Adult

When mystery author Berit Gardner agrees to attend a writer's conference in the idyllic French countryside, she dreams of basking in the sun and nurturing budding talent. But her vacation takes a dark turn when the keynote speaker --- a notorious literary titan known for his biting critiques --- drops dead at the end of her lecture. As whispers of foul play swirl, Berit quickly realizes she's stepped into a tangled web of jealousy, betrayal and long-held grudges. Enter the French commissaire, who is less than thrilled to have a curious author meddling in her investigation. But as the suspects pile up, she reluctantly recognizes that Berit's sharp instincts could crack the case wide open. With a colorful cast of authors, agents and aspiring writers all hiding secrets, the stakes rise higher with every clue uncovered.

When infamous chef, restaurateur and television personality Maria Capello's husband died, the media circus was intense…and quick to cast the blame. Whispers claimed Maria murdered her husband to build her culinary empire on his bones, and that there was an all-too-grisly reason his body was never recovered. Yet for the past few decades, the Capello family maintained their stoney silence --- until now. Thea Woods has no idea why she was chosen to work with Maria on her sure-to-be-infamous memoir, but she doesn't question her luck. Spirited away to the Capellos' rustic upstate farm, she's soon embroiled in the mystery --- and cut off from the rest of the world. As the true story of Maria's past unfolds and the stench of rot hidden behind the kind coastal grandmother veneer rises, Thea finds herself trapped...and desperately afraid.

Margaret Elliot has lived a seemingly charmed life --- until the recent loss of her beloved husband. Since then, Margaret has been seeing visions of her aunt Edith, who raised her after her parents died when she was a baby. Margaret becomes convinced that Aunt Edith is trying to tell her something important. As she follows the clues that almost magically present themselves, it becomes clear there is a secret from Margaret’s past waiting to be uncovered. She also worries about her three grown children. Her eldest daughter, Mouse, continues to struggle with the grief of losing her father. Her son, Lawrie, faces life-altering changes that he both longs for and fears --- while Tom, Lawrie’s twin, must wrestle with the consequences of a work decision that has blown up his entire life. 

Reeling from her husband’s death and best friend’s dementia diagnosis, 76-year-old Linda Davidson feels lost and alone. Eager to escape the tension at home, Linda goes to visit her friend at Legacy Place, a memory care facility for the elderly, where she meets Jenny Cooper, a 92-year-old dementia patient who makes a shocking confession: she kills people. Linda dismisses the so-called secret as the confusion of an ailing mind, but Jenny seems strangely lucid during their visits as she recounts stories of her many victims --- mostly men who hurt her. Then a fellow patient at Legacy Place dies. Everyone else sees it as the natural death of a sick old man, but Linda can’t help but wonder: Is there any chance Jenny is telling the truth?

Eugenia Ward started her own company when she turned 40, 14 years ago. With the fashion business in major downturn, she has recently suffered heavy losses, and Eugenia desperately needs new investors --- and new ideas.  At the same time, she has been the single mother for her five adult children for more than a decade. Wedding plans for her daughter Gloria are ballooning in expense even as Gloria’s fiancé's behavior causes Eugenia to question her daughter’s judgment. Meanwhile, Gloria’s sister Daphne is due to deliver twins right around the wedding date...which is also very close to New York Fashion Week. The silver lining in it all may be Patrick Hughes, a successful real estate developer who’s also going through a rough patch. Eugenia finds friendship with Patrick and starts to imagine a new beginning. But as the family gathers for the big wedding, a hurricane is looming on the horizon.

Tasha and her older sister, Alice, may look alike, but they couldn’t be more different. Tasha is married with two children and still lives in their hometown near Bristol. Alice is a high-flying scientist who travels the world with her equally successful husband. Yet each sister would trust the other with her life. When Tasha and her husband, Aaron, need a break and Alice offers to stay in their home with the kids, Tasha knows her family is in safe hands. She couldn’t be more wrong. The call from home is devastating. Alice and her husband, Kyle, have been attacked, leaving Alice in intensive care and Kyle dead. Rushing to the hospital, Tasha finds the police trying to piece events together. She can’t think why anyone would attack her sister. Then the note arrives, addressed to Tasha: It was supposed to be you.

Notting Hill, London: One May evening, 17-year-old Maggie Parker's mother walks out of their front door and doesn't return. With her little brother in tow, Maggie is drawn into a labyrinthine world of secondhand shops and shadowy figures. As she struggles to maintain a stable life for herself and her brother, she befriends Wolf, another young person also living on his wits alone. But can he help solve the mystery of her mother’s disappearance? When she discovers that her beloved house now holds a dangerous new secret, and Wolf is involved, a heartbroken Maggie makes her escape. Twenty-one years later, Maggie gets a phone call that shatters her hard-won new life. While in London, the incoming owner of the Parkers' old Notting Hill house is excavating the basement, unaware of what might lie beneath --- and the clock starts ticking on buried secrets.

Skwerl, once an elite member of the CIA's paramilitary unit, was cast out after a raid gone wrong in Afghanistan. Big Cheese Aziz, a former Afghan pilot of legendary skill, now works the graveyard shift at a gas station. Recruited into a shadowy network of "sheepdogs," they embark on a mission to repossess a multi-million-dollar private jet stranded on a remote African airfield. But as they wind through a labyrinth of lies and hidden agendas, they discover that nothing is as it seems. Their contact vanishes, their handler's motives are suspect, and the true source of their payday remains a mystery. With the stakes skyrocketing and the women in their lives drawn into the fray, this unlikely spy duo find themselves deep in the underbelly of modern war and intelligence.

In 1969, 23-year-old starlet Lori Lovely shocks the world by ditching a promising film career to take vows of poverty, chastity and obedience as a Benedictine nun. Why would such a beautiful girl take the veil? Did it have anything to do with the tragic death of her costar, heartthrob singer Lucas Wesley? In 1990, Lu Tibbott is under the gun to complete her senior thesis in modern American history. Instead of spending weeks in dusty archives, Lu decides to dig into a true 20th-century mystery and write about her aunt Lori, now the Mother Abbess at a cloistered convent in rural New England. Mother Lori has refused all requests for interviews --- until Lu arrives at the abbey with a tape recorder in hand. To her delight, Mother Lori announces she’s finally ready to talk...but only if Lu is truly ready to listen.

Jo Jones can't seem to catch a break. Trading in city life for the cozy, peaceful hills of North Yorkshire should have been a "fresh start.” Instead, she's been driven further into the past than she thought possible --- and not just her own. Then there’s the gossipy town politics Jo must constantly navigate as a neurodivergent transplanted American. And of course, the whole murder business. When prickly town detective James MacAdams discovers a body in the moors with coincidental ties to Jo Jones, they're forced to team up on the case. The clues will lead them into the wealthiest locales of Yorkshire, from sparkling glass hotels to luxury property sites to elite country clubs. But what begins as bizarre murder case quickly plunges them both into the blackmarket world of rare artifacts and antique trading...and a murderer who will do anything to cover it up.