Frank Carlson Library

REFORMING A RAKE...Desperate to support her widowed mother, Marina Beaumont had agreed to become a companion to a dowager countess and found herself in an impossible situation. She had never anticipated the position would force her to deal with Kit Stratton-a renowned rake who would stop at nothing to get the revenge he sought...even if it cost Marina all that she held most dear. For unable to restrain the dowager's gambling habit, Marina soon found...

In the mountain resort town of South Lake Tahoe, Nina Reilly is known for taking on the underdog cases, the kind that can make--or break--her one-woman law practice. Her latest case begins in the middle of a summer night when she is called away to meet with a new client at her office who gives her name as Jessie Potter. The frightened young woman has just hit a huge slot machine jackpot, and the men in suits are waiting to hand her the check just...

"Miss Venus Merriwell has been waiting for her prince to come since the tender age of fourteen. She wants a man who is a selfless academic like her, and free from all the wretched vices her gambler father enjoyed far too much before he left the Merriwell sisters practically destitute. Unfortunately, after a slew of romantic disappointments, there is still no sign of that prince at twenty-three and the only one true love of her life is the bursting-at-the-seams...

"When seventh-grader Mitch Sloan moves to Jonasburg, Indiana, he uses his exceptional skills in math, money, and sports statistics to make friends--but get in over his head when he starts a football betting ring." -- Publisher.

Ned Talbot has worked all his life as a book-maker so he knows not to expect any sympathy from the punters as they count their winnings at Royal Ascot. When a man steps forward from the crowd claiming to be his father, Ned is thrown into turmoil. He'd been told that both his parents died when he was a baby. Barely an hour later, his father stabbed by an unknown assailant. Before dying, he warns Ned to "be very careful." But of whom? Of what? Ned finds...

"Vienna Mortenson isn't your typical gambler. She prefers to stay under the radar, using her poker winnings to support her family and her community, including the local search and rescue team, which she heads up. Out in the backcountry there's no time for hesitation when lives are on the line. Vienna prides herself on being tough and decisive. She's not the sort to make a fool of herself over a guy, especially one who left her high and dry without...

To pay off a gambling debt, Ronnie asks a soccer player to fix the state championship game.

Louie's older brother bets his new skateboard that Louie can't go for an entire week without eating any chocolate.

"Jocelyn Pladson buys the livery stable in Skiddy to aid the widow of the previous owner. Citified newcomers with shady pasts and newly invented motorcars, Maretta Rudd and J. L. Cochran intend to replace the livery with a motorcar business. Fools, who ignore too soon the need for horses and mules in transportation and farm work. Maretta preaches the livery is smelly, antiquated. J.L. aims for a seat on town council to bolster their plan. While Jocelyn...