Skip to main content

Week of May 3, 2021

New in Paperback

Week of May 3, 2021

Paperback releases for the week of May 3rd include THE MIRROR & THE LIGHT, the triumphant conclusion to Hilary Mantel's trilogy that began with her Booker Prize-winning novels, WOLF HALL and BRING UP THE BODIES; ONE BY ONE, another “locked-door” thriller from Ruth Ware --- this time set in a blissful, rustic mountain chalet --- full of secrets, betrayals and murder; THE GIVER OF STARS by Jojo Moyes, a breathtaking story of five extraordinary women and their remarkable journey through the mountains of Kentucky and beyond, set in Depression-era America; THE SILENT PATIENT, Alex Michaelides' shocking psychological thriller of a woman’s act of violence against her husband --- and of the therapist obsessed with uncovering her motive; and MORE THAN LOVE, the never-before-told story of Hollywood icon Natalie Wood’s glamorous life, sudden death and lasting legacy, written by her daughter, Natasha Gregson Wagner.

Arsenic and Adobo: A Tita Rosie's Kitchen Mystery by Mia P. Manansala - Cozy Mystery

May 4, 2021

When Lila Macapagal moves back home to recover from a horrible breakup, her life seems to be following all the typical rom-com tropes. She's tasked with saving her Tita Rosie's failing restaurant, and she has to deal with a group of matchmaking aunties who shower her with love and judgment. But when a notoriously nasty food critic (who happens to be her ex-boyfriend) drops dead moments after a confrontation with Lila, her life quickly swerves from a Nora Ephron romp to an Agatha Christie case. With the cops treating her like she's the one and only suspect, and the shady landlord looking to finally kick the Macapagal family out and resell the storefront, Lila is left with no choice but to conduct her own investigation.

Before She Was Helen by Caroline B. Cooney - Domestic Thriller/Mystery

May 4, 2021

When Clemmie goes next door to check on her difficult and unlikable neighbor, Dom, he isn't there. But something else is. Something stunning, beautiful and inexplicable. Clemmie photographs the wondrous object on her cell phone and makes the irrevocable error of forwarding it. As the picture swirls over the internet, Clemmie tries desperately to keep a grip on her own personal network of secrets. Can 50 years of careful hiding under names not her own be ruined by one careless picture? And although what Clemmie finds is a work of art, what the police find is a body...and she was the last person at the crime scene, where she left her fingerprints. Suddenly thrown into the heart of a twisted investigation, Clemmie finds herself the uncomfortable subject of intense scrutiny.

Blue Ticket by Sophie Mackintosh - Dystopian Fiction

May 4, 2021

Calla knows how the lottery works. On the day of your first bleed, you report to the station to learn what kind of woman you will be. A white ticket grants you marriage and children. A blue ticket grants you a career and freedom. You are relieved of the terrible burden of choice. And once you've taken your ticket, there is no going back. But what if the life you're given is the wrong one? When Calla, a blue ticket woman, begins to question her fate, she must go on the run. But her survival will be dependent on the very qualities the lottery has taught her to question in herself and on the other women the system has pitted against her. Pregnant and desperate, Calla must contend with whether or not the lottery knows her better than she knows herself and what that might mean for her child.

The Bookshop of Second Chances by Jackie Fraser - Fiction

May 4, 2021

Thea Mottram is having a bad month. She has been let go from her office job with no notice, and her husband of nearly 20 years has decided to leave her for one of her friends. When she learns that a distant great uncle in Scotland has passed away, leaving her his home and a hefty antique book collection, Thea decides to leave Sussex for a few weeks. Almost instantly, she becomes enamored with the quaint cottage, comforted by its cozy rooms and lovely but neglected garden. The locals are just as warm, quirky and inviting. The only person she can’t seem to win over is bookshop owner Edward Maltravers, to whom she hopes to sell her uncle’s book collection. But bickering with Edward proves oddly refreshing and exciting, leading Thea to develop feelings she hasn’t experienced in a long time.

The Color of Air by Gail Tsukiyama - Fiction

May 4, 2021

Daniel Abe, a young doctor in Chicago, is finally coming back to Hawai'i. He has his own reason for returning to his childhood home, but it is not to revisit the past, unlike his Uncle Koji. Koji lives with the memories of Daniel’s mother, Mariko, the love of his life, and the scars of a life hard-lived. He can’t wait to see Daniel, who he’s always thought of as a son, but he knows the time has come to tell him the truth about his mother, as well as his father. But Daniel’s arrival coincides with the awakening of the Mauna Loa volcano, and its dangerous path toward their village stirs both new and long-ago passions in their community.

The Dead Husband by Carter Wilson - Domestic Thriller

May 4, 2021

Twenty years ago, an unspeakable tragedy rocked Rose Yates' small, affluent hometown…and only Rose and her family know the truth about what happened. Haunted by guilt, Rose escaped into a new life. Now she seems to have it all: a marriage, a son, a career. And then her husband is found dead. As far as Detective Colin Pearson is concerned, Rose is guilty. Her marriage wasn't as happy as she'd led everyone to believe, and she's connected to a 20-year-old cold case. Grieving her husband and struggling to make ends meet, Rose returns home, hoping to finally confront her domineering father and unstable sister. But memories of a horrific crime echo through the house, and Rose soon learns that she can't trust anyone, especially not the people closest to her.

A Deadly Education by Naomi Novik - Fantasy

May 4, 2021

Every sorcerer has a gift: a talent for transformation, a taste for combat magic. And mastering their gifts in a unique magical academy means a chance of being invited into the enclaves, the world’s magical elite. El Higgins’ talent is for mass destruction. She protects herself from the scorn of the other magicians with her mordant wit and defiant spirit. But she also hopes that one day she will join a prestigious enclave, and that means ingratiating herself with the powerful and the privileged. That includes Orion Lake: rich, beloved and the most celebrated magician of his generation. But what she comes to learn about Orion opens her eyes to some shocking truths about herself, the school and their world.

Faster: How a Jewish Driver, an American Heiress, and a Legendary Car Beat Hitler’s Best by Neal Bascomb - Sports/History

May 4, 2021

As Nazi Germany launched its campaign of racial terror and pushed the world toward war, three unlikely heroes --- a driver banned from the best European teams because of his Jewish heritage, the owner of a faltering automaker company, and the adventurous daughter of an American multimillionaire --- banded together to challenge Hitler’s dominance at the Grand Prix, the apex of motorsport. Bringing to life this glamorous era and the sport that defined it, FASTER chronicles one of the most inspiring, death-defying upsets of all time: a symbolic blow against the Nazis during history’s darkest hour.

Fortune and Glory: A Stephanie Plum Novel by Janet Evanovich - Mystery

May 4, 2021

When Stephanie Plum’s beloved Grandma Mazur's new husband died on their wedding night, the only thing he left her was a beat-up old easy chair…and the keys to a life-changing fortune. But as Stephanie and Grandma Mazur search for Jimmy Rosolli’s treasure, they discover that they’re not the only ones on the hunt. Two dangerous enemies from the past stand in their way --- along with a new adversary who’s even more formidable: Gabriela Rose, a dark-eyed beauty from Little Havana with a taste for designer clothes. She’s also a soldier of fortune, a gourmet cook, an expert in firearms and mixed martial arts --- and someone who’s about to give Stephanie a real run for her money.

Funny Weather: Art in an Emergency by Olivia Laing - Art & Culture

May 4, 2021

FUNNY WEATHER brings together a career’s worth of Olivia Laing’s writing about art and culture, examining their role in our political and emotional lives. She profiles Jean-Michel Basquiat and Georgia O’Keeffe, reads Maggie Nelson and Sally Rooney, writes love letters to David Bowie and Freddie Mercury, and explores loneliness and technology, women and alcohol, sex and the body. With characteristic originality and compassion, she celebrates art as a force of resistance and repair, an antidote to a frightening political time. We’re often told that art can’t change anything. Laing argues that it can. Art changes how we see the world. It makes plain inequalities, and it offers fertile new ways of living.

Girls of Summer by Nancy Thayer - Romance

May 4, 2021

Lisa Hawley is perfectly satisfied living on her own. As the owner of a popular boutique on Nantucket, she’s built a fulfilling life for herself on the island where she grew up. With her beloved house in desperate need of repair, she calls on Mack Whitney, a local contractor, to do the work. The two begin to grow close, and Lisa is stunned to realize that she might be willing to open up again after all. Her children, Juliet and Theo, worry that Mack will only break their mother’s heart. Both stuck in ruts of their own, they each hope that a summer on Nantucket will provide them with the clarity they’ve been searching for. As the season unfolds, a storm threatens to shatter the peace of the golden island, forcing Lisa, Juliet and Theo to decide whether their summer romances are destined for something more profound.

The Giver of Stars by Jojo Moyes - Historical Fiction

May 4, 2021

Alice Wright marries handsome American Bennett Van Cleve hoping to escape her stifling life in England. But small-town Kentucky quickly proves equally claustrophobic, especially living alongside her overbearing father-in-law. So when a call goes out for a team of women to deliver books as part of Eleanor Roosevelt’s new traveling library, Alice signs on enthusiastically. The leader, and soon Alice's greatest ally, is Margery, a smart-talking, self-sufficient woman who's never asked a man's permission for anything. They will be joined by three other singular women who become known as the Horseback Librarians of Kentucky. What happens to them --- and to the men they love --- becomes a classic drama of loyalty, justice, humanity and passion.

The Glorious Guinness Girls by Emily Hourican - Historical Fiction

May 4, 2021

Descendants of the founder of the Guinness beer empire, they were the toast of 1920s high society, darlings of the press, with not a care in the world. But Felicity knows better. Sent to live with them as a child because her mother could no longer care for her, she grows up as the sisters’ companion. Both an outsider and a part of the family, she witnesses the complex lives upstairs and downstairs, sees the compromises and sacrifices beneath the glamorous surface. Then, at a party one summer’s evening, something happens that sends shock waves through the entire household.

The Golden Cage written by Camilla Läckberg, translated by Neil Smith - Psychological Thriller

May 4, 2021

Faye has loved Jack since they were students at business school. Jack, the perpetual golden boy, grew up wealthy, unlike Faye, who has worked hard to bury a dark past. When Jack needed help launching a new company, Faye left school to support him, waitressing by day and working as his strategist by night. When the business took off, Faye stayed home and cared for their daughter. Now, she is wealthier than she ever imagined, but more and more removed from the excitement of the business world. And none of the perks of wealth make up for the fact that Jack has begun to treat her coldly. When Faye discovers that he's having an affair, the polished façade of their life cracks wide open.

Her Last Flight by Beatriz Williams - Historical Romance

May 4, 2021

In 1947, photographer and war correspondent Janey Everett arrives at a remote surfing village on the Hawaiian island of Kauai to research a planned biography of forgotten aviation pioneer Sam Mallory, who joined the loyalist forces in the Spanish Civil War and never returned. Obsessed with Sam’s fate, Janey has tracked down Irene Lindquist, the owner of a local island-hopping airline, who she believes might actually be the legendary Irene Foster, Mallory’s onetime student and flying partner. Foster’s disappearance during a round-the-world flight in 1937 remains one of the world’s greatest unsolved mysteries. At first, the flinty Mrs. Lindquist denies any connection to Foster. But Janey informs her that the wreck of Sam Mallory’s airplane has recently been discovered in a Spanish desert, and piece by piece, the details of Foster’s extraordinary life emerge.

Hideaway by Nora Roberts - Romantic Suspense

May 4, 2021

Caitlyn Sullivan had come from a long line of Hollywood royalty. At nine, she was already a star --- yet still an innocent child who loved to play hide and seek with her cousins. It was during one of those games that she disappeared. Some may have considered her a pampered princess, but Cate was a smart, scrappy fighter who managed to escape her abductors. Her ordeal, though, was far from over. First came the discovery of a shocking betrayal that would send someone she’d trusted to prison. Then there were years spent away in western Ireland. Finally, she would return to Los Angeles, gathering the courage to act again. What she didn’t yet know was that two seeds had been planted that long-ago night --- one of a great love, and one of a terrible vengeance.

Hieroglyphics by Jill McCorkle - Fiction

May 4, 2021

After many years in Boston, Lil and Frank have retired to North Carolina. The two of them married young, having bonded over how they both lost a parent when they were children. Now, Lil has become determined to leave a history for their own kids. She sifts through letters and notes and diary entries, uncovering old stories --- and perhaps revealing more secrets than Frank wants their children to know. Meanwhile, Frank has become obsessed with the house he lived in as a boy on the outskirts of town, where a young single mother, Shelley, is now raising her son. For Shelley, Frank’s repeated visits begin to trigger vivid memories of her own family.

The Imperfects by Amy Meyerson - Fiction

May 4, 2021

The Millers are far from perfect. When their grandmother passes away, estranged siblings Beck, Ashley and Jake find themselves under one roof with their eccentric mother, Deborah, forced to confront old resentments and betrayals. But their lives are turned upside down when they discover a secret inheritance --- the 137-carat Florentine Diamond, which went missing from the Austrian Empire a century ago. As the Millers race to determine if they are the rightful heirs to the diamond and the fortune it promises, they uncover a secret past that forever changes their connection to their heritage and each other.

It Had to Be You by Georgia Clark - Romantic Comedy

May 4, 2021

When Eva and Jonathan hook up on the sleeper train from Florence to Paris, they think they’ll never see each other again. Which is too bad, because neither has ever felt a spark like this for another person. But love isn’t on the agenda in their line of work. Six months later, they run into each other in the Hall of Mirrors in Versailles. This encounter is not by chance, because Eva has been hired to kill Jonathan. She’s a contract killer, but what she doesn’t know is that he is too. Their meeting kicks off a high-stakes adventure across Western Europe. There will be tourism. There will be bodies. Eva and Jonathan might even fall for each other. As the two get closer to completing their assignments, it becomes clear that they are also being hunted --- by something even more dangerous than love...

James Monroe: A Life by Tim McGrath - Biography

May 4, 2021

James Monroe lived a life defined by revolutions. From the battlefields of the War for Independence, to his ambassadorship in Paris in the days of the guillotine, to his own role in the creation of Congress's partisan divide, he was a man who embodied the restless spirit of the age. He was never one to back down from a fight --- whether it be with Alexander Hamilton, with whom he nearly engaged in a duel (prevented, ironically, by Aaron Burr), or George Washington, his hero turned political opponent. Critically acclaimed author Tim McGrath has consulted an extensive array of primary sources, many rarely seen since Monroe's own time, to conjure up this fascinating portrait of an essential American statesman and president.

The Last Flight by Julie Clark - Psychological Thriller

May 4, 2021

Claire Cook has a perfect life. Married to the scion of a political dynasty, with a Manhattan townhouse and a staff of 10, her surroundings are elegant, her days flawlessly choreographed, and her future auspicious. But behind closed doors, nothing is quite as it seems, and she has worked for months on a plan to vanish. A chance meeting in an airport bar brings Claire together with Eva, whose circumstances seem equally dire. Together they make a last-minute decision to switch tickets, believing that the swap will give each of them the head start they need to begin again somewhere far away. But when one of the flights goes down, Claire realizes it's no longer a head start but a new life. With the news of her death about to explode in the media, Claire will assume Eva's identity --- and, along with it, the secrets Eva fought so hard to keep hidden.

The Lincoln Conspiracy: The Secret Plot to Kill America's 16th President — and Why It Failed by Brad Meltzer and Josh Mensch - History

May 4, 2021

Everyone knows the story of Abraham Lincoln’s assassination in 1865, but few are aware of the original conspiracy to kill him four years earlier in 1861, literally on his way to Washington, D.C., for his first inauguration. The conspirators were part of a pro-Southern secret society that didn’t want an antislavery President in the White House. They planned an elaborate scheme to assassinate the brand new President in Baltimore as Lincoln’s inauguration train passed through en route to the Capitol. The plot was investigated by famed detective Allan Pinkerton, who infiltrated the group with undercover agents. Had the assassination succeeded, there would have been no Lincoln presidency, and the course of the Civil War and American history would have been forever altered.

The Mirror & the Light by Hilary Mantel - Historical Fiction

May 4, 2021

With THE MIRROR & THE LIGHT, Hilary Mantel brings to a triumphant close the trilogy she began with her peerless, Booker Prize-winning novels, WOLF HALL and BRING UP THE BODIES. She traces the final years of Thomas Cromwell, the boy from nowhere who climbs to the heights of power, offering a defining portrait of predator and prey, of a ferocious contest between present and past, between royal will and a common man’s vision: of a modern nation making itself through conflict, passion and courage.

The Mist by Ragnar Jónasson - Mystery/Thriller

May 4, 2021

1987. An isolated farm house in the east of Iceland. The snowstorm should have shut everybody out. But it didn't. The couple should never have let him in. But they did. An unexpected guest, a liar, a killer. Not all will survive the night. And Detective Inspector Hulda Hermannsdóttir will be haunted forever. THE MIST is the final nail-biting installment in Ragnar Jonasson's critically acclaimed Hidden Iceland series.

Monogamy by Sue Miller - Fiction

May 4, 2021

Graham and Annie have been married for nearly 30 years, and their seemingly effortless devotion has long been the envy of their circle of friends and acquaintances. Lucas, Graham’s son with his first wife, Frieda, works in New York. Annie and Graham’s daughter, Sarah, lives in San Francisco. Though Frieda is an integral part of this far-flung, loving family, Annie feels confident in the knowledge that she is Graham’s last and greatest love. When Graham suddenly dies, Annie is lost. What is the point of going on without him? Then, while she is still mourning him intensely, she discovers that Graham had been unfaithful to her. She spirals into darkness, wondering if she ever truly knew the man who loved her.

More Than Love: An Intimate Portrait of My Mother, Natalie Wood by Natasha Gregson Wagner - Memoir

May 4, 2021

Natasha Gregson Wagner’s mother, Natalie Wood, was a child actress who became a legendary movie star. She and Natasha’s stepfather, the actor Robert Wagner, were a Hollywood it-couple twice over --- first in the 1950s, and then again when they remarried in the '70s. But Natalie’s sudden death by drowning off Catalina Island at the age of 43 devastated her family, turned Robert Wagner into a person of interest, and transformed a vibrant wife, mother and actress into a figure of tragedy. The weekend has long been shrouded in rumors and scandalous tabloid speculation, but until now there has never been an account of how the events and their aftermath were experienced by Natalie’s beloved eldest daughter. Here, for the first time, Natasha addresses the questions surrounding that night to clear her beloved stepfather’s name.

The Most Beautiful Girl in Cuba by Chanel Cleeton - Historical Thriller

May 4, 2021

Unjustly imprisoned in a notorious Havana women's jail, 18-year-old Evangelina Cisneros dreams of a Cuba free from Spanish oppression. When William Randolph Hearst learns of her plight and splashes her image on the front page of his paper, she becomes a rallying cry for American intervention in the battle for Cuban independence. With the help of Marina Perez, a courier secretly working for the Cuban revolutionaries in Havana, journalist Grace Harrington and Hearst's staff attempt to free Evangelina. But when Cuban civilians are forced into reconcentration camps and the explosion of the USS Maine propels the United States and Spain toward war, the three women must risk everything in their fight for freedom.

Murder, She Wrote: Murder in Season by Jessica Fletcher and Jon Land - Mystery

May 4, 2021

With work on the reconstruction of her beloved home almost complete, Jessica Fletcher is in high holiday spirits. The only thing dampening the holiday cheer is the discovery of two sets of bones on Jessica’s property: one set ancient, the other only about a year old. It’s concluded that they were both placed there during the reconstruction, and Jessica suspects that, despite the centuries between them, the remains might be connected. Soon tabloid reporter Tad Hollenbeck arrives in Cabot Cove to write a story about what he calls “the murder capital of the country.” But when Tad himself is murdered, Jessica speculates that his arrival, his death and the discovery of the bones are all somehow linked.

The Nature of a Lady: The Secrets of the Isles, Book 1 by Roseanna M. White - Historical Romance

May 4, 2021

Lady Elizabeth “Libby” Sinclair, with her love of microscopes and nature, isn’t favored in society. She flees to the beautiful Isles of Scilly for the summer and stumbles onto the dangerous secrets left behind by her holiday cottage’s former occupant, also named Elizabeth, who mysteriously vanished. Oliver Tremayne --- gentleman and clergyman --- is determined to discover what happened to his sister, with the help of the girl now living in what should have been Beth’s summer cottage...especially when he realizes it’s the curious young lady he met briefly two years ago, who shares his love of botany and biology. But the hunt for his sister involves far more than nature walks, and he can’t quite believe all the secrets Beth had been keeping from him.

Of Mutts and Men: A Chet & Bernie Mystery by Spencer Quinn - Mystery

May 4, 2021

When Chet the dog and his partner, PI Bernie Little of the desert-based Little Detective Agency, arrive to a meeting with hydrologist Wendell Nero, they are in for a shocking sight --- Wendell has come to a violent and mysterious end. What did the hydrologist want to see them about? Is his death a random robbery, or something more? Bernie might be the only one who thinks the police have arrested the wrong man, including the perp’s own defense attorney. Chet and Bernie begin to look into Wendell’s work, a search that leads to a struggling winemaker who has received an offer he can’t refuse. Meanwhile, Chet is smelling water where there is no water, and soon Chet and Bernie are in danger like never before.

One by One by Ruth Ware - Psychological Thriller

May 4, 2021

When the cofounder of Snoop, a trendy London-based tech startup, organizes a weeklong trip for the team in the French Alps, it starts out as a corporate retreat like any other. But as soon as one shareholder upends the agenda by pushing a lucrative but contentious buyout offer, tensions simmer and loyalties are tested. However, the storm brewing inside the chalet is no match for the one outside, and a devastating avalanche leaves the group cut off from all access to the outside world. Even worse, one Snooper hadn’t made it back from the slopes when the avalanche hit. As each hour passes without any sign of rescue, panic mounts, the chalet grows colder, and the group dwindles further…one by one.

The Paris Hours by Alex George - Historical Fiction

May 4, 2021

Camille was the maid of Marcel Proust, and she has a secret: when she was asked to burn her employer’s notebooks, she saved one for herself. Now she is desperate to find it before her betrayal is revealed. Souren, an Armenian refugee, performs puppet shows for children that are nothing like the fairy tales they expect. Lovesick artist Guillaume is running from a debt he cannot repay --- but when Gertrude Stein walks into his studio, he wonders if this is the day everything could change. And Jean-Paul is a journalist who tells other people’s stories, because his own is too painful to tell. When the quartet’s paths finally cross in THE PARIS HOURS, which is told over the course of a single day in 1927, each discovers if they will find what they are looking for.

Pizza Girl by Jean Kyoung Frazier - Fiction

May 4, 2021

Eighteen years old, pregnant and working as a pizza delivery girl in suburban Los Angeles, our charmingly dysfunctional heroine is deeply lost and in complete denial about it all. She's grieving the death of her father (with whom she has more in common than she'd like to admit), avoiding her supportive mom and loving boyfriend, and flagrantly ignoring her future. Her world is further upended when she becomes obsessed with Jenny, a stay-at-home mother new to the neighborhood, who comes to depend on weekly deliveries of pickled-covered pizzas for her son's happiness. As one woman looks toward motherhood and the other toward middle age, the relationship between the two begins to blur in strange, complicated and ultimately heartbreaking ways.

Providence by Max Barry - Science Fiction/Thriller

May 4, 2021

Seven years after first contact, Providence Five launches. It is an enormous and deadly warship, built to protect humanity from its greatest threat ever. On board is a crew of just four --- tasked with monitoring the ship and reporting the war's progress to a mesmerized global audience by way of social media. But while pursuing the enemy across space, Gilly, Talia, Anders and Jackson confront the unthinkable: their communications are cut, their ship decreasingly trustworthy and effective. To survive, they must win a fight that is suddenly and terrifyingly real.

The Secret Bridesmaid by Katy Birchall - Romantic Comedy

May 4, 2021

As a professional bridesmaid, Sophie Breeze is hired by London brides to be their right-hand woman, posing as a friend but working behind the scenes to help plan the perfect wedding and ensure their big day goes off without a hitch. When she’s hired by Lady Victoria Swann for the society wedding of the year, it should be a chance for Sophie to prove just how talented she is. Of course, it’s not ideal that the bride, Lady Victoria’s daughter, Cordelia, is an absolute diva and determined to make Sophie’s life a nightmare. It’s also a bit inconvenient that Sophie finds herself drawn to Cordelia’s posh older brother, who is absolutely off limits. But when a rival society wedding is announced for the very same day, things start to get…well, complicated.

Seven Perfect Things by Catherine Ryan Hyde - Fiction

May 4, 2021

Thirteen-year-old Abby Hubble lives in an unhappy home in the Sierra Nevada foothills where her father makes life miserable for her and her mother, Mary. One day, Abby witnesses a man dump a litter of puppies into the nearby river. Diving in to rescue all seven, she knows she won’t be able to bring them home. Afraid for their fate at the pound, she takes them to an abandoned cabin, where all she can offer is a promise that she’ll be back the next day. To grieving widower Elliot Colvin, life has lost meaning. Looking for solace, he retreats to the hunting cabin he last visited years ago, before his wife’s illness. What he discovers is not at all what he expected: seven puppies and one determined girl with an indomitable heart.

Shiner by Amy Jo Burns - Fiction

May 4, 2021

Fifteen-year-old Wren Bird lives in a cloistered mountain cabin with her parents. They have no car, no mailbox and no visitors --- except for her mother's lifelong best friend. Every Sunday, Wren's father delivers winding sermons in an abandoned gas station, where he takes up serpents and praises the Lord for his blighted white eye, proof of his divinity and key to the hold he has over the community, over Wren and her mother. But over the course of one summer, a miracle performed by Wren's father quickly turns to tragedy. As the order of her world begins to shatter, Wren must uncover the truth of her father's mysterious legend and her mother's harrowing history and complex bond with her best friend.

The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides - Psychological Thriller

May 4, 2021

One evening, Alicia Berenson, a famous painter, shoots her husband Gabriel, an in-demand fashion photographer, five times in the face. Alicia’s refusal to talk, or give any kind of explanation, turns a domestic tragedy into something far grander --- a mystery that captures the public imagination and casts Alicia into notoriety. The price of her art skyrockets, and she, the silent patient, is hidden away from the tabloids and spotlight at the Grove, a secure forensic unit in North London. Theo Faber is a criminal psychotherapist who has waited a long time for the opportunity to work with Alicia. His determination to get her to talk and unravel the mystery of why she shot her husband takes him down a twisting path into his own motivations --- a search for the truth that threatens to consume him.

Take Me Apart by Sara Sligar - Psychological Thriller

May 4, 2021

When the famed photographer Miranda Brand died mysteriously at the height of her career, it sent shock waves through Callinas, California. Decades later, old wounds are reopened when her son Theo hires the ex-journalist Kate Aitken to archive his mother’s work and personal effects. As Kate sorts through the vast maze of material and contends with the vicious rumors and shocking details of Miranda's private life, she pieces together a portrait of a vibrant artist buckling under the pressures of ambition, motherhood and marriage. But Kate has secrets of her own, including a growing attraction to the enigmatic Theo, and when she stumbles across Miranda's diary, her curiosity spirals into a dangerous obsession.

Under the Magnolias by T. I. Lowe - Fiction

May 4, 2021

Magnolia, South Carolina, 1980. Austin Foster is barely a teenager when her mama dies giving birth to twins, leaving her to pick up the pieces while holding her six siblings together and doing her best to stop her daddy from retreating into his personal darkness. When a few random acts of kindness help to ease the Fosters’ hardships, Austin finds herself relying upon some of Magnolia’s most colorful citizens for friendship and more. But it’s next to impossible to hide the truth about the goings-on at Nolia Farms, and Austin’s desperate attempts to save face all but break her. Just when it seems she might have something more waiting for her --- with the son of a wealthy local family who she’s crushed on for years --- her father makes a choice that will crack wide open the family’s secrets and lead to a public reckoning.

Utopia Avenue by David Mitchell - Dystopian/Science Fiction

May 4, 2021

Utopia Avenue is the strangest British band you’ve never heard of. Emerging from London’s psychedelic scene in 1967, it embarked on a meteoric journey from the seedy clubs of Soho, a TV debut on “Top of the Pops,” the cusp of chart success, glory in Amsterdam, prison in Rome, and a fateful American sojourn in the Chelsea Hotel, Laurel Canyon and San Francisco during the autumn of ’68. David Mitchell’s novel tells the unexpurgated story of Utopia Avenue’s turbulent life and times; of fame’s Faustian pact and stardom’s wobbly ladder; of the families we choose and the ones we don’t; of voices in the head, and the truths and lies they whisper; of music, madness and idealism. Can we really change the world, or does the world change us?

The Woman with the Blue Star by Pam Jenoff - Fiction

May 4, 2021

Sadie Gault is 18 and living with her parents in the Kraków Ghetto during World War II. When the Nazis liquidate the ghetto, Sadie and her pregnant mother are forced to seek refuge in the perilous tunnels beneath the city. One day, Sadie looks up through a grate and sees a girl about her own age buying flowers. Ella Stepanek is an affluent Polish girl living a life of relative ease with her stepmother. While on an errand in the market, she catches a glimpse of something moving beneath a grate in the street and realizes it’s a girl hiding. Ella begins to aid Sadie, and the two become close. But as the dangers of the war worsen, their lives are set on a collision course that will test them in the face of overwhelming odds.