Books published by Kensington Publishing

New York Times bestselling Sisters of Suspense join forces for a gripping standalone novel about a clique of popular girls whose high school friendship is marked by a tragedy that continues to haunt them decades later. Jackson and Bush take the reader's hand and twist them through this shocking tale of suspense. First they were five. Then they were four. Whose turn will it be next? At Bristol High they were an elite clique known as the Five Firsts: Amanda, Bailey, Carmen, Delta and Zora . . . ABCD & Z. They could have accepted their classmate, Emmy, as "E", but with her bookish disposition and her embarrassing status of scholarship student to boot, they rejected her and chose wealthy Zora instead. At a pre-graduation party just before the end of senior year, Lance Ventura, the hottest guy in school, falls down an embankment toward the river and is barely rescued in time to save his life. One of the Five Firsts, Carman, rushes to save him, but isn't so lucky. Her sudden death causes a community to mourn and rumors of foul play to swirl, but the tragedy is ruled an accident. Fast forward ten years and the classmates all meet again at the high school reunion. Some of them have had good fortune in their lives. Others, not so much. PRAISE FOR LISA JACKSON AND NANCY BUSH "Superb . . . a masterpiece of romantic suspense." -Publishers Weekly (starred review) on Something Wicked "A chilling thriller with enough false leads to keep readers enthralled to the finish."-Library Journal on One Last Breath

The 11th book in the New York Times and USA Today bestselling series--a spinoff of William W. Johnstone's Mountain Man and Preacher series--featuring the legendary Matt Jensen, a man with survival and justice in his blood.On the lawless frontiers of the American West, there is one rule every outlaw should remember: Never cross a mountain man like Matt Jensen. Not if you want to keep breathing. No gun. No horse. No water or food. And worse yet: No idea how he ended up in the middle of a desert with a bullet in his leg and a bump on his head. That's the sorry situation Matt Jensen wakes up to--dazed and confused--until he slowly pieces together what happened. The last thing he remembers: He agreed to help out a friend of Duff MacCallister's. A pretty lady and her husband at a horse ranch. He also recalls their cross-country trip through hell to deliver the horses safely to market. That's when the outlaws showed up. That's when the shooting began. That's when everything went dark . . .But now Matt Jensen is alive and well and living for revenge. No time to lose. No holding back. And before it's all over, no trigger-happy horse thief will be left standing...

In this captivating new Regency trilogy, bestselling author Ella Quinn picks up where her beloved Worthingtons series left off, as three Lords of London discover true love at last . . . Handsome, rakish, incorrigibly flirtatious-Fredrick, Lord Littleton, is notorious. Lady Adeline Wivenly is resolved to keep him at arm's length during her first Season-until she overhears another woman's plot to trick him into marriage. Even a rogue is undeserving of such deception, and Adeline feels obliged to warn him-only to find herself perilously attracted . . . In the past, Littleton's charm nearly got him leg-shackled to the wrong woman. Now he's positive he's found the right one, for Adeline is everything he wants and needs in a wife. Her sense of justice is so strong she agrees to help him despite her mistrust. But can the ton's most elusive lord convince the lady he is finally serious about marriage-as long as she will be his bride? Praise for Ella Quinn's Believe in Me "Quinn continues to delight with the surprising adventures of the Worthington family. Fans of Lisa Kleypas and Julia Quinn will enjoy this family."-Booklist

Johnstone Country. Come and Get It. Mac is back. Framed for a murder he didn't commit, Dewey "Mac" Mckenzie is a wanted man who ends up on a cattle drive heading west-as a chuckwagon cook. Though he's never even boiled an egg, Mckenzie has a natural gift for cobbling together good trail drive grub. Now, with two trail drives under his belt, Mckenzie has proven to be more than a good chuckwagon cook. He's good at serving up justice, too-with a side of hot lead . . . A HILL OF BEANS Mac Mckenzie has enough problems on his plate. He's got bounty hunters on his tail, no one on his side, and no place to hide. Just when he thinks it can't get any worse, he hears the rumbling of a cattle stampede-heading straight for his camp. Mac's got two choices: Get trampled like a weed or saddle up and help get the herd under control. At first, the traildrivers ain't too pleased to have a stranger help them out. But once they realize Mac's not a rustler, they ask him to join the team. Mac takes them up on the offer-especially after he meets the cowgirl Colleen-and quickly impresses everyone with his cooking skills. There's just a few more problems: Mac's new employers might be the real rustlers. And Mac's stepped out of the frying pan into the fire . . .

Johnstone Country. A Home Worth Fighting For. Scotsman-turned-cowboy Duff MacCallister traveled far and worked hard to start a new life in America. And anyone who tries to mess with his dream is in for some serious Highland justice . . . KILLER TAKE ALL The cattle town of Chugwater may not look like much to outsiders. But for Duff MacCallister and the determined settlers who've staked their futures here, it's a land of opportunity. That's why the whole town is fired up by the latest news. Young railroad developer Jacob Freemantle wants to run a rail line through Chugwater, making it easier to transport cattle. Everyone is on board with the plan-at first. Duff begins to suspect that Freemantle is only after the most valuable land, and he's using strongarm tactics to force reluctant ranchers to sell. Things only get worse when Freemantle's hired guns show up-and the violence really begins . . . But Duff's got a plan of his own. With a little help from some well-armed friends, he's going to flush this phony out of Chugwater-and run his hired killers out of town on a rail . . . Live Free. Read Hard.

Set against the unexpected splendor of an ostrich ranch in the California desert, April Dávila's beautifully written debut conjures an absorbing and compelling heroine in a story of courage, family and forgiveness. When Tallulah Jones was thirteen, her grandmother plucked her from the dank Oakland apartment she shared with her unreliable mom and brought her to the family ostrich ranch in the Mojave Desert. After eleven years caring for the curious, graceful birds, Tallulah accepts a job in Montana and prepares to leave home. But when Grandma Helen dies under strange circumstances, Tallulah inherits everything-just days before the birds inexplicably stop laying eggs. Guarding the secret of the suddenly barren birds, Tallulah endeavors to force through a sale of the ranch, a task that is complicated by the arrival of her extended family. Their designs on the property, and deeply rooted dysfunction, threaten Tallulah's ambitions and eventually her life. With no options left, Tallulah must pull her head out of the sand and face the fifty-year legacy of a family in turmoil: the reality of her grandmother's death, her mother's alcoholism, her uncle's covetous anger, and the 142 ostriches whose lives are in her hands."Vivid…uplifting…The fascinating details of operating an ostrich ranch elevate this family tale."-Publishers Weekly "Tension mounts in every chapter, and when the difficult forces converge in the satisfying climax, Tallulah discovers clarity. This is an enjoyable, winning, interesting novel for readers of many backgrounds."-Booklist (starred review) "A story told with depth and beauty about the many things we inherit from our families. Dávila's characters are familiar, yet unforgettable, and I'm waiting patiently for what she writes next."-Wayétu Moore, author of She Would Be King

A new murder victim with an old M.O. puts Mattie Winston on the trail of a killer who gives a grim new meaning to flower power . . . Spring is beginning to brighten Sorenson, Wisconsin, for Mattie and Steve Hurley and their family. While their son Matthew may be in his terrible twos and Steve's daughter Emily a moody teenager, the kids bring light to their lives when their work is dark by its nature-Steve is a homicide detective and Mattie is a medicolegal death investigator, aka medical examiner. They deal in corpses. The latest corpse, a Jane Doe, was clearly an addict, but drugs didn't kill her, at least not directly. She's been stabbed multiple times in a pattern that is disturbingly familiar to Mattie. When she discovers flower petals from yellow carnations stuffed into the stab wounds, she recognizes a very specific M.O.-belonging to a convicted serial killer who's currently serving a life sentence. The details of the flower petals were never made public in the last case, so it can't be a copycat crime. It looks like the wrong man is in prison, and the murderer is still at large. Now it's up to Mattie and Steve to get the case reopened-and catch the real carnation killer . . .

Many men fought-and many men died-in the Texas Revolution of 1836. This is the story of John Apple. A man who not only fought in the battle of the Alamo, he lived to avenge it . . . THE ROAD TO THE ALAMO John Apple is a simple man. A gardener and preacher who lives a quiet life in Ohio. Then a broken heart sends him south. A chance encounter with a very drunk Jim Bowie leads him to join the Texian Army. And the struggle for independence from the brutalities of Mexican President Santa Ana teaches Apple a valuable new skill: Killing. Working with Bowie, Sam Houston, Stephen Austin and their ragtag army, Apple becomes a secret courier and bloody advocate for the cause. As a calling card, he plants apple seeds in the chests of every soldier he slays-and sparks fear in the hearts of Santa Ana's men. But nothing could prepare him for the fate that awaited them at the Alamo Mission. Nothing could save his brothers in arms from the devastating slaughter that would go down in history. And now, for John Apple, nothing would be sweeter than revenge . . .