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I Am the Light of This World

Michael Parker

Acclaimed author Michael Parker tells the searing  and unforgettable story of one decision that irrevocably changes  the course of a young man’s life.

In  the  early  1970s,  in  Stovall,  Texas,  seventeen-year-old  Earl—a  loner,  dreamer,  lover of music and words—meets Tina, the new girl in town. Tina convinces Earl to drive her to see her mother in Austin, where Earl and Tina are quickly separated. Two  days  later,  Earl  is  being  questioned  by  the  police  about  Tina’s  disappearance  and the blood in the trunk of his car. But Earl can’t remember what happened in Austin,  and  with  little  financial  support  from  his  working-class  family,  he  is  sentenced for a crime he did not commit.

Forty  years  later,  Earl  is  released  into  a  world  he  can  barely  navigate.  Settling  in a small town on the Oregon coast, he attempts to establish a sense of freedom from both bars and razor wire and the emotional toll of incarceration. But just as Earl finds the rhythm he’s always sought, his past returns to endanger the new life he’s built.

Steeped in the music and atmosphere of the 1970s, I Am the Light of This World is a gritty, gripping, and gorgeously written story of loss, redemption, and the power of the imagination, perfect for fans of Ron Rash, Rachel Kushner, and Laird Hunt.

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Stella Maris

Cormac McCarthy

 

NEW YORK TIMES BEST SELLER The Pulitzer Prize–winning author of The Road returns with the second volume of The Passenger series: Stella Maris is an intimate portrait of grief and longing, as a young woman in a psychiatric facility seeks to understand her own existence.
1972, BLACK RIVER FALLS, WISCONSIN: Alicia Western, twenty years old, with forty thousand dollars in a plastic bag, admits herself to the hospital. A doctoral candidate in mathematics at the University of Chicago, Alicia has been diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia, and she does not want to talk about her brother, Bobby. Instead, she contemplates the nature of madness, the human insistence on one common experience of the world; she recalls a childhood where, by the age of seven, her own grandmother feared for her; she surveys the intersection of physics and philosophy; and she introduces her cohorts, her chimeras, the hallucinations that only she can see. All the while, she grieves for Bobby, not quite dead, not quite hers. Told entirely through the transcripts of Alicia’s psychiatric sessions, Stella Maris is a searching, rigorous, intellectually challenging coda to The Passenger, a philosophical inquiry that questions our notions of God, truth, and existence.

 

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Leech

Hiron Ennes

"[ Leech ] is The Thing meets The Alienist . . . beautifully written and so strangely humane . . . I will follow this writer anywhere going forward." --Gillian Flynn, New York Times bestselling author of Gone Girl A surreal and horrifying debut, Hiron Ennes's Leech defies our understanding of identity, heredity, and bodily autonomy. An Amazon Book of the Month! An October "Great Reads" Indie Next Pick! A Wall Street Journal Best Book of 2022! "A wonderful new entry to Gothic science fiction, impeccably clever and atmospheric. Think Wuthering Heights ... with worms!"--Tamsyn Muir MEET THE CURE FOR THE HUMAN DISEASE In an isolated chateau, as far north as north goes, the baron's doctor has died. The doctor's replacement has a mystery to solve: discovering how the Institute lost track of one of its many bodies. For hundreds of years the Interprovincial Medical Institute has grown by taking root in young minds and shaping them into doctors, replacing every human practitioner of medicine. The Institute is here to help humanity, to cure and to cut, to cradle and protect the species from the apocalyptic horrors their ancestors unleashed. In the frozen north, the Institute's body will discover a competitor for its rung at the top of the evolutionary ladder. A parasite is spreading through the baron's castle, already a dark pit of secrets, lies, violence, and fear. The two will make war on the battlefield of the body. Whichever wins, humanity will lose again.
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Amok

Barry Eisler

When the government offers a twenty-six-year-old former Marine a five-figure payday, there's only one question: Who does he have to kill?

1991. A restless young man called Dox is back home in Texas. His friends have missed him, and his mother and sisters need him. But after four years as a Marine and another two as a CIA contractor fighting the Soviet Union alongside the Afghan mujahideen, small-town life in Abilene is a suffocating dead end.

Another secret war, this one in Southeast Asia, offers a big payday and the solution to his family's troubles. But secret wars are never what they're billed to be, and Dox is about to get the education of his young life. Among the lessons--the only thing more dangerous than war is falling in love with your enemy.

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A Place to Land

Lauren K. Denton

A hidden past isn’t past at all.

Violet Figg and her sister Trudy have lived a quiet life in Sugar Bend, Alabama, since a night forty years ago that stole Trudy’s voice and cemented Violet’s role as her sister’s fierce and loyal protector. Now Trudy spends her days making sculptures from found objects and speaking through notes written on scraps of paper, while Violet runs their art shop, monitors bird activity up and down the water, and tries not to think of the one great love she gave up to keep her sister safe.

Eighteen-year-old Maya knows where everyone else belongs, but she’s been searching for her own place since her grandmother died seven years ago. Moving in and out of strangers’ houses has left her exhausted. After seeing a flyer on a gas station window for a place called Sugar Bend, Maya chooses to follow the strange pull she feels and finds herself on the doorstep of an art shop called Two Sisters.

When a boat rises to the surface of Little River in the middle of the night, the present and no-longer-buried past collide, and the future becomes uncertain for Maya, Violet, and Trudy. As history creeps continuously closer to the present and old secrets come to light, the sisters must decide to face the truth of what happened that night forty years ago, or risk losing each other and those they’ve come to love.

USA TODAY bestselling author Lauren K. Denton delivers another distinctly Southern story that shimmers with beauty and possibility.

“Denton is a masterful storyteller who makes magic on every perfect page.” —Kristy Woodson Harvey, New York Times bestselling author of The Wedding Veil

  • Full-length Southern women’s fiction
  • Stand-alone novel
  • Book length: approximately 82,000 words
  • Includes discussion questions for book clubs
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The Hollow Kind

Andy Davidson

The Hollow Kind seeps into your subconscious and waits for you in your nightmares.” S. A. Cosby, bestselling author of Razorblade Tears

Andy Davidson’s epic horror novel about the spectacular decline of the Redfern family, haunted by an ancient evil.

When Nellie Gardner learns that she has inherited a turpentine estate from her long-lost grandfather, she throws everything she can think of in her pickup and flees to Georgia with her eleven-year-old son, Max, in tow.

August Redfern’s “estate” is a decrepit farmhouse on a thousand acres of old pine forest, but Nellie sees it as the perfect refuge—a safe place to hide from her violent husband and the chance for a fresh start. But Max sees what his mother can’t: Redfern Hill is no haven. Something lurks beneath the soil, ancient and hungry, with the power to corrupt hearts and destroy souls. And Nellie’s return is about to wake it up.

From the author of The Boatman’s Daughter comes a jaw-dropping, terrifying novel about legacy and the nightmares hidden in family histories. Andy Davidson’s The Hollow Kind is a twisted tale of cosmic horror mixed with a stunning Southern Gothic fable that will haunt you long after you turn the final page.

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All the Blood We Share

Camilla Bruce

A sinister novel based on the real Bloody Benders, a family of serial killers in the old West bound by butchery and obscured by the shadows of American history.

The winds shift nervously on the Kansas plain whispering of travelers lost and buried, whispering of witches. Something dark and twisted has taken root at the Bender Inn.

At first the townspeople of Cherryvale welcome the rising medium Kate Bender and her family. Kate's messages from the Beyond give their tedious dreams hope and her mother's potions cure their little ills—for a price. No one knows about their other business, the shortcut to a better life. And why shouldn’t their family prosper? They’re careful. It’s only from those who are marked, those who travel alone and can easily disappear, that the Benders demand their pound of flesh.
 
But even a gifted seer like Kate can make a misstep. Now as the secrets festering beneath the soil of the family orchard threaten to bring them all to ruin, the Benders must sharpen their craft—or vanish themselves.

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The Lives of Brian

Brian Johnson

Brian Johnson's memoir from growing up in a small town to starting his own band to ultimately replacing Bon Scott, the lead singer of one of the world biggest rock acts, AC/DC. They would record their first album together, the iconic Back in Black, which would become the biggest selling rock album of all time.

Brian Johnson was born to a steelworker and WWII veteran father and an Italian mother, growing up in New Castle Upon Tyne, England, a working-class town. He was musically inclined and sang with the church choir. By the early '70s he performed with the glam rock band Geordie, and they had a couple hits, but it was tough going. So tough that by 1976, they disbanded and Brian turned to a blue-collar life.

Then 1980 changed everything. Bon Scott, the lead singer and lyricist of the Australian rock band AC/DC died at 33. The band auditioned singers, among them Johnson, whom Scott himself had seen perform and raved about. Within days, Johnson was in a studio with the band, working with founding members Angus and Malcolm Young, Cliff Williams, and Phil Rudd, along with producer Mutt Lange.

When the album, Back in Black, was released in July--a mere three months after Johnson had joined the band--it exploded, going on to sell 50 million copies worldwide, and triggering a years-long worldwide tour. It has been declared "the biggest selling hard rock album ever made" and "the best-selling heavy-metal album in history."

The band toured the world for a full year to support the album, changing the face of rock music--and Brian Johnson's life--forever.

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Indivisible

Joel Richard Paul

The story of how Daniel Webster popularized the ideals of American nationalism that helped forge our nation’s identity and inspire Abraham Lincoln to preserve the Union

When the United States was founded in 1776, its citizens didn’t think of themselves as “Americans.” They were New Yorkers or Virginians or Pennsylvanians. It was decades later that the seeds of American nationalism—identifying with one’s own nation and supporting its broader interests—began to take root. But what kind of nationalism should Americans embrace? The state-focused and racist nationalism of Thomas Jefferson and Andrew Jackson? Or the belief that the U.S. Constitution made all Americans one nation, indivisible, which Daniel Webster and others espoused? 

In Indivisible, historian and law professor Joel Richard Paul tells the fascinating story of how Webster, a young New Hampshire attorney turned politician, rose to national prominence through his powerful oratory and unwavering belief in the United States and captured the national imagination. In his speeches, on the floors of the House and Senate, in court, and as Secretary of State, Webster argued that the Constitution was not a compact made by states but an expression of the will of all Americans. As the greatest orator of his age, Webster saw his speeches and writings published widely, and his stirring rhetoric convinced Americans to see themselves differently, as a nation bound together by a government of laws, not parochial interests. As these ideas took root, they influenced future leaders, among them Abraham Lincoln, who drew on them to hold the nation together during the Civil War.

As he did in Without Precedent and Unlikely Allies, Joel Richard Paul has written in Indivisible both a compelling history and a fascinating account of one of the founders of our national perspective.

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States of Plague

Alice Kaplan

States of Plague examines Albert Camus’s novel as a palimpsest of pandemic life, an uncannily relevant account of the psychology and politics of a public health crisis.

As one of the most discussed books of the COVID-19 crisis, Albert Camus’s classic novel The Plague has become a new kind of literary touchstone. Surrounded by terror and uncertainty, often separated from loved ones or unable to travel, readers sought answers within the pages of Camus’s 1947 tale about an Algerian city gripped by an epidemic. Many found in it a story about their own lives—a book to shed light on a global health crisis.

In thirteen linked chapters told in alternating voices, Alice Kaplan and Laura Marris hold the past and present of The Plague in conversation, discovering how the novel has reached people in their current moment. Kaplan’s chapters explore the book’s tangled and vivid history, while Marris’s are drawn to the ecology of landscape and language. Through these pages, they find that their sense of Camus evolves under the force of a new reality, alongside the pressures of illness, recovery, concern, and care in their own lives. Along the way, Kaplan and Marris examine how the novel’s original allegory might resonate for a new generation of readers who have experienced a global pandemic. They describe how they learned to contemplate the skies of a plague spring, to examine the body politic and the politics of immunity.

Both personal and eloquently written, States of Plague uncovers for us the mysterious way a novel can imagine the world during a crisis and draw back the veil on other possible futures.

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The Come Up : An Oral History of the Rise of Hip-Hop

Jonathan Abrams

The essential oral history of hip-hop, from its origins on the playgrounds of the Bronx to its reign as the most powerful force in pop culture--from the award-winning journalist behind All the Pieces Matter, the New York Times bestselling oral history of The Wire " The Come Up is Abrams at his sharpest, at his most observant, at his most insightful."--Shea Serrano, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Hip-Hop (And Other Things) ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR: The Boston Globe, The Guardian The music that would come to be known as hip-hop was born at a party in the Bronx in the summer of 1973. Now, fifty years later, it's the most popular music genre in America. Just as jazz did in the first half of the twentieth century, hip-hop and its groundbreaking DJs and artists--nearly all of them people of color from some of America's most overlooked communities--pushed the boundaries of music to new frontiers, while transfixing the country's youth and reshaping fashion, art, and even language. And yet, the stories of many hip-hop pioneers and their individual contributions in the pre-Internet days of mixtapes and word of mouth are rarely heard--and some are at risk of being lost forever. Now, in The Come Up, the New York Times bestselling author Jonathan Abrams offers the most comprehensive account so far of hip-hop's rise, a multi-decade chronicle told in the voices of the people who made it happen. In more than three hundred interviews conducted over three years, Abrams has captured the stories of the DJs, executives, producers, and artists who both witnessed and themselves forged the history of hip-hop. Masterfully combining these voices into a seamless symphonic narrative, Abrams traces how the genre grew out of the resourcefulness of a neglected population in the South Bronx, and from there how it flowed into New York City's other boroughs, and beyond--from electrifying live gatherings, then on to radio and vinyl, below to the Mason-Dixon Line, west to Los Angeles through gangster rap and G-funk, and then across generations. Abrams has on record Grandmaster Caz detailing hip-hop's infancy, Edward "Duke Bootee" Fletcher describing the origins of "The Message," DMC narrating his role in introducing hip-hop to the mainstream, Ice Cube recounting N.W.A's breakthrough and breakup, Kool Moe Dee recalling his Grammys boycott, and countless more key players. Throughout, Abrams conveys with singular vividness the drive, the stakes, and the relentless creativity that ignited one of the greatest revolutions in modern music. The Come Up is an exhilarating behind-the-scenes account of how hip-hop came to rule the world--and an essential contribution to music history.
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How to F*ck Up Your Startup

Kim Hvidkjaer

WALL STREET JOURNAL BESTSELLER

Every business owner dreams of success, but the majority of businesses are doomed to fail.

This book offers a journey through the pitfalls that cause 90% of companies to crash—and the crucial remedies entrepreneurs can use to avoid (or fix) them.


Kim Hvidkjær was 29 years old when he became a millionaire. Two years later, after a cluster of disasters, he found himself basically broke. Now, having rebuilt his fortune as the founder of several successful enterprises and studied thousands of failed startups, Hvidkjær has become an expert in failure: what it means, what it looks like, and the strategies that business owners can use to prevent it.

In How to F*ck Up Your Startup, he takes us on an entertaining and enlightening journey through the complex patterns of failure in the life cycle of a business, covering:

 

 

  • Attitude mistakes
  • Business model missteps
  • Market research snafus
  • Funding and financial blunders
  • Product development errors
  • Organization oversights
  • Sales slip-ups
  • Growing pains

  • Most important, he tackles what to do when your business has gone wrong.

    Hvidkjær fleshes out a tangible, usable blueprint for entrepreneurs looking to learn (the easy way) from the mistakes of businesses gone before. Chock-full of easy-to-follow business lessons that will keep you from f*cking up your startup, this down-to-earth guide offers crucial, actionable advice for seasoned business owners and startup founders alike.

    A masterclass in failure, How to F*ck Up Your Startup is required reading for reaching success.

 

 

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Still Distracted After All These Years

Kathleen Nadeau

The world's foremost expert shares advice on later-in-life ADHD, tackling everything from finances, parenting, planning for retirement, social life and work, in this practical and helpful guide for those with and without a diagnosis.

Do you...
· Forget to pay bills?
· Live in a disorganised environment?
· Struggle with mental health?
· Procrastinate on projects, even ones that initially excite you?
· Have high levels of conflict with those close to you?
· Have a child diagnosed with ADHD and/or a family history of learning disorders?

If some of these patterns sound familiar, you might understandably fear the onset of dementia, but you may have undiagnosed attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). ADHD in adults is one of the most common disorders. Living with ADHD in our later years is hugely influenced by co-occurring issues, such as anxiety, depression or low self-esteem. In addition, the presence of learning disorders, heightened levels of stress, the presence or lack of support from others, and the number of people we are responsible for, can all complicate and intensify the effects of ADHD.

The good news is that you've come to the right place to learn more about how to lead a calmer, happier, more productive life. Dedicated to the health and wellbeing of today's older adults with ADHD, Still Distracted After All These Years offers strategies to build a support system, gain better control over your daily life and create a more ADHD-friendly retirement.

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What If? 2

Randall Munroe

AN INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER!

An NPR Best Book of 2022

"The questions throughout What If? 2 are equal parts brilliant, gross, and wonderfully absurd and the answers are thorough, deeply researched, and great fun. . . . Science isn’t easy, but in Munroe’s capable hands, it surely can be fun." —TIME

The #1 New York Times bestselling author of What If? and How To answers more of the weirdest questions you never thought to ask

 
The millions of people around the world who read and loved What If? still have questions, and those questions are getting stranger. Thank goodness xkcd creator Randall Munroe is here to help. Planning to ride a fire pole from the Moon back to Earth? The hardest part is sticking the landing. Hoping to cool the atmosphere by opening everyone’s freezer door at the same time? Maybe it’s time for a brief introduction to thermodynamics. Want to know what would happen if you rode a helicopter blade, built a billion-story building, made a lava lamp out of lava, or jumped on a geyser as it erupted? Okay, if you insist.

Before you go on a cosmic road trip, feed the residents of New York City to a T. rex, or fill every church with bananas, be sure to consult this practical guide for impractical ideas. Unfazed by absurdity, Munroe consults the latest research on everything from swing-set physics to airliner catapult–design to answer his readers’ questions, clearly and concisely, with illuminating and occasionally terrifying illustrations. As he consistently demonstrates, you can learn a lot from examining how the world might work in very specific extreme circumstances.

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Blood and Ink : The Scandalous Jazz Age Double Murder That Hooked America on True Crime

Joe Pompeo

New York Times Editor's Pick & Best True Crime of 2022 Blood & Ink is among 2022's best works of true crime. --The Washington Post Vanity Fair's Joe Pompeo investigates the notorious 1922 double murder of a high-society minister and his secret mistress, a Jazz Age mega-crime that propelled tabloid news in the 20th century. On September 16, 1922, the bodies of Reverend Edward Hall and Eleanor Mills were found beneath a crabapple tree on an abandoned farm outside of New Brunswick, New Jersey. The killer had arranged the bodies in a pose conveying intimacy. The murder of Hall, a prominent clergyman whose wife, Frances Hall, was a proud heiress with illustrious ancestors and ties to the Johnson & Johnson dynasty, would have made headlines on its own. But when authorities identified Eleanor Mills as a choir singer from his church married to the church sexton, the story shocked locals and sent the scandal ricocheting around the country, fueling the nascent tabloid industry. This provincial double murder on a lonely lover's lane would soon become one of the most famous killings in American history--a veritable crime of the century. The bumbling local authorities failed to secure any indictments, however, and it took a swashbuckling crusade by the editor of a circulation-hungry Hearst tabloid to revive the case and bring it to trial at last. Blood & Ink freshly chronicles what remains one of the most electrifying but forgotten murder mysteries in U.S. history. It also traces the birth of American tabloid journalism, pandering to the masses with sordid tales of love, sex, money, and murder.
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Kick Up Some Dust

Bernie Marcus

A candid, rollicking business memoir from the Home Depot cofounder, filled with personal stories, savvy business advice, and timeless lessons for a life well lived

With a foreword by Pitbull

"An extraordinary story. ... [Tells] Marcus's version of the American dream, from tenement to boardroom, homespun into lessons for readers wanting to make it in business or philanthropy." -- Financial Times

The start of Home Depot sounds like the beginning of a bad joke: Two Jews and an Italian decide to build a new kind of hardware store... In 1978, Bernie Marcus's livelihood depended on just such a scenario. Having been fired at the age of forty-nine, he teamed up with Arthur Blank and Ken Langone on a bold new endeavor. Their first day in business was so disastrous that the next morning, Marcus's wife wouldn't let him shave because she didn't want a razor in his hands. But the last laugh would be theirs, as the business partners grew Home Depot into the world's largest home improvement retailer, empowering millions of Americans to "do it yourself."

"Doing it yourself" has been the theme of Bernie Marcus's entire life. By the time he was fifteen, he had held more than a dozen jobs, joined a gang, and worked as a hypnotist in the Catskills. The son of a cabinetmaker and garment worker who survived the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire, Bernie overcame a hardscrabble upbringing to author one of the best entrepreneurial stories in American history. Today, Home Depot employs 500,000 associates at 2,300 stores and is one of the most recognized and admired companies in the world.

The same energy that made Home Depot successful has helped Bernie give away more than $2 billion and pioneer a new model for philanthropy, transforming millions of lives. There is no single, winning formula for trying to make the world a better place, but Bernie shares what he's learned--that the skills needed to build a Fortune 500 company are the same ones that can help cure cancer, treat veterans with PTSD, and transform autism treatment. And it doesn't take a fortune to make a big difference in your community.

Kick Up Some Dust will inspire you to dream, build, and give--and, maybe, change the world.

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The Book of Boundaries

Melissa Urban

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • End resentment, burnout, and anxiety—and reclaim your time, energy, health, and relationships. As the co-founder of the Whole30, Melissa Urban helped millions of people transform their relationship with food. Now, in this powerful and practical guide to setting boundaries, she shows you how to prioritize your needs and revolutionize your relationships.

“Melissa Urban shows the way forward with clarity, vulnerability, and humor.”—Gretchen Rubin, New York Times bestselling author of The Happiness Project and The Four Tendencies


Do your relationships often feel one-sided or unbalanced? Are you always giving in just so things will go smoothly? Do you wish you could learn to say no—but, like, nicely? Are you depleted, overwhelmed, and tired of putting everyone else’s needs ahead of your own? If you answered yes to any of these questions, you need to establish some boundaries.

Since launching the mega-bestselling wellness program the Whole30, Melissa Urban has taught millions of people how to establish healthy habits and successfully navigate pushback and peer pressure. She knows firsthand that boundaries—clear limits you set to protect your energy, time, and health—are the key to feelings of security, confidence, and freedom in every area of your life.

Now, in The Book of Boundaries, she shows you how boundaries are the key to better mental health, increased energy, improved productivity, and more fulfilling relationships.

In her famously direct and compassionate style, Urban offers:

• 130+ scripts with language you can use to instantly establish boundaries with bosses and co-workers, romantic partners, parents and in-laws, co-parents, friends, family, neighbors, strangers—and yourself
• actionable advice to help you communicate your needs with clarity and compassion
• tips for successfully navigating boundary guilt, pushback, pressure, and oversteps
• techniques to create healthy habits around food, drink, technology, and more

User-friendly and approachable, The Book of Boundaries will give you the tools you need to stop justifying, minimizing, and apologizing, leading you to more rewarding relationships and a life that feels bigger, healthier, and freer.

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What Meets the Eye

Alex Kenna

From debut author Alex Kenna comes a pulse-pounding tapestry of secrets, retribution, and greed for fans of Jeffrey Archer.

Kate Myles was a promising Los Angeles police detective, until an accident and opioid addiction blew up her family and destroyed her career. Struggling to rebuild her life, Kate decides to try her hand at private detective work—but she gets much more than she bargained for when she takes on the case of a celebrated painter found dead in a downtown loft.

When Margot Starling’s body was found, the cause of death was assumed to be suicide. Despite her beauty, talent, and fame, she struggled with a host of demons. But as Kate digs deeper, she learns that Margot had a growing list of powerful enemies—among them a shady art dealer who had been selling forged works by Margot. Kate soon uncovers a dirty trail that leads straight into the heart of the city's deadly underworld.

Margot died for her art—and if Kate doesn't tread lightly, she could be the next to get brushed out.

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The Socialite's Guide to Murder

S. K. Golden

The hotel was her refuge, but scandal is afoot—and a killer stalks the halls in this charming series debut perfect for fans of Rhys Bowen and Ashley Weaver.

It’s 1958 and Evelyn Elizabeth Grace Murphy has not left the Pinnacle Hotel in fourteen months. She suffers from agoraphobia, and what’s more, it’s her father’s hotel, and everything she needs is there. Evelyn’s always been good at finding things, she discovered her mother dead in a Manhattan alleyway fifteen years earlier. Now she’s finding trouble inside her sanctuary. At a party for artist Billie Bell, his newest work is stolen, and Evelyn’s fake boyfriend (and real best friend), movie star Henry Fox, is accused of the theft. But just as Evelyn sets out to prove Henry’s innocence, she finds Billie Bell dead.

The murder weapon links the crime to the hotel’s chief of security. But why would he use a knife with his initials on the handle? With her beloved home in disarray, Evelyn joins up with hotel employee (and her secret crush) Mac Cooper to get to the bottom of the case.

As Mac picks locks and Evelyn snoops around the hotel, they discover the walls around them contain more secrets than they previously knew. Now, Evelyn must force herself to leave the hotel to follow the clues—but when she and Mac set off to chase a lead, their car crashes and they barely escape with their lives. Someone snipped Evelyn’s brake lines, and now the stakes have become dangerously high.

Evelyn’s knack for sleuthing—and her playful imagination—are always hard at work, and she throws an elaborate party at the hotel where every guest is a suspect. But will the killer emerge from the glamorous lineup? If not, Evelyn just might find herself…next in line for murder.

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Through the Liquor Glass

Sarah Fox

Fall is in full swing in the picturesque New England town of Shady Creek, Vermont, and Sadie Coleman, owner of the literary-themed Inkwell pub, is serving up delicious food and drinks with a side of sleuthing in the latest Literary Pub Mystery from USA Today bestselling author Sarah Fox…

Autumn brings a wonderland of color and atmosphere to Vermont. As the last leaves fall from the trees, the town is gearing up for a new festival: A Taste of Shady Creek. Pub proprietor Sadie Coleman is looking forward to visitors coming to sample her literary-themed cocktails. She’s a little more wary about her mother’s impending first visit. What if her mom doesn’t like Sadie’s adopted town—or her new boyfriend, Grayson Blake?
Those concerns are overshadowed when a food critic is found dead at Grayson’s craft brewery, pinned under a barrel. Curiouser and curiouser—the victim is linked to Grayson’s past as a private investigator, and all the evidence points to him as the killer. While Grayson lays low, Sadie starts some investigating of her own, diving down a rabbit hole of suspects. Was it a bad review that made the killer mad as a hatter? Or are there other motives at play?

In between serving Kiss of the Cider Woman cocktails and book-minded bites to festival goers, Sadie is striving to clear Grayson’s name. But it’ll take more than a dash of ingenuity to prevent the festival from fizzing out completely—and stop a killer from downing another innocent life . . .

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Bryant & May: Peculiar London

Christopher Fowler

Thinking of a jaunt to England? Let Arthur Bryant and John May, London’s oldest police detectives, show you the oddities behind the city’s façades in this tongue-in-cheek travel guide.

“The best fun is running all over the city with these amiable partners.”—The New York Times Book Review, on Bryant & May: The Lonely Hour

It’s getting late. I want to share my knowledge of London with you, if I can remember any of it.

So says Arthur Bryant. He and John May are the nation’s oldest serving detectives. Who better to reveal its secrets? Why does this rainy, cold, gray city capture so many imaginations? Could its very unreliability hold the key to its longevity?

The detectives are joined by their boss, Raymond Land, and some of their most disreputable friends, each an argumentative and unreliable expert in their own dodgy field.

Each character gives us a short tour of odd buildings, odder characters, lost venues, forgotten disasters, confusing routes, dubious gossip, illicit pleasures, and hidden pubs. They make all sorts of connections—and show us why it’s almost impossible to separate fact from fiction in London.

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The Dressmakers of Prospect Heights

Kitty Zeldis

“A haunting meditation on the bonds between mothers and daughters. Zeldis offers a fascinating look into historic New York City and New Orleans, and her skill as a storyteller is matched by her compassion for her characters. What a beautiful read.”—Fiona Davis, New York Times bestselling author of The Magnolia Palace

“By turns heartbreaking and heartwarming, Kitty Zeldis’s The Dressmakers of Prospect Heights, set against the backdrop of the not-always-so-roaring Twenties, is an only-in-America story of reinvention, rising above tragedy, and finding family.”—Lauren Willig, New York Times bestselling author of Band of Sisters

For fans of Fiona Davis, Beatriz Williams, and Joanna Goodman, a mesmerizing historical novel from Kitty Zeldis, the author of Not Our Kind, about three women in 1920s New York City and the secrets they hold.

Brooklyn, 1924. As New York City enters the jazz age, the lives of three very different women are about to converge in unexpected ways. Recently arrived from New Orleans, Beatrice is working to establish a chic new dress shop with help from Alice, the orphaned teenage ward she brought north with her. Down the block, newlywed Catherine is restless in her elegant brownstone, longing for a baby she cannot conceive.

When Bea befriends Catherine and the two start to become close, Alice feels abandoned and envious, and runs away to Manhattan. Her departure sets into motion a series of events that will force each woman to confront the painful secrets of her past in order to move into the happier future she seeks.

Moving from the bustling streets of early twentieth century New York City to late nineteenth-century Russia and the lively quarters of New Orleans in the 1910s, The Dressmakers of Prospect Heights is a story of the families we are born into and the families we choose, and of the unbreakable bonds between women.

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The Fall of Númenor : And Other Tales from the Second Age of Middle-Earth

J. R. R. Tolkien

J.R.R. Tolkien’s writings on the Second Age of Middle-earth, collected for the first time in one volume complete with new illustrations in watercolor and pencil by renowned artist Alan Lee.

J.R.R. Tolkien famously described the Second Age of Middle-earth as a "dark age, and not very much of its history is (or need be) told." And for many years readers would need to be content with the tantalizing glimpses of it found within the pages of The Lord of the Rings and its appendices, including the forging of the Rings of Power, the building of the Barad-dûr and the rise of Sauron.

It was not until Christopher Tolkien published The Silmarillion after his father’s death that a fuller story could be told. Although much of the book’s content concerned the First Age of Middle-earth, there were at its close two key works that revealed the tumultuous events concerning the rise and fall of the island of Númenor. Raised out of the Great Sea and gifted to the Men of Middle-earth as a reward for aiding the angelic Valar and the Elves in the defeat and capture of the Dark Lord Morgoth, the kingdom became a seat of influence and wealth; but as the Númenóreans’ power increased, the seed of their downfall would inevitably be sown, culminating in the Last Alliance of Elves and Men.

Even greater insight into the Second Age would be revealed in subsequent publications, first in Unfinished Tales of Númenor and Middle-earth, then expanded upon in Christopher Tolkien’s magisterial twelve-volume The History of Middle-earth, in which he presented and discussed a wealth of further tales written by his father, many in draft form.

Now, adhering to the timeline of "The Tale of Years" in the appendices to The Lord of the Rings, editor Brian Sibley has assembled into one comprehensive volume a new chronicle of the Second Age of Middle-earth, told substantially in the words of Tolkien from the various published texts, with new illustrations in watercolor and pencil by the doyen of Tolkien art, Alan Lee.


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The Sorcerer of Pyongyang

Marcel Theroux

The acclaimed author of the “sublime” (The New York Times) Far North, a finalist for the National Book Award, returns with a mesmerizing novel about a North Korean boy whose life is irrevocably changed when he stumbles across a mysterious Western book—a guide to Dungeons & Dragons.

Ten-year-old Jun-su is a bright and obedient boy whose only desire is to be a credit to his family, his nation, and most importantly, his Dear Leader. However, when he discovers a copy of The Dungeon Master’s Guide, left behind in a hotel room by a rare foreign visitor, a new and colorful world opens up to him.

With the help of an English-speaking teacher, Jun-su deciphers the rules of the famous role-playing game and his imaginary adventures sweep him away from the harsh reality of a famine-stricken North Korea. Over time, the game leads Jun-su on a spellbinding and unexpected journey through the hidden layers of his country, toward precocious success, glory, love, betrayal, prison, a spell at the pinnacle of the North Korean elite, and an extraordinary kind of redemption.

A vivid, uplifting, and deeply researched novel, The Sorcerer of Pyongyang is a love story and a tale of survival against the odds. Inspired by the testimony of North Korean refugees and drawing on the author’s personal experience of North Korea, it explores the power of empathy and imagination in a society where they are dangerous liabilities.

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Defending Alice : A Novel of Love and Race in the Roaring Twenties

Richard Stratton

"Gripping courtroom drama and social commentary . . . the story flows well . . . [the author is] masterful in building suspense."--Kirkus Reviews Set in 1920s New York, an addictively readable, thoroughly entertaining historical novel involving sex and secrets, race and redemption, and power and privilege--based on a sensational real-life case that made international headlines--in which the marriage between a working-class black woman and the scion of one of America's most powerful white families ends in a scandalous annulment lawsuit. When Alice Jones, a blue-color woman with at least one Black parent marries Leonard "Kip" Rhinelander, the son of one of New York's most prominent society families, the scandal rocks high society--and eventually sets the city afire when Kip later sues for an annulment, accusing Alice of having hidden her "Negro blood" and intentionally deceiving him that she was white. While New York society in the Roaring Twenties witnessed more than a few scandals, the real-life Rhinelander case set tongues wagging and became perhaps the most examined interracial relationship in American history. In Defending Alice, Richard Stratton reimagines this remarkable story, from the couple's courtship through their controversial marriage to their shocking divorce trial and its aftermath. Chronicled by Alice's attorney, brilliant trial lawyer Lee Parsons Davis, and told in flashbacks and entries from Alice and Kip's fictional personal diaries, this epic page-turner vividly brings to life the New York of a century ago--a world seemingly far removed yet tragically familiar to our own. Stratton brilliantly evokes this dazzling era in all its glamour and excess, and in retelling the Rhinelander story, explores issues of sex, race, class, prejudice, and justice that are as relevant today as they were a century ago when this headline-making trial took place.
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Winterland : A Novel

Rae Meadows

Perfection has a cost . . . With transporting prose and meticulous detail, set in an era that remains shockingly relevant today, Winterland tells a story of glory, loss, hope, and determination, and of finding light where none exists. Soviet Union, 1973: There is perhaps no greater honor for a young girl than to be chosen for the famed USSR gymnastics program. When eight-year-old Anya is selected, her family is thrilled. What is left of her family, that is. Years ago, her mother disappeared without a trace, leaving Anya's father devastated and their lives dark and quiet in the bitter cold of Siberia. Anya's only confidant is her neighbor, an older woman who survived unspeakable horrors during her ten years imprisoned in a Gulag camp--and who, unbeknownst to Anya, was also her mother's confidant and might hold the key to her disappearance. As Anya rises through the ranks of competitive gymnastics, and as other girls fall from grace, she soon comes to realize that there is very little margin of error for anyone and so much to lose.
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No One Left to Come Looking for You

Sam Lipsyte

A darkly comic mystery by the author of Hark and The Ask set in the vibrant music scene of early 1990s New York City.

Manhattan’s East Village, 1993. Dive bars, DIY music venues, shady weirdos, and hard drugs are plentiful. Crime is high but rent is low, luring hopeful, creative kids from sleepy suburbs around the country.

One of these is Jack S., a young New Jersey rock musician. Just a few days before his band’s biggest gig, their lead singer goes missing with Jack’s prized bass, presumably to hock it to feed his junk habit. Jack’s search for his buddy uncovers a sinister entanglement of crimes tied to local real estate barons looking to remake New York City—and who might also be connected to the recent death of Jack’s punk rock mentor. Along the way, Jack encounters a cast of colorful characters, including a bewitching, quick-witted scenester who favors dressing in a nurse’s outfit, a monstrous hired killer with a devotion to both figure skating and edged weapons, a deranged if prophetic postwar novelist, and a tough-talking cop who fancies himself a retro-cool icon of the homicide squad but is harboring a surprising secret.

No One Left to Come Looking for You is a page-turning suspense novel that also serves as a love letter to a bygone era of New York City where young artists could still afford to chase their dreams.

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Three-Edged Sword

Jeff Lindsay

 

Wickedly funny. Wildly twisty. The new book from the master of the heist novel.
“A super-thief who leaves no trace.”—Andy Garcia

“An anti-hero for our times.”—Sarah Dunn

“A can't-miss master.”—David Baldacci

Super thief Riley Wolfe can do it all. He is a master of disguise, can scale a wall, and can vanish into thin air (thick air, too). He uses these unique talents to rob the richest. But this time, it’s the most powerful who have him in their grips.

ONE MADMAN. TWO HOSTAGES.

It’s not just that the high-up, rogue government agent has abducted the only two people Riley loves: it’s the fact that Riley has to do the man’s dirty work to set them free. It’s something Riley ordinarily would find a modest day’s work, infiltrating a madman’s Soviet missile silo in one of the world’s most remote places, all to find a secret on a tiny flash drive—but he’s never had to race the clock like this.

SOMETIMES TRUTH CAN BE A THREE-EDGED SWORD.

From its vivid, remote locales to its John Wick-meets-Deadpool dialogue, this gripping heist novel from Jeff Lindsay, author of the Dexter series, is everything: an utterly escapist, must-read novel of espionage, thievery, love and betrayal. It twists, it turns, and keeps everything on the line until the very end. Even for Riley, it looks like this time, the only way out is through.

 

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The Orchard

Beverly Lewis

 

 

"She realized there was peace right here in the midst of this heavenly sort of place, despite the unpredictable storm churning around her family."For generations, Ellie Hostetler's family has tended their Lancaster County orchard, a tradition her twin brother, Evan, will someday continue. Yet when Evan's draft number is called up in the lottery for the Vietnam War, the family is shocked to learn he has not sought conscientious objector status, despite their Old Order Amish belief in non-resistance. The faraway war that has caused so much turmoil and grief among their Englisher neighbors threatens too close to home.

As Evan departs for boot camp, Ellie confides her disappointment to Sol Bontrager, the brother of her best friend and cousin to her new beau, Menno. In contrast to Evan, Sol is a conscientious objector. Despite Ellie's attraction to Menno, she finds herself drawn to Sol's steady presence as they work together in the orchard. Suddenly, it feels as if everything in Ellie's world is shifting, and the plans she held so dear seem increasingly uncertain. Can she and her family find the courage to face a future unlike any they could have imagined?

"This [book] serves as a reminder of why Lewis continues to top bestseller lists."--Publishers Weekly

"The Orchard is a peaceful, heartwarming romance novel set amid the quiet solitude of an Amish family's orchard during the Vietnam War."--Foreword Reviews starred review

 

 

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The Wilderwomen

Ruth Emmie Lang

"Exquisitely drawn characters imbue Lang’s unconventional plot with verisimilitude and heart, inspiring readers to ponder whether the world is stranger and more beautiful than it appears. Effervescent, ethereal, and suffused with wonder." — Kirkus (starred review)

"Lang’s melancholy, atmospheric writing sets the perfect tone as the Wilder sisters unravel the mystery. The result is a cozy supernatural outing perfect for an autumn night." —Publisher's Weekly


Ohioana Book Award finalist Ruth Emmie Lang returns with a new cast of ordinary characters with extraordinary abilities in The Wilderwomen.

Five years ago, Nora Wilder disappeared. The older of her two daughters, Zadie, should have seen it coming, because she can literally see things coming. But not even her psychic abilities were able to prevent their mother from vanishing one morning.

Zadie’s estranged younger sister, Finn, can’t see into the future, but she has an uncannily good memory, so good that she remembers not only her own memories, but the echoes of memories other people have left behind. On the afternoon of her graduation party, Finn is seized by an “echo” more powerful than anything she’s experienced before: a woman singing a song she recognizes, a song about a bird...

When Finn wakes up alone in an aviary with no idea of how she got there, she realizes who the memory belongs to: Nora.

Now, it’s up to Finn to convince her sister that not only is their mom still out there, but that she wants to be found. Against Zadie’s better judgement, she and Finn hit the highway, using Finn’s echoes to retrace Nora’s footsteps and uncover the answer to the question that has been haunting them for years: Why did she leave?

But the more time Finn spends in their mother’s past, the harder it is for her to return to the present, to return to herself. As Zadie feels her sister start to slip away, she will have to decide what lengths she is willing to go to find their mother, knowing that if she chooses wrong, she could lose them both for good.

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The Lost Man of Bombay

Vaseem Khan

THE THRILLING NEW MYSTERY FROM THE AWARD-WINNING AUTHOR OF MIDNIGHT AT MALABAR HOUSE.
*** SELECTED AS A BOOK OF THE YEAR 2022 BY THE FINANCIAL TIMES, DAILY EXPRESS AND THE GUARDIAN***

'Hugely entertaining ... history and mystery mixed with brutal slapstick, thwarted romance and sly humour... If only all period procedurals were as good as this' THE TIMES
'The latest of Khan's excellent thrillers set in post-war Bombay is a vivid portrait of a society remaking itself in the new era of independence' MAIL ON SUNDAY
'A delightful book, well-researched, complex and hugely entertaining' ANN CLEEVES
'A twisting plot and an intriguing cast of characters, together with vivid glimpses of the vibrant, complex world of post-Independence Bombay - and a narrative that thunders along with the pace and drama of an elephant on the rampage' ANDREW TAYLOR

Bombay, 1950
When the body of a white man is found frozen in the Himalayan foothills near Dehra Dun, he is christened the Ice Man by the national media. Who is he? How long has he been there? Why was he killed?

As Inspector Persis Wadia and Metropolitan Police criminalist Archie Blackfinch investigate the case in Bombay, they uncover a trail left behind by the enigmatic Ice Man - a trail leading directly into the dark heart of conspiracy.

Meanwhile, two new murders grip the city. Is there a serial killer on the loose, targeting Europeans?

Rich in atmosphere, the thrilling third chapter in the CWA Historical Dagger-winning Malabar House series pits Persis against a mystery from beyond the grave, unfolding against the backdrop of a turbulent post-colonial India, a nation struggling to redefine itself in the shadow of the Raj.

'Khan writes with a charming formality and brings his characters and their dilemmas to life in this intelligent and intriguing series' LITERARY REVIEW
'A rip-roaring adventure with a formidable woman at its heart' AMBROSE PARRY
'A stunning, richly imagined and downright thrilling mystery. Vaseem Khan has that rare ability to transport you wholly to a bygone time, and he does so with such skill and charm. I loved it' CHRIS WHITAKER
'One of my top reads this year. A peerless portrait of early independent India through the eyes of new crime fiction star, India's first police detective, Persis Wadia' BARBARA NADEL
"The brilliant Persis Wadia is one of the most electrifying figures in crime fiction today. Vaseem Khan keeps getting better and better' WILLIAM SHAW
'Outstanding' IMRAN MAHMOOD
'This is historical crime fiction at its sharpest' SUNDAY TIMES
'Vaseem Khan gets better with each book. A triumph! An intriguing mystery, a wonderfully realized historical setting and characters that make you fall in love with them' STEVE CAVANAGH
'Think Mick Herron in Bombay' THE TIMES, Audiobook of the Week

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The World We Make

N. K. Jemisin

Three-time Hugo Award-winning and New York Times bestselling author N.K. Jemisin crafts "a glorious fantasy" (Neil Gaiman) -- a story of culture, identity, magic, and myths in contemporary New York City, in the final book of the Great Cities Duology.
Every great city has a soul. A human avatar that embodies their city's heart and wields its magic. New York? She's got six.

But all is not well in the city that never sleeps. Though Brooklyn, Manny, Bronca, Venezia, Padmini, and Neek have temporarily managed to stop the Woman in White from invading--and destroying the entire universe in the process--the mysterious capital "E" Enemy has more subtle powers at her disposal. A new candidate for mayor wielding the populist rhetoric of gentrification, xenophobia, and "law and order" may have what it takes to change the very nature of New York itself and take it down from the inside. In order to defeat him, and the Enemy who holds his purse strings, the avatars will have to join together with the other Great Cities of the world in order to bring her down for good and protect their world from complete destruction.
The Great Cities DuologyThe City We Became
The World We Make

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The Hidden Palace

Dinah Jefferies

An island of secrets. A runaway. And a promise...

A rebellious daughter

1925. Among the ancient honey-coloured walls of the tiny island of Malta, strangers slip into the shadows and anyone can buy a new name. Rosalie Delacroix flees Paris for a dancer's job in the bohemian clubs deep in its winding streets.

A sister with a secret

1944. Running from the brutality of war in France, Florence Baudin faces a new life. But her estranged mother makes a desperate request: to find her vanished sister, who went missing years before.

A rift over generations

Betrayals and secrets, lies and silence hang between the sisters. A faded last letter from Rosalie is Florence's only clue, the war an immovable barrier - and time is running out...

Praise for The Hidden Palace

"Completely swept me away to another place and time. Dinah is the queen of sumptuous settings, transporting the reader effortlessly from chocolate-box Devonshire to the cabaret clubs of 1920s Paris and war-torn Malta. A marvellous, multi-layered story, populated with characters to really care for"--HAZEL GAYNOR

"Dinah Jefferies wields her storytelling magic on the island of Malta . . . It's engrossing and sensual, full of the heat of the Mediterranean sun"--GILL PAUL

"Powerful, passionate and profoundly moving . . . this compelling mix of love and tragedy vibrates with warmth and pain, and captures the intense dislocation of war"--KATE FURNIVALL

"Sweeping and sumptuous with a gorgeously described sense of place. A marvellous adventure"--TRACY REES

Praise for Daughters of War

"A wonderfully evocative and sensual writer"--SANTA MONTEFIORE

"A warm and engrossing tale of passion and courage. I loved it"--RACHEL HORE

"Love, grief, abandonment, betrayal and secrets ... I adored it"--LIZ NUGENT

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Find Him

Jake Hinkson

A stubborn teenager and her estranged uncle descend into the Arkansas underworld to track down her missing fiancé, in a riveting literary noir perfect for fans of Daniel Woodrell and "Mare of Easttown".Up until now, 18-year-old Lily Stevens has always been the perfect daughter of a Pentecostal preacher, but her insular Arkansas congregation is scandalized when Lily announces she's pregnant with the baby of Peter Cutchin, a young man in the church. When Peter disappears before they can get married, Lily's life is thrown into even greater turmoil. Everyone in their small town, including Peter's furious mother, thinks the boy has simply run off and abandoned her, but Lily, furiously headstrong and determined to find the father of her child, refuses to believe it. Help comes in the unlikely form of Allan Woodson, an uncle that her family will not acknowledge but a man who may know where to begin looking for Peter. Their search will lead them out of Lily's safe world of the church and into the darkest corners of the criminal underworld on the Arkansas/Tennessee border, where neither Allan nor Lily can foresee the unsettling secrets they will uncover.

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The Serpent in Heaven

Charlaine Harris

#1 New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling author Charlaine Harris returns to her alternate history of the United States where magic is an acknowledged but despised power in this fourth installment of the Gunnie Rose series.

Felicia, Lizbeth Rose’s half-sister and a student at the Grigori Rasputin school in San Diego—capital of the Holy Russian Empire—is caught between her own secrets and powerful family struggles. As a granddaughter of Rasputin, she provides an essential service to the hemophiliac Tsar Alexei, providing him the blood transfusions that keep him alive. Felicia is treated like a nonentity at the bedside of the tsar, and at the school she's seen as a charity case with no magical ability. But when Felicia is snatched outside the school, the facts of her heritage begin to surface. Felicia turns out to be far more than the Russian-Mexican Lizbeth rescued. As Felicia’s history unravels and her true abilities become known, she becomes under attack from all directions. Only her courage will keep her alive.

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JUDAS 62

Charles Cumming

"JUDAS 62 has all you could want from a tense, topical and intelligent spy thriller"—The Times Books of the Year

Thirty years after a deadly attempt to extract a Russian scientist to safety in Ukraine, master spy Lachlan Kite eludes an assassin in the streets of Dubai

 

After a lifetime working with BOX 88, the transatlantic counterintelligence agency so covert that not even the CIA knows of its existence, master spy Lachlan Kite has made plenty of enemies. And now, as the director of the outfit's operations in the UK, one of those past enemies has him in their sights...

1993: Student Lachlan Kite is sent to post-Soviet Russia, a spy in the guise of a language teacher. Embedded in the town of Voronezh, Kite’s mission is to extract a chemical weapons scientist before the man’s groundbreaking research falls into the wrong hands and shuttle him across the border to freedom in Ukraine. But Kite’s mission soon goes wrong and he is left stranded in a hostile city with a former KGB officer on his trail.

2020: Thirty years after that dangerous mission, Kite discovers that its outcome put his name on the notorious “JUDAS” list—a record of enemies of Russia who have been targeted for assassination. Kite’s fight for survival takes him to Dubai, a city crawling with international intelligence officers, where he enters into a deadly game of cat-and-mouse with the Russian secret state.

The newest installment in the saga of “a spy for the 21st century” (Daily Mail) combines two pulse-pounding narratives that show why Cumming is among the top tier of espionage authors examining the reality of spycraft in the post-Cold War era.

 

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Night Shift

Robin Cook

In this exhilarating new medical thriller by bestselling author Robin Cook, fan favorites Jack and Laurie are lured into the dark underbelly of hospital dangers when an internist dies mysteriously.

Colleagues-turned-spouses Dr. Laurie Montgomery and Dr. Jack Stapleton already have their plates full with demanding forensic pathology work and family pressures. The last thing they need is the sudden death of a colleague. Yet when Laurie’s apparently vital and healthy longtime friend Dr. Sue Passero dies mysteriously in the hopsital parking garage, an autopsy is required, and it falls uncomfortably under Laurie’s purview as the chief medical examiner. So when Laurie asks Jack to take special care with the case, he can hardly refuse.

With his curiosity sparked by an inconclusive autopsy, the indefatigable Jack is compelled to resolve the case at hand, and sets out to investigate on-site at Manhattan Memorial Hospital, even though it means blatantly defying the Office of Chief Medical Examiner’s rules. What started out as an inquiry into Sue’s tragic passing soon turns into a deadly and dangerous chess game between Jack and the clever and deranged killer, who might just administer another lethal blow if Jack isn’t careful.

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The Double Agent

William Christie

A Publishers Weekly Pick of the Week

From a modern master of the classic espionage novel comes William Christie's The Double Agent, featuring Alexsi Smirnoff - a Russian/German double agent loyal only to himself - in a desperate bid to protect himself, again becomes a double agent, this time for the English.


Alexsi Smirnoff - a Russian orphan - was trained as an agent by the Russian Secret Service and inserted into Nazi Germany, where he rose to a position in German intelligence services. As the war grinds on, trapped between two brutal dictatorships, Alexsi betrays both sides in a desperate ploy that succeeds...and fails. His false identities burned, his life at risk, Alexsi attempts to disappear in the hills - but is caught by the British.

Recruited by the SIS, and by "C" himself, Alexsi is once again a double agent. Initially betrayed by a Soviet agent inside the SIS (Kim Philby), Alexsi is sent beyond the reach of the Soviets, into Italy with a new identity as a sergeant in the German army. Settled into the headquarters of Field Marshall Albert Kesselring, Alexsi finds himself at the nexus at a critical point in World War II, balancing between the various forces vying for control in the Vatican, the Italian resistance, and the brutal German Army determined to maintain control of Northern Italy. And Alexsi, finally forced to choose sides over his own survival.

Sequel to the well-regarded A Single Spy, The Double Agent is a fast-paced, compelling novel of espionage in the most momentous and dangerous of times.

"... a riveting thrill ride." —Kirkus Reviews

"Fans of Ken Follett’s and Len Deighton’s espionage novels will find much to admire." —Publishers Weekly (starred review)

"A great fall thriller." —Red Carpet Crash

"...as Alexsi makes his way across the European theater of the war, he becomes entangled in and surreptitiously shapes real-life events...engaging." —Bookpage

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The Light Pirate

Lily Brooks-Dalton

Set in the near future, this hopeful story of survival and resilience follows Wanda—a luminous child born out of a devastating hurricane—as she navigates a rapidly changing world: A “symphony of beauty and heartbreak” (Associated Press).

A Good Morning America Book Club pick · #1 Indie Next pick · LibraryReads pick · Book of the Month Club selection ·  Marie Claire #ReadWithMC book club selection · 2022 NPR “Book We Love” · New York Times Editors’ Choice

Florida is slipping away. As devastating weather patterns and rising sea levels wreak gradual havoc on the state’s infrastructure, a powerful hurricane approaches a small town on the southeastern coast. Kirby Lowe, an electrical line worker, his pregnant wife, Frida, and their two sons, Flip and Lucas, prepare for the worst. When the boys go missing just before the hurricane hits, Kirby heads out into the high winds in search of his children. Left alone, Frida goes into premature labor and gives birth to an unusual child, Wanda, whom she names after the catastrophic storm that ushers her into a society closer to collapse than ever before.

As Florida continues to unravel, Wanda grows. Moving from childhood to adulthood, adapting not only to the changing landscape, but also to the people who stayed behind in a place abandoned by civilization, Wanda loses family, gains community, and ultimately, seeks adventure, love, and purpose in a place remade by nature.

Told in four parts—power, water, light, and time—The Light Pirate mirrors the rhythms of the elements and the sometimes quick, sometimes slow dissolution of the world as we know it. It is a meditation on the changes we would rather not see, the future we would rather not greet, and a call back to the beauty and violence of an untamable wilderness.
 

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When We Were Sisters

Fatimah Asghar

LONGLISTED FOR THE NATIONAL BOOK AWARD • “This exquisite debut wrestles with gender, siblinghood, family, and what it means to be Muslim in America—all through the lens of love.”—Time
 
“Haunting . . .  a knife-sharp story of self-discovery.”—People

ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR: The New Yorker, NPR, Time, Vox, PopSugar


In this heartrending, lyrical debut work of fiction, the acclaimed author of If They Come for Us traces the intense bond of three orphaned siblings who, after their parents die, are left to raise one another. The youngest, Kausar, grapples with the incomprehensible loss of their parents as she also charts out her own understanding of gender; Aisha, the middle sister, spars with her “crybaby” younger sibling as she desperately tries to hold on to her sense of family in an impossible situation; and Noreen, the eldest, does her best in the role of sister-mother while also trying to create a life for herself, on her own terms.

As Kausar grows up, she must contend with the collision of her private and public worlds, and choose whether to remain in the life of love, sorrow, and codependency that she’s known or carve out a new path for herself. When We Were Sisters tenderly examines the bonds and fractures of sisterhood, names the perils of being three Muslim American girls alone against the world, and ultimately illustrates how those who’ve lost everything might still make homes in one another.

LONGLISTED FOR THE ASPEN WORDS LITERARY PRIZE • LONGLISTED FOR THE CENTER FOR FICTION FIRST NOVEL PRIZE

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And the Category Is...

Ricky Tucker

An Electric Literature “Most Anticipated LGBTQ+ Book of 2022” Selection

A love letter to the legendary Black and Latinx LGBTQ underground subculture, uncovering its abundant legacy and influence in popular culture.

What is Ballroom? Not a song, a documentary, a catchphrase, a TV show, or an individual pop star. It is an underground subculture founded over a century ago by LGBTQ African American and Latino men and women of Harlem. Arts-based and intersectional, it transcends identity, acting as a fearless response to the systemic marginalization of minority populations.

Ricky Tucker pulls from his years as a close friend of the community to reveal the complex cultural makeup and ongoing relevance of house and Ballroom, a space where trans lives are respected and applauded, and queer youth are able to find family and acceptance. With each chapter framed as a “category” (Vogue, Realness, Body, et al.), And the Category Is . . . offers an impressionistic point of entry into this subculture, its deeply integrated history, and how it’s been appropriated for mainstream audiences. Each category features an exclusive interview with fierce LGBTQ/POC Ballroom members—Lee Soulja, Benjamin Ninja, Twiggy Pucci Garçon, and more—whose lives, work, and activism drive home that very category.

At the height of public intrigue and awareness about Ballroom, thanks to TV shows like FX’s Pose, Tucker’s compelling narratives help us understand its relevance in pop culture, dance, public policy with regard to queer communities, and so much more. Welcome to the norm-defying realness of Ballroom.

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The 12-Hour Art Expert

Noah Charney

"Brimming with examples from across the artistic spectrum, this is the perfect primer to hook future art enthusiasts." Publishers Weekly

Interested in art but feel under-informed? Curious but afraid you might not “get” it? Already a fan and wishing to immerse yourself in a fun, engaging, informative and informed read that will refresh and top up your Art History 101 and Introduction to Art courses from college?

The 12-Hour Art Expert: Everything You Need to Know about Art in a Dozen Masterpieces avoids the common approach of throwing hundreds of images at a reader and expecting them to learn from and memorize them all.

Instead, the book will guide its readers through a brief series of masterpieces of Western art—from cave paintings to sharks in formaldehyde. This book twelve chapters teach readers about art, the art trade, and art history in a thorough (though concise) fashion.

Each chapter is linked to one notable masterpiece, with references to others, giving readers a fixed, digestible number of objects that they will get to know in depth, and which they can use as a lens to understand the thousands of other, related objects that they might encounter in the future.

Museums can be daunting, and art presents a strange new language, one that certainly intrigues but is often intimidating and foreign. This book, written by one of the world’s best-known art historians uses entertaining stories to break down intimidating barriers and invites readers of all ages for a one-stop immersion into art.

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Unlock Your Potential

Jeff Lerner

Wall Street Journal Bestseller

Publishers Weekly Bestseller


We all know the world has changed dramatically in the 21st century. The opportunities that defined past generations and steered their course through life (aka "The American Dream") just aren't out there for us anymore.


Today, 54% of college graduates regret choosing to invest in a degree, over 70% of Americans detest their jobs (part of why they change jobs every 20 months on average), and 2 out of 3 of Americans will never be able to stop working and retire.

But what are we supposed to do? Is there an alternative to the "system of systems" we live in: school, college (debt), job, different job, more different jobs, 401K/pension, retire (hopefully but probably not)? And if there is an alternative can it really work for everyone regardless of where they currently are in the system? Is there something else out there that works equally well for the 18-year-old deciding whether or not to go to college, the 45-year-old questioning his/her career path, the 65-year-old who is way short of being able to retire, and anyone else feeling dazed and confused in the modern world?

In Unlock Your Potential, author and entrepreneur Jeff Lerner answers those questions with a resounding YES! He shows readers how the failings of our education, employment, and retirement systems have opened doors most people didn't even know exist. And, most important, he'll show YOU how to step through those doors—where they exist, how they work, what it takes to go through them, and what's on the other side.

Jeff is the founder and Chief Vision Officer of ENTRE Institute, the world’s fastest growing education company and the first institute of higher learning dedicated to entrepreneurialism. Now, he is sharing his story and lessons learned from his own rags-to-riches journey from a broke musician to a $100 million entrepreneur. In this book, you'll discover “digital real estate—an asset that generates income, builds wealth, and supports any life you choose to live—along with strategies any employee, business owner, retiree, child, etc. can use to escape the broken system and create their dream life in the modern world.

Let Unlock Your Potential serve as the blueprint: a master key to unlocking your full potential and living a life no one told you was possible. Herein lies the key for anyone, anywhere in the world to escape the broken system and create a quality of life that was unimaginable a generation ago.

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Happier Hour

Cassie Holmes

Learn how to reframe your time around life’s happiest moments to build days that aren’t just full but fulfilling with this “joyful guide” (Eve Rodsky, New York Times bestselling author) that is the antidote to overscheduling.

Our most precious resource isn’t money. It’s time. We are allotted just twenty-four hours a day, and we live in a culture that keeps us feeling “time poor.” Since we can’t add more hours to the day, how can we experience our lives as richer?

Based on her wildly popular MBA class at UCLA, Professor Cassie Holmes demonstrates how to immediately improve our lives by changing how we perceive and invest our time. Happier Hour provides empirically based insights and easy-to-implement tools that will allow you to:

-Optimally spend your hours and feel confident in those choices
-Sidestep distractions
-Create and savor moments of joy
-Design your schedule with purpose
-Look back on your years without regrets

Enlivened by Holmes’s upbeat narrative and groundbreaking research, Happier Hour “is filled with loads and loads of practical, evidence-based advice for how to live better by investing in what really matters. It’s the kind of book that can change your life for the better” (Laurie Santos, Yale professor and host of The Happiness Lab podcast).

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Death at the Falls

Rosemary Simpson

Set amidst the opulent mansions and cobblestone streets of 1800’s New York, this atmospheric new historical mystery brings the Gilded Age to life in a tantalizing tale of old money, new love, and grave suspicion, as newly-minted lawyer Prudence MacKenzie and ex-Pinkerton Geoffrey Hunter travel to Niagara Falls for a dangerous assignment…

October 1890: As Prudence and Geoffrey settle into the most elegant hotel in Canadian Niagara, they observe a popular tourist area torn between natural beauty and industrial power. Also attracting their attentions are the antics of daredevil Crazy Louie Whiting, determined to be the first person to navigate the falls without drowning. Shortly after their arrival, Crazy Louie sends a specially designed test barrel containing a sheep over the falls. But when the barrel is retrieved and opened, the battered body of a local Tuscarora Indian spills out.

When Geoffrey and Prudence learn of the dead man’s suspicions about rampant bribery among greedy land developers and local officials, they wonder if there’s a connection to their client, Rowan Adderly. A young woman whose father disappeared while she was a child, the land she is due to inherit could be worth millions—and inevitably the sharks have come feeding.

In a move to block Rowan’s inheritance, her greedy grandmother has declared Rowan to be the illegitimate offspring of an illicit affair between her son and a seductive Irish songstress. As Prudence and Geoffrey dig deeper into the region’s undercurrent of opportunistic greed, their investigation is impeded at every turn by murder and attempted murder. They will have to work quickly to solve a convoluted case before a determined killer sends one of them on a fatal plunge . . .

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Calypso, Corpses, and Cooking

Raquel V. Reyes

It’s time for a savory soirée—but something sinister is stewing—in Raquel V. Reyes’s second delightful Caribbean Kitchen mystery, perfectly delicious for fans of Mia P. Manansala.

Fall festivities are underway in Coral Shores, Miami. Cuban-American cooking show star Miriam Quiñones-Smith wakes up to find a corpse in her front yard. The body by the fake tombstone is the woman that was kicked out of the school's Fall Festival the day before.

Miriam's luck does not improve. Her passive-aggressive mother-in-law puts her in charge of the Women's Club annual gala. But this year, it's not canapes and waltzes. Miriam and her girlfriends-squad opt for fun and flavor. They want to spice it up with Caribbean food trucks and a calypso band. While making plans at the country club, they hear a volatile argument between the new head chef and the club's manager. Not long after, the chef swan dives to his death at the bottom of the grand staircase.

Was it an accident? Or was it Beverly, the sous chef, who is furious after being passed over for the job? Or maybe it was his ex-girlfriend, Anastasia?

Add two possible poisonings to the mix and Miriam is worried the food truck fun is going to be a major crash. As the clock ticks down and the body count goes up, Miriam's life is put in jeopardy. Will she connect the dots or die in the deep freeze? Foodies and mystery lovers alike will savor the denouement as the truth is laid bare in this simmering stew of rage, retribution, and murder.

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City of Fortune

Victoria Thompson

When a day at the races reveals sabotage and subterfuge, Elizabeth Miles must use every ounce of her craftiness to even the score in this all-new Counterfeit Lady novel from USA Today bestselling author Victoria Thompson.

Wealthy but uncouth Sebastian Nolan has invited his lawyer, Gideon Bates, and his lovely new wife, Elizabeth, to attend the famous Belmont Stakes. Nolan is anxious for Gideon and Elizabeth to help his daughter, Irene, acquire a bit of polish, now that his venture into thoroughbred racing has allowed them entry into society. He is also hoping to find her a rich potential suitor. Elizabeth is not exactly the society girl Nolan believes her to be, but she is eager to attend the races. Her con artist family has made a lot of money at racetracks, although not from betting on the horses, and she enjoys the excitement of the track.

Irene Nolan seems more interested in horses than husbands, and she jumps at the chance to show Elizabeth her horse, Trench, and introduce her to his rider, Cal Regan. Elizabeth soon realizes there is more than just a working relationship between Irene and Cal. But she also knows that Irene’s father would never allow his only daughter to marry a jockey. When Cal takes a terrible tumble injuring both himself and Irene’s beloved Trench, Elizabeth and Gideon learn that the mishap was not simply bad luck—the horse and rider are victims of sabotage.

It turns out that Sebastian Nolan has more than a few skeletons in his closet and someone is out to get their long sought-after revenge. Elizabeth knows that to help Irene and Cal, she is going to need some help in creating the quintessential con. With the ever honest Gideon at her side, she enlists those closest to her to come up with a scheme that will either ensure young Irene and Cal a first-place finish or have disastrous consequence. . . .

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A Book Club to Die For

Dorothy St. James

When a member of an exclusive book club is checked out, spunky librarian Trudell Becket must sort fact from fiction to solve the murder.

The Cypress Arete Society is one of the town’s oldest and most exclusive clubs. When assistant librarian Trudell Becket is invited to speak to the group about the library, its modernization, and her efforts to bring printed books to the reading public, her friend Flossie invites herself along. Flossie has been on the book club’s waiting list for five years, and she’s determined to find out why she’s never received an invitation to join.



But not long after Tru and Flossie arrive for the meeting, they’re shocked to find the club’s president, Rebecca White, dead in the kitchen. Rebecca was a former TV actress and local celebrity, but was not known for being patient or pleasant. She’d been particularly unkind to the book club’s host for the evening, who also happens to be the mother of Detective Jace Bailey, Tru’s boyfriend. And Rebecca had made it clear that she didn’t think Flossie was book club material.



With her boyfriend and one of her best friends wrapped up in a murder, Tru has to work fast to figure out who cut Rebecca’s story short before the killer takes another victim out of circulation....

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Flight Risk

Cherie Priest

Inconsistent psychic Leda Foley and Seattle detective Grady Merritt return to solve the case of a missing couple in this sequel to the “delightful” (The New York Times Book Review) mystery Grave Reservations.

When psychic travel agent Leda Foley is approached by a man searching for his sister, she quickly agrees to help. The missing woman disappeared with a vintage orange car, a fat sack of her employer’s cash, and a grudge against her philandering husband—a man who never even reported her missing.

Meanwhile, Seattle PD detective Grady Merritt has temporarily misplaced his dog. While he’s passing out bright pink “Lost” flyers at the Mount Rainier visitor’s center, the wayward pooch appears—with a human leg in his mouth.

Thanks to DNA matching, Grady learns that the leg has something to do with Leda’s new client, and soon the two cases are tangled.

Theories abound, but law enforcement is low on leads. Lucky for Grady, Leda has a few ideas that might just be crazy enough to work. They’ll need one yellow dog, a fair share of teamwork, and perhaps a bit of Klairvoyant Karaoke to piece the clues together in this “undeniable treat” (Gwenda Bond, New York Times bestselling author) of a mystery.

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The Widowmaker

Hannah Morrissey

A wealthy family shrouded in scandal; a detective tasked with solving an impossible cold case; and a woman with a dark past collide in Hannah Morrissey's stunning Black Harbor mystery, The Widowmaker.

Ever since business mogul Clive Reynolds disappeared twenty years ago, the name "Reynolds" has become synonymous with "murder" and "mystery." And now, lured by a cryptic note, down-on-her-luck photographer Morgan Mori returns home to Black Harbor and into the web of their family secrets and double lives. The same night she photographs the Reynolds holiday get-together, Morgan becomes witness to a homicide of a cop that triggers the discovery of a long-buried clue.

This could finally be the thing to crack open the chilling cold case, and Investigator Ryan Hudson has a chance to prove himself as lead detective. If only he could stop letting his need to solve his partner's recent murder distract him. But as Morgan exposes her own dark demons, could her sordid history be the key to unlocking more than one mystery?

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Death on a Winter Stroll

Francine Mathews

No-nonsense Nantucket detective Merry Folger grapples with the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic and two murders as the island is overtaken by Hollywood stars and DC suits.

Nantucket Police Chief Meredith Folger is acutely conscious of the stress COVID-19 has placed on the community she loves. Although the island has proved a refuge for many during the pandemic, the cost to Nantucket has been high. Merry hopes that the Christmas Stroll, one of Nantucket’s favorite traditions, in which Main Street is transformed into a winter wonderland, will lift the island’s spirits. But the arrival of a large-scale TV production, and the Secretary of State and her family, complicates matters significantly.
 
The TV shoot is plagued with problems from within, as a shady, power-hungry producer clashes with strong-willed actors. Across Nantucket, the Secretary’s troubled stepson keeps shaking off his security detail to visit a dilapidated house near conservation land, where an intriguing recluse guards secrets of her own. With all parties overly conscious of spending too much time in the public eye and secrets swirling around both camps, it is difficult to parse what behavior is suspicious or not—until the bodies turn up.
 
Now, it’s up to Merry and Detective Howie Seitz to find a connection between two seemingly unconnected murders and catch the killer. But when everyone has a motive, and half of the suspects are politicians and actors, how can Merry and Howie tell fact from fiction?
 
This latest installment in critically acclaimed author Francine Mathews’s Merry Folger series is an immersive escape to festive Nantucket, a poignant exploration of grief as a result of parental absence, and a delicious new mystery to keep you guessing.

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Blackwater Falls

Ausma Zehanat Khan

From critically acclaimed author Ausma Zehanat Khan, Blackwater Falls is the first in a timely and powerful crime series, introducing Detective Inaya Rahman.

“A gripping and compulsive mystery, but much more than that: an exploration of faith, prejudice and fear of the unknown.” —Ann Cleeves, New York Times bestselling author of the Vera, Shetland and Two Rivers series

Girls from immigrant communities have been disappearing for months in the Colorado town of Blackwater Falls, but the local sheriff is slow to act and the fates of the missing girls largely ignored. At last, the calls for justice become too loud to ignore when the body of a star student and refugee--the Syrian teenager Razan Elkader--is positioned deliberately in a mosque.

Detective Inaya Rahman and Lieutenant Waqas Seif of the Denver Police are recruited to solve Razan’s murder, and quickly uncover a link to other missing and murdered girls. But as Inaya gets closer to the truth, Seif finds ways to obstruct the investigation. Inaya may be drawn to him, but she is wary of his motives: he may be covering up the crimes of their boss, whose connections in Blackwater run deep.

Inaya turns to her female colleagues, attorney Areesha Adams and Detective Catalina Hernandez, for help in finding the truth. The three have bonded through their experiences as members of vulnerable groups and now they must work together to expose the conspiracy behind the murders before another girl disappears.

Delving deep into racial tensions, and police corruption and violence, Blackwater Falls examines a series of crimes within the context of contemporary American politics with compassion and searing insight.

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A Hard Day for a Hangover

Darynda Jones

A Library Reads Pick

The blockbuster conclusion to the bestselling Sunshine Vicram trilogy

"Laugh-out-loud funny, intensely suspenseful, page-turning fun." —New York Times bestselling author Allison Brennan


Some people greet the day with open arms. Sheriff Sunshine Vicram would rather give it a hearty shove and get back into bed, because there’s just too much going on right now. There’s a series of women going missing, and Sunny feels powerless to stop it. There’s her persistent and awesomely-rebellious daughter Auri, who’s out to singlehandedly become Del Sol’s youngest and fiercest investigator. And then there’s drama with Levi Ravinder—the guy she’s loved and lusted after for years. The guy who might just be her one and only. The guy who comes from a family of disingenuous vipers looking to oust him—and Sunshine—for good.

Like we said, the new day can take a hike.

Compulsively readable, laugh-out-loud funny, and brimming with big-hearted characters, A Hard Day for a Hangover will have readers cheering to the very last page.

"Fans will be delighted." -Publishers Weekly

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Death in the Margins

Victoria Gilbert

The theater is no place for murder—but a case of backstage betrayal drags library director Amy Webber into a case that could mean curtains in critically acclaimed author Victoria Gilbert’s Blue Ridge Library mystery.

It’s early summer, and while Richard Muir and his dance partner, Karla, are preparing their new choreographic piece, Richard’s wife, Amy, is gathering the dance’s source materials. Based on folktales and the music of the Blue Ridge Mountains, the production is set to premiere at an old cinema that has been converted to a theater. But when dancer Meredith Fox—Richard’s former fiancé—is found dead backstage, Amy is once again propelled into a murder case that threatens the careers and lives of those she loves.

After Amy teams up with Chief Deputy Brad Tucker and the sheriff’s department to discover the killer, they find that there’s no shortage of suspects: Meredith’s wealthy ex-husband, several fellow dancers, a romantically spurned accompanist, and others whom the talented but haughty dancer dismissed or betrayed over the years.

With Richard and Karla's help, and information gleaned from locals who know a wealth of small-town secrets, Amy desperately tries to unveil the killer before the premiere. But she’s pursuing a ruthless murderer who’s willing to kill again—and who might just be waiting for Amy in the wings.

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The Art of the Tale

Steven James

Unleash the power of storytelling to transform your talks, speeches, and presentations--whether your audience is a boardroom of executives, a classroom of students, or an auditorium full of eager listeners.

Everyone, regardless of their background and training, can improve their storytelling abilities. But what is a story? How can you tell it in a way that delights and informs your listeners? Take a journey into the keys to great storytelling with two of the country's top experts on story presentation and speech writing.

In The Art of the Tale, expert storytellers Steven James and Tom Morrisey team up and tap into their lifetimes of experience to show you how to prepare stellar presentations, tell stories in your own unique way, adapt your material to different groups of listeners, and gain confidence in your ability as a speaker. In this book, you'll learn why:

  • practice doesn't make perfect.
  • you should never tell the same story twice.
  • there is no right way to tell a story.
  • it's best to avoid memorizing your stories.

You'll also find helpful hints on:

  • gaining confidence in your ability as a storyteller.
  • connecting with your audience.
  • matching your expectations with those of your listeners.
  • understanding what makes a good story.
  • drawing truth out of stories you wish to tell.
  • crafting and remembering stories.
  • shaping your memories into inspiring stories.

Learn how to tell stories more effectively, lead and teach more creatively, and prepare your message in less time by using this unique resource provided by two of the nation's premier communicators, who tap into their experience to share a lifetime's worth of insights and expertise.

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Writing Sci-Fi, Fantasy, & Horror For Dummies

Rick Dakan

Take your shot at becoming the next Tolkien, Asimov, or King with this simple roadmap to transforming your fiction into works of art

Writing Sci-Fi, Fantasy, & Horror For Dummies is your skeleton key to creating the kind of fiction that grips readers and compels them to keep turning pages (even if it's well past their bedtime!)

You'll start with the basics of creative writing—including character, plot, and scene—and strategies for creating engaging stories in different forms, such as novels, short stories, scripts, and video games. After that, get beginner-friendly and straightforward advice on worldbuilding, before diving headfirst into genre-specific guidance for science fiction, horror, and fantasy writing.

This book also offers:

  • Strategies for editing and revising your next work to get it into tip-top shape for your audience
  • Ways to seek out second opinions from editors, experts, and even sensitivity readers
  • Techniques for marketing and publication, working with agents, and advice for writers going the self-publishing route

The perfect beginner's guide for aspiring writers with an interest in horror, fantasy, or science fiction, Writing Sci-Fi, Fantasy, & Horror For Dummies is the first and last resource you need before you start building your next story about faraway lands, aliens, and fantastic adventures.

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Don't Text Your Ex Happy Birthday

Nick Viall

NATIONAL BESTSELLER
From celebrity heartthrob, esteemed host of The Viall Files podcast, and adored member of Bachelor Nation Nick Viall comes Don't Text Your Ex Happy Birthday--a no-holds-barred dating advice book.

With his trademark charm, relationship expertise, and exclusive sex and love Q&A series, Nick guides readers through topics of love, lust, dating, and heartbreak. Nothing is off limits as he delves into situationships, how to identify a f*ckboy, and defining healthy love vs. toxic love. Trying to figure out if friends with benefits is worth it? Unsure if they're really into you? Is the person you're seeing a walking red flag? Can you come back from being cheated on? Viall is here with all the answers and more. Filled with stories and one-liners you'll be texting your friends, Don't Text Your Ex Happy Birthday is an honest, entertaining, and heartfelt relationship handbook that actually answers the question, "What does it mean when they say . . . ?"

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Baking by Feel

Becca Rea-Tucker

 

 

From the creator of the popular Instagram account @thesweetfeminist comes a playful yet soulful guide to baking your way through your emotions.

 

 

Becca Rea-Tucker has been "saying it with sugar" since 2018 on her Instagram account @thesweetfeminist. From pro-abortion pies to prison abolitionist sugar cookies, Becca's never shied away from adorning her baked goods with her opinions, including her belief that all feelings are valid and deserve to be fully experienced. As she knows, while baking can't replace therapy, working with your hands can be incredibly therapeutic.

In Baking by Feel, she offers readers a unique guide to identifying and processing their emotions--in the kitchen. Organized by five emotional states--happy, sad, mad, anxious, and hopeful--the book includes 65 beautifully photographed recipes, each paired with an emotion. Feeling awkward Try some Kitchen Sink Cookies (they're made up of a little bit of everything, but somehow turn out great!); Having an optimistic moment Enjoy something new like a Cardamom Caramel Poke Cake. Struggling with a moody moment Thick & Chewy Maple Cookies, with their zing of sweet heat (secret ingredient is cayenne) are the perfect salve. And when you're feeling lost and craving something familiar, there's Becca's Instagram-famous Brownies.

With stunning photography and deeply felt vignettes to accompany each emotion, this one-of-a-kind self-care cookbook will satisfy your sweet tooth and nourish your soul.

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RV Cooking Made Easy

Heather Schlueter

Now RVers can enjoy all the pleasures of home cooking while they're on the road with 100 simple recipes that beautifully address the unique challenges of cooking in an RV.



Finally, here is a cookbook that addresses the unique challenges of cooking in an RV: Storage and countertop space is limited; power consumption is always a concern; water usage is critical; refrigerator and pantry space is at a premium; and a small propane cooktop and oven are often the only options for cooking in an RV. The author confidently manages all of those challenges with 100 easy-to-make recipes that brilliantly exploit a minimal numbers of ingredients (and pots), and which deliver delicious, comforting, easy-to-clean-up meals. Now RVers can enjoy all the conveniences of home cooking while they're on the road.
 

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Who Do the Stars Say You Are?

Syd Robinson

A fun and comprehensive guide to learning everything you need to know about each sun sign, from predicting your perfect game night to identifying your dream pet—perfect for any and all astrology fans!

Your sun sign can reveal a lot about you—your strengths and weaknesses, compatibility, basic personality traits, and so much more. But it can also reveal which ice cream flavor you like best, which TV show is perfect for you, and whether you’re a good companion for a hiking trip. You know…the important things in life!

In Who Do the Stars Say You Are?, you’ll learn to better understand yourself and your friends according to your astrological signs. You’ll cover topics such as which late-night snack is right for you, which classic 90s pop song perfectly describes your personality, and how to spot a Scorpio simply by looking at their shoes. Do you always fall asleep at the beginning of the movie and wake up halfway through with absolutely no idea what’s going on? You’re probably a Pisces. That friend who always orders the sweetest, most decadent desserts, even after a big fancy dinner? They might be a Taurus. And if you fall a little bit in love with every single pug you see, you’re definitely a Leo!

Whether you turn to this book for guidance or a laugh with friends as you compare your signs, it’s time to find out the truth about who the stars say you really are!

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Happy Witch

Mandi Em

Invite joy and healing into your life using your own magic with this self-help guide from the author of Witchcraft Therapy, Mandi Em.

Witchcraft is a practice where everyone can self-soothe and find their alignment again through performance, play, following impulses, and inviting joy into their lives. Beyond spell jars and candle magic, there’s a whole world of uncommon ways to inject some childlike wonder and play therapy into your daily practice. Now you can pursue joy, healing, and fun, with this guide to finding happiness through magic, filled with straight-talk self-care advice backed up by magical spells, rituals, recipes, meditations, and more!

Happy Witch is an uncommon spell book full of witchy self-care spells and rituals that think outside the box of what a witch’s practice usually looks like. From kinetic cloud dough play for moving through your emotions to using dance as a form of manifestation, Happy Witch brings out your inner child to help you undertake your healing through magic. Woven through with BS-free empowering messages, suggestions, and encouragement on how to build your intuitive practice that you love, this self-help guide is your perfect companion for magical healing.

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Walking Philadelphia

Natalie Pompilio

Explore Philly’s most interesting, scenic, and historic places via 30 self-guided walking tours.

From Broad Street to Independence National Park, from Manayunk to the Delaware River, the City of Brotherly Love is one of the world’s most fascinating places to explore. Grab your walking shoes, and become an urban adventurer. Local author Natalie Pompilio leads you on 30 self-guided walking tours in this comprehensive guidebook.

Walking Philadelphia makes you feel like you’re being led by your closest friend as you soak up the architecture, trivia, and more. The tours include important historic facts, as well as Natalie’s behind-the-scenes stories and tidbits. Plus, Tricia Pompilio’s photography brings these walking tours to life.

Find vintage boutiques and high-end shopping destinations. Try restaurants that showcase famed fare (like cheesesteaks, pretzels, and beer that make Philadelphia a foodies’ paradise). Discover Philadelphia’s many firsts: the first zoo, first library system, and first hospital—plus dozens of historic sites that you learned about in school. Explore a Museum District that’s second to none, an all-encompassing park system, America’s Most Historic Square Mile, and much more.

Whether you’re looking for the Mural Mile in Center City or the historically modern charm of Society Hill, Walking Philadelphia will get you there. Find a route that appeals to you, and walk Philly!

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Craft and Conscience

Kavita Das

The first major book for writers to more effectively engage with complex socio-political issues—a critical first step in creating social change

Writers are witnesses and scribes to society’s conscience but writing about social issues in the twenty-first century requires a new, sharper toolkit. Craft and Conscience helps writers weave together their narrative craft, analytical and research skills, and their conscience to create prose which makes us feel the individual and collective impact of crucial issues of our time. Kavita Das guides writers to take on nuanced perspectives and embrace intentionality through a social justice lens. She challenges writers to unpack their motivations for writing about an issue and to understand that “writing, irrespective of genre or outlet, is an act of political writing,” regardless of intention.

The book includes essays from a fascinating mix of authors, including James Baldwin, Alexander Chee, Kaitlyn Greenidge, George Orwell, Roxane Dunbar-Ortiz, Gaiutra Bahadur, Jaquira Díaz, and Imani Perry. By including Das’s own perspective and those of the featured writers about motivations and approaches to writing about fraught social issues, this book both demystifies the process of engaging social issues on the page, and underscores the intentionality and sensitivity that must go into the work.

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The Art of Calligraphy Letters : Creative Lettering for Beginners

Laura Toffaletti

Learn How to Create Calligraphy Letters--Easily Learn the art of beautiful calligraphy writing from an Italian master in this jam-packed workbook and guide to the art of calligraphy. Hand lettering for beginners or experienced writers. Each page has a step-by-step guide showing you how to easily perfect your lettering, calligraphy writing, or cursive handwriting skills. Practice and find your own unique modern calligraphy writing style. Calligraphy practice and fun for all levels. Enjoy creating beautiful and calming designs. Delight in forming cute letters. Find peace as you go at your own pace of learning. Craft your own beautiful personalized cards, placeholders, agendas, notes, and other works of art. Inside, you'll find: * Pages full of step-by-step instructions on how to do calligraphy * An assortment of calligraphy letter designs * Tips for quickly building your calligraphy and cursive handwriting skills If you liked creative lettering and enjoyed calligraphy books such as The Ultimate Guide to Modern Calligraphy & Hand Lettering, The Lost Art of Handwriting Workbook, or Modern Lettering, you'll love Laura Toffaletti's The Art of Calligraphy Letters .
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How to Draw Fun Stuff Stroke-by-Stroke

Jonathan Stephen Harris

A fresh and exciting drawing guide for young artists who seek projects that are out of the ordinary.

Are you tired of drawing the same boring stuff? Artist and author Jonathan Stephen Harris shows you how to draw almost anything with 40 fun and exciting projects that are anything but boring. You'll learn how to create crazy trick art, amazing 3D objects, mind-blowing anamorphic illustrations, and brain-twisting optical illusions. Every project features detailed, step-by-step instructions and illustrations that use color to help teach you exactly how to do it. You'll start by learning the basics of drawing, what tools you need, and the basic techniques you need to know so you can create your own amazing drawings. Soon you'll be creating works of amazing art that is out of this world!

Here's what's inside:

 

  • 40 exciting drawing projects that will thrill young artists of all levels of ability.
  • Detailed, step-by-step instructions that take readers through every drawing from start to finish, using color to illustrate new lines so the reader can clearly see the next steps.
  • Simple tutorials for basic drawing skills like shading as well as creating textures and surfaces so readers can learn drawing the right way.
  • Tons of creative ideas that will inspire you to create your own amazing works of art.

 

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How to Win Friends and Manage Remotely

McKenna Sweazey

Harness Your Digital Empathy and Learn Skills to Be a Better Boss, Employee, and Colleague in a Virtual or Hybrid Office
  
How do you manage a poor performer over Zoom? How do you casually deliver positive feedback via Slack? What’s the most professional use of a gif?

Two things are certain with the shift in office structure: First, we will never go back to “the way things were.” Second, we all must learn to live in a virtual workplace. If we are managers, that means we also need to know how to communicate with, motivate, and coach virtual teams. In the words of Dale Carnegie, how do you “win friends and influence people” in a virtual office?

In face-to-face interactions, humans have thousands of indicators to tell them what the other party is thinking and how they are reacting. Resorting to purely digital communication obliterates these clues, stopping us from reading the subtle body language we’ve evolved to use in all interactions to become better leaders, kinder managers, and more effective cogs in the corporate machine.

How to Win Friends and Manage Remotely shares real-life examples, scientifically proven ideas, and distillations of tried-and-true business tenets, including why expressing empathy is the most important factor in managing and working with others—all mapped to a new virtual-first office.

This book is a handbook—a step-by-step guide to common interactions in the workplace using eight classic management examples: from digitizing your onboarding journey to helping new recruits and delivering useful feedback over video conference. Combining academic research and personal experiences across various companies, roles, and countries, author McKenna Sweazey presents a road map to get us through the WFH (work from home) quagmire and help us all be more aware of others’ perspectives in this brave new world.
 

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Clever Girl Finance: The Side Hustle Guide

Bola Sokunbi

Get the straight goods on how to build a thriving side hustle from someone who’s been there before

In Clever Girl Finance: The Side Hustle Guide, celebrated finance expert, influencer, CEO, and author Bola Sokunbi delivers your own personal key to unlocking more money, more freedom, and more security in your life. You’ll find out how to achieve financial prosperity by leveraging a side hustle business to increase your income and build wealth.

You’ll discover how to:

  • Build your confidence, eliminate your fears, and strengthen your focus
  • Establish a strong foundation for your new business, even without prior experience
  • Create a solid plan to brand, market, and grow a business your customers won’t be able to get enough of
  • Write a realistic financial plan for your side hustle and to create long-term wealth

Perfect for those with a side hustle dream and some energy to spare, Clever Girl Finance: The Side Hustle Guide will also earn a place in the libraries of anyone who’s ever thought about building a successful and profitable side hustle from the ground up but didn’t know where to start.

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From Classroom to Career

Shirley Morrison

An authentic, engaging, and practical guide to help college grads thrive personally and professionally.

The rules have changed; the traditional workplace is dead. To BOOM in employment today, the secret is to alter the approach, and From Classroom to Career will tell you how. Gen Z and Millennials are asking for this value-led guide as they embark on careers.

Entertaining, personal, and relatable, the voice of the book is purposely casual, as if speaking in a café. It’s a voice everyone trusts. Reasonable, logical, and concrete advice for today’s how-to: how to write a business email; how to successfully land and then stand out in an interview, including in a virtual world; how to ask questions that can be adapted to any job/role; how to write a CV with examples. Inspiring, surprising, real-life stories show empathy for what the readers are likely going through, so they’ll forget it’s a business book.

From Classroom to Career integrates the personal and career. This is in fact the real reality of every human being: we’re so much more than careerists. It’s impossible to thrive career-wise if you are not happy outside of work. People are happier when they have a balance, enabling them to achieve personally and professionally. By helping readers to discover their own values, this guide gets them to think about their own career and who they want to be. This is entirely unlike any other business book out there.

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Homestead Survival

Marty Raney

A practical guide to self-sufficient and sustainable living from the star of Homestead Rescue.

Do you wish for a more resilient, sustainable, and empowered way of providing for your family in uncertain times? Are you worried about unreliable power grids, uncertain water supplies, or overly complex food chains? Veteran homesteader and star of Discovery's Homestead Rescue Marty Raney shares a big-picture vision of how ordinary families can become radically resilient homesteaders: powering, feeding, and caring for themselves through their own efforts, and on their own land.
 
This book will guide you to:
   buy land with the natural resources to build and feed a homestead
   go off grid with your own power and water systems
   design a greenhouse that will keep growing even when it’s snowing
   confidently defend your home against all threats—grizzlies, forest fires, flash floods, and financial challenges
 
Resources are only going to get more scarce. Raney will teach you to find food where others see dirt, and to build a home where others see empty land. He will inspire you to forge your own homestead dream and strengthen your family for all challenges to come.
 

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The Cat Behavior Answer Book, 2nd Edition

Arden Moore

Cats can be mysterious and can owners are eager to understand their behavior and learn how to strengthen the bond between cats and humans. In the revised 2nd edition of The Cat Behavior Answer Book (77,000 copies in print), pet expert Arden Moore answers the many questions cat owners have, from the practical aspects of training, feeding, and caring to the puzzling aspects of behavior and communication. Do cats dream? What's the purpose of a cat's whiskers? How do I catproof my house? Why does my elderly cat howl at night? How can I train my cats not to jump upon the kitchen counter? Can I keep my cat from climbing the curtains? What's the best way to train a kitten to use the litter box? How can I eliminate the smell of cat urine? What's the best way to trim a cat's nails? Is it okay for my cat to eat grass? Arden Moore provides insightful answers to all these questions and many more, along with reassuring guidance on addressing the problems that can get in the way of living happily with a cat. The 2nd edition has been completely updated to reflect the most recent research and recommendations and redesigned in a larger, highly browsable format.

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Battle Cry of the Siamese Kitten

Philipp Schott

From Dr. Schott's 30 years in veterinary practice come over 60 heartwarming, funny, and adorable stories about angry pelicans, bug-eyed goldfish, and plenty of cats and dogs

In the third book in this bestselling series, we meet the oddest creatures, from an escaped newt to a baby snow leopard, but the focus is on the dogs and cats that make up most of a pet vet's day and on the wacky and wonderful people who bring them in.

Dr. Schott also pulls back the curtain on what it's really like to be a veterinarian. Do some vet students faint at the sight of blood? (Yes.) Is it easier for vets to bring their own pets in for procedures? (No.) Did the pandemic change veterinary practice? (Yes, and how.)

You will also learn how to bathe a dog, why some rats love cats, why Dr. Schott is afraid of parrots, and a surprising way for a dog to accidentally get drunk. And, of course, you will meet Supercat, the Siamese kitten with the mightiest lungs.

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What Is My Plant Telling Me?

Emily L. Hay Hinsdale

Keep your house plants alive and thriving with this illustrated, accessible guide to popular house plants for new and experienced plant-parents alike.

Many new gardeners are finally starting to understand why bringing the outside indoors is so appealing. From improving home décor to mental health, plants have so many benefits. But keeping them alive (and most importantly, thriving) isn’t always easy! What does it mean if your plant has brown tips? Rotting roots? Yellow leaves? The list goes on.

Don’t you just wish your plants could communicate what’s wrong and how to fix it?

What Is My Plant Telling Me? answers all your plant-based questions making it the perfect companion for anyone interested in keeping their plants looking their best. This illustrated guide to the fifty most popular house plants will show you how to:
-Speak your plant’s language
-Identify classic distress signals
-Intervene successfully to keep your plants thriving for years to come
-Choose plants that work best for your space
-Pick the best locations within your home to keep your new plants
-Identify the pot size needed when you want to replant
-And more!

Whether you’re interested in growing a cactus, orchid, or even the popular Fiddle Leaf Fig, this book is the perfect guide to deciphering the message your plant is telling you and what you can do to revive it.

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Essential Oils for Dental Health

Karin Opitz-Kreher

An experienced holistic dentist and aromatherapy practitioner detail how to use essential oils to support the health of your mouth and teeth

• Explores the benefits of and best methods of use for well-known dental care oils such as peppermint, tea-tree, and clove as well as the lesser known oral benefits of oils like cinnamon, manuka, and oregano

• Offers many simple practical techniques to easily incorporate essential oils into your daily oral care routine

• Includes recommended oil mixtures targeted to alleviate specific dental and oral ailments, such as periodontitis, oral herpes, ulcers, teething, dry mouth, bad breath, teeth grinding, and toothache

Healthy teeth in a healthy oral environment play a key role in physical and mental well-being. We all want to preserve our teeth intact for as long as possible, and essential oils allow us to do so in a natural way. These precious "stars" from the plant kingdom promote oral hygiene and prevent a range of dental ailments, including caries and periodontitis. They can even help alleviate a fear of going to the dentist.

Experienced essential oils expert Karin Opitz-Kreher and holistic dentist Jutta Schreiber, D.M.D., have combined their expertise to explain in clear, accessible, and practical terms how to use essential oils for oral health. Learn all you need to know about what factors to consider when buying oils, which methods to use for different treatments, and how to apply them safely within the mouth. Sixteen recommended essential oils and various oil mixtures are discussed, all with beautiful four-color illustrations. Discover their safe application and health benefits through the focused expertise and knowledge of the authors. The simple and practical techniques in this fascinating book will help to preserve and enhance your dental and oral health.

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Sharing Your Family History Online

Chris Paton

For many enthusiasts pursuing their family history research, the online world offers a seemingly endless archive of digitized materials to help us answer the questions posed by our ancestors. In addition to hosting records, however, the internet also offers a unique platform on which we can host our research and lure in prospective cousins from around the world, to help build up a larger shared ancestral story. In Sharing Your Family History Online, genealogist and best-selling author Chris Paton will explore the many ways in which we can present our research and encourage collaboration online. He will detail the many organizations and social media applications that can permit cooperation, describe the software platforms on which we can collate our stories, and illustrate the many ways in which we can publish our stories online. Along the way, Chris Paton will also explore how we can make our research work further for us, by drawing in experts and distant cousins from around the world to help us break our ancestral brick walls, not just through sharing stories, but by accessing uniquely held documentation by family members around the world, including our very own shared DNA.

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Pickleball for All

Rachel Simon

 

 

An entertaining and comprehensive look at America's fastest growing sport, Pickleball for All is the ultimate primer for any level of player interested in the wacky history, unique rules, and exciting future of pickleball.

 

 

Bainbridge Island, Washington State. On a sleepy summer vacation, three dads with bored kids started a game with handmade equipment and rules that were even more hastily constructed. Pickleball--an accessible and engaging combination of sports like ping-pong and tennis--was born, and a rich history began to take shape. Fifty years later, as the COVID-19 pandemic forced the world to quarantine and hunt for new activities, Americans of all ages and athletic ability discovered pickleball, turning to the rapidly growing phenomenon as a way to stay active, safe, and entertained. With its unique rules, wacky terminology, and inclusive gameplay, pickleball caught the attention of the likes of the Kardashians, Bill and Melinda Gates, and Leonardo DiCaprio, and quickly became the world's fastest growing sport with Olympic games potential.Few have followed pickleball's ascent in American life as closely as New York Times writer and pickleball enthusiast Rachel Simon. Now Simon shares her fascination with the world in this lively, energetic primer for anyone wondering what in the world a dink is or why their neighbors have had a net up in their driveway since May 2020. From the history of the game to the basic rules (hint: you do not want to be caught in the "kitchen" during a volley), Simon offers a complete overview for casual and expert players alike. With easy-to-follow steps and expert advice, readers will learn everything they need to know, including information like:

  • Where and how to set up a court
  • Scoring, gameplay, and equipment
  • Strategies to win at any skill level
  • The difference between a dink, a drive, and a drop shot

In addition, Simon weaves in inspiring stories from the world's top players during their most exciting pickleball moments. An immersive look at a global phenomenon that's only gaining momentum, Pickleball for All paints a vivid portrait of a new American pastime.

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The United States of Cryptids

J. W. Ocker

 

Meet the monsters in our midst, from bigfoot to Mothman and beyond!
Welcome to the United States of Cryptids, where mysterious monsters lurk in the dark forests, deep lakes, and sticky swamps of all fifty states. From the infamous Jersey Devil to the obscure Snallygaster, travel writer and chronicler of the strange J. W. Ocker uncovers the bizarre stories of these creatures and investigates the ways in which communities embrace and celebrate their local cryptids. Readers will learn about:
 
Batsquatch of Washington, a winged bigfoot that is said to have emerged from the eruption of Mount Saint Helens
Nain Rouge of Michigan, a fierce red goblin that has been spotted before every major city disaster in Detroit
Flatwoods Monster of West Virginia, a robotic extraterrestrial that crash-landed in rural Appalachia
Lizard Man of South Carolina, a reptilian mutant that attacked a teenager in the summer of 1988
Glocester Ghoul of Rhode Island, a fire-breathing dragon that guards a hoard of pirate treasure
• And many more!
 
Whether you believe in bigfoot or not, this fully illustrated compendium is a fun, frightening, fascinating tour through American folklore and history, exploring the stories we tell about monsters and what those stories say about us.

 

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The Christie Affair

Nina de Gramont

Tuesday, January 24, 2023

Why would the world's most famous mystery writer disappear for eleven days? What makes a woman desperate enough to destroy another woman's marriage? How deeply can a person crave revenge?

"Sizzles from its first sentence." - The Wall Street Journal
A Reese's Book Club Pick

In 1925, Miss Nan O’Dea infiltrated the wealthy, rarefied world of author Agatha Christie and her husband, Archie. In every way, she became a part of their life––first, both Christies. Then, just Archie. Soon, Nan became Archie’s mistress, luring him away from his devoted wife, desperate to marry him. Nan’s plot didn’t begin the day she met Archie and Agatha.

It began decades before, in Ireland, when Nan was a young girl. She and the man she loved were a star-crossed couple who were destined to be together––until the Great War, a pandemic, and shameful secrets tore them apart. Then acts of unspeakable cruelty kept them separated.

What drives someone to murder? What will someone do in the name of love? What kind of crime can someone never forgive? Nina de Gramont’s brilliant, unforgettable novel explores these questions and more.

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Black Cake

Charmaine Wilkerson

Tuesday, February 28, 2023

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • READ WITH JENNA BOOK CLUB PICK AS FEATURED ON TODAY • Two estranged siblings delve into their mother’s hidden past—and how it all connects to her traditional Caribbean black cake—in this immersive family saga, “a character-driven, multigenerational story that’s meant to be savored” (Time).
 
“Wilkerson transports you across the decades and around the globe accompanied by complex, wonderfully drawn characters.”—Taylor Jenkins Reid, New York Times bestselling author of The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, Daisy Jones & The Six, and Malibu Rising

In development as a Hulu original series produced by Marissa Jo Cerar, Oprah Winfrey (Harpo Films), and Kapital Entertainment
 
ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR: Oprah Daily, NPR, Glamour, PopSugar, Book Riot, She Reads

We can’t choose what we inherit. But can we choose who we become?
In present-day California, Eleanor Bennett’s death leaves behind a puzzling inheritance for her two children, Byron and Benny: a black cake, made from a family recipe with a long history, and a voice recording. In her message, Eleanor shares a tumultuous story about a headstrong young swimmer who escapes her island home under suspicion of murder. The heartbreaking tale Eleanor unfolds, the secrets she still holds back, and the mystery of a long-lost child challenge everything the siblings thought they knew about their lineage and themselves.

Can Byron and Benny reclaim their once-close relationship, piece together Eleanor’s true history, and fulfill her final request to “share the black cake when the time is right”? Will their mother’s revelations bring them back together or leave them feeling more lost than ever?

Charmaine Wilkerson’s debut novel is a story of how the inheritance of betrayals, secrets, memories, and even names can shape relationships and history. Deeply evocative and beautifully written, Black Cake is an extraordinary journey through the life of a family changed forever by the choices of its matriarch.

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Hopeless

Colleen Hoover

From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of  It Ends With Us comes the beginning of Sky and Dean’s passionate love story – where well-kept secrets threaten to open wounds of a dark past.

Would you rather know a truth that makes you feel hopeless, or keep believing the lies?

Beloved and bestselling author Colleen Hoover returns with the spellbinding story of two young people with devastating pasts who embark on a passionate, intriguing journey to discover the lessons of life, love, trust – and above all, the healing power that only truth can bring.

Sky, a senior in high school, meets Dean Holder, a guy with a promiscuous reputation that rivals her own. From their very first encounter, he terrifies and captivates her. Something about him sparks memories of her deeply troubled past, a time she’s tried so hard to bury. Though Sky is determined to stay far away from him, his unwavering pursuit and enigmatic smile break down her defenses and the intensity of the bond between them grows. But the mysterious Holder has been keeping secrets of his own, and once they are revealed, Sky is changed forever and her ability to trust may be a casualty of the truth.

Only by courageously facing the stark revelations can Sky and Holder hope to heal their emotional scars and find a way to live and love without boundaries. Hopeless is a novel that will leave you breathless, entranced, and remembering your own first love.

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Feel the Bern

Andrew Shaffer

Who knew fighting for a living wage could be so deadly? Bernie Sanders and his Gen Z intern are drawn into a murder investigation in a small Vermont town in this hilarious spin on cozy mysteries from the New York Times bestselling author of Hope Never Dies: An Obama Biden Mystery.

Fall is bursting out all over Vermont, and while the rest of the Congress enjoys its recess, Senator Bernie Sanders has returned to his beloved home state for a weekend of events in Eagle Creek, “America’s #1 Leaf Peeping Destination.” It’s up to intern and Eagle Creek native Crash Robertson to keep the senator on schedule—and out of trouble.

Crash’s hopes for a quiet homecoming are dashed, however, when the lifeless body of a community banker with ties to “Big Maple” is found in Lake Champlain. While the sheriff’s department closes the case as an accident, a leaked autopsy indicates foul play…with a trail of syrup leading directly to one of the senator’s oldest friends. Bernie, taking a page from the cozy mysteries he’s addicted to, enlists Crash in a quest to uncover the killer’s true identity.

If Crash allows the senator to go too far off-script, it will be the end of her yet-to-begin political career. But as the suspect list grows to include a tech bro set on “disrupting” the maple syrup industry, struggling small-business owners, and even Crash’s own family, she realizes there’s more on the line than her own future. If the unlikely duo can’t solve the mystery of the Maple Murderer before they strike again, Bernie’s life-long fight for justice may come to an unplanned end.

This (totally fictional!) mystery also features recipes from Eagle Creek’s Vermont Country Shed, including Vermont Cheddar Mac & Cheese, “Feel the Bern!” Maple Sriracha Hot Sauce, and more!

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Pets of Park Avenue

Stefanie London

"One of the year's most delightful rom-coms."--New York Times bestselling author Julia London on The Dachshund Wears Prada



The perfect romcom for dog lovers! Pets of Park Avenue is the story of a self-confessed hot mess who learns that life is more fun when things don't go according to plan.



What do you do when The One is also the one who broke your heart?



Self-proclaimed hot mess Scout Myers is determined to prove she's finally got her act together. Raised by grandparents who saw her as her wayward mother's wayward daughter, Scout's used to being written off. So when the opportunity for a promotion arises at Paws in the City, the talent agency where she works, Scout is desperate to rise to the occasion. With shared custody of her little sister also on the line, Scout can't afford a single mistake...like suddenly needing a canine stand-in for an important photoshoot. Luckily (or not) she knows the owner of the perfect pup replacement: the estranged husband she walked out on years ago.



On the surface, it appears Lane Halliday's life has been blissfully drama free without Scout, but she suspects her handsome-as-ever not-quite-ex-husband doth protest too much. Working together even feels like old times--except for all that lingering, unresolved tension. But Scout's not sure she's ready to confront the reasons she left Lane, and when their plans to finalize the divorce become very real, Scout starts to wonder whether second chances might be worth a little hot mess.



Paws in the City

Book 1 - The Dachshund Wears Prada

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The Shelly Bay Ladies Swimming Circle

Sophie Green

It's 1982 in Australia. THE MAN FROM SNOWY RIVER is a box office hit and Paul Hogan is on the TV.

In a seaside suburb, housewife Theresa takes up swimming. She wants to get fit; she also wants a few precious minutes to herself. So at sunrise each day she strikes out past the waves.

From the same beach, the widowed Marie swims. With her husband gone, bathing is the one constant in her new life.

After finding herself in a desperate situation, 25-year-old Leanne only has herself to rely on. She became a nurse to help others, even as she resists help herself.

Elaine has recently moved from England. Far from home and without her adult sons, her closest friend is a gin bottle.

In the waters of Shelly Bay, these four women find each other. They will survive bluebottle stings and heartbreak; they will laugh so hard they swallow water, and they will plunge their tears into the ocean's salt. They will find solace and companionship, and learn that love takes many forms.

Most of all, they will cherish their friendship, each and every day.

'A tender, heartwarming read' New Idea

'An upbeat story about suburban life and female solidarity' Spectrum

'A delightful novel about the power of female friendship' Sunday Age

'Reading this book was like snuggling beneath a warm beach towel after a bracing dip in the ocean.' - JOANNA NELL

Praise for Sophie Green's THE INAUGURAL MEETING OF THE FAIRVALE LADIES BOOK CLUB

'Tender, intimate, heartwarming, fulfilling and Australian as a lamb roast and full-bodied shiraz' The Australian Women's Weekly

**Includes BONUS extract from Sophie Green's new novel, Thursdays at Orange Blossom House**

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A Mother Would Know

Amber Garza

"Do we ever really know our children? Amber Garza invites readers to untangle the web of a family just like yours--or are they? This thriller will have you triple-guessing yourself." --Eliza Jane Brazier, author of If I Disappear

A mother questions everything she knows about her son when a local woman is found dead.

Valerie has been forgetting things. Her daughter worries about her being on her own in her big Victorian house--one rumored to be haunted after a tragedy decades earlier--and truth be told, she is a little lonely. With few options, she asks her adult son to move home, but it's not quite the reunion she hoped for. Hudson is taciturn, moody and frequently gone.

The neighbors already hold a grudge against Hudson, and they aren't happy about his return. When a young woman is found murdered a block away, suspicion falls on him immediately, without a shred of evidence. While Valerie fights to defend her son, she begins to wonder who she really invited into her home.

It's a horrible thing for a mother to even think...but is it possible she's enabled a monster? A monster she is living with, alone?

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Treachery on Tenth Street

Kate Belli

Somebody's killing the most glamorous models in Gilded-Age New York, but intrepid Genevieve Stewart is up to the task in Kate Belli's third Gilded Gotham mystery, for fans of Victoria Thompson and Andrea Penrose. As a heat wave engulfs New York in the summer of 1889, the city's top models begin turning up dead, one by one, suggesting the work of a single killer. Society girl turned investigative journalist Genevieve Stewart is drawn into the case when Beatrice Holler, one of her friend Callie's fellow models, is found with her throat cut. Genevieve and her compatriot, wealthy Daniel McCaffrey, are joined by Callie to seek out the suspects, which leads them to search for answers from the members of the elite, notorious gangsters, and the city's most prominent painters. In an era when London's Jack the Ripper murders have everyone on edge, the police want to keep the killings quiet. But the bodies are piling up as fast as the suspects-and unless the killer is found, the simmering New York summer could boil over into madness.
Descriptive content provided by Syndetics™, a ProQuest® service.

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A Trace of Poison

Colleen Cambridge

Phyllida Bright, housekeeper to the grand dame of murder mysteries, Agatha Christie, must uncover the killer among a throng of crime writers in this sparkling new historical mystery from acclaimed writer Colleen Cambridge.

“Balances Downton Abbey–style period charm with a tight plot that twists and turns right until the end… a plot that would satisfy Poirot.” –Library Journal

“Dame Agatha would be proud.” –Publishers Weekly

In England’s stately manor houses, murder is not generally a topic for polite conversation. Mallowan Hall, home to Agatha Christie and her husband, Max, is the exception. And housekeeper Phyllida Bright delights in discussing gory plot details with her friend and employer . . .

The neighboring village of Listleigh has also become a hub of grisly goings-on, thanks to a Murder Fête organized to benefit a local orphanage. Members of The Detection Club—a group of celebrated authors such as G.K. Chesterton, Dorothy L. Sayers, and Agatha herself—will congregate for charitable events, including a writing contest for aspiring authors. The winner gets an international publishing contract, and entrants have gathered for a cocktail party—managed by the inimitable Phyllida—when murder strikes too close even for her comfort.

It seems the victim imbibed a poisoned cocktail intended for Alastair Whittlesby, president of the local writers’ club. The insufferable Whittlesby is thought to be a shoo-in for the prize, and ambition is certainly a worthy motive. But narrowing down these suspects could leave even Phyllida’s favorite fictional detective, M. Poirot, twirling his mustache in frustration.

It’s a mystery too intriguing for Phyllida to resist, but one fraught with duplicity and danger, for every guest is an expert in murder—and how to get away with it . . .

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The Plot and the Pendulum

Jenn McKinlay

Halloween is approaching in Briar Creek, and things get spooky when a skeleton is found and connected to a decades-old cold case, in the newest Library Lover's Mystery from the New York Times bestselling author of Killer Research.

Library director Lindsey Norris is happy to learn the Briar Creek Public Library is the beneficiary of the Dorchester family’s vast book collection. However, when Lindsey and the library staff arrive at the old Victorian estate to gather the books, things take a sinister turn. One of the bookcases reveals a secret passage, leading to a room where a skeleton is found, clutching an old copy of The Collected Works of Edgar Allan Poe.

Lindsey does a quick check of missing persons, using the distinctive 80s era clothing worn by the deceased to determine a time frame, and discovers that Briar Creek has an unsolved missing person’s case from 1989. A runaway bride went missing just weeks after her wedding. No suspects were ever arrested and the cold case remains unsolved. Lindsey and the crafternoon crew decide that justice is overdue and set about solving the old murder mystery, using some novel ideas to crack the case.

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Theft of an Idol

Dana Stabenow

When Cleopatra's most beloved actress disappears, her new Eye of Isis must solve a case that will lead to the darkest corners of Alexandria.



From the palaces of Alexandria reigns Cleopatra - seventh of her name, avatar of the goddess Isis, ruler of the Kingdom of Egypt - surrounded by riches untold. Through the streets of her great city bustle scholars and sailors, politicians and priests. For those with the means, it is a comfortable life.



But not all are invited to share in the wealth of Egypt's first city. For the peasants and farmers, their lives lie in the hands of the gods and the harvest. Unless, that is, they can find other methods to feed their families. Other, less savory methods.



When Herminia, one of Alexandria's most beloved actresses, disappears on the eve of a great performance, Cleopatra sets Tetisheri, her Eye, to investigate. In her search for the truth, Tetisheri will uncover a mystery that will take her to the city's darkest corners...

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The Genesis of Misery

Neon Yang

A Goodreads Best Science Fiction Choice Award Nominee
A New York Public Library Top 10 Book of 2022

An immersive, electrifying space-fantasy, Neon Yang's debut novel The Genesis of Misery is full of high-tech space battles and political machinations, starring a queer and diverse array of pilots, princesses, and prophetic heirs.


"This is Joan of Arc meets Gideon the Ninth with a touch of Pacific Rim thrown in as a treat. A mind-blowing rollercoaster ride of a space opera, propulsive and strange in the best way."Rebecca Roanhorse, New York Times bestselling author

It’s an old, familiar story: a young person hears the voice of an angel saying they have been chosen as a warrior to lead their people to victory in a holy war.

But Misery Nomaki (she/they) knows they are a fraud.

Raised on a remote moon colony, they don’t believe in any kind of god. Their angel is a delusion, brought on by hereditary space exposure. Yet their survival banks on mastering the holy mech they are supposedly destined for, and convincing the Emperor of the Faithful that they are the real deal.

The deeper they get into their charade, however, the more they start to doubt their convictions. What if this, all of it, is real?

A reimagining of Joan of Arc’s story given a space opera, giant robot twist, the Nullvoid Chronicles is a story about the nature of truth, the power of belief, and the interplay of both in the stories we tell ourselves.

At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

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Wayward

Chuck Wendig

“If King had written a sequel to The Stand, it might look something like this monumental epic of a story.”—James Rollins, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Kingdom of Bones

“As great as Wanderers was, Wayward is better.”—Christopher Golden, New York Times bestselling author of Road of Bones


Five years ago, ordinary Americans fell under the grip of a strange new malady that caused them to sleepwalk across the country to a destination only they knew. They were followed on their quest by the shepherds: friends and family who gave up everything to protect them.

Their secret destination: Ouray, a small town in Colorado that would become one of the last outposts of civilization. Because the sleepwalking epidemic was only the first in a chain of events that led to the end of the world—and the birth of a new one.

The survivors, sleepwalkers and shepherds alike, have a dream of rebuilding human society. Among them are Benji, the scientist struggling through grief to lead the town; Marcy, the former police officer who wants only to look after the people she loves; and Shana, the teenage girl who became the first shepherd—and an unlikely hero whose courage will be needed again.

Because the people of Ouray are not the only survivors, and the world they are building is fragile. The forces of cruelty and brutality are amassing under the leadership of self-proclaimed president Ed Creel. And in the very heart of Ouray, the most powerful survivor of all is plotting its own vision for the new world: Black Swan, the A.I. who imagined the apocalypse.

Against these threats, Benji, Marcy, Shana, and the rest have only one hope: one another. Because the only way to survive the end of the world is together.

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The Break

Katie Sise

Can she trust the people she loves? Can she trust herself? A new mother is pushed to the edge in a provocative thriller by the Amazon Charts bestselling author of Open House.

After the traumatic birth of her daughter at a New York City hospital, Rowan O'Sullivan returns home to her apartment with her perfect newborn, Lila. At her side are her husband, Gabe, and June, a part-time babysitter hired to help Rowan in any way she can.

But in this time of joy, Rowan can't shake the feeling that something isn't right. She feels dread. She's breaking.

Rowan's growing instability leads her to accuse June of unspeakable things. And when June disappears just days later, Rowan becomes a suspect. The neighbors heard the screaming. But only Rowan knows what really happened. If her mind can be trusted. Since Lila's birth, her memory has been both unreliable and frightening.

To uncover what happened to June and protect her new baby, Rowan must try to untangle the deep recesses of her mind and face the dark things she's so desperate to keep buried. When she does, no one is prepared for where the truth leads.

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We Are the Light

Matthew Quick

From Matthew Quick, the New York Times bestselling author of The Silver Linings Playbook—made into the Academy Award–winning movie starring Jennifer Lawrence and Bradley Cooper—comes a poignant and hopeful novel about a widower who takes in a grieving teenager and inspires a magical revival in their small town.

Lucas Goodgame lives in Majestic, Pennsylvania, a quaint suburb that has been torn apart by a recent tragedy. Everyone in Majestic sees Lucas as a hero—everyone, that is, except Lucas himself. Insisting that his deceased wife, Darcy, visits him every night in the form of an angel, Lucas spends his time writing letters to his former Jungian analyst, Karl. It is only when Eli, an eighteen-year-old young man whom the community has ostracized, begins camping out in Lucas’s backyard that an unlikely alliance takes shape and the two embark on a journey to heal their neighbors and, most importantly, themselves.

From Matthew Quick, whose work has been described by the Boston Herald as “like going to your favorite restaurant. You just know it is going to be good,” We Are the Light is an unforgettable novel about the quicksand of grief and the daily miracle of love. The humorous, soul-baring story of Lucas Goodgame offers an antidote to toxic masculinity and celebrates the healing power of art. In this tale that will stay with you long after the final page is turned, Quick reminds us that life is full of guardian angels.

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Everything the Light Touches : A Novel

Janice Pariat

"Wise, funny, touching, wide-ranging, deep-delving; whip-smart dialogue and graceful, paced sentences, thousands upon thousands of them. Written by a novelist with the eye of a poet, and a poet with the narrative powers of a novelist, this is a book that needed to be written, that tells true things, and is entirely its own being."--Robert Macfarlane, author of The Lost Words and Underland One of the most acclaimed and revered writers of her generation returns with her most ambitious novel yet--an elegant, multi-layered work, rich in imagination and exquisitely told, that interweaves a quartet of journeys across continents and centuries. As emotionally resonant as Kiran Desai's The Inheritance of Loss, as inspired as Anthony Doerr's Cloud Cuckoo Land, as inventive as Louisa Hall's Speak, and as visionary as David Mitchell's Cloud Atlas, Everything the Light Touches is Janice Pariat's magnificent epic of travelers, of discovery, of time, of science, of human connection, and of the impermanent nature of the universe and life itself--a bold and brilliant saga that unfolds through the adventures and experiences of four intriguing characters. Shai is a young woman in modern India. Lost and drifting, she travels to her country's Northeast and rediscovers, through her encounters with indigenous communities, ways of being that realign and renew her. Evelyn is a student of science in Edwardian England. Inspired by Goethe's botanical writings, she leaves Cambridge on a quest to wander the sacred forests of the Lower Himalayas. Linnaeus, a botanist and taxonomist who famously declared "God creates; Linnaeus organizes," sets off on an expedition to an unfamiliar world, the far reaches of Lapland in 1732. Goethe is a philosopher, writer, and one of the greatest minds of his age. While traveling through Italy in the 1780s, he formulates his ideas for "The Metamorphosis of Plants," a little-known, revelatory text that challenges humankind's propensity to reduce plants--and the world--into immutable parts. Drawn richly from scientific and botanical ideas, Everything the Light Touches is a swirl of ever-expanding themes: the contrasts between modern India and its colonial past, urban and rural life, capitalism and centuries-old traditions of generosity and gratitude, script and "song and stone." Pulsating at its center is the dichotomy between different ways of seeing, those that fix and categorize and those that free and unify. Pariat questions the imposition of fixity--of our obsession to place permanence on plants, people, stories, knowledge, land--where there is only movement, fluidity, and constant transformation. "To be still," says a character in the book, "is to be without life." Everything the Light Touches brings together, with startling and playful novelty, people and places that seem, at first, removed from each other in time and place. Yet as it artfully reveals, all is resonance; all is connection.
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Anywhere You Run

Wanda M. Morris

One of the New York Times' Best Crime Novels of the Year

One of NPR's Best Books of the Year

"Wise, riveting, and full of surprises, Anywhere You Run will keep you up past your bedtime and stay with you long after the book is closed.” —Lisa Unger, New York Times bestselling author of Secluded Cabin Sleeps Six

From the award-winning author of All Her Little Secrets comes yet another gripping, suspenseful novel where, after the murder of a white man in Jim Crow Mississippi, two Black sisters run away to different parts of the country . . . but can they escape the secrets they left behind?

It’s the summer of 1964 and three innocent men are brutally murdered for trying to help Black Mississippians secure the right to vote. Against this backdrop, twenty-one year old Violet Richards finds herself in more trouble than she’s ever been in her life. Suffering a brutal attack of her own, she kills the man responsible. But with the color of Violet’s skin, there is no way she can escape Jim Crow justice in Jackson, Mississippi. Before anyone can find the body or finger her as the killer, she decides to run. With the help of her white beau, Violet escapes. But desperation and fear leads her to hide out in the small rural town of Chillicothe, Georgia, unaware that danger may be closer than she thinks.

Back in Jackson, Marigold, Violet’s older sister, has dreams of attending law school. Working for the Mississippi Summer Project, she has been trying to use her smarts to further the cause of the Black vote. But Marigold is in a different kind of trouble: she’s pregnant and unmarried. After news of the murder brings the police to her door, Marigold sees no choice but to flee Jackson too. She heads North seeking the promise of a better life and no more segregation. But has she made a terrible choice that threatens her life and that of her unborn child? 

Two sisters on the run—one from the law, the other from social shame. What they don’t realize is that there’s a man hot on their trail. This man has his own brand of dark secrets and a disturbing motive for finding the sisters that is unknown to everyone but him . . .

“Anywhere You Run had me hooked from the first page... It’s a novel both tender and ferocious—an absolute stunner.” —Lou Berney, Edgar Award–winning author of November Road

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The Last Party : A Novel

Clare Mackintosh

"Wicked fun, devilishly clever, with echoes of Agatha Christie." --Patricia Cornwell, #1 New York Times bestselling author At midnight, one of them is dead. By morning, all of them are suspects. It's the party to end all parties....but not everyone is here to celebrate. On New Year's Eve, Rhys Lloyd has a house full of guests. His vacation homes on Mirror Lake are a success, and he's generously invited the village to drink champagne with their wealthy new neighbors. But by midnight, Rhys will be floating dead in the freezing waters of the lake. On New Year's Day, Ffion Morgan has a village full of suspects. The tiny community is her home, so the suspects are her neighbors, friends and family--and Ffion has her own secrets to protect. With a lie uncovered at every turn, soon the question isn't who wanted Rhys dead...but who finally killed him. In a village with this many secrets, murder is just the beginning. "Brilliant, so atmospheric....I fell in love with the courageous, complicated detective Ffion Morgan and I think readers will too." --Ruth Ware, New York Times bestselling author of The It Girl
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Jollof Rice and Other Revolutions

Omolola Ijeoma Ogunyemi

“I couldn’t put this book down and I loved spending time in the lives of Nonso, Remi, Aisha, and Solape. Truly this book will grab hold of your heart and mind and everything in between.”—Roxane Gay, author of Hunger and Bad Feminist

Nigerian author Omolola Ijeoma Ogunyemi makes her American debut with this dazzling novel which explores her homeland’s past, present, and possible future through the interconnected stories of four fearless globe-trotting women.

Moving between Nigeria and America, Jollof Rice and Other Revolutions is a window into the world of accomplished Nigerian women, illuminating the challenges they face and the risks they take to control their destinies.

Students at an all-girls boarding school, Nonso, Remi, Aisha, and Solape forge an unbreakable sisterhood that is tempered during a school rebellion, an uprising with repercussions that will forever reverberate through their lives. The children of well-to-do families, these young women have been raised with a thirst for independence, believing a university education is their right—a legacy of ambition and hope inherited from their foremothers.

Leaving school and adolescence behind, the women grapple with the unexpected possibilities—and limitations—of adulthood and the uncertainties of the world within and outside of Nigeria. A trip to Ghana opens Nonso’s eyes to the lasting impact of the transatlantic slave trade, she falls in love with an African American, and makes a new home in the United States. Remi meets Segun, a dynamic man of Nigerian descent from Yonkers whose own traumatic struggles and support gives her the strength to confront painful family wounds. Aisha’s overwhelming sense of guilt haunts her, influencing career and relationship decisions until she sees a chance to save her son’s life and, through her sacrifice, redefine her own.

Revolving around loss, belonging, family, friendship, alienation, and silence, Jollof Rice and Other Revolutions is a moving, multifaceted portrait of lives shaped by hope and sorrow—of women who must contend with the ever-present and unsettling notion that moving forward in time isn’t necessarily progress.

“I truly loved this linked short story collection. The narrative takes us into the intimate workings of friends and families. Omolola explores their complex lives in astoundingly beautiful language. If, like me, you enjoy stories that take you out of your reading chair to worlds that follow you back to your own, then this is the book for you.”—Dahlma Llanos-Figueroa, award-winning author of A Woman of Endurance

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The Revivalists : A Novel

Christopher M. Hood

"The Revivalists is a thrilling, terrifying, surprising, and tender debut, written in such exquisitely precise prose that I felt singed by its imaginary fires and warmed by its beating heart. Chris Hood's nightmarish cross-country family odyssey is also one of the most beautiful love stories I've ever read."--Karen Russell, bestselling author of Swamplandia! and Orange World A stunning debut novel about a couple's harrowing journey across a ravaged America to save their daughter. Bill and Penelope are the lucky ones. Not only do they survive the Shark Flu emerging from the melting Icelandic permafrost to sweep like a scythe across the world, but they begin to rebuild a life in the wreckage of the old. A garden to feed themselves planted where the lawn used to be, a mattress pulled down to the living room fireplace for warmth. Even Bill's psychology practice endures the collapse of the social order, the handful of remaining clients bartering cans of food for their sessions. But when their daughter's voice over the radio in the kitchen announces that she's joined a cult three thousand miles away in Bishop, California, they leave it all behind to embark on a perilous trek across the hollowed-out remains of America to save her. Their journey is an unforgettable odyssey through communities scattered across the continent, but for all the ways that the world has changed, the hopes and fears of this little family remain the same as they always have been. In The Revivalists, Christopher M. Hood creates a haunting, moving, darkly funny, and ultimately hopeful portrait of a world and a marriage tested by extraordinary circumstances.
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Will Do Magic for Small Change

Andrea Hairston

“[A] beautifully multifaceted story... Highly recommended.” —The New York Times

Andrea Hairston's historical fantasy Will Do Magic for Small Change presents a tale of alien science and earthbound magic and the secrets families keep from each other.

Cinnamon Jones dreams of stepping on stage and acting her heart out like her famous grandparents, Redwood and Wildfire. But she’s always been theatrically challenged. That won’t necessarily stop her! But her family life is a tangle of mysteries and secrets, and nobody is telling her the whole truth.

Before her brother died, he gave Cinnamon The Chronicles of the Great Wanderer—a tale of a Dahomean warrior woman and an alien from another dimension who perform at the 1893 Chicago World's Fair. They are a story of magic or alien science, but the connection to Cinnamon's past is unmistakable.

When an act of violence wounds her family, Cinnamon and her theatre squad determine to solve the mysteries and bring her worlds crashing together.

At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

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Robert Ludlum's The Blackbriar Genesis

Simon Gervais

The assassination of a Treadstone agent leads two Blackbriar operatives down a rabbit hole of deceit and betrayal in this explosive new series from the world of Robert Ludlum.

A car explodes along a quiet Prague side street—among the dead is an undercover Treadstone agent. It's not unusual for such men to meet their fates on an operation, but in this case there's one catch. None of his superiors know what he was doing there. 
 
Two Blackbriar operatives, Helen Jouvert and Donovan Wade, are sent to investigate. Their search for answers will take them deeper into the world of conspiracy and fake news than they ever expected. 
 
Treadstone and Blackbriar may be two sides of the same coin, intelligence and counterintelligence, but they have one thing in common, answers can be the deadliest commodity of all.

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The Means

Amy Fusselman

"The Means is such a fast-paced, breezy comedic novel that you may find yourself surprised that Fusselman deftly and directly leads you to existential dilemmas and the absurdity of capitalism and striving for more." – The Millions

Shelly Means, a stay-at-home mom and disgraced former PTA president, is poised to get the one thing in life she really wants: a beach house in the Hamptons. Surely, once she has her beach house, Shelly will at last feel at peace, in control, and content. It might be a very small house, and it might be in the least-fancy part of the Hamptons, but Shelly is hell-bent on achieving this idea of paradise. 

But what should be a simple real estate transaction quickly goes awry as Shelly’s new neighbors disapprove of her proposed shipping container house at the same time that her spouse George’s lucrative work as a VoiceOver artist dries up. When George wants to cancel the beach house, Shelly goes deeper down the rabbit hole of capitalism: it’s an investment property! It's a community! It’s a place for their children to thrive! And, for a woman whose labor has buoyed her family for years, this beach house might just be Shelly’s last stand.

The debut novel from “one of our best interrogators of how we live now, and how we should live” (Dave Eggers), The Means is a comedy about the suffering inherent in desire, capitalist delusion, and the value of unpaid labor.

"With its deadpan absurdity, pithy prose and moral je ne sais quoi, Fusselman's latest will appeal to fans of Marcy Dermansky....With its satire of the particular hypocrisy of the Hamptons, including homeowners associations, graft, and garbage and recycling practices, Maria Semple....We may be entering a golden age of the comic novel, surely one of the best possible outcomes of this desperate moment in history." – Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

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Toad

Katherine Dunn

A previously unpublished novel of the reflections of a deeply scarred and reclusive woman, from the cult icon Katherine Dunn, the author of Geek Love.

Sally Gunnar has withdrawn from the world.

She spends her days alone at home, reading drugstore mysteries, polishing the doorknobs, waxing the floors. Her only companions are a vase of goldfish, a garden toad, and the door-to-door salesman who sells her cleaning supplies once a month. She broods over her deepest regrets: her blighted romances with self-important men, her lifelong struggle to feel at home in her own body, and her wayward early twenties, when she was a fish out of water among a group of eccentric, privileged young people at a liberal arts college. There was Sam, an unabashed collector of other people’s stories; Carlotta, a troubled free spirit; and Rennel, a self-obsessed philosophy student. Self-deprecating and sardonic, Sally recounts their misadventures, up to the tragedy that tore them apart.

Colorful, crass, and profound, Toad is Katherine Dunn’s ode to her time as a student at Reed College in the late 1960s. It is filled with the same mordant observations about the darkest aspects of human nature that made Geek Love a cult classic and Dunn a misfit hero. Daring and bizarre, Toad demonstrates her genius for black humor and her ecstatic celebration of the grotesque. Fifty-some years after it was written, Toad is a timely story about the ravages of womanhood and a powerful addition to the canon of feminist fiction.

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