“That was the trouble with moving houses; no matter how carefully you packed the books, they never ended up on the new shelves in quite the right place.” – Val McDermid, The Torment of Others
FICTION
Meg & Jo by Virginia Kantra
The March sisters—reliable Meg, independent Jo, stylish Amy, and shy Beth—have grown up to pursue their separate dreams. When Jo followed her ambitions to New York City, she never thought her career in journalism would come crashing down, leaving her struggling to stay afloat in a gig economy as a prep cook and secret food blogger.
Meg appears to have the life she always planned—the handsome husband, the adorable toddlers, the house in a charming subdivision. But sometimes getting everything you’ve ever wanted isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.
When their mother’s illness forces the sisters home to North Carolina for the holidays, they’ll rediscover what really matters.
One thing’s for sure—they’ll need the strength of family and the power of sisterhood to remake their lives and reimagine their dreams.
Description from Goodreads.
“Kantra blends just enough of Alcott’s story of four close-knit sisters and their myriad tribulations with clever and timely new elements… The imaginative storytelling and sparkling prose make this a winner.” – Publishers Weekly
“Those who gravitate toward family-centric novels with twists along the way will enjoy this novel, and fans of Alcott’s original will appreciate this modern take on the beloved classic.” – Booklist
“A thought-provoking adaptation of a beloved classic.” – Kirkus Reviews
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Would Like to Meet by Rachel Winters
After seven years as an assistant, 29-year-old Evie Summers is ready to finally get the promotion she deserves. But now the TV and film agency she’s been running behind the scenes is in trouble, and Evie will lose her job unless she can convince the agency’s biggest and most arrogant client, Ezra Chester, to finish writing the script for a Hollywood romantic comedy.
The catch? Ezra is suffering from writer’s block–and he’ll only put pen to paper if singleton Evie can prove to him that you can fall in love like they do in the movies. With the future of the agency in jeopardy, Evie embarks on a mission to meet a man the way Sally met Harry or Hugh Grant met Julia Roberts.
But in the course of testing out the meet-cute scenes from classic romantic comedies IRL, not only will Evie encounter one humiliating situation after another, but she’ll have to confront the romantic past that soured her on love. In a novel as hilarious as it is heartwarming, debut author Rachel Winters proves that sometimes real life is better than the movies–and that the best kind of meet-cutes happen when you least expect them.
Description from Goodreads.
“Evie is a scrappy, winning heroine… The references to classic films of the genre will delight rom-com fans, as will the sweet romance. The best scenes, though, are with Evie and her three best friends, who have the warmly mocking dynamic of friends in a Richard Curtis film. A lovely, humorous ode to romantic comedies.” – Kirkus Reviews
“Winters’s charming debut combines tropes from classic romantic comedy films to hilarious effect…vWinters employs self-aware, genre-savvy characters to expertly balance humor and heart. This adorable romance is a love letter to cinephiles.” – Publishers Weekly, STARRED REVIEW
“A lively, laugh-out-loud story… Debut author Rachel Winters hits all the right notes in Would Like to Meet, a fun and lively millennial rom-com with a heartfelt message that cleverly plays off tropes from a host of contemporary romance movies.” – Shelf Awareness
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SUSPENSE
Reputation by Sara Shepard
Aldrich University is rocked to its core when a hacker dumps 40,000 people’s e-mails—the entire faculty, staff, students, alums—onto an easily searchable database. Rumors and affairs immediately leak, but things turn explosive when Kit Manning’s handsome husband, Dr. Greg Strasser, is found murdered. Kit’s sister, Willa, returns for the funeral, setting foot in a hometown she fled fifteen years ago, after a night she wishes she could forget. As an investigative reporter, Willa knows something isn’t right about the night Greg was killed, and she’s determined to find the truth. What she doesn’t expect is that everyone has something to hide. And with a killer on the loose, Willa and Kit must figure out who killed Greg before someone else is murdered.
Told from multiple points of view, Reputation is full of twists, turns, and shocking reveals. It’s a story of intrigue, sabotage, and the secrets we keep—and how far we go to keep them hidden. Number one bestseller Sara Shepard is at the top of her game in this brand-new adult novel.
Description from Goodreads.
“Shepard throws every cliché imaginable at the reader and then artfully massages them into a brilliant narrative told in the voices of the many women involved in the story who, having managed to make victims of one sort or another of themselves, all emerge victorious, each in her own fashion… Everyone is hiding a closetful of secrets, which, when finally revealed, provide some excellent misdirection and a few OMG moments, until one final and shocking truth emerges. Fans of domestic suspense will devour this one.” – Booklist, STARRED REVIEW
“An Agatha Christie for the 21st century, Shepard masterfully crafts a prestigious town rife with hidden temptation and sin… From chapter to chapter, Shepard’s plotting breathlessly careens between characters, with each cliffhanger swiftly answered by another, ratcheting up the stakes until the killer is finally unmasked. A fast-paced, twisty-turny mystery perfect for a cozy weekend read.” – Kirkus Reviews
“[An] exceptional suspense novel… In this viscerally satisfying thriller, Shepard forces readers to contemplate the inescapable aftereffects of impulsive poor choices.” – Publishers Weekly, STARRED REVIEW
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MYSTERY
How the Dead Speak by Val McDermid
With Tony behind bars and Carol finally out of road as a cop, he’s finding unexpected outlets for his talents in jail and she’s joined forces with a small informal group of lawyers and forensics experts looking into suspected miscarriages of justice. But they’re doing it without each other; being in the same room at visiting hour is too painful to contemplate. Meanwhile, construction is suddenly halted on the redevelopment of an orphanage after dozens of skeletons are found buried in the grounds. Forensic examination reveals they date from between twenty and forty years ago, when the nuns were running their repressive regime. But then a different set of skeletons are discovered in a far corner, young men from as recent as ten years ago.
When newly promoted DI Paula McIntyre discovers that one of the male skeletons is that of a killer who is supposedly alive and behind bars–and the subject of one of Carol’s miscarriage investigations–it brings Tony and Carol irresistibly into each other’s orbit once again. A shocking, masterfully plotted novel that will leave readers breathless, How The Dead Speak is McDermid at her best and a can’t miss read for long-time fans and new readers alike.
Description from Goodreads.
“A vast, absorbing smorgasbord of crime, malfeasance, and corruption…” – Kirkus Reviews
“[The] numerous plot lines in this novel [are] elegantly choreographed and intertwined… very deft plotting.” – The Scotsman
“Each character is flawed and complex, but as always with Val, very strong and powerfully written… a real page turner.” – My Weekly
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Beating About the Bush by M.C. Beaton
When private detective Agatha Raisin comes across a severed leg in a roadside hedge, it looks like she is about to become involved in a particularly gruesome murder. Looks, however, can be deceiving, as Agatha discovers when she is employed to investigate a case of industrial espionage at a factory where nothing is quite what it seems.
The factory mystery soon turns to murder and a bad-tempered donkey turns Agatha into a national celebrity, before bringing her ridicule and shame. To add to her woes, Agatha finds herself grappling with growing feelings for her friend and occasional lover, Sir Charles Fraith. Then, as a possible solution to the factory murder unfolds, her own life is thrown into deadly peril. Will Agatha get her man at last? Or will the killer get her first?
Description from Goodreads.
“Winning…. Cozy fans with a taste for the silly and the offbeat will be gratified. This long-running series shows no signs of losing steam.” – Publishers Weekly
“As usual, Beaton conceals any number of surprises behind her trademark wry humor.” – Kirkus Reviews
“I can’t say enough good things about this book and these characters. I am hooked…” Red Carpet Crash
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Now You See Them by Elly Griffiths
The new decade is going well for Edgar Stephens and his good friend the magician Max Mephisto. Edgar is happily married, with children, and promoted to Superintendent. Max has found fame and stardom in America, though is now back in England for a funeral, and a prospective movie job. Edgar’s new wife, though—former detective Emma—is restless and frustrated at home, knowing she was the best detective on the team.
But when an investigation into a string of disappearing girls begins, Emma sees her chance to get back in the action. She begins her own hunt, determined to prove, once and for all that she’s better than the boys. Though she’s not the only one working toward that goal—there’s a new woman on the force, and she’s determined to make detective. When two more girls go missing, both with ties to the group, the stakes climb ever higher, and Max finds himself drawn into his own search.
Who will find the girls first? And will they get there in time?
Description from Goodreads.
“Wry, emotionally intelligent and quietly satisfying.” – Sunday Times
“Griffiths’s plotting skills, well known from her Ruth Galloway mystery series, are on full display here, as is her talent for sharp thumbnail sketches of even minor characters… The author builds the tension slowly, then swiftly ramps up the intensity of the case and its implications… With glimpses into the colorful youth culture of the 1960s and flashes of Griffiths’s dry wit, Now You See Them is an enjoyable addition to an entertaining series.” – Shelf Awareness
“Full of fun and expertly plotted, this is in many ways a cosy read but there is real depth to the way the characters cope not only with changing times but changes in themselves as they mature.” – Sunday Express
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Bryant & May: The Lonely Hour by Christopher Fowler
When a man is found hanging upside down inside a willow tree on Hampstead Heath, surrounded by a baffling assortment of occult objects, the Peculiar Crimes Unit is called in to investigate. Was this a botched Satanic ritual pulled off by bored teenagers, a gang initiation, or the work of a mastermind with grander intentions? Bryant and May set off for answers and soon discover that London is a city steeped in blood and magic.
When another body is pulled from the river in the early morning light, it becomes clear that a killer lurks in the night. To catch him, the PCU switches to graveyard shifts, but the team still comes up short. As they explore a night city where the normal rules do not apply, they’re drawn deeper into a case that involves murder, arson, kidnapping, blackmail, loneliness, and bats.
May takes a technological approach, while Bryant goes in search of academics and misfits for help, for this is becoming an investigation that reveals impossibilities at every turn. How do you stop a killer who appears not to exist? Luckily, impossibilities are what the Peculiar Crimes Unit does best.
Description from Goodreads.
“…exceptional… This whydunit is the epitome of an intelligent page-turner.” – Publishers Weekly, STARRED REVIEW
“…the devil is in the details, and Fowler’s details are hilariously devilish.” – Kirkus Reviews
Available Formats:
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The Sacrament by Olaf Olafsson
A young nun is sent by the Vatican to investigate allegations of misconduct at a Catholic school in Iceland. During her time there, on a gray winter’s day, a young student at the school watches the school’s headmaster, Father August Franz, fall to his death from the church tower.
Two decades later, the child—now a grown man, haunted by the past—calls the nun back to the scene of the crime. Seeking peace and calm in her twilight years at a convent in France, she has no choice but to make a trip to Iceland again, a trip that brings her former visit, as well as her years as a young woman in Paris, powerfully and sometimes painfully to life. In Paris, she met an Icelandic girl who she has not seen since, but whose acquaintance changed her life, a relationship she relives all while reckoning with the mystery of August Franz’s death and the abuses of power that may have brought it on.
In The Sacrament, critically acclaimed novelist Olaf Olafsson looks deeply at the complexity of our past lives and selves; the faulty nature of memory; and the indelible mark left by the joys and traumas of youth. Affecting and beautifully observed, The Sacrament is both propulsively told and poignantly written—tinged with the tragedy of life’s regrets but also moved by the possibilities of redemption, a new work from a novelist who consistently surprises and challenges.
Description from Goodreads.
“Emotionally gratifying and spiritually challenging—a compelling novel that grabs the reader’s psyche and won’t let go.” – Kirkus Reviews, STARRED REVIEW
“The novel confounds our expectations, sifting through memory, as it evolves into a low-simmering psychological thriller. Recommended.” – Library Journal
“[A] gripping, masterfully constructed story toward redemption and justice.” – Booklist
Available Formats:
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HISTORICAL FICTION
The German House by Annette Hess
For twenty-four-year-old Eva Bruhn, World War II is a foggy childhood memory. At the war’s end, Frankfurt was a smoldering ruin, severely damaged by the Allied bombings. But that was two decades ago. Now it is 1963, and the city’s streets, once cratered are smooth and paved. Shiny new stores replace scorched rubble. Eager for her wealthy suitor, Jürgen Schoorman, to propose, Eva dreams of starting a new life away from her parents and sister. But Eva’s plans are turned upside down when an American investigator, David Miller, hires her as a translator for a war crimes trial.
As she becomes more deeply involved in the Frankfurt Trials, Eva begins to question her family’s silence on the war and her future. Why do her parents refuse to talk about what happened? What are they hiding? Does she really love Jürgen and will she be happy as a housewife? Though it means going against the wishes of her family and her lover, Eva, propelled by her own conscience , joins a team of fiery prosecutors determined to bring the Nazis to justice—a decision that will help change the present and the past of her nation.
Description from Goodreads.
“[A] strong debut… The period detail is impressive, but the highlight is Eva, a complex and thoughtful woman who finds herself in the midst of a significant moment in history. This novel will appeal to both WWII fiction fans and those seeking historical novels anchored by a strong, memorable heroine.” – Publishers Weekly
“Questions of complicity and culpability are resolved by prosecutors and daughters alike in Hess’ slow reveal of large truths which are obscured by larger lies.” – Kirkus Reviews
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YOUNG ADULT
Children of Virtue and Vengeance by Tomi Adeyemi
After battling the impossible, Zélie and Amari have finally succeeded in bringing magic back to the land of Orïsha. But the ritual was more powerful than they could’ve imagined, reigniting the powers of not only the maji, but of nobles with magic ancestry, too.
Now, Zélie struggles to unite the maji in an Orïsha where the enemy is just as powerful as they are. But when the monarchy and military unite to keep control of Orïsha, Zélie must fight to secure Amari’s right to the throne and protect the new maji from the monarchy’s wrath.
With civil war looming on the horizon, Zélie finds herself at a breaking point: she must discover a way to bring the kingdom together or watch as Orïsha tears itself apart.
Description from Goodreads.
“…gripping…” – Entertainment Weekly
“Adeyemi elegantly brings readers back into the world she created In her blockbuster debut, Children of Blood and Bone… Death and destruction burns through these pages as love and loyalty are tested. Once again, Adeyemi wraps things up with both a satisfying conclusion to this piece of the puzzle and a thrilling glimpse of what’s to come.” – Amazon Book Review
“…commendable for its detailed worldbuilding, with an ending compelling enough to keep fans interested in the next installment…” – Kirkus Reviews
“The last chapter will undoubtedly leave fans shaking with questions until the final installment of the trilogy is published.” – USA Today
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NONFICTION
The Measure of Our Lives: A Gathering of Wisdom by Toni Morrison
Through bricolage–a construction or creation from a diverse range of available things–this brief book aims to evoke the totality of Toni Morrison’s literary vision and achievement. It dramatizes the life of her powerful mind by juxtaposing quotations, one to a page, drawn from her entire body of work, both fiction and nonfiction–from The Bluest Eye to God Help the Child, from Playing in the Dark to The Source of Self-Regard.
Its compelling sequence of flashes of revelation–stunning for their linguistic originality, keenness of psychological observation, and philosophical profundity–addresses issues of abiding interest in Morrison’s work: the reach of language for the ineffable; transcendence through imagination; the self and its discontents; the vicissitudes of love; the whirligig of memory; the singular power of women; the original American sin of slavery; the bankruptcy of racial oppression; the complex humanity and art of black people. The Measure of Our Lives brims with elegance of style and authority.
Description from Goodreads.
“With this collection of Morrison’s fierce and elegant insights, and the cumulative power of this small volume, the late Nobel laureate is with us again.” – The National Book Review
“Quotes from Morrison grace its pages and combine to form an illuminating narrative of her life and work. At once an exemplary introduction and a noble summary, the book imparts reflections, encouragement and, indeed, wisdom to its readers.” – Ms. Magazine