Dearest Dorothy, Merry Everything!

Dearest Dorothy, Merry Everything!
Author: Charlene Ann Baumbich
Publisher: Penguin
Total Pages: 276
Release: 2006-10-31
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 1440628548

Just in time for the holidays-a Partonville Christmas story that all Dearest Dorothy fans will have on their wish list Through four Dearest Dorothy novels, Charlene Ann Baumbich has beguiled a growing legion of readers with the humorous and endearing denizens of Partonville, Illinois. Her latest heartwarming addition opens with everyone pitching in to help a local family rocked by tragedy. Meanwhile, Katie Durbin worries that her ambitious plan to revitalize Partonville's shopping district will crumble under the bullheaded doubts of a few townies-unless a Christmas miracle (and a few of Dearest Dorothy's prayers) can help her to win those stubborn folks over.

Dearest Dorothy, Who Would Have Ever Thought?!

Dearest Dorothy, Who Would Have Ever Thought?!
Author: Charlene Ann Baumbich
Publisher: Penguin
Total Pages: 356
Release: 2005-08-30
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 1440627541

Charlene Ann Baumbich has won a loyal following of readers with the first three books in the Dearest Dorothy series, featuring the amusing and touching adventures of the townspeople of Partonville. Now Charlene Baumbich uses her wonderful gift of storytelling to celebrate the simple pleasures of life in this heartwarming and hilarious story. The fourth book in the series finds the residents of Partonville preparing for a festive Thanksgiving dinner at the local church. Amid assigning duties and preparing recipes, everyone tries to ignore bossy acting mayor Gladys McKern. Meanwhile, Jessica Joy struggles with an unexpected turn of events, Katie Durbin considers another real estate project, and Dearest Dorothy doles out advice and love in equal amounts to everyone.

Dearest Dorothy, Are We There Yet?

Dearest Dorothy, Are We There Yet?
Author: Charlene Ann Baumbich
Publisher: Penguin
Total Pages: 256
Release: 2004-01-27
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 9780142003794

For the legions of readers who enjoy books that celebrate life’s simple pleasures, eighty-seven-year-old Dorothy Jean Wetstra and her beloved farming town of Partonville, Illinois, will become instant favorites. In this hilarious, touching series, Charlene Ann Baumbich introduces readers to Dearest Dorothy, who tools around town in a 1976 Lincoln Continental nicknamed “The Tank,” plays bunco regularly with her pals, and grabs a stool at Harry’s counter often enough to stay on top of the latest-breaking news—which she is often creating. In the series debut, Dearest Dorothy, Are We There Yet?, Dorothy faces a decision that may change her town forever, and her gift for shaking things up comes in handy. In the second book, Dearest Dorothy, Slow Down, You're Wearing Us Out!, the town’s irresistible cast of characters is back in full swing as they confront some of the many surprises life sends their way. So pull up a chair and get ready for fireworks, laughter, and we’ll-get-through-it-all-with-faith friendships.

Stray Affections

Stray Affections
Author: Charlene Baumbich
Publisher: WaterBrook
Total Pages: 322
Release: 2009-09-15
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 0307458296

The last thing that Cassandra Higgins expects out of her Sunday is to be mesmerized at a collectors’ convention by a snowglobe. She’s enjoying some mommy time, with husband Ken at home tending their brood of four young boys, when she’s utterly charmed by the one-of-a kind globe containing figures of three dogs and a little girl with hair the color of her own. She can’t resist taking the unique globe home--even if means wrestling another shopper for it! The beautiful snowglobe sparks long-dormant memories for Cassie, of her beloved Grandpa Wonky, the stray she rescued as a child, and the painful roots of her combative relationship with her mother, “Bad Betty” Kamrowski. Life in Wanonishaw, Minnesota is never dull, though, and Cassie keeps the recollections at bay, busy balancing her boys, her home daycare operation, and being a good friend to best pal Margret. But after a strange–flurrious, as Cassie deems it–moment happens with the remarkable snowglobe, Cassie and the people she loves are swirled into a tumultuous, yet grace-filled, and life-changing journey. With the quirky, close-knit Midwestern small-town feel that made Charlene Ann Baumbich’s acclaimed Dearest Dorothy novels so popular, Stray Affections invites you to experience the laughter and the healing of second chances.

Lord of Falcon Ridge

Lord of Falcon Ridge
Author: Catherine Coulter
Publisher: Penguin
Total Pages: 372
Release: 1995-04-01
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 9780515115840

A classic Viking novel from the #1 New York Times bestselling author. When Chessa, the princess of Ireland, is kidnapped, Cleve rescues her to hand her over to her rightful groom, William of Normandy. But Chessa refuses to marry anyone but Cleve.

We Have Always Lived in the Castle

We Have Always Lived in the Castle
Author: Shirley Jackson
Publisher:
Total Pages: 188
Release: 1962
Genre: Castles
ISBN:

We Have Always Lived in the Castle is a deliciously unsettling novel about a perverse, isolated, and possibly murderous family and the struggle that ensues when a cousin arrives at their estate.

Dearest Dorothy, Slow Down, You're Wearing Us Out!

Dearest Dorothy, Slow Down, You're Wearing Us Out!
Author: Charlene Ann Baumbich
Publisher: Diversion Publishing Corp.
Total Pages: 268
Release: 2014-10-28
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 1626813892

“Be warned—this series is addictive. You’ll soon be hooked on the small town of Partonville and its cast of assorted characters” (BookReporter). In her late eighties, Dorothy Wetstra is still going strong—getting around in her 1976 Lincoln Continental (nicknamed “The Tank”), playing bunco with friends, and catching up on local events while sitting at the counter at Harry’s. But her beloved car seems to be ailing, and as Dorothy packs up her possessions at Crooked Creek Farm and prepares to move to Partonville, Illinois, she’s determined to find a silver lining. For example, her new home is conveniently located—perfect for her new life as a pedestrian—and she gets to decorate it any way she pleases! Plus, her new friends Katie and Josh will be relocating from Chicago to Crooked Creek Farm. As the moving process proves more arduous than expected, Dorothy realizes it may be time for her to slow down. But old habits die hard, and Dorothy’s routines will prove as hard to break as The Tank itself . . . “Fans of Jan Karon’s Mitford or Philip Gulley’s Harmony will revel in the antics of the residents of Partonville.” —Publishers Weekly

The Story of Fester Cat

The Story of Fester Cat
Author: Paul Magrs
Publisher: Penguin
Total Pages: 305
Release: 2014-11-04
Genre: Pets
ISBN: 0698161262

I always knew that the rest of my story is gonna be a good one. I don’t know how I knew that, but I always did. Ungow! I am Fester the cat. Welcome to my book, everyone! From when he first ambled into Paul Magrs’s yard—skinny, covered in flea bites, and missing all but one and a half teeth—Fester knew he’d found his family. Paul and his partner, Jeremy, thought it was the ragged black-and-white stray, tired from a rough life on the streets, who was in desperate need of support. But clever Fester knew better. He understood that it was his newfound owners who needed the help. Over the course of seven years, the feisty feline turned the quaint Manchester house into a loving home. Through his fierce spirit, strong will, and calming energy, Fester taught Paul and Jeremy how to listen and breathe, how to appreciate the joys of simply sitting and singing (what Fester’s purrs sounded like to his silly humans), and how to find joy and contentment in life, even when dealing with hardship. This is the true story of an extraordinary little cat whose gentle charm and trusting soul turned two young men into a family.

The Widows Club

The Widows Club
Author: Dorothy Cannell
Publisher: Bantam
Total Pages: 353
Release: 2012-03-21
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 0307816664

Stylish, amusing, and deliciously wicked—a superb murder mystery from the acclaimed author of The Thin Woman Divorce can end a marriage. Murder can do it better. Meet Ellie Haskell, née Simons, thin woman, newlywed, potential murderess. Her life in charming Chitterton Fells promises nothing but endless bliss—until she meets two of the most cunning and unlikely private eyes ever to track down a diabolical killer. Misses Hyacinth and Primrose Tramwell of Flowers Detection Agency have been called in by a major insurance company to investigate the deplorably high incidence of sudden death among the married men of this picturesque municipality. The spinster sleuths soon discover that all the husbands had been unfaithful and their deaths neatly arranged by an enterprising social organization called The Widows Club. But to find the mastermind behind this insidious ring, the Tramwells need an unhappy and betrayed wife. Enter Ellie, who will endanger life and husband to join The Widows Club and arrange to have her dearly beloved . . . dead.