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Adult

by Mark de Castrique - Fiction, Mystery

Former FBI agent-turned-boardinghouse landlady Ethel Fiona Crestwater can outthink and outshoot most men --- and women --- half her age. When someone murders one of her boarders, Ethel springs into action --- much to the surprise of her double-first-cousin-twice-removed, Jesse, who has recently come to stay with her while he attends university. As he watches her photograph the crime scene, conceal evidence and speed-dial the Secret Service director, Jesse realizes that there's much more to Ethel than appearances suggest. When Jesse is assaulted and the gym bag full of cash Ethel had hidden is stolen from the basement, the pair decides it's time to launch their own unofficial investigation.

by Alexandra Benedict - Fiction, Mystery

The annual Christmas Game is afoot at Endgame House, the Armitages' grand family home. This year's prize is to die for --- deeds to the house itself --- but Lily Armitage has no intention of returning. She hasn't been back to Endgame since her mother died 21 years ago, and she has no intention of claiming the house that haunts her dreams. Until, that is, she receives a letter from her aunt promising that the game's riddles will give her the keys not only to Endgame, but to its darkest secrets, including the identity of her mother's murderer. Now, Lily must compete with her estranged cousins for the 12 days of Christmas. She will have to keep her wits about her, because not everyone is playing fair, and there's no telling how many will die before the winner is declared.

by Lise Haines - Fiction, Psychological Suspense, Psychological Thriller, Suspense, Thriller

When Nora agrees to help her new husband, Paul, and his family fix up Hidden Lake Camp, she didn't expect it to be in such a state of ruin. Only a few months, he said. They'd drive north to get Paul's elderly parents settled while he and his brother make enough repairs to sell the property. But the summer camp and its deep lake have other plans. On the first night, Nora stumbles through a first meal with his difficult family. Her sister-in-law shows off a prized collection of handmade knives, 13 in all. Long summer days stretch before them, and one by one the knives begin to disappear. There's talk of ghosts, secret rooms, and someone at the summer camp found dead in the tall grass.

by James J. Butcher - Fantasy, Fiction, Urban Fantasy

On the streets of Boston, the world is divided into the ordinary Usuals and the paranormal Unorthodox. And in the Department of Unorthodox Affairs, the Auditors are the magical elite, government-sanctioned witches with spells at their command. Grimshaw Griswald Grimsby is not one of those witches. After flunking out of the Auditor training program and being dismissed as “not Department material,” Grimsby tried to resign himself to life as a mediocre witch. But he can’t help hoping he’ll somehow get another chance to prove his skill. That opportunity comes with a price when his former mentor, aka the most dangerous witch alive, is murdered down the street from where he works, and Grimsby is the Auditors’ number one suspect.

by Amy E. Reichert - Fiction, Romance, Women's Fiction

With a name like Astra Noel Snow, holiday spirit isn’t just a seasonal specialty --- it’s a way of life. But after a stinging divorce, Astra’s yearly trip to the Milwaukee Christmas market takes on a whole new meaning. She’s ready to eat, drink and be merry, especially with the handsome stranger who saves the best kringle for her at his family bakery. For Jack Clausen, the Julemarked with its snowy lights and charming shops stays the same, while the world outside the joyful street changes, magically leaping from one December to the next every four weeks. He’s never minded living this charmed existence until Astra shows him the life he’s been missing outside of the festive red brick alley.

by Simon Gervais - Adventure, Fiction, Suspense, Thriller

A car explodes along a quiet Prague side street. Among the dead is an undercover Treadstone agent. It's not unusual for such men to meet their fates on an operation, but in this case there's one catch. None of his superiors know what he was doing there. Two Blackbriar operatives, Helen Jouvert and Donovan Wade, are sent to investigate. Their search for answers will take them deeper into the world of conspiracy and fake news than they ever expected. Treadstone and Blackbriar may be two sides of the same coin, intelligence and counterintelligence, but they have one thing in common: answers can be the deadliest commodity of all.

by Sophie Cousens - Comedy, Fiction, Humor, Romance, Women's Fiction

Head-in-the-stars Audrey is about to marry down-to-earth Josh. Though they are polar opposites, they have a healthy, stable relationship. But romance should be unpredictable and full of fireworks, and as the big day approaches, Audrey has found herself wondering if Josh really is "The One." So when Josh’s sister shows up to the rehearsal dinner with Fred, Audrey’s "What If? guy" --- the man she met six years ago and had one amazing day with --- Audrey finds herself torn. When everything that could go wrong with the wedding starts to go wrong, Audrey has to ask herself: Is fate trying to stop her from making a huge mistake? Or does destiny just have a really twisty sense of humor?

by Kate Winkler Dawson - History, Nonfiction, True Crime

Edward Rulloff was a brilliant yet utterly amoral murderer whose crimes spanned decades and whose victims were chosen out of revenge, out of envy and sometimes out of necessity. From his humble beginnings in upstate New York to the dazzling salons and social life he established in New York City, at every turn Rulloff used his intelligence and regal bearing to evade detection and avoid punishment. He could talk his way out of any crime...until one day, his luck ran out. Kate Winkler Dawson draws on hundreds of source materials and never-before-shared historical documents to present one of the first glimpses into the mind of a serial killer through the scientists whose work would come to influence criminal justice for decades to come.

by John Sandford - Fiction, Mystery, Suspense, Thriller

“We’re going to murder people who need to be murdered.” So begins a press release from a mysterious group known only as “The Five” shortly after a vicious predator is murdered in San Francisco. The Five is believed to be made up of vigilante killers who are very bored…and very rich. They target the worst of society --- rapists, murderers and thieves --- and then use their unlimited resources to offset the damage done by those who they’ve killed, donating untraceable Bitcoin to charities and victims via the dark net. The Five soon become the most popular figures on social media, a modern-day Batman, though their motives may not be entirely pure. After a woman is murdered in the Twin Cities, Virgil Flowers and Lucas Davenport are sent in to investigate. And they soon have their hands full.

by Maggie Knox - Comedy, Fiction, Humor, Romance, Women's Fiction

When Sadie and Max are selected as contestants on the famed reality singing show "Starmaker," each thinks they’ve finally gotten their big Nashville break. But then they are paired up for duet week and stun the world with their romantic onstage chemistry. With fans going wild for #Saxie, the network demands that they remain a duo on and offstage, or exit the competition. Faking a relationship until their final performance in the "Starmaker" holiday special shouldn't be too hard, except for one small problem: Sadie and Max can’t stand each other. But with their dreams just within reach, they agree to the ruse. Will their fake relationship be exposed before they can win? Or might their phony connection turn real by the Christmas finale?