Böcker av Priscilla Audette

Book III in the Jake and Dora series, One Weekend in Tombstone, takes place against the backdrop of the desert southwest, and unfinished business is the order of the day. In Sheltering in Place, Book I, spoiler alert, Jake and Dora ultimately go their separate ways. In Book II, Three Wednesdays, these two would-be lovers ended up being ships that passed in the night. But in Book III, there is hope for a happy reunion. Or is there? Now that the pandemic has somewhat subsided, Dora has decided to take a page out of Jake's book and, emulating his lifestyle, becomes a rambler too. But rather than divesting herself of all her possessions and taking off on foot, she buys a small RV and drives off into the heart of this great country to see what adventures it has to offer. Fate intervenes, and Jake and Dora meet once again, only to have him mysteriously disappear the following morning. False accusations, mistaken identities, and being a victim of circumstances all play a part in the disappearance. Refusing to believe she had been abandoned in a dusty little town by a man she thought she knew, Dora sifts through clues to try to solve the mystery.

Three Wednesdays, Book II in the Jake and Dora series, takes place during an extremely volatile time period in our nation's history. This novel interweaves Jake and Dora's two parallel lives after they parted company at the end of Sheltering in Place, and the reader wonders if they will ever meet again. On January 6, 2021, when Joe "Jake" Jacobson, in a dusty little town in Georgia, sees someone he used to know breaching the United States Capitol building on the television news during that now-infamous insurrection, a chain reaction of memories coalesces, and he realizes that same man may have been responsible for the murder of his wife and child years before. So begins his search for the truth. Meanwhile, Dora, still living and working in Maine, also witnesses history in the making on the television that fateful day. The two story lines (Jake's and Dora's) are full of adventure, intrigue, and suspense. Will Jake finally be able to close the final chapter of his tragic past so he can move forward into a fuller and richer life? Will Dora be waiting for him?

The first few months of 2020 consisted of a wild ride for most of the world. The spread of the coronavirus, resulting in a pandemic, the subsequent sheltering-in-place orders, and all that followed from economic collapse to violence and unrest are the backdrop of this story. Sheltering in Place exposes that wedge of history parallel with the more personal events going on in Dora Maxwell's life. Life in Maine, it seems, has made a sharp left turn, leaving Dora, if not stunned, at least dismayed. The imploding of the economy is the perfect symbol of the rapid disintegration of life as she knew it. The death of her husband and estrangement from her son are only the beginning. When Dora stumbles onto some bizarre happenings going on under her nose right next door, a mysterious stranger arrives on the scene to help. Jake is a drifter who has luckily wandered into the right place at the right time. When Dora witnesses her next-door neighbor's assault, the action really takes off, but it is the misunderstandings and misperceptions along the way that bring the thrills, chills, and plot twists. Surprises are the order of the day. Be aware that this is Book 1 in a series. There is more excitement to come!

Letters from Grace: The Story of an American Family is an intimate peek into the lives of the Quinn family. This story is akin to an anthropological excavation into what it means to be a family, celebrating said family in all its nuances. It is a story that will certainly appeal to your inner voyeur. When people die, they take with them a lifetime of secrets. Or do they? Letters from Grace begins after Grace has died. While this book begins with the death of Grace, it is not a distressing book. Death is part of life, and it is the knowledge that we gain after someone close to us dies that serves to enrich our lives, allowing us to live more fully. It is Grace's death that catapults the reader into the heart of this family. It is where we begin: her three grown children have returned to their childhood home to go through their mother's things and put the house on the market. As they sift through their mother's writings, all kept in an old file cabinet, they challenge each other to learn more about their dead mother by reading her canon of articles and letters. In doing so, Savannah, Austin, and Dakota inadvertently expose a secret that challenges the core of their relationships as siblings.