The Bucks County Novels – by Margaret Sorick

Once a year (yes, I’m terrible at marketing…) I like to remind my followers that I have a series of novels available for purchase on Amazon. The novels are set in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, where I live. My characters are ordinary people with families, people who fall in love and sometimes find themselves in outrageous circumstances. While the same cast of characters appears in each of the books, the plot focuses on a different one every time. The first  novel in the series: Three Empty Frames won first prize in The Writer’s Digest E-book Awards for Mainstream Fiction in 2017. Here is a look at each one of them:

Three Empty Frames  – Book OneThree Empty Frames_02_HR_front_2

Life just got complicated for Jennifer Dunne. Her dead mother’s diary has revealed clues to a famous art heist from the 1960s. Have the missing masterpieces been hidden among her things all this time? Jen is targeted by a pair of ruthless criminals who certainly think so. Meanwhile, she’s falling in love with her new lawyer, who works with her to unravel the clues. But will the fledgling relationship survive when another handsome rival appears on the scene? And have the clues to the whereabouts of the missing masterpieces led them astray? Were the paintings hidden in plain sight all along?

Seeing Red – Book Two 514HE57Sz1L

Beautiful, hardworking, Desdemona Murray doesn’t see herself the way others do. She only remembers the awkward teenager she once was. The talented landscape designer is hired to install a custom deck at the home of star football player, Ethan Samuels. When she catches the eye of the handsome professional athlete, and he begins to pursue her relentlessly, she is at first, flattered and amazed. However, her heart belongs to a man whom she believes only considers her a friend. Adam Quinn has always been a ladies man, not one to settle down, or so she thinks. Little does she know his feelings for her run much deeper. When Des finally sees both men for who they really are, the choice she must make is obvious. But when she chooses, Des finds out how dangerous it can be to break free from a man who can’t take no for an answer.

Run For It – Book Three fullsizeoutput_cc7

Joni Cooper is in the best shape of her life. In fact, she’s training for the Boston Marathon. So why does she feel like the last kid picked for the team? Mostly because her two best friends have fallen in love with a pair of handsome brothers. It looks like she’s stuck with the third and final brother, Graham, as an escort for both weddings. Even though Graham is gorgeous and successful, he’s also irritating as sin. Will the two of them manage to call a truce until the two couples are married? Or will the sparks these two generate erupt into a five alarm fire?

Tainted Inheritance – Book Four fullsizeoutput_f0c

Why would anyone want to hurt Olivia Sutton? Her life was finally coming together after her divorce. She’s found new love with contractor Leo Donovan and made a fresh start in a new home. When she becomes the victim of one too many random accidents, she realizes someone is stalking her. Has something in her past come back to haunt her? And can she and Leo discover the secret before it’s too late?

Breaking Bread – Book Five breaking bread_01 copy

Maya Kaminsky has finally realized her dream of owning a French bakery cafe, despite the opposition of her rigid, narrow-minded family. But as the business grows and thrives, Maya discovers she has an enemy. Beginning with petty mischief, the cafe becomes targeted by vandals who quickly escalate to dangerous sabotage. To complicate matters, Maya’s childhood friend, Brad Logan, moves back into town and with his recent inheritance, buys her building, intending to help her out. However, Maya’s fierce independence makes it a struggle to accept help from anyone, let alone a man with whom she finds herself falling in love. Nevertheless, Maya will need all the help she can get to save both her business and her life.

Inhuman (2)

You can find part one of the story here.

(2)

Amanda paled. “What do you mean, it’s like he’s not alive?”

Ignoring her question, the doctor hurried to the door and called for one of the nurses to come quickly.

Brian sat in stunned silence. He shook his head to clear it. “There must be something wrong with his equipment,” he murmured.

Amanda smiled nervously. “Yes, yes. Of course you’re right. It’s got to be some sort of malfunction.”

The doctor returned, a second stethoscope and sphygmomanometer in his hands and performed the tests a second time. Without a word, he shook his head in dismay. A moment later a nurse entered the room with yet another set of tools and a tray with syringes and vials. When the third examination yielded the same results, the doctor readied the syringe. “Bloodwork,” he said. “We’ll get to the bottom of this.” But as he probed for a vein, his look of concern turned to fear. “I can’t even find a vein. I’m sorry… let me just try…” he said as he found a spot and gently pressed the needle into flesh. “What the…?” he said, stumbling back. The needle had barely penetrated Brian’s skin. He tried another spot and another. Then the other arm but it was no use.

“What is it? What’s going on?” Amanda demanded, the doctor’s alarm apparent.

“There’s something under the skin. Some kind of barrier.” He sat heavily on his rolling chair and looked at Brian with awe. “Artificial limbs? Some kind of advanced technology? Experimental surgery? Something? Anything? Any way you can explain this?”

Brian shook his head. “Never even had my tonsils out.”

The doctor rubbed his hands over his face. “We need to run more tests. I’m sending you to the hospital.” He turned to the nurse. “Call ahead. Tell them the situation so they’re ready and waiting for him.” Then taking a deep breath, he continued, “There has to be a logical reason for these findings. We’ll get x-rays, a CT scan, maybe an MRI. The hospital is one of the finest in the country. You’ll be in the best possible hands.”

They sat, not speaking while the doctor typed furiously into his laptop. A moment later, the nurse returned to let them know a team of doctors would be expecting them and gave them directions as to where to go.

As Brian slipped his shirt back on, there was a commotion in the waiting room. “Excuse me a moment, will you?” the doctor said and hurried from the room. Amanda and Brian exchanged a look as the sound of raised voices, then shouting and doors slamming reached their ears.

“We’d better go see what’s happening,” Brian said. But just as they reached the door, it flew open and two imposing figures blocked the way. The men, at least they assumed they were men based on their size, were dressed in hazmat suits, masks and boots.

“You both need to come with us,” one of them ordered.

“But what…?” Brian began, before the other one cut him off.

“Everything will be explained. We need to go now. This is not optional.” And to emphasize his point, he raised his gloved hand to show them a gun.

Each man took Brian and Amanda by the arm and escorted them through the now deserted office. A third man stood guarding the door. After exiting the building, they were herded into a waiting van. Just as the door was sliding closed, Amanda turned back to see the man guarding the office pull of his mask and unzip the suit.

“What’s going on? Are we in some kind of danger?” Brian demanded as the van began to move.

The two men who had rushed them from the office now removed their protective clothing as well. The one holding the gun spoke. “No. We just needed a plausible cover to remove you from the office. The staff and the other waiting patients were told there was a noxious spill, and we were clearing the area as a precaution.”

“But why? Where are you taking us?” Amanda asked, her voice shaking.

“I’m not authorized to answer your questions. Please be patient,” he said.

“We were supposed to be going to the hospital… my husband…” Amanda began.

“We are aware of that ma’am. That’s how we found you. We been monitoring medical facilities on the chance something like this would happen. That’s all I can tell you. Please remain calm.”

“Remain calm?!? Remain calm?!?” Amanda cried. Brian tried to put an arm around her but she shook it off. “You need to tell us what’s going on and where you’re taking us, right now! Right this very minute!”

The two men exchanged a look and the one not holding the gun opened a small case sitting on the floor beside him. “We hoped it wouldn’t come to this.” He extracted a syringe and before Amanda could react, stuck it into the side of her neck.

“No….” she sighed as she felt unconsciousness overwhelming her. The last thing she remembered was staring up at the dome light of the van.

To be continued…

Breaking Bread – Available on Kindle

My latest novel in The Bucks County series is now available in e-book format on Amazon! And within a few days, after working out the kinks with formatting, the print edition will follow.

You can find all the Bucks County Novels in both print and e-book on Amazon. If you have read and enjoyed the books, one of the best ways to support an independent author is to 1) spread the word and 2) leave a good review of the book.

Thank you all for your kindness, honest feedback and friendship during this process.

Breaking Bread:

Maya Kaminsky has finally realized her dream of owning a French bakery cafe, despite the opposition of her rigid, narrow-minded family. But as the business grows and thrives, Maya discovers she has an enemy. Beginning with petty mischief, the cafe becomes targeted by vandals who quickly escalate to dangerous sabotage. To complicate matters, Maya’s childhood friend, Brad Logan, moves back into town and with his recent inheritance, buys her building, intending to help her out. However, Maya’s fierce independence makes it a struggle to accept help from anyone, let alone a man with whom she finds herself falling in love. Nevertheless, Maya will need all the help she can get to save both her business and her life.

About the author:

My name is Margaret but everyone calls me Meg. I am a Pennsylvania native and a Bucks County resident since 1992. I write because I love books. I want to crawl inside them and live among the characters, solve their mysteries, fight their villains, love their heroes… You get the idea! I hope you enjoy The Bucks County novels: a series of romantic suspense stories set in the region where I live.