Adult

It is 1950. London is still reeling from World War II, and Margery Benson, a schoolteacher and spinster, is trying to get through life. One day, she reaches her breaking point and sets out on an expedition to the other side of the world in search of her childhood obsession: an insect that may or may not exist --- the golden beetle of New Caledonia. When she advertises for an assistant to accompany her, the woman she ends up with is the last person she had in mind. Fun-loving Enid Pretty seems to attract trouble wherever she goes. But together these two British women find themselves drawn into a cross-ocean adventure that exceeds all expectations and delivers something neither of them expected to find: the transformative power of friendship.

Days after winning OASIS founder James Halliday’s contest, Wade Watts makes a discovery that changes everything. Hidden within Halliday’s vaults, waiting for his heir to find, lies a technological advancement that will once again change the world and make the OASIS a thousand times more wondrous --- and addictive --- than even Wade dreamed possible. With it comes a new riddle, and a new quest --- a last Easter egg from Halliday, hinting at a mysterious prize. And an unexpected, impossibly powerful and dangerous new rival awaits, one who will kill millions to get what he wants. Wade’s life and the future of the OASIS are again at stake, but this time the fate of humanity also hangs in the balance.

In 1893, there's no such thing as witches. There used to be, in the wild, dark days before the burnings began, but now witching is nothing but tidy charms and nursery rhymes. If the modern woman wants any measure of power, she must find it at the ballot box. But when the Eastwood sisters join the suffragists of New Salem, they begin to pursue the forgotten words and ways that might turn the women's movement into the witch's movement. Stalked by shadows and sickness, hunted by forces who will not suffer a witch to vote --- and perhaps not even to live --- the sisters will need to delve into the oldest magics, draw new alliances, and heal the bond between them if they want to survive.

Amanda and Clay head out to a remote corner of Long Island expecting a vacation: a quiet reprieve from life in New York City, quality time with their teenage son and daughter, and a taste of the good life in the luxurious home they’ve rented for the week. But a late-night knock on the door breaks the spell. Ruth and G.H. are an older couple --- it’s their house, and they’ve arrived in a panic. They bring the news that a sudden blackout has swept the city. But in this rural area --- with the TV and internet now down, and no cell phone service --- it’s hard to know what to believe. Should Amanda and Clay trust this couple, and vice versa? What happened back in New York? Is the vacation home a truly safe place for their families? And are they safe from one another?

Afi Tekple is a young seamstress in Ghana. Smart and pretty, she also has been convinced by her mother to marry a man she doesn’t know: a wealthy businessman named Elikem. His family has chosen Afi in the hopes that she will distract him from a current relationship they disapprove of. When Afi is moved from her small hometown to live in Accra, Ghana’s gleaming capital full of wealth and sophistication, she is not prepared for the way her life will change. But she has agreed to this marriage in order to give her mother the financial security she desperately needs, and so Afi must see it through. Or must she?

One evening, Mother tells Daughter a story about a tiger spirit who lived in a woman’s body. She was called Hu Gu Po, and she hungered to eat children, especially their toes. Soon afterward, Daughter awakes with a tiger tail. And more mysterious events follow: Holes in the backyard spit up letters penned by her grandmother; a visiting aunt arrives with snakes in her belly; a brother tests the possibility of flight. All the while, Daughter is falling for Ben, a neighborhood girl with strange powers of her own. As the two young lovers translate the grandmother’s letters, Daughter begins to understand that each woman in her family embodies a myth --- and that she will have to bring her family’s secrets to light in order to change their destiny.

There's a lot from Tess' childhood that she would rather forget. The family who moved next door and brought chaos to their quiet lives. The two girls who were murdered, their killer never found. But the only thing she can't remember is the one thing she wishes she could. Ten years ago, Tess' older sister died. Ruled a tragic accident, the only witness was Tess herself, but she has never been able to remember what happened that night in the woods. Now living in London, Tess has resolved to put the trauma behind her. But an emergency call from her father forces her back to the family home, back to where her sister's body was found, and to the memories she thought were lost forever.

Kelly Medina gets a call from her son’s pediatrician to confirm her upcoming “well-baby” appointment. It’s a cruel mistake; her son left for college a year ago, and Kelly has never felt so alone. The receptionist quickly apologizes: there’s another mother in town named Kelly Medina, and she must have gotten their numbers switched. When Kelly just happens to bump into the single mother outside that pediatrician’s office, it’s simple curiosity getting the better of her. Their unlikely friendship brings Kelly a renewed sense of purpose --- taking care of this young woman and her adorable baby boy. But that friendship quickly turns to obsession, and when one Kelly disappears, the other one may know why.

Dana Barry has nothing against rules. She just knows they’re meant to be bent. So it’s no wonder the single, twentysomething, aspiring actress loses her day job. Now her life is a mess…until she hears the Shopping Channel is auditioning. Relying on her knack for knowing what makes people tick, she lands a gig on air. But before she can say office politics, Dana is caught in the biggest drama of her life. The star host --- a diva who terrorized the entire staff --- is found dead. Dana knows the prime suspect is innocent. The heat is on, and Dana thinks she’s ready for it…until she tangles with the tall, dark and smoldering detective in charge.

Investigative genealogist Amelia Crenshaw solves clients’ genetic puzzles, while hers remains shrouded in mystery. Now she suspects that the key to her birth parents’ identities lies in an unexpected connection to a stranger who’s hired her to find his long-lost daughter. Bracing herself for a shocking truth, Amelia is blindsided by a deadly one. NYPD Detective Stockton Barnes had walked away from his only child for her own good. He’ll lay down his life to protect her if he and Amelia can find out where --- and who --- she is. But someone has beat them to it, and she has a lethal score to settle. Amelia and Stockton’s entangled roots have unearthed a femme fatale whose family tree holds one of history’s most notorious killers.