Adult

Not far from the sprawling grounds of Wyndham Hall, the body of longtime MI6 agent John Repton is found, shot dead with a single bullet to the heart. Repton was killed while surveilling the members of a household with alleged ties to fascists who threaten the security of the country, as Hitler’s influence spreads across Europe. Elena Standish is assigned the case, thanks to her new connection to the Wyndham family: Her older sister, Margot, is being courted by Lady Wyndham’s brother. As Elena and her colleague, James Allenby, dig deeper into the Wyndham family’s nefarious connections, Margot grows suspicious. Can Elena reconcile her political and professional obligations with her loyalty and love for her sister? Will Elena and Allenby uncover their colleague’s killer?

Blowing Rock, North Carolina, 1951. Blackburn Gant, whose life is irrevocably altered by a childhood case of polio, seems condemned to spend his life among the dead as the sole caretaker of a hilltop cemetery. It suits his withdrawn personality, and the inexplicable occurrences that happen from time to time rattle him less than interactions with the living. But when his only friend, the kind but impulsive Jacob Hampton, is conscripted to serve overseas, Blackburn is charged with caring for Jacob’s wife, Naomi, as well. Jacob and Naomi’s elopement has scandalized the community and angered Jacob’s parents. Shunned by the townsfolk for their differences and equally fearful that Jacob may never come home from the war, Blackburn and Naomi grow closer, even as a stunning betrayal shatters familial bonds.

In the fall of 1871, Chicagoans knew they were due for the “big one” --- a massive, uncontrollable fire that would decimate the city. It had been bone-dry for months, and a recent string of blazes had nearly outstripped the fire department’s already scant resources. Then, on October 8th, a minor fire broke out in the barn of Irishwoman Kate Leary. A series of unfortunate mishaps and misunderstandings, along with insufficient preparation and a high southwesterly wind, combined to set the stage for an unmitigated catastrophe. The conflagration that spread from the Learys' property quickly overtook the neighborhood, and before long the floating embers had been cast to the far reaches of the city. Families took to the streets with every possession they could carry. Over the next 48 hours, Chicago fell victim to the largest and most destructive natural disaster the United States had yet endured.

Bonaparte, Alabama --- once 10,000 glorious Black-owned acres – is now a ghost town vanishing to depopulation, crooked developers and an eerie mist closing in on its shoreline. Dutchess Carson, Bonaparte's fiery, tough-talking protector, fights to keep its remaining 1,000 acres in the hands of the last five residents. Meanwhile, in Philadelphia, her estranged daughter, Ava, is drawn into Ark --- a seductive, radical group with a commitment to Black self-determination in the spirit of the Black Panthers and MOVE, with a dash of the Weather Underground’s violent zeal. Ava’s 11-year-old son, Toussaint, wants out. His future awaits him on his grandmother’s land, where the sounds of cicada and frog song might save him if only he can make it there.

Sonny Lamb is an affable, if floundering, rancher with the unfortunate habit of becoming a punchline in his Texas hometown. But when a fire breaks out at a neighbor’s farm, Sonny bolts to the farm where his heroic actions make the evening news. A handsomely dressed lobbyist arrives at his ranch door and asks if he’d like to run for his West Texas district’s seat in the state legislature. Though Sonny has zero experience and doesn’t consider himself political at all, the fate of his ranch --- and perhaps his marriage to the lovely “cowgirl” Lola --- hangs in the balance. As he navigates life in politics, Sonny must learn the ropes, weighing his own ethics and environmental concerns against the pressures of veteran politicians, savvy lobbyists and his own party.

When Jack and Elizabeth meet as college students in the '90s, the two quickly join forces and hold on tight, each eager to claim a place in Chicago’s thriving underground art scene with an appreciative kindred spirit. Fast-forward 20 years to married life, and alongside the challenges of parenting, they encounter cults disguised as mindfulness support groups, polyamorous would-be suitors, Facebook wars, and something called Love Potion Number Nine. For the first time, Jack and Elizabeth struggle to recognize each other, and the no-longer-youthful dreamers are forced to face their demons. In the process, Jack and Elizabeth must undertake separate, personal excavations, or risk losing the best thing in their lives: each other.

In 1874, in the wake of the War, erasure, trauma and namelessness haunt civilians and veterans, renegades and wanderers, freedmen and runaways. Twelve-year-old ConaLee, the adult in her family for as long as she can remember, finds herself on a buckboard journey with her mother, Eliza, who hasn’t spoken in more than a year. They arrive at the Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum in West Virginia, delivered to the hospital’s entrance by a war veteran who has forced himself into their world. There, far from family, a beloved neighbor, and the mountain home they knew, they try to reclaim their lives. They get swept up in the life of the facility --- the mysterious man they call the Night Watch; the orphan child called Weed; the fearsome woman who runs the kitchen; and the remarkable doctor at the head of the institution.

In NORMAL RULES DON’T APPLY, nothing is quite as it seems. We meet a queen who makes a bargain she cannot keep; a secretary who watches over the life she has just left; a lost man who bets on a horse that may --- or may not --- have spoken to him. Everything that readers love about the novels of Kate Atkinson is here: the inventiveness, the verbal felicity, the sharp observations of human nature, and the deeply satisfying emotional wallop.

Los Angeles, August 4, 1962. The city broils through a midsummer heat wave. Marilyn Monroe ODs. A B-movie starlet is kidnapped. The overhyped LAPD overreacts. Chief Bill Parker is looking for some getback. The Monroe deal looks like a moneymaker. He calls in Freddy Otash. The freewheeling Freddy O: tainted ex-cop, defrocked private eye, dope fiend and freelance extortionist. A man who lives by the maxim “Opportunity is love.” Freddy gets to work. He dimly perceives Marilyn Monroe’s death and the kidnapped starlet to be a poisonous riddle that only he has the guts and the brains to untangle.

Ama Torres is an optimistic wedding planner who doesn’t believe in marriage. Elliot Bloom is a brooding florist who hates owning a flower shop…until a certain bright-eyed, donut-loving workaholic shows up at his door. Once upon a time, they collaborated on events by day, and by night, Ama traced the intricate flower tattoos etched along his body. Then Ama shattered Elliot's heart and never spoke to him again. Now they’re working on an event that could make or break both of their careers --- except neither of them has gotten over what happened two years ago. Things are not helped by the two brides, who see the obvious chemistry between Ama and Elliot and are determined to set them up. But as the wedding takes on a life of its own, Ama and Elliot are about to discover that some things can survive a complete catastrophe.