Recent Dartmouth dropout Mei drives a limo to make ends meet. Her grandfather convinces her to allow her customers to pay under the table, and before she knows it, she is working as a routine chauffeur for sex workers. Mei does her best to mind her own business, but her knack for discretion soon leads her on a life-changing trip with a new client. Henry piques Mei’s interest. Toting an enormous black suitcase with him everywhere he goes, he’s more concerned with taking frequent breaks than making good time on the road. When Mei discovers Henry's secret, she does away with her usual close-lipped demeanor and decides she has no choice but to confront him. What Henry reveals rocks her to her core and shifts this once casual, transactional road trip to one of moral stakes and dangerous consequences.
It’s a beautiful day in Newport, Rhode Island, when Phoebe Stone arrives at the grand Cornwall Inn. She's immediately mistaken by everyone in the lobby for one of the wedding people, but she’s actually the only guest at the Cornwall who isn’t here for the big event. Phoebe is here because she’s dreamed of coming for years. She hoped to shuck oysters and take sunset sails with her husband. But she’s here without him, at rock bottom, and determined to have one last decadent splurge on herself. Meanwhile, the bride has accounted for every detail and every possible disaster the weekend might yield…except for, well, Phoebe and Phoebe's plan --- which makes it that much more surprising when the two women can’t stop confiding in each other.
First-century Rome is plagued by all the evils the have beset major cities since time immemorial: crime, corruption, squalor and, worst of all, tourists. When a barge full of those entitled creatures arrives in Rome, they hit all the touristy hot-spots (the Amphitheatre, the Capitol, the dodgy bars with dubious entertainments) before departing for the next destination --- leaving behind one of their party, dead and floating in the Tiber. While the authorities first try to pass her death off as a suicide, it’s quickly proved that the victim was strangled to death and her body was dumped. When Flavia Albia, a private informer, learns that the victim was in Rome searching for the man who abandoned her --- Florius, Albia’s vicious nemesis --- Albia is determined to find out the truth behind the murder and finally have her revenge.
England, 1881. Hereford Cathedral stands sentinel over the city, keeping its secrets, holding long-forgotten souls in its stony embrace. Hecate Cavendish speeds through the cobbled streets on her bicycle, heading for her new life as Assistant Librarian. But this is no ordinary collection of books. The cathedral houses an ancient chained library. The most prized artifact, however, is the medieval world map that hangs next to Hecate’s desk. Little does she know how much the curious people and mythical creatures depicted on it will come to mean to her. Nor does she suspect that there are lost souls waiting for her in the haunted cathedral. Some will become her dearest friends. Some will seek her help in finding peace. Others will put her in great peril and, as she quickly learns, threaten the lives of everyone she loves.
Twelve years ago, Addie Fullbright’s dying friend entrusted her with a huge secret. It’s so shattering that Addie felt she had to leave her hometown of Starlight, Alabama, to keep from revealing a devastating truth to someone she cares for deeply. But when her beloved aunt gets a shocking diagnosis and asks her to come back to Starlight to help run the family bakery, Addie knows it’s finally time to go home again. Tessa Jane Wingrove-Fullbright’s world is suddenly in shambles after a painful breakup, her favorite aunt’s unexpected health troubles, and because crushing expectations from the Wingrove side of her family are forcing her to keep secrets and make painful choices. When she’s called back to Starlight to help her aunt, she is barely holding herself together and fears she’ll never find her way back to who she used to be.
The Precipice is a legendary, family-owned hotel on the rocky coast of Maine. With the recent passing of their father, the Bishop sisters --- Iris, Vicki and Faith --- have come for the weekend to claim it. But with a hurricane looming and each of the Bishop sisters harboring dangerous secrets, there's murder in the air --- and not everyone who checks into the Precipice will be checking out. In the mix is the Precipe’s 19-year-old chambermaid, Charley Kelley, who is smart, resilient, older than her years, and in desperate straits. The arrival of the Bishop sisters could spell disaster for Charley. Will they close the hotel? Fire her? Discover her habit of pilfering from guests? Or, even worse, learn that she's using a guest room to hide a woman on the run? Could this reunion be the death of them all?
Jen Stonebreaker hasn't entered into a big-wave surfing competition since witnessing her husband's tragic death 25 years ago at the Monsters of the Mavericks. Now, she is ready to tackle those same Monsters with her twin sons, Casey and Brock, who have become competitive surfers in a perilous sport. Casey spends his days helping with the family restaurant. His love for the ocean and his willingness to expose illegal poachers on his platforms puts him on a collision course with a crime syndicate eager to destroy anyone threatening their business. The founder of Breath of Life, a church and rescue mission that assists with natural disasters that no one else will touch, Brock has lived an adventurous and sometimes violent life. But threats to destroy his mission --- and his family --- swirl around him.
Presley Fry has been an assistant at the Late Night Show for way too long. She’s adopted a “business casual” approach to dating to save herself from the embarrassment of seeking genuine connection, and she’s content to let her gregarious roommate, Isabelle, orchestrate her entire social life. Not completely disillusioned, Presley is enamored with the world of stand-up comedy. The joy she finds in discovering up-and-coming comedians is enough for now. Presley is still reeling from her mother's death. Enter Susan Clark, her late mother's childhood best friend. Susan is married to the head of the network where Presley works, and she’s determined to take Presley under her wing. She’s equally determined to connect Presley with her son, the bright and affable Lawrence, who couldn’t be further from Presley’s type.
Newlywed Chief of Police Kate Burkholder is summoned to a suspicious fire in the woods, where she discovers a charred body. According to the coroner, the deceased --- an Amish man named Milan Swanz --- was chained to a stake and burned alive. Kate knows all too well that the Amish prefer to handle their problems without interference from the outside world, and no one will speak about the murdered man. From what she’s able to piece together, Swanz led a deeply troubled life and recently had been excommunicated. When her own brother is implicated in the case, Kate finds herself not only at odds with the Amish, the world of which she was once a part, but also the English community and her counterparts in law enforcement. The investigation takes a violent turn when Kate’s life is threatened by a mysterious stranger.
Jasmyn and King Williams move their family to the planned Black utopia of Liberty, California, hoping to find a community of like-minded people. King settles in at once, embracing the Liberty ethos, including the luxe wellness center at the top of the hill. But Jasmyn struggles to find her place. She expected to find liberals and social justice activists striving for racial equality, but Liberty residents seem more focused on booking spa treatments and ignoring the world’s troubles. Jasmyn’s only friends in the community are equally perplexed and frustrated by most residents' outlook. Then Jasmyn discovers a terrible secret about Liberty and its founders. Frustration turns to dread as their loved ones start embracing the Liberty way of life. Will the truth destroy her world in ways she never could have imagined?
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Coming Soon
Curious about what books will be released in the months ahead so you can pre-order or reserve them? Then click on the months below.
August's Books on Screen roundup includes the films The Thursday Murder Club, My Oxford Year and Night Always Comes on Netflix, The Map That Leads to You on Prime Video, the Providence Falls trilogy on Hallmark, and She Rides Shotgun in theaters; the series premieres of "Outlander: Blood of My Blood" on STARZ and "The Terminal List: Dark Wolf" on Prime Video; the season premieres of "The Marlow Murder Club" on PBS "Masterpiece" and "My Life with the Walter Boys" on Netflix; the conclusion of MGM+'s "The Institute"; the season finales of HBO Max's "And Just Like That..." and AMC's "Nautilus"; and the DVD/Blu-ray releases of The King of Kings and How to Train Your Dragon.