Showing results by narrator "Carolyne Leys" in All Categories

Lanie Anders has a perfectly ordered life. From her half-foam morning latte to her high-powered executive job—she controls every outcome. But when her house burns to the ground in mysterious circumstances, her life is thrown into confusion. Searching for some kind of purpose, she stumbles across a century-old mystery and flees to Piney Falls, Oregon, an oceanside hamlet with a curious past. But something isn’t quite right in the picturesque town. Her neighbor speaks in riddles, the death rate is alarmingly high, and the impossibly handsome town baker is hiding something.

In a historic mansion outside of Piney Falls, dark rumors have swirled for over a century. Strange occupants, mysterious disappearances and unexplained deaths have frightened the locals away from Naybor Manor.

Piper Moonlight is tired of constantly looking over her shoulder, afraid of the remaining Fallen Branch cult members. She decides the best place to land is in Piney Falls, Oregon, where the cult originated. At least everyone there knows her story and she'll be safe. When she arrives, she finds employment under the watchful eye of Cosmo Hill, also a former Fallen Branch member, at his bakery. Cosmo doesn't trust Piper or her story. He enlists the help of his fiancée, marketing wonder and super sleuth Lanie Anders, to uncover the truth of Piper's past.

Words matter. They wound, they inflate, they define, they demean. They have nuance and power. "Effortless", "Sassy", "Ambitious", "Aggressive": What subtle digs and sneaky implications are conveyed when women are described with words like these? Words are made into weapons, warnings, praise, and blame, bearing an outsized influence on women's lives - to say nothing of our moods.