Adult

Set in the 1880s, THE COUNTRY UNDER HEAVEN follows Ovid Vesper, a former Union soldier who has been having enigmatic visions after surviving the Battle of Antietam. As he travels across the country following those visions, he finds himself in stranger and increasingly more dangerous encounters with other worlds hidden in the spaces of his own mind, not to mention the dangers of the Wild West. Ovid brings his steady calm and compassion as he helps the people of a broken country still reeling and wounded from the war. He assists with matters of all sorts, from odd jobs around the house, to guiding children back to their own universe, to hunting down unnatural creatures that stalk the night --- all the while seeking his own personal resolution and peace from his visions.

She thought she and her loved ones would be safe here. The lovely farm nestled in the heart of West Virginia’s Eastern Panhandle looks like the perfect refuge from the backstabbing maelstrom of DC politics. But this seemingly peaceful new home is anything but safe for former FBI director Irene Rivers and her children. Troubles begin when Irene’s 12-year-old nephew finds a dead body in a cave on the property. Grim evidence points to a long-ago murder and cover-up. Powerful forces will do anything --- including kill again --- to protect their interests. Soon Irene’s family is the target of the kinds of threats and intimidation she’s seen before from major crime syndicates. But this time, the enemy determined to tear them down is homegrown. Then comes the attack she most fears.

Washington, DC, April 1954: When former war correspondent Lee Carson receives a tip about a Russian spy in a high-ranking government position at the height of the Cold War, she feels the thrill of a story that she hasn’t felt since she was on the front lines of the European theater. London, December 1943: As war rages on across Europe, 22-year-old Lee Carson is waging a private battle of her own. An American-born correspondent for the International News Service, Lee is determined to cover the war from the field. But no woman will be allowed near the front lines. Lee is not easily dissuaded. Assigned to cover the build-up to the invasion of Nazi-held Europe, she constantly wrangles with authorities in order to get to the heart of the action.

Elizabeth aches for one more precious hour with her son, who died in a senseless accident. Andy is desperate to find his first love, who vanished after a whirlwind romance. Logan craves the rush of surfing and mountain climbing, yearning to reclaim the freedom he lost after a misstep landed him in a wheelchair. Brooke is looking for an hour of relief from the guilt of an unforgivable mistake. Enter Aeon Expeditions, the groundbreaking time travel invention of Mark Saunders, which allows some lucky clients the chance to spend an hour in their past. But when their “hour” extends beyond 60 minutes, Elizabeth, Andy, Logan and Brooke find themselves stranded in the past. As their paths intertwine unexpectedly, they unearth shocking secrets hidden in the shadows of their shared history.

When we meet Vera, her body and mind are on a precipice. She has just left her marital home to live with her father after her husband’s violent outbursts reach a breaking point. She is experiencing sudden losses of consciousness, spells of insomnia and difficulty eating. Over the course of the year that follows, she reignites a high school romance, looks to her divorced parents for guidance, attempts couples therapy, struggles to mother two young daughters, develops a brief cocaine dependency, and tries to rekindle her artistic practice --- all while questioning the infinite number of choices that led her to this difficult moment.

Grounded in both the contemporary United States and a variety of dystopias, Karen E. Bender’s otherworldly collection examines the evolving dynamics of the nuclear family during adolescence, motherhood, the empty nest, and caring for an aging parent. A young woman seeks to learn the magical words that can terminate her unwanted pregnancy. A mother discovers an extra child in her home she had forgotten about. A couple is separated from their son and encased in globes orbiting the Earth. Society develops a terrible plan to leave the burning planet for a life on Mars. Each story honors the emotional force of its situation by grappling with themes of freedom, self-definition, youth, aging, control and power.

Detective Tracy Crosswhite isn’t one to lose her cool. Until her interrogation of the taunting and malicious Erik Schmidt, a suspect in two cold case killings. Schmidt also has unnerving ties to the monster who murdered Tracy’s sister, stirring memories of the crime that shaped Tracy’s life. After a critical mistake during a shooting exercise, Tracy breaks. Haunted by nightmares and flashbacks, Tracy heads to her hometown of Cedar Grove to refocus. But her sleepless nights are only beginning. A legal glitch has allowed Schmidt to go free. And Tracy has every reason to fear that he has followed her. Forced into a twisted game of cat and mouse, Tracy must draw on all her training, wits and strength to defeat a master criminal before he takes away everyone she loves.

Work has dried up for veteran and private eye Boubacar, and he’d rather be left alone to deal with his bills as the Harmattan rolls in to coat the city in dust. But Bouba is a down-on-his-luck deux fois, suspended between two cultures and two worlds. When a bleeding woman stumbles onto his doorway, only to vanish just as quickly, Bouba reluctantly finds himself enmeshed in the secrets of a city boiling on the brink of violence. The French occupiers are keen to keep the peace at any cost, and the indigenous dugulen have long been shattered into restless factions vying for a chance to reclaim their lost heritage and abilities. As each hard-won clue reveals horrifying new truths, Bouba may have to carve out parts of himself he’s long kept hidden and decide what he’s willing to offer next.

The newly nameless narrator of MAKE SURE YOU DIE SCREAMING has rejected the gender binary, has flamed out with a vengeance at their corporate gig, is most likely brain damaged from a major tussle with their now ex-boyfriend, and is on a bender to end all benders. A call from their mother with the news that their MAGA-friendly, conspiracy-theorist father has gone missing launches the narrator from Chicago to deep red Arkansas in a stolen car. Along the way, the narrator and their new bestie --- a self-proclaimed "garbage goth" with her own emotional baggage (and someone on her tail) --- unpack the narrator’s childhood and a recent personal loss that they refuse to face head-on.

A historic hotel long past its prime and huddled along The Cut, a questionable Lake Erie beach, isn’t Sadie Miles’ ideal place to raise a toddler while also navigating her second pregnancy. After finally fleeing her abusive ex-fiancé, though, Sadie’s new housekeeping position and free room at L’Arpin Hotel are the best she can manage. On her first night, Sadie runs to help a guest struggling in the hotel’s pool only to find the water calm and empty when she gets there, leaving her with a lingering unease. When a guest then goes missing and her manager insists they simply left without checking out, Sadie suspects he’s covering up darker goings-on in the hotel. Everything isn't as it seems within the dim hallways of L’Arpin.