Best Selling Books by Julia Keller

High summer in Acker''s Gap, West Virginia—but no one''s enjoying the rugged natural landscape. Not while a killer stalks the small town and its hard-luck inhabitants. County prosecutor Bell Elkins and Sheriff Nick Fogelsong are stymied by a murderer who seems to come and go like smoke on the mountain. At the same time, Bell must deal with the return from prison of her sister, Shirley—who, like Bell, carries the indelible scars of a savage past. In Summer of the Dead, the third Julia Keller mystery chronicling the journey of Bell Elkins and her return to her Appalachian hometown, we also meet Lindy Crabtree—a coal miner''s daughter with dark secrets of her own, secrets that threaten to explode into even more violence. Acker''s Gap is a place of loveliness and brutality, of isolation and fierce attachments—a place where the dead rub shoulders with the living, and demand their due.

Prosecuting attorney Bell Elkins and her estranged teenage daughter, Carla, try to protect their town and each other in the aftermath of a shocking triple murder committed by an unknown shooter whose identity is gradually realized by Carla.

The Devil''s Stepdaughter, a story from Pulitzer Prize-winning author Julia Keller, takes us back into beloved prosecuting attorney Bell Elkins''s past. The year Bell turns eleven, she''s living with a foster family in the beautiful but poverty-stricken mountains of West Virginia, and Keller draws a heartbreaking portrait of the time in Bell''s life that shaped her into a woman who believes in fierce justice and fighting back.

"From the small towns of Appalachia they came, the young men who joined the fight for liberty in World War II. Now they are elderly, and some of them--like Harmon Strayer, father of prosecutor Bell Elkins''s former law school classmate--suffer from Alzheimer''s. When Harmon dies in an Alzheimer''s care facility from what appear to be natural causes, Bell confronts a mystery that brims with questions about memory, grief, and the lethal cost of burying the past. During a winter of record snow and cold, Bell and the people of Acker''s Gap, West Virginia, face isolation and hardship--and the threat from a killer who preys upon the old and the sick and the helpless"--

From the night-black depths of a coalmine to the sun-struck peaks of the Appalachian Mountains, from a riveting murder mystery to a poignant meditation on the meaning of love and family, the latest novel in the critically acclaimed series strikes out for new territory: the sorrow and outrage that spring from a real-life chapter in West Virginia history. Royce Dillard doesn''t remember much about the day his parents-and one hundred and twenty-three other souls-died in the 1972 Buffalo Creek disaster. He was only two years old when he was ripped from his mother''s arms. But now Dillard, who lives off the grid with only a passel of dogs for company, is fighting for his life one more time: He''s on trial for murder. Prosecutor Bell Elkins faces her toughest challenge yet in this haunting story of vengeance, greed and the fierce struggle for social justice. Richly imagined, vividly written and deeply felt, Julia Keller''s Last Ragged Breath is set in West Virginia, but it really takes place in a land we all know: the country called home.

A provocative look at the life and times of the man who created the original weapon of mass destruction Drawing on her investigative and literary talents, Julia Keller offers a riveting account of the invention of the world''s first working machine gun. Through her portrait of its misunderstood creator, Richard Jordan Gatling-who naively hoped that the overwhelming effectiveness of a multiple-firing weapon would save lives by decreasing the size of armies and reducing the number of soldiers needed to fight-Keller draws profound parallels to the scientists who would unleash America''s atomic arsenal half a century later. The Gatling gun, in its combination of ingenuity, idealism, and destructive power, perfectly exemplifies the paradox of America''s rise in the nineteenth century to a world superpower.

Based on a real-life event, Pulitzer Prize-winner Julia Keller’s latest Bell Elkins novel Fast Falls the Night takes place in a single 24-hour period, unfurling against the backdrop of a shattering personal revelation that will change Bell’s life forever. The first drug overdose comes just after midnight, when a young woman dies on the dirty floor of a gas station bathroom. To the people of the small town of Acker’s Gap, West Virginia, it is just another tragedy. It is sad—but these days, depressingly familiar. But then there is another overdose. And another. And another. Prosecutor Bell Elkins soon realizes that her Appalachian hometown is facing its starkest challenge yet: a day of constant heroin overdoses from a batch tainted with a lethal tranquilizer. While the clock ticks and the bodies fall, Bell and her colleagues desperately track the source of the deadly drug—and engage in fierce debates over the wisdom of expending precious resources to save the lives of self-destructive addicts.

Bone on Bone, the next powerful chapter in Pulitzer Prize-winner Julia Keller''s beloved Bell Elkins series, sends readers headlong into the thick of a mystery as young as today''s headlines -- but as old as the mountains that hold these lives in a tight grip. How far would you go for someone you love? Would you die? Would you kill? After a three-year prison sentence, Bell Elkins is back in Acker''s Gap. And she finds herself in the white-hot center of a complicated and deadly case -- even as she comes to terms with one last, devastating secret of her own. A prominent local family has fallen victim to the same sickness that infects the whole region: drug addiction. With mother against father, child against parent, and tensions that lead inexorably to tragedy, they are trapped in a grim, hopeless struggle with nowhere to turn. Bell has lost her job as prosecutor -- but not her affection for her ragtag, hard-luck hometown. Teamed up with former Deputy Jake Oakes, who battles his own demons as he adjusts to life as a paraplegic, and aided by the new prosecutor, Rhonda Lovejoy, Bell tackles a case as poignant as it is perilous, as heartbreaking as it is challenging.

"[An] emotion-charged mystery.... Keller''s sleuths are easy to like and the murder story is moving; but the object of fascination here is Wellwood, a state-run mental institution with a dark history as a repository for ''rebellious, unruly women.''" —The New York Times Book Review Pulitzer Prize-winning author Julia Keller welcomes readers back to West Virginia, where her lyrical and moving stories of the people of her native state have unfolded since A Killing in the Hills, the acclaimed first novel in the series. Deep in the woods just outside Acker''s Gap, West Virginia, rises a ragged chunk of what was once a high stone wall. This is all that remains of Wellwood, a psychiatric hospital for the poor that burned to the ground decades ago. And it is here that Bell Elkins – prosecutor turned private investigator – makes a grim discovery while searching for a missing teenager: A dead body, marred by a ghastly wound that can only mean murder. To solve the mystery of what happened in these woods where she played as a child, Bell and her partners – former sheriff Nick Fogelsong and former deputy Jake Oakes – must confront the tangled history of Wellwood and its dark legacy, while each grapples with a private torment. Based on a true chapter in the troubled history of early treatment for psychiatric illness, The Cold Way Home is a story of death and life, of despair and hope, of crime and – sometimes, but not always – punishment.

An investigation into the murder of a pregnant teenage girl is complicated by county prosecuting attorney Bell Elkins''s separation from the daughter who is living with her ex, Sheriff Nick Fogelsong''s strange behavior, and a person from her past.

Bell Elkins, prosecuting attorney and small-town heroine of Pulitzer Prize winner Julia Keller''s A Killing in the Hills, Bitter River and Summer of the Dead, faces one of her most challenging days in this exclusive digital short story. Featuring an exclusive extract from her new full-length novel Last Ragged Breath. For Bell Elkins no day is ever the same. But on this day, for the third day running, Bell has woken up from the same dream. A dream about a boy needing her help, reaching out to her. Bell, always unable to help. Already unsettled, she becomes embroiled, in her role as prosecuting attorney for Raythune County, in an investigation into a couple running a local day-care centre, and Bell suspects that her day is only going to get worse. A suspicion that is compounded when she''s forced to confront a friend''s treachery and a ghost from her past. No day is ever the same, but will Bell be forever changed by this one?

From Pulitzer Prize-winning author Julia Keller comes A HAUNTING OF THE BONES, another suspsenseful and provocative story that will keep readers up all night... Bell Elkins, prosecuting attorney for Raythune C1ounty, West Virginia, had always believed what she''d been told: Her mother abandoned the family when Bell and her sister, Shirley, were children. Later, Teresa Dolan died somewhere out West. And then comes a shattering discovery. During an excavation in a remote area of the county, a skeleton is found. DNA testing proves it is related to DNA already on file: that of a convicted felon named Shirley Dolan. Along with the age and approximate time of death, the DNA link leads to a chilling conclusion: These are the remains of Bell''s mother, Teresa Dolan. She didn''t run away. She was here all along. And further examination reveals that she was a homicide victim. Bell automatically pins the blame on her late father, Donnie Dolan. But evidence emerges that it could not have been him. And so Bell must solve the most agonizingly personal case of her career: Who murdered her mother?

By day, she''s a tough-minded prosecutor in Raythune County, West Virginia, a region scarred by poverty and prescription drug abuse. By night, Bell Elkins takes on a softer role. She volunteers at an auxiliary intensive care unit where nurses deal with the youngest and most vulnerable victims of drug abuse: the children born to mothers addicted to painkillers. The place is known as Evening Street, and it is here Bell comes whenever she can spare the time. She rocks ailing infants to sleep, and she provides what medical science-for all of its marvels-cannot: A simple human touch. One terrifying night, the distraught father of an Evening Street baby breaks into the facility. Gun in hand, he holds the staff hostage and demands a reckoning for a family grudge--with helpless infants only inches away. And so begins a standoff at Evening Street. Bell Elkins is swept up into the crisis, as the drama escalates toward a lethal flashpoint. At the center of it all is a baby, only hours old, but already ancient in his knowledge of pain.

In a town ravaged by deception, can one woman make a difference? From Pulitzer-prize winner Julia Keller comes A Killing in the Hills, the first in a series featuring prosecuting attorney Bell Elkins, set in the beautiful, crime-ridden town of Acker''s Gap. Perfect for fans of Linwood Barclay and Henning Mankell. ''A terrific debut - atmospheric, suspenseful, assured. I hope there''s more to come in the story of Bell Elkins and Acker''s Gap'' - Laura Lippman Nestled in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains, visitors see only Acker''s Gap''s stunning natural beauty. But for those living there it''s a different story. The mountain roads harbour secret places, perfect for making the prescription drugs that tempt its desperately poor. Bell Elkins left a broken teenager, savaged by a past she couldn''t forget. But, as prosecuting attorney for Raythune County, Bell is back and determined to help clean up the only home she has ever known. As winter sets in and her daughter is witness to a shocking triple murder, Bell finds her family in danger. Can she uncover the truth before her world is destroyed again? What readers are saying about A Killing in the Hills: ''A mesmerizing book'' ''The intertwined plots play out against a beautiful portrayal of this rural area, a wonderfully conveyed portrait'' ''I am an avid thriller reader and in my opinion this ranks among the best of them''

This discounted ebundle includes: The Dark Intercept, Dark Mind Rising, Dark Star Calling Julia Keller’s The Dark Intercept Trilogy is a thought-provoking science fiction adventure series that challenges the voluntary surrender of liberties for the perception of safety. When the state controls your emotions, how hard will you fight to feel free? When the state is no longer watching, what will you give to feel safe? “The Dark Intercept grabbed me from the first page and shook me until the last. A riveting and suspenseful story of love, risk, and betrayal.”—Emmy Laybourne, author of Berserker “In this fast-paced book, Julia Keller shows she’s at the top of her game—and her game is creating chills and absolute terror.” —New York Times bestselling author R.L. Stine on Dark Mind Rising The Dark Intercept: In a radiant world of endless summer, the Intercept keeps the peace. Violet Crowley, the sixteen-year-old daughter of New Earth’s Founding Father, has spent her life in comfort and safety. Her days are easy thanks to the Intercept, a crime-prevention device that monitors emotion. But when her long-time crush, Danny Mayhew, gets into a dangerous altercation on Old Earth, Violet launches a secret investigation that will lead her to question everything she''s ever known about Danny, her father, and the power of the Intercept. Much like the device itself, The Dark Intercept will get under your skin. Dark Mind Rising: New Earth, 2296. Two years after the destruction of a universal surveillance system called the Intercept, New Earth struggles to keep crime under control. The citizens are free, but not protected. Violet Crowley, the eighteen-year-old daughter of New Earth''s founder, has opened Crowley & Associates, a private detective agency, to handle the overflow from the overburdened police force. Violet''s first case—a death written off as a suicide—becomes an obsession. Soon a series of similar deaths leads Violet to believe the Intercept is not only still running—it''s in the hands of a killer. Dark Star Calling: New Earth, 2297. A year after the resurrection of a universal surveillance system called the Intercept, New Earth is collapsing. Humanity is depending on a group of five friends to find them all a new home. Together they discovered their utopian home is on an unstoppable collision course with Earth. Together they look to the stars to find a world suitable for human life and what they find there—or rather who—will change them all forever. At the Publisher''s request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

Julia Keller''s Dark Star Calling is the third and final book in the Dark Intercept Trilogy, a high-concept YA science fiction saga. Out in the observatory, protruding from the vast gap in the roof, was the giant telescope. It stared unblinkingly into the night sky, its gaze peering deep into the wilderness of stars. Somewhere within that wilderness was the single star Rez was determined to find. New Earth, 2297. A year after the resurrection of a universal surveillance system called the Intercept, New Earth is collapsing. Humanity is depending on a group of five friends to find them all a new home. Humanity''s fate rests in the hands of Violet Crowley, a headstrong rebel and former detective turned hopelessly mediocre politician; Shura Lu, scientific genius and magnificently gifted artist; Kendall Mayhew, New Earth''s Chief of Police; Tin Man Tolliver, Kendall''s top deputy; and Steven J. Reznik, aka "Rez," NESA Director and Chief Technologist. Together they discovered their utopian home is on an unstoppable collision course with Earth. Together they look to the stars to find a world suitable for human life and what they find there—or rather who—will change them all forever. At the Publisher''s request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

Want to quit? Good. Learn to shape your life without fear—at work, at home, in relationships, and beyond. “Compelling,” (Cal Newport) “Liberating,” (Amy Dickinson) and “as entertaining as it is important” (Steven Levitt). Simone Biles quit the Olympics. Prince Harry and Meghan Markle quit The Firm. Millions of people have quit their jobs, seeking happiness and defining success on their own terms. Is it a mistake? As Pulitzer prize-winning journalist Julia Keller found out, it’s not. And, in fact, it might even save your life. Diving into ‘the neuroscience of nope’ and the cultural messages that drive our reluctance to throw in the towel, Keller dismantles the myth of perseverance once and for all. Because grit isn''t always great. Sticking it out doesn''t always pay off. And quitting can be an unexpected act of self-love. Quitting: A Life Strategy reminds us that, in order to live meaningful, satisfying lives, we have to be able to say “no”—full stop. With Keller’s guidance, readers will learn: The art of the quasi quit. How quitting makes space for key breakthroughs. Why bootstrapping is a lie. How to manage guilt and shame. Weaving cutting-edge scientific research with incisive pop culture commentary and conversations with people who have made profound change in their own lives, Keller gives readers the confidence they need to pull the plug. "If you’re thinking about quitting a job or leaving a marriage, don’t—at least not until you have read this book.” ―Joseph T. Hallinan, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and bestselling author of Why We Make Mistakes

In the 23rd century, there is a radiant world of endless summer where peace is maintained through emotional surveillance performed by a peculiar device called the Intercept. When Violet Crowley, the sixteen-year-old daughter of New Earth’s Founding Father, is smuggled an artifact covered mysterious markings, it''s up to her and her friends to decipher the message. Julia Keller''s "The Tablet of Scaptur" is a standalone story set before the events of The Dark Intercept. At the Publisher''s request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.