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Week of April 4, 2022

New in Paperback

Week of April 4, 2022

Paperback releases for the week of April 4th include THAT SUMMER by Jennifer Weiner, a timely and deliciously twisty novel of intrigue, secrets and the transformative power of female friendship; Michael Connelly's masterful thriller, THE DARK HOURS, in which LAPD detective Renée Ballard joins forces with Harry Bosch to find justice in a city scarred by fear and social unrest after a methodical killer strikes on New Year’s Eve; WHEN THE STARS GO DARK, an atmospheric novel of intertwined destinies and heart-wrenching suspense from Paula McLain; Joshilyn Jackson's MOTHER MAY I, an addictive novel of domestic suspense in which a mother must decide how far she is willing to go to protect her child and the life she loves; and SURVIVING SAVANNAH, a breathtaking work of historical fiction from Patti Callahan that revolves around the luxury steamship Pulaski (“The Titanic of the South," as it was called) that sank in 1838 with Savannah's elite on board.

Ariadne by Jennifer Saint - Historical Fiction/Mythology

April 5, 2022

Ariadne, Princess of Crete, grows up greeting the dawn from her beautiful dancing floor and listening to her nursemaid’s stories of gods and heroes. But beneath her golden palace echo the ever-present hoofbeats of her brother, the Minotaur, a monster who demands blood sacrifice. When Theseus, Prince of Athens, arrives to vanquish the beast, Ariadne sees in his green eyes not a threat but an escape. Defying the gods, betraying her family and country, and risking everything for love, Ariadne helps Theseus kill the Minotaur. But will Ariadne’s decision ensure her happy ending? And what of Phaedra, the beloved younger sister she leaves behind?

The Bohemians by Jasmin Darznik - Historical Fiction

April 5, 2022

A young aspiring photographer named Dorothea Lange arrives in San Francisco in 1918. As a newcomer --- and a naïve one at that --- Dorothea is grateful for the fast friendship of Caroline Lee, a vivacious, straight-talking Chinese American with a complicated past, who introduces Dorothea to Monkey Block, an artists’ colony and the bohemian heart of the city. Dazzled by Caroline and her friends, Dorothea is catapulted into a heady new world of freedom, art and politics. She also finds herself falling in love with the brilliant but troubled painter Maynard Dixon. As Dorothea sheds her innocence, her purpose is awakened, and she grows into the artist whose iconic Depression-era “Migrant Mother” photograph broke the hearts and opened the eyes of a nation.

Caul Baby by Morgan Jerkins - Fiction/Magic Realism

April 5, 2022

Laila desperately wants to become a mother, so she turns to the Melancons, an old and powerful Harlem family known for their caul, a precious layer of skin that is the secret source of their healing power. When a deal for Laila to acquire a piece of caul falls through, she is heartbroken, but when the child is stillborn, she is overcome with grief and rage. What she doesn’t know is that a baby will soon be delivered in her family --- by her niece, Amara --- and delivered to the Melancons to raise as one of their own. Hallow is born with a caul, and their matriarch, Maman, predicts the girl will restore the family’s prosperity. As the Melancons’ thirst to maintain their status grows, Amara, now a successful lawyer running for district attorney, looks for a way to avenge her longstanding grudge against the family.

China: The Novel by Edward Rutherfurd - Historical Fiction

April 5, 2022

Edward Rutherfurd brings his renowned talents to the Middle Kingdom, when the clash of East and West in the 19th century shattered the stability of the 2,000-year-old empire. This epic tale chronicles the great struggle for power, from the Opium Wars that erupted in 1839 through the Taiping revolt, the British burning of the Summer Palace, the Boxer Rebellion, and the long rule of the Dragon Empress, culminating in the momentous revolution of 1911. We meet a young village wife struggling with rigid traditions, Manchu warriors, powerful eunuchs and concubines of the Forbidden City, rapacious English soldiers and earnest missionaries, savvy Chinese pirates and sage philosophers. Rutherfurd brings to vivid life the ever-changing fortunes of Chinese, British and American families as they negotiate the tides of history.

The Dark Hours: A Renée Ballard and Harry Bosch Novel by Michael Connelly - Thriller

April 5, 2022

There’s chaos in Hollywood at the end of the New Year’s Eve countdown. Working her graveyard shift, LAPD detective Renée Ballard waits out the traditional rain of lead as hundreds of revelers shoot their guns into the air. Only minutes after midnight, Ballard is called to a scene where a hardworking auto shop owner has been fatally hit by a bullet in the middle of a crowded street party. Ballard quickly concludes that the deadly bullet could not have fallen from the sky and that it is linked to another unsolved murder --- a case at one time worked by Detective Harry Bosch. At the same time, Ballard hunts a fiendish pair of serial rapists, the Midnight Men, who have been terrorizing women and leaving no trace.

The Darkest Game by Joseph Schneider - Mystery

April 5, 2022

A museum curator is found shot point-blank, his home torn apart. It's the sort of random crime destined to fester in an evidence locker. But it's a case tailor-made for academic turned detective Tully Jarsdel --- he can't leave any question unanswered. In pursuit of an untouchable killer, Jarsdel soon uncovers a web of fraud and corruption that leads him to sunny Catalina Island, Hollywood's bygone playground. There, nothing is as it should be: the past is ever-present, and Jarsdel unwittingly finds himself embroiled in a widespread conspiracy. While reckoning with a dark legacy, he'll exhume long-buried secrets of LA's troubled past and deadly consequences.

Dead of Winter by Stephen Mack Jones - Mystery

April 5, 2022

Authentico Foods Inc. has been a part of Detroit’s Mexicantown for over 30 years, grown from a home kitchen business to a city-blocklong facility that supplies Mexican tortillas to restaurants throughout the Midwest. Detroit ex-cop and Mexicantown native August Snow has been invited for a business meeting at Authentico Foods. Its owner, Ronaldo Ochoa, is dying and is being blackmailed into selling the company to an anonymous entity. Worried about his employees, Ochoa wants August to buy it. August has no interest in running a tortilla empire, but he does want to know who’s threatening his neighborhood. His investigation quickly takes a devastating turn, and he and his loved ones find themselves ensnared in a dangerous net of ruthless billionaire developers.

A Dog's Courage: A Dog's Way Home Novel by W. Bruce Cameron - Fiction

April 5, 2022

Bella was once a lost dog, but now she lives happily with her people, Lucas and Olivia, only occasionally recalling the hardships in her past. Then a weekend camping trip turns into a harrowing struggle for survival when the Rocky Mountains are engulfed by the biggest wildfire in American history. The raging inferno separates Bella from her people, and she is lost once more. Alone in the wilderness, Bella unexpectedly finds herself responsible for the safety of two defenseless mountain lion cubs. Now she’s torn between two equally urgent goals. More than anything, she wants to find her way home to Lucas and Olivia, but not if it means abandoning her new family to danger. Can Bella ever get back to where she truly belongs?

Eleanor in the Village: Eleanor Roosevelt's Search for Freedom and Identity in New York's Greenwich Village by Jan Jarboe Russell - History

April 5, 2022

Hundreds of books have been written about FDR and Eleanor, both together and separately, yet she remains a compelling and elusive figure. And not much is known about why in 1920, Eleanor suddenly abandoned her duties as a mother of five and moved to Greenwich Village, then the symbol of all forms of transgressive freedom --- communism, homosexuality, interracial relationships and subversive political activity. Now, in ELEANOR IN THE VILLAGE, Jan Jarboe Russell pulls back the curtain on Eleanor’s life to reveal the motivations and desires that drew her to the Village and how her time there changed her political outlook.

Elizabeth & Margaret: The Intimate World of the Windsor Sisters by Andrew Morton - Biography

April 5, 2022

They were the closest of sisters and the best of friends. But when their uncle Edward Vlll decided to abdicate the throne, the dynamic between Elizabeth and Margaret was dramatically altered. Elizabeth would always look upon her younger sister's antics with a kind of stoical amusement, but Margaret's struggle to find a place and position inside the royal system --- and her fraught relationship with its expectations --- was often a source of tension. From the idyll of their cloistered early life, through their hidden wartime lives, into the divergent paths they took following their father's death and Elizabeth's ascension to the throne, Andrew Morton's book explores their relationship over the years.

A Family Affair by Robyn Carr - Ficton

April 5, 2022

Raised by a single mother, Anna McNichol has worked to ensure that her three children have every advantage she didn’t. And while her marriage has its problems, she values commitment and believes in "till death do us part." Now an empty nester, she’s at the peak of her career and ready to seize the opportunity to focus on her future. But life can change in an instant, and when her husband dies suddenly, Anna’s carefully constructed world falls apart. The mysterious young woman at the memorial service confirms that her husband had been keeping secrets, and Anna is determined to get to the truth. Faced with one challenge after another, she finds support from an unexpected source.

Festival Days by Jo Ann Beard - Essays

April 5, 2022

When “The Fourth State of Matter,” her now famous piece about a workplace massacre at the University of Iowa, was published in The New Yorker, Jo Ann Beard immediately became one of the most influential writers in America, forging a path for a new generation of young authors willing to combine the dexterity of fiction with the rigors of memory and reportage, and in the process extending the range of possibility for the essay form. Now, with FESTIVAL DAYS, Beard brings us the culmination of her groundbreaking work. In these nine pieces, she captures both the small, luminous moments of daily existence and those instances when life and death hang in the balance.

First Person Singular: Stories written by Haruki Murakami, translated by Philip Gabriel - Fiction/Short Stories

April 5, 2022

The eight stories in FIRST PERSON SINGULAR are all told in the first person by a classic Haruki Murakami narrator. From memories of youth, meditations on music, and an ardent love of baseball, to dreamlike scenarios and invented jazz albums, together these stories challenge the boundaries between our minds and the exterior world. Occasionally, a narrator may or may not be Murakami himself. Is it memoir or fiction? The reader decides.

Fool Me Once by Ashley Winstead - Romantic Comedy

April 5, 2022

Lee Stone kicks butt at her job as a communications director at a women-run electric car company. After work she is “Stoner,” drinking guys under the table and never letting any of them get too comfortable in her bed. That’s because Lee has learned never to trust love. Four major heartbreaks set her straight, from her father cheating on her mom all the way to Ben Laderman in grad school --- who wasn’t actually cheating, but she could have sworn he was, so she reciprocated in kind. Then Ben shows up five years later, working as a policy expert for the most liberal governor in Texas history, just as Lee is trying to get a clean energy bill rolling. Things get complicated --- and competitive --- as Lee and Ben are forced to work together.

Grace & Steel: Dorothy, Barbara, Laura, and the Women of the Bush Dynasty by J. Randy Taraborrelli - Biography

April 5, 2022

New York Times bestselling celebrity biographer J. Randy Taraborrelli reveals the unsung heroines of the inimitable Bush family dynasty: not only First Ladies Barbara and Laura, but other colorful women whose stories have been left out of history for far too long, including Barbara’s mother-in-law, the formidable Dorothy Bush; the enigmatic Columba and the controversial Sharon; and Laura’s twins, Jenna and Barbara. No matter the challenges related to power and politics, the women of the Bush dynasty always fought for equality in their marriages as they raised their children to be true to American values. In doing so, they inspired everyday Americans to do the same.

Great Circle by Maggie Shipstead - Historical Fiction

April 5, 2022

After being rescued as infants from a sinking ocean liner in 1914, Marian and Jamie Graves are raised by their dissolute uncle in Missoula, Montana. There, Marian commences her lifelong love affair with flight. At 14, she drops out of school and finds an unexpected and dangerous patron in a wealthy bootlegger who provides a plane and subsidizes her lessons, an arrangement that will haunt her for the rest of her life, even as it allows her to fulfill her destiny: circumnavigating the globe by flying over the North and South Poles. A century later, Hadley Baxter is cast to play Marian in a film that centers on Marian's disappearance in Antarctica. Her immersion into the character of Marian unfolds alongside Marian's own story, as the two women's fates collide.

The Guncle by Steven Rowley - Fiction

April 5, 2022

Patrick, or Gay Uncle Patrick (GUP, for short), has always loved his niece, Maisie, and nephew, Grant. That is, he loves spending time with them when they come out to Palm Springs for weeklong visits, or when he heads home to Connecticut for the holidays. So when tragedy strikes and Patrick finds himself suddenly taking on the role of primary guardian, he is, honestly, overwhelmed. Patrick has no idea what to expect, having spent years barely holding on after the loss of his great love, a somewhat-stalled acting career, and a lifestyle not-so-suited to a six- and a nine-year-old. But when his waggish set of "Guncle Rules" no longer appease Maisie and Grant's parental void, Patrick's eyes are opened to a new sense of responsibility.

Hummingbird Salamander by Jeff VanderMeer - Speculative Thriller

April 5, 2022

The security consultant “Jane Smith” receives an envelope with a key to a storage unit that holds a taxidermied hummingbird and clues leading her to a taxidermied salamander. Silvina, the dead woman who left the note, was a reputed ecoterrorist and the daughter of an Argentine industrialist. By taking the hummingbird from the storage unit, Jane sets in motion a series of events that quickly spiral beyond her control. Soon, Jane and her family are in danger, with few allies to help her make sense of the true scope of the peril. Is the only way to safety to follow in Silvina’s footsteps? Is it too late to stop? As Jane desperately seeks answers about why Silvina contacted her, time is running out --- for her and possibly for the world.

Mary Jane by Jessica Anya Blau - Fiction

April 5, 2022

In 1970s Baltimore, 14-year-old Mary Jane is glad when she lands a summer job as a nanny for the daughter of a local doctor. The doctor is a psychiatrist who has cleared his summer for one important job --- helping a famous rock star dry out. A week after Mary Jane starts, the rock star and his movie star wife move in. Over the course of the summer, Mary Jane introduces her new household to crisply ironed clothes and a family dinner schedule, and has a front-row seat to a liberal world of sex, drugs, and rock and roll. Caught between the lifestyle she’s always known and the future she’s only just realized is possible, Mary Jane will arrive at September with a new idea about what she wants out of life, and what kind of person she’s going to be.

The Master Craftsman by Kelli Stuart - Fiction

April 5, 2022

In 1917, Alma Pihl, a master craftsman in the House of Fabergé, was charged to protect one of the greatest secrets in Russian history --- an unknown Fabergé Egg that Peter Karl Fabergé secretly created to honor his divided allegiance to both the people of Russia and the Imperial tsar's family. When Alma and her husband escaped Russia for their native Finland in 1921, she took the secret with her, guarding her past connection to the Romanov family. Three generations later, world-renowned treasure hunter Nick Laine is sick and fears the secret of the missing egg will die with him. With time running out, he entrusts the mission of retrieving the egg to his estranged daughter, Ava, who has little idea of the dangers she is about to face.

The Mission House by Carys Davies - Fiction

April 5, 2022

Hilary Byrd flees his demons and the dark undercurrents of contemporary life in England for a former British hill station in south India. Charmed by the foreignness of his new surroundings and by the familiarity of everything the British have left behind, he finds solace in life’s simple pleasures, travelling by rickshaw around the small town with his driver Jamshed and staying in a mission house beside the local presbytery where, after a chance meeting, the Padre and his adoptive daughter Priscilla take Hilary under their wing. The Padre is concerned for Priscilla’s future, and as Hilary’s friendship with the young woman grows, he begins to wonder if his purpose lies in this new relationship. But religious tensions are brewing, and the mission house may not be the safe haven it seems.

Mother May I by Joshilyn Jackson - Domestic Thriller

April 5, 2022

Marrying into a family with wealth, power and connections, Bree Cabbat has all a woman could ever dream: a loving lawyer husband, two talented young teenage daughters, a new baby boy, a gorgeous home, and every opportunity in the world. Until the day Bree awakens and sees a witch peering into her bedroom window, an old gray-haired woman all dressed in black who vanishes as quickly as she appears. Later that day, she spies the old woman again, in the parking lot of her daughters’ private school...just minutes before Bree’s baby son vanishes. To get him back, Bree must complete one small --- but critical --- task. It seems harmless enough, but her action comes with a devastating price, making her complicit in a tangled web of tragedy and shocking secrets that will destroy everything she loves.

Murder, She Wrote: Debonair in Death by Jessica Fletcher and Terrie Farley Moran - Mystery

April 5, 2022

When Nelson Penzell, the co-owner of a local art and treasure store in Cabot Cove, is murdered, the nail tech from Jessica Fletcher's favorite beauty parlor is the main suspect. After all, she's the one who ran out of the store screaming, covered in blood and holding the murder weapon. Jessica is positive that Coreen can't possibly be guilty and is determined to prove it. When Michael Haggerty, a handsome MI-6 agent and Jessica's old friend, is caught snooping around the victim’s home, it's quickly apparent to her that she was right. Nelson has always had a bit of a reputation for being a rake, but Haggerty is sure his sins go far beyond what anyone in town imagined.

The Nine Lives of Rose Napolitano by Donna Freitas - Fiction

April 5, 2022

Rose Napolitano is fighting with her husband, Luke, about prenatal vitamins. She promised she'd take them, but didn't. Their marriage has come to rest on this one question: Can Rose find it in herself to become a mother? Rose is a successful professor and academic. She's never wanted to have a child. The fight ends, and with it their marriage. But then Rose has a fight with Luke about the vitamins --- again. This time the fight goes slightly differently, and so does Rose's future as she grapples with whether she can indeed give up the one thing she thought she knew about herself. Can she reimagine her life in a completely new way? That reimagining plays out again and again in each of Rose's nine lives, just as it does for each of us as we grow into adulthood.

No Heaven for Good Boys by Keisha Bush - Fiction

April 5, 2022

When six-year-old Ibrahimah is approached in his rural village one day by Marabout Ahmed, a seemingly kind stranger and highly regarded teacher, the tides of his life turn forever. Ibrahimah is sent to the capital city of Dakar to join his cousin, Étienne, in studying the Koran under Marabout Ahmed for a year. But instead of the days of learning that Ibrahimah’s parents imagine, the young boys, called Talibé, are forced to beg in the streets in order to line their teacher’s pockets. To make it back home, Étienne and Ibrahimah must help each other survive both the dangers posed by their Marabout and the darker sides of Dakar: threats of black-market organ traders, rival packs of Talibé, and mounting student protest on the streets.

Northern Spy by Flynn Berry - Thriller

April 5, 2022

A producer at the BBC and mother to a new baby, Tessa is at work in Belfast one day when the news of another raid comes on the air. Bomb threats, security checkpoints and helicopters floating ominously over the city have become features of everyday life. As the news reporter requests the public's help in locating those responsible for the robbery, security footage reveals Tessa's sister, Marian, pulling a black ski mask over her face. The police believe Marian has joined the IRA, but Tessa is convinced she must have been abducted or coerced. When the truth about Marian comes to light, Tessa is faced with impossible choices that will test the limits of her ideals, the bonds of her family, her notions of right and wrong, and her identity as a sister and a mother.

One Last Chance: A Chief Inspector Andreas Kaldis Mystery by Jeffrey Siger - Mystery

April 5, 2022

When Chief Inspector Andreas Kaldis' longtime assistant, Maggie, returns to her ancestral home on Ikaria for her 104-year-old grandmother's funeral, she quickly realizes not only was Yiayia likely murdered, but that a series of other long-lived Ikariots had recently died under the same suspicious circumstances. Back in Athens, Andreas and his chief detective, Yianni, pursue a smuggling and protection ring embedded in the Greek DEA, and its possible involvement in the assassination of an undercover cop. But then Maggie and Yianni uncover a connection between their respective leads in the elder-killings on Ikaria and the DEA corruption case, and they realize that there are international intrigues far more dangerous at play than anyone had imagined.

Other People's Children by R.J. Hoffmann - Fiction

April 5, 2022

As soon as Gail and Jon Durbin bring home their adopted baby Maya, she becomes the glue that mends their fractured marriage. But the Durbins' social worker, Paige, can’t find the teenage birth mother to sign the consent forms. By law, Carli has 72 hours to change her mind. Without her signature, the adoption will unravel. Carli is desperate to pursue her dreams, so giving her baby a life with the Durbins seems like the right choice --- until her own mother throws down an ultimatum. Soon Carli realizes how few choices she has. As the hours tick by, Paige knows that the Durbins’ marriage won’t survive the loss of Maya, but everyone’s life is shattered when they --- and baby Maya --- disappear without a trace.

Peaces by Helen Oyeyemi - Fiction/Magical Realism

April 5, 2022

When Otto and Xavier Shin declare their love, an aunt gifts them a trip on a sleeper train to mark their new commitment --- and to get them out of her house. Setting off with their pet mongoose, Otto and Xavier arrive at their sleepy local train station, but quickly deduce that The Lucky Day is no ordinary locomotive. Their trip on this former tea-smuggling train has been curated beyond their wildest imaginations, complete with mysterious and welcoming touches, like ingredients for their favorite breakfast. They seem to be the only people onboard, until Otto discovers a secretive woman who issues a surprising message. As further clues and questions pile up, Otto and Xavier begin to see connections to their own pasts that now bind them together.

The Perfect Daughter by D.J. Palmer - Psychological Thriller

April 5, 2022

Sixteen-year-old Penny Francone is a murderer. Will she be found not guilty by reason of insanity? Or will she get a life sentence in a maximum-security prison? Already reeling after the sudden passing of her beloved husband, Grace is grateful that Massachusetts doesn't allow the death penalty. As Penny awaits trial in a state mental hospital, she is treated by Dr. Mitchell McHugh, a psychiatrist battling demons of his own. Grace’s determination to understand the why behind her daughter’s terrible crime fuels Mitch’s resolve to help the Francone family. Together, they set out in search of the truth about Penny, but discover instead a shocking hidden history of secrets, lies and betrayals that threatens to consume them all.

Poppy in the Wild: A Lost Dog, Fifteen Hundred Acres of Wilderness, and the Dogged Determination that Brought Her Home by Teresa J. Rhyne - Memoir

April 5, 2022

After losing her beloved beagle Daphne to lymphoma, author Teresa Rhyne launches herself into fostering other dogs in need, including Poppy, a small, frightened beagle rescued from the China dog meat trade. The elation of rescue quickly turns to hysteria when Poppy breaks free from a potential adopter during a torrential thunderstorm and disappears into a rugged, mountainous, 1,500-acre wilderness park, bordered by a busy road. Through an unexpected late night encounter, Poppy is eventually caught. After her time in the wild, a surprisingly transformed Poppy reunites with Teresa and is ready to be welcomed into her forever home.

The Postscript Murders by Elly Griffiths - Mystery

April 5, 2022

The death of a 90-year-old woman with a heart condition should not be suspicious. Detective Sergeant Harbinder Kaur certainly sees nothing out of the ordinary when Peggy’s caretaker, Natalka, begins to recount Peggy Smith’s passing. But Natalka had a reason to be at the police station. While clearing out Peggy’s flat, she noticed an unusual number of crime novels, all dedicated to Peggy. And each psychological thriller included a mysterious postscript: PS: for PS. When a gunman breaks into the flat to steal a book and its author is found dead shortly thereafter, Detective Kaur begins to think that perhaps there is no such thing as an unsuspicious death after all.

Raising the Bar: A Lawyer's Memoir by Ruth Rymer - Memoir

April 5, 2022

As a young teenager, Ruth Rymer decided she wanted to be a lawyer because "lawyers get to walk around the courtroom and ask the questions." On her 40th birthday as a newly minted attorney, Rymer made a decision to root out misogyny in her professional life. Her law career included establishing family law as a certified specialty in California, leading the way to making family law a more respectable practice for attorneys. In 1996, Rymer was awarded a PhD for her study of divorce and the fight of women for their "lives, safety, sanity, and status." From the "child in residence" she once was to the women's rights champion she is today, Rymer has come a long way. RAISING THE BAR uplifts with the courage and persistence it took to be a pioneer advocate for women in the second half of the 20th century.

Razorblade Tears by S. A. Cosby - Mystery/Thriller

April 5, 2022

Ike Randolph has been out of jail for 15 years, with not so much as a speeding ticket in all that time. But a Black man with cops at the door knows to be afraid. The last thing he expects to hear is that his son Isiah has been murdered, along with Isiah’s white husband, Derek. Ike had never fully accepted his son but is devastated by his loss. Derek’s father, Buddy Lee, was almost as ashamed of Derek for being gay as Derek was ashamed that his father was a criminal. Buddy Lee still has contacts in the underworld, though, and he wants to know who killed his boy. Ike and Buddy Lee, two ex-cons with little else in common other than a criminal past and a love for their dead sons, band together in their desperate desire for revenge.

The Secret Life of Dorothy Soames: A Memoir by Justine Cowan - Memoir

April 5, 2022

Justine Cowan had always been told that her mother came from royal blood. The proof could be found in her mother’s elegance, her upper crust London accent --- and in a cryptic letter hinting at her claim to a country estate. But beneath the polished veneer lay a fearsome, unpredictable temper that drove Justine from home the moment she was old enough to escape. Years later, when her mother sent her an envelope filled with secrets from the past, she buried it in the back of an old filing cabinet. Overcome with grief after her mother’s death, Justine found herself drawn back to that envelope. Its contents revealed a mystery that stretched back to the early years of World War II and beyond, into the dark corridors of the Hospital for the Maintenance and Education of Exposed and Deserted Young Children.

Super Host by Kate Russo - Fiction

April 5, 2022

Bennett Driscoll is a Turner Prize-nominated artist who was once a rising star. Now, at age 55, his wife has left him, he hasn't sold a painting in two years, and his gallery wants to stop selling his work, claiming they'll have more value retrospectively...when he's dead. So, left with a large West London home and no income, he's forced to move into his artist's studio in the back garden and list his house on a popular vacation rental site. A stranger now in his own home, with his daughter, Mia, off at art school, and any new relationships fizzling out at best, Bennett struggles to find purpose in his day-to-day. That all changes when three different guests unwittingly unlock the pieces of himself that have been lost to him for too long.

Surviving Savannah by Patti Callahan Henry, writing as Patti Callahan - Historical Fiction

April 5, 2022

When Savannah history professor Everly Winthrop is asked to guest-curate a new museum collection focusing on artifacts recovered from the steamship Pulaski, she's shocked. The ship sank after a boiler explosion in 1838, and the wreckage was just discovered, 180 years later. Everly's research leads her to the astounding history of a family of 11 who boarded the Pulaski together, and the extraordinary stories of two women from this family: a known survivor, Augusta Longstreet, and her niece, Lilly Forsyth, who was never found, along with her child. These aristocratic women were part of Savannah's society, but when the ship exploded, each was faced with difficult and heartbreaking decisions.

That Summer by Jennifer Weiner - Fiction

April 5, 2022

With a thriving cooking business, a full schedule of volunteer work, and a beautiful home, Daisy Shoemaker should be content. But her teenage daughter can be a handful, her husband can be distant, her work can feel trivial, and she has no real friends. While Daisy tries to identify the root of her dissatisfaction, she’s also receiving misdirected emails meant for a woman named Diana Starling, whose email address is just one punctuation mark away from her own. Diana’s glamorous, sophisticated, single-lady life is miles away from Daisy’s simpler existence. When an apology leads to an invitation, the two women meet and become friends. But, as they get closer, we learn that their connection was not completely accidental.

Trejo: My Life of Crime, Redemption, and Hollywood by Danny Trejo with Donal Logue - Memoir

April 5, 2022

On screen, Danny Trejo the actor is a baddie who has been killed at least a hundred times. Off screen, he’s a hero beloved by recovery communities and obsessed fans alike. But the real Danny Trejo is much more complicated than the legend. Raised in an abusive home, Danny struggled with heroin addiction and stints in some of the country’s most notorious state prisons from an early age before starring in such modern classics as Heat, From Dusk till Dawn and Machete. Now, in this funny, painful and suspenseful memoir, Danny takes us through the incredible ups and downs of his life, including meeting one of the world’s most notorious serial killers in prison and working with legends like Charles Bronson and Robert De Niro.

The Unreasonable Virtue of Fly Fishing by Mark Kurlansky - Nature/History

April 5, 2022

Fly fishing, historian Mark Kurlansky has found, is a battle of wits, fly fisher vs. fish --- and the fly fisher does not always (or often) win. The targets --- salmon, trout and char; and for some, bass, tarpon, tuna, bonefish and even marlin --- are highly intelligent, wily, strong and athletic animals. The allure, Kurlansky learns, is that fly fishing makes catching a fish as difficult as possible. There is an art, too, in the crafting of flies. Beautiful and intricate, some are made with more than two dozen pieces of feather and fur from a wide range of animals. The cast as well is a matter of grace and rhythm, with different casts and rods yielding varying results.

The Unwilling by John Hart - Historical Thriller

April 5, 2022

Gibby's brother, Jason, won't speak of the war or of his time behind bars, but he wants a relationship with the younger brother he hasn't known for years. Determined to make that connection, he coaxes Gibby into a day at the lake with some older women. But the day turns ugly when they encounter a prison transfer bus on a stretch of empty road. One of the women taunts the prisoners, leading to a riot on the bus. The woman finds it funny in the moment, but is savagely murdered soon after. Given his violent history, suspicion turns first to Jason. But when the second woman is kidnapped, the police suspect Gibby, too. Determined to prove Jason innocent, Gibby must avoid the cops and dive deep into his brother's hidden life. What he discovers is a truth more disturbing than he ever could have imagined.

What Comes After by JoAnne Tompkins - Mystery

April 5, 2022

Isaac lives alone with his dog, grieving the recent death of his teenage son. Next door, Lorrie, a working single mother, struggles with a heinous act committed by her own teenage son. The two parents are emotionally stranded, isolated by their great losses --- until an unfamiliar 16-year-old girl shows up, bridges the gap and changes everything. Evangeline’s arrival at first feels like a blessing, but she is also clearly hiding something. When Isaac, who has retreated into his Quaker faith, isn’t equipped to handle her alone, Lorrie forges her own relationship with the girl. Soon all three characters are forced to examine what really happened in their overlapping pasts, and what it all possibly means for a shared future.

When the Stars Go Dark by Paula McLain - Literary Thriller

April 5, 2022

Anna Hart is a seasoned missing persons detective in San Francisco with far too much knowledge of the darkest side of human nature. When tragedy strikes her personal life, Anna flees to the Northern California village of Mendocino to grieve. She lived there as a child with her beloved foster parents, and now she believes it might be the only place left for her. Yet the day she arrives, she learns that a local teenage girl has gone missing. The crime feels frighteningly reminiscent of the most crucial time in Anna’s childhood, when the unsolved murder of a young girl touched Mendocino and changed the community forever. As past and present collide, Anna realizes that she has been led to this moment.