Adult

Steve Martin has never written about his career in the movies before. In NUMBER ONE IS WALKING, he teams up with New Yorker cartoonist Harry Bliss to produce an illustrated memoir in which he shares anecdotes from the sets of his beloved films --- Father of the Bride, Roxanne, The Jerk, Three Amigos and many more --- bringing readers directly into his world. He shares charming tales of antics, moments of inspiration, and exploits with the likes of Paul McCartney, Diane Keaton, Robin Williams and Chevy Chase. Martin details his 40 years in the movie biz, as well as his stand-up comedy, banjo playing, writing and cartooning, all with his unparalleled wit.

When Charles Lindbergh, Jr. is kidnapped from his family home in New Jersey in 1932, the case makes international headlines. Already celebrated for his flight across the Atlantic, his father, Charles, Sr., is the country’s golden boy, with his wealthy, lovely wife, Anne Morrow Lindbergh, by his side. But there’s someone else in their household --- Betty Gow, a Scottish immigrant now known around the world as the Lindbergh Nanny. Far from home and bruised from a love affair gone horribly wrong, Betty finds comfort in caring for Charlie and warms to the attentions of handsome sailor Henrik. Then Charlie disappears. Suddenly a suspect in the eyes of both the media and the public, Betty must find the truth about what really happened that night.

They may have managed to win a major battle against the powerful enemy determined to destroy civilization as we know it. But the war continues, with high school seniors Alex Chin and Samantha Dixon embarking on a desperate journey to save mankind. The roadmap for their journey lies in a mysterious book, the language of which has never been deciphered, until Alex finds himself able to translate the words that may hold the keys to saving the future. But an ageless foe, long the guardian of the secrets his race has left behind on Earth, arises to stop them at all costs. Over the ruins of the lost Mayan city of El Mirador, a blood moon is about to rise, triggering the end of mankind unless Alex and Sam can prevail in a struggle that will determine the fate of the planet.

Frank is another dreamer whose life is suddenly burned to the ground. More a disillusioned literature Ph.D. than an experienced financier, he had naively agreed to join his wife’s inheritance with his own personal guarantee of a college friend’s private equity partnership debt. The business implosion and subsequent bankruptcy took all their assets. Francy, an orphaned European heiress, now finds herself homeless, still married to pleasant, witty Frank. The couple flees Manhattan to live at a desolate non-working Hudson Valley farm. Frank starts an artisanal brewery with a charismatic new eccentric friend and takes up fly fishing. A local doctor, perceiving Frank’s depression, prescribes that he gain some confidence through self-taught fishing.

In 1990, while serving a sentence in San Quentin for armed robbery, Jarvis Jay Masters was implicated as an accessory in the murder of a prison guard. A 23-year-old Black man, Jarvis was sentenced to death in the gas chamber. While in the maximum security section of Death Row, using the only instrument available to him --- a ball-point pen filler --- Masters' astounding memoir is a testament to the tenacity of the human spirit and the talent of a fine writer. Offering us scenes from his life that are at times poignant, revelatory, frightening, soul-stirring, painful, funny and uplifting, THAT BIRD HAS MY WINGS tells the story of the author’s childhood with parents addicted to heroin, an abusive foster family, a life of crime and imprisonment, and the eventual embracing of Buddhism.

Chuck Ayers can’t decide if he should make the annual trip to Hilton Head without his late wife, Cat. Ella Burke works two jobs to make ends meet and fill the hours while she waits for news about her missing daughter. Kirsten Bonato put her aspirations for veterinary school aside after her father’s sudden death and finds comfort working at an animal shelter. These three individuals’ stories intersect in surprising and heartwarming ways as each person discovers how to move forward with their lives.

Five years ago, Nora Wilder disappeared. The older of her two daughters, Zadie, should have seen it coming, because she can literally see things coming. But not even her psychic abilities were able to prevent their mother from vanishing one morning. Zadie’s estranged younger sister, Finn, can’t see into the future, but she has an uncannily good memory --- so good that she remembers not only her own memories, but the echoes of memories other people have left behind. On the afternoon of her graduation party, Finn is seized by an “echo” more powerful than anything she’s experienced before: a woman singing a song she recognizes, a song about a bird. When Finn wakes up alone in an aviary with no idea of how she got there, she realizes who the memory belongs to: Nora.

Defense Attorney Robin Lockwood is summoned by retired District Attorney Francis Melville to meet with him at Black Oaks, the manor he owns up in the Oregon mountains. Originally built in 1628 in England, there's a murderous legend and curse attached to the mansion. Melville wants Lockwood's help in righting a wrongful conviction from his days as a DA. Successful in their efforts, Melville invites Lockwood up to Black Oaks for a celebration. She finds herself among an odd group of invitees --- including the bitter, newly released Jose Alvarez. When Melville is found murdered, with a knife connected to the original curse, Lockwood finds herself faced with a conundrum: Who is the murderer among them, and how can she stop that person before there's another victim?

Diana Merriwell and Giles Sinclair only tolerate one another for the sake of their nearest and dearest. Everyone believes that the two of them are meant to be together, but Diana and Giles know that their constant pithy barbs come from a shared disdain --- not a hidden attraction. But they do have one thing in common --- the secrets they can’t risk escaping. When Giles’ father, the curmudgeonly Duke of Harpenden, unexpectedly turns up his toes, it’s only a matter of time before someone comes crawling out of the woodwork who knows the true circumstances of his only son's birth. As the threat of blackmail becomes real, Giles must uncover the truth of his parentage first, or else he and all those who depend upon him will be ruined.

It’s 1967, and for young Richard it’s a time of heartbreak and turmoil. Over the span of a few months, his brother, Mark, is killed in Vietnam; his father loses his job and moves the family from California to his grandmother’s abandoned home in Utah; and his parents make the painful decision to separate. Richard does his best to remain strong --- but when he’s run down by bullies at his new school, he meets Mr. Foster, an elderly neighbor who chases off the bullies, and they become fast friends. As the holidays approach, the joy and light of Christmas seem unlikely to permeate the Evans home as things take a grim turn for the worse. And just when it seems like he has nothing left to lose, Richard is confronted by a startling revelation.