Books Coming Out in February
Book Roundup - Books Coming Out in February
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The Chemistry of Love by Sariah Wilson
True love requires a little research and development in a funny, heart-racing romance by Sariah Wilson, the bestselling author of The Paid Bridesmaid.
How can Anna Ellis, a geeky, brilliant, and hopelessly smitten cosmetic chemist possibly win over Craig Kimball, the man of her dreams―who also happens to be her boss? The answer is Craig’s empathetic (and handsome) CEO half brother, Marco. The makeup mogul knows Craig for the ridiculously competitive rival he is. Whatever Marco has, Craig wants. That can be Anna, if she’s game to play.
All Anna and Marco have to do is pretend they’re falling in love and let the rumors begin. If the experiment in attraction works, a jealous Craig will swoop in and give Anna her happily ever after―if it weren’t for one hitch in the plan. There’s more to Marco than meets the eye. With every fake date, Anna’s feelings are starting to become dizzyingly real.
Blame it on chemistry. It’s unpredictable, exciting, and occasionally combustible. If Anna and Marco are really falling in love, who are they to argue with science?
The Fires by Sigríður Hagalín Björnsdóttir
From Icelandic author Sigríður Hagalín Björnsdóttir comes a heart-wrenching thriller about a woman’s desperate quest to save the people she loves from a natural disaster.
After an eight-hundred-year slumber, the volcanoes in Iceland’s most populated region are showing signs of life. Earthquakes dominate the headlines. Echoes of the devastating eruptions in the past stir unease in the people.
Volcanologist Anna Arnardóttir has spent her entire life studying the volcanic powers under the earth’s crust, but even she cannot fathom the catastrophe at hand.
As a series of eruptions threaten most of Iceland’s population, she’s caught off her rational guard by the most terrible natural disaster of all―love. The world as she knows it is about to fall apart, and so is her heart.
Caught between the safety of a nation and her feelings for her children, her lover, and her past, Anna embarks on a dangerous journey to save the lives of the people she loves―and her soul.
Someone Else's Life by Lyn Liao Butler
A new life in paradise should have healed her wounds. But for a woman struggling to hold on to her family and her sanity, one stormy night could change everything.
Blow by blow, Annie Lin’s life crumbles. Her dance studio goes bankrupt. Her mother and beloved dog are gone the same year. Then a terrible accident leaves her young son traumatized.
It’s time for a change.
Palm trees, mai tais, peace and quiet―Annie should be at ease, safe in her new Kauai home with her husband and son. She hopes proximity to her family can provide them all with a sense of belonging and calm. But soon items from her past start turning up―her dog’s collar, a bracelet that disappeared years ago―and she has the unnerving sensation she’s being watched. Reality begins to fracture, and Annie’s panic attacks return. When, during a brewing storm, a woman appears on her doorstep looking for shelter, Annie is relieved to have the company and feels an unexplainable bond with her visitor.
As the night progresses, Annie realizes the woman is no stranger. Their lives are inextricably intertwined―and Annie might just lose everything.
The Direction of the Wind by Mansi Shah
Sophie Shah was six when she learned her mother, Nita, had died. For twenty-two years, she shouldered the burden of that loss. But when her father passes away, Sophie discovers a cache of hidden letters revealing a shattering truth: her mother didn’t die. She left.
Nita Shah had everything most women dreamed of in her hometown of Ahmedabad, India―a loving husband, a doting daughter, financial security―but in her heart, she felt like she was living a lie. Fueled by her creative ambitions, Nita moved to Paris, the artists’ capital of the world―even though it meant leaving her family behind. But once in Paris, Nita’s decision and its consequences would haunt her in ways she never expected.
Now that Sophie knows the truth, she’s determined to find the mother who abandoned her. Sophie jets off to Paris, even though the impulsive trip may risk her impending arranged marriage. In the City of Light, she chases lead after lead that help her piece together a startling portrait of her mother. Though Sophie goes to Paris to find Nita, she may just also discover parts of herself she never knew.
The Friendship Breakup by Annie Cathryn
For fans of Laura Hankin and Jennifer Weiner, this fresh, clever, and complex debut "mom-com" explores the ups and downs of friendship and what happens when those you trust the most leave you high and dry.
A plucky protagonist who’s far from figuring it all out—but powers through with wit and determination—Fallon is a heroine millennial moms will instantly connect with.
Fallon Monroe, mother of one, self-help book junkie, and budding chocolatier, has always relied on her mom friends in the Chicago suburbs to get her through the trials of adulthood. So when her bestie Beatrice inexplicably starts ghosting her and takes all their mutual friends with her, Fallon’s left wondering how everything went so wrong. Pushing down a lifetime of insecurities, Fallon doubles down and decides to win them back. First, she hosts an epic Mexican fiesta that goes epically wrong. Then she joins a friendship app but discovers a disturbing secret about one of her new friends.
Just when she’s about to throw in the towel on the whole friendship mess, Fallon reads a recently unearthed letter she’d refused to deal with decades earlier—and reading it forces her to finally face the deep-seated fears she’d desperately tried to bury. Now, looking at her friendships through fresh eyes, she must decide between hanging on and letting go.
Fallon is an instantly likeable heroine—as vulnerable as she is determined—and she’ll have readers eagerly turning the pages as they join her on an emotional journey into the hopes and fears of adulthood.
The House of Eve by Sadeqa Johnson
From the award-winning author of Yellow Wife, a daring, beautiful, and redemptive novel that explores what it means to be a woman and a mother, and how much one is willing to sacrifice to achieve her greatest goal.
1950s Philadelphia: fifteen-year-old Ruby Pearsall is on track to becoming the first in her family to attend college, in spite of having a mother more interested in keeping a man than raising a daughter. But a taboo love affair threatens to pull her back down into the poverty and desperation that has been passed on to her like a birthright.
Eleanor Quarles arrives in Washington, DC, with ambition and secrets. When she meets the handsome William Pride at Howard University, they fall madly in love. But William hails from one of DC’s elite wealthy Black families, and his parents don’t let just anyone into their fold. Eleanor hopes that a baby will make her finally feel at home in William’s family and grant her the life she’s been searching for. But having a baby—and fitting in—is easier said than done.
With their stories colliding in the most unexpected of ways, Ruby and Eleanor will both make decisions that shape the trajectory of their lives.
Black Foam by Haji Jabir
From award-winning Eritrean author Haji Jabir comes a profoundly intimate novel about one man’s tireless attempt to find his place in the world.
Dawoud is on the run from his murky past, aiming to discover where he belongs. He tries to assimilate into different groups along his journey through North Africa and Israel, changing his clothes, his religious affiliations, and even his name to fit in, but the safety and peace he seeks remain elusive. It seems prejudice is everywhere, holding him back, when all he really wants is to create a simple life he can call his own. A chameleon, Dawoud―or David, Adal, or Dawit, depending on where and when you meet him―is not lost in this whirl of identities. In fact, he is defined by it.
Dawoud’s journey is circuitous and specific, but the desire to belong is universal. Spellbinding to the final page, Black Foam is both intimate and grand in scale, much like the experiences of the millions of people migrating to find peace and safety in the twenty-first century.
Della and Darby by Susannah B. Lewis
Known for her humor and genuine Southern voice, Susannah B. Lewis brings readers the heartwarming story of two sisters learning to love who they are and face the world—alongside their charming, wise grandmother.
Della and Darby Redd are twins, but they couldn’t be more different. Della is outspoken and eccentric, and Darby is introverted and avoids conversation when possible. As they approach their 30th birthday, they’re single and living with their grandmother, Birdie. Della wants nothing more than to find love and be accepted by her former schoolmates in Clay Station, Mississippi, but Darby couldn’t care less. She is content coming home from her factory job each day to curl up on the couch and watch Murder, She Wrote with Birdie and write poems in her journal.
Della falls in love with her boss, Dr. Brian Faulkner, and Darby finds unexpected friendship in her goofy coworker, Cliff Waters. Because of her friendship with Cliff, Darby uncovers terrible truths about Della’s crush. Will Dr. Brian Faulkner’s secrets push the different sisters even further apart or bring them closer together? The sisters will both need to face difficult questions about who they are . . . and who they want to be.
Every Good Gift by Kelly Irvin
During the most difficult season of her life, how could she know whether their meeting was a gift from God—or another temptation?
Maisy never expected that a Plain girl like her could have her heart stolen by an Englisch boy. But when her rumspringa ends and Maisy realizes she’s pregnant, the reality of their choices—and their differences—sets in.
Maisy knows she will never leave her faith to marry her baby's father. But she also knows the road to acceptance as an unwed mother in an Amish community will be long and hard. To protect her family from the scandal, she goes to live with her cousin in Haven, Kansas, where she will have some solitude to figure out what kind of future she might have.
In Haven Maisy begins to find her way—thanks in no small part to Joshua Lapp, a Plain man who’s made it clear he isn’t bothered by her situation or ashamed to be seen with her, despite the bishop’s warnings. But Joshua has struggled with his faith ever since the death of his twin brother, leaving Maisy to wonder: How can two people who are so lost ever help each other discover Gott’s plans for their future?
Extreme Vetting by Roxana Arama
An immigration lawyer fights to keep her client from being deported and losing his family. But those who want him gone will stop at nothing—including murder.
Seattle, Washington, 2019. Attorney and single mom Laura Holban is an immigrant herself, guiding clients through a Kafkaesque system of ever-changing rules, where overworked judges make life-shattering decisions in minutes. Laura’s newest client is Emilio Ramirez, who was arrested in front of his sons at their high school and thrown in detention.
When Laura files for Emilio’s asylum, the world turns upside down. False criminal charges prevent his release, someone is following his family, and an ICE prosecutor threatens to revoke Laura’s US citizenship. None of it makes sense—until she uncovers a deadly conspiracy involving ICE, stolen data, and human trafficking.
Now the man at the center of it all is coming after Laura and Emilio, who must find a way to survive—and keep their families safe.
Not the Plan by Gia de Cadenet
An ambitious chief of staff risks her career and her heart when she falls hard for her new colleague in this steamy workplace romance from the author of Getting His Game Back.
Isadora Maris is damn good at her job. After nearly a decade in state politics, she’ll soon be managing her boss’s campaign for U.S. representative and will finally land her dream role: congressional aide in Washington, D.C., where she can really make a difference. But Isadora’s cool professionalism is knocked off-kilter when she meets the gorgeous and intelligent Karim Sarda. The catch? Their bosses are fierce political rivals, and Isadora can’t tarnish her reputation by flirting with the enemy—no matter how flushed she feels whenever he enters the room.
Still processing the wounds from his former marriage, Karim is ready for a fresh start. But he can’t hide his attraction to Isadora’s commanding presence and her softer side beneath the surface. When the two succumb to their undeniable chemistry, their initial desire grows into something more—something real where each can vulnerably share their personal traumas and challenges. But as Karim’s boss seeks control of the California Senate, Isadora questions if she can truly trust Karim and worries that everything she has worked for could be destroyed. Will workplace politics shatter their chance at love before it even begins?
Dead Heat to Destiny by J.B. Rivard
Destined for success in the booming world of high fashion, young Adrienne Boch deflects the romantic pursuit of Will Marra, an American student in Paris. Her cousin, Gregor Steiner, completes his training as an officer in the Imperial German Navy. They, like the entire world, are unprepared when World War I begins. As the invading German army threatens Paris, Gregor advances to captain a U-boat, Will becomes a pilot in the U.S. Army, and Adrienne’s family flees an overrun Belgium. In Central America, a spy is recruited to defeat the United States. At the climax—during which love hangs in the balance—the protagonists meet in an emotionally riveting clash.
Come Home Safe by Brian Buckmire
A normal day. Until two siblings are accused of crimes they didn’t commit. Come Home Safe explores the pain, the truths, and the hopes that come with growing up as a person of color in America, as well as why “the talk” and discussions about social justice are so important in the community. This engaging YA novel from ABC News legal analyst Brian Buckmire is told in a way that can help foster conversations about what it means to navigate today’s world, as well as inspire ways to work toward change.
When Reed and Olivia left home, they never imagined they’d find themselves questioned, searched, and thrown to the ground by police looking for suspects in recent crimes. As their worst fears become reality, they must find a way to prove their innocence and make it home safe once again.
The Jeweler of Stolen Dreams by M.J. Rose
Paris, 1942. Suzanne Belperron is known as one of the most innovative jewelers of her time. Elsa Schiaparelli and the Duchess of Windsor are just two of her many illustrious clients. What no one knows is that Suzanne and her dear friend, American socialite Dixie Osgood, have been helping transport hundreds of Jewish families out of France since the war began. But now, the war has come to Suzanne’s front door—the Nazis have arrested her business partner and longtime lover, Bernard Herz.
New York, 1986. Violine Duplessi, an appraiser for a boutique auction house, is summoned to visit the home of Paul Osgood, a scholarly lawyer and political candidate who aspires to take over the Senate seat of his recently deceased father. Paul has inherited everything inside Osgood Manor, from the eighteenth-century furniture to the nineteenth-century Limoges china. But a vintage Louis Vuitton trunk is what calls to Violine, with the surprising but undeniable thrum of energy that can only be one thing: the gift passed down to her by La Lune, the sixteenth-century courtesan.
Since childhood, Violine has been able to read an object’s history and learn the secrets of its owners by merely touching it, but she silenced her psychometry when it destroyed her last relationship. Why has it returned now?
While inspecting the trunk, she senses it holds a hidden treasure and finds a hoard of precious jewels that provoke nightmarish visions and raise a multitude of questions. Who owned these pieces? Why were they hidden inside the trunk? Were they stolen? Could their discovery derail Paul’s campaign and their burgeoning attraction to each other?
So begins a search that takes Violine to Paris to work with the Midas Society, a covert international organization whose mission is to return lost and stolen antiques, jewels, and artwork to their original owners. There, Violine will discover both her and Paul’s surprising connections to the trunk—and to Suzanne Belperron, who silently and heroically hid an amazing truth in plain sight.
Told through Violine’s first-person account and Suzanne’s diary entries, The Jeweler of Stolen Dreams is a riveting story of magic, mystery, romance, and revenge. Inspired by the real-life legend Suzanne Belperron.
The House Guest by Hank Phillippi Ryan
After every divorce, one spouse gets all the friends. What does the other one get? If they’re smart, they get the benefits. Alyssa Macallan is terrified when she’s dumped by her wealthy and powerful husband. With a devastating divorce looming, she begins to suspect her toxic and manipulative soon-to-be-ex is scheming to ruin her--leaving her alone and penniless. And when the FBI shows up at her door, Alyssa knows she really needs a friend.
And then she gets one. A seductive new friend, one who’s running from a dangerous relationship of her own. Alyssa offers Bree Lorrance the safety of her guest house, and the two become confidantes. Then--Bree makes a heart-stoppingly tempting offer. Maybe Alyssa and Bree can solve each others’ problems.
But no one is what they seem. And the fates and fortunes of these two women twist and turn until the shocking truth emerges: You can’t always get what you want. But sometimes you get what you deserve.
Encore in Death by J.D. Robb
The homicide cop with a passion for justice returns in the captivating crime thriller series by the #1 New York Times bestselling author.
It was a glittering event full of A-listers, hosted by Eliza Lane and Brant Fitzhugh, a celebrity couple who’d conquered both Hollywood and Broadway. And now Eve Dallas has made her entrance—but not as a guest. After raising a toast, Fitzhugh fell to the floor and died, with physical symptoms pointing to cyanide, and the police have crashed the party.
From all accounts, he wasn’t the kind of star who made enemies. Everyone loved him—even his ex-wife. And since the champagne cocktail that killed him was originally intended for Eliza, it’s possible she was the real target, with a recently fired assistant, a bitter rival, and an obsessed fan in the picture. With so many attendees, staff, and servers, Eve has her work cut out determining who committed murder in the middle of the crowd—and what was their motivation. As one who’s not fond of the spotlight herself, she dreads the media circus surrounding a case like this. All she wants is to figure out who’s truly innocent, and who’s only acting that way…
Sexuality Beyond Consent: Risk, Race, Traumatophilia by Avgi Saketopoulou
Arguing that we have become culturally obsessed with healing trauma, Sexuality Beyond Consent calls attention to what traumatized subjects do with their pain. The erotics of racism offers a paradigmatic example of how what is proximal to violation may become an unexpected site of flourishing. Central to the transformational possibilities of trauma is a queer form of consent, limit consent, that is not about guarding the self but about risking experience. Saketopoulou thereby shows why sexualities beyond consent may be worth risking-and how risk can solicit the future.
Moving between clinical and cultural case studies, Saketopoulou takes up theatrical and cinematic works such as Slave Play and The Night Porter, to chart how trauma and sexuality join forces to surge through the aesthetic domain. Putting the psychoanalytic theory of Jean Laplanche in conversation with queer of color critique, performance studies, and philosophy, Sexuality Beyond Consent proposes that enduring the strange in ourselves, not to master trauma but to rub up against it, can open us up to encounters with opacity. The book concludes by theorizing currents of sadism that, when pursued ethically, can animate unique forms of interpersonal and social care.
It's Always Been Ours: Rewriting the Story of Black Women's Bodies by Jessica Wilson
In It’s Always Been Ours, eating disorder specialist and storyteller Jessica Wilson challenges us to rethink the politics of body liberation by centering the bodies of Black women in our cultural discussions of self-image, food, health, and wellness. Interrogating a status quo that perpetuates white supremacist ideas about who Black women are, how they live in their bodies, and what Black health means, she creates a context for understanding how whiteness and capitalism have shaped the ways we view and treat our bodies, and how even well-intentioned solutions to this problem continue to center thin white women.
With an incisive blend of historical documents, the work of popular authors, and the narratives of clients, friends, and celebrities, Wilson examines the ways that ideas about respectability and restriction have harmed Black women. With wit and levity, she challenges what it means to have the “right” body, and helps all women understand that a radical reimagining of body narratives is a prerequisite for vibrant wellbeing. It’s Always Been Ours is a love letter that encourages Black women to find joy in their bodies and their identities.
Icebreaker by Hannah Grace
A TikTok sensation! Sparks fly when a competitive figure skater and hockey team captain are forced to share a rink.
Anastasia Allen has worked her entire life for a shot at Team USA. It looks like everything is going according to plan when she gets a full scholarship to the University of California, Maple Hills and lands a place on their competitive figure skating team.
Nothing will stand in her way, not even the captain of the hockey team, Nate Hawkins.
Nate’s focus as team captain is on keeping his team on the ice. Which is tricky when a facilities mishap means they are forced to share a rink with the figure skating team—including Anastasia, who clearly can’t stand him.
But when Anastasia’s skating partner faces an uncertain future, she may have to look to Nate to take her shot.
Sparks fly, but Anastasia isn’t worried…because she could never like a hockey player, right?
Sycamore Circle by Shelley Shepard Gray
New York Times bestselling author Shelley Shepard Gray returns with the second novel in her “tantalizing” (Publishers Weekly) Rumors in Ross County series. In Ross County, love can stay the course, but first you have to know who to trust.
There’s a lot going on in Joy Howard’s life. She’s got an ex-husband who starts acting like he doesn’t want to be an ex anymore, a sixteen-year-old daughter in need of a guiding hand and a lot of rides to dance practice, more orders for paintings than she has time to paint, and a roster of tutoring clients who sometimes need far more than she can give.
What she doesn’t have is time for a new relationship.
Samuel “Bo” Beauman is a lot of things. He’s a counselor for transitioning ex-cons, a good friend to many, a construction worker, a brother and son, and even a part-time model for a high-end sportswear catalog. He’s also a man searching for redemption.
One thing he isn’t is a man in need of a girlfriend.
But none of that seems to matter when Bo hears Joy’s kind voice in a crowded coffee shop. He instantly knows she’s someone he wants to know better. The two of them hit it off—much to the dismay of practically everyone they know—but Bo doesn’t care what other people think. He feels at peace whenever he’s with Joy, and he won’t let her go without a fight.
When Joy starts getting mysterious texts and phone calls from unknown numbers, she tries to ignore it. But instead of going away, the messages escalate and Joy realizes she can’t handle it alone. But she is juggling a jealous ex-husband, a handful of students with little to lose, and a brand-new boyfriend who spent several years behind bars. Who can she trust?
In Farm's Way by Amanda Flower
When the biggest catch at the annual Ice Fishing Derby is the body of brewmaster Wallace, Shiloh must reel in the killer before her farm goes belly-up.
Shiloh Bellamy still expects the last few Winter months to be busy with repairs, spring planning, and networking with local businesses. She might even be able to broker a new partnership with Fields Brewery and its organic brewer's association. Well, she could if the owner, Wallace, wasn't found murdered at the county Ice Fishing Derby.
Once again, Shiloh gets tangled up in the investigation when the police ignore an entire crop of suspects to blame one of her friends. She'll have to dig deep to find the truth, reel in a killer, and convince her city-slicker pug to wear his winter boots. But with Bellamy Farm still struggling, can Shiloh spare the time to look into the town's fishy characters? Or will her dream farm be the next thing floating belly up?
Twisted Dead by Darcy Coates
Keira is ready for a normal life. Hunted and haunted, all she wants is to put her mysterious past behind her and move forward with her new friends as Blighty Graveyard’s groundskeeper. But then she receives an invitation to dinner at the local recluse’s crumbling ancestral estate. The mansion is steeped in history that is equal parts complicated and bloody—and at its center is the man who once tried to kill her, now begging for her help.
Dane Crispin believes his home is haunted—and that the unquiet dead clawing through the ancient house are after him. Unnerved but intrigued, Keira opens her second sight and discovers he’s right: resentful specters cling to Dane…and if she can’t find a way to stop them, threaten to consume everything in their path.
There’s something dark happening in the world beyond most peoples’ vision, and if Keira isn’t able to sever the ties between the living and the dead, the chained spirits may not be the only things twisted beyond saving
These Infinite Threads by Tahereh Mafi
The breathtaking sequel to the instant New York Times bestseller This Woven Kingdom! Full of explosive magic, searing romance, and heartbreaking betrayal, this series from the award-winning and bestselling author of the Shatter Me series is perfect for fans of Leigh Bardugo, Sabaa Tahir, and Tomi Adeyemi.
With the heat of a kiss, the walls between Alizeh, the long-lost heir to an ancient Jinn kingdom, and Kamran, the crown prince of the Ardunian empire, have crumbled. And so have both of their lives.
Alizeh, the heir to the Jinn throne, is destined to free her people from the half-lives they’ve been forced to live under human rule. When Kamran, the heir to the human throne, falls in love with her, he’s forced to question everything he’s been taught about Jinn.
Kamran’s grandfather lays dead at the hand of Cyrus, ruler of the neighboring kingdom of Tulan. Cyrus has stolen Alizeh away to his homeland and plans to marry her there, giving her everything she needs to become the Jinn queen—and when she assumes the throne he will have fulfilled his own bargain with the devil.
Alizeh wants nothing to do with Cyrus’s deal or the devil. But without a way to escape Tulan, and with the fulfillment of her own destiny tantalizingly close, she’ll have to decide whether she can set aside her emotions to become the queen her people need.
Kamran, meanwhile, is picking up the pieces in Ardunia. Facing betrayal at every turn, all he knows is that he must go to Tulan to avenge his grandfather. He can only hope that Alizeh will be waiting for him there—and that she hasn’t yet become the queen of Tulan.
The Love Scribe by Amy Meyerson
After writing a story to cheer up her brokenhearted friend, Alice accidentally discovers a magical gift to help others fall in love through her words. This magic story is read by others and they, too, find love. The news spreads quickly. She tries to harness her new power and write more stories, even though she’s never risked love herself. But when Alice is summoned to a mansion in the woods, with a reclusive woman and her strange library, she’s forced to face the possibility that not every love story ends with a happily ever after. Cleverly interweaving stories-within-stories of love lost and found, The Love Scribe is about every kind of love – for a spouse, a parent, a friend, or even a pet – and asks just how much we allow the fear of failure to get in our way of finding connection.
When Worry Works: How to Harness Your Parenting Stress and Guide Your Teen to Success by Dr. Dana Dorfman
When Worry Works responds to one of the primary sources of the nation’s worsening adolescent mental health crisis – achievement pressure. Burdened by the mounting pressures on today’s youth, parents seek ways to strike the balance between supporting their teens’ current well-being while also setting them up for future success. Eager to take action and to manage their escalating fears, parents inadvertently and unknowingly exacerbate the problem by overlooking their own parental achievement anxiety.
Based on thirty years of clinical practice and her experiences raising her own teenagers in New York City, the work demonstrates that when parents become aware of their individual anxieties and learn to effectively manage them, they are empowered to make values aligned, rather than worry driven parenting decisions. Dr. Dorfman provides practical evidence-based parenting strategies, exercises, and reflective prompts to guide parents through a process to constructively apply to their day-to-day parenting decisions.
Stone Cold Fox by Rachel Koller Croft
Like any enterprising woman, Bea knows what she’s worth and is determined to get all she deserves—it just so happens that what she deserves is to marry rich. After a lifetime of forced instruction in the art of swindling men by her mother, Bea wants nothing more than to escape her shadow, close the door on their sordid past, and disappear safely into old-money domesticity.
When Bea finds her final mark in the perfectly dull blue-blooded Collin, she’s ready to deploy all her tricks one last time. The challenge isn’t getting the ring, but rather the approval of Collin’s family and everyone else in their tax bracket, particularly his childhood best friend Gale. Going toe-to-toe with Gale isn’t a threat to an expert like Bea, but what begins as an amusing cat-and-mouse game quickly develops into a dangerous chase. As the truth of Bea’s past threatens to come roaring out, she finds herself racing against the clock to pass the finish line before everything is exposed.
Bright and Deadly Things by Lexie Elliott
A remote back-to-basics mountaintop retreat in the French Alps turns deadly as an Oxford fellow finds herself in the crosshairs of her late husband’s dangerous secrets.
The Chalet des Anglais should be the ideal locale for recently-widowed Oxford don Emily to begin cutting through the fog of her grief. With no electricity, running water, or access by car, the rustic chalet nestled at the foot of the verdant, snow-topped Alps should afford Emily both time and space to heal. Joining her will be a collection of friends from the university, as well as other fellows, graduates, and undergraduates.
Something feels off, though—heightening Emily’s existing grief-induced anxiety. Before even making it to the airport, she’s unnerved by a break-in at her home. Once at the chalet, tension amongst the guests is palpable. Her friends and colleagues are behaving oddly, and competition for a newly opened position has introduced a streak of meanness into the otherwise relaxing getaway. As hostilities grow, Emily begins to wonder if the chalet’s dark history has cast a shadow over the retreat. In the salon, a curious grandfather clock looms, the only piece of furniture to survive a deadly blaze a century ago. As its discordant bell begins to invade everyone’s dreams, someone very real has been searching through Emily’s things and attempting to hack into her computer.
When a student disappears, Emily realizes that she’d better separate friend from foe, and real from imagined—or the next disappearance may be her own.
Ruby Spencer's Whisky Year
A thirty-something American food writer moves to a Scottish village for one year to find inspiration—and love—and fulfill her dream of writing her own cookbook in this charming debut romance.
Ruby Spencer is spending one year living in a small cottage with no internet in a tiny town in the Scottish Highlands for three reasons: to write a bestselling cookbook, to drink a barrelful of whisky, and to figure out what comes next. It’s hard to know what to expect after an impulse destination choice based on a map of Scotland in her Manhattan apartment—but she knows it’s high time she had an adventure.
The moment she sets foot in Thistlecross, the verdant scenery, charming cottages, and struggling local pub steal her heart. Between designing pop-up suppers and conversing with the colorful locals, Ruby starts to see a future that stretches beyond her year of adventure. It doesn’t hurt that Brochan, the ruggedly handsome local handyman, keeps coming around to repair things at her cottage. Though Ruby swore off men, she can’t help fantasizing what a roll in the barley might be like with the bearded Scot.
As Ruby grows closer to Brochan and the tightly held traditions of the charming village, she discovers secret plans to turn her beloved pub into an American chain restaurant. Faced with an impossible choice, Ruby must decide between love, loyalty, and the Highlands way of life.
Death of a Dancing Queen by Kimberly G. Gia
Readers are in for a treat when they meet Billie Levine, a badass
Jewish P.I, who finds herself involved in a dangerous gang war while looking for a murder suspect. This page turning crime novel will appeal to readers of Tana French, fans of Veronica Mars and popular true crime podcasts.
After her mother was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, Billie Levine revamped her grandfather’s
private investigation firm and set up shop in the corner booth of her favorite New Jersey
deli, hoping the free pickles and flexible hours would allow her to take care of her mom and pay the bills. So when Tommy Russo, a rich college student with a nasty drug habit,
offers her a stack of cash to find his missing girlfriend who is also the cohost of the true crime podcast Murder Girls - how can she refuse? At first, Billie thinks this will be an easy
job, but then her missing person's case turns into a murder investigation... and Tommy
becomes the detective bureau’s number one suspect.
Suddenly Billie is embroiled in a deadly gang war that’s connected to the decades old
disappearance of Starla Wells, a famous cabaret dancer, with ties to both an infamous Jewish mob and a skinhead group. Toss in the reappearance of Billie’s handsome ex-boyfriend with his own rap sheet, and she is regretting every decision that got her to this point. Becoming a P.I. was supposed to solve her problems; but if Billie doesn’t crack this case, the next body the police dredge out of the Hudson River will be hers.
When the House Burns by Priscilla Paton
When death comes home, is nowhere safe?
The quest for love and home becomes deadly when Detectives Erik Jansson and Deb Metzger search for the killer of an adulterous real estate agent.
A volatile real estate market, unrest in a homeless encampment, jealousies among would-be lovers, a case of arson—these circumstances thwart G-Met detectives Erik Jansson and Deb Metzger as they investigate the murder of an adulterous woman. The victim’s estranged husband has holes in his alibi. A property developer grieves too much over the death of the woman while his wife shuts him out. The developer’s assistant resents his boss and suspects that the developer was not only involved with the victim but is being scammed by the arsonist. A sexy young widow, friend of the victim, has past traumas triggered by the case and turns to the developer for protection. A homeless man stalked the dead woman and now stalks the young widow. All may hold secrets about the past burning of an apartment complex and the man who died there.
Before the clues come together, Erik Jansson is trapped in an abandoned house as Deb Metzger hunts for a sharpshooter at a remote construction site. The case will burn down around them unless they can scheme their way out of lethal surroundings.
Bookworm by Robin Yeatman
“Imagine if Patricia Highsmith had written The Secret Life of Walter Mitty and instead of heroic daydreams she gave her protagonist murderous ones—that would be Bookworm. Robin Yeatman’s story is subversive, surprising, and satisfying in a way that only the best comic noir can be.”—Claire Oshetsky, author of Chouette
A wickedly funny debut novel—a black comedy with a generous heart that explores the power of imagination and reading—about a woman who tries to use fiction to find her way to happiness.
Victoria is unhappily married to an ambitious and controlling lawyer consumed with his career. Burdened with overbearing in-laws, a boring dead-end job she can’t seem to leave, and a best friend who doesn’t seem to understand her, Victoria finds solace from the daily grind in her beloved books and the stories she makes up in her head. One day, in a favorite café, she notices an attractive man reading the same talked-about bestselling novel that she is reading. A woman yearning for her own happy ending, Victoria is sure it’s fate. The handsome book lover must be her soul mate.
There’s only one small problem. Victoria is already married. Frustrated, and desperate to change her life, Victoria retreats to the dark places in her mind and thinks back to all the stories she’s ever read in hopes of finding a solution. She begins to fantasize about nocturnal trysts with café man, and imaginative ways (poisoned pickles were an inspired choice in Jane Smiley’s A Thousand Acres) of getting rid of the dread husband.
It’s all just harmless fantasy born of Victoria’s fevered imagination and her books—until, one night, fiction and reality blur and suddenly it seems Victoria is about to get everything she’s wished for . . . .
The Vienna Writers Circle by J. C. Maetis
A gripping and powerful tale of resilience and courage set in Vienna on the brink of WWII, as two members of Freud’s Circle try to keep themselves and their loved ones safe as the SS closes in.
Spring, 1938: Café Mozart in the heart of Vienna is beloved by its clientele, including cousins Mathias Kraemer and Johannes Namal. The two writers are as close as brothers. They are also members of Freud’s Circle—a unique group of the famed psychiatrist’s friends and acquaintances who once gathered regularly at the bright and airy café to talk about books and ideas over coffee and pastries. But dark days are looming.
With Hitler’s annexation of Austria, Nazi edicts governing daily life become stricter and more punitive. Now Hitler has demanded that the “hidden Jews” of Vienna be tracked down, and Freud’s Circle has been targeted. The SS aims to use old group photos to identify Jewish intellectuals and subversives. With the vise tightening around them, Mathias and Johannes’s only option appears to be hiding in plain sight, using assumed names and identities to evade detection, aware that discovery would mean consignment to a camp or execution.
Faced with stark and desperate choices, Mathias, Johannes, their families and friends all find their loyalties and courage tested in unimaginable ways. But despite betrayal, heartache and imprisonment, hope remains, and with it, the determination to keep those they love alive, and Mathias and Johannes at the same time discovering that what originally condemned them—their writing—might also be their salvation.
Badass Stories: Grit, Growth, Hope, and Healing in the Sh*tshow by Jodie Eckleberry-Hunt
Overcoming life’s many disappointments begins with one thing: grit. But what is grit, and how can we know what it looks like in the sh*tshow of life?
Drawing from her own experience and psychology practice, psychologist Jodie Eckleberry-Hunt, author of Getting to Good Riddance: A No-Bullsh*t Breakup Survival Guide, weaves together a collection of gritty stories of survival, hope, and healing in the face of overwhelming pain and adversity.
Badass Stories illustrates how real people have used tools like grit and hope to make it through life’s challenges—great and small—and foster growth and healing in the process. These seriously motivational tales will inspire you to harness the grit it takes to succeed, show up for the fight, call out your own bullsh*t, and become the Badass you were meant to be!
Navigating The Shock Of Parenthood by Kathleen Cawley
Navigating the Shock of Parenthood, pulls together insights from hundreds of experienced parents. It organizes expert advice and reveals the social and historical sources of some of today’s most anxiety provoking parenting imperatives. It also helps with a range of nitty gritty parenting challenges. Such as, projectile pooping (Real!). Dolphin training for toddlers. (Useful!) Or, how do I find community? What do I do when I find myself channeling the parent I never wanted to emulate?
A little insight and perspective will help you steer a course through the strange new waters of parenthood. With these tools you’ll learn to guide your family boat in a direction of your choosing rather than being swept along by outside forces. Navigating the Shock of Parenthood will help you laugh, build your village, raise your kids with joy, make decisions with insight, and work for the world you want your children to inherit.
If you’re struggling with new parenthood, you will find endless books on breastfeeding or potty training. However, there is almost nothing on the emotional and psychological challenges we face when we transition from adulthood to parenthood. Why are the joys of parenthood so heavily mixed with fear and angst? Where did “concerted cultivation,” come from and do you really need to buy into it? What is “the race to nowhere,” and how is it driving parents and children to anxiety. What has happened to modern American kindergarten, and is it a good thing?
Frankly, most parenting books also leave out many of the really difficult day to day challenges that parents struggle with. How do you to talk with young children about death? How do you manage problem relatives when kids and partners are in the picture? How do you parent a child who seems so different from yourself? How do you negotiate new life roles with your partner when society is pushing you heavily toward old stereotypes.
The challenges of today’s parenthood are real, and the first years are often so hard. We all need some help. Navigating the Shock of Parenthood is loaded with warmth, help, and support for this epic new adventure in your life.
In The Event of Death by Kimberly Young
When the Recession crushes their splashy event business in Silicon Valley, Liz Becker and Gabbi Rossi realize that parties are on hold—but funerals must go on.
Planning a memorial with flowers, music, and food isn’t that different from a wedding, right? But Liz has had a crippling fear of death since losing her younger sister in a childhood tragedy. Knowing her husband and twin sons depend on her income, she reluctantly agrees to produce end-of-life events. As Gabbi promised, the money starts rolling in. When an old real estate tycoon hires them to plan his “after party,” Liz finds an unlikely mentor. Just as things are looking up, she learns that someone she loves has a serious illness. Death planning gets personal.
Bloody Martini by William Kotzwinkle
Award-winning and bestselling author William Kotzwinkle is back with the second in the darkly comedic Felonious Monk series featuring Tommy Martini, a Benedictine monk with an anger management problem. Felonious Monk was praised as “amiably satirical” (Washington Post) and “a whiplash adventure” (Wall Street Journal).
Coalville is on fire—from below. The old mines are burning, and everyone has poison gas in their brain. Maybe that’s why the town is so corrupt. Now that he’s a Benedictine monk, Tommy Martini never wants to see the place again—hell-raisers there hold a grudge till they die, and he’s on their wish list. But a girl he once loved has gone missing, and his best friend from childhood has been murdered. Among the living is a shy girl from Tommy’s past, who wants to help. Together, they learn the secret of the elephant’s graveyard, and it’s not in Africa.
At the heart of Coalville is Parade Square, with plenty of pigeons, drugs, and child prostitution. It’s the new small-town America, where Dionysus is dancing once again. William Kotzwinkle’s insight into this paradigm shift is shot through with the humor he is famous for, and the result is a spicy brew, a bloody martini—just one sip may keep you up all night.
The Woman with the Cure by Lynn Cullen
In 1940s and ’50s America, polio is as dreaded as the atomic bomb. No one’s life is untouched by this disease that kills or paralyzes its victims, particularly children. Outbreaks of the virus across the country regularly put American cities in lockdown. Some of the world’s best minds are engaged in the race to find a vaccine. The man who succeeds will be a god.
But Dorothy Horstmann is not focused on beating her colleagues to the vaccine. She just wants the world to have a cure. Applying the same determination that lifted her from a humble background as the daughter of immigrants, to becoming a doctor –often the only woman in the room--she hunts down the monster where it lurks: in the blood.
This discovery of hers, and an error by a competitor, catapults her closest colleague to a lead in the race. When his chance to win comes on a worldwide scale, she is asked to sink or validate his vaccine—and to decide what is forgivable, and how much should be sacrificed, in pursuit of the cure.
Her Unexpected Match by Lacey Baker
Everyone loves a best friend’s older brother story, but paired with the slight fantastical element of a matchmaker who can see love in the stars, this charming romance feels fresh and original. Like the bestselling Chesapeake Shores series by Sherryl Woods, HER UNEXPECTED MATCH takes place on a unique island setting, with quirky, memorable characters readers will want to return to again and again.
Best Served Hot by Amanda Elliot
Elliot's first foodie rom-com Sadie on a Plate (2022) marked her pivot to adult romance and dazzled readers with its relatable, young, Jewish protagonist; exquisitely described cuisine; and sizzling forbidden romance. Now in BEST SERVED HOT, foodie influencer Julie Zimmerman is crushed to discover that her dream position as a restaurant critic for major newspaper The New York Scroll has gone to yet another uppity reviewer, aptly named Bennett Richard Macalester Wright. While her social media account @JulieZeeEatsNYC has racked up a respectable fifty-thousand followers, Julie still craves the prestige and dining opportunities afforded to a distinguished paper like the Scroll. When Julie runs into Bennett at a local food festival, she doesn’t hesitate to confront the annoyingly handsome critic about his outdated views on social media and the changing landscape of restaurant reviewing. On a whim, Julie decides to post the resulting footage and is shocked when the post goes viral. Hoping to attract a younger crowd to the Scroll, Bennett proposes that he and Julie partner up to review some of New York’s hottest restaurants on their respective social media channels. Seeing this as an opportunity to finally gain some repute in the restaurant critiquing world, Julie begrudgingly agrees. Though Julie is initially put off by Bennett’s snobby attitude, after sharing delicious meals and competing over foodie trivia and their seriously lacking cooking skills, Julie finds herself drawn in by Bennett’s genuine love of food that rivals her own. When the chemistry between them boils over, Julie and Bennett will have to decide how much heat their relationship can take.
BEST SERVED HOT is a love letter to the New York restaurant scene, exploring the myriad cultures and food preparation techniques the city offers in such a way that you can taste the flavors as if they are coming off the page. Readers of romantic comedies and fans of Christina Lauren and Sarah Hogle will be left starving for their own foodie romantic adventure, and may find themselves searching for plane tickets to get a taste of Amanda Elliot’s deliciously rendered novel.
Artfully Yours by Joanna Lowell
Nina Finch isn't suited for a life of crime. Raised by her art-forger brother, she can paint like Botticelli. But she'd so much rather be baking gooseberry tarts. She finally has the money she needs to open her own bakery. Unfortunately, her brother's carelessness lands her—and their forgeries—directly under the nose of London's most discerning art critic, Alan De'Ath. De'Ath knows the paintings are fake. He doesn't know that Nina had a hand in their creation. In fact, he offers her a job in his household. Accepting it is the most dangerous thing she has ever done....
Alan takes pride in seeing things other people miss. He plans to catch the forger and cement his reputation. There's only one problem: the closer he gets to the beguiling woman he hired, the less he trusts his perspective. Nina isn't what she seems. But despite their false start, she just might hold the real key to his heart.
As Nina and Alan’s attraction grows, divided loyalties threaten to pull them apart and shatter their worlds. They’ll lose everything, or discover how powerful true love can be....
Murder in Haxford by Rick Bleiweiss
A delightful day in 1910 at the Haxford Spring Fair turns horrifying and deadly when a balloonist plummets to the earth from the blue skies above. However unlikely, it's soon discovered that this unfortunate corpse was not done in by his precipitous plunge but instead from an arrow fatally lodged in his chest. Unraveling the twisted web of intrigue that took the man's life requires the expert skills of Haxford's brilliant and sartorially splendid Chief Inspector Pignon Scorbion.
But the quirky detective is not alone in this task. Aiding Scorbion in his dogged pursuit of truth and justice are his carefully chosen deputies: six quirky and unconventional thinkers from the town who meet regularly with Scorbion in Calvin Brown's barbershop to unmask ne'er-do-wells and solve local crimes. Since his move to the charming village, the enigmatic detective has also realized his growing dependence upon its bookshop's owner. Lovely and quick-witted Thelma Smith not only helps Pignon with his criminal cases, but she seems well on her way to unlocking the mysteries of his heart.
Not everyone in Haxford is so cooperative. Faustin Hardcastle from the Gazette is bound and determined to ruin the town's new officer of the law with slanderous news reports of failure and misconduct. And other residents of the picture-perfect village do not welcome the inspector's inquiring eye and expert nose for trouble. When they engage in decidedly un-quaint activities like gambling, revenge, forgery, and loan sharking, it falls to Pignon Scorbion to reveal their deceit and criminal misdeeds -- all in a good day's work. Once done, he and Thelma can then thoroughly enjoy a delicious dinner at the Bridgehouse Inn.
Dempsey by Brian Andrews and Jeffrey Wilson
The world is more volatile, unpredictable, and dangerous than ever before. To stop the architect of this chaos, Dempsey is given the most dangerous tasking of his career … a mission only he can complete against an adversary he must face alone.
After Task Force Ember’s successful intervention in Ukraine, John Dempsey disappears without a trace—with no notice or explanation given to his teammates. Spotty intelligence eventually places him in Russia where he is rumored to have been captured by the Russian FSB and is now presumed dead. Mourning his loss, Ember is forced to pick up the pieces, restructure, and continue their mission of keeping America safe. As the president’s “go-to” black ops asset, Ember is directed to find and finish off the Russian spymaster Arkady Zhukov and any last remnants of Zeta cell.
Unbeknownst to his teammates, Dempsey is very much alive and on mission. At the behest of Vice President Jarvis, he is deep undercover—in the heart of Russia’s nexus of organized crime and politics. For his mission to succeed, he will have to team up with a man who has been his adversary—the one man in all the world he most wants dead. The risks are higher than ever, as Dempsey pursues a high-stakes plot of Russian regime change. And if he fails, the Kremlin’s retribution will be swift and terrible and certain to drag the world into World War III.
When the Moon Turns Blue by Pamela Terry
One woman fights to hold on to her friends, her family, and all that she holds dear as a brewing conflict divides her small-town Georgia community in this powerful novel from the author of The Sweet Taste of Muscadines.
On the morning after Harry Cline’s funeral, a rare ice storm hits the town of Wesleyan, Georgia. The community wakes up to find its controversial statue of Confederate general Henry Benning destroyed—and not by the weather. Half the town had wanted to remove the statue; the other half had wanted to preserve it. Now that the matter has been taken out of their hands, the town’s long-simmering tensions are laid bare.
Without Harry beside her, Marietta is left to question many of her preconceived ideas about her friends and family. Her childhood friend, Butter, has come to her aid in ways Marietta never expected, or asked for. Her sister-in-law, Glinda, is behaving completely out of character, and her brother, Macon, the top defense attorney in the Southeast, is determined to find those responsible for the damage to the statue and protect the legacy of Old Man Griffin, the owner of the park where it once stood. Marietta longs to salvage these connections, but the world is changing and the divides can no longer be ignored.
With a cast of compassionate, relatable characters, When the Moon Turns Blue is a poignant and timely novel about family, friendship, and what can happen when we discover that we don’t particularly like the people we love.
Shoot the Horses First by Leah Angstman
***Winner of the Shorts Award for Americana Fiction***
A debut collection of genre-bending short histories and novellas spanning 16th- through early 20th-century.
Through a historian’s lens and folkloric storytelling, the pieces in Shoot the Horses First revel in the nuances, brutality, mythology, and tiny victories of our historical past. A launderer takes us inside the linens of the richest families in early Baltimore. A child on the Orphan Train has his teeth inspected like a horse. Civil War soldiers experience PTSD. While one woman lands on an island of the Wampanoag tribe, a woman 200 years later finds Apache in a harsh frontier. Children survive yellow fever, the desert heat, and mistaken identities; men survive severed fingers, untested medicines, and wives with obsessive compulsive disorders. Frederick Douglass’ grandson plays violin at the World’s Fair on Colored American Day, a woman with disabilities is kept hidden away like she doesn’t exist, and a botanist is denied her place in a science journal because she is female. Themes of place, war, mental illness, identity, disability, feminism, and unyielding optimism throughout harrowing desperation resurface in this collection of stories that takes us back to time immemorial, yet feels so close, and all too familiar.
The Foreign Exchange by Veronica G. Henry
A Vodou priestess turned amateur sleuth investigating a ritual murder is embroiled in an insidious case of corruption that reaches beyond the shadows of New Orleans.
After solving a crime blamed on Vodou in New Orleans’ French Quarter, Vodou priestess turned amateur detective Reina Dumond has returned to her benevolent work as a healer. But when her friend and enigmatic client Evangeline “Vangie” Stiles comes to her for a spell, Mambo Reina quickly realizes what Vangie really needs is a sleuth.
Something is amiss in the Stileses’ marriage. Five thousand dollars has inexplicably appeared in the bank account Vangie shares with her scam-artist husband, Arthur, and she smells trouble. So does Reina. Especially when her investigation into Arthur’s likely new con leads to murder. Considering the manner of death and the signs on the victim’s body, Reina recognizes it for what it is: ritual magic of the vodouisant kind.
As Reina digs deeper, she encounters a conspiracy exploiting vulnerable youth―one of whom may have abilities just like hers. With the help of her friends Darryl and Tyka, Reina must hone her ever-evolving skills to uncover a mystery that reaches further than she imagined.
The Secrets of Hartwood Hall by Katie Lumsden
A gripping and atmospheric debut that is at once a chilling gothic mystery and a love letter to Victorian fiction.
Nobody ever goes to Hartwood Hall. Folks say it’s cursed…
It’s 1852 and Margaret Lennox, a young widow, attempts to escape the shadows of her past by taking a position as governess to an only child, Louis, at an isolated country house in the west of England.
But Margaret soon starts to feel that something isn’t quite right. There are strange figures in the dark, tensions between servants, and an abandoned east wing. Even stranger is the local gossip surrounding Mrs. Eversham, Louis’s widowed mother, who is deeply distrusted in the village.
Lonely and unsure whom to trust, Margaret finds distraction in a forbidden relationship with the gardener, Paul. But as Margaret’s history threatens to catch up with her, it isn’t long before she learns the truth behind the secrets of Hartwood Hall.
The Theory of (Not Quite) Everything by Kara Gnodde
Mimi Brotherton—orphan and sister of a mathematical genius—is used to defining herself according to others. Bound together by the tragic deaths of their parents, she and her older brother, Art, share the family home and a strong, if unequal, relationship; Mimi is there whenever Art needs her, supporting his academic peaks and talking him out of his emotional valleys.
When she decides that she’d like to get out in the world and maybe even find a boyfriend, Art is cautiously supportive, as long as his sister is searching for love using the mathematical methods he’s laid out for her. But when Mimi meets Frank, another mathematician, Art is instantly suspicious. Frank seems affable enough, but he’s also trying to find an answer for a famous, previously unsolvable math problem—a problem Art has been on the cusp of solving for years. Is Frank using Mimi so that he can get a look at Art’s notes, or is Art just terrified at the possibility of an independent life for Mimi?
After a serious accident involves both men, Mimi is caught in the middle. Can she trust her heart to lead her to the right solution?
The Frenchman by Jack Beaumont
Based on the experiences of a real French spy, Jack Beaumont’s first-hand knowledge and experiences make this thriller plausible and frightening as you’re plunged into the very real world of terror, espionage, and danger.
Alec de Payns is an undercover operative in the ultra-elusive French Y Division of the DGSE, a foreign intelligence service equivalent to the CIA or MI6. Code named Aguilar, de Payns is one of the division’s most accomplished agents working to neutralize international threats on a daily basis while simultaneously trying to balance his home life as a husband and father. When a routine mission to infiltrate a dangerous terrorist group unexpectedly goes belly up, Alec is faced with the unthinkable: that he may have been betrayed by someone in his close-knit team—and they may be trying to pin the blame on Alec himself.
Back in Paris, Alec is assigned to investigate a secretive biological weapons facility in Pakistan which the DGSE believes to be producing a newly weaponized strain of bacteria, intended for release in France. As Alec works to uncover the facility’s secrets, he must also fight to clear his name and discover who the mole is before it’s too late. It’s not just his reputation that’s at stake—it’s the lives of his wife, two young children, and the entire population of Paris.
The Last Carolina Girl by Meagan Church
Set in the 1930’s on the lush Carolina coast, this is the immersive story of a young girl against the world who taps into emotional reserves beyond her years in her journey to find a place to belong. Inspired by the author’s heartbreaking family history, THE LAST CAROLINA GIRL touches upon the practice of forced sterilization that was commonplace in the US at the time, in a hopeful story of courage in the face of cruelty.
Atomic Family by Ciera Horton McElroy
A South Carolina family endures one life-shattering day in 1961 in a town that lies in the shadow of a nuclear bomb plant.
It’s November 1, 1961, in a small town in South Carolina, and nuclear war is coming. Ten-year-old Wilson Porter believes this with every fiber of his being. He prowls his neighborhood for Communists and studies fallout pamphlets and the habits of his father, a scientist at the nuclear plant in town.
Meanwhile, his mother Nellie covertly joins an anti-nuclear movement led by angry housewives—and his father, Dean, must decide what to do with the damning secrets he’s uncovered at the nuclear plant. When tragedy strikes, the Porter family must learn to confront their fears—of the world and of each other.
