Adult

WHAT THE FIREFLIES KNEW follows KB after her father dies of an overdose and the debts incurred from his addiction cause the loss of the family home in Detroit. Soon thereafter, KB and her teenage sister, Nia, are sent by their overwhelmed mother to live with their estranged grandfather in Lansing, Michigan. Over the course of a single sweltering summer, KB attempts to navigate a world that has turned upside down. Her father has been labeled a fiend. Her mother's smile no longer reaches her eyes. Her sister, once her best friend, now feels like a stranger. Her grandfather is grumpy and silent. The white kids who live across the street are friendly, but only sometimes. And they're all keeping secrets.

“When I was a child, I loved old men, and I could tell that they also loved me.” And so we are introduced to our deliciously incisive narrator: a popular English professor whose charismatic husband at the same small liberal arts college is under investigation for his inappropriate relationships with his former students. The couple have long had a mutual understanding when it comes to their extramarital pursuits, but with these new allegations, life has become far less comfortable for them both. And when our narrator becomes increasingly infatuated with Vladimir, a celebrated, married young novelist who’s just arrived on campus, their tinder box world comes dangerously close to exploding.

Growing up Black in rural North Carolina, Ray McMillian’s life is already mapped out. But Ray has a gift and a dream --- he’s determined to become a world-class professional violinist, and nothing will stand in his way. When he discovers that his beat-up family fiddle is actually a priceless Stradivarius, all his dreams suddenly seem within reach. Together, Ray and his violin take the world by storm. But on the eve of the renowned and cutthroat Tchaikovsky Competition, the violin is stolen, a ransom note for five million dollars left in its place. Without it, Ray feels like he's lost a piece of himself. As the competition approaches, Ray not only must reclaim his precious violin, he must prove to himself --- and the world --- that no matter the outcome, there has always been a truly great musician within him.

The mythical beast goes by many names. Bigfoot. Sasquatch. Yeti. In Black Wolf County, he's called the Ursulina. But to Deputy Rebecca Colder, the beast is no myth. A serial killer has taken on the identity of the monster --- and with each body left behind, there's a chilling message written in blood: I am the Ursulina. In this follow-up to THE DEEP, DEEP SNOW, Brian Freeman takes us on Rebecca's dark journey to reveal the truth about the Ursulina --- a journey that ultimately leads to an excruciating choice that will change her life forever.

Winner of the Andrés Montoya Poetry Prize, Darrel Alejandro Holnes’ first full-length collection is filled with poems that chronicle and question identity, family and allegiance. This Central American love song is in constant motion as it takes us on a lyrical and sometimes narrative journey from Panamá to the USA and beyond. The driving force behind Holnes’ work is a pursuit for a new home, and as he searches, he takes the reader on a wild ride through the most pressing political issues of our time and the most intimate and transformative personal experiences of his life.

In this 1983 short story --- the only short story Toni Morrison ever wrote --- we meet Twyla and Roberta, who have known each other since they were eight years old and spent four months together as roommates in St. Bonaventure shelter. Inseparable then, they lose touch as they grow older, only later to find each other again at a diner, a grocery store and again at a protest. Seemingly at opposite ends of every problem, and at each other's throats each time they meet, the two women still cannot deny the deep bond their shared experience has forged between them.

More than 50 years ago, Peter Lovesey published a short story in an anthology. That short story caught the eye of the great Ruth Rendell, whose praise ignited Lovesey’s lifelong passion for short form crime fiction. On the occasion of his 100th short story, Lovesey has assembled this devilishly clever collection --- 18 yarns of mystery, melancholy and mischief, inhabiting such deadly settings as a theater, a monastery and the book publishing industry. The collection includes that first story that launched his story-writing career, as well as three exclusive new stories. In addition, Lovesey fans will delight in a personal essay by the author about the historical inspirations --- and in an appearance by the irascible Bath detective Peter Diamond.

For almost a decade, Claudia has counseled patients at Mercy Street, a clinic in the heart of the city. A small, determined group of anti-abortion demonstrators appears each morning at its door. As the protests intensify, fear creeps into Claudia’s days, a humming anxiety she manages with frequent visits to Timmy, an affable pot dealer in the midst of his own existential crisis. At Timmy’s, she encounters a random assortment of customers, including Anthony, a lost soul who spends most of his life online, chatting with the mysterious Excelsior11 --- the screenname of Victor Prine, an anti-abortion crusader who has set his sights on Mercy Street and is ready to risk it all for his beliefs.

It’s 1959, and a new killer haunts the streets of London, having baffled Scotland Yard. The newspapers call him The Florist because of the rose he brands on his victims. The police have turned yet again to the Inquirers at Miss Brickett’s for assistance, and second-year Marion Lane is assigned the case. But she’s already dealing with a mystery of her own, having received an unsigned letter warning her that one of the three new recruits should not be trusted. She dismisses the letter at first, focusing on The Florist case, but her informer seems to be one step ahead, predicting what will happen before it does. But when a fellow second-year Inquirer is murdered, Marion takes matters into her own hands.

A Latina hero in the elite macho tech world of Silicon Valley, Silvia Vasquez-Lavado privately was hanging by a thread. Deep in the throes of alcoholism, hiding her sexuality from her family, and repressing the abuse she’d suffered as a child, she started climbing. Something about the brute force required for the ascent woke her up. She then took her biggest pain as a survivor to the biggest mountain: Everest. At times hair-raising, nerve-racking and always challenging, Silvia remembers the acute anxiety of leading a group of novice climbers to Everest’s base, all the while coping with her own nerves of summiting. But there were also moments of peace, joy and healing with the strength of her fellow survivors and community propelling her forward.