small mercies dennis lehane

The sleepy English locality of Middletown is about to get even sleepier, as a strange malady starts to affect the population. It spreads quickly, causing the authorities to quarantine this small city, and seek out the only person who might be able to help: Doctor Andrew Strauss. However, Strauss has a secret, one that has linked him to this place all his life, one that has linked him to a particular person there, though he doesn’t yet know who. But he’s not the only one hiding things – and as he ventures into Middletown to collect samples with an army escort, a mixture of UK and US troops, cracks soon begin to appear in the operation. Especially when his team comes up against the most terrifying threat humankind has ever known.

26-years-old Stacy Cyrus is living her life in a very normal way: working in a small newspaper company; feeding her stray cat occasionally; indulging herself reading books; going to the nearest cafe for Strawberry cakes. Until one her best friend, Mikaela pleads with her to help in her job in a royal suite. All she needs to do is wear a nice dress, put on makeup and wait until Mikaela comes. But she hasn't signed up for a handsome, tall man to appear in the room in a tuxedo and demanding her to strip.

When my son was born, I noticed a small, round birthmark on his arm. But the weird thing? By the time I opened my eyes again after giving birth, it was gone. I figured maybe I'd imagined it. That is, until the baby shower. My brother-in-law's son, born the same day as mine, had the exact same birthmark. Clear as day. That's when it hit me. I didn't say a word, though. Not then. I waited. Eighteen years later, at my son's college acceptance party, my brother-in-law stood up and dropped the truth bomb: the "amazing" kid I'd raised was theirs. I just smiled and invited him and his wife to take their "rightful" seats at the table.

Gabriel Shepherd is a man without hope, risking his life as a hitman for hire until the day he starts to dream of a mysterious young woman. Convinced that the woman is his fated mate, he goes in search of her. Gabriel goes undercover as a teacher in a small forgotten town, only to discover that his fated mate is one of the students. Honoraria Talbot lives with her alcoholic uncle in a dilapidated trailer in a secluded forest lot. She knows nothing of her own history, except that she was abandoned by her mother when she was just a baby. She cannot explain her strange abilities, nor does she understand the powerful attraction she suddenly feels for the substitute teacher. All she wanted was to graduate high school and get away from the small town where she has been branded as trailer trash. But Gabriel Shepherd isn’t going to rest until he has discovered all her secrets and claimed Honor as his own.

Kate Harrison lives in a small town where reputations were everything and petty gossiping was the norm. Her life takes a dramatic turn when she gets pregnant and her boyfriend abandons her. In a bid to avoid a scandal and save her family from embarrassment, Kate decides to marry Tony DaCosta, a wealthy stranger she met during an outreach program. Their sudden marriage raises eyebrows in Tony's social circle, while Kate finds herself in the middle of a family feud with Tony's adult children. As romance begins to bloom between Kate and Tony, a disturbing rumor about Tony's past starts circulating and secrets are exposed. Can Kate and Tony overcome these troubling circumstances or will their love be swallowed up in the storm?

“I've wanted this all my life,” he said. “I want you.” Carter Between running a company and a recent attempt on his life, billionaire Carter Williamson doesn't need any more stress. So when a trio of orphan children breaks into the Colorado ranch he's hiding out in, his first instinct is to just let the police handle it. That was before their spunky social worker Mia showed up. Mia Mia Amesworth has worked hard to make sure that the Smith kids aren't separated from each other, but she can only do so much. With her own body unable to produce children, the kids are the closest thing to a family she's got. When the handsome ranch owner offers to let the three troublemakers pay for the damages with hard work over the summer, she happily accepts. When he suggests they go on a date, she can't say yes fast enough. Even though Carter's secret assailant keeps threatening him, he feels like he might be falling for the small town girl. And though Mia knows that a family might not be in the cards for her future, she longs to create a life with Carter. And then, a miracle happens...

A small accident that happened to Rajata in the courtyard of Prambanan Temple brought him to meet Kalyana, a woman who was finishing her novel because she would soon go abroad with Armand, her future husband. The encounter, which they thought was fleeting, turned out to be continued when Kalyana, hurt by Armand’s actions, invited Rajata to accompany him to visit Yeh Pulu, Bali. Rajata, who was trying to forget his love for a girl from his high school days, accepted the invitation. In Yeh Pulu, a local elder gave Kalyana a startling vision of an incident from several centuries ago. Intrigued by what really happened at that time, they decided to ask for a favor from Harso, Kalyana’s old friend who worked at CERN, Switzerland. Unexpectedly, their investigation, which relied on a sophisticated computer named Lidia lead them into an amazing adventure, an adventure that opens new perspectives to their understanding about history, and triggered them to learn from history in facing the future.

The last thing Lark Ward wants to do is return to Lovell. In a small town that keeps a big secret and memories of her unhappy childhood.For the sake of her aunt, she returns to where those who call themselves her family live, but they are not. They do not recognize her as their own, but one of them saw her as his mate. But she's not one of them. How to break the imposed connection? Will she be able to ignore someone else's life? Can he escape fate?

Meet Rylee Parks. JV Cheerleader, kick-ass bowler - and she is in love with her best friend's brother. Meet Aiden Reed. A varsity Football player, he can drink Ireland under the table, and would do anything to protect the friend he sees as a brother. This is Rylee's first year of University and her last year of fawning over a boy who will never look at her the same. But what happens when Aiden is finally woken up to the realization that Rylee won't stay the small and innocent girl she always has been, and his time with her is quickly running out?

Forces were conspiring around Finn and Lili just as their relationship was blooming... Finn heard a few jeers and cheers, "Kick him out! Kick him out!" Before he could react, Lili stood up and pushed Billy's hand away and growled really loudly, "Get out of our house NOW! Get the 'f' out! All of you! This is between Finn and myself and the investigation team. Get out!" Her face was bright red and her little fists were clenched so tightly. She was ready to punch someone but she kept her composure. Billy yelled back, "You're gonna regret this, just you wait!" Turning to leave, Billy saw Finn standing in the doorway. He was as quiet as a church mouse and as still as a statue. He wasn't giving in to the anger festering inside. Billy walked by and threw the first punch and within seconds the crowd dragged Finn outside and started to beat the crap out of him. Lili was powerless but managed to have enough sense to call 911 immediately and then she grabbed a bat and started banging it on the porch. When the crowd heard the sirens, they all jumped in their cars and took off. Even Billy! Especially Billy! By the time she got to Finn, he was a bloody mess and was barely breathing.... How could everyone in the town turn on Finn? Hadn't he proven over the last three years that he turned his life around but one small accusation and Lili was standing outside of their home in the freezing cold, staring at the blood stained snow. An image that would haunt her for the rest of her life. Would Finn survive the beating and come back to her arms as the same man? Or would outside forces continue to push them apart?