New Releases by Denise Grover Swank

The fourth book in the Harper Adams Mystery series. When Harper and James go after the man who replaced J.R. Simmons, they uncover a criminal empire far darker than they imagined—one built on human trafficking and ruthless power. But exposing the truth could cost them everything.

She quit drinking the day her mother died. Now she has to stay sober long enough to prove it wasn’t an accident. Former detective Harper Adams is only days into sobriety when she realizes her mother’s car accident wasn’t an accident at all. The faded skid marks on the bridge. The drugs in her tox screen. The packed suitcase in the trunk, for a trip her homebody mother never mentioned. Something sinister happened—and Harper is determined to uncover the truth. To do that, she accepts the assistance of the last man she should trust: James Malcolm, a crime boss with a shadowy past. He insists he’s only trying to help. Harper isn’t sure whether his offer is about justice or something else entirely, but she decides it’s safer to work with the devil you know. Malcolm gets results—and results are what she needs. As Harper digs deeper, she unearths secrets powerful people want to keep buried. And the closer she gets to the truth, the more dangerous it becomes. Staying sober is hard. Facing what really happened to her mother might destroy her.

The New York Times bestselling author of the Wedding Pact and Rose Gardner series presents a heartwarming romantic comedy where after a string of disasters, two opposites have just sworn off love—only to have sparks fly when they move in next door to each other. Romance isn't an option for Holly Greenwood. With her wedding planner career on the line she needs to stay focused, and that means pleasing her demanding boss, not getting distracted by her mind-alteringly hot neighbor . . . Ex-Marine Kevin Vandemeer craves normalcy. Instead, he has a broken-down old house in need of a match and some gasoline, a meddling family, and the uncanny ability to attract the world's craziest women. At least that last one he can fix: he and his buddies have made a pact to swear off women, and this includes his sweetly sexy new neighbor. After one hot night that looks a whole lot like a disaster in the light of day, Kevin and Holly are about to learn that true love doesn't play by the rules . . .

A standalone crossover book in the Magnolia Steele Mystery and Darling Investigations series world. Months after unmasking a serial killer, Magnolia Steele is still piecing her life back together. When she unexpectedly inherits her mother’s childhood farm in Sweet Briar, Alabama, she’s stunned—and confused. Why did Lila Brewster Steele leave the farm behind after high school and never return? And why was the property kept a secret all these years? Eager to untangle her family’s past, Magnolia convinces her sister-in-law, Belinda, to join her on a road trip to Sweet Briar. With no leads of their own, they turn to private investigator and reality TV star Summer Butler for help. Between planning the new season of Darling Investigations and navigating her own family drama, Summer can’t resist the pull of an old Southern mystery. What begins as a search for answers uncovers far more than Magnolia ever expected: a tangled web of broken friendships, a decades-old betrayal, and a secret that could destroy someone’s reputation—and their life as they know it. But some truths are harder to face than others, and Magnolia must decide how far she’s willing to go to uncover the past.

Rose Gardner Investigations #7.5 A Rose Gardner Christmas novella taking place the December after It All Falls Down Rose Gardner and her best friend Neely Kate have one wish this Christmas: to celebrate their first holiday season with their babies, surrounded by love and joy. But life, as always, has other plans. For Rose, sharing custody of her niece and nephew with her brother-in-law Mike’s parents proves to be more challenging than she ever imagined. The tension escalates, threatening to overshadow the festive season. Meanwhile, her husband Joe faces a surprise visitor who brings unexpected complications to their already chaotic lives. Neely Kate, determined to make this Christmas her best yet after years of heartache, is blindsided when Carter Hale, former attorney to the Fenton County crime lord, delivers devastating news. It’s a revelation that could unravel not just her perfect Christmas but the life she’s built with her husband, Jed. Told from the perspectives of Rose, Neely Kate, Joe, and James “Skeeter” Malcolm, All I Want for Christmas weaves a story of love, resilience, and the unbreakable bonds of friendship. Will these beloved characters find their holiday miracles, or will this Christmas become yet another battle to overcome?

The eighth book in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and USA Today bestselling Rose Gardner Investigations series. Rose is BACK! It’s been nearly three years since the fall of the Hardshaw Group, and Rose is living a low-key life in Fenton County. She’s happily married to Joe Simmons, raising her own two children along with her niece and nephew, and running her landscape business. Everything is coming up…well…roses! And still, when she and her best friend Neely Kate unearth a peculiar wooden box in a client’s yard, she finds herself yearning for the good old days of solving mysteries. Be careful what you wish for. Before she can even fight that particular urge though, a teenage boy shows up asking for protection from “The Lady in Black”. There’s no denying it. Trouble seems to be landing right on Rose’s doorstep just like it used to. And no one knows better than her; trouble always comes in threes… The past is better left behind, but is it ever really gone?

A bundle of the first three books from the New York Times bestselling Rose Gardner Investigations series, along with a Neely Kate Mystery. Included: Family Jewels: Rose''s best friend, Neely Kate, convinces her to become a private investigator, but their first case turns out to be more than they bargained for while trying to find a missing necklace that''s not only part of a family dispute but one in the criminal world as well. Trailer Trash (Neely Kate Mystery): Neely Kate is still reeling after discovering her father''s identity several months ago. Now, her criminally insane half-sister is threatening to expose secrets Neely Kate buried in the past. Literally. When Neely Kate heads to Oklahoma to cover her tracks, the last person she expects to offer to help her is Jed Carlisle, the second in command to the king of the Fenton County crime world. For the Birds: Neely Kate convinces Rose to look for a missing parrot for their next case. Only the bird belongs to a missing man, and they think the bird not only witnessed a crime but might also be able to tell them what happened. Rose juggles all of this while dealing with the fact that not only is her secret Lady in Black identity out in the open in the criminal world but now she''s seen as a neutral party. Only some of the criminals still hold a grudge. Hell in a Handbasket: Rose is dealing with the devastating news about her sister, while taking in a stranger she thinks might have ties to a threat hanging over her head. Skeeter Malcolm is waiting for her answer to his proposition, which makes needing his help to solve a woman''s murder even more complicated.

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?

I’m a pawn between two ancient gods and I’m done playing their games. We survived the not-so-final battle, but our short-lived victory came with an immeasurable cost. We didn’t defeat Okeus; we played right into his hands. Now, with new threats pressing in from several sides, and those who I thought would always stand beside me nowhere to be found, new details about my mother’s murder are forcing me to challenge everything I thought I knew. I foolishly believed I had nothing left to lose, but after a devastating loss forces me into a fight against an ancient cult, I’m left with only one option, a bargain with the God of Death himself. Every bargain comes with a cost, and this time, that cost might be my own eternal life. Join Ellie, Collin, and David in the fight to save our world from two ancient gods in the jaw-dropping third book of the Curse Keeper’s Trilogy. Filled with dark twists and swoon-worthy moments, this is a book you don’t want to miss. The Curse Defilers completes the Curse Keeper’s Trilogy, but the story continues in The Soul Keeper’s Series, another edge of your seat read set in the same world. Filled with old friends, and new ones, pick up The Soul Seekers after the end of The Curse Defilers.

PREVIOUSLY TITLE HALF BAKED Sometimes the truth hides where you least expect it. Maddie Baker is about to uncover secrets that could shatter her world—or finally bring her peace. Two decades of unanswered questions. One woman determined to find the truth. Maddie Baker has spent nearly twenty years haunted by her mother''s murder—a case shrouded in mystery and buried in a grave of police negligence. When Noah Langley, the new detective on the force, claimed to have solved the crime, Maddie believed she could finally close this agonizing chapter in her life. But Noah got it wrong. A chance meeting with the original detective reignites Maddie’s quest for justice. She learns the investigation was deliberately stalled, evidence was hidden, and the case file was destroyed. Fueled with new determination, Maddie vows to uncover the truth herself, no matter the cost. Noah vows to help her. The deeper she delves, the darker the secrets become. Will Maddie find the closure she seeks, or will the shocking revelations force her to reconsider everything she thought she knew?

When the keepers meet for the first time, the gate will be opened. Two little rules have kept me safe since my mother died protecting me: always trust your instincts and forget everything about the curse. But when I accidentally activate an ancient catastrophe I’ve spent my life running from, breaking the seal on the gates of hell and ripping the lost colony of Roanoke back through time and getting the attention of a vengeful god in the process, rules go out the window. I can barely keep myself alive, and now somehow, it’s my responsibility to save all of humanity? We’re screwed. My only hope is to learn everything I can—everything I should have already known—from my fellow Curse Keeper—Collin-effing-Dailey. Collin can lay on the charm when he wants to, but he’s made it clear he’s not happy I’m a novice at all of this. Unfortunately, I feel a pull to him I can’t chalk up to supernatural powers. My instincts beg me not to trust Collin, but I’m out of other options. We have seven days to save the world, and the clock starts now.

What do you do when the gate hell opens and all the creepy crawlies come rushing out? I failed. But that doesn’t mean I’m giving up. My heart may be shattered by Colin’s betrayal, but I refuse to let humanity pay the price. After a disastrous trip to a self-professed expert in the Lost Colony, I’m running out of ideas. Taunted by vengeful demons, all I have to fight them is a vague memory of the curse passed through my family and the practically useless information I find on the internet. Every day brings the world closer to being overrun by demons. I fear I will have to face the god Okeus’s wrath alone until an unexpected offer of help comes from the most unlikely of places. I’m terrified to trust him, but with the fate of the world on the line, how can I say no? The second book in The Curse Keepers Series ratchets up the romantic tension and raises the stakes to impossible heights as Ellie races to save not just her friends but the world.

The first book in a new small-town mystery series by New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and USA Today bestselling author Denise Grover Swank. 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.

Little Rock Detective Harper Adams'' life is falling apart. Two weeks ago, she killed a teenager on the job, so now she''s on administrative leave. She wakes up in the middle of the night and realizes someone has broken into her house. And it''s not the first time. Includes the first three chapters of Little Girl Vanished, the first book in the Harper Adams Mystery series.

He’s her next makeover project. She’s his next mistake. Ivy I’m Ivy Anders, popular romance novelist and small-town success story. Or so they say. I tell myself I’m only back in my hometown because my father had a heart attack, but that’s not the full story. I can’t go home. And the longer I stay, the less I want to. I’m drawn in by my part-time job at Ziggy brewery, which I took to research for my next book, and by the mystery of Lou, my father’s stuffy lodger, a temporary transplant from New York. Normally, I wouldn’t look twice at someone like Lou. He’s a rules guy, and I’ve never met a rule I didn’t want to break just for the fun of it. But it’s obvious he needs an intervention to avoid becoming an old man at thirty-four, and I am going to make that happen. Lou I came to Highland Hills to hide. It’s not every day a man loses his professional integrity, his fiancée, and his pet fish all in the same week. The last thing I want is for smoking hot Ivy Anders to get it into her head that I should be her project. But she has, and it’s hard as hell to say no to her. Believe me, I’ve tried. The more time we spend together, the more I realize that I have another problem on my hands: Ivy’s everything I’m not—young and wild and free—and she’s all I can think about.

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.

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…

He wants to destroy her show. She wants to get on Santa’s naughty list with him. Rowan No man wants to be nicknamed Cupid. My family’s run a matchmaking business for years, though, and my sister’s a romance novelist. You get the picture. To make matters worse, my narcissistic grandmother just sold a reality dating show to network television. Thanks to her, our small town is about to become a hotbed of tourists and opportunists. Her show needs to be stopped, and I’m exactly the man to do it. Cupid, reporting for duty The star of the show, Kennedy Littlefield, isn’t my type at all. She’s a wealthy heiress with an unhealthy obsession with Christmas. There’s just one problem: I can’t stop thinking about her. Kennedy I’m lucky to be doing this show. Maybe I’ll start believing it if I repeat it enough...because I’m supposed to be dating eight men, and they all suck. I’m not here to fall in love—I’m trying to save a non-profit with the publicity from the show—but I’d hoped for a Christmas miracle. I love Christmas, only it hasn’t come to the set because the show doesn’t air until spring, and no one—with the exception of me—wants to watch a Christmas show in March. There’s only one thing I want more than Christmas cheer: the ornery grump who keeps hanging out around the set.

PREVIOUSLY TITLED BAKE OFF Maddie Baker hasn’t seen Detective Noah Langley since he ghosted her a month ago, but now she needs his help to find a missing woman. When Maddie Baker offers a self-defense course, a terrified young woman asks her for private lessons to escape a chokehold. Maddie readily agrees to meet Amy the next morning, but when she doesn’t show up, Maddie becomes concerned. She enlists the help of Detective Noah Langley and his partner Lance Forrester. Since it’s not an official investigation, and the only thing they know about her is her first name, it’s not long before their hands are tied. Besides, Noah has a dilemma of his own. A rash of home burglaries has taken a disturbing turn. Noah and his partner Lance feel pressed to catch the burglars before someone is physically assaulted…or worse. To top things off, Maddie’s ex-boyfriend Steve is in town suddenly wanting her back. Her aunt’s dementia is worsening, and her best friend Mallory has shown up on her doorstep with news of her own. Maddie’s got her hands full, so she should let her concern for the missing woman go, right? Only she’s trusting her gut, and it’s telling her something’s rotten in Cockamamie.

When Maddie Baker offers a self-defense course, a terrified young woman asks her for private lessons to escape a chokehold. Maddie readily agrees to meet Amy the next morning, but when she doesn''t show up, Maddie becomes concerned. She enlists the help of Detective Noah Langley and his partner Lance Forrester. It''s not an official investigation, and all they know about her is her first name. Things are getting hectic--Noah and his partner feel pressed to solve a rash of home burglaries. Maddie''s ex-boyfriend Steve is in town wanting her back. Her aunt''s dementia is worsening, and her best friend Mallory has shown up on her doorstep. Maddie''s got her hands full, but her gut is telling her not to let her concern for the missing woman go.

***Previously published as 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 want 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.

She’s a hopeless romantic...for everyone but herself. Can the least romantic man alive convince her love isn’t just for other people? Willow There are certain expectations when you’re born into a multigenerational family of matchmakers, which is why I fled my hometown and tried to build a life of my own. But it turns out matchmaking is hard to quit, and I can’t stop trying to match the customers at the bakery I manage—including my boss and the tea shop owner next door—even though I’m hopeless at love. So it seriously crimps my style when Alex Hunter starts coming around, working on his book at the bakery. He’s hot, grumpy, and thinks romance is a dirty word. Worse, he keeps distracting our customers. He needs to go away. Which means someone needs to matchmake him. And I’m just the girl for the job. Alex I’m a writer who can’t write, and lo and behold, I meet a matchmaker who’s allergic to love. Me being me, I fall for her. Most of the people in this town seem insane, but I have to turn my frown upside down and show Willow Mayberry that matchmakers deserve love too. **An interconnected standalone in the Bad Luck Club series.**

She’s cursed to live out romance tropes gone wrong. As a millionaire bad boy looking for a fake girlfriend, he is one. They’re a disaster in the making...and each other’s last hope. Tina I’m cursed. Yes, really. I broke a boy’s heart because he wasn’t romance hero material, and his nonna cursed me to live out my favorite plotlines...without the happy ending. Consider my track record: Second-chance romance? Turns out my old flame returned home to cook meth, not take care of his parents. Redeemed bad boy? He writes to me occasionally from prison. Billionaire businessman? Rory was my prince charming...right up until his ex-girlfriend showed up with a baby bump. My love life is a lost cause, but my friends claim they have a solution. They’re convinced I can rip control from the curse by seeking out a trope situation instead of getting sucked into one. When I find Zachary Littlefield’s ad seeking a fake girlfriend, I decide it’s go-time. Because I am so immune to hot rich boys. Zach I’m the screw-up spare to my brother, the heir—the Littlefield who can never do anything right. Now my brother’s making a huge mistake, and I’m expected to celebrate. Instead, I do what any half-intelligent man would: I hire a date to stir up trouble at his engagement party. Tina’s not my type, but there’s something about her... Maybe it’s that she seems completely immune to my charm. I’ve never met a challenge I didn’t want to screw up...or screw. **An interconnected standalone in the Bad Luck Club series**

The penultimate book in the Carly Moore Series For six months, Carly Moore has been trying to bring down the town patriarch, Bart Drummond. Everyone knows he’s behind a “favor” system that has often ended in murder, but no one has ever been able to prove it. Until now. Carly has a lead that might crack the case wide open but her investigation comes to a screeching halt when someone close to her is killed. Now her only goal is to bring the killer to justice. But the more she digs, the more she can’t help but wonder if the murder is the handiwork of Bart Drummond after all…

She’s a sexually repressed control freak. He’s a muscular ex-con with heavier baggage than Santa’s toy bag. They’re everything each other never wanted. Mary I’m usually the first person on my block to decorate for Christmas. This year? Humbug. My six-year-old son, Aidan, just had a meltdown after learning some hard truths from a drunk Santa impersonator, and I can no longer deny we both need help. Change is hard for Aidan, and right now he’s dealing with several big ones, including A) his father abandoning us, B) our move to Asheville, and C) the Santa snafu. And me? I’m a control freak, and my life is more out-of-control than a sled on ice. That’s why I agree to let Aidan join Butterfly Buddies, a group that matches kids with adult mentors. It’s also why I agree to a mentor of my own—terrifying, pink-haired Nicole, who wants to help me live life on the wild side. Her advice is strangely compelling, especially after I meet Aidan’s new “buddy,” a gorgeous tattooed hunk of a man who makes me wish there weren’t cobwebs in my...well, you know. Jace Mary O’Shea is sexy as hell, but she doesn’t know it. She also doesn’t know I’m an ex-con, and if she finds out that I served three years in prison, extenuating circumstances won’t matter to her. The last thing I should do is get attached to her kid...or her, but I didn’t get in this position by making good decisions.

The fifth book in the Wall Street Journal bestselling Carly Moore series.

A grumpy man. A recovering people-pleaser. And the secret club that brings them together. Lee Buchanan is a hot mess. Turning one’s father in to the feds can do that to a man. He had nothing to do with his father’s Ponzi scheme, but he’s blacklisted from commercial real estate all the same. Which is how he ends up in Asheville, working at the brewery he inherited with his siblings. He’s salty as hell, and he doesn’t care who knows it. Until the gorgeous, intriguing Blue Combs issues the most peculiar invitation he’s ever received: Come to the Bad Luck Club. We can help you. It sounds like a cult or, worse, a group of Mary Sues, but Blue is different from any woman he’s ever met. For better or worse, he’s drawn to her. Just like she’s drawn to him, even if she has no intention of going all in with another man. She’s been there, done that, twice, and the life she’s built for herself is too important to risk. What starts as one person’s desire to help another turns into a connection too powerful to be denied—but can two broken people grow together, or will they tear each other apart?

The final book of the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and USA Today bestselling Rose Gardner Investigations series. When a body shows up south of Henryetta, Rose knows trouble is on the horizon. Rufus Wilson worked for the county crime lord, Skeeter Malcolm, and she soon discovers Wilson had a special skill set—he could crack safes. Now everyone is looking for Wilson’s girlfriend, including Rose, and it doesn’t take her long to realize Wilson’s murder might actually be connected to something else, something bigger. Hardshaw Group, a Dallas crime syndicate, is meeting a South American drug cartel in the county, only no one knows the time and place. Denny Carmichael’s drug empire has a lot to lose if they move in, so now he’s calling in the favor he insists Rose owes him—find him the time and location. Or else. Rose is a hair’s breadth away from losing everyone she loves, including her six-week-old daughter, and she’ll do anything she can to save them.