Katarina Shaw has always known that she was destined to become an Olympic skater. When she meets Heath Rocha, a lonely kid stuck in the foster care system, their instant connection makes them a formidable duo on the ice. Clinging to skating --- and each other --- to escape their turbulent lives, Kat and Heath go from childhood sweethearts to champion ice dancers. Until a shocking incident at the Olympic Games brings their partnership to a sudden end. As the 10-year anniversary of their final skate approaches, an unauthorized documentary reignites the public obsession with Shaw and Rocha, claiming to uncover the “real story.” Kat wants nothing to do with the documentary, but she can’t stand the thought of someone else defining her legacy. So after a decade of silence, she’s telling her story.
James and Johnny Golden were once inseparable. For as long as she can remember, James shared an almost supernatural connection with her twin brother, Johnny, that went beyond intuition. So when Johnny is killed in a tragic accident, James knows before her phone even rings that her brother is gone. When James arrives in the secluded town of Six Rivers, California, to settle her brother’s affairs, she’s forced to revisit the ominous events of their shared past and finally face Micah, the only other person who knows their secrets --- and the only man she has ever loved. But as James delves deeper into Johnny’s world, she realizes that their unique connection hasn’t completely vanished. The more she immerses herself in his life, the more questions she has about the brother she thought she knew.
Oona Kelly Webster has much to be grateful for. She has a loving family and a job she adores, editing a prestigious line of books. To celebrate their 25th wedding anniversary, she and her husband, Charles, have planned a visit to France. But then Charles drops a bombshell. He has been living a lie --- hiding an affair for a year --- and he is leaving Oona for a younger male lover. Although devastated, Oona decides to travel to France without Charles. Just as she’s catching her breath, she’s dealt another blow: Her company’s merger will eliminate her job. The only silver lining is that she can remain in France, where the simple life in beautiful surroundings slowly begins to heal her, as does the little white dog she rescues and her friendly neighbor hailing from Trinidad, who delights her with his openness and warmth.
The Agarwals have gathered on a private, luxury island for a much-anticipated family reunion. Raj, a business tycoon, is about to announce to his wife and three children the succession plan for his multimillion-dollar Delhi-based company. Shalini is ready to have her husband to herself after years of sacrifice to the family business. Myra, owner of the island and host of the reunion, is (unbeknownst to her family) on the brink of bankruptcy. Aseem, the supposed heir, is torn between his love for his wife and his duty to family. Aisha, a party girl whose antics are legendary, can’t pass up an opportunity to wreak havoc. And then there’s Zoe, Aseem’s wife, the outsider whose #InstaPerfect life is built on a foundation of lies. They all have secrets they would die to protect. Who will survive this high-stakes reunion, and who will become a victim of their own greed?
Growing up, May Hanover was always a good girl. Raised by a first-generation Chinese single mother with high expectations, May didn’t have room to slip up, let alone fail. But even good girls have secrets. And regrets. When it comes to her friendship with Lauren and Kelsey, she's had her fair share of both. Their bond --- forged when May was just 12 years old --- has withstood a tragic accident, individual scandals, heartbreak and loss. Now the three friends have reunited for the first time in years for a few days of sun and fun in the Hamptons. But a chance encounter with a pair of strangers leads to a drunken prank that goes horribly awry. When she finds herself at the center of an urgent police investigation, May begins to wonder if Lauren and Kelsey are keeping secrets from her, testing the limits of her loyalty to lifelong friends.
Griffin Hurt is in over his head. Between his role as Peter Proton on the hit TV show “The Nuclear Family” and the pressure of high school at New York's elite Boyd Prep --- along with the increasingly compromising demands of his wrestling coach --- he's teetering on the edge of collapse. Then comes Naomi Shah, 22 years Griffin’s senior. Unwilling to lay his burdens on his shrink --- whom he shares with his father, mother and younger brother, Oren --- Griffin soon finds himself in the back of Naomi’s Mercedes sedan, again and again, confessing all to the one person who might do him the most harm.
Meg Russo and her husband, Justin, were driving their daughter, Lily, to Ithaca College. Then a car swerved up beside them, and Meg lost control of her vehicle. Justin didn’t survive the accident. Four months later, Meg works to distract herself from her grief and guilt, reopening her small local bookstore. But soon after she returns to work, bizarre messages and visitors begin to arrive, with strangers threatening Meg and Lily. They are obsessed with a young adult novel titled The Prophesy. An online group of believers are convinced that it heralds the apocalypse, and social media posts link the book --- and Meg’s reclusive musician father --- to Satanism. These conspiracy theorists vow to seek revenge on The Prophesy’s author: Meg. As the threats turn violent, Meg begins to suspect that Justin’s death may not have been an accident.
To Kaley Arens, a PhD student and an expert in folklore, fairy stories have always had a power and an allure beyond mere entertainment. It’s only when Kaley accompanies her lifelong friend, Jobi, on a visit to his home that she realizes how much she still has to learn. Bellis is another world --- a stunningly beautiful and seductive one, with its own royalty, its own rules, and inhabitants who breathe life into the tales she was taught were fiction. Kaley has a mysterious connection with Jobi and with Bellis, and abilities that may help determine this world’s fate. Tasked with locating a lost prince, Kaley and her companions journey through a land both thrilling and terrifying, where the uncanny and the familiar go hand in hand. But in fairy tales, heroes and villains are easy to discern. Here, nothing is quite as it seems.
The stories in Paul Theroux’s fascinating collection are both exotic and domestic, their settings ranging from Hawaii to Africa and New England. Each focuses on life’s vanishing points --- a moment when seemingly all lines running through one’s life converge, and one can see no farther, yet must deal with the implications. With the insight, subtlety and empathy that has long characterized his work, Theroux has written deeply moving stories about memory, longing and the passing of time, once again reclaiming his status as a master of the form.
Paul Brightman is a man on the run, living under an assumed name in a small New England town with a million-dollar bounty on his head. When his security is breached, Paul is forced to flee into the New Hampshire wilderness to evade Russian operatives who seemingly can predict his every move. Six years ago, Paul was a rising star on Wall Street who fell in love with a beautiful photographer named Tatyana --- unaware that her father was a Russian oligarch and the object of considerable interest from several U.S. intelligence agencies. Now, to save his own life, Paul must unravel a decades-old conspiracy that extends to the highest reaches of the government.
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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 Providence Falls trilogy on Hallmark, The Map That Leads to You on Prime Video, and She Rides Shotgun in theaters; the conclusion of "And Just Like That..." on HBO Max and "The Institute" on MGM+; 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; and the DVD/Blu-ray releases of The King of Kings and How to Train Your Dragon.