Draper, Utah: Now that all five of her sons have left home, Mormon bishop’s wife Linda Wallheim has quite a bit of time on her hands. She has befriended Gwen Ferris, a woman in her ward who is quickly losing faith in the church. Gwen has a calling in Draper’s local “Spanish ward,” which is made up of both legal and undocumented immigrants who Gwen feels don’t always get the support they need from their bishop. When Gabriela Gonzalez, an undocumented mother of three, is found strangled at a gas station, Gwen decides the police aren’t doing enough and resolves to track down the killer herself. Fearing for her young friend’s safety, Linda reluctantly joins her, but what they find during their vigilante investigation may put them both in danger.
The Sorceress Nicci, Nathan Rahl and Bannon released the city of Ildakar from the rule of the wizards council, but not without dire repercussions. When the capricious Wizard Commander Maxim fled the city, he dissolved the spell that had turned the invading army of General Utros to stone 15 centuries earlier. Hundreds of thousands of half-stone ancient soldiers have now awakened and are holding the city hostage, led by one of the greatest enemy commanders in history. And an equally powerful threat looms out at sea. Nicci knows the battle won’t remain in the city; if she can’t stop this threat, two invincible armies will sweep across the Old World and destroy D’Hara itself.
Though the two women live just a few doors apart, a chasm lies between them. The actress, a celebrity with a charmed career, shares a gleaming brownstone with her handsome husband and three adorable children, while the recently separated narrator, unhappily childless and stuck in a dead-end job, lives in a run-down, three-story walk-up with her ex-husband’s cat. As her fascination grows, the narrator’s hold on reality begins to slip. Before long, she’s collecting cast-off items from the actress’s stoop and fantasizing about sleeping with the actress’s husband. After a disastrous interaction with the actress at the annual block party, what began as an innocent preoccupation turns into a stunning --- and irrevocable --- unraveling.
In an unnamed city, middle sister stands out for the wrong reasons. She reads while walking, for one. And she has been taking French night classes downtown. So when a local paramilitary known as the milkman begins pursuing her, she suddenly becomes “interesting,” the last thing she ever wanted to be. Despite middle sister’s attempts to avoid him --- and to keep her mother from finding out about her maybe-boyfriend --- rumors spread and the threat of violence lingers. MILKMAN is a story of the way inaction can have enormous repercussions, in a time when the wrong flag, wrong religion or even a sunset can be subversive.
Iris Grey rents a quaint cottage in a picture-perfect Hampshire village, looking to escape from her crumbling marriage. She is drawn to the neighboring Wetherby family, and is commissioned to paint a portrait of Dominic Wetherby, a celebrated crime writer. At the Wetherbys’ Christmas Eve party, the mulled wine is in full flow --- but so are tensions and rivalries among the guests. On Christmas Day, the youngest member of the Wetherby family, Lorcan, finds a body in the water. A tragic accident? Or a deadly crime?
When Tim confides in Mattie that he needs a sabbatical from work and a fresh place to live, she suggests he move into one of the cottages at her family's home in the beautiful English countryside. As he gets to know the warm jumble of family who share their lives, Tim discovers that everyone there has their secrets. There's Kat, a retired ballet dancer who longs to take the stage again; Charlotte, a young navy wife struggling to bring up her son while her husband is at sea; and William, who has tried hard to get over his estranged wife --- though it's much harder now that she's trying to move into the cottage Tim just occupied. And, even when she's far away, Tim knows there's Mattie. Can he open up to her? Would it matter if he did?
They look like an everyday family living an ordinary life. But beyond the edges of this peaceful farm, unimaginable forces of light and dark have been unleashed. Fallon Swift, approaching her 13th birthday, barely knows the world that existed before --- the city where her parents lived, now in ruins and reclaimed by nature since the Doom sickened and killed billions. Traveling anywhere is a danger, as vicious gangs of Raiders and fanatics called Purity Warriors search for their next victim. Those like Fallon, in possession of gifts, are hunted --- and the time is coming when her true nature, her identity as The One, can no longer be hidden.
When a young woman linked to a list of missing Fire-Sky tribal members commits suicide, Pueblo Police Sergeant Nicky Matthews is assigned to the case. As the investigation unfolds, she uncovers a threat that strikes at the very heart of what it means to be a Fire-Sky Native: victims chosen and murdered because of their genetic makeup. But these deaths are not just about a life taken. In a vengeful twist, the killer ensures the spirits of those targeted will wander forever, lost to their family, their People and their ancestors. When those closest to Nicky are put in jeopardy, she must be willing to sacrifice everything --- her career, her life, even her soul --- to save the people she is sworn to protect.
Six feet under in a Highland peat bog lies Alice Somerville’s inheritance, buried by her grandfather at the end of World War II. But when Alice finally uncovers it, she finds an unwanted surprise --- a body with a bullet hole between the eyes. Meanwhile, cold case detective Karen Pirie is called in to unravel a case where nothing is quite as it seems. And as she gets closer to the truth, it becomes clear that not everyone shares her desire for justice. Or even the idea of what justice is.
In a little village nestled in the Balou mountains, 14-year-old Li Niannian and his parents run a funeral parlor. One evening, he notices a strange occurrence. Instead of preparing for bed, more and more neighbors appear in the streets and fields, carrying on with their daily business as if the sun hadn’t already set. Li Niannian watches, mystified. As hundreds of residents are found dreamwalking, they act out the desires they’ve suppressed during waking hours. Before long, the community devolves into chaos, and it’s up to Li Niannian and his parents to save the town before sunrise.
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Coming Soon
Curious about what books will be released in the months ahead so you can pre-order or reserve them? Then click on the months below.
December's Books on Screen roundup includes the films The Housemaid, Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Last Straw, 100 Nights of Hero,The Chronology of Water and Not Without Hope; the series premiere of Paramount+'s "Little Disasters"; the season premiere of "Percy Jackson and the Olympians" on Disney+ and Hulu; the season finales of HBO's "IT: Welcome to Derry" and Apple TV+'s "Down Cemetery Road"; the midseason finales of "Tracker" and "Watson" on CBS; and the DVD/Blu-ray releases of Karen Kingsbury's The Christmas Ring and Black Phone 2.