Adult

M.J. Stark’s life is picture-perfect, but there is a debilitating sense of loneliness behind her success. So when her boss betrays her and her boyfriend offers her a completely new life in California, she decides to give it a try. Once there, M.J. is left to fend for herself in a small beach town, with only the company of her elderly neighbor, Gloria. One afternoon, M.J. discovers that Gloria has suddenly moved to Paris. In lieu of a goodbye, she’s left a mysterious invitation to a secret club --- one that only reads erotic books. Curious, M.J. accepts and meets the three other hand-selected club members. As they bond over naughty bestsellers and the shocking letters they inherited from the original club members, the four strangers start to divulge the intimate details of their own lives.

Sent away from his native Australia to Canada due to his radical preaching against the Vietnam War, apartheid and other hot-button issues, Father Frank Docherty made for himself a satisfying career as a psychologist and monk. When he returns to Australia to lecture on the future of celibacy and the Catholic Church, he is unwittingly pulled into the lives of two people, both of whom claim to have been sexually abused by a prominent monsignor. As a member of the commission investigating sex abuse within the Church, and as a man of character and conscience, Docherty decides he must confront each party involved. What follows will shake him to the core and call into question many of his own choices.

It's been too long since the entire Quinn family has been able to celebrate the holidays under the same roof, but that's about to change. With Bart back safe and sound from Afghanistan, the Quinns are preparing for a holiday more joyous than any they've experienced in years. And Bart's safe return isn't the family's only good news. Kevin is enjoying married life with Isabelle; Patrick is getting back on his feet after paying his debt to society; Ava thinks she's finally found the love of her life; and Kelley is thrilled to see his family reunited at last. But it just wouldn't be a Quinn family gathering if things went smoothly.

In WHERE THE PAST BEGINS, Amy Tan reveals the ways that our memories and personal experiences can inform our creative work. Drawing on her vivid impressions of her upbringing, she investigates the truths and inspirations behind her writing while illuminating how we all explore, confront and process complex memories, especially half-forgotten ones from childhood. With candor, empathy and humor, Tan sheds light on her own writing process, sharing her hard-won insights on the nature of creativity and inspiration while exploring the universal urge to examine truth through the workings of imagination --- and what that imaginative world tells us about our own lives.

It's just another day at the office for Washington Metro Police lieutenant Sam Holland when a body surfaces off the shores of the Anacostia River. But before Sam can sink her teeth into the new case, Secret Service agents seize her from the crime scene. A threat has been made against her family, but nobody will tell her anything --- including the whereabouts of her husband, Vice President Nick Cappuano. With a ruthless killer out for vengeance, and Nick struggling to maintain his reputation after secrets from his own past are revealed, Sam works to tie the threat to a murder that can't possibly be a coincidence.

Why were no bankers put in prison after the financial crisis of 2008? Why do CEOs seem to commit wrongdoing with impunity? The problem goes beyond banks deemed “Too Big to Fail” to almost every large corporation in America --- to pharmaceutical companies and auto manufacturers and beyond. THE CHICKENSHIT CLUB --- an inside reference to prosecutors too scared of failure and too daunted by legal impediments to do their jobs --- explains why. A character-driven narrative, the book tells the story from inside the Department of Justice. It spans the last decade and a half of prosecutorial fiascos, corporate lobbying, trial losses and culture shifts that have stripped the government of the will and ability to prosecute top corporate executives.

Springtime in the Hamptons comes late, but it’s worth it! Brisk walks on the bright chilly beach, cinnamon buns at tea time, blooming forsythia and...murder? East Hampton innkeeper and chef Antonia Bingham has settled in to town and taken on extra work as an estate manager, giving her entrée her into some of the area’s most glamorous homes. Once inside, Antonia checks the heat, looks for leaks or damage, and finds the occasional dead body. Since the police can’t be trusted, it’s up to Antonia --- a modern-day Miss Marple, with an overly enthusiastic adoration of carbs and a kamikaze love-life --- to put her skills of deduction to use.

In the aftermath of World War II, Charlie St. Clair is pregnant and unmarried. When her parents banish her to Europe so she can terminate her pregnancy, Charlie instead heads to London to find out what happened to her cousin Rose, who disappeared in Nazi-occupied France during the war. A year into World War I, Eve Gardiner is recruited to work as a spy. Sent into enemy-occupied France, she is trained by Lili, who manages a vast network of secret agents. Thirty years later, Eve is still haunted by the betrayal that ultimately tore apart the Alice Network. But then a young American barges into her crumbling London house and utters a name she hasn't heard in decades, launching them both on a mission to find the truth, no matter where it leads.

A retired couple, Gerry and Stella Gilmore, fly from their home in Scotland to Amsterdam for a long weekend. But over the course of these four days, we discover the deep uncertainties that exist between them. Gerry, once an architect, is forgetful and set in his ways. Stella is tired of his lifestyle, worried about their marriage, and angry at his constant undermining of her religious faith. Things are not helped by memories that have begun to resurface of a troubled time in their native Ireland. As their midwinter break comes to an end, we understand how far apart they are --- and can only watch as they struggle to save themselves.

Any of the Warners could have been behind a tragic Fourth of July weekend accident. Having spent the past three decades' worth of summers on Nantucket, the Warners are as much a part of the island as the crust of salt on the ferry. But this year is different: Tripp is no longer the father he was, and it becomes clear that nothing can survive the ravages of time. When tradition turns to tragedy, the creaky old house swirls with suspicion. There are just so many reasons to want someone gone. With no easy answers as to how, why or who, the Warners must face another frightening question: Do they really want to know the truth?