Adult

In the darkly magical realm of THE WRONG HEAVEN, inanimate objects come to life, supernatural beings move among humans, and conflicted female characters seek answers to their sexual and spiritual dilemmas in all the wrong places. In "Horse," a woman considers transforming herself into an animal through a series of injections reminiscent of IVF. In "The Cleas," a young babysitter struggles to reconcile her feminist ideals with her confounding urges, while the dying protagonist of "Black Stones" finds herself strangely attracted to the angel of death. As provocative as they are deeply affecting, these stories reckon with the inescapable confusion of living in a mortal body, laying bare the heart of our deepest longings while teasing out new possibilities for what fiction can do.

Humorist Simon Rich is back with a hilarious new collection of stories about dreaming big and falling flat, about ordinary people desperate for stardom, and the stars who are bored by having it all. Inspired by Rich's real experiences in Hollywood, HITS AND MISSES chronicles all the absurdity of fame and success alongside the heartbreaking humanity of failure. From a bitter tell-all by the horse Paul Revere rode to greatness, to a gushing magazine profile of everyone's favorite World War II dictator, these stories roam across time and space to skewer our obsession with making it big --- from the days of ancient Babylon to the age of TMZ.

Eight months after confronting Pendulum, John Wallace is losing himself in a dangerous warzone in a misguided attempt at penance for what he has done. But an assassination attempt makes Wallace realize that he has been targeted for death once again. This time, Wallace is prepared; tracking down his would-be assassin, he discovers a link to his nemesis, Pendulum. The link is the missing piece of a puzzle that has tormented FBI Agent Christine Ash ever since they confronted Pendulum, but with no Bureau support she has been unable to pursue her case. Wallace's proof breaks it, but also exposes them both to terrible danger.

Kit has risen to the top of her profession and is on the brink of achieving everything she wanted. She hasn't let anything stop her. But now someone else is standing in her way --- Diane. Best friends at 17, their shared ambition made them inseparable. Until the day Diane told Kit her secret --- the worst thing she'd ever done, the worst thing Kit could imagine --- and it blew their friendship apart. Kit is still the only person who knows what Diane did. And now Diane knows something about Kit that could destroy everything she's worked so hard for.

Ray Devlin is retired, living a simple life off the grid in Florida, when a visit from an old colleague stirs some bad memories --- and ends with a gunshot. Soon Devlin is forced to again face a past he'd hoped to leave behind, as a member of a mercenary force that helped put a brutal South American dictator into power. Tracy Quinn is an investigative reporter at a struggling Philadelphia newspaper. Then one day, what appears to be a straightforward homicide draws her and Devlin together, and ultimately enmeshes both in a conspiracy that stretches over 20 years and reaches to the highest levels of the U.S. government. Before long, they're both the targets of a ruthless assassin haunted by his own wartime experiences.

Twenty-six years ago, Dr. Cathy Ryan restored the eyesight of a young Bosnian girl who had been injured during an attack in the Bosnian War. Today, her son, Jack Ryan Jr., has agreed to track down the young woman and deliver a letter from his mother. What he finds shocks them both. The helpless child has grown into a remarkable woman. Aida Curic is a self-possessed beauty with a big heart and an even bigger secret who runs a controversial refugee agency near Sarajevo. Jack is deeply drawn to both her and her country, but soon finds himself in the crosshairs of the seething ethnic tensions and ancient blood feuds of the Balkans, the region of Europe where empires go to die.

The Bar Harbor Home was established specifically for elderly writers needing a place to live out their golden years --- or final days --- in understated luxury and surrounded by congenial literary company. A faithful staff of nurses and orderlies surround the writers, and are drawn into their orbit, as they are forced to reckon with their own life stories. Among them are Cecibel Bringer, a young woman who never anticipated the impact of meeting her favorite writer, Alfonse Carducci --- or the effect he would have on her existence. In Cecibel, Alfonse finds a muse who returns him to the passion he thought he lost. As the words flow from him, Cecibel is reawakened to the idea of love and forgiveness.

Mackenzie Cooper took her eyes off the road for just a moment, but the resulting collision was enough to rob her not only of her beloved daughter but ultimately of her marriage, family and friends. Now she lives in Vermont under the name Maggie Reid. She’s thankful for the new friends she’s made, though she can’t risk telling them too much. But she isn’t the only one in this peaceful town with secrets. When a friend’s teenage son is thrust into the national spotlight, accused of hacking a powerful man’s Twitter account, Maggie is torn between pulling away and protecting herself --- or stepping into the glare to be at their side. As the stunning truth behind their case is slowly revealed, Maggie’s own carefully constructed story begins to unravel as well.

Finn and Layla are driving along the highway when Finn decides to stop at a service station to use the restroom. When he returns, Layla is gone. That is the story Finn told to the police. But it is not the whole story. Ten years later, Finn is engaged to Layla’s sister, Ellen. Their shared grief over what happened to Layla drew them close. Still, there’s something about Ellen that Finn has never fully understood. His heart wants to believe that she is the one for him, even though a sixth sense tells him not to trust her. Then, not long before he and Ellen are to be married, Finn gets a phone call. Someone from his past has seen Layla --- hiding in plain sight. If Layla is alive --- and on Finn’s trail --- what does she want? And how much does she know?

One sweltering night in 2013, four former high school classmates converge on their hometown in northeastern Ohio. There’s Bill Ashcraft, a drug-abusing activist whose flailing ambitions have taken him from Cambodia to Zuccotti Park to post-BP New Orleans, and now back home with a mysterious package strapped to the undercarriage of his truck; Stacey Moore, a doctoral candidate reluctantly confronting her family and the mother of her best friend and first love; Dan Eaton, a shy veteran of three tours in Iraq, home for a dinner date with the high school sweetheart he’s tried to forget; and Tina Ross, whose rendezvous with the washed-up captain of the football team triggers the novel’s shocking climax.