricken Satha, a dark-skinned woman from a poor Theseni clan weds young Loic, the wealthy Doreni son of the king's First Captain. Loic, graced with ability to see into the hearts and minds of others, begins to help Satha overcome her sorrows. Despite coming from different tribes, they begin to forge a life together. But when Satha's own compassion is used against her and a treacherous enemy contrives to dishonor her in Loic's absence, Loic's love turns to anger and disgust.

Marge Christensen's employer and friend, Joshua Hurley, is found dead in the framing shop where she works. Her wedding to Detective Pete Peterson, who heads up the investigation, is in two weeks. Marge jumps into the investigation, unable to contemplate her wedding until the case is solved. In mourning, and struggling not to step too far over the line with the police, Marge also has to deal with an interfering mother-in-law and look for a new home.

When Marge Christensen arrives at Ocean Shores on Friday afternoon, it feels like the perfect place to get away from it all for a week and do a little painting. But, on Sunday afternoon, a man's body is discovered on the beach. The man has been murdered, and when Marge's son, Robert, is implicated in the murder, Marge must delve into the tangle of relationships, motives, and opportunity to uncover the truth.

When Marge Christensen discovers a body buried in a park in Bellevue, Washington, she has no intention of getting involved. Until her best friend Lori's husband is accused of the crime, that is. He claims his arrest is Marge's fault because she told the police what she knew about his activities. So Marge and Lori set out, with perseverance and a disregard for their own safety, to discover what really happened.

On December 1, 1955, seamstress Rosa Parks took a stand by refusing to give up her seat on a bus to a white man. Her defiance against an unjust system triggered the Montgomery Bus Boycott and helped spark the civil rights movement in the 1960s. Parks demonstrated the effectiveness of unified peaceful protests, and throughout her life she advocated an end to violence, discrimination, and injustice, eventually establishing the Rosa and Raymond Parks Institute for Self-Development.

Magic and madness don't always run hand in hand, but there's a reason they call it the Touch. Delaney Green is one of them that don't burn, not that no one ain't never tried. After her mama tried and failed to murder her for pulling on the future like it was a piece of string, Del has spent her whole life in a mental institution for her own safety. And everyone else's. No one wants to see what might happen if she goes cracked. When a dozen young women turn up burned to a crisp, local folks are quick to point the FBI straight at Del.

Set internationally and spanning two decades, Annisa is an intricate portrait of a young Afghan girl's struggle to survive after the Soviet invasion in 1979. Her harrowing escape to America, and her fatal decision to return to her people in Afghanistan, evokes insight into a society torn apart by terrorism, drug smuggling, and bitter conflicts over the role of its women.

The Deannan Uncivil war was in full swing, and the fascists appeared to hold all the aces. All that stood in their way was the Loyalist Militia: a lot of angry locals who wanted their abducted friends and relatives back, didn't like to be told how to live their lives, and most importantly—could handle a blaster a little.

Rafe and Deor aren’t the only ones who know the nation is in trouble. The palace itself confides in Deor, begging her to save it, and the kingdom, from her father’s narcissistic reign. Staying quiet won’t help, and speaking up might get her killed. And if the king finds out about the affair, well, Deor might find out what the Tower of London looks like from the inside.