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Susan Meissner, author of A Map to Paradise

With her name on the Hollywood blacklist and her life on hold, starlet Melanie Cole has little choice in company. There is her next-door neighbor, Elwood, but the screenwriter’s agoraphobia allows for just short chats through open windows. He’s her sole confidante, though, as she and her housekeeper, Eva, an immigrant from war-torn Europe, rarely make conversation. Then one early morning, Melanie and Eva spot Elwood’s sister-in-law and caretaker, June, digging in his beloved rose garden. After that they don’t see Elwood at all anymore. Where could a man who never leaves the house possibly have gone? As they try to find out if something has happened to him, unexpected secrets are revealed among all three women, leading to an alliance that seems the only way for any of them to hold on to what they can still call their own.

Week of February 16, 2026

Paperback releases for the week of February 16th include THE UNRAVELING OF JULIA by Lisa Scottoline, a riveting psychological thriller in which a young widow inherits a mysterious Tuscan estate and finds herself thrust into a dangerous conspiracy; Daniel Silva's AN INSIDE JOBa dazzling tale of murder, greed and corruption in which art restorer and legendary spy Gabriel Allon must solve the perfect crime; SHOW DON'T TELLCurtis Sittenfeld's second story collection, which explores marriage, friendship, fame and artistic ambition --- including a story that revisits the main character from her iconic novel, PREPCLOSE YOUR EYES AND COUNT TO 10, a twisty thriller from Lisa Unger in which an extreme game of hide-and-seek turns deadly; and LORNE by Susan Morrison, the definitive biography of Lorne Michaels, the man behind America’s most beloved comedy show, “Saturday Night Live.”