When Ember Quinn visits Christmas Village to assist her elderly great-aunt Phoebe in the holiday chocolate-making tasks, the last thing she expects is for an elf to get murdered at their back door.

She soon discovers that toy-making elf, Alfie Svenson, was up to no good. Not only that, but he had a mysterious accomplice. Too bad Ember suspects that accomplice might be Phoebe.

With the reluctant help of Brimstone the snarky cat, Ember must dodge lying elves, creepy snowmen, unfriendly reindeer, an angry toy factory manager, and a sleigh-transportation boss who might be involved in organized crime in order to find the real killer.

This humorous Christmas cozy mystery novella features Ember Quinn and Brimstone from Leighann Dobbs’s Silver Hollow series in a twisty, old-fashioned whodunit in a warm and cozy Christmas village setting.

"The story is engaging, the suspense is authentic, and his characters are industrious, accessible, and great role models for the target audience." –Authors Reading

“Arthur, is that what I think it is?” she gasped.

Summer vacation for Arthur and Marya takes a very strange turn when a weird old man with a long white beard draws the two friends into an ancient mystery that they must solve in order to recover a magical artifact from the distant past. They soon learn that they are not the only ones who seek this relic; closing in on them are powerful evil forces that will stop at nothing to get their hands on it. With help from some very unlikely sources, Arthur and Marya unravel clues that lead them to their goal, only to discover that it is protected by creatures they never imagined. When they find themselves deep underground, with time running out and with nothing to rely on but their own courage and trust in each other, the teenagers must vanquish inhuman forces if they want to get out alive.

A brutal killer. A helpless victim. But which one is she?

Samantha Rader always knew she was different. Her morbid fascination with death and murder kept her isolated and alone from the world, growing up with a father who kept them off the grid. An ex-seal, he's made sure his little girl knows how to protect herself. But Sam’s continuing urge to kill intensifies after witnessing a brutal homicide. Now holding the skill-set to kill and a thirst for blood, the monster inside her is finally unleashed. But it's not just anybody this killer wants to find. She's hunting those that prey on the innocent.

The Victim Killer is the first book in the Sam Rader Thriller series. If you liked Jack Reacher and Dexter, then you will love this gritty and suspenseful crime thriller.

Buy The Victim Killer today and prepare for a heart-pounding ride into a serial killer’s worst nightmare.     

Jessie wills the young woman to breathe as she desperately tries to save her life. Between chest compressions, she catches a glimpse of her face. The girl could be on her honeymoon—chestnut hair tumbling around her head, rose petals gripped in her hand, like she had been holding a bouquet. Wake up, please…

Jessie Novak is determined to find the person who viciously attacked a young, popular schoolteacher, Ann. Her partner Detective Sam Dallas is assigned to the case and together they dig into Ann’s past, trying to find the person who wanted to hurt her. But then Jessie receives a gift that sends shivers up her spine: a huge bouquet of blood-red roses, just like the ones Ann was clutching…

As the first snow falls, another body turns up. Jessie is standing in the morgue when the sheet is pulled back, her heart stopping when she sees a familiar face. She looks down at her friend Bert, a local journalist, who has supposedly committed suicide whilst investigating Ann’s death. But as Jessie examines his body, she sees defensive wounds that make her sure: this is another murder by the same killer.

Jessie is utterly devastated when she realizes she missed several calls from Bert before he died. He was reporting on the case and when she listens to his last message—don’t trust anyone—it’s clear he was getting too close to the truth. Determined to avenge Bert’s death, Jessie tracks a lead to an abandoned house, putting her life on the line. Can Jessie turn the tables on the killer, or is she just a dead girl walking?

A totally addictive mystery novel that will leave you gasping for breath and have your heart thumping! Fans of Lisa Regan, Gregg Olsen and Tess Gerritsen will be completely hooked.
 

Readers are utterly hooked on Dead Girl Walking!

“My heart was racing, the tension building and the excitement exploding. I read this book in a day, reluctantly putting it down when real life got in the way. I absolutely loved the writing style of this story and cannot wait to be reunited with Jessie Novak in her next adventure.” Goodreads Reviewer ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

“Wow what a fantastic book… An edge-of-the-seat thriller. It had a lot of twists and turns which made this book great… Great book.” Goodreads Reviewer ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

“A new author I have been wowed by! As a debut with Bookouture, this was one hell of a phenomenal novel!… Whether you’re a thriller lover like me or enjoy a mystery, this novel really does pack a punch… Riveting… The suspense installed the pace in this novel and was so intriguing and that I didn’t want to stop reading and I had to reluctantly force myself to put it down. After I’d finished work I picked it straight back up and finished it the same day. I really can’t form words to express how great this book was! Well done to Roberta Gately, you have a new fan!” Goodreads Reviewer ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Foreword's "Book of the Year" IndieFab Finalist

Big Book Award's Distinguised Favorite

Book Excellence Awards Finalist

"Percy juggles both plotlines effectively while addressing important social issues." –Publisher's Weekly

***This box set includes the first four mysteries in the Monastery Valley Series. Book #5, The Fury Before the Fire, releases January 28, 2021.

CLIMBING THE COLISEUM (Book 1)

It’s the rugged Monastery Valley of Montana. High on the cliff called the Coliseum stands a man, deciding whether to live or die. In the valley below, Grace Ellonson, fourteen, will be abandoned by her mother. Where has Grace’s mother gone, and why has she left her daughter behind? A rancher will be seduced into a racist and anti-government conspiracy—who’s leading the conspiracy and what are his plans? Depressed psychologist Ed Northrup and Monastery Valley newcomer deputy sheriff Andi Pelton struggle to unravel these mysteries before they explode in a violent collision. And amid the chaos, Ed, Andi, and Grace must face the most formidable decision of their lives.

NOBODY'S SAFE HERE (Book 2)

When cattle baron Magnus Anderssen collapses mentally, psychologist Ed Northrup struggles to find the cause - a terrible event buried in Magnus's past leaving him veering between suicide and murder. Meanwhile, Deputies Andi Pelton and Brad Ordrew clash as they investigate Jared Hansen, a boy caught with rifles and a paranoid plan to kill his schoolmates. Their problem? Jared, a great kid, a school leader, has no previous problems. Ordrew’s convinced Jared’s a mass shooter-in-waiting, but Andi’s not. Ed joins their search for whatever caused his radical transformation from great kid to psychotic killer. It’s a race against time: Magnus grows more irrational and homicidal, Jared's insanity may not be controlled before it’s too late, and Ed’s risky plan to save the boy may destroy his relationship with Andi. Nobody’s Safe Here, a psychological thriller, tells the story of a community of ordinary, decent people facing terrifying mysteries.

THE BISHOP BURNED THE LADY (Book 3)

A mysterious fire in a remote forest clearing; a woman's charred bones; unexplained tracks in the rutted road—the only clues Deputy Andi Pelton has to what happened. Then she meets an old man living alone in a forest compound that obviously houses many people. Sex trafficking in the Montana wilderness? As Andi and psychologist Ed Northrup struggle to solve the brutal and fiery murder, Andi faces a fear she didn’t know she had. The horrors they unearth lead them deep into the appalling reality of prison gangs and a cult led by a malign Bishop—and threaten to overwhelm Andi and Ed’s romance and her growing bond with her “step-girlfriend,” Ed’s adopted daughter, Grace. Will that center hold when Andi finds the killer holding a knife against her throat? And if it does and she succeeds, will she be able to face her greater fear?

STANDING OUR GROUND (Book 4)

A cold-blooded murder. The victim: a fourteen-year-old boy. The shooter waits patiently for the cops and calmly explains his right to kill the boy. “I was defending my property.” Can Deputy Andi Pelton find the evidence to break through the killer’s stand-your-ground defense? Suddenly, Sheriff Ben Stewart almost dies and cannot campaign for re-election. Andi knows she has to take his place—her nemesis, Deputy Brad Ordrew, runs unopposed and he’s promised to fire her when he’s sheriff. Can she stand her own ground to stay in Monastery Valley while she tries to solve the murder and defends herself against scurrilous political ads paid for by a mysterious stranger?

He’s seen death before. But this time, his hands will be stained by his own blood.

Colin Dowey can’t forgive himself. Plagued with survivor’s guilt for freezing up during a lethal workplace shooting, the bank teller pours his heavy heart into elaborate roleplaying games as the ultimate detective. But he lands one last chance to ease his conscience in real life when a deposit box’s cryptic contents attract the attention of a psychotic assassin.

Desperate to stop the homicidal lunatic from gleefully torturing his loved ones, Colin takes the encoded info to the smartest pair of redneck preppers he knows. But when the wise-cracking brothers break the cypher, he’s shocked to discover an obsessed billionaire with a gun aimed at the whole world’s head.

Can he overcome his post-traumatic fears before his first live-action adventure triggers a deadly game over?

The Killing Tide is a fast-paced standalone thriller. If you like captivating protagonists, ethically driven villains, and hilarious sidekicks, then you’ll love Jonathan Daniel’s high-octane race for survival.

Buy The Killing Tide to dive for cover today!

Private Eye, Joe Nails, has a problem.

In this intelligently written, and darkly comic, anti-noir mystery set in the smoky world of 1958 San Francisco, Joe experiences a series of surrealistic yet disturbing dreams, in which his once best friend pleads for Joe’s help, before turning a gun to his own head and firing. To ease his lingering doubts, Joe sets out to locate him, only to discover he disappeared without a trace weeks before the dreams began. But Joe now wants answers, and thereby becomes embroiled in an encircling noose of confusion, passion, anguish, and deception.

Joe Nails has a problem all right, an entire shopping list of them, but as he speeds down an unrelenting road of murder and desperation with no off-ramps, he just may solve a few…providing the approaching .357 yearning for another victim allows it.


 

FREE Advance Reader Copy available from BOOK SIRENS now!

London,1981. As race riots erupt, Prince Charles and Lady Diana prepare to marry & New Romantics dance, an identity-shifting serial killer is operating in plain sight. But no-one has realised except Detective Inspector Anna Leeding, who has secrets of her own…

“Don’t You Want Me?” is a novel for fans of twists, thrillers, history, music, and popular culture.

Richard Easter, author of “The General Theory Of Haunting” & “The Gentle Art Of Forgetting” turns his perspective-and-time-bending literary style to the serial killer genre with “Don’t You Want Me?”
Amid the cultural and social upheaval of 1981,D.I. Leeding suspects apparent accidents and suicides could be subtle acts of revenge, and strange blue charcoal messages may be the key to something bigger and deadlier.
But in this cat-and-mouse story of vengeance, no-one is quite what they seem, and in 1981, when the New Romantics played with image, first appearances can be deceptive.

1981 was not so removed from today, with a highly divisive celebrity President, and race protests filling the streets. A time when gender and sexual identity were openly questioned, and the far right clashed with the far left. There was an existential threat; today, climate change and Covid-19, in 1981,we hoarded food and prepared for when either the U.S or Russian leader pushed the nuclear button.
So to everyone who was there and those for whom this is their first time, “Don’t You Want Me?’ welcomes you to 1981. It was a hell of a year.

Richard Easter’s previous two novels are rated an average of 4.3 and 4.4 on Amazon.

How do you catch a killer who never leaves a clue?

Bridgette Cash is a rookie detective working her first murder case. The circumstances surrounding the murder of a young woman lead her to believe it’s the work of a serial killer, but nobody is listening. Convinced the killer will strike again shortly, can Bridgette find enough evidence to catch the killer before another young woman is murdered?

‘We have a patient who has been involved in a serious accident. We believe he’s your husband.’

When Freya first met Phil, she thought he was the man of her dreams. He bought her roses every week, booked surprise trips to sun-soaked destinations, and showed her affection like she’d never experienced before. But over time the dream has become a violent nightmare. And now Freya is packing her bags, knowing it’s time she escaped their increasingly broken marriage.

But then Freya gets a visit from the police. Phil’s been in a horrific car crash and – as he comes around – it becomes clear that he remembers nothing since their blissful honeymoon two years before, back when their relationship was perfect. All he wants is to be happily married again.

Freya knows giving him another chance could be dangerous. But now he’s the one who needs her, it’s a chance to turn the tables, and to change the outcome of their relationship once and for all. After all, he will only know what she chooses to tell him…

But what really happened during those two years of marriage? And as they start over again, who is safe? And whose life is in danger?

Fans of The Girl on the Train, Behind Closed Doors and Date Night, who are looking for a dark, gripping psychological suspense novel, will love The Stranger in My Bed.
 

Readers are loving The Stranger in My Bed:

‘This book has to be my favourite read of this year, hands down! I couldn’t put it down to the point I read this in less than 24 hours. I was not stopping until I knew the whole story!… There were so many spins to this story and each chapter had me second guessing… Currently shopping for more books written by Karen King because this was amazing!’ Books With Loz, 5 stars

‘One of the best thrillers I have read this year… will leave readers on the edge of their seats… I was hooked from the first few pages. Grab this book!’ Goodreads Reviewer, 5 stars

‘This book is twisty. Even the twists have twists in them.’ NetGalley Reviewer, 5 stars

‘Just absolutely fantastic!… Completely gripping and unpredictable. The author really pulls you into the story and as the tension and suspense builds it’s just one of those books you have to keep reading… Completely unpredictable and I have loved it. This is definitely one I recommend. Without a doubt a five star read for me.’ Little Miss Book Lover 87, 5 stars

‘I was really hooked… A story which is full of lies, deceit and mistrust, and I really enjoyed trying to work out exactly who was telling the truth and who wasn’t. There was lots of tension and suspense and plenty of red-herrings… so just when you thought you’d worked it out…boom, it all changed!!’ Stardust Book Reviews

‘From the first chapter to the last, this book drew me in, and kept me on the edge of my seat. The drama, the intrigue, the twists and turns, and everything in between… I absolutely loved this book… This author is now one of my favorites.’ Goodreads Reviewer, 5 stars

‘An intricate spiderweb with twists and turns… Karen King does a wonderful job of capturing the reader’s attention… Really engrossing.’ Goodreads Reviewer

‘This was fantastic, I was so excited reading it and rushed through it in a few hours… The twists kept coming and I didn’t know who or what to believe!... Phenomenal writing!’ Mrsbookburney, 5 stars

‘Intense… This was an epic ride. Where do I start? Amazing characters, amazing twist, I want more from this author. I already added this book to our book club list.’ Goodreads Reviewer, 5 stars

"This nervy, disturbing, gut-punch of a vigilante novel is unlike anything you’ve ever read. It’s also one of the year’s best thrillers." –Best Thrillers

“The first thing we do, let’s kill all the lawyers.” –Dick the Butcher, William Shakespeare, Henry VI, Part 2, Act IV, Scene 2

Ron Rellick agrees.

Simple and sweet. We all know how lots of people hate lawyers, especially if they have ever been sued. Dr. Ron Rellick loses everything, including his sanity, to a malpractice claim and goes homicidal.

The title has a dual meaning… The legal system is strangling America, and now a serial killer is strangling the legal system.

Get inside the mind of a good man turned violent. See how the evil of corrupt lawyers leads to unforgiving vengeance. Dr. Rellick becomes the hunter to avenge what he sees as the scales of justice fractured and out of balance.

The streets aren't safe when your enemy wears a blue uniform and a gold badge.

What if the good guys weren't good?

What if a cop went rogue and killed an innocent man?

What if it was all caught on video and the cop would do anything to cover it up?

"Much like the script of an action-packed movie, Enemy in Blue will buffet you from one hair-raising scene to another -- and will always leave you pondering, who's the real enemy?" -L.Capritta

For anyone that craves an action-packed thriller and can't get their fill of Grisham, Koontz or Patterson...Enemy in Blue is your next escape!

"For action, body-count and digging into the underworld of police politics--this is really a great read.  However, the best asset of the novel is the incredible drawing of the antagonist--the evil Sergeant Shaver really shines."  -P.Weekly
 

James Cornleak is jailed for 18 years after a trial with dubious evidence. His father and a gang of estate lads battle the forces of law and justice to prove his innocence. Despite many failures, the lads end up with an unexpected prize. A fast moving thriller with intrigue and murder that rallies the people of a council estate.

Santa Claus isn't who, or what, you think he is!

Santa Claus is an Arctic Wolf Shifter, and the mantle has always passed down to his sons. But this Santa didn't have any boys, he has 4 girls!

What's a Santa to do?
Santa wants his eldest daughter to marry Rock, the son of the pack's Beta wolf. When Lizzie refuses to marry the wolf her father/Santa chooses because she wants to marry for love, not pack standing, a shift in the Magic occurs.

Lizzy is pulled to Los Angeles by the Christmas Magic looking for adventure and possibly her future Santa. What she finds instead shocks her and her family.

When Lizzie learns of an attempted take-over of Christmas and all things Santa, she and her family jump into action to defend the legacy of Santa Claus!

Will she settle for the man Santa tells her to mate with? Or will she trust her heart and Christmas Magic instead?

This Boxed set includes all four books in the Miss Claus series, and a special short story as well:

1. Miss Claus and the Secret Santa
2. Miss Claus Under the Mistletoe
3. MIss Claus and the Christmas Wedding
4. MIss Claus and Her Polar Opposite
5. Santa Meets Mrs. Claus - Special Short Story

If this sounds like a fun-filled adventure the whole family can read, that's because it is! It might even help to convince your unbelieving teens that Santa really does exist! And maybe you will come away believing as well.

Scroll up and 1-click or read for free now so you can immerse yourself into the Christmas fantasy today!

Merry Christmas everyone!

"Have fun with this book - it is a fine new look at Santa Claus, very modern and paranormal and sort of what we need at this time in the world!" - Grady Harp, December 16 Amazon top 100 reviewer

**This is a clean and exciting read teens and adults will enjoy.**

PASSION, INTRIGUE, POWER, AND MONEY

A fascinating look at the early days of the world’s most glamorous industry—Hollywood. It was the latest “gold rush”—when ambitious, if unscrupulous, men and women flooded California to turn cinematic dreams into reality, regardless of the moral cost.

Johnny Edge, a former carnival barker, schemes and plots his way to the top while Peter Kessler turns his back on a staid life of small-town stability to stake his fortune on the movie business. Beautiful starlet Dulcie Warren is willing to use her sexuality and to play dirty to get to the top, if that’s what it takes. When the lives of these three ambitious, determined characters collide, they have the potential to build a dream—or shatter one.

“He is still recognizable as the playboy-novelist who—spurning nice reviews and a different kind of reputation—happily wrote about money for money, and about sex for sex.” —The New Yorker

2018 American Fiction Awards Finalist - Mystery/Humor

2018 PenCraft Awards Winner for Literary Excellence

“Boswell continues his genre-defying series in this ambitious adventure…” –Publishers' Weekly

“Boswell has created yet another comedic gem. A laugh-out-loud, tongue-in-cheek exploration of dastardly deeds and mayhem.” –Authors Reading

"A truly hilarious mystery in the tradition of Janet Evanovich, Thomas Davidson and Rich Leder." –Best Thrillers

***This box set includes the first three mystery novels in the Simon Grave Mystery series by Len Boswell. Book #4, Simon Grave and the Sons of Irony, releases January 14, 2020.

A Grave Misunderstanding (Book 1)

Murder has come once more to the seaside town of Crab Cove, testing the mettle of “almost handsome” Detective Simon Grave and his “nearly invisible” partner, Sergeant Barry Blunt, who investigate a locked-room mystery with a significant twist: the prime suspects are in the locked room, not the victim, a logic-defying situation that challenges the team at every turn.

As if murder weren’t enough, they must also investigate the simultaneous disappearance of The MacGuffin Trophy from that same locked room, the studio of artist Whitney Waters, famous for her stylized paintings of red herrings.

Who is/are the killer(s)? How did he/she/they get out of the locked room with the trophy, kill the victim, and return unnoticed by others in the room? These and other questions, including the limits of logic and the meaning of life, are posed and perhaps even answered in this quirky, near-future mystery. Yes, there are robots.

Simon Grave and the Curious Incident of the Cat in the Daytime (Book 2)

Murder rocks the seaside town of Crab Cove, but to solve the crime, Detective Simon Grave must first deal with the curious incident of the cat in the daytime.

Murder has come yet again to the seaside town of Crab Cove, testing the mettle of Detective Simon Grave, his “almost invisible” partner, Sergeant Barry Blunt, and his new assistant, Charlize, a simdroid (an android lookalike of a famous person) who fancies herself a match for Sherlock Holmes, in the simulated body of Charlize Theron.

When a body is discovered on a deserted beach, alongside a deactivated Betty White simdroid, the game is afoot. Grave must not only deal with the murder, but also come to grips with a deadly prognosis for his retired detective father. The murder and his father’s illness take them on a tour of local cemeteries, including a new graveyard that features multiscreen videos celebrating the lives of the deceased.

They soon discover that the only way to solve the murder is to first deal with the curious incident of the cat in the daytime.

Simon Grave and the Drone of the Basque Orvilles (Book 3)

A demon hound haunts Crab Cove, taking its victims as they come. When a mutilated corpse is found in the marshes, Detective Simon Grave rises to the challenge. Everything points to the hound, but it is quickly apparent that the body has been stabbed repeatedly, in a way that suggests serial killer Chester Clink also may be involved. Or maybe not.

Grave and his team, including his partner, Sergeant Barry Blunt, and androids Charlize and Smithers, who fancy themselves as Sherlock Holmes and Watson, follow clues that lead them from drone manufacturing plants, to the labyrinthine caves along the shore, to the abode of a strange Scotsman who plays his bagpipes on a bluff above the crime scene. As always in Crab Cove, one killing leads to another, further pressuring Grave to solve the mystery—fast. The year is 2053. Time to... Release the hounds! (And the drones.)

A brilliant reporter, haunted by her husband's death...

A disgraced cop, tangled in a web of lies...

Two unlikely heroes. One unthinkable crime.

The Crime Beat, Episode 1: New York

Perched on the soft tar of a New York City rooftop, a mysterious sniper fires a single round from a fifty caliber rifle. Five stories below, his target collapses on the marble steps of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, dead.

Crime reporter Jane Cole needs this story badly. Suspended NYPD cop Robert Warren is desperate to clear his name. They don't trust each other, but they make the perfect team. And as Cole and Warren track the killer, they uncover a plot so ruthless it shocks the conscience, a crime so expansive it will rock the world.

Perfect for readers of Michael Connelly and fans of True Detective or Jack Ryan, The Crime Beat is your next bingeable series from bestselling author A.C. Fuller. 
-----

The Crime Beat is a nine-episode novella series, designed to be read in order and in its entirety. Although each episode tells a complete portion of the story, the nine novellas--read together--weave one unforgettable tale.

“He deserves to be murdered.”
“Who said that?”
“Apparently, you did.”

With her bitter divorce behind her, Eve Lloyd wants to relax and think about her next step. Paying her aunt, Mira Lloyd, a.k.a. Elizabeth Lloyd, renowned historical romance author, a long overdue visit, she plans to spend a month on Rock-Maine Island lounging around and plotting the launch of her new life. Her ex-husband, however, has other ideas. As for her aunt… she’s gone missing. And now there’s a dead body to contend with and a murder weapon with her fingerprints on it.

A mantle of suspicion hangs over Eve and everyone she encounters has a reason to want her out of the way. Unwilling to leave matters in the hands of swoon worthy Detective Jack Bradford… only because it’s her civic duty to provide a new perspective, Eve Lloyd engages the assistance of her new friend and fellow suspect, Jill Saunders. They both stumble their way through a long list of possible motives and suspects in a race to find the killer before either one turns into the next victim.

Clean read: no graphic violence, sex, or strong language.

Gifts can take on many forms, and in Austin Conrad’s world, sometimes life itself is the greatest gift of all.

It’s Christmas Eve and all Austin Conrad wants is to close up shop and spend the rest of the night with Frankie. But trouble has a way of finding him, and his sense of duty won’t let him turn away when a stranger needs his help. Before the sun rises on Christmas day Austin must race through Las Vegas’ seedy underworld to save a life…or take one.

If you are new to Austin Conrad, The Last Gift is a bite-sized introduction to this tough, memorable antihero who readers are comparing to "Jack Reacher meets Sons of Anarchy." If you've ridden shotgun with Austin before, you'll love this quick trip back into his world, with cameos from some of your favorite side characters from previous books.

Warning: contains violence, profanity and irreverence, in equal measure.

SOME AMISH COMMUNITIES AREN’T SO COZY.

Unholy Ground is the gripping new installment to the Serenity’s Plain Secrets’ mystery/crime thriller series.

Sheriff Serenity Adams journeys to a northern Indiana Amish settlement to search for a missing girl, and discovers a young outsider has also vanished into thin air. Serenity suspects the cases are connected, and joins forces with an unlikely ally to find answers. When she goes undercover, the sinister truth of the girls’ whereabouts begins to unravel, and she finds herself in a race against time to save the girls, and a desperate fight for her own survival.