Set against the backdrop of the Age of Exploration, BLACK FLAGS, BLUE WATERS reveals the dramatic and surprising history of American piracy’s “Golden Age” --- spanning the late 1600s through the early 1700s --- when lawless pirates plied the coastal waters of North America and beyond. Eric Jay Dolin illustrates how American colonists at first supported these outrageous pirates in an early display of solidarity against the Crown, and then violently opposed them.

A group of criminals in 1946 pull off the heist of the century, stealing a dozen priceless works of art from a Boston museum. But while the thieves get caught, the art is never found. Forty years later, the last surviving thief gets out of jail and goes hunting for the loot, involving some innocent college students in his dangerous plan --- and 30 years after that, in the present day, the former college kids, now all grown up, are drawn back into danger as the still-missing art tempts a deadly new generation of treasure hunters.

Winner of Japan’s prestigious Akutagawa Prize, CONVENIENCE STORE WOMAN is the incomparable story of Keiko Furukura, a 36-year-old Tokyo resident who has been working at the Hiiromachi “Smile Mart” for the past 18 years. Keiko has never fit in --- neither in her family nor in school --- but in her convenience store, she is able to find peace and purpose with rules clearly delineated by the store’s manual, and copying her colleagues’ dress, mannerisms and speech. She plays the part of a “normal person” excellently --- more or less. Keiko is very happy, but those close to her pressure her to find a husband and a proper career, prompting her to take desperate action.

A spate of violent deaths has horrified London, and Rachel Savernake --- the enigmatic daughter of a notorious hanging judge --- is on the killer’s trail. Jacob Flint, a young newspaperman temporarily manning The Clarion's crime desk, is looking for the scoop that will make his name. He's certain there is more to Miss Savernake's amateur sleuthing than meets the eye. He's not the only one. Flint's pursuit of Rachel Savernake will draw him ever deeper into a labyrinth of deception and corruption. Murder by murder, he'll be swept ever closer to its dark heart --- an ancient place of execution. Twisted family relationships add to a trust-no-one narrative positively reeking with atmosphere.

An old friend calls Catherine Lockhart and Liam Taggart to his famous Italian restaurant to enlist their help. His aunt is being evicted from her home in the Tuscan hills by a powerful corporation claiming they own the deeds, even though she can produce her own set of deeds to her land. Catherine and Liam’s only clue is a bound handwritten manuscript, entirely in German, and hidden in its pages is a story long-forgotten. What became of Ada Baumgarten? How is she connected to the conflicting land deeds of a small Italian villa? As they dig through the layers of lies, corruption and human evil, Catherine and Liam uncover an unfinished story of heart, redemption and hope --- the ending of which is yet to be written.

Fred Rogers (1928-2003) was an enormously influential figure in the history of television. As the creator and star of "Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood," he was a champion of compassion, equality and kindness, fiercely devoted to children and taking their questions about the world seriously. Based on original interviews, oral histories and archival documents, THE GOOD NEIGHBOR traces Rogers’ personal, professional and artistic life through decades of work. It includes his surprising decision to walk away from the show in 1976 to make television for adults, only to return to the neighborhood to help children face complex issues such as divorce, discipline, mistakes, anger and competition.

After the sudden death of her husband, Annie Devereaux flees to England, site of the nostalgic fantasies her father spun for her before he deserted the family. A chance encounter in London leads Annie to cancel her return to New York and move in with Julian, the disaffected, moody son of Helena Denby, a famous British geneticist. As their relationship progresses, Annie meets Julian's sisters, Isabel and Sasha, and becomes infatuated with visions of their idyllic childhood in England's West Country. But the more she uncovers about Julian's past, the more he explodes into rage and violence. Finally tearing herself away, Annie winds up adrift in London, rescued from her loneliness only when she and Isabel form an unexpected bond.

J is a student at a school deep in a forest far away from the rest of the world. He is one of only 26 students, all of whom think of the school’s enigmatic founder as their father. The students are being trained to be prodigies of art, science and athletics, and their life at the school is all they know --- and all they are allowed to know. But J is beginning to ask questions. What is the real purpose of this place? Why can the students never leave? And what secrets is their father hiding from them? Meanwhile, on the other side of the forest, in a school very much like J’s, a girl named K is asking the same questions. As K and J work to investigate the secrets of their two strange schools, they come to discover something even more mysterious: each other.

Jane Campbell avoids confrontation at any costs. Given the choice, she’ll always let her husband, Leon --- a bestselling crime writer --- take the lead, while she focuses on her two children and her job as a creative writing teacher. After she receives another rejection for her novel, Leon urges Jane to put her hobby to rest. And why shouldn’t she, when they appear to have the perfect house and the perfect life? But then Leon is brutally attacked in their driveway, and suddenly their perfect life becomes the stuff of nightmares. Who would commit such a hateful offense? With her husband in a coma, Jane must open her eyes to the problems in her life, as well as the secrets that have been kept from her.

Seventeen-year-old Riggle is living in rural Indiana with his uncle and uncle’s girlfriend after the death of his parents. Now his uncle is missing, probably on a drug binge. It’s Monday, and $800 in rent is due Friday. Riggle, who’s been suspended from school, has to either find his uncle or get the money together himself. His mission exposes him to a motley group of Opioid locals --- encounters by turns perplexing, harrowing and heartening.

It seems like just another night shift for Lucy, an overworked ER physician, until six-year-old Ben is brought in as the sole survivor from a horrifying crime scene. Lucy, who’s grappling with a personal upheaval of her own, feels a profound, unexpected connection to the little boy. She wants to help him…but will recovering his memory heal him, or damage him further? Across town, Clare will soon be turning 100 years old. She has long believed that the lifetime of secrets she’s been keeping don’t matter to anyone anymore, but a surprising encounter makes her realize that the time has come to tell her story. As Ben, Lucy and Clare struggle to confront the events that shattered their lives, something stronger than fate is working to bring them together.

Irene Steele's idyllic life is shattered when she is woken up by a late-night phone call. Her beloved husband has been found dead, but before Irene can process this tragic news, she must confront the perplexing details of his death. He was found on St. John island, a tropical paradise far removed from their suburban life. Leaving the cold winter behind, Irene flies down to the beautiful Caribbean beaches of St. John only to make another shocking discovery: her husband had a secret second family. As Irene investigates the mysterious circumstances of her husband's death, she is plunged into a web of intrigue and deceit belied by the pristine white sand beaches of St. John's.

Lucius is a 22-year-old medical student when World War I explodes across Europe. He enlists, expecting a position at a well-organized field hospital. However, upon his arrival, he discovers a freezing outpost ravaged by typhus. The other doctors have fled, and only a mysterious nurse named Sister Margarete remains. But Lucius has never lifted a surgeon's scalpel. And as the war rages across the winter landscape, he finds himself falling in love with the woman from whom he must learn a brutal makeshift medicine. Then one day, an unconscious soldier is brought in from the snow. He seems beyond rescue, until Lucius makes a fateful decision that will change the lives of doctor, patient and nurse forever.