1993: Student Lachlan Kite is sent to post-Soviet Russia, a spy in the guise of a language teacher. Embedded in the town of Voronezh, Kite’s mission is to extract a chemical weapons scientist before the man’s groundbreaking research falls into the wrong hands and shuttle him across the border to freedom in Ukraine. But Kite’s mission soon goes wrong, and he is left stranded in a hostile city with a former KGB officer on his trail. 2020: Thirty years after that dangerous mission, Kite discovers that its outcome put his name on the notorious “JUDAS” list --- a record of enemies of Russia who have been targeted for assassination. Kite’s fight for survival takes him to Dubai, where he enters into a deadly game of cat-and-mouse with the Russian secret state.
Sam Cooper is on the verge of a happy life --- a true feat after his disastrous childhood. Sam's mother, Laurie, died tragically and his father was torn apart by grief. But now, after years of silence, Sam's father makes a shocking confession on his deathbed. Who was Laurie Cooper? What happens when you discover you've been lied to for 25 years? Sam is determined to find out, but someone wants to silence the truth forever. Following a trail from London to Connecticut, Sam will have to uncover exactly what his mother did and why --- no matter the cost.
The never-before-seen correspondance of John le Carré, one of the most important novelists of our generation, are collected in A PRIVATE SPY. During his lifetime, le Carré wrote numerous letters to writers, spies, politicians, artists, actors and public figures. This collection is a treasure trove, revealing the late author’s humor, generosity and wit --- a side of him many readers have not previously seen.
1938. Lena Papadopoulos has never quite found her place within the circus, even as the daughter of the extraordinary headlining illusionist, Theo. Lena, who uses a wheelchair after a childhood bout with polio, yearns for the real-world magic of science and medicine, her mind stronger than the limitations placed on her by society. Then her unconventional life takes an exciting turn when she rescues Alexandre, an orphan with his own secrets and a mysterious past. As World War II escalates around them, their friendship blossoms into something deeper while Alexandre trains as the illusionist’s apprentice. But when Theo and Alexandre are arrested and made to perform in a town for Jews set up by the Nazis, Lena is separated from everything she knows.
Colleagues turned spouses Dr. Laurie Montgomery and Dr. Jack Stapleton already have their plates full with crazy work schedules and family pressures. The last thing they need is a murder. When Laurie’s longtime friend, by all accounts healthy Dr. Sue Passero, dies mysteriously in the hospital parking garage, an autopsy is required, which falls squarely under Laurie’s purview as newly appointed chief medical examiner. So when Laurie asks Jack to take special care with the case, he can hardly refuse. What starts out as an inquiry into Sue’s tragic passing soon turns into a deadly and dangerous chess game between Jack and the clever and deranged killer, who just might administer another lethal blow if Jack isn’t careful.
1985. A top-secret F117 aircraft crashes into the Nevada desert. The Nighthawk is the most advanced fighting machine in the world, and the Soviets will do anything to get their hands on its secrets. In East Berlin, a mysterious figure contacts the CIA with an incredible offer --- invaluable details of his government’s espionage plans in return for asylum. It’s an offer they can’t pass up...if it’s genuine. But the risks are too great to blindly stumble into a deal. With the East German secret police closing in, someone will have to go behind the Berlin Wall to investigate the potential defector. It’s a job Deputy Director James Greer can only trust to one man --- Jack Ryan. Can Ryan get the right answers before the Cold War turns into a Red Winter?
Super thief Riley Wolfe can do it all. He is a master of disguise, can scale a wall, and can vanish into thin air (thick air, too). He uses these unique talents to rob the richest. But this time, it’s the most powerful who have him in their grips. It’s not just that the high-up, rogue government agent has abducted the only two people Riley loves: it’s the fact that Riley has to do the man’s dirty work to set them free. It’s something Riley ordinarily would find a modest day’s work, infiltrating a madman’s Soviet missile silo in one of the world’s most remote places, all to find a secret on a tiny flash drive. But he’s never had to race the clock like this.
With the Cielcin united under one banner, the Sollan Empire stands alone after the betrayal of the Commonwealth. The Prophet-King of the Cielcin has sent its armies to burn the worlds of men. Worse, there are rumors...whispers that Hadrian Marlowe is dead, killed in the fighting. But Hadrian survived with the help of the witch, Valka, and together they escaped the net of the enemy having learned a terrible truth: the gods that the Cielcin worship are real and will not rest until the universe is dark and cold. What is more, the Emperor himself is in danger. The Prophet-King has learned to track his movements as he travels along the borders of Imperial space. Now the Cielcin legions are closing in, their swords poised to strike off the head of all mankind.
Louisa "Lulu" Malone is a high-powered attorney from a success-oriented family. Her cousin, Mitch, introduced her to the world of Renaissance Faires, and when she spies one at a time just when she needs an escape, she leaps into the welcoming environment of turkey legs, taverns and tarot readers. The only drawback? Dex MacLean: a guitarist with a killer smile, the Casanova of the Faire…and her traveling companion for the summer. Dex has never had to work for much in his life. Touring with his brothers as The Dueling Kilts is going great, and he always finds a woman at every Faire. But when Lulu proves indifferent to his many plaid charms and a shakeup threatens the fate of the band, Dex must confront something he never has before: his future.
France, 1941. The small town of Dinon is under German occupation. Max Duval, its mayor, appears to have accepted the German presence and encourages his citizens to do the same. He owns the Hotel Picardie, whose most important resident is Major Egon Wolff --- German commandant. Then a Resistance team kills two German troopers, and the uneasy calm of Dinon is shattered. One of the assassins, the headstrong and beautiful Sophie Carriere, takes refuge in the Hotel Picardie. Despite his disapproval of the assassinations, Max keeps her safe. Sophie accuses Max of conspiring the attacks, but Max is no collaborator --- he has his own secret methods of resistance, which Sophie has now jeopardized.
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Coming Soon
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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.