In Quinn, Montana, nearly all of the volunteer firemen are named Jim, the only bar in town refuses to serve mixed drinks (too much work), the locals hate the newcomers (then again, they hate the locals, too), and the town softball team has never even come close to having a winning season. Until now. Rachel Flood has snuck back into town after leaving behind a trail of chaos nine years prior. She’s here to make amends, though nobody wants to hear it, especially her mother, Laverna. But with the help of a local boy named Jake and a little soul-searching, she just might make things right.
The First Congress was the most important in US history, says prize-winning author and historian Fergus Bordewich, because it established how our government would actually function. Had it failed, it’s possible that the United States as we know it would not exist today. The Constitution was a broad set of principles. It was left to the members of the First Congress and President George Washington to create the machinery that would make the government work. Fortunately, James Madison, John Adams, Alexander Hamilton and others less well known today rose to the occasion.
In chronicling the development and demise of the different relationships he's had while living in New York, Augusten Burroughs examines what it means to be in love, what it means to be in lust, and what it means to be figuring it all out. With Augusten's unique and singular observations, and his own unabashed way of detailing both the horrific and the humorous, LUST & WONDER is an intimate and honest memoir that his legions of fans have been waiting for.
On her birthday each year, Lolly’s mother gave her a charm, along with the advice that there is nothing more important than keeping family memories alive. Now 70 and starting to forget things, Lolly knows time is running out to reconnect with a daughter and granddaughter whose lives have become too busy for Lolly or her family stories. But when Arden, Lolly’s daughter, receives an unexpected phone call about her mother, she and granddaughter Lauren rush home. Over the course of their visit, Lolly reveals the story behind each charm on her bracelet. One by one the family stories help Lolly, Arden and Lauren reconnect in a way that brings each woman closer to finding joy, love and faith.
It is 1870, and Captain Jefferson Kyle Kidd, an elderly widower who travels through northern Texas giving live readings to audiences hungry for news of the world, is offered money to deliver a young orphan to her relatives in San Antonio. Johanna, raised by a band of Kiowa raiders who killed her parents and sister, has forgotten the English language and refuses to act “civilized.” But on their 400-mile journey, Captain Kidd and Johanna forge a deep bond, making it difficult for Kidd to give her up to her reluctant aunt and uncle when it’s time. But can he risk becoming --- in the eyes of the law --- a kidnapper himself?
When native New Yorker Nicholas Grand applies for an international student exchange program, he thinks it's an opportunity to broaden his horizons and meet some interesting people. He never imagines that a single year would have repercussions that would follow him throughout his lifetime. Nicholas is sent to Estonia, where he meets shy, sensitive Paavo; his beautiful sister, Mari; and their gruff father, Leo --- a family grappling with the challenges of life in a small country struggling to assert its post-Soviet identity. Nicholas sets off on an unforgettable journey through a foreign landscape that ultimately teaches him that some bonds can never be broken.
The war is over. Bernie Gunther, our sardonic former Berlin homicide detective and unwilling SS officer, is now living on the French Riviera. He is the go-to guy at the Grand-Hotel du Cap-Ferrat, the man you turn to for touring tips or if you need a fourth for bridge. W. Somerset Maugham is looking for someone to fill that fourth seat, but he is also seeking some professional advice. Maugham is being blackmailed --- perhaps because of his unorthodox lifestyle, or because of something in his past. For once upon a time, Maugham worked for the British secret service, and the people now blackmailing him are spies.
Twenty-two and unmarried, Constantia Gifford lives with her father on the fringes of town, in a decaying mansion cluttered with the remains of his once world-famous museum of taxidermy. When a woman is found dead, snippets of long-lost memories begin to tease through Connie’s mind. The answers are tied to a dark secret that lies at the heart of Blackthorn House, hidden among the bell jars of her father’s workshop --- a mystery that draws Connie closer to danger.
Criminal psychologist Kieran Finnegan and her three brothers own a pub in New York City that's been in the family for generations New York's Diamond District has been hit by a rash of thefts. No one's been killed --- until now. FBI agent Craig Frasier is brought in to investigate; he and Kieran meet at a jewelry store in the middle of a heist. Thrown together by circumstance, drawn together by attraction, Kieran and Craig are both assigned to the case.
The German government has agreed to release a British subject from prison, but only if he is handed over to a family member. Because the man’s wife is bedridden and his daughter has been killed in an accident, the Secret Service wants Maisie Dobbs --- who bears a striking resemblance to the daughter --- to retrieve the man from Dachau. Traveling into the heart of Nazi Germany, Maisie encounters unexpected dangers --- and finds herself questioning whether it’s time to return to the work she loved. But the Secret Service may have other ideas.
We have listed 12 of Carol’s Bookreporter.com Bets On picks that are now or soon to be in paperback. Which of these books have you read or do you plan to read? Please check all that apply.
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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.