Wounded by her past, can Keziah recognize the workings of Adonai, who was the God of Israel, and experience the healing touch of love? Set against the backdrop of David and Bathsheba's story, Keziah and Isaac learn that trusting God-and each other-will give them the life they desire.The Desires of the Heart is part of Kathy Hawkins' historical fiction series, The Heart of Zion, which takes you on a journey through the lives of fictional characters in the biblical stories of David and Solomon.

Stoneybrook is preparing for a special lighting ceremony at the winter carnival, and Karen has a plan to be the one chosen to throw the master switch. (Digest) .

From Publishers WeeklySister Fidelma and Brother Eadulf, her Saxon monk sidekick, are on their way to Gleann Geis, a remote pagan community in southwest Ireland, when they run across a horrible massacre: 33 young men have been ritually killed, their bodies laid out in a pattern peculiar to the ancient Druid faith. (As her fans know from the five novels in this well-researched series, most recently The Spider's Web, religious and political tensions simmer in seventh-century Ireland, though with its sophisticated legal system and fair treatment of women, it is one of Dark Age Europe's more civilized societies.) At Gleann Geis, the pair stumble on another murder, for which Sister Fidelma is arrested. The meek Eadulf has an easier time mounting a clever defense of his mentor than he does fending off the advances of the local chieftain's precocious 14-year-old niece. Released from confinement, Sister Fidelma is free to make full use of her sharp analytical powers to figure out who is behind the massacre and the seemingly unrelated murder of which she was unjustly accused. She does not disappoint. At the climax, the religieuse explains all, untangling a complex web of intrigue that moves from one surprising revelation to the next. While adept at plotting, Tremayne has an annoying habit of overusing adverbs. A door opens "boisterously," a mouth droops "pessimistically," while characters smile "thinly," "wanly," "warmly," "gravely," "grimly," "apologetically" and "maliciously." In the future one hopes that the author--or his editor--will put as much faith in plain verbs as Sister Fidelma does in her God. (Mar.) Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc. From Library JournalSeventh-centruy Irish princess Fidelma (The Spider's Web), late of the sisterhood at Kldare, negotiates witha pagan worrror-chieftain on the behalf of her king/brother. Hidden Valley, however, she and companion Brother Eadulf discover 33 ritually slaughtered young men laid out in a circle. Since her object is to establish a Christian church and school in the area, Fidelma vows to investigate the crime. Firmly set in a wild, dangerous time but featuring well bred and educated protagonists, this historical teaches as it entertains. Recommended.Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Behind the men who shaped history are the heroes who forever changed it. In The Warrior, * beloved author Francine Rivers illuminates the life of Caleb, a man whose faith and zeal for God helped lead God's people into the Promised Land. Discover a man full of passion, humility, and faith; a man who encouraged Joshua and stood strong in the face of sin. The Warrior* also includes a Bible study on the life of Caleb, suitable for individual use or group discussion.

A New York Times Notable Book of the Year Winner of the Mountains and Plains Book Seller's Association Award "Sprawling in scope. . . . Mr. Egan uses the past powerfully to explain and give dimension to the present." --The New York Times "Fine reportage . . . honed and polished until it reads more like literature than journalism." --Los Angeles Times "They have tried to tame it, shave it, fence it, cut it, dam it, drain it, nuke it, poison it, pave it, and subdivide it," writes Timothy Egan of the West; still, "this region's hold on the American character has never seemed stronger." In this colorful and revealing journey through the eleven states west of the 100th meridian, Egan, a third-generation westerner, evokes a lovely and troubled country where land is religion and the holy war between preservers and possessors never ends. Egan leads us on an unconventional, freewheeling tour: from America's oldest continuously inhabited community, the Ancoma Pueblo in New Mexico, to the high kitsch of Lake Havasu City, Arizona, where London Bridge has been painstakingly rebuilt stone by stone; from the fragile beauty of Idaho's Bitterroot Range to the gross excess of Las Vegas, a city built as though in defiance of its arid environment. In a unique blend of travel writing, historical reflection, and passionate polemic, Egan has produced a moving study of the West: how it became what it is, and where it is going. "The writing is simply wonderful. From the opening paragraph, Egan seduces the reader. . . . Entertaining, thought provoking." --The Arizona Daily Star Weekly "A western breeziness and love of open spaces shines through Lasso the Wind. . . . The writing is simple and evocative." --The Economist From the Trade Paperback edition.

The Malefactor

The second volume of the Exiles series pits sister against sister in a battle of magic, power, and long-held family secretsFor generations, the Mage Guardians and the Lords of Malerris have waged a secret war against one another—and the world of Lenfell has paid the price. And though the Mage Guardians came close to being destroyed in the last confrontation, the Malerrisi were ultimately forced to withdraw, relinquishing much of the control they had gained. But their retreat has not been as complete as it seems. Glenin, former First Daughter of Ambrai, is determined to have her revenge and regain her power, plotting the ruin of her sisters, Sarra, Councillor of Sheve, and Cailet, the new Mage Captal, while the Malerissi—under Glenin's leadership—once again begin weaving a web with which to entangle their entire world. And even as Cailet's dream of a restored Mage Hall becomes a reality, and Sarra's legal reforms offer the hope of greater...

Too many people see Rutherford, Minnesota, as a safe haven, an escape from the woes of the big cities, like St. Paul or Minneapolis. For Jake Hines - recently promoted to Chief of detectives in Rutherford - however, the picture is different. He's too aware of the deterioration of the old downtown section, and too involved in dealing with the kids who've turned to drugs, not only as a habit but as a way to get rich quick. And he knows that many of those kids - users and dealers alike - aren't local. It's because of those dealers that he's now facing a Critical Incident debriefing. As Jake puts it: "Dodging an occasional bullet is an inconvenience I can live with, but spilling my guts in public is not." He's saved from the ordeal when word comes of a robbery at a bar in the center of the city. It's a place he knows: He worked there once, and, like most of the men and boys back then, he really liked the owner, a woman named Babe. Rescuing her from the chair she's been duct-taped to is easy, but it's only the beginning; it releases a trail of robbery and murder that leads Jake to places he never expected to have to go in Rutherford, no matter how much it may have changed.

Witches. Ghosts. An ancient secret. Enter a world of myth and magic through this contemporary fantasy reimagining of Jane Austen's beloved classic, Sense and Sensibility.The small New England town of Tarryville, Maine is steeped in history, having been settled by the Dartwood and Farris families who fled Salem during the witch trials. The Dartwood sisters, Eden, Mariah, and Melissa, unexpectedly return home after their parents are found murdered. Upon their arrival, the girls are plagued by dreams in which dark spectral beings haunt them. When the hellish creatures seem to be more than just nightmares, another mystery begins to unravel as they discover that the circumstances around the murder of their parents may be far more menacing than they appear. Frantic for answers, they must untangle the mystery of their parents' murders and reconstruct the pieces of an ancient secret. With the help of the young assistant...

From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Orphan Train, and the critically acclaimed author of Bird in Hand and The Way Life Should Be, comes a novel about friendship and the memories that haunt us—includes a special PS section featuring insights, interviews, and more. On the night of her high school graduation, Kathryn Campbell sits around a bonfire with her four closest friends, including the beautiful but erratic Jennifer.  “I’ll be fine,” Jennifer says, as she walks away from the dying embers and towards the darkness of the woods. She never came back. Ten years later, Kathryn has tried to build a life for herself, with a marriage and a career as a journalist, but she still feels the conspicuous void of Jennifer’s disappearance. When her divorce sends her reeling back to the Maine town where she grew up, she finds herself plunged into a sea of memories. With nothing left to lose, she is determined to answer one simple question: What ever happened to Jennifer Pelletier?

***Return to Newford Familiar to Charles de Lint's ever-growing audience as the setting of the novels Moonheart, Forests of the Heart, The Onion Girl*, and many others, Newford is the quintessential North American city, tough and streetwise on the surface and rich with hidden magic for those who can see. In the World Fantasy Award-winning Moonlight and Vines, de Lint returns to this extraordinary city for another volume of stories set there, featuring the intertwined lives of many characters from the novels. Here is enchantment under a streetlamp: the landscape of our lives as only Charles de Lint can show it.

Lady Noelle Bromleigh is determined to unravel the mystery shrouding her birth. She coaxes information from her loving adoptive parents -- information on the unscrupulous Franco Baricci, who seduced and abandoned her mother. But knowledge alone is not enough, for Noelle can't rest until she makes peace with her past. Despite the danger Baricci represents, she travels to London to investigate him. There, she finds both peril and excitement greater than she ever imagined when she meets an enigmatic but seductive stranger with a dark mission. Ashford Thornton, the earl of Tremlett, is hot on the trail of the art thief Baricci, and he has good reason to suspect that lovely Noelle could be involved. She may seem an innocent, but her interest in Baricci is highly suspect. And even if Noelle isn't Baricci's accomplice, Ashford cannot afford to let her steal his heart. For Baricci is not the only man with secrets -- and the one Ashford is hiding could endanger the woman he is fast coming to love.

From School Library JournalYA-Braun continues the adventures of the odd, but successful, sleuthing team of Jim Quilleran and his cats. When Koko begins knocking books off the library shelf, Jim knows that his feline is once again using his unusual talents to prophesy future events of the murderous kind. Taking hints from the cat, and clues from the murder of his elderly neighbor and the disappearance of a young artist, the man sorts out the motive for and perpetrator behind the mayhem. By providing background on the various characters and their relationships and mentioning previous events, the author makes sure that even first timers to the series can enjoy this title. The strongly defined personalities of the main characters lend interest and the plot has realistic complexities that assure a steady turning of pages. Braun's use of details and discussions about everyday events enhances the feeling of community interconnections and concerns. Koko's quirky predictions and other cat-ly antics add spice to an already enticing mystery. A light, entertaining whodunit that offers the added appeal of cats and their often mysterious ways.Pam Johnson, Fairfax County Public Library, VACopyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc. From Kirkus ReviewsMore dire doings in Pickax (``400 miles north of everywhere''), where bachelor zillionaire Jim Qwilleran keeps a paternalistic eye on the town from his opulent barn house and his columnist job on Moose County Something, the local paper. Pickax has been saddened by the death of 93-year-old recluse Maude Coggin in a supposedly accidental fire in her decrepit house soon after she'd sold her hundred-acre farm, at a giveaway price, to buyers called Northern Land Improvement. Qwill's suspicions of this deal, reinforced by prescient cats Koko and Yum Yum, lead to his finding the company nonexistent. Some big-time chicanery is afoot, not to mention other odd happenings: a break-in and theft at the recently opened art center; an old scandal new to Qwill; the misgivings of boutique owner Elizabeth Hart about her boyfriend Derek's being offered a job as manager of Chet's Barbecuea downscale bar owned by town councilman Chet Ramsbottom. And then there's young butterfly-breeder Phoebe Sloan, whose unsavory boyfriend Jake is bartender at Chet's. When the town's major annual event takes placeit's a spelling beePhoebe is missing from her team. With help from Qwill and, of course, Koko and Yum Yum, the discovery of her body in Bloody Creek brings about the downfall of Pickax's corrupting elements. Braun's terminally arch mixture (The Cat Who Could Read Backwards, 1997, etc.) is even more extreme than before as confusion reigns, characters proliferate, and Qwill, with his second-sighted assistants, once more solves Pickax's problems. -- Copyright ©1998, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.