Adult

What if the drink you just spilled, the train you just missed, or the lottery ticket you just found was not just a random occurrence? What if it’s all part of a bigger plan? What if there’s no such thing as a chance encounter? What if there are people we don’t know determining our destiny? And what if they are even planning the fate of the world? Enter the Coincidence Makers --- Guy, Emily and Eric --- three seemingly ordinary people who work for a secret organization devoted to creating and carrying out coincidences. When an assignment of the highest level is slipped under Guy’s door one night, he knows it will be the most difficult and dangerous coincidence he’s ever had to fulfill.

From the outside, Essie’s life looks idyllic: a loving husband, a beautiful house in a good neighborhood, and a nearby mother who dotes on her grandchildren. But few of Essie’s friends know her secret shame: that in a moment of maternal despair, she once walked away from her newborn, asleep in her carriage in a park. When a new woman named Isabelle moves in next door to Essie, she is an immediate object of curiosity in the neighborhood. As the two women grow closer and Essie’s friends voice their disapproval, it starts to become clear that Isabelle’s choice of neighborhood was no accident. And that her presence threatens to bring shocking secrets to light.

Rip-offs are a dangerous game, but heist man Miles Keller thinks he has found a good strategy: rob rich New York criminals and then retire early, before word is out about his true identity. The NYPD is investigating him for the shooting of a hitman named Jack Deen, who was targeting Lucy Gates, a former police informant and Miles’ ex-lover. He’s ready to go to ground, but then Nina Stone reappears in his life. Nina is a fellow heist professional and the estranged wife of LA crime boss Charles Stone. Her husband wants her back, and he’s dispatched his go-to gun thug to play repo man. Complicating matters is the fact that the gun thug in question is Bobby Deen, cousin of the dead Jack Deen --- and Bobby wants vengeance.

A battered and bound woman stumbles onto a dark road in rural Oregon, and tells a horrific story about being kidnapped, then tortured, until she finally managed to escape. She identifies the house where she was held captive, and the owner, Alex Mason --- a prominent local attorney --- is arrested. Although he loudly insists upon his innocence, his wife’s statements about his sexual sadism and the physical evidence found at the scene are damning. Regina Barrister, a legendary criminal defense attorney, has a secret, one that threatens her skill, her reputation and, most of all, her clients. And she’s agreed to take on the seemingly impossible task of defending Alex Mason.

When Beth disappears, everyone says she’s run off with another man. But Natalie, her best friend, doesn’t believe it. She’s sure something more sinister is going on. Meanwhile, Victor, one of Beth’s and Nat’s favorite bar patrons, has fallen and ended up in the hospital. When he hears that Beth is gone, he doesn’t buy it either. And slowly, a hazy memory comes back to him. As Nat tries to piece together the events --- and people --- in Beth’s life, it becomes more difficult to discern who can and can’t be trusted. The little town in the English countryside takes on an ominous air, with a threat behind every corner, outside every window. And someone is always watching.

Poornima and Savitha have three strikes against them: they are poor, they are ambitious, and they are girls. After her mother’s death, Poornima has very little kindness in her life. She is left to care for her siblings until her father can find her a suitable match. So when Savitha enters their household, Poornima is intrigued by the joyful, independent-minded girl. Suddenly their Indian village doesn't feel quite so claustrophobic, and Poornima begins to imagine a life beyond arranged marriage. But when a devastating act of cruelty drives Savitha away, Poornima leaves behind everything she has ever known to find her friend.

During the months following Britain’s declaration of war on Germany, Maisie Dobbs investigates the disappearance of a young apprentice working on a hush-hush government contract. As news of the plight of thousands of soldiers stranded on the beaches of France is gradually revealed to the general public, another young man beloved by Maisie makes a terrible decision that will change his life forever. Maisie’s investigation leads her from the countryside of rural Hampshire to the web of wartime opportunism exploited by one of the London underworld’s most powerful men. Yet when a final confrontation approaches, she must acknowledge the potential cost to her future --- and the risk of destroying a dream she wants very much to become reality.

The last person Alice Shipley expected to see since arriving in Tangier with her new husband was Lucy Mason. After the accident at Bennington, the two friends haven’t spoken in over a year. But there Lucy was, trying to make things right. Alice has not adjusted to life in Morocco, too afraid to venture out into the bustling medinas and oppressive heat. Lucy helps Alice emerge from her flat and explore the country. But soon a familiar feeling starts to overtake Alice --- she feels controlled and stifled by Lucy at every turn. Then Alice’s husband, John, goes missing, and Alice starts to question everything around her: her relationship with her enigmatic friend, her decision to ever come to Tangier, and her very own state of mind.

Mary Crampton has spent all of her 30 years in the small Western town of Petroleum. Living at home, she works as the embalmer in her father’s mortuary. Though some townsfolk pretend that the community is thriving, the truth is that Petroleum is crumbling away --- a process that began 20 years ago when an accident in the grain elevator killed a beloved high school athlete. Robert Golden, the victim’s younger brother, was widely blamed for the tragedy and shipped off to live elsewhere. Now, out of the blue, Robert has returned to care for his terminally ill mother. After Mary strikes up an unlikely friendship with him, she finally begins to consider what might happen if she dared to leave Petroleum.