Books by Kathy Herman

Eighteen-year-old Angie Marks, tattooed and pierced, shows up in the small town of Baxter without a place to stay. When eccentric millionaire Patrick Bailey hires her to be his housekeeper, and then when Angie risks her own safety to help Mr. Bailey get his twin great-grandsons out of a rattlesnake''s strike zone, she finds herself fully at the center of the town''s curiosity. At Monty''s Diner they say she might be involved with Billy Joe Sawyer, using rattlers to intimidate the key witnesses in his upcoming trial. Is she? Or does Angie Marks have her own agenda?

The Past Is Back Ellen Jones’s hands are full after she begrudgingly brings her aging father to Seaport. Lawrence’s memory is failing—though he can’t seem to forget what he’s been holding against Ellen for the past forty years. But when he’s diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, Ellen realizes she never released her resentment and it’s too late for reconciliation. Then suddenly—literally overnight—her son, Owen, comes face-to-face with the consequences of his wilder days gone by. No one is prepared for the changes he, and the entire family, will have to make as a result. The past weighing heavily in the present, a clean start is out of the question for both Ellen and Owen. How can God heal their deepest wounds? Enter the least expected person of the bunch… Can secrets kill? Ellen Jones gets a disturbing call from her elderly father’s neighbor and must face the fact that her father, Lawrence, is no longer safe living alone. Ellen resents that he forgets the simplest of details and yet remembers the one thing he’s held against her for the past forty years. Her being his caregiver is out of the question. Ellen and her husband Guy pair up their fathers to share an apartment in a nearby retirement community. The setup seems ideal until Lawrence wanders off...right past the scene of a murder. Did he see something? He can’t quite remember... but the killer doesn’t know that! Just when Lawrence is diagnosed with Alzheimer’s and Ellen realizes there’s no chance they’ll ever be reconciled, a shocking secret surfaces from her son Owen’s past that drops her to her knees. Ellen is desperate for a miracle. Will God intervene and erase the consequences of past mistakes—or does He have an even better plan? Story Behind the Book“I was twenty-seven when I gave my heart to Jesus. And twenty-nine years later, I’m still realizing the long-term consequences of some of the choices I made during the years I was enslaved to sin. The words of Galatians 6:7, “Do not be deceived. God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows,” are as true today as when the apostle Paul wrote them. In the writing of All Things Hidden, my goal was to create unforgettable characters caught in the throes of overwhelming consequences, and enable us to watch the response of a merciful God not to remove their struggle, but to walk with them through the pain and redeem it for His glory.” —Kathy Herman

Things Aren’t Always How They Appear! Guy Jones is about to burst his buttons. He just won the biggest case of his career and is being hailed by his law partners. But his wife, Ellen, is consumed with her quirky, needy friends and misses his victory dinner. Little does she know that Kinsey Abbott, Guy’s pretty legal secretary, is more than happy to keep him company. Communication between the Joneses rapidly deteriorates when Ellen’s stubborn loyalty to an Iranian couple lands her in the FBI’s spotlight—and Guy’s bad graces. Guy soon discovers Kinsey’s dark side, which inevitably pulls him into a web of danger and deceit. He decides not to tell Ellen. But it’s going to cost him. Who is my neighbor? Guy Jones is about to burst his buttons. He just won the biggest case of his career and is being hailed by his law partners. But his wife, Ellen, is so consumed with her quirky, needy friends that she misses his victory dinner—and bright, beautiful legal secretary Kinsey Abbott is only too glad to keep him company. When a fishing boat full of explosives is seized near Seaport, Ellen’s stubborn loyalty to her Iranian friends lands her in the FBI’s spotlight—and Guy’s bad graces. But when Guy encounters Kinsey’s dark side, a lot more than the Joneses’ marriage is threatened! Amid danger, deceit, and violence, Guy and Ellen clash over a key issue: Who is worth befriending—and who deserves loyalty under fire? “As if pulled from today’s headlines, this novel touches on the fear that overtakes a town when rumors of terrorists are afoot. Filled with unexpected twists, Eye of the Beholder held me captive until the very end.” —Traci DePree Author of Aprons on a Clothesline “Eye of the Beholder enticed me from the first page with familiar and beloved people. Then it took a twist that both delighted and convicted me. This visit to Seaport will change your life.” —Janelle Clare Schneider, Author Story Behind the Book“My novels don’t come to me ahead of time; each book flows off the tips of my fingers as I sit down and begin to ‘feel’ the issues deep inside myself. For me, the most intriguing aspect of my writing style is that I don’t plan and outline the stories. I turn my fingers loose and get inside the characters and instinctively know where I need to go. After all the suspense is said and done, my hope is that each story will give us pause. That in the deepest part of our souls, we’ll embrace the depth of what it means to be believers and then be moved to share its powerful simplicity with those who struggle without hope. I want Eye of the Beholder to take readers inside my characters’ hearts and minds so they will take an honest look at whether they show favoritism to people of higher social standing. I want them to realize a person’s intrinsic value has nothing to do with social class.” —Kathy Herman

The first book in the Seaport Suspense seriesEllen Jones, first introduced in the Baxter series, is enjoying a leisurely lunch at a Seaport restaurant when she overhears a private conversation at the table next to her—and disturbing accusations involving the husband of a woman she has recently befriended. But as Ellen digs through old newspaper articles and stumbles onto information too frightening to keep to herself, will she become enmeshed in speculation and gossip—or will she take the lead and become a catalyst for truth and healing?

CNA Sally Cox is about as happy to be at Walnut Hills Nursing Center as the patients are. But it’s work or starve, now that her husband has found a younger companion. Sally’s new crowd skews toward the elderly—ninety-year-old Elsie Rigsby, for instance, whose dementia comes and goes with her gold-digging son and grandson’s visits. Elsie’s not going to tell those vultures where she stashed her money. Still, she’s not getting any younger, and someone besides her needs to know. Three deaths later, is anyone watching Sally?The love of money… Poor Mrs. Rigsby gets so confused. But she’s Sally Cox’s favorite patient at Walnut Hills Nursing Center . It’s too bad her only relatives are her insensitive son, Harry, who’s always badgering her about money, and a charming but unreliable grandson. …is a root… Harry Rigsby is retired, but these years aren’t exactly golden for him. He’s been reduced to eating ketchup sandwiches when his Social Security check doesn’t stretch to cover the whole month. It just isn’t fair. He has long suspected his mother of rat-holing money, but she won’t admit it. Trouble is, if he doesn’t find out before her mind goes, he’ll never see a penny of it. …of all kinds of evil. Sally Cox is drowning in debt and resentful that her job at the nursing home doesn’t pay enough. When Mrs. Rigsby tells her and a coworker that she’s hidden money from her greedy son, the coworker devises the perfect scheme to end Sally’s financial woes—and opens a door to something evil! Poor Mrs. Rigsby explores the pitfalls of financial worry, the wages of greed, and the God who has promised to be a refuge from both. Story Behind the BookI’ve been dismayed by the financial abuse of people in power—corporate CEOs, trusted religious leaders, and even heads of households—whose mismanagement and greed have inflicted hardship on many a victim. But I wrote Poor Mrs. Rigsby to show what can happen when victims justify using dishonest means in an effort to regain control of their financial ture. It’s my hope that this story will challenge believers to take an honest look at where they draw the line between their own striving for financial purity—and trusting God to provide what they need.

Baxter residents fear upheaval when a regional tire plant announces it''s coming to Baxter. Rumor says mayor Charlie Kirby''s signature on the deal was influenced by an affair with the tire company''s corporate attorney - who dies suddenly after the agreement is finalized. Charlie, a pillar of the community and a father of seven, faces the court of public opinion and the biggest moral dilemma of his life. Meanwhile, newspaper editor Ellen Jones goes looking for a feature story, collides with the brick wall of the late attorney''s past - and is stalked by someone pursuing the same track!

Furious that his girlfriend chose to bring twin babies to term, Dennis walks out of Jennifer''s life. And now the Centers for Disease Control have quarantined Jennifer, along with 200 others who attended the reception for a missionary couple bearing a deadly virus. Is Jennifer at risk? Does Dennis even care what will happen to the twins, separated from their mother at birth? Fear takes hold in the town as violence erupts, and Baxter experiences an outbreak deadlier than any virus. Still, woven through the tale of violence and victims is another story: one of divine love and purpose.

When a bizarre houseboat explosion rocks the close-knit community of Baxter, firefighters, friends, and neighbors stand powerless as the McConnells'' blazing hull sinks to the bottom of Heron Lake. Grief turns to outrage as new evidence proves there was one survivor -- and points to murder, something this sheltered community has never faced in its hundred-year history. In a race with the FBI, Jed sets out to track down the sole survivor, coping meanwhile with his own painful marital struggle. Baxter''s mystery and Jed''s dilemma are ones only God can solve in this suspenseful, surprising story of redemption amidst despair in small-town America.