In his evocative debut novel Carl Nordgren weaves an ambitious tale about the power of dreams, the hope of new beginnings, and the dangers of ghosts who haunt our past.

Brian Burke emigrates from 1950s West Ireland to the wilderness of Northwest Ontario with his partner Maureen O Toole. He's been exiled from his village, and she is running from her IRA past. The dreams of an Ojibway clan elder bring the Irish to the sacred place on the River, where they build The Great Lodge of Innish Cove.

The dreams tell of a white man who will destroy the River and another who will protect it. While the Ojibway believe Brian and Maureen are the River s guardians, Maureen s IRA connections and the construction of a pulp mill upstream threaten to destroy the newly created Eden before it even begins.

Under the watchful eye of a warrior spirit, the clan and their Irish companions risk all they love to protect the River and the promises it holds for their future. The fates of the two groups will intertwine as both seek to ward off the encroachment of the modern world.

In The 53rd Parallel readers will find a rich tapestry that weaves together the literary influences of such giants as Peter Matthiessen, Ken Kesey, Jack London, and Ernest Hemingway (whose son appears in Book 2 of the River of Lakes series).

When Celia Patrick arrives at the Bingham Reserve in the North Carolina mountains, something is very wrong. Celia is supposed to be on a much-needed family vacation, but when she hears whispers about a missing woman in the beautiful but treacherous landscape, she can't ignore the pull of the mystery.

Did Pamela Stevens get lost? Was she lying injured on the trail? Or did something more sinister happen? Soon, Celia is mired in the middle of a potential murder investigation, and everyone has something to hide:

The Type-A Resort Manager
The Devastated Husband
The Rest-on-his-Laurels Deputy
The Grizzled Local Water-Sports Guide

With each passing day, the road to unraveling the mysery grows colder and the odds of finding the lost hiker alive diminish. Despite the risk to her family, her sanity, and her safety, Celia refuses to give up the search. She's been down this dark path of obsession in a case before, and this time she is determined to find the missing woman alive.

Book 2 in the River of Lakes Series

In this evocative series spanning oceans and decades, award-winning author Carl Nordgren weaves a tale about the power of dreams and the dangers of ghosts who haunt our past.

In Worlds Between, book two of the River of Lakes series, readers are immersed in the idyllic setting of the fishing camp Maureen and Brian have built with Joe Loon's clan along the English River. The visit of IRA sympathizers, the building of a hydro-electric dam, and a dangerous accident provide a chilling reminder that old threats still lurk even as new dangers emerge.

Even as she celebrates the extraordinary birth of her child, Maureen continues to battle the ghosts of her IRA past. Brian grasps at the fraying promises of Eden as his world is torn apart. The Ojibway find their land and traditions further curtailed by the encroachment of the modern world. And This Man watches out over all.

"At its heart, Worlds Between is an accessible, engaging and sympathetic tale of families, cultures, and the choices that shape them. It will please fans of historical fiction, family sagas and stories from around the world."
–Foreword Reviews, 5 stars

“[Carl's] writing is remarkably lovely from the first page.”
–Foreword Reviews, 5 stars

Eliza Fox must be smarter than the police and a step ahead of the killer.

When an exchange student is found dead in the music practice rooms of Wexford College, there are few suspects and no clear answers. Martina Noto's parents will fly into California from Rome as soon as they can, but until then the nearest relatives are Martina's cousins: Private Investigator Eliza Fox and her mother, Francesca Noto-Fox.

As detectives Byron Comstock and Jessica Fonseca get familiar with the case, Eliza is determined to help catch Martina's killer. She quickly begins her own investigation and is soon caught up in the twists and turns of finding the murderer, a far cry from her usual work as a paralegal. Often out of her depth, Eliza must overcome her own inexperience and learn to trust her instincts as she fumbles through her first high-stakes case.

Filled with both humor and suspense, this is one traditional mystery novel you don't want to miss.

"Music is life. Music is a reflection of who we are as humans. Music tells us things that words can’t, it ignites feelings in us that we didn’t know we had, and it can reach a depth that nothing else can.” —Susan Graham, renowned American mezzo-soprano

Music has existed as long as there have been people to listen. It takes on many forms and is many things, providing entertainment, emotion, storytelling, and most of all, magic for all who hear.

In revealing and genuine interviews, Larry Ruttman converses with world-renowned musicians of the 21st century and engages them in an approachable manner. Dive into the recesses of their minds to discover the influences and inspiration behind classical music and other popular genres such as pop, jazz, folk, Americana, and many other genres impacting today’s musical culture.

Perfect for dedicated fans, determined students, and the casually interested listener to music of all genres, Intimate Conversations: Face to Face with Matchless Musicians is sure to inspire, fascinate, and entertain.

Jacob Hart has always been convinced there is an answer to any problem. That belief propelled him to a successful engineering career at corporate giant, GoldOrb Diversified. But following an abrupt retirement and his wife's untimely death, Jacob suffers an existential crisis. The man who once believed that anything could be solved becomes all consumed with uncovering the role of a higher power in his seemingly crumbling world. Plagued with prophetic visions, he travels to Lake Paradise in pursuit of his coveted answer to life's mysteries.

Joined in his quest by a kind Rabbi who has lost his faith, an unruly Ivy League professor, and the powerful CEO of GoldOrb, Jacob enters into a philosophical pursuit for the ages. But the troubles of the real world follow the friends to paradise, and soon they are ensnared in a high stakes political scandal that threatens to destroy everything.

The Overexamined Life of Jacob Hart tests the bonds of friendship, family, and country and infuses existential questions from time immemorial with modernity, intrigue, and sheer excitement.

In a kill or be killed world, The Reaper does whatever it takes to survive.

Following the murder of his half-brother, legendary Army Ranger Luke Foster returns to the United States from fighting terrorists. His brother’s history with a prominent New York Mafia family was no secret, so it’s no surprise his life was cut short. But the Mafia enforcers don’t know about Foster, his reputation as The Reaper, or that he’s coming for them.

FBI Special Agent Calico Hayes is determined to stop Luke Foster from leaving a trail of bodies across the U.S. in his unsanctioned quest for vengeance. But stopping Foster’s revenge proves more difficult than she expected, and sparks fly in more ways than one when the two cross paths.

While investigating his brother’s murder, they uncover a sinister plan to assassinate a populist presidential candidate. Hayes and Foster must put purpose before passion in order to stop the diabolical plot that could trigger a World War.

When Medusa and Tiresias rise from the Underworld as twenty-first-century teens and meet through Persephone and Hades' new dating app, it seems like a second chance. Dating is hard when you turn everyone to stone, but dating a blind prophet may be a loophole … even if he does occasionally spout dire prophecies.

But not everyone is pleased with an app designed to kindle romance between mortal enemies. As distrust grows between the heroes, monsters, and gods making up the app's user base, it’s easier to fall into old habits than fall in love. With pressure building on both sides, Medusa and Tiresias accept their task: kill their date, no matter how much they bond over their love of dogs or the way the gods have wronged them in the past.

Caught amongst meddling gods, murderous heroes, and a classic Greek bet, Medusa and Tiresias may have signed up for more than a dating profile. With war brewing at the hands of the gods, working together may be the only way to save mortals and monsters alike.

Told entirely through instant messages and transcripts, this is one mythically funny romantic comedy you don’t want to miss.

Celine Arceneau was admitted to the hospital for food poisoning and declared medically stable before her physician, Ellen Smythe, left for the evening. When she died the next morning from an unknown cause, Chief Detective Stefan Jablonsky suspects foul play and eyes Dr. Smythe, Dr. Kate Chambers’ friend and mentor, as his prime suspect. Pittsburgh’s amateur sleuth quickly joins the fight to prove her friend’s innocence.

Chief Detective Jablonsky and Kate Chambers have worked together in the past; he finds her and her university friends to be elitist and annoying, but grudgingly effective, and she finds him to be a stodgy, old-school detective, but one who always gets the killer. Jablonsky and Kate must put aside their differences to catch the culprit before the body count rises.

This psychological mystery will hold you captive until the very end. Locked Box is the third book in the Pittsburgh Murder Mystery series: however, each book can be read as a stand-alone or in order of publication.

Recent college graduate Joel Howard, former bench warmer for his small town college team, is optimistic about his future with his out-of-his-league girlfriend and a job prospect with a local insurance agency. But things don’t work out the way he plans when his girlfriend dumps him and he remains stuck at his unfulfilling position at the local shoe store in the mall.

Desperately seeking a change of pace from his father’s unrelenting nagging, Joel hatches a plan to rob the mall’s bank on the night of Black Friday, 1987.

Joel has always been lucky, despite the current string of bad luck. Has his luck run out? Or will it return in time to get him out of trouble?

Lucky Duck is a comedic crime novel perfect if you’re looking for something with the flavor of a John Hughes film from those 80s and 90s tomes like Risky Business or Breakfast Club.