Robbers Roost, Brown’s Hole and Hole-in-the-Wall were three hideouts that collectively were known to outlaws as “Bandit Heaven.” During the 1880s and ‘90s, these remote locations in Wyoming and Utah harbored hundreds of train and bank robbers, horse and cattle thieves, the occasional killer, and anyone else with a price on his head. Tom Clavin's BANDIT HEAVEN is the entertaining story of these tumultuous times and the colorful characters who rode the Outlaw Trail through the frigid mountain passes and throat-parching deserts that connected the three hideouts --- well-guarded enclaves that no sensible lawman would enter.
When the Southern Reach trilogy was first published a decade ago, it was an instant sensation. Each volume climbed the bestseller list; awards were won; the books made the rare transition from paperback original to hardcover; the movie adaptation became a cult classic. And yet, for Jeff VanderMeer, there was never full closure to the story of Area X. There were a few mysteries that had gone unsolved, some key points of view never aired. There were stories left to tell. Structured in three parts, each recounting a new expedition, ABSOLUTION is a brilliant, beautiful and ever-terrifying plunge into unique and fertile literary territory. There are some long-awaited answers here, to be sure, but also more questions and profound new surprises.
A girl must watch her figure but never be vain. She must be intelligent but never a know-it-all. She must be ambitious, if she is clever, but not in a way that shows. She must cook and sew and make do and mend. She must know (but never say) that these skills are, in some fundamental way, flawed and frivolous --- feminine. Girls must stay small, even as they grow. Women must show restraint. And yet. In books, in the landscape of imagination, a girl can run free. Here, with MY GOOD BRIGHT WOLF, Sarah Moss takes on these rules, these lessons from the fables of girlhood, and uses them to fearlessly investigate the nature of memory, the lure of self-control, the impact of privilege, scarcity, parents and love.
In ROMAN YEAR, André Aciman captures the period of his adolescence that began when he and his family first set foot in Rome, after being expelled from Egypt. Though Aciman’s family had been well-off in Alexandria, all vestiges of their status vanished when they fled, and the author, his younger brother and his deaf mother moved into a rented apartment in Rome’s Via Clelia. Though dejected, Aciman’s mother and brother found their way into life in Rome, while Aciman, still unmoored, burrowed into his bedroom to read one book after the other. The world of novels eventually allowed him to open up to the city and, through them, discover the beating heart of the Eternal City. Aciman’s time in Rome did not last long before he and his family moved across the ocean, but by the time they did, he was leaving behind a city he loved.
Reluctant lawyer Andy Carpenter is relieved to be headed back to Paterson, New Jersey, after a week-long family vacation in the Adirondacks. He's ready to put the holly jolly season way behind him and settle in at home with his three dogs. But when they finally arrive, there is an extra dog eagerly awaiting them, as well as one anxious dog sitter. When the dog showed up on the doorstep a few days ago, the sitter knew Andy would know what to do. Indeed, Andy recognizes Murphy, who the Carpenters fostered before the dog went home with BJ Bremer and his mother. When Andy goes to take Murphy back to the Bremers, instead of the happy reunion he expects, he finds BJ's mother in tears. It turns out Murphy ran off…after BJ was arrested for murder. The case isn’t as simple as Andy thought it would be, with BJ suspected of killing one of his professors.
A virus is spreading across America, transforming the infected and making them feral with lust. Sophie, a good Catholic girl, must traverse the hellscape of the midwest to try to find her family while the world around her burns. Along the way she discovers there are far worse fates than dying a virgin. The end times are coming.
Frank Szatowski is shocked when his daughter, Maggie, calls him for the first time in three years. He’s even more surprised when she invites him to her upcoming wedding in New Hampshire. Frank is ecstatic and determined to finally make things right. He arrives to find that the wedding is at a private estate. It seems that Maggie failed to mention that she’s marrying Aidan Gardner, the son of a famous tech billionaire. Feeling desperately out of place, Frank focuses on reconnecting with Maggie and getting to know her new family. But Aidan is withdrawn and evasive; Maggie doesn’t seem to have time for him; and he finds that the locals are disturbingly hostile to the Gardners. Frank needs to know more about this family his daughter is marrying into, but if he pushes too hard, he could lose her forever.
Record snow, sleet and rain are pummeling Vermont, and a wild boar has escaped from an exclusive hunting club nearby. But that won’t stop a very pregnant Mercy Carr from hiking her beloved woods with her loyal dog, Elvis. She’s supposed to be decorating the nursery and helping her mother plan the baby shower, but she’d much rather be playing Scrabble with Homer Grant, a word-loving, shotgun-toting hermit living deep in the forest. But when she and Elvis drop by Homer’s cabin for their weekly game, they arrive to find an unknown dead man --- and no sign of Homer. As they search the woods, Mercy discovers a patch of devastation that could only be left behind by wild boar. She’s relieved when Elvis tracks Homer, injured but alive. But Homer’s troubles are far from over, as he’s still the number one suspect and he remembers nothing of the attack.
Agatha Raisin’s private detective agency has their work cut out for them when a series of shop burglaries disturbs their quiet Cotswolds village. When the break-ins take a violent turn and a murder occurs, it's all hands on deck to find the killer. As if that weren't keeping Agatha busy enough, Sir Charles Fraith has called on her to help stage a glamorous promotional extravaganza on the grounds of his ancestral home, Barfield House. When Agatha begins to receive death threats and narrowly avoids being kidnapped, she takes advantage of a previously arranged trip to Mallorca with her recent paramour, former police officer John Glass, to lie low for a while. Can Agatha track down whoever wants her dead, nail the murderer and keep her romance alive too?
Anna Williams-Bonner has taken care of business. That is to say, she’s taken care of her husband, bestselling novelist Jacob Finch Bonner, and laid to rest those anonymous accusations of plagiarism that so tormented him. Now she is living the contented life of a literary widow, enjoying her husband’s royalty checks in perpetuity. But for the second time in her life, a work of fiction intercedes, and this time it’s her own debut novel, The Afterword. When Anna publishes her book and indulges in her own literary acclaim, she begins to receive excerpts of a novel she never expected to see again, a novel that should no longer exist. Someone out there knows far too much: about her late brother, her late husband, and just possibly...Anna herself. What does this person want, and what are they prepared to do?
Tell us about the books you’ve finished reading with your comments and a rating of 1 to 5 stars. During the contest period from August 22nd to September 5th at noon ET, three lucky readers each will be randomly chosen to win a copy of APOSTLE'S COVE by William Kent Krueger and WHATEVER HAPPENED TO LORI LOVELY? by Sarah McCoy.
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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.