Daniella Mestyanek Young was raised in the religious cult The Children of God, also known as The Family, as the daughter of high-ranking members. Beholden to The Family’s strict rules, Daniella suffers physical, emotional and sexual abuse --- masked as godly discipline and divine love --- and is forbidden from getting a traditional education. At 15 years old, Daniella escapes and bravely enrolls herself in high school. After graduating as valedictorian of her college class, she elects to join the military to begin a career as an intelligence officer. But she soon learns that her new world --- surrounded by men on the sands of Afghanistan --- looks remarkably similar to the one she desperately tried to leave behind.
Nearly a hundred years ago, two wealthy and privileged teenagers --- Nathan Leopold and Richard Loeb --- were convicted of murdering 14-year-old Bobby Franks. The trial was made even more sensational by the revelation of a love affair between the defendants and by defense attorney Clarence Darrow, who delivered one of the most famous defense summations of all time to save the boys from the death penalty. The story of their mad folie à deux, with Loeb portrayed as the psychopathic mastermind and Leopold as his infatuated disciple, has been accepted by history as fact. But none of it is true. Using 21st-century investigative tools, forensics and a modern understanding of the psychology of these infamous killers, NOTHING BUT THE NIGHT turns history on its head.
Kelsier, sentenced to die mining the Pits of Hathsin after attempting to rob the Lord Ruler’s palace, arose as a powerful Mistborn and inspired the revolution that shook the foundations of the Final Empire. His name and deeds passed into legend. But was that truly the end of his tale? Whispered hints to those he called friends suggested there was a lot more going on. If you think you know the story of the Mistborn trilogy, think again --- but to say anything more here risks revealing too much. Even knowing of this tale’s existence could be heresy.
A new Nissan plant is coming to the depressed Rust Belt town of Baxter, and Captain Delia Mariola has been busy cleaning up the crime-addled city ever since the deal was announced. But when the 15-year-old daughter of the lead bidder on the construction project --- a wealthy out-of-towner --- suddenly disappears, and it becomes clear that a professional kidnapping ring may be responsible, Delia realizes that the factory’s influx of cash could bring with it an entirely new sort of danger, never before considered in this working class milieu. Though Elizabeth’s abduction was well-planned and bearing the mark of an experienced team, her captors could not have anticipated the quick and clever brilliance of the exceptionally smart teen.
When a remote camera on a large, rugged expanse held by the Land Trust for Wildlife Conservation picks up a blurry image of what could be a mountain caribou, they contact Alex Carter to investigate. After all, mountain caribou went extinct in the contiguous U.S. years ago, and if one has wandered down from Canada, it’s monumental. But when Alex arrives on scene in the Selkirk mountains of northeastern Washington state, she quickly learns that her only challenge isn’t finding an elusive caribou on a massive piece of land. The murdered body of a forest ranger is found strung up in the town’s park, and Alex learns of a backcountry hiker who went missing in the same area the year before.
After winning her mother’s freedom from the Celestial Emperor, Xingyin thrives in the enchanting tranquility of her home. But her fragile peace is threatened by the discovery of a strange magic on the moon and the unsettling changes in the Celestial Kingdom as the emperor tightens his grip on power. While Xingyin is determined to keep clear of the rising danger, the discovery of a shocking truth spurs her into a perilous confrontation. Forced to flee her home once more, Xingyin and her companions venture to unexplored lands of the Immortal Realm, encountering legendary creatures and shrewd monarchs, beloved friends and bitter adversaries.
Despite losing her parents in a tragic accident just before her 14th Christmas, Susan Norcross has had it better than most, with loving grandparents to raise her and a gang of quirky, devoted friends to support her. Now a successful bookstore owner in a tight-knit Michigan lakeside community, Susan is facing down 40 --- the same age as her mother when she died --- and can’t help but see everything she hasn’t achieved, including finding a love match of her own. To add to the pressure, everyone in her small town believes it’s Susan’s destiny to meet and marry a man dressed as Santa, just like her mother and grandmother before her. So it seems cosmically unfair that the man she makes an instant connection with at an annual Santa Run is lost in the crowd before she can get his name.
Guided by the Dark Lord Sauron, the Elves of Eregion forge the Rings of Power. Yet in secret, he has begun building the Barad-dûr in Mordor. And here, in the fires of Mount Doom, he makes the One Ring. Seeking to rule Middle-earth, Sauron begins to wage terrible war upon them. On the island-kingdom of Númenor, the Men of the West become mighty, building great ships to increase their influence throughout Middle-earth. But as their power grows, the seed of their downfall is sown. Only by uniting in alliance with the Elves can they hope to overcome Sauron. Adhering to “The Tale of Years” timeline in The Lord of the Rings, Brian Sibley assembles a new chronicle of Middle-earth. It's a tragic tale of pride, envy and downfall told substantially in the words of J.R.R. Tolkien from the various published texts originally edited by Christopher Tolkien, and illustrated with pencil drawings by Alan Lee.
Maria’s one-night-stand --- the thick-thighed, sexy Viking of a man she left without a word or a note --- just reappeared. Apparently, Peter is her surly “Gods of the Gates” co-star, and they’re about to spend the next six years filming on a desolate Irish island together. She still wants him…but he now wants nothing to do with her. Peter knows this role could finally transform him from a forgettable character actor into a leading man. He also knows a failed relationship with Maria could poison the set. Given time, maybe they can be cooperative colleagues or friends, but not lovers again. No matter how much he aches for her. For years, they don’t touch off-camera. But on their last night of filming, their mutual restraint finally shatters, and all their pent-up desire explodes into renewed passion.
After her husband Alan’s decades of financial fraud are exposed, Suzanne’s wealthy, comfortable life shatters. Alan goes to prison. Suzanne files for divorce, decamps to a barely middle-class Massachusetts beach town, and begins to create a new life and identity. Then Alan is released early, and the many people whose lives he ruined demand restitution. But when Suzanne finds herself awestruck at a major whale stranding, she makes an apparently high-minded decision that ripples with devastating effect not only through Alan’s life as he tries to rebuild but also through the lives of Suzanne and Alan’s son, Alan’s new wife, his estranged mother and, ultimately, Suzanne herself. When damage is done, who pays? Who loses? Who is responsible?
Tell us about the books you’ve finished reading with your comments and a rating of 1 to 5 stars. During the contest period from October 3rd to October 17th at noon ET, three lucky readers each will be randomly chosen to win a copy of GONE BEFORE GOODBYE by Reese Witherspoon and Harlan Coben and TWICE by Mitch Albom.
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Coming Soon
Curious about what books will be released in the months ahead so you can pre-order or reserve them? Then click on the months below.
October's Books on Screen roundup includes the films The Woman in Cabin 10 on Netflix and Regretting You in theaters; the series premieres of HBO's "IT: Welcome to Derry" and Apple TV+'s "Down Cemetery Road"; the season premieres of "Tracker" and "Watson" on CBS; the season finales of USA Network's "The Rainmaker," STARZ's "Outlander: Blood of My Blood," AMC's "The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon" and Apple TV+'s "Slow Horses"; the continuation of "The Morning Show" on Apple TV+; and the DVD/Blu-ray releases of She Rides Shotgun, I Know What You Did Last Summer and The Best Christmas Pageant Ever.