Hester Prynne has been marked as an outcast from the society of colonial Boston for the sin of bearing a child out of wedlock. Her punishment? When she is released from jail, she must endure public shaming at the pillory with her baby. And then—worse yet—she is forced to spend the rest of her life wearing a red letter “A” on her breast, to mark her as an Adulterer. Although compelled by the puritanical town fathers to wear the scarlet letter, Hester refuses to name the baby’s father. She spends the next seven lonely years working as a seamstress and enduring the humiliation of being scorned by the good people of Boston, all the while raising her daughter Pearl to be an independent, bold little girl.

The darkly mysterious Roger Chillingworth arrives in town and proceeds to befriend the young preacher. He promises to cure the Reverend Mr. Dimmesdale of the illness that is slowly killing him. But who are these two men, and how are they connected to Hester Prynne and little Pearl?

Nathaniel Hawthorne’s tale of punishment and reconciliation examines the concepts of sin, guilt, and pride. He entwines moral and spiritual issues with the drama and plot twists of a crime novel, in a story that is as compelling to modern listeners as to the original readers of 1850.

Narrated by Jenny Hoops, this is a fresh and lively narration of an enduring classic tale.

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February, 1944. Washington, DC. With the war entering its most dangerous phase, Louise Pearlie is thrilled to be reassigned to the London office of the OSS. But in order to take up her new post, she must make a perilous crossing of the Atlantic Ocean in the SS Amelia Earhart.

Accompanying her on the voyage to Liverpool is an eclectic group of passengers, including the aloof Blanche Bryant, whose husband, Eddie, died in mysterious circumstances on the ship’s voyage out to New York, three months before.

Most of the same crew and passengers are on the return voyage, and one question remains: Was it really suicide?

When the body of one of the passengers is found on deck, it’s clear that German bombs and raging storms aren’t the only threats to Louise’s safety. Can she expose a brutal killer before the ship docks in England?

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On a bitterly cold night in December 1943, government girl Louise Pearlie and her friend Joe Prager are enjoying a quiet drink in the Baron Steuben Inn, when a bloodstained body is discovered behind the bar.

Although the victim had been a regular customer, no one seems to know anything about him. When it turns out there is a link to Louise’s top-secret work at the OSS, she is ordered to find out as much as possible about the murder while keeping the connection secret from those involved, including the investigating police detective.

Although Louise has been trained to keep secrets, the constant deception is taking its toll, especially when she discovers that she was not the only customer at the Steuben that night with something to hide. Will Louise’s silence result in an innocent man being arrested for murder?

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The 1940s, Washington, DC. Government girl Louise Pearlie has a new job inside the OSS – the Office of Strategic Services: recruiting German prisoners of war for a secret mission inside Nazi Germany. It’s a big chance for her, and Louise hopes she can finally escape her filing and typing duties.

With the job comes two new colleagues: Alice Osborne, a propaganda expert, and Merle Ellison, a forger from Texas who just happens to speak fluent German. But when the three arrive at Fort Meade to interview the first German POWs to arrive there, their mission is beset by complications. Only one of the prisoners speaks English, the army officer in charge of the camp is an alcoholic, and two prisoners disappeared on the ship bringing the Germans to the states. Were their deaths suicide? Officially, yes. But Louise can’t help but have her doubts…

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The 1940s, Washington, DC. Government girl Louise Pearlie is asked to review the file usage of a missing analyst from the Office of Strategic Services – the United States’ wartime intelligence agency – only to learn he’d drowned in the Tidal Basin days before. The OSS confirms it was an accident, and Louise is sent back to her regular job in the file rooms.

Her time spent investigating Paul Hughes at least has one positive outcome, though: Louise meets a young woman in the OSS Reading Room, who asks her to join her “salon”, where she is encouraged to talk about controversial issues like racial segregation and equal pay for women. Socializing with the women helps her cope with her beau Joe Prager’s transfer to New York City.

But Louise’s life soon takes a dangerous and sinister turn, and she can’t help but worry if she’ll wind up floating in the Tidal Basin herself…

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Young widow Louise Pearlie seizes a chance to escape the typewriters and files of the Office of Strategic Services, the United States’ World War II spy agency, when she’s asked to investigate a puzzling postcard referred to the OSS by the US Censor. She heads off to St. Leonard, Maryland, to talk to the postcard’s recipient, one Leroy Martin. But what seemed like a straightforward mission to Louise soon becomes complicated.

Leroy and his wife, Anne, refuse to talk, but as Louise investigates, it soon becomes clear that Leroy is mixed up in something that looks a lot like treason. But what? Louise is determined to find out the truth, whatever the cost…

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It’s 1942 in Washington, DC. Louise Pearlie is now a chief file clerk at the legendary OSS, the precursor to the CIA, and enjoys being an independent working woman despite wartime privations. But a casual friendship struck up with Alessa di Luca, a secretive war refugee, sucks Louise into a dangerous game of mafia bosses, Nazi spies, banished royalty, and Sicilian aristocracy – placing not only her job but her life in jeopardy.

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It’s 1942. Louise Pearlie, a young widow, has come to Washington, DC, to work as a clerk for the legendary OSS, the precursor to the CIA. When, while filing, she discovers a document concerning the husband of a college friend, Rachel Bloch – a young French Jewish woman she is desperately worried about – Louise realizes she may be able to help get Rachel out of Vichy France. But then a colleague whose help Louise has enlisted is murdered, and she realizes she is on her own, unable to trust anyone.

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In the dirty ’30s jobs were hard to come by. Having lost her father and her home in southern Alberta, Tilly McCormack is thrilled when her application for a position as a chambermaid at the prestigious Banff Springs Hotel, one of Canada’s great railway hotels, is accepted. 

Tilly loves her new life in the Rocky Mountain town and the people she meets there. Local trail guide Ryan Blake is taken with Tilly’s sparkling blue eyes and mischievous sense of humor, and thinks she is just the girl for him. Ryan’s work with a guiding and outfitting company keeps him busy, but he makes time for Tilly at every opportunity – and he’s already decided to make her his bride. 

On the night he plans to propose to Tilly, another bride-to-be, whose wedding is being held at the Hotel, disappears. Tilly has an idea where she might have gone and together with Ryan sets out to search for her. 

Will they find the missing bride? And will Tilly accept Ryan’s proposal? 

In celebration of Canada’s 150th birthday, Books We Love, with the support of the government of Canada, is publishing a series of novels set in each of the Canadian provinces and territories. Each book features a historical event or location, as well as as the story of a bride and groom – representative of the men and women who came to Canada in search of a new life and new freedoms. These books combine fact and fiction to show how these brides and grooms, all from diverse backgrounds, joined in marriage to create new lives and build a great country.

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A woman in search of her father…

A soldier in search of a future…

A journey through the maelstrom of the Russian Revolution…

Elizabeth Clarke gave her brother a silver locket to remind him of home as he left for war in June of 1917. But as the Great War ends for America, it continues on for Elizabeth. While carrying out duties for the US State Department, her father went missing in the chaos of the Russia Revolution. When word arrives that he is alive and needs assistance moving a valuable and mysterious “package” out of Russia, it is up to his children to organize the rescue.

While the mission moves forward, Elizabeth discovers that the locket she gave her brother has become more than a link to her brother in times of war, but also between her and other members of her brother’s regiment, including the veteran Captain Robert Rainey, a man who raises emotions in her that are unfamiliar and a dangerous distraction to the mission.

As they plunge into the maelstrom of the Russian Revolution, they face warlords, anarchists, monarchists, Bolsheviks, and Cossacks in a conflict with many sides and brutal treachery. They also find a dark force following them, hoping to be led to her father and the precious “package” that could change the course of history.

Amazon/Audible • iTunes

Amazon/Audible • iTunes

Amazon/Audible • iTunes