Books published by Kensington Publishing

Daphne Templeton's sister Piper is getting married-and their mother is getting carried away. She insists on hiring Sylvan Creek's top event planner, Abigail Sinclair, who proposes an Independence Day theme complete with Statue of Liberty-inspired bridesmaid dresses. With all the bickering among the families, Daphne's glad her only duty right now is pet-sitting for Abby's cat, Ms. Peebles. But there are some fireworks coming that aren't part of the ceremony. The Poconos will never be the same . . . At a tension-filled dress fitting, the abrasive wedding planner is found strangled by a garter-a weapon both borrowed and blue. Now Daphne's services are required not just for organizing the big day, but for figuring out whether one of the in-laws is an outlaw . . . Includes recipes for homemade pet treats! "Doggone charming from start to finish!" -Cleo Coyle, New York Times bestselling author on Death by Chocolate Lab

A summer wedding, a college reunion, a gorgeous Maine beach house-it's the ideal setting for bestselling author Holly Chamberlin's captivating novel about the connections that shape us, sometimes break our hearts, and forever change our lives . . . Bess Culpepper has long been sure of two things-that her group of college friends would stay close, and that love is worth the wait. At forty-two, she's found the right man, and she's celebrating her upcoming wedding by inviting her best friends to beautiful Kennebunkport. Bess has always been at the helm of these reunions, herding everyone together despite distance and outside commitments. As usual, Marta and Mike journey from their home near New York City, while Chuck and his husband, Dean, travel from Los Angeles. But Allison, half of a devoted couple since college, is making the trip from Chicago without her husband, Chris. None of the others knows the reason for their impending divorce. There are other tensions too. The usually level-headed Marta is conspicuously on edge, and Chuck reveals devastating personal news. As reality encroaches on her dreams of the perfect gathering, Bess begins to second guess her assumptions about friendship and fidelity. If relationships like these, nurtured over decades, can flounder, how can any couple stay committed? Is it possible to truly know the ones we love-or even to predict where one's own path will lead?

Restaurant manager Dodie O''Dell''s themed food ideas have been called cute, clever, and delicious, but never revolutionary—until now. Dodie''s Windjammer Restaurant is stocking the Etonville Little Theatre''s concession stand with colonial-era desserts and drinks: Swamp Yankee applesauce cake, pumpkin bread, hot cider punch, and mulled wine to complement the latest production. A local playwright has adapted Thornton Wilder''s Our Town into Eton Town, shifting the story to colonial America and the founding of Etonville, New Jersey, shortly after the Revolutionary War.   On opening night, hours before the curtain rises, Dodie runs into an agitated actress backstage with blood on her hands. Then a stranger is found among the chairs set for a graveyard scene with a knife in his chest. The show will not go on—the theatre is now a crime scene. Hoping to clear the red-handed suspect, Dodie returns to the role of amateur sleuth to mull over the clues and beat the backstage stabber to the punch—before someone else becomes history . . .

Missy DuBois’s Louisiana hat studio is the destination for Southern brides who want to make a fashion statement. But designing headpieces isn’t her only talent, she’s also got a head for solving murders . . .It’s not uncommon for folks to live it up a little too much on New Year’s Eve. But when Missy walks into her parking lot at Crowning Glory on New Year’s Day and discovers professional wedding planner Charlotte Deveraux inside a whiskey barrel, the poor woman isn’t just hung over . . . she’s dead. Since the murder weapon was an old hat stand that belonged to Missy, her customers are cancelling appointments and everyone in town seems to be turning up their noses at her. Despite plenty of intrigue to motivate a hatful of suspects, suspicion keeps falling squarely on Missy. All the more reason to clear her name—or the next veil she designs will come in a shade of black . . .

From spirited young woman to reckless widow, the beautiful Marchioness of Hadley remains a force to be reckoned with. But beneath her antics lies a broken heart . . .Since her husband’s tragic death, Lady Charlotte Hadley has embarked on a path of careless behavior and dangerous hijinks from which no one can divert her . . . until suddenly, her first—and only—true love reenters her world. Their fiery romance was so scandalous Charlotte had no choice but to marry another, more suitable man. Surely now they are both free to pick up where they left off . . .Julian West has returned to London a hero after making a name for himself in battle at Waterloo. Every woman is vying for his attention—except the one who stole his heart. No matter, Julian has other obligations. But when Charlotte’s sister, Eleanor, charges him with protecting the widow from ruin, what ensues is another kind of battle—one that leads a chase from London’s bars and brothels to the finest country estate as Julian and Charlotte untangle a host of secrets, regrets, and misunderstandings. For could it be that the love they’ve forced themselves to forget is exactly what they need to remember? . . .

WELCOME TO DAMNATION . . . where every living soul is as dead as a doornail. Except one.   Buddy Baker is a dead man. Literally. After gunning down more men than Billy the Kid—and being hung by a rope necktie for his crimes—the jolly, fast-drawing fugitive reckoned he’d earned himself a nonstop ticket to hell. Instead, he finds himself in Damnation: a gun-slinging ghost town located somewhere between heaven and hell.   There are no laws in Damnation. Only two simple rules: If you get shot, you go directly to hell. If you stay alive without shooting anyone for one year, you just might get into heaven.   Hardened outlaws pass the time in the saloon playing poker and wagering on who will get sent to hell next, while trying not to anger the town’s reclusive vampire or the quarrelsome werewolves. Buddy winds up in everyone’s crosshairs after swearing to protect a pretty gal who arrives in Damnation pregnant. Her child might end up a warm-blooded meal for the supernatural residents, or it could be a demon spawn on a mission to destroy them all.   “A cast of delightfully distinctive, authentically funny outlaws, butting heads in a lazy afterlife saloon somewhere between heaven and hell define the setting of Casey’s weird western debut.” —Publishers Weekly   “Bitingly Funny.” —Vampires.com

Back on top . . .   R&B singer Chantel Evans had it all, until the Princess of Love Ballads lost everything. First, a very public betrayal by her lover and the death of her mother lead to a career-ending mental breakdown. Then, at the same time, her attorney makes off with all her hard-earned fortune. The only chance she has of resurrecting her career is in the recording studio her mother left in her name . . .   When struggling country star Truman Woodley has his recording duet with a sultry young singer fall flat at Chantel’s studio, Chantel is faced with a rare second chance—until Truman’s vindictive ex-girlfriend turns the pair’s sparkling debut into grounds for a custody battle over their son. But Chantel has discovered more than sweet vocal harmony with Truman. She’s found something worth fighting for. And when Truman surprises her with a kiss after a live television performance, the whole world will find out just what it takes to be crazy in love . . .   Praise for Crystal B. Bright   “Engaging characters you want to get to know better.” —Library Journal on The Look of Love