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Adult

by Helen Ellis - Essays, Humor, Nonfiction

Welcome to the Coral Lounge, a room in Helen Ellis’ New York City apartment painted such an exuberant shade that a Peeping Tom left a sticky note asking for the color. It is in the Coral Lounge where all the parties happen. A game called “What’s in the box?” makes its uproarious debut, the Puzzle Posse pounces on a 500-piece jigsaw of a beheaded priest, and guests don blindfolds for a raucous bridal shower. When the pandemic shuts down the city, the Coral Lounge becomes a place of refuge, where Helen and her husband binge-watch Joan Collins’ “Dynasty,” dote on two spoiled cats, and where Helen discovers that even 20 years into marriage, her husband still makes her heart pitter patter.

by Deepa Varadarajan - Fiction, Humor

After 36 years of a dutiful but unhappy arranged marriage, recently divorced Suresh and Lata Raman find themselves starting new paths in life. Suresh is trying to navigate the world of online dating on a website that caters to Indians and is striking out at every turn --- until he meets a mysterious, devastatingly attractive younger woman. Lata is enjoying her newfound independence, but she's caught off guard when a professor in his early 60s starts to flirt with her. Meanwhile, Suresh and Lata's daughter, Priya, thinks her father's online pursuits are distasteful even as she embarks upon a clandestine affair of her own. And their son, Nikesh, pretends at a seemingly perfect marriage with his law-firm colleague and their young son, but hides the truth of what his relationship really entails.

by Aisha Abdel Gawad - Fiction

It’s the holy month of Ramadan, and twin sisters Amira and Lina are about to graduate high school in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn. On the precipice of adulthood, they plan to embark on a summer of teenage revelry, trying on new identities, and testing the limits of what they can get away with while still under their parents’ roof. But the twins' expectations of a summer of freedom collide with their older brother's return from prison, whose mysterious behavior threatens to undo the delicate family balance. Meanwhile, a storm is brewing in Bay Ridge. A raid on a local business sparks a protest that brings the Arab community together, and a senseless act of violence threatens to tear them apart. Everyone’s motives are called into question as an alarming sense of disquiet pervades the neighborhood.

by Helen Schulman - Fiction

On a sultry summer night in Paris, two women meet in line at an ice cream kiosk on the Ile de la Cité. One is tall, fair and striking, with an indeterminate accent. The other, a troubled American TV star, is hiding her beauty and identity under a shapeless sweatshirt, wearing sunglasses even in the darkness. When leering male tourists hassle the pair, the blonde pulls out a knife and a sisterhood is born. Both women have been victims of male violence, and both are warriors --- one trained and calculating, one instinctually ferocious. They each think they know who they are dealing with. But both are very, very wrong.

by Wendy Corsi Staub - Fiction, Psychological Suspense, Psychological Thriller, Suspense, Thriller

When three former roommates reunite for a birthday weekend in Las Vegas, the lottery ticket they buy on a whim has the winning numbers --- giving them a billion-dollar windfall. They turn to Shea Daniels, a “sudden wealth manager,” who promises to guide them through the pitfalls of having more money than they’d ever imagined. The trio travels to a secluded California mansion, where Shea and her staff cater to their every whim. The house is purportedly cursed, the last place a missing movie star was seen alive. Their weekend turns to terror when they discover they are trapped. And when history repeats itself and one of them disappears --- the one who’s holding the billion-dollar ticket --- the others must face the fact that either their friend has betrayed them…or a predator is lurking.

by Amy Suiter Clarke - Fiction, Mystery, Psychological Suspense, Psychological Thriller, Suspense, Thriller

After Del Walker fled her small hometown and its cult-like church, she vowed never to return. The man she loved, Lars, left her to marry the local golden girl Eve, and their romance is now the focus of Eve’s viral blog espousing the pastor’s conservative philosophy about women and marriage. But six years later, Lars is suddenly killed, and she’s convinced it couldn’t have been an accident. When Del returns to her hometown for the funeral, she discovers that the now mega-church --- and the insidious, patriarchal teachings of Pastor Rick Franklin --- has grown not only in size but in influence. She is determined to cut through the church’s lies and corruption to find out who killed Lars, even if it means confronting the religious trauma she’s spent years trying to bury.

by Susan Wiggs - Fiction, Women's Fiction

In idyllic Alara Cove, a California beach town, it’s graduation day at the elite Thornton Academy. At Thornton, the students are the worldly and overindulged children who live in gated enclaves with spectacular views. But the class valedictorian is Nikki Graziola, a surfer’s daughter who is there on scholarship. To the shock of everyone in the audience, Nikki veers off script while giving her commencement address and reveals a secret that breaks open the whole community. Her accusation shakes the foundation of Alara Cove, pitting her against the wealthy family whose money runs the town. Her new notoriety sends Nikki into exile for years, where she finds fame --- but not fortune --- overseas as a competition surfer...until a personal tragedy compels her to return to Alara Cove.

by Stephen P. Kiernan - Fiction, Historical Fiction

One month after the end of World War II, there are throngs of people in France stunned by the recovery work ahead. Asher lost his family during the war, and in revenge he served as an assassin in the Resistance. Burdened by grief and guilt, he wanders through the blasted countryside, stunned by what has become of his life. When he arrives at le Chateau Guerin, all he seeks is a decent meal. Instead he finds a sanctuary, an oasis despite being filled with people every bit as damaged as him. But they are calming themselves, and recovering inch by inch, by turning sand into glass, and glass into windows for the bombed cathedrals of France. As the secrets of the chateau’s residents become known one by one, they experience more heated conflict and greater challenges.

by Wendy Walker - Fiction, Psychological Suspense, Psychological Thriller, Suspense, Thriller

Detective Elise Sutton is a forensics expert with a knack for solving cold cases and a deep knowledge of the criminal mind. She prides herself on being rational and in control, until a crisis at a department store leaves her steeped in guilt and self-doubt about whether or not she did the right thing to save a man's life. Elise is hailed as a hero, but she doesn't feel like one. She soon grows numb, even to her husband and daughters, as she sets out to find the one man who might know the truth. When she finds him --- or did he find her? --- their connection sets off a terrifying game of cat and mouse, threatening Elise and the people she loves most.

by Susan Mallery - Fiction, Women's Fiction

Heather has a successful business, a cute but contemptuous cat, and best friends Daphne and Tori. So why does she feel crushed when her ex gets serious about someone new? More connections will hold her together while her world falls apart, so she finally reaches out to the stranger who might be her dad. Daphne isn’t having an emotional affair, despite what her husband believes. He started the rift in their marriage when he said they weren’t ready for a baby. Can they find their way back to one another before it’s too late? When Tori forms an inconvenient crush on Daphne’s brother-in-law, she suppresses her feelings. Until her apartment floods, and she moves in with the dog-loving doctor. If things go wrong, she could lose her friends. But if they go right, she could lose her heart.