Adult

Five single, fiercely independent women live together in a Chicago apartment in the early 1950s but rarely see one another. One Saturday afternoon, they spy a wedding dress in a storefront window. After trying it on --- without a single boyfriend or date between the five of them --- they decide to pool their money to purchase it. Can one dress forever connect five women who live together only a short time before taking their own journeys to love and whatever comes happily ever after?

In 2007, Kevin Palau and a few dozen pastors approached Portland’s mayor and posed the question: How can we serve you with no strings attached? Officials identified five initial areas of need and began a partnership, CityServe, between the city and a band of churches seeking to live out the gospel message. Since then, the CityServe model has inspired communities across the country to take up the cause in their own cities. UNLIKELY not only tells the story of the inception of CityServe, but also challenges readers to evaluate their understanding of the gospel.

Written between 1946 and 1947 while Flannery O'Connor was a student far from home at the University of Iowa, A PRAYER JOURNAL is a rare portal into the interior life of the great writer. Not only does it map O'Connor's singular relationship with the divine, but it shows how entwined her literary desire was with her yearning for God.

Defrauded and intimidated at every turn, the Nez Perces finally went on the warpath in 1877, subjecting the U.S. Army to its greatest defeat since Little Big Horn as they fled from northeast Oregon across Montana to the Canadian border. William T. Vollmann’s main character is not the legendary Chief Joseph, but his pursuer, General Oliver Otis Howard --- the brave, shy, tormented, devoutly Christian Civil War veteran. In this novel, we see him as commander, father, son, husband, friend and killer.

In a Sussex town on the south coast of England, a widely disliked art teacher at a posh private girls’ school disappears without explanation. Meanwhile, a Sussex detective has been suspended for failing to link DNA evidence of a relative to a seven-year-old murder case. When detective Peter Diamond realizes that the suspended officer is an old friend who is not known to make such mistakes, he begins to notice unsettling connections between the cold case and the missing art teacher. Could the two mysteries be connected?

From identity theft to the hazards of bicycling to college reunions and eating on the beach, Lisa Scottoline and her daughter, Francesca Serritella, tackle the quirks, absurdities and wonders of everyday life with wit and warmth. As Lisa says, "More and more, especially in the summertime when I'm sitting on the beach, I'm learning not to sweat it. To go back to the child that I used to be. To see myself through the loving eyes of my parents. To eat on the beach. And not to worry about whether every little thing makes me look fat. In fact, not to worry at all."

Dexter Morgan --- blood-spatter analyst, husband, father and serial killer --- knew that he couldn’t burn the candle at both ends forever, and now, his dark deeds have finally ensnared him. He is in prison on multiple homicide charges, although, ironically, he did not commit any of the murders of which he is accused. His sole, small shot at redemption may come from his brother, Brian, a homicidal maniac who makes Dexter look like the angel in the family. By helping Brian through some serious trouble of his own making, Dexter sees a potential path to proving himself innocent.

It's been a year since professional thief Crissa Stone last pulled a job, and she's spent that time under the radar, very carefully not drawing attention to herself. When Crissa starts to get antsy and low on funds, she agrees to act as a thief-for-hire, partnering with a wealthy art collector to steal a truckload of plundered Iraqi artifacts before they're repatriated to their native country. But what's supposed to be a "give-up" robbery with few complications quickly turns deadly. Soon Crissa is on the run again, with both an ex-military hit squad and her own partners-in-crime in pursuit.

Locked in a Mexican jail for a crime he didn’t commit, Jess Galvan made a devil’s bargain to escape and make it back home. He’s now trapped in his own personal hell, his mind and body inhabited by the soul of Cucuy, a fearsome, 500-year-old Aztec priest and major crime kingpin determined to bring about hell on earth. Estranged from his daughter, Sherry, and now his own body, Galvan’s every moment is a battle to keep the evil priest at bay. He must find a way to exorcise his inner demon and save the world from annihilation.

When 10-year-old Noel Bostock is evacuated from London to escape the Nazi bombardment, he lands in a suburb northwest of the city with Vera Sedge --- a 36-year-old widow drowning in debts and dependents. Noel is mourning his godmother Mattie, a former suffragette. He has little in common with other children and even less with the impulsive Vee, who hurtles from one self-made crisis to the next. The war has provided unprecedented opportunities for making money, but what Vee needs --- and what she’s never had --- is a cool head and the ability to make a plan.