Book Excerpts

The dust swirled about her high heels as Roxie Davenport climbed from the car. Squinting against the glare of the midday sun, she took in the almost deserted parking lot as if she had landed on an alien planet. It might as well be. She swiped the back of her hand across her forehead. This was as far from her home in Minnesota as it got. With a deep, fortifying breath that she held until her lungs ached, she examined the cafe not far from Interstate 25. It had seen better days. In fact, it had seen better years. She checked the name of the place against the piece of paper she clutched in her hand. This was the restaurant, but its name was definitely someone’s idea of a joke. There was nothing heavenly about A Slice of Heaven. The cafe’s wooden facade had lost its...

Two months later, a helicopter banked to the left and descended toward the clearing where Deputy U.S. Marshal Brody Callahan’s new assignment, Arianna Jackson, was being guarded by three marshals. His team would relieve them, so he used his vantage point above the forest to check out the area. Knowing the terrain that surrounded the safe house had saved his life several times. The cabin backed up against a medium-size mountain range on the north and west while the other two sides were made up of a wall of spruces, pines, hemlocks and other varieties of trees that stretched out for miles. A rugged land–manageable only as long as the weather cooperated. It was the end of July, but it had been known to snow at that time in Alaska near the Artic Circle....

Scorned Justice Excerpt by Margaret Daley The pain in her neck and shoulders sharpened its grip on District Court Judge Rebecca Morgan as she left the courtroom. She headed for her office, welcoming the quiet in the corridor. Inside her sanctuary from the madness of this new trial, she shed her black robe and hung it up in the closet. Finally, the end of the day—the weekend was here and she could escape to the ranch. Two glorious days to spend with her brother and his family. She could forget for a short time the case before her—the murder of a businessman by a high-level member of the Russian mob. With a sigh, she grabbed her purse and started for the door. The ranch was almost an hour away from San Antonio, and as it was, she would be in traffic for a while....

Excerpt from Detection Mission by Margaret Daley, February 2013 (Love Inspired Suspense): Who am I?She bent over the bathroom sink in her hospital room, cupped her hands and splashed some cold water on her face. As though that would suddenly make her remember who she was. She studied herself in the mirror and didn’t recognize the person looking back at her. That revelation only intensified the panic she’d been struggling with ever since she woke up from a coma yesterday. Her fingers clenched the countertop.Earlier, the nurse had brought her a few toiletries since she didn’t have any. After brushing her hair and putting it into a ponytail, she stared at the red gash, recently healed, above her eyebrow. She closed her eyes and tried to recall how...

Bachelor number forty-six: Andrew Knight, 37, is a senior vice president of International Foods. When not working, he likes to play golf and read. With black hair and gray eyes he is any woman’s idea of a dream date, especially the one he plans: dinner at Maison Blanche followed by a concert on the lawn of Philbrook Museum of Art in Tulsa.

 Sadie Spencer read the description in the catalog, then looked at the man who was number forty-six. He stood on the platform in a black tuxedo that fit him perfectly. Made for him, she decided as her gaze traveled up his tall length to rest on his face, sculpted in clean, strong lines. She had to agree with the catalog’s description. He did inspire dreams.
 
”The opening bid for our next bachelor offered on...

In the dark, Ellie St. James scanned the mountainous terrain out her bedroom window at her new client’s home in Colorado, checking the shadows for any sign of trouble before she went to sleep. The large two-story house of redwood and glass blended in well with the rugged landscape seven thousand feet above sea level. Any other time she would appreciate the beauty, but she was here to protect Mrs. Rachel Winfield. A faint sound punched through her musing. She whirled away from the window and snatched her gun off the bedside table a few feet from her. Fitting the weapon into her right palm and finding its weight comforting, she crept toward her door and eased it open to listen. None of the guard dogs were barking. Maybe she’d imagined the noise. A...