Adult

Hapsburg Emperor Franz Josef I tasks Beatrix von Falklenburg with probing the "murder/suicide" in 1889 at Crown Prince Rudolf's hunting lodge at Mayerling. Did Rudolf murder Baroness Marie Vetsera and shoot himself? And might there remain something that would reveal "the dreaded secret" that could topple the Hapsburg dynasty, as rumor had long hinted? Something that has survived to 1905? But before Trixie is handed her assignment, a terrible murder occurs on a snowy Prague funicular railway. The only clue to the identity of the decapitated corpse is a tiny slip of paper in his waistcoat pocket --- a piece of paper with Trixie's telephone number on it.

While taking the yearly "otter count" at a marsh near Gunn Landing Harbor, California, zookeeper Theodora Bentley sees Maureen, her favorite otter, swimming around clutching someone's expensive smartphone. When Teddy rescues the device, she discovers a photograph of a murder-in-progress. A hasty search soon turns up the still-warm body of Stuart Booth, PhD, a local Marine Biology instructor. Booth was a notorious sexual harasser of young female students, so the list of suspects is long enough to make Teddy wonder if the crime will ever be solved. But when her friend, Lila, one of Booth's original accusers, is arrested and charged with his murder, Teddy begins to investigate.

Forty years ago, a Phoenix reporter was killed by a car bomb in one of America's most notorious crimes. Three men went to prison. But was there more to the story of Charles Page's assassination? More than three low-level players? Did a kingpin order the hit and get away with it? And what was the real motive? Despite the work of teams of journalists and law and legal professionals, no one yet knows why. It's a case custom-made for David Mapstone, the historian-turned-sheriff's deputy. And suddenly Mapstone's boss, newly re-elected Sheriff Mike Peralta, promises to reopen the investigation into the only murder of an American journalist, in the US, in modern times. Why? The promise triggers new murders.

Jess and her 10-year-old son, William, set off to spend the summer at Château de Roussignol, deep in the rich, sunlit hills of the Dordogne. There, Jess’ ex-boyfriend --- and William’s father --- Adam, runs a beautiful hotel in a restored castle. Jess is bowled over by what Adam has accomplished, but she’s in France for a much more urgent reason: to make Adam fall in love with his own son. But Adam has other ideas, and another girlfriend --- and he doesn’t seem inclined to change the habits of a lifetime just because Jess and William have appeared on the scene. Jess, though, can’t allow Adam to let their son down; she is tormented by a secret of her own, one that nobody --- especially William --- must discover.

One of five lively children born to two Texas natives --- Beverly, a proper Dallas lady, and Thad, a young naval officer --- Marcia Gay Harden always had a knack for storytelling, role-playing and adventure. As a military family, the Hardens moved often, and their travels eventually took them to Yokohama, off the coast of Japan, during the Vietnam War era. It was here that Beverly found her own self-expression in ikebana, the ancient Japanese art of flower arranging. Using the philosophy of ikebana as her starting point, Marcia intertwines the seasons of her mother’s life with her own journey from precocious young girl to budding artist in New York City to Academy Award-winning actress.

The heist was legendary, still talked about 20 years after the priceless paintings disappeared from one of Boston's premier art museums. Most thought the art was lost forever. But when paint chips from the most valuable piece stolen, Gentlemen in Black by a Spanish master, arrives at the desk of a Boston journalist, the museum finds hope and enlists Spenser's help. Soon the cold art case thrusts Spenser into the shady world of black market art dealers, aged Mafia bosses and old vendettas. A five-million-dollar-reward by the museum's top benefactor sets Spenser and pals Vinnie Morris and Hawk onto a trail of hidden secrets, jailhouse confessions and decades-old murders.

After winning the presidency by a razor-thin victory on November 8, 1960 over Richard Nixon, Dwight D. Eisenhower’s former vice president, John F. Kennedy, became the 35th president of the United States. But beneath the stately veneers of both Ike and JFK, there was a complex and consequential rivalry. In RISING STAR, SETTING SUN, John T. Shaw focuses on the intense 10-week transition between JFK’s electoral victory and his inauguration on January 20, 1961. In just over two months, America would transition into a new age, and nowhere was it more marked than in the generational and personal difference between these two men and their dueling visions for the country they led.

Lucy has been writing her dissertation on Sappho for nine years when she and her boyfriend break up in a dramatic flameout. After she bottoms out in Phoenix, her sister in Los Angeles insists Lucy dog-sit for the summer. But Lucy can find little relief from her anxiety --- not in the Greek chorus of women in her love addiction therapy group, not in her frequent Tinder excursions, not even in Dominic the foxhound's easy affection. Everything changes when Lucy becomes entranced by an eerily attractive swimmer while sitting alone on the beach rocks one night. But when Lucy learns the truth about his identity, their relationship, and Lucy’s understanding of what love should look like, take a very unexpected turn.

They call themselves the May Mothers --- a group of new moms whose babies were born in the same month. Twice a week, they get together in Brooklyn’s Prospect Park for some much-needed adult time. When the women go out for drinks at the hip neighborhood bar, they are looking for a fun break from their daily routine. But on this hot Fourth of July night, something goes terrifyingly wrong: one of the babies is taken from his crib. Winnie, a single mom, was reluctant to leave six-week-old Midas with a babysitter, but her fellow May Mothers insisted everything would be fine. Now he is missing. What follows is a heart-pounding race to find Midas, during which secrets are exposed, marriages are tested and friendships are destroyed.

On a ski vacation in the Swiss Alps, Alex Hawke and his young son, Alexei, are thrust into danger when the tram carrying them to the top of the mountain bursts into flames. Before he can reach Alexei, the boy is snatched from the burning cable car by unknown assailants in a helicopter. Meanwhile, high above the skies of France, Vladimir Putin is aboard his presidential jet after escaping a bloodless coup in the Kremlin. When two flight attendants collapse and slip into unconsciousness, the Russian leader realizes the danger isn’t over. Killing the pilots, he grabs a parachute, steps out of the plane…and disappears. Hawke has led his share of dangerous assignments, but none with stakes this high.