Bøker av Denise Grover Swank

***Previously titled Blind Bake***When a young woman is at the wrong place at the wrong time, she becomes a person of interest in a murder investigation.Maddie Baker just wants to make ends meet. She gave up her school librarian career to return to her hometown and take care of her elderly aunt. So when she starts making Uber runs to supplement her barista job, she never dreamt she'd not only drop a man off to his murder but be labeled a person of interest in his death.Detective Noah Langley is looking for a fresh start in a city with a lower crime rate and a fraction of the population of Memphis. It's just what he needs to recover from a nightmare that left him severely injured and his teenage mentee dead. The first murder since he's arrived in Cockamamie is a chance to prove to his boss and himself he should be there.Noah doesn't have many leads, but the few he has all tie back to one person: Maddie Baker. She doesn't seem the type, but the last time he presumed someone was innocent he nearly died. Has Noah lost his instincts? Because if he can't trust his gut, it might be time to turn in his badge.

Welcome to Lone County, Arkansas, where every corner holds a secret, and the past is never really buried.Disgraced ex-detective Harper Adams has traded her badge for a desk job at her father's law firm, a move as dull as the small town she's returned to. But things take a turn when a local woman wants to declare her missing husband dead, five years after his mysterious disappearance.With her father's firm representing the missing man's wife, Harper seizes the opportunity to delve back into her investigative roots. Her search leads her back to James Malcolm, a former crime boss turned tavern owner, who has his finger on the pulse of every shadowed corner. His offer to help with her investigation catches her by surprise.Why would a former criminal offer his help unless he has something to gain?

When Rose reports for Fenton County jury duty she figures she's lucky to get out of a morning working at the DMV. Instead, despite a disastrous encounter with the new assistant district attorney, Mason Deveraux, she's picked as a juror on a murder case. As the trial progresses, she realizes an ominous vision she had in the men's restroom proves the defendant is innocent. And there's not a cotton-picking thing she can do about it.Or is there?As if things weren't bad enough, Rose's older sister Violet is going through a mid-life crisis. Violet insists that Rose stop seeing her sexy new boyfriend, Arkansas state detective Joe Simmons, and date other men. Rose is done letting people boss her around, but she can't commit to Joe either. Still, Rose isn't about to let the best thing in her life slip away.

Rose Gardner collects secrets the way other people collect junk-and now she's being asked to expose them. Special Prosecutor Mason Deveraux has called a grand jury to investigate the corruption in the Sweet Branch Police Department, and he's summoned Rose as a witness. Any topic is fair game, and the criminals in Fenton county are rightly scared of what she might share under oath.While trying to placate the lawless men, Rose is also caring for her dying sister, Violet. Only Violet's doctor has fled town after selling prescriptions, and Rose is sure big-time drug dealer Denny Carmichael has his hand in the situation. She has no intention of investigating, but like with a lot of her cases, clues keep falling into her lap.Then, just when it feels like everything's at a boiling point, Rose gets shocking news that turns her life upside down. Now, she's not just soothing the criminals' anxiety, but actively seeking allies for a fight she hasn't asked for-and her enemy just might be the man she loves.

Book Four in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and USA Today bestselling Rose Gardner Mystery Series. One stalker on the loose. Thirty-one regrets for Rose to overcome. While Rose recovers from a broken heart, she finds herself at odds with her sister-and business partner-Violet. Rose buries herself in her landscaping work, but becomes worried when her employee and friend, Bruce Wayne Decker, goes missing. In the meantime, Fenton County assistant D.A., Mason Deveraux has been patiently waiting to begin a relationship with Rose, but she realizes she needs to confront the demons of her past before she can embrace a new future. She needs to find out the truth about her birth mother. But her past isn't her only demon. An undercurrent of tension has been spreading through Henryetta, Arkansas since drug lord, Daniel Crocker's arrest six months ago. Still, she's not prepared for a nightmare come true: Crocker's escape from prison. Crocker carries a grudge and he's determined to make Rose pay, but he plays a game of cat and mouse, forcing Mason and the Fenton County Sheriff's department to hide Rose on her birth mother's farm. But will it be enough to save her?

It's time for Carly to go home...The final book in the Carly Moore series. Carly had every intention of heading to Dallas to bring down her father, but not as Wyatt Drummond's hostage. After Wyatt kidnaps her at gunpoint and threatens to turn her over to her father-the man she's spent the past nine months hiding from-she explains that his plan will get them both killed. But then he has a surprising revelation she's not sure she should believe.Marco Roland is devastated when he realizes his girlfriend has been kidnapped, and he'll do anything to save her. Even if it means crossing lines he never thought he'd breach. And back in Drum, Tennessee, Max Drummond is forced to confront ugly truths about his family's past and present.With the help of old friends, Carly must decide who can best help her confront her father with proof of his lies and deceptions. If she doesn't end up murdered first...

In the second book of the USA Today bestselling series, Carly looks into a young woman's disappearance while trying to hide her own dark secrets.Carly Moore is finally feeling settled in Drum, Tennessee. She likes her job waitressing at Max's Tavern AND her boyfriend... she should have known both were too good to be true.The previous waitress Lula unexpectedly returns, threatening Carly's job and stability in Drum. But when Lula disappears, Carly is the only one who believes she didn't leave of her own violation. Lula has a few secrets of her own, and one person is front and center on Carly's suspect list-the town's drug lord.Teaming up with Marco Roland-a Hensen County Deputy on medical leave-to help find out what happened to Lula, they soon realize her disappearance has ties to Drum's past.Someone doesn't want stones overturned, and they'll go to deadly lengths to keep the truth hidden. Can Carly and Marco find Lula before it's too late?

A woman fleeing her past finds more than she bargains for in a new suspense series by New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and USA Today bestselling author Denise Grover Swank. A woman on the run with no one to trust. With the ink barely dry on her new identity, Cary Moore just wants to disappear...but fate has other plans.Broken down car, next to nothing in her bank account, Carly is stuck in a Smoky Mountain town that time has forgotten. Drum is riddled with secrets and outsiders are eyed with distrust. Still, it isn't until she witnesses a cold-blooded murder in a darkened parking lot, that she realizes she's escaped one nightmare, only to land in another.As the clock ticks down and more bodies pile up, Carly doesn't know who to trust. If she doesn't stop the killers, they just might stop her...permanently.

Book two in the USA Today bestselling The Wedding Pact series. Divorce attorney Blair Hansen is convinced that marriage should be based on practicality, not passion. But as her own wedding approaches, she finds herself remembering her law school boyfriend, the only man she's ever loved, and regretting what might have been. Then a twist of fate lands Garrett back in her life, and the man who loomed large in her past is suddenly casting a shadow over her wedding, making her question everything. To complicate matters further, the job she loves is in peril, and she can feel the 'perfect' life she's fashioned for herself start to crumble under her feet. Could everything she's believed about life and love be wrong? Garrett Lowry is a divorce attorney who's ready to settle down. The problem is that he can't find a woman who suits him nearly as well as the one he loved and lost. He broke her heart by playing the field after their break up-something he's always regretted. But after months of pining for Blair, Garrett stumbles across her in a freak coincidence-and then destiny keeps throwing them together, the coincidences becoming ever more unlikely. He's convinced it's a sign they should give their love a second chance, but Blair is engaged to another man-a man who is absolutely wrong for her. Can Garrett convince Blair that a player once isn't a player forever, and that happy endings aren't just for dreamers?

The third book in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and USA Today bestselling Rose Gardner Mystery series. One suspicious preacher in town. Thirty excuses for Rose to dig up the truth. Life in Henryetta, Arkansas is turned upside down with the arrival of a televangelist, but it's the death of a little old lady on Rose's street that catches her attention. The Henryetta police deem her death natural causes, but Rose suspects foul play, and so does an unlikely supporter- the president of the Busy Body Club, her eighty-two-year-old neighbor Mildred. But Rose is in the middle of opening her nursery with her sister Violet, who's separated from her husband Mike, as well as stalling her boyfriend Joe's family, rich socialites who are determined to meet her. Along with her multiple encounters with Fenton County's new assistant DA, Mason Deveraux III, it's just another day in the life of Rose Gardner- chaos.

The third book in the four book USA Today bestselling Magnolia Steele Mystery series.When Magnolia Steele started digging into her father's disappearance, she had no idea she'd find so much dirt. The secrets she unearthed have changed the official story of what happened to him. Everyone other than her now believes that he embezzled from a client with the help of several accomplices, one of whom got greedy and killed the rest, but Magnolia's convinced there's more to it. She finds plenty of conflicting evidence, including startling links between several recent deaths and her father's past.As if she didn't have worries enough, someone has hidden cameras in her apartment, and the stalker who's been tormenting her amps up his campaign. She wants to trust someone with her secrets, but who? The police are out-there's someone crooked on the force, and she has reason to believe it's her maybe-boyfriend's best friend-and even the people closest to her are suspect. Her sister-in-law and her sinfully attractive friend, Colt, both have agendas of their own; her mother is as tight-lipped as a vault; and in addition to having shady connections, her policeman suitor has a troubling secret.Before she gets very far in her investigation, a murderer strikes again in Franklin, and this time the victim is someone she knows. The message is clear-step back and keep quiet-but to Magnolia Steele, it's a call to action.

The third book in the New York Times and USA Today bestselling The Wedding Pact series.Libby St. Clair believes in fate-so much so, she's willing to pin everything on a curse a fortune teller placed on her and her two best friends when they were kids. The curse, that each of them will marry before thirty, have a disaster of a wedding, and end up with a man other than her original fiancé, has come to fruition for both of her friends, who are now deliriously happy. But Libby's attempt to quick-start the curse by proposing to her wrong-for-her boyfriend ends in a wild dash from the altar. She's rescued by her friend Noah, the only person who understands her impulsive decisions--because he's the same way. Having spent most of his adulthood fleeing responsibility and commitment, Noah McMillan is finally ready to grow up. Of course, figuring out how is still a work in progress. When he realizes he's in love with Libby, he flies to Kansas City to put a stop to her wedding. But Libby's already pulled a runaway bride. Eager to cheer her up and prove that he can be the man she deserves, he takes her on a madcap car trip that will bring them all the way to the City of Sin. In Vegas, those who risk it all either win big or lose everything, so what will happen if Libby and Noah take a gamble on love? The Wedding Pact Series: #1 The Substitute (Megan) #2 The Player (Blair) #3 The Gambler (Libby)

First book in the four book USA Today bestselling Magnolia Steele Mystery series by the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and USA Today bestselling author, Denise Grover Swank.Ten years ago, Magnolia Steele fled Franklin, Tennessee after an incident that left her with hazy memories and a horror of the place where she had been born and bred. Though her abrupt departure destroyed most of her relationships, she vowed never to return . . . until she has no choice. When Magnolia's breakout acting role in a Broadway musical ends in disgrace, there's only one place she can go.Magnolia reluctantly agrees to help her mother's catering company at a party for a country music star, only to find herself face-to-face with a sleazy music agent from her past. After a very public spat, Magnolia not only finds him dead but herself center stage in the police's investigation. Now she must scramble to prove her innocence, relying on the help of acquaintances old and new.But the longer Magnolia stays in Franklin, the more she remembers about the incident that chased her away. The past might not be finished with her yet, and what she doesn't remember could be her biggest danger.

Megan Vandemeer meant to tell her parents about her broken engagement, but a month and a half later she finds herself boarding a plane home to her wedding. Having stretched avoidance to its limits, it's time to come clean--a terrifying prospect since her mother is sure to blame her rather than her cheating, emotionally frigid ex. A couple of drinks and two Dramamine later, Megan finds herself spilling her sob story to the tall, dark, and handsome stranger in the seat next to her. With only one week left to save his business, Josh McMillan boards a plane to Kansas City in a last-ditch effort, leaving the details to chance. An unexpected answer is delivered in the form of the beautiful brunette beside him. Though she's completely loopy, her honesty, openness, and humor charm him. So when she passes out before landing, he helps her off the plane--a good deed that leads to a colossal misunderstanding. Her parents assume he's her fiancé. In a twist of fate, the mix-up might help Josh save his business, so he plays along, figuring he can help Megan too. All he has to do is stage a public break up convincing enough to appease her mother. Josh is only supposed to be a substitute groom, but the more time he and Megan spend together, the more their pretend engagement starts to feel real...and the less they want to break it off. Can a relationship that began as a farce turn into happily ever after?

Fourth and final book in the USA Today bestselling Magnolia Steele Mystery series.Magnolia Steele has nothing left to lose. Her once-beloved father has been unmasked as a criminal, her mother is dead, and her two closest allies-her boyfriend and her sister-in-law-have broken her trust. Worse, the serial killer who has tormented her since her return to Franklin has escalated his behavior. Everyone around her encourages her to run away or hide, but Magnolia is determined stand her ground. She intends to identify the serial killer herself, even if she has to burn every last bridge to do it.Her one lead is the apparent link between her father and the murders. Unsure of whom to trust, she forms a temporary alliance with a detective who's on the outs with the Franklin police force. Together, they dig into the past for clues, but Magnolia doesn't limit herself to secondary sources. Her father is still in town, very intent on a reunion, and her brother might finally be ready to talk about their shared past...As the situation escalates, Magnolia discovers that she has inherited her mother's steel backbone. It will help her distinguish friend from foe, and it might just be her best hope for surviving her curtain call.

Book five in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and USA Today bestselling Rose Gardner Mystery series. One bank robbery in Henryetta. Thirty-two complications to Rose's business. There's no denying trouble finds Rose Gardner like a divining rod finds water, especially when Rose finds herself in the middle of a bank robbery. But after the robbers steal her deposit bag-containing a large amount of cash-she soon finds out that thanks to her sister Violet's financial mismanagement, trouble is threatening her business as well. To top it off, Rose's ex-boyfriend Joe Simmons has moved back to Henryetta to fill the chief deputy sheriff position. Rose's involvement as a witness is the perfect opportunity for Joe to reinsert himself into her life. But Mason Deveraux, Fenton County Assistant District Attorney and Rose's new boyfriend, has waited too long for Rose to give her up without a fight. Rose's pregnant best friend, Neely Kate, suggests they find the robbers using Rose's visions and Neely Kate's knowledge about everything in town. The women are soon hot on the trail of the stolen money, but Rose is caught off guard when Neely Kate's snoopiness detects the biggest complication of all: Rose might be expecting a baby of her own.

The third book in the Carly Moore series by Denise Grover Swank.The dead can't speakAfter months of living in the Smoky Mountains town of Drum, Tennessee, Carly knows firsthand the financial hardship the citizens face. Still, she can't muster the same excitement as everyone else when town patriarch Bart Drummond breaks ground on his new resort that promises more jobs and money.But the project comes to a screeching halt when the construction crew unearths a grisly discovery-an unmarked grave. The discovery threatens Carly's ex-boyfriend when the authorities learn the body belongs to his old girlfriend who had supposedly left town...and Wyatt is suspect number one.Carly's sure Wyatt's innocent, even if the rest of the town, and more importantly, the sheriff's department, is ready to lock him up. Carly has moved on from Wyatt, but now he's asking for her help to clear his name. In exchange, he'll tell her what he knows about his father. Information that will help her bring Bart down.But danger lurks around every corner, and as Carly puts her life on the line to help the man who betrayed her, she begins to question everything and everyone around her...especially Wyatt Drummond.

The sixth book in the Rose Gardner Investigations series.For months, Rose has suspected her ex-brother-in-law, has a foot in the criminal world, and she's equally sure her deceased sister had the evidence to prove it-evidence stolen days just days after Violet's death. Those suspicions turn concrete when a body shows up at the construction site Mike works at, and the concrete cracks open wide when her niece and nephew go missing. Rose might be weeks away from delivering her own baby, she that doesn't stop her and her best friend, Neely Kate, from looking for the kids. She needs answers and fast, but her search leads her to the man who betrayed her months ago... the father of her baby. James "Skeeter" Malcolm has been playing games with her for months-refusing to relinquish her paternity but refusing to tell her why. James knows what Mike is up to-Rose is sure of it-but can she convince him to tell help before it's too late?

He's everyone's dream man but hers.BrynI used to believe in what we do at Mayberry Matchmakers, but now? Love is just another four-letter word.Too bad my grandmother hasn't gotten the memo. When tech billionaire Rory Byrne approaches us, wanting to develop the matchmaking app my sister and I dreamed up (and Nana shot down), she jumps at the chance. My grandmother is nothing if not opportunistic.Of course, there's a catch. She'll only do it if Rory lets us matchmake him the old-fashioned way.He's going to say no.Please God, let him say no.The last thing I want to do is matchmake an entitled rich jerk...especially one who looks like sin and talks a good game.***RoryI've screwed up in love a few times, but I never screw up in business. Mayberry Matchmakers has the idea for something amazing, and I have the money and the experience to make it come to life.I should deny Nana Mayberry's condition. If I let them matchmake me, it'll be all over the news, and making headlines has never interested me...especially not after the personal betrayal that nearly broke me. But I'm having trouble caring about what I should do, because Bryn Mayberry is smart, snarky, and not the slightest bit impressed with me.Actually, this may be Mayberry Matchmakers' easiest job yet.

The second book in the four book USA Today bestselling Magnolia Steele Mystery series.Magnolia may have escaped arrest for murder, but her troubles are far from behind her. She's still haunted by two things from her past-her father's disappearance when she was a teen, and the other...well, her memories of a serial killer have returned, but it's best left where it belongs-in the past.Needing closure, Magnolia decides to look into her father's cold case. Though the town gossips are convinced he ran away with his client's wife and money, she has always suspected foul play. Talking to a few of his old acquaintances seems harmless enough-until the man she's arranged to meet turns up dead. There's evidence someone murdered him to keep him quiet, and she realizes that whatever conspiracy her father was mixed up in is far from over; it's entering its second act.If Magnolia keeps digging, she's not sure she can trust her own mother to help her, let alone her new friends and the police detective who's eager to woo her, but after years of running, she's ready to stand her ground.

With a friend's child missing, and the police failing, disgraced ex-detective Harper enlists the aid of a former crime boss to untangle a mystery that strikes too close to home.Disgraced, ex-detective Harper Adams is perfectly content wallowing at rock bottom. She's lost her job, house, and reputation, and it only gets worse when she's forced to move back home to Jackson Creek, Arkansas, the one place she swore she'd never return.But everything changes when she gets chilling news. A childhood friend's daughter is missing...and it's eerily reminiscent of Harper's sister's kidnapping and murder two decades ago.Not her business.Except with the police fumbling the case at every turn, Harper realizes she might be the only one who can save the girl.And she might need the help of James Malcolm, a former crime boss, to do it.

USA TODAY Bestseller Scarlett Goodwin's world is divided into Before and After. Before she agreed to tutor Tucker Price, college junior Scarlett was an introvert, struggling with her social anxiety disorder and determined to not end up living in a trailer park like her mother and her younger sister. A mathematics major, she goes to her classes, to her job in the tutoring lab, and then hides in the apartment she shares with her friend, Caroline. After junior Tucker Price, Southern University's star soccer player enters the equation, her carefully plotted life is thrown off its axis. Tucker's failing his required College Algebra class. With his eligibility at risk, the university chancellor dangles an expensive piece of computer software for the math department if Scarlett agrees to privately tutor him. Tucker's bad boy, womanizer reputation makes Scarlett wary of any contact, let alone spending several hours a week in close proximity. But from her first encounter, she realizes Tucker isn't the person everyone else sees. He carries a mountain of secrets which she suspects hold the reason for his self-destructive behavior. But the deeper she delves into the cause of his pain, the deeper she gets sucked into his chaos. Will Scarlett find the happiness she's looking for, or will she be caught in Tucker's aftermath? Off the Subject series (stand-alone books)Aftermath (Scarlett's story)Redesigned (Caroline's story)Business as Usual (Lexi's story)

INCLUDES the short story "Once in a Lifetime."Sixteen year old Julia Phillips buries herself in guilt after killing her best friend Monica in a car accident. Julia awoke in the hospital with a broken leg, a new talent for drawing and false memories of the accident, in which she dies and Monica lives. The doctors attribute this to her head injury, but no one can explain how a bracelet engraved with her name ended up at the scene of the accident. A bracelet no one has ever seen before.Classmate Evan Whittaker paid Julia no attention before the accident, let alone after. Now suddenly he's volunteering to tutor her and offering to drive her home. She can't ignore that his new obsession started after his two-day disappearance last week and that he wears a pendant she's been drawing for months. When the police show up one night looking for Evan, he begs Julia to run with him, convincing her that Monica is still alive. Julia agrees to go, never guessing where he's really from.

Ten years ago, Magnolia Steele fled Franklin, Tennessee after an incident that left her with hazy memories and a horror of the place where she had been born and bred. Though her abrupt departure destroyed most of her treasured relationships, she vowed never to return . . . until she has no choice. When Magnolia's breakout acting role in a Broadway musical ends in disgrace, there's only one place she can go. She finds herself on her momma's porch, suitcase in hand. Drama follows Magnolia around like a long lost friend. She reluctantly agrees to help her momma's catering company at a party for a country music star, only to find herself face-to-face with a sleazy music agent from her past. After a very public spat, Magnolia not only finds him dead but herself center stage in the police's investigation. Now she must scramble to prove her innocence, relying on the help of acquaintances old and new. But the longer Magnolia stays in Franklin, the more she remembers about the big bad incident that chased her away. The past might not be finished with her yet, and what she doesn't remember could be her biggest danger.

Julia Phillips' world is an alternate universe away. Trapped in a land where government leaders want her dead, Julia is forced to run for her life with Evan and Reece, the two boys who brought her here. They're on their own in a hostile landscape ruled by scavengers and thieves. But Evan is battling a deadly infection, and Julia finds herself racing against time as she tries to find the medicine that will save his life. She and Reece find an unlikely ally-Jo, a girl they free after finding her captured by bandits. As the four travel across the country, Julia has something else to worry about-her memories are slowly being replaced by the Julia of Evan and Reece's world. Will they find a way to send Julia home before it's too late? Or will Julia's body and mind be trapped there?

The third book in the USA Today bestselling Bachelor Brotherhood series from Denise Grover Swank is perfect for fans of Jill Shalvis, Susan Mallery, and Kristan Higgins.

Sophie Peterson knows that she should be excited to spend a summer in Paris, but feels anger at her father for divorcing her mother and moving to France. When a friendship with a boy named Mathieu turns into more, Sophie must decide if she can stay in France, forgive her father enough to live with him, and trust her heart with her first love.