Sugarplums and Scandal

( 35 )
Pick Up In Store

Pick Up in Store

Reserve and pick up in 60 minutes at your local store

Paperback (Mass Market Paperback) 
A small-format, low-cost paperback -- usually 4 1/4" x 6 3/4" -- most often used for genres such as mystery, romance, and sci-fi, as well as bestsellers with broad commercial appeal.
$7.99
BN.com price
Marketplace (New and Used)
from
$0.89
$7.99 List Price (Save 89%)
Usually ships in 1-2 business days
All (46)  
Used (27)  
New (19)  
Close
Sort by
Page 1 of 5
Showing 1 – 10 of 46 (5 pages)
$0.89
(Save 89%)
OwlsBooks-TRM
Seller since 2009

Feedback rating:

(22568)

Condition:

New — never opened or used in original packaging.

Like New — packaging may have been opened. A "Like New" item is suitable to give as a gift.

Very Good — may have minor signs of wear on packaging but item works perfectly and has no damage.

Good — item is in good condition but packaging may have signs of shelf wear/aging or torn packaging. All specific defects should be noted in the Comments section associated with each item.

Acceptable — item is in working order but may show signs of wear such as scratches or torn packaging. All specific defects should be noted in the Comments section associated with each item.

Used — An item that has been opened and may show signs of wear. All specific defects should be noted in the Comments section associated with each item.

Refurbished — A used item that has been renewed or updated and verified to be in proper working condition. Not necessarily completed by the original manufacturer.

Good
Giving great service since 2004: Buy from the Best! 4,000,000 items shipped to delighted customers. We have 1,000,000 unique items ready to ship! Find your Great Buy today!

Ships from: Lakewood, WA

Usually ships in 1-2 business days

  • •Canadian
  • •International
  • •Standard, 48 States
  • •Standard (AK, HI)
  • •Express, 48 States
  • •Express (AK, HI)
$0.89
(Save 89%)
OwlsBooks-TRM
Seller since 2009

Feedback rating:

(22568)

Condition: Very Good
Giving great service since 2004: Buy from the Best! 4,000,000 items shipped to delighted customers. We have 1,000,000 unique items ready to ship! Find your Great Buy today!

Ships from: Lakewood, WA

Usually ships in 1-2 business days

  • •Canadian
  • •International
  • •Standard, 48 States
  • •Standard (AK, HI)
  • •Express, 48 States
  • •Express (AK, HI)
$0.99
(Save 88%)
Thrift It
Seller since 2009

Feedback rating:

(909)

Condition: Acceptable
Acceptable Book is in good reading condition. Cover has wear at edges and corners, and may have creases. Spine has wear at edges and may have creases.

Ships from: Washington, DC

Usually ships in 1-2 business days

  • •Canadian
  • •Standard, 48 States
  • •Standard (AK, HI)
  • •Express, 48 States
  • •Express (AK, HI)
$1.00
(Save 87%)
Springys Treasures MI
Seller since 2007

Feedback rating:

(1040)

Condition: Good
2006-10-31 Mass Market Paperback Good EX LIBRARY: has library markings.

Ships from: Irons, MI

Usually ships in 1-2 business days

  • •Canadian
  • •International
  • •Standard, 48 States
  • •Standard (AK, HI)
  • •Express, 48 States
  • •Express (AK, HI)
$1.98
(Save 75%)
New Chapter Recycling
Seller since 2010

Feedback rating:

(3293)

Condition: Good

Ships from: Lakewood, WA

Usually ships in 1-2 business days

  • •Canadian
  • •International
  • •Standard, 48 States
  • •Standard (AK, HI)
  • •Express, 48 States
  • •Express (AK, HI)
$1.99
(Save 75%)
MotorCityBooks
Seller since 2009

Feedback rating:

(5054)

Condition: Acceptable
With pride from Motor City. All books guaranteed. Best Service, Best Prices.

Ships from: Brownstown, MI

Usually ships in 1-2 business days

  • •Canadian
  • •Standard, 48 States
  • •Standard (AK, HI)
  • •Express, 48 States
  • •Express (AK, HI)
$1.99
(Save 75%)
Yankee Clipper Books
Seller since 2009

Feedback rating:

(3924)

Condition: Acceptable
Sail the Seas of Value

Ships from: Windsor, CT

Usually ships in 1-2 business days

  • •Canadian
  • •International
  • •Standard, 48 States
  • •Standard (AK, HI)
  • •Express, 48 States
  • •Express (AK, HI)
$1.99
(Save 75%)
MotorCityBooks
Seller since 2009

Feedback rating:

(5054)

Condition: Acceptable
With pride from Motor City. All books guaranteed. Best Service, Best Prices.

Ships from: Brownstown, MI

Usually ships in 1-2 business days

  • •Canadian
  • •Standard, 48 States
  • •Standard (AK, HI)
  • •Express, 48 States
  • •Express (AK, HI)
$1.99
(Save 75%)
Free State Books
Seller since 2012

Feedback rating:

(1010)

Condition: Acceptable
Free State Books. Never settle for less.

Ships from: Halethorpe, MD

Usually ships in 1-2 business days

  • •Canadian
  • •International
  • •Standard, 48 States
  • •Standard (AK, HI)
  • •Express, 48 States
  • •Express (AK, HI)
$1.99
(Save 75%)
Free State Books
Seller since 2012

Feedback rating:

(1010)

Condition: Good
Book shows minor use. Cover and Binding have minimal wear, and the pages have only minimal creases. Free State Books. Never settle for less.

Ships from: Halethorpe, MD

Usually ships in 1-2 business days

  • •Canadian
  • •International
  • •Standard, 48 States
  • •Standard (AK, HI)
  • •Express, 48 States
  • •Express (AK, HI)
Page 1 of 5
Showing 1 – 10 of 46 (5 pages)
Close
Sort by
NOOK Book (eBook)
$7.99
BN.com price

Available on NOOK devices and apps

  • Nook Devices
  • NOOK
  • NOOK Color
  • NOOK Tablet
  • Tablet/Phone
  • NOOK for iPad
  • NOOK for iPhone
  • NOOK for Android
  • NOOK for Android (Tablet)
  • NOOK Kids for iPad
  • PC/Mac
  • NOOK Study
  • NOOK for PC
  • NOOK for Mac

Want a NOOK? Explore Now

More About This Book

Overview

SUGARPLUMS AND SCANDAL brings together the best of romance and mystery in one delightful collection of Christmas tales. In the expert hands of six of Avon's best storytellers, the holiday season takes on an air of love and scandalous surprises! Filled with Christmas miracles, romance, and suspense, this will make the perfect gift for both romance and mystery fans. Each author brings their own unique voice and characters to the collection, as well as their fan followings.

All I Want For Christmas is My Two Front Teeth – Lori Avocato

The Lords of Misrule – Dana Cameron

The Ghost of Christmas Passed – Mary Daheim

Partners in Crime – Cait London

Holly Go Lightly – Suzanne Macpherson

A Very Vampy Christmas – Kerrelyn Sparks

Product Details

  • ISBN-13: 9780061136955
  • Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
  • Publication date: 10/31/2006
  • Format: Mass Market Paperback
  • Pages: 336
  • Sales rank: 141,000
  • Product dimensions: 4.18 (w) x 6.75 (h) x 0.84 (d)

Meet the Author

Dana Cameron is a professional archaeologist, with a Ph.D. and experience in Old and New World archaeology. She has worked extensively on the East Coast on sites dating from prehistoric times to the nineteenth century. Ms. Cameron lives in Massachusetts. Ashes and Bones is her sixth novel featuring archaeologist Emma Fielding.

Read an Excerpt

Sugarplums and Scandal

By Dana Cameron

HarperCollins Publishers, Inc.

Copyright © 2006 Dana Cameron
All right reserved.
ISBN: 0061136956

Chapter One

According to the druids, mistletoe was traditionally considered to be the semen of the gods.

I looked at the Hope Valley Sentinel article and wondered if the editor of our local newspaper had gone nuts. "Semen of the gods"? They had the nerve to print such sexual innuendoes in this ethnic, moral, homespun, Wonder Bread suburban Connecticut town?

With my jaw down to my chest (a very common occurrence when I am stunned), I read on that the liquid of the berries looked and had the texture of semen. Geez. They actually printed that in a newspaper where folks like Mrs. Kaminski, the local gossip, Mr. Gansecki, the local over-eighty stud, and Miss Nawrocki, the local moral majority would read it? Yikes.

Slowly I looked up to see the ball of mistletoe hanging from my mother's foyer ceiling. Then I scrunched up the newspaper (only the semen/berry article) and stuck it into the pocket of my jeans.

Stella Sokol would rather die than hang those kinds of berries from her nineteen sixties ceiling.

And to think I'd kissed Jagger, The Delicious, under it last Christmas Eve. He was my sometimes partner in solving crimes, my all-the-time fantasy man. Yum.

I gulped.

"Pauline? Pauline Sokol, what is taking so long?" my mother yelled from the kitchen.

Even as a nurse, a thirty-something, and as heronly single adult child, I couldn't tell her the truth. "Just reading the paper, Mom."

"What is so darned, excuse my language, important that you can't come help your mother make pierogies?"

I blew out a breath. For one thing, I hate making the little pillows of Polish dough, and each year put in my vote to buy ready-made ones, much to Stella Sokol's horror. And each year I end up taking time off from work to stuff the suckers with cabbage, mashed potatoes or cottage cheese, a process which takes about twenty hours since my married siblings have toys to buy for their kids and don't have time to help.

I shook my head and told myself that I had no life.

Since I'd given up a thirteen-year nursing career to switch to medical insurance fraud investigating for Scarpello and Tonelli Insurance Company, things haven't been going too well for me.

"Pauline!" Mom's voice was so loud I could swear she was--I swung around--"Oh! Hey, Mom"--then I knocked the rest of the paper onto the floor.

She'd snatched the paper up as if I were some male teen who'd been reading Playboy (okay, nowadays all they had to do was boot up the Internet for peeping, but Stella wouldn't know that).

She looked down at the paper. "Toothless Holiday? Oh my."

I said a silent prayer to Saint Theresa for letting me have the foresight to pocket the berry article.

"Pauline? Are you reading about this poor man who doesn't have his front dentures yet?"

Lying never came easily to me. Catholic school induced conscience and being raised by her, I guess was the reason. I looked at my mother waving the paper at me. "Yep. Very sad, huh?" and wondered why the hell the guy didn't have his front teeth yet.

She snatched my father's reading glasses from the top of his head. Daddy had been napping within snatching range in his favorite La-Z-Boy recliner.

He never even stirred.

Guess that's what over forty-four years of being married did to a couple. Me, I wouldn't know.

The paper crinkled and crackled in her grip. She stuck on the glasses and read for a bit.

"Oh, my. How sad. How awful indeed. This poor man's dentist is holding his dentures hostage. Do something about this. Be a Good Samaritan for the holiday season. Or, you could, of course, go back to nursing. I'm sure they have those fill-in kinds of jobs at all the hospitals. Go back to Saint Gregory's where you used to make a decent living."

She never failed to remind me about the gigantic, nationwide nursing shortage. "Actually," she continued, "since you are not snooping around for the next week, go help this man so he can eat his Christmas dinner." With that she shoved the newspaper at my chest and gave me one of her "motherly" looks. "Seems right up your alley."

Now, none of us five kids could ever duck fast enough to avoid one of those looks. If "When E.F. Hutton talks, people listen," then when "Stella Sokol tells her kids something, they better damn well do what she says."

I grabbed the paper, held it in one hand, and knew that my Christmas vacation plans of R&R, overdosing on chocolate, and maybe dating a few hot guys had come to a screeching halt.

Seemed, for me anyway, the "you know what" of the gods was going to stay in the little white mistletoe berries this year--yet again.

As I stared way too long at the now-fascinating mistletoe, the doorbell rang.

Mother yelled from the kitchen, "Come in, Mr. Jagger," My heart did a one eighty in my chest. She'd once again invited him over without my knowledge. And he'd never corrected her when she called him "mister" either.

And how the hell did she know his phone number?

The door opened, Jagger nodded at me, and then came forward.

Oh . . . my . . . god.

His kiss landed on my right cheek. Cheek? Cheeeeeeeek?

Semen schmemen.

My hands ached from stuffing a gazillion pierogies with Lord knows what. My mother would stick a bowl in front of me, and I'd spoon it into the dough robotically. I looked up to see Jagger sitting across from me as if nothing on his body pained him--even though he'd been the official dough roller. Mother'd had her wooden rolling pin since the dawn of light, so it didn't exactly roll like Teflon; but with the strength in those arms (I took a deep breath for a Jagger moment), rolling a gazillion pillows of dough didn't seem to bother him in the least.



Continues...
Excerpted from Sugarplums and Scandal by Dana Cameron Copyright © 2006 by Dana Cameron. Excerpted by permission.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.

Customer Reviews

Average Rating 4
( 35 )

Rating Distribution

5 Star

(19)

4 Star

(6)

3 Star

(4)

2 Star

(3)

1 Star

(3)

Your Rating:

Review Guidelines
Add Recommendations
Your Name: Create a Pen Name or Leave Anonymously

Barnes & Noble.com Review Rules

Our reader reviews allow you to share your comments on titles you liked, or didn't, with others. By submitting an online review, you are representing to Barnes & Noble.com that all information contained in your review is original and accurate in all respects, and that the submission of such content by you and the posting of such content by Barnes & Noble.com does not and will not violate the rights of any third party. Please follow the rules below to help ensure that your review can be posted.

Reviews by Our Customers Under the Age of 13

We highly value and respect everyone's opinion concerning the titles we offer. However, we cannot allow persons under the age of 13 to have accounts at BN.com or to post customer reviews. Please see our Terms of Use for more details.

What to exclude from your review:

Please do not write about reviews, commentary, or information posted on the product page. If you see any errors in the information on the product page, please send us an email.

Reviews should not contain any of the following:

  • - HTML tags, profanity, obscenities, vulgarities, or comments that defame anyone
  • - Time-sensitive information such as tour dates, signings, lectures, etc.
  • - Single-word reviews. Other people will read your review to discover why you liked or didn't like the title. Be descriptive.
  • - Comments focusing on the author or that may ruin the ending for others
  • - Phone numbers, addresses, URLs
  • - Pricing and availability information or alternative ordering information
  • - Advertisements or commercial solicitation

Reminder:

  • - By submitting a review, you grant to Barnes & Noble.com and its sublicensees the royalty-free, perpetual, irrevocable right and license to use the review in accordance with the Barnes & Noble.com Terms of Use.
  • - Barnes & Noble.com reserves the right not to post any review -- particularly those that do not follow the terms and conditions of these Rules. Barnes & Noble.com also reserves the right to remove any review at any time without notice.
  • - See Terms of Use for other conditions and disclaimers.
Search for Products You'd Like to Recommend

Recommend other products that relate to your review. Just search for them below and share!

Create a Pen Name

Your Pen Name is your unique identiy on BN.com. It will appear on the reviews you write and other website activities. Your Pen Name cannot be edited, changed or deleted once submitted.

Your Pen Name can be any combination of alphanumeric characters (plus - and _), and must be at least two characters long.

Continue Anonymously

We're sorry, but penname is already taken.

Please select one of the following:
Your Pen Name can be any combination of alphanumeric characters (plus - and _), and must be at least two characters long.

Continue Anonymously

penname is available!

By visiting the BN.com website or marking a purchase on BN.com, a User is deemed to have accepted the Terms of Use.

Continue Anonymously

Welcome, penname

You have successfully created your Pen Name. Start enjoying the benefits of the BN.com Community today.

See All Sort by: Showing 1 – 20 of 35 Customer Reviews

  • Posted December 9, 2008

    more from this reviewer

    a reviewer

    ¿All I want for Christmas is My Two Front Teeth¿ by Lori Avocato. Medical insurance fraud investigator Pauline Sokol is determined to get the dentures an elderly man paid for to his dentures for the holidays. She believes the dentist is practicing fraud but there is more to the story than meets the eye-------- ¿The Lords of Misrule¿ by Dana Cameron. Christmas Eve in London 1722 is chaotic to say the least. A missing gift, a murdered footman and an attack on a maid put the daughter of the house in the position of finding what links these events and to whom.---------- ¿The Ghost of Christmas Passed¿ by Mary Daheim .B&B owner Judith McMonigle Flynn is having her whole eccentric extended family over for Christmas dinner. Her only worry is that her mother insists she saw a ghost, her who disappeared decades ago. The truth is the best gift of all.----------- ¿Partners in Crime¿ by Cait London. Someone is breaking into Cecilia¿s home messing it up and preventing her car from working. She¿s afraid to go to the sheriff because she thinks he¿s behind these crimes but a stranger in town attaches himself to her as her protector even though he might be the one she needs protecting from.-------------------- ¿Holly Go Lightly¿ by Suzanne MacPherson. Holly is a ghost who won¿t pass on until she undoes a great wrong. Somehow she must find a want to get Nick to travel to the house of her best friend Carol where a great surprise is waiting for him.------------- ¿A Very Vampy Christmas¿ by Kerrelyn Sparks. Vampires have their own television network, Digital Vampire Network and one of the shows produced on it is As A Vampire Turns starring Maggie O Brien and Dan Orlando. When Maggie realizes her leading man is not a Don Juan but a man suffering from amnesia her heart opens up to him and she vows to find out whom he was before he turned.------------------ Avon authors from the mystery, romantic suspense, romance and paranormal genres give readers a special holiday treat with tasty tales that demonstrates each author¿s considerable talent.-------------- Harriet Klausner

    2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

    Was this review helpful? Yes  NoThank you for your feedback.   Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.

  • Anonymous

    Posted November 8, 2006

    Seasonal reading.

    'All I Want For Christmas Is My Two Front Teeth' is by Lori Avocato. When Pauline's mother reads that a dentist is holding Mr. Leonard Niski's dentures hostage, even though the man's insurance has already paid for them, she tells Pauline to 'Do something about this. Be a Good Samaritan for the holiday season.' Pauline must admit that is does sound like dental fraud. Since she and Jagger investigate insurance fraud for a living, perhaps they should look into it. =============== 'The Lords Of Misrule' is by Dana Cameron. Set in London, Christmas Eve of 1722. Miss Margaret Chase 'Mags' calmly accepts the fact that there are extra guests in the house tonight. Father had arrived home with two friends, rather than just one, and her brother, Tommy, came home from Oxford with a friend as well. However, Mags is not prepared when she learns that her mother's new jewelry has been stolen, before her mother even opens the jewelry case filled with stones. Nor is Mags prepared when the body of a footman is found. But with Margaret's keen observations, and a little bit of help, Christmas Day may still dawn with joy. =============== 'The Ghost Of Christmas Passed' is by Mary Daheim. Innkeeper Judith McMonigle Flynn may not have any guests during the holiday season, but the place is still full of family. Problem is that her mother, Gert, is not acting normal. Gert is about to tell Judith and Renie a bit about a certain family member that disgraced the family long ago. It seems as though the certain family member in question is making an appearance. Either that or someone else who looks mighty like him. ============== 'Partners In Crime' is by Cait London. Cecilia Lattimer is a professional organizer. Even though the small town of Dewdrop has been experiencing a rash of burglaries recently, someone seems to be going an extra mile on Cecilia. Everybody likes Cecilia personally, but hates how Cecilia is always trying to organize everything and everyone. Who could possibly be the one out to harm Cecilia? The police chief? Cecilia saw him with a mistress. Her ex-fiancé? Cecilia said no at the alter because she learned what a monster he really was. Her ex-husband? He left Cecilia for a younger woman, but still seems possessive of Cecilia. And just WHO is this stranger that rescued her from three men in an alley and then parked his camper in her driveway? Is he protecting her or stalking her? ============== 'Holly Go Lightly' is by Suzanne MacPherson. Nick Fredrick could not seem to get his late fiancée, Holly Townsend, out of his mind today. Perhaps because it is Christmas Eve. Even when Nick gets to his parents' house, signs of Holly still abound. It is soon obvious to all that Holly's spirit is trying to communicate some vital information and she has only one night get her joyous message through. ============ 'A Very Vampy Christmas' is by Kerrelyn Sparks. About five years ago some clever vampires figured out that a vampire's image could be recorded using digital technology. So now there is DVN (Digital Vampire Network), though few mortals know that real vampires are the stars. Maggie O'Brian has been a vampire since the year 1884. Now she plays the part of a mortal doctor in love with a vampire on the soap opera 'As a Vampire Turns'. She auditioned for the part in order to meet Don Orlando, who plays the handsome vampire in the show. Maggie may have the role the wanted, but Don is not the wonderful man she thought she would be. According to Corky, the ruthless media queen of the vampire world, Don changes women as often as his socks. When Don tells Maggie that he has had amnesia since he was turned into a vampire over four years ago in New Orleans, Maggie decides to see what she can learn. ============== **** A wonderful anthology with six tales set around the Christmas Season. I found something for everyone in this novel. No kidding. I read historical romance, mystery, suspense, ghostly spirits, and even vampires. Wonderfu

    1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

    Was this review helpful? Yes  NoThank you for your feedback.   Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.

  • Posted March 20, 2012

    recommend

    good read

    Was this review helpful? Yes  NoThank you for your feedback.   Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.

  • Anonymous

    Posted December 21, 2011

    Keeps You Wanting More

    These short stories keep you wanting to read more about these characters. Each and every author has a different "flavor" that makes the stories unique. Great read for the holiday season.

    Was this review helpful? Yes  NoThank you for your feedback.   Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.

  • Anonymous

    Posted June 8, 2011

    No text was provided for this review.

  • Anonymous

    Posted February 25, 2011

    No text was provided for this review.

  • Anonymous

    Posted November 12, 2010

    No text was provided for this review.

  • Anonymous

    Posted February 24, 2012

    No text was provided for this review.

  • Anonymous

    Posted December 24, 2010

    No text was provided for this review.

  • Anonymous

    Posted October 26, 2008

    No text was provided for this review.

  • Anonymous

    Posted October 12, 2010

    No text was provided for this review.

  • Anonymous

    Posted January 28, 2010

    No text was provided for this review.

  • Anonymous

    Posted May 26, 2009

    No text was provided for this review.

  • Anonymous

    Posted October 4, 2010

    No text was provided for this review.

  • Anonymous

    Posted March 25, 2011

    No text was provided for this review.

  • Anonymous

    Posted November 28, 2010

    No text was provided for this review.

  • Anonymous

    Posted April 3, 2012

    No text was provided for this review.

  • Anonymous

    Posted January 1, 2012

    No text was provided for this review.

  • Anonymous

    Posted February 14, 2011

    No text was provided for this review.

  • Anonymous

    Posted May 17, 2011

    No text was provided for this review.

See All Sort by: Showing 1 – 20 of 35 Customer Reviews
If you find inappropriate content, please report it to Barnes & Noble
Why is this product inappropriate?
Comments (optional)
500 character limit