Adult

As a low-level enforcer in Los Angeles, Ken Swift knows danger, but nowhere does he feel it more than in his tangled romances. Divorced from one woman, in love with another, and wrestling with a strong desire to get to know a third, his life is far from perfect, and it becomes all the more complicated when his troubled daughter resurfaces on the same day as a major job. Margaux needs $50,000 immediately, and she isn't above blackmailing Ken to get it. Yet even as the tension-filled father/daughter reunion escalates into a clashing of wills and desires that spread far beyond their family, Ken's latest contract spirals quickly out of control, and he finds it is not only his daughter looking to seek revenge.

When several major political figures die mysteriously, officials blame their deaths on natural causes. However, when a small drone is spotted at the scene of the most recent death, it quickly becomes clear to FBI agents Nicholas Drummond and Michaela Caine that there’s more to this mystery than meets the eye. Dr. Isabella Marin is a language expert, and she’s dedicated her entire life to researching an ancient text that has long been considered indecipherable…that is, until now. When Nicholas and Michaela uncover plans for a devastating attack on London, they must race against the clock to stop the killer before it’s too late. Not only are they in danger of losing the manuscript --- an object of extreme value --- they’re also at risk of losing more innocent lives, including their own.

Stone Barrington is enjoying a round of golf in Key West when the game is violently interrupted --- and it seems as if the target of the disturbance may have been one of his playing companions, the brilliant businesswoman behind a software startup on the cutting edge of technology. Soon, it becomes clear that this incident is only the first thrust in a deadly scheme to push the beautiful young woman out of the way and put her company's valuable secrets up for grabs. Stone embarks on a quest to protect his lovely new companion while searching for the mastermind behind the plot against her. But he may find that her enemy is far more resourceful --- and dangerous --- than he could have anticipated.

Londoners Jack and Syd found their dream home: lots of space, a great location, and a friendly owner who wanted a young couple to have it. Everything is exactly what they hoped for when they move in --- except Jack makes a disturbing discovery in the attic, and Syd begins to wonder about the girl next door. And they each keep the other in the dark. Which is a mistake. Because someone has just been killed outside their back door, and now the police are watching them. This is their chance to prove they're innocent --- or to get away with murder.

In A HIGHER LOYALTY, former FBI director James Comey shares his never-before-told experiences from some of the highest-stakes situations of his career in the past two decades of American government, exploring what good, ethical leadership looks like, and how it drives sound decisions. His journey provides an unprecedented entry into the corridors of power, and a remarkable lesson in what makes an effective leader.

In HEADS OF THE COLORED PEOPLE, Nafissa Thompson-Spires grapples with black identity and the contemporary middle class. Some stories in this collection are darkly humorous --- from two mothers exchanging snide remarks through notes in their kids’ backpacks, to the young girl contemplating how best to notify her Facebook friends of her impending suicide. Others are devastatingly poignant --- a new mother and funeral singer who is driven to madness with grief for the young black boys who have fallen victim to gun violence, or the teen who struggles between her upper middle class upbringing and her desire to fully connect with black culture.

Val Eliot is working on an English farm during the war when she meets Mike, a U.S. Air Force pilot stationed nearby. The two become close, and after Val rescues a border collie named Peter Woodhouse, who is being mistreated by his owner, she realizes the dog would actually be safer with Mike. Soon Peter Woodhouse settles into his new home on the air force base, and Val and Mike fall deeply in love. But when a disaster jeopardizes the future of them all, Peter Woodhouse brings Ubi, a German corporal, into their orbit, sparking a friendship that comes with great risk but carries with it the richest of rewards.

While she was growing up, Piper's father, Lance "the Silver Eagle" Whitman, became a national hero piloting a plane through an emergency landing. But at home, he was a controlling and overbearing presence in her life, raining emotional and verbal abuse upon the entire family. It's no surprise, then, that as an adult, Piper has poured all of her energy into creating a warm and loving home for her own family, while catering to her son Fred's ever-growing idiosyncrasies. Then Lance has a heart attack, leaving him with a brain injury --- and dependent upon Piper for his care --- just before tests confirm Piper's suspicions that Fred is on the autism spectrum.

In her 40s, childless and living alone, Karolina Andersson feels adrift after the breakup of a long relationship. She finds fulfillment in her work, and when she starts advising a new postgraduate student, she is struck by his confidence. He claims to have discovered new materials from a female artist working around 1900 that could change the history of Swedish visual arts. Karolina soon finds herself embroiled in a complex game with both emotional and professional consequences.

In THE DUCHESS, veteran royal biographer and journalist Penny Junor reveals in full, for the first time, the remarkable rise of a woman who was the most notorious mistress in the world. As Camilla Parker Bowles’ marriage to Prince Charles approached in 2005, the British public were upset at the prospect that this woman, universally reviled for wrecking the royal marriage, would one day become queen. Sensitive to public opinion, the palace announced that this would never happen; when Charles eventually acceded to the throne, Camilla would be known as the princess consort. Yet a decade later, British public sentiment had changed, with a majority believing that Camilla should become queen.