Marti Talbott

Mark Barrett thought having an affair was no big deal as long as his wife didn't find out. That was before he got arrested for the hit-style murder of a wealthy old woman. What drew the Jackie Harlan Detective Agency to the fascinating trial in Portland, Oregon, was the hope of finding a child that had been missing for years.

Neasan MacGreagor came home an angry man determined to get revenge for being sent away. Yet the man he most wanted to kill, Laird Justin MacGreagor, died before he could. Now the clan had to choose a new laird and most expected it would be Justin's son, Sawney. However, Neasan had other plans. Could all his plotting and scheming actually make this ruthless man their next Laird?

During a raid in Ireland that took her family, her home and all her food, a Viking intentionally let Shannon Carr live. At first, she did not see it as a kindness, but as time passed, the reason he let her live often haunted her. More pressing still was her need for revenge, so she set out to find the Vikings in Scotland.In England, Brightie Tweddle prayed rumors of a giant in the north were true and believed he alone could save her from an abusive brother. The moment she made good her escape, she too headed for Scotland.

Jilted by a man who professed to love her and then married another, McKenna MacGreagor fled to Colorado's Marblestone Mansion hoping to heal her broken heart. Six months later, she still couldn't stop thinking about him.Once a prominent duchess in London high society, Alexandra Sinclair, a.k.a. Olivia MacGreagor, found herself in a London house of detention. She was charged with bigamy and theft, and faced five years in a dreadful prison. Could the solicitor her new love hired get the charges dropped, and if so, was she headed back to Colorado?

They knew it could happen - scientists had been warning them for years. Yet, nearly two million people living in the greater Seattle area went about their daily lives as usual. A Detective Agency thought they had found a missing woman, an upstart radio station was on the air, and an eccentric banker had just started a round of golf. Thousands were driving on freeways, shopping in malls, awaiting flights, working in downtown high-rises, and on buses in the bus tunnel. They knew -- they just didn't believe it could happen to them.

(Anna, Rachel & Charlet) ANNA -- In love with a woman he had only seen once and could not find, the Highlander, Kevin MacGreagor was growing older and needed a wife to give him sons. No other woman pleased him, not even the daughters of other lairds, so he finally settled for Anna sight unseen. But when his men went to meet her guard, she was all alone and badly beaten. Who could have done such a thing and why? RACHEL -- had a dark secret and even she didn't know what it was. She was seventeen, determined to become as good a warrior as any Highlander, and was firmly against taking a husband. Connor had other ideas. He loved Rachel and when a rival clan took her, he thought he would lose his mind. How would he ever get her back and if he did, would her dark secret separate them forever? CHARLET -- The King of England asked the Highlander, Kevin MacGreagor, to hide a baby girl and save her life. But sixteen years later, someone discovered where she was. To Blair Cameron fell the duty of hiding and protecting Charlet. It was not an easy task. She was furious, head-strong and determined to run from him. Could Blair keep her alive? And if he did, could he keep himself from falling in love with her?

It was to Essen MacKinnon that the old man told the secret of the golden sword, but knowing it truly existed was one thing -- finding it was something else again. Patches MacGreagor's biggest worry was Brevie's warning that a man would marry her just to improve his chances of becoming the clan's next laird. But then someone murdered Brevie. Who killed her and now, how would Patches ever know which man Brevie was talking about?

In the Atlanta dead-letter office, a series of odd letters began to arrive from Seattle. The envelopes were addressed simply to "sister" with no address or return address and inside, the letters were signed by someone who called herself, Princess. Yet, the contents of the letters seemed to be a cry for help, and soon it became Natalie's obsession to find her. For that she needed the help of a detective - a very handsome detective named Daniel.

CLARE: Clare of the Abbey hoped to marry the Lord of Wickerly Castle until word came that he was dead. So with no reason to stay, she went to Scotland with her sister and did not speak of her grief. But her uncommon beauty tempted all the Highlander men and soon the jealous unmarried women were demanding she choose a husband. He was not dead, but could the man she loved find her before it was too late? DOLEE: After three years of marriage, Dolee desperately wanted to give her husband a son. She tried every remedy anyone suggested including potions that made her deathly ill. At last there was no other option -- Dolee would have to try the one thing that might cost her everything, including her life. CATLIN: Known as Bridget Cameron, Catlin's mother was adamant -- if ever Catlin heard the name "Charlet," she was to go straight away to find Laird Neil MacGreagor. Now her mother was dead and the English were searching for Charlet. But who was Charlet and why had the English put a bounty on her head? The answer left Catlin speechless. LASHA: As the sister of a laird, Lasha Haldane knew she was expected to marry within her small clan. But one look at the handsome Cowan MacGreagor tempted her otherwise. Then a Haldane asked for her hand and the decision could no longer be put off. Would Lasha follow her heart or would she choose to please her beloved brother?

Terrified and out of breath, fifteen-year-old Isobell Macdean ran from her attackers as fast as she could to the top of a high cliff. All her life, she'd been warned not to go to the other side of the river where the women were troublesome and the Highlander men were giants, but her only option was to jump into the icy water below and pray she could stay on the right side.Before Daniel's mother died, she told him a secret he knew his brother would never accept, so when the brothers were forced to leave the far north of Scotland, Daniel decided it was time to see if what she said was true.

It is said that a father loves his daughter beyond measure, so when Glenessa, the much sought after daughter of Laird Swinton, died at the hands of a Kennedy, war was certain to come. Yet the war between the elder lairds was oddly postponed. It was instead handed down to Glenessa's brother, and the new Kennedy laird.Over the years, Glenessa was a name rarely spoken, but never forgotten by men on both sides who loved her. It remained, however, a simple question of which spark would finally ignite the flames of war, and more importantly - could the MacGreagors stay out of it?

Based on an actual event.In 1908 and sight unseen, Iowa born Ethan McShane gave over half of his life savings to buy land near the small town of Palisade, Colorado. Eager to see the land, he caught the next train out. However, with no assurance of a proper home for her, he left his bride of just a few short days behind. Just short of a month later, she too excitedly boarded a train bound for Colorado - a train that would never reach its destination.

This true story puts you on the jury - is the defendant guilty or innocent? Sometime in the night a woman screamed. The next morning Pat Botham, Linda Miracle, and Linda's two toddler sons were simply gone. It was the perfect murder until the railroad lowered the water level in the Gunnison River and exposed the bodies.Mattie Rhoades had no desire to become involved in the aftermath of the crime and didn't - until someone told her something about one of the suspects that no one else knew.

It was forbidden, but Bradana MacGreagor could not seem to help herself. The man of her dreams was a Lennox, and Laird Lennox forbid all unions between the two clans, fervently believing that the MacGreagors were cursed. Rubbish, said the MacGreagors, but that did nothing to persuade the Lennox. Too soon, her destiny was taken completely out of her hands when word came that the king had called all able-bodied men to fight for Scotland.

Charles MacGreagor was hired to rebuild Glenartair Castle after it burned four years earlier. His men were hard working, supplies were coming in on time finally, and he was well satisfied with the progress. He was satisfied, that is, until the floor of the old castle gave up another of its secrets.Loved by young adults and baby-boomers alike, this 30 book historical family saga follows a Scottish highlander clan from the Viking era, through the middle ages, into the 20th century. From the first love story to the last, we hope you too will enjoy these tales of courageous men, strong women, fierce clan wars, fun characters, and perilous struggles to survive.

Sooner or later, there is a price to pay for bigamy, and the Duchess was about to learn just how dangerous and expensive that price could be.Spring brought the fulfillment of Hannish MacGreagor's promise to take his family to Scotland, and no one was more thrilled than sisters, Leesil and Cathleen. Yet, on the voyage, they encountered a woman who would make their lives far more complicated - a woman who was happy to spread gossip, and who was determined to find out what became of the duchess.

By the time John Carson returned from fighting in the American Revolution, Hester, the woman he pledged to marry, discovered her first husband was still alive. So John set his heart on claiming a homestead west of the Appalachian Mountains. It was in the Kentucky Territory that the delightful Quaker Polly Lewis, captured his heart and to her he also gave his pledge. But when he returned to Virginia, Hester was back, truly widowed this time, and just as beautiful as he remembered.

Attracting a new husband in New York City proved more difficult than the duchess expected, particularly since she was nearly broke, and did not have easy access to the wealthy. That was before she met Bernard Allen Hathaway. Indeed, he had the kind of money she coveted, yet there was something odd about him...something very odd indeed.The MacGreagors looked forward to sharing the mansion and living in peace, but it was not to be. Just a few miles from Colorado Springs, the dark clouds of a violent union strike had begun to gather, and an unforeseen tragedy would change the course of their lives forever.