With her handler, Shiba patrols her territory for illicit magic. But Shiba has just lost her lifelong partner, and his replacement doesn’t trust her–and he doesn’t want to, for he’s just lost his own partner. With nasty illicit magic sneaking across the border, what’s a bitch to do? Of course, the real question is, will she do it in time…

[included in THE HEART OF DOG]

First Published: Berkley Prime Crime, 2007

Book #6 of P.B. Ryan’s critically acclaimed historical mystery series. Governess Nell Sweeney and wounded battle surgeon Will Hewitt reunite on Cape Cod to investigate the death of Nell’s long-lost brother.

“Summary: Nell has proven herself a model governess in the years she’s worked for the Hewitts. But now a terrible secret from her past—and the lurking suspicion that she might be carrying Will Hewitt’s child—threaten to rob her of everything for which she has worked so hard.

“Comments: Nell has a lot on her plate. Her only surviving sibling, Jamie, is dead. He was a fugitive, wanted for the murder of Susannah Cunningham. Also occupying her mind is that fact that she’s pregnant with Will’s baby and Will is in France. In the previous book, the American ambassador asked President Grant for an experienced battle surgeon, and Will was offered the job. Nell even begins to question whether Will—rootless vagabond, cardsharp, and recovering addict—can ever truly settle down. He didn’t take the teaching job, which he loved. Nell knows he went to France for her sake. However, with a child’s future in question, Nell can’t help but wonder. Regardless of what she thinks of Will, the fact she needs a divorce first, and soon, remains. With so much uncertainty in her future, it is a small relief to know that her mentor and former lover, Dr. Greaves is offering her so much support. He knows that Nell is pregnant and that her heart belongs to Will, even as she questions his reliability…

“Favorite Quotes:

“’The only reason you feel unworthy of that award is that you’re mired in your old notion of yourself as flawed and undeserving. Frankly, I’m beginning to find that refrain fairly tedious.’

“’I’ve never known you to be quite the pitiless shrew. I find it captivating.’

“—Nell, Will”

Babbling Book Reviews

“As always, the author excels at setting the scene, evoking the time and place by use of the day-to-day details as well as historical events… This has been a gorgeously written series, populated with unique and unforgettable characters. I’m truly sorry to see it end, and will, no doubt, be re-reading these keepers.” CA Reviews

“Ryan’s historical atmosphere is spot on. It’s a memorable look into the Gilded Age. I can’t help but recommend this series to those who enjoy cozy type historical mystery series.” MyShelf.com

“P.B. Ryan writes a heartwarming mystery that capture the ambivalence of the rich on the east coast five years after the Civil War ended.” Genre Go Round Reviews

First Released: Harlequin, 1996

Mansfield, New Jersey, is burning up building by building—each fire more devastating than the last—and it’s Detective Jamie Keegan’s job to bring the “Firefly,” as the arsonist has dubbed himself, to justice. He balks when his captain orders him to consult the beautiful and enigmatic India Cook, who claims to be a psychic, and who can’t bear to be touched. Convinced she’s a con artist, Jamie tries to deny the chemistry simmering between them as he and India work together to stop the Firefly before he can strike again. Original publication date: January 1996.

“Ever a master of characterization and sexual tension, Patricia Ryan creates a sizzling suspense about the thin line between passion and anguish sure to heat up our reading pleasure!” —RT Book Reviews

“A steamy, sizzling, and thoroughly entertaining novel that allows the audience to partake in the adventure romance of a lifetime. The pacing is swift and the unfolding storyline provides a fascinating glimpse into a world where psi comes together with arson to create a bonfire of passion. Way to go, Pat Ryan!” —Affaire de Coeur

“A tale so full of fiery emotions and blistering passion, not to mention the wonderful characters, I closed the last page with a huge smile on my lips.” —Rendezvous

“The most remarkable aspect of this novel is the author’s empathic treatment of India’s [psychic] condition. This situation creates some unique sexual tension, including the well-handled description of desire in a man’s mind. Women reading romances are occasionally treated to token narratives about passion and desire from a hero’s point of view. Author Patricia Ryan takes that point of view one step further, with fascinating results. Readers will not want to put this one down until they have reached the satisfying happy ending.” —Gothic Journal

Stranded in a blizzard with a bounty hunter on his trail, Luke McKenna is desperate to find someplace safe for his young daughter. Sure to freeze to death in the Montana wilderness, Luke and his daughter are rescued by the only person within miles.

School teacher Molly Lambert knows that letting a handsome, rugged stranger sleep in her house could ruin her reputation and get her fired, but she can’t turn away the sweet child and her wounded father. Snowed in with the fugitive, Molly can’t help but notice the tenderness he shows his daughter and the soft heart he hides beneath his tough exterior.

The cold winter winds can’t subdue the heat between Luke and Molly, but Luke knows he can’t risk staying in Montana and being caught. He knows he must do the best thing for everyone and leave Molly and his daughter or risk putting them both in danger. But can love light the darkest places and overcome the impossible forces pulling them apart?

Sensual content.

First Released: St. Martin, 1998

From USA TODAY bestselling author Antoinette Stockenberg comes an original and wonderfully romantic story of star-crossed lovers who have been apart for twenty years and who rediscover one another in an idyllic coastal village on Cape Cod.

A SECOND CHANCE AT LOVE. It’s a deep, aching need for anyone whose heart has ever been broken. Maddie Regan and Dan Hawke were college lovers who were compelled to go separate ways after a horrific event for which Dan was blamed. She settled down and raised a family; he roamed the planet as a war correspondent. But a near death experience brings Dan in search of the only woman he has ever loved. His plan to win Maddie is simple: take up residence in a lighthouse just a stone’s throw from her family’s summer home, and then make her fall back in love with him. He knows her family will object and suspects that her daughter might; but he refuses to believe that Maddie herself — the woman who has haunted his dreams for two decades — can be any less in love with him than he is with her.

It’s not that simple for Maddie. She has a jealous ex-husband to deal with … a feisty, resentful teenager … a widowed mother unable to emerge from mourning … and the ongoing heartbreak of her father’s unsolved murder. Is it possible to throw all of that aside for the chance to be happy?

~~~~

“Antoinette Stockenberg is a fresh, exciting voice. Her writing is delicious!”–Jayne Ann Krentz

“[She's] destined to become a major voice in women’s fiction.”–Publishers Weekly

“A superb story.”
–Rendezvous Magazine

“This wonderful plot gives the reader a love story about two people who had lost each other for 20 years … and embroiders the tale with a mystery. What fun to read! Totally different, exciting, and new. Colorful and extremely visual descriptions make this book come to life; I could see the ocean and smell the salty sea air … the story flows and is hard to put down … it’s a keeper, readers!”
–Romance Communications online
(Winner, Romance Communications Reviewers Award)
(Nominated, Romance Communications Readers Award)

“Buy this book! A truly fantastic summer read!”
–Suzanne Barr, Gulf Coast Woman

“A CHARMED PLACE allows Stockenberg’s considerable talents to truly shine … almost perfect … a well-rounded, believable, entertaining and moving romance [with] an intellectually challenging mystery… a real story about real people whom readers will care deeply about.”
–Gothic Journal

“An absorbing, highly engaging read with dialogue [that is] clever and realistic. The Cape Cod setting is vividly evoked, and secondary characters add great color …. Ms. Stockenberg is a gifted prose stylist; she makes us care about the characters. The fairly explicit love scenes are not only passionate, but also tender. A truly charming contemporary romance with an uplifting theme that second chances at love are possible …. ”
–Regency World

–”A CHARMED PLACE is a captivating mixture of mystery and romance with characters that seem so real they jump off the pages. Stockenberg is adept at capturing family relationships and conveying a real sense of the characters’ feelings and motiviations. [This is] an intriguing and passionate tale that will have the reader longing to read her next novel.”
–Writers Write Website

“A glorious novel … Ms. Stockenberg takes her place alongside LaVyrle Spencer as a writer of depth and perception.” Very Highly Recommended
–Under the Covers Reviews

“Pure Stockenberg. The author captures the flavor of New England life along with great family dynamics. The love story between Dan and Maddie gives hope to anyone who dreams of their first love.”
–Interludes

“Passion, love, hatred and deceit all collide with unexpected force in the powerful and expressive A CHARMED PLACE.”
–Romantic Times Magazine

“Very witty writing … wonderfully drawn characters … [get] to know them and the obstacles they overcome.”
–Book Barn Gazette

British actress Jenny Lyme is having a pretty decent career. Though she may not have become an international movie star, she’s well loved in England for a role on British TV and continues to work regularly.

Now her hometown community center is in danger of being sold. The only hope for its salvation is if Jenny can film the Christmas Revels production she’s directing and sell it for television broadcasting. For that she needs a really good cameraman—and she just happens to know one….

Greg Marino has worked hard for his success as a Hollywood cinematographer, and he has an Oscar sitting by his coffee maker to prove it. But he still has fond memories of the fling he had with Jenny Lyme ten years earlier when they worked together on a disastrous movie. When she calls and asks if he’d film her community Christmas show, he decides it would be a fun break in his demanding life. And it would be really, really nice to see Jenny again.

The show is a delight, and Jenny and Greg find the old attraction is still there. But is it possible to build a life together when both have demanding careers thousands of miles apart?

Special Bonus Short Story!
Seduced by Sloth was written for an internet experiment that failed, but the theme of finding a balance in life and work echoes that of A Christmas Fling.
~~~~

(The following reviews are for the original collection, Christmas Revels. Three of the other four novellas have been e-released as Christmas Mischief.)

“A great collection for a cold winter’s evening with a hot cup of tea. Mary Jo Putney’s characters are memorable and their stories are heartwarming.”
–Cynthia Meidinger, The Best Reviews

“These five heart-tugging stories and their endearing characters celebrate the love, joy, and magic of the Christmas season. Highly recommended.”
–Susan Lantz, www.romrevtoday.com

“If you’ve never read Mary Jo Putney, this collection is a delightful introduction to her compelling characters and gifted storytelling. If you’re a fan already, then you know this book will make a great stocking stuffer for the readers on your list!”
–Lenore Howard, Old Book Barn Gazette

First Published: Fawcett, 1996

Featuring a strong, determined woman sleuth in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Vandalism, threatening phone calls… The University of California students who share a big old house in Berkeley are under siege. Someone is stalking them. But who? And why?

Oakland PI searches for reasons as the unsettling threats escalate into frightening violence. No one has been killed yet. But murder could be next.

Or has it already happened?

“California PI Jeri Howard takes a deliciously suspicion-saturated interest in everyone around in her latest adventure.”

Publishers Weekly

“In Dawson’s capable hands, the characters are believable and the story moves forward in a lively fashion.”

-Roberta Alexander, Contra Costa Times

“A Jeri Howard mystery which slowly builds a chilling plot.”

- The Bookwatch, Midwest Review of Books

She was an audacious miss — and clearly everything he didn’t want!

Giles Vayne, the eighth Duke of Winterton, was rich, handsome, and arrogant enough to assume that every eager mother was throwing her daughter at him. He was right, of course. Unfortunately that cynicism, plus an ill-mannered comment, made a charming country miss the subject of town scuttlebutt before her first ball!

True, Henrietta Lanford had dreamed endlessly about his lordship—until his scandalous comment fueled her ire and her brazen public rebuke delighted the gossips to no end. She decided to encourage the attentions of another, unaware of his lascivious designs.

Soon scheming and seduction of all sorts compelled Giles to become her reluctant protector, as fair Henrietta discovered that the hero of her fantasies was quite real indeed . . . .

Originally published by Berkley Prime Crime, 2007

3rd in the Collectibles Mystery series

Covering the famous Heart of Dixie antique show for Collector’s Weekly, amateur sleuth Molly Appleby gets an unwelcome scoop when she finds the dead body of an antiques dealer in her hotel’s lush conservatory.

The Collectibles Mysteries Are:
A Killer Collection
A Fatal Appraisal
A Deadly Dealer

First Released: Jocelyn Hollow Romance, 2006

Real families aren’t always the ones you know about . . . 

When Christine Blacksworth’s larger-than-life father is killed on an icy road in Magdalena, New York, a hundred miles from the ‘getaway’ cabin he visited every month, she discovers a secret that threatens everything she’s always held to be true. Her father has another family which includes a mistress and a daughter. Determined to uncover the truth behind her father’s secret life, Christine heads to Magdalena, prepared to hate the people who have caused her to question everything she thought she knew about her father. But what she finds is a woman who understands her, a half sister who cherishes her, and a man who could love her if she’ll let him. The longer she’s around them, the more she questions which family is the real one. . .

Note: This book contains sexual content and profanity. While the author believes these situations are handled in good taste, she acknowledges some readers will choose to pass on this book.