A tea shoppe along the coast of Maine is connected to a year's worth of mysterious deaths. Starting one winter day, Georgina finds the mayor poisoned by a plate of petit fours. That spring, Evie's favorite customer and recipe tester is killed. While out delivering scones for her summer job, Ashley discovers a crime scene to practice her student training in forensics. Against a backdrop of vibrant fall foliage, Ladessa discovers a corpse at table number four. How can one small shoppe's employees be connected to so many deaths, and will the business ever recover?

The six-book series about four generations of the Morgan family living, fighting, and thriving amidst a turbulent Texas history spanning from 1845 to 1896 begins with Lone Star Trail.  Although a series, each book can be read on its own.Judson "Jud" Morgan's father died for Texas' freedom during the war for independence. So when the Society for the Protection of German Immigrants in Texas (the Verein) attempts to colonize a New Germany in his country, he takes a stand against them.After Wande Fleischers' fiancé marries someone else, the young fraulein determines to make a new life for herself in Texas. With the help of Jud's sister Marion, Wande learns English and becomes a trusted friend to the entire Morgan family.As much as Jud dislikes the immigrant invasion, he can't help admiring Wande's character. She is sweet and cheerful as she serves the Lord and all those around her. Can the rancher put aside his prejudice to forge a new future?  Through Jud and Wande, we learn the powerful lessons of forgiveness and reconciliation among a diverse community of believers.ReviewREADERS ROUND TABLE - August 1, 2011Lone Star Trail by Darlene Franklin is a captivating story about faith, friendship, family, and ultimately, love. From their first meeting, the Fleischers find their new life in America closelyFrom the Back CoverTexas TrailsMorgan Family SeriesLone Star TrailA man faced with losing what he's sworn to protectAn immigrant defrauded The Texas Republic poised to become the Lone Star StateJud Morgan's father died for Texas's freedom, so when German immigrants try to colonize a New Germany in Texas, he takes a stand against them.After Wande Fleischer's fiancé abandons her, the young fraulein determines to make a new life for herself in Texas. As much as Jud dislikes the German invasion, he can't help admiring Wande. Will vengeance burn and destroy more than Wande's home, or will the rancher put aside his prejudice and forge a new future?Doubt meets hope, and fear gives way to faith in the Morgan family.DARLENE FRANKLIN is an award-winning author of fourteen books and novellas, two of which have been finalists in American Christian Fiction Writers' Book of the Year contest. Darlene recently returned to cowboy country - Oklahoma!www.darlenefranklinwrites.blogspot.comfor information on upcoming titles, visit RiverNorthFiction.com

A Ranger's Trail is part of a six-book series about four generations of the Morgan family living, fighting, and thriving amidst a turbulent Texas history spanning from 1845 to 1896.In 1875 Buck Morgan rode into Mason County with the Texas Rangers to quell the violence stirred up by the actions a vigilantly mob. The Hoo Doo (or bad luck) War erupted as suspected cattle rustlers were murdered by an angry mob. Former ranger, Scott Cooley, gathers a gang to seek vengeance for the murders.Suspected of cattle rustling, Leta Derrick's husband was murdered by the mob a year earlier. Now she is siding with the rogue ranger, Scott Cooley and refuses to help Buck Morgan stem the tide of violence.Will their actions fuel the fire of vengeance? Or will Buck and Leta strike an accord that leads to more than just peace?

Determined to sow good deeds into the lives of needy people, the four youngest members of the 1876 Calico, Kansas, sewing circle reap romance. Gladys Polson, designing to aid a crotchety widower, falls for a stranger. Annie Bliss, knitting for soldiers, has a fort chaplain on pins and needles. Birdy Landry, sewing dresses for saloon girls looking for a new life, has her feathers ruffled by a beneficent shopkeeper. Schoolteacher Ruth Fairfield is about to teach a new guardian a few lessons in life and love. Will God stitch forever-after romances into the lives of these four women?

Cici Wilde’s fiancé, Audie Howe, calls her with disturbing news. Her store’s been broken into and, worse, someone murdered the intruder. The victim clutches a string of pearls in one hand and a threatening e-mail in the other. It reads, "“I know what you’re doing. Meet me at Cici’s Vintage Clothing at 8:30 p.m. Saturday night."With the discovery of the body, a recent spate of ugly e-mails throughout the Grace Gulch community becomes intensely personal. The murderer purposely lured the victim to Cici’s store. Why? The answer lies in the strand of pearls, a gift from arts patron Magda Grace Mallory. She has loaned them to Audie, director of the MGM Theater, for use in the upcoming production of Arsenic and Old Lace.Evidence points to members of the close theater community. Is it Gene Mallory, Magda’s ne’er-do-well son? Lauren Packer, Magda’s lawyer? Peppi Lambert, Grace Gulch newcomer and good friend of Cici’s sister? Or Suzanne Jay, theater diva with a shady past? When a second murder is committed with the same string of pearls, Cici battles through baffling clues to find the killer before he strikes again.

Following a scandal in the family business, Ty Knight finds himself in Ulysses, Colorado, trying to rebuild his own self-image—until his convoluted plan for a glorious return begins to unravel. Sonia Oliveira has come to Ulysses to regroup after most of her artwork was stolen from a friend's art gallery, but an unexpected confession threatens her tenuous steps toward recovery. Will either of them let go enough to let God work, or will they insist on going it alone?

Mary Anne is on the run.Her father's been murdered, and now the mob's after her, too. Leaving New York City behind is the only way to stay alive. Yet Mary Anne Lamont finds herself stuck in Maple Notch, Vermont, when her car crashes straight into Wallace Tuttle's truck. Wallace and his family offer her warmth and welcome, no questions asked. But she doesn't dare give them her real name--not without risking their safety too.At first, Wallace chides himself for being distracted by the glamorous flapper. Mary Anne certainly doesn't fit his image of a future wife. But underneath the bleached bob and big-city ways is a courageous, caring woman. When the danger she's been running from draws close, Wallace must risk everything to prove his faith in Mary Anne, in God's plan, and the dreams they've come to share.

The feud between the Graces and the Gaynors is still going strong more than a century after its inception in the 1891 Oklahoma land run. Newspaper editor Penn Hardy is murdered during the reenactment of the most famous gunfight in the history of Grace Gulch, Oklahoma. Cici Wilde, owner of a vintage clothing store, feels compelled to investigate when police suspect people close to her.She soon discovers her talent for sleuthing equals her flare for wearing period clothing. Theater director Audie Howe never expected the reenactment to end in a real murder. He cares too much for the future of the Magda Grace Mallory Theater—and the charming Cici Wilde—to let her face danger alone. Cici and Audie take a dangerous gamble to nail the killer—and lay their lives on the line.

Two years have passed since the last murder rocked Grace Gulch. Life has settled down for the three Wilde sisters. The town is celebrating the opening of the MGM Center for the Arts with a clue-driven scavenger hunt, and newcomers have joined the community, including Cici’s mother-in-law, Gilda Howe. Cici’s peace is shattered when an art studio burns down with a body inside. The missing artist quickly becomes the primary suspect because of his public breakup with the victim. An old secret forces Cici to take up sleuthing one more time. Legends of buried treasure and rumors of drugs mix with jealousy as Cici looks into arson and murder. When she comes close to solving the puzzle, a second person goes missing—her little sister. Will she find her in time?