THE AFFAIRS OF THE FALCÓNS by Melissa Rivero (Fiction)
Audiobook available, read by Frankie Corzo
Ana Falcón, along with her husband Lucho and their two young children, has fled the economic and political strife of Peru for a chance at a new life in New York City in the 1990s. Being undocumented, however, has significantly curtailed the family’s opportunities: Ana is indebted to a loan shark who calls herself Mama, and is stretched thin by unceasing shifts at her factory job. To make matters worse, Ana also must battle both criticism from Lucho’s cousin --- who has made it obvious that the family is not welcome to stay in her spare room for much longer --- and escalating and unwanted attention from Mama’s husband. As the pressure builds, Ana becomes increasingly desperate. Reviewed by Maya Gittelman.
CONFESSIONS OF AN INNOCENT MAN by David R. Dow (Legal Thriller)
Audiobook available, read by Henry Levya
Rafael Zhettah relishes the simplicity and freedom of his life. He is the owner and head chef of a promising Houston restaurant. A pilot with open access to the boundless Texas horizon. A bachelor, content with having few personal or material attachments that ground him. Then lightning strikes. When he finds Tieresse --- billionaire, philanthropist, sophisticate, bombshell --- sitting at one of his tables, he also finds his soul mate and his life starts again. And just as fast --- when she is brutally murdered in their home, when he is convicted of the crime, when he is sentenced to die --- it is all ripped away. But for Rafael Zhettah, death row is not the end; it is only the beginning. Now, he will stop at nothing to deliver justice to those who stole everything from him. Reviewed by Barbara Lipkien Gershenbaum.
THE CORNWALLS ARE GONE by James Patterson and Brendan DuBois (Thriller)
Audiobook available, read by Lauren Fortgang and Edoardo Ballerini
In her career as an Army intelligence officer, Amy Cornwall has seen haunting sights half a world away. None compare to the chilling scene at her Virginia home. It is empty. A phone rings with a terrifying ultimatum: locate and liberate an unnamed captive in 48 hours, or her kidnapped husband and 10-year-old daughter are dead. Now, and in open defiance of Army Command, Amy must employ every lethal tactic she has to save them. To succeed, she must discover not only who dispatched her on this mission, but why. Without her family, she's dead anyway. Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub.
THE GIRL HE USED TO KNOW by Tracey Garvis Graves (Romance)
Audiobook available, read by Fred Berman and Kathleen McInerney
Annika Rose is an English major at the University of Illinois. Anxious in social situations, she'd rather be surrounded by the order and discipline of books or the quiet solitude of playing chess. Jonathan Hoffman joined the chess club and lost his first game --- and his heart --- to Annika. He admires her ability to be true to herself and accepts the challenges involved in pursuing a relationship with her. What follows is a tumultuous yet tender love affair that withstands everything except the unforeseen tragedy that forces them apart, shattering their connection and leaving them to navigate their lives alone. Now, a decade later, fate reunites Annika and Jonathan in Chicago. Reviewed by Pamela Kramer.
GIRL MOST LIKELY by Max Allan Collins (Mystery/Thriller)
Audiobook available, read by Dan John Miller
In a small Midwest town, 28-year-old Krista Larson has made her mark as the youngest female police chief in the country. She’s learned from the best: her father, Keith, a decorated former detective. But as accustomed as they are to the relative quiet of their idyllic tourist town, things quickly turn with Krista’s 10-year high school reunion. With the out-of-towners holed up in a lakefront lodge, it doesn’t take long to stir up old grudges and resentments. Now a successful TV host, Astrid Lund, voted the “Girl Most Likely to Succeed” --- and then some --- is back in town. As the reunion begins, so does a triple murder investigation. Krista and her father never imagined what would be revealed: the secrets and scandals of Krista’s own past. Reviewed by Kate Ayers.
GREEK TO ME: Adventures of the Comma Queen by Mary Norris (Travel Memoir/Writing)
Audiobook available, read by Mary Norris
GREEK TO ME is a charming account of Mary Norris’ lifelong love affair with words and her solo adventures in the land of olive trees and ouzo. Along the way, Norris explains how the alphabet originated in Greece, makes the case for Athena as a feminist icon, goes searching for the fabled Baths of Aphrodite, and reveals the surprising ways Greek helped form English. Filled with Norris’ memorable encounters with Greek words, Greek gods, Greek wine --- and more than a few Greek men --- GREEK TO ME is the Comma Queen’s fresh take on Greece and the exotic yet strangely familiar language that so deeply influences our own. Reviewed by Norah Piehl.
THE HOMECOMING by Andrew Pyper (Psychological Thriller/Mystery)
After the death of their absentee father, Aaron and Bridge Quinlan travel to a vast rainforest property in the Pacific Northwest to hear the reading of his will. There, they meet up with their mother and troubled sister, Franny, and are shocked to discover the will’s terms: in order to claim their inheritance, they all must remain at the estate for 30 days without any contact with the outside world. Despite their concerns, they agree. The Quinlans soon come to learn their family has more secrets than they ever imagined. Why does Bridge have faint memories of the estate? Why did their father want them to be sequestered there together? And what is out there they feel pulling them into the dark heart of the woods? Reviewed by Ray Palen.
LOST ROSES by Martha Hall Kelly (Historical Fiction)
Audiobook available; read by Kathleen Gati, Tavia Gilbert, Karissa Vacker and Catherine Taber
It is 1914, and Eliza Ferriday is thrilled to be traveling to St. Petersburg with Sofya Streshnayva, a cousin of the Romanovs. The two met years ago one summer in Paris and became close confidantes. But when Austria declares war on Serbia and Russia's imperial dynasty begins to fall, Eliza escapes back to America, while Sofya and her family flee to their country estate. In need of domestic help, they hire the local fortuneteller's daughter, Varinka, unknowingly bringing intense danger into their household. On the other side of the Atlantic, Eliza is doing her part to help the White Russian families find safety as they escape the revolution. But when Sofya's letters suddenly stop coming, she fears the worst for her best friend. Reviewed by Rebecca Munro.
THE OTHER AMERICANS by Laila Lalami (Mystery)
Audiobook available; read by Mozhan Marno, P.J. Ochlan, Adenrele Ojo and a full cast
Late one spring night, Driss Guerraoui, a Moroccan immigrant in California, is walking across a darkened intersection when he is killed by a speeding car. The repercussions of his death bring together a diverse cast of characters: Guerraoui's daughter Nora, a jazz composer who returns to the small town in the Mojave she thought she'd left for good; his widow Maryam, who still pines after her life in the old country; Efrain, an undocumented witness whose fear of deportation prevents him from coming forward; Jeremy, a former classmate of Nora and a veteran of the Iraq war; Coleman, a detective who is slowly discovering her son's secrets; Anderson, a neighbor trying to reconnect with his family; and the murdered man himself. Reviewed by Dunja Bonacci Skenderović.
THE PERFECT GIRLFRIEND by Karen Hamilton (Psychological Thriller)
Audiobook available, read by Anne Marie Lee
Juliette loves Nate. She will follow him anywhere. She’s even become a flight attendant for his airline so she can keep a closer eye on him. They are meant to be. The fact that Nate broke up with her six months ago means nothing. Because Juliette has a plan to win him back. She is the perfect girlfriend. And she’ll make sure no one stops her from getting exactly what she wants. True love hurts, but Juliette knows it’s worth all the pain. Reviewed by Ray Palen.
RADICALIZED by Cory Doctorow (Science Fiction)
RADICALIZED is comprised of four sci-fi novellas connected by social, technological and economic visions of today and what America could be in the near, near future. “Unauthorized Bread” is a tale of immigration, the toxicity of economic and technological stratification, and the young and downtrodden fighting to survive and prosper. In “Model Minority,” a Superman-like figure attempts to rectifiy police corruption, only to find his efforts adversely affecting their victims. “Radicalized” is a story of a darkweb-enforced violent uprising against insurance companies told from the perspective of a man desperate to secure funding for an experimental drug that could cure his wife's terminal cancer. The fourth story, “Masque of the Red Death,” takes on issues of survivalism versus community. Reviewed by Gabriella Mayer.
REDEMPTION POINT: A Crimson Lake Novel by Candice Fox (Thriller)
Audiobook available, read by Euan Morton
When former police detective Ted Conkaffey was wrongly accused of abducting Claire Bingley, he hoped Crimson Lake would be a good place to disappear. But nowhere is safe from Claire's devastated father. Dale Bingley has a brutal revenge plan all worked out --- and if Ted doesn't help find the real abductor, he'll be its first casualty. Meanwhile, in a dark roadside hovel, the bodies of two young bartenders lie on the floor. It's Detective Inspector Pip Sweeney's first homicide investigation --- complicated by the arrival of private detective Amanda Pharrell to “assist” on the case. Amanda's conviction for murder a decade ago has left her with some odd behavioral traits…and a keen eye for killers. Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub.
SAVE ME FROM DANGEROUS MEN by S.A. Lelchuk (Thriller)
Audiobook available, read by January LaVoy
Nikki Griffin isn't your typical private investigator. In her office above her bookstore’s shelves and stacks, she also tracks certain men. Dangerous men. Men who have hurt the women they claim to love. And Nikki likes to teach those men a lesson, to teach them what it feels like to be hurt and helpless. When a regular PI job tailing Karen, a tech company's disgruntled employee who might be selling secrets, turns ugly and Karen's life is threatened, Nikki has to break cover and intervene. Karen tells Nikki that there are dangerous men after her. She says she'll tell Nikki what's really going on. But then something goes wrong, and suddenly Nikki is no longer just solving a case --- she's trying hard to stay alive. Reviewed by Norah Piehl.
SAVING MEGHAN by D.J. Palmer (Medical Thriller)
Audiobook available, read by Mary Stuart Masterson and Rebecca Soler
Fifteen-year-old Meghan has been in and out of hospitals with a plague of unexplained illnesses. But when the ailments take a sharp turn, clashing medical opinions begin to raise questions about the puzzling nature of her illness. Doctors suspect Munchausen syndrome by proxy, a rare behavioral disorder where the primary caretaker seeks medical help for made-up symptoms of a child. Is this what's going on? Or is there something even more sinister at hand? Meghan's mother, Becky, must race against time to prove that her daughter has a deadly disease. But she first must confront her darkest fears and family secrets that threaten not only to upend her once-ordered life, but to destroy it. Reviewed by Ray Palen.
SOMEONE KNOWS by Lisa Scottoline (Psychological Thriller)
Audiobook available, read by Ari Fliakos and Brittany Pressley
Allie Garvey is heading home to the funeral of a childhood friend, which means seeing the other two people with whom she shares an unbearable secret. Twenty years earlier, a horrific incident shattered the lives of five teenagers, including Allie. They kept what happened a secret, believing that getting caught would be the worst thing that could happen. But Allie has been haunted for two decades by what she and the others did, and by the fact that she never told a soul. The dark secret has eaten away at her, distancing her from everyone she loves, including her husband. Now, Allie stands on the precipice of losing everything. She digs to unearth the truth, but reaches a shocking conclusion that she never saw coming. Reviewed by Sarah Rachel Egelman.
TRUST EXERCISE by Susan Choi (Fiction)
Audiobook available; read by Suehyla El-Attar, Jennifer Lim and Adina Verson
In an American suburb in the early 1980s, students at a highly competitive performing arts high school struggle and thrive in a rarified bubble, ambitiously pursuing music, movement, Shakespeare and, particularly, their acting classes. When within this striving “Brotherhood of the Arts,” two freshmen, David and Sarah, fall headlong into love, their passion does not go unnoticed --- or untoyed with --- by anyone, especially not by their charismatic acting teacher, Mr. Kingsley. The outside world of family life and economic status, of academic pressure and of their future adult lives, fails to penetrate this school’s walls --- until it does, in a shocking spiral of events that catapults the action forward in time and flips the premise upside down. Reviewed by Norah Piehl.
WHITE ELEPHANT by Julie Langsdorf (Fiction)
Audiobook available, read by Allyson Ryan
The White Elephant looms large over the quaint suburban town of Willard Park. A gaudy, newly constructed behemoth of a home, it soars over the neighborhood, dwarfing the houses that surround it. When owner Nick Cox cuts down Allison and Ted Miller’s precious red maple --- in an effort to make his unsightly property more appealing to buyers --- their once serene town becomes a battleground. While tensions between Ted and Nick escalate, other dysfunctions abound. Newcomers and longtime residents alike begin to clash in conflicting pursuits of the American Dream, with trees mysteriously uprooted, fires set, fingers pointed and lines drawn. Reviewed by Cindy Burnett.
A WOMAN IS NO MAN by Etaf Rum (Fiction)
Audiobook available; read by Ariana Delawari, Dahlia Salem and Susan Nezami
Palestine, 1990. Seventeen-year-old Isra finds herself quickly betrothed and married. She struggles to adapt to the expectations of her oppressive mother-in-law Fareeda and strange new husband Adam, a pressure that intensifies as she begins to have children --- four daughters instead of the sons Fareeda tells Isra she must bear. Brooklyn, 2008. Eighteen-year-old Deya, Isra’s oldest daughter, must meet with potential husbands at her grandmother Fareeda’s insistence. She can’t help but wonder if her options would have been different had her parents survived the car crash that killed them when she was only eight. Soon, however, Deya will find herself on an unexpected path that leads her to shocking truths about her family. Reviewed by Melanie Reynolds.
WOMEN TALKING by Miriam Toews (Fiction)
Audiobook available, read by Matthew Edison
One evening, eight Mennonite women climb into a hay loft to conduct a secret meeting. For the past two years, each of them has been repeatedly violated in the night by demons coming to punish them for their sins. Now that the women have learned they were in fact drugged and attacked by a group of men from their own community, they are determined to protect themselves and their daughters from future harm. While the men of the colony are off in the city, these women --- all illiterate, without any knowledge of the world outside their community and unable even to speak the language of the country in which they live --- have very little time to make a choice: Should they stay in the only world they've ever known, or should they dare to escape? Reviewed by Norah Piehl.