Adult

This collection of short essays, Christopher Buckley’s first since WRY MARTINIS, contains 89 pieces written for publications such as Forbes, the New York Times and The Daily Beast. Some of the pieces are serious, most notably his tributes to deceased friends and a report on his visit to Auschwitz. But most of the essays contain the sardonic humor one expects from a writer who, while riding a train’s quiet car, appoints himself “Shush, Destroyer of Conversation.”

French novelist Charlotte-Rose de la Force has been banished from the court of Versailles by the Sun King, Louis XIV, after a series of scandalous love affairs. At the convent, she is comforted by an old nun, Sœur Seraphina, who tells her the tale of a young girl who, a hundred years earlier, is sold by her parents for a handful of bitter greens.

Having already lost his mother and only brother, 24-year-old Will Boast finds himself absolutely alone when his father dies of alcoholism. Numbly settling the matters of his father's estate, Boast is deep inside his grief when he stumbles upon documents revealing a secret his father had intended to keep: He’d had another family before Will's --- a wife and two sons in England. This revelation leads to a flood of new questions. Did his father abandon this first family, or was he pushed away?

As a private investigator, Kathleen Stone relies on her ability to blend into the background. But when a cheating spouse she’s been trailing ends up dead under suspicious circumstances, she fears that someone she angered in her past job --- busting gangs and drug dealers as an undercover cop --- has seen through her disguises. Now she must work with her former colleagues in the NYPD to solve the case before she’s the next victim.

Crime writer Erica Falck is shocked to discover a Nazi medal among her late mother’s possessions. To uncover her family's past, Erica must read her mother’s wartime diaries. Could what little knowledge she has be enough to endanger her husband and newborn baby? The dark past is coming to light, and no one will escape the truth of how they came to be.

The Kong women are rocked by 18 year old Ari's disastrous trip to her "home" orphanage in China, which has sent her into a self-destructive spiral. Her adoptive mother, Charlie, is desperate to keep her daughter safe. Meanwhile, Charlie must endure the scrutiny of her beautiful, Bryn Mawr educated mother, Gran --- who, as the daughter of a cultured Chinese doctor, came to America to survive Mao's revolution --- and her sister, Les, a brilliant judge. As they cope with Ari's journey of discovery, the Kong women will come face to face with the truths of their lives --- intertwining stories of accomplishments, secrets, and love.

Corporal Elijah Russell is assigned to an elite Special Forces unit preparing to stage a secret mission in eastern Afghanistan. His task is to train the Green Berets --- fiercely loyal to their enigmatic commander, Captain Wynne --- to ride the horses they will use to execute this mission through treacherous mountain terrain. But as the team presses farther into enemy territory, the nature of their operation only becomes more mysterious and Wynne’s charismatic power takes on a darker cast.

Olivia and Brody have chosen the perfect location for their destination wedding: a friend’s idyllic inn in the Mediterranean town of Cassis. However, the weekend is quickly thrown off balance by guests. Olivia’s daughters, one reckless and one practical, both make brash decisions. Brody’s mother is coping with the fallout of her own marriage, and then there is Jake, the playboy best man. In the middle is Olivia, navigating the dramas and joys of starting a new life.

Eddy Harkness is a brilliant young detective who currently empties parking meters and struggles to redeem his disgraced family name. One night Harkness’s police-issue Glock disappears. Unable to report the theft, Harkness starts a secret search --- just as a string of fatal accidents lead him to uncover a new, dangerous smart drug, Third Rail. With only a plastic disc gun to protect him, Harkness begins a high-stakes investigation that leads him into the darkest corners of the city.

Kim Philby’s story is not a tale of one spy, but of three: Philby, his fellow Englishman Nicholas Elliott, and the American James Jesus Angleton. These men supposedly served the same cause, but Philby was channeling all of their confidences to his Soviet handlers. As the web of suspicion closed around him, Elliott and Angleton never abandoned him. When the truth was revealed, it would have profound consequences on those who thought they knew him best.