In the words of Alexander McCall Smith: 'You feel the rocking of the train, you hear the sound of its wheels on the rails; you are in the world rather than suspended somewhere above it. And sometimes there are conversations to be had, which is what the overarching story in this collection is all about. It is a simple device: people brought together entertain one another with tales of what happened to them on trains. It takes place on a journey I frequently...

Rachel takes the same commuter train every morning. Every day she rattles down the track, flashes past a stretch of cozy suburban homes, and stops at the signal that allows her to daily watch the same couple breakfasting on their deck. She's even started to feel like she knows them. "Jess and Jason," she calls them. Their life -- as she sees it -- is perfect. Not unlike the life she recently lost. And then she sees something shocking. It's only a...

"Now kids can build confidence about accepting and rejecting physical contact from others."--Jacket.

Christmas has never brought out the best in the MacDougal family. Still, year after year, they gather together in the Blue Ridge Mountains to try to make the season merry and bright. But this year is an especially strained one, between Shayne's impending divorce, Morwenna's slavish devotion to work, and Bobbie's reluctance to face what life has to offer. Then, in the midst of a snowy sibling shouting match, a mysterious stranger appears.

They were strangers. A handful of people from different backgrounds, living in different towns and cities across America, that had nothing in common--except fear. They were victims. Cold and stark, an unknown terror gripped their dreams and turned their days into living nightmares. They were chosen and they could not escape. Deep in the heart of a sprawling desert, a dark memory called out to them drawing them to the Tranquility Motel--where the terrifying...

Crashing the wedding of complete strangers who don't belong together, Solange agrees to be the former groom's pretend girlfriend to make up for her interference, and as they fake date for the benefit of his colleagues, they form an undeniable connection.

Unhappy about his baby sister's illness and the chaos of moving into a dilapidated old house, Michael retreats to the garage and finds a mysterious stranger who is something like a bird and something like an angel.

Christopher Robin teaches Pooh and Piglet some of the safety rules regarding strangers.