Lamar Public Library

Though not officially a Manning groom, James Wilkens almost became a part of the storied Manning clan -- because he almost married Christy Manning. James was jilted in a most auspicious manner -- his finacee got married to another man while they were engaged. With that broken engagement finally behind him, he spends New Year's Eve in Las Vegas, where he meets Summer Lawton--Cover.

"Lieutenant Jonathan Stride is suffering from an ugly case of deja vu. For the second time in a year, a beautiful teenage girl has disappeared off the streets of Duluth, Minnesota - gone without a trace, like a bitter gust off Lake Superior. The two victims couldn't be more different. First it was Kerry McGrath, bubbly, sweet sixteen, and now, Rachel Deese, strange, sexually charged, a wild child. The media hound Stride to catch a serial killer, and...

"Rainy lives at the top of Tiger Mountain. Cloistered in pine trees and fog, it's a sanctuary, a new life. She can hide from the past she wants to forget. When Rainy reluctantly agrees to a girls' weekend in Vegas, she's prepared for an exhausting parade of shots and slot machines. But after a wild night, her friend Braithe doesn't come back to the hotel room. And then Rainy gets the text message, sent from Braithe's phone: someone has her. But Rainy...

A mutilated body of a young woman is discovered in the desert and Detective Sergeant Romulus Poe sets out to determine who could have committed the murder and the brutal desecration that followed. His team of investigators include the tall and lusty Steve Jensen, novice Patricia Deluca, and medical examiner Rukmani Kalil. The relations between the four are complex and add depth to this tale of deadly dealings: Poe carries a torch for Jensen's mentally...

The Price family--Viola, the matriarch; her sometimes-husband Cecil; and their four adult children--sticks together through life's most trying circumstances.

When one of their own, Reuben Tishkoff, partners and builds a casino and hotel with double-crossing casino owner Willy Bank in Las Vegas, the last thing he ever wanted was to get cut out of the deal by the loathsome Bank. Bank even goes so far as to finding amusement in Tishkoff's misfortune when the double-crossing lands Reuben in the hospital because of a heart attack. However, Danny and his crew won't stand for Bank and what he's done to a friend....

Anita Blake's reputation has taken some hits. Not on the work front, where she has the highest kill count of all the legal vampire executioners in the country, but on the personal front. No one seems to trust a woman who sleeps with the monsters. Still, when a vampire serial killer sends her a head from Las Vegas, Anita has to warn Sin City's local authorities what they're dealing with. Only it's worse than she thought. Police officers and one executioner...

"After a brush with death while chasing down a brutal murderer with the FBI, serial killer expert Dr. Charlotte Stone wants nothing more than to retire to her research on criminal psychology. But when a colleague, Special Agent Lena Kaminsky, suspects her missing sister has fallen prey to the vicious Cinderella Killer, Charlie rushes to her side. Along with Special Agents Tony Bartoli and Buzz Crane--and of course, Michael Garland, the ever-present,...

"With the women of the Sisterhood away on a covert assignment, their significant others could be expected to kick back and enjoy a little drama-free downtime. But that's not the way Jack, Ted, Harry, Charles, and the rest of their comrades roll. An urgent call has come to the headquarters of their organization, BOLO Consultants. Bert Navarro, head of security for Countess Anna de Silva, suspects that Annie's deluxe casino, Babylon, is being stealthily...

"Lucky O'Toole--head of customer relations at The Babylon, premier mega-resort on the Vegas Strip--thinks it's just another night in Las Vegas. Her employer is hosting a big car show, supposed to be a fun event with her honey. But Lucky's day takes a turn for the worse when a beautiful woman with a stiletto heel embedded in her carotid artery is found on the hood of the featured red Ferrari going around on the display. On the personal front, Lucky...