Adult

Hortensia James and Marion Agostino are neighbors. One is black, the other white. Both are successful women with impressive careers. Both have recently been widowed, and are living with questions, disappointments and secrets that have brought them shame. And each has something that the woman next door deeply desires. Sworn enemies, the two share a hedge and a deliberate hostility, which they maintain with a zeal that belies their age. But, one day, an unexpected event forces Hortensia and Marion together. As the physical barriers between them collapse, their bickering gradually softens into conversation and eventually the two discover common ground. But are these sparks of connection enough to ignite a friendship, or is it too late to expect these women to change?

A deadly fall on a rugged stretch of California coast. A burglary gone wrong in Virginia. These incidents seem unrelated, but the victims were living undercover, their true identities closely held secrets. They are members of a classified team, the last line of defense against foreign threats. Now, someone is assassinating them, taking out family members and innocent bystanders to make the deaths seem like accidents. Captain John Hayes, a special operations legend, has left the military to settle down with his family. But when he pieces together a pattern behind the murders and discovers that his protégée Claire Rhodes, a brilliant assassin, is the prime suspect, he returns to duty to unmask the attackers.

Jubilee Jenkins has a rare condition: she’s allergic to human touch. After a nearly fatal accident, she became reclusive, living in the confines of her home for nine years. But after her mother dies, Jubilee is forced to face the world --- and the people in it --- that she’s been hiding from. She finds safe haven at her local library where she gets a job. It’s there she meets Eric Keegan, a divorced man who recently moved to town with his brilliant, troubled, adopted son. Jubilee is unlike anyone he has ever met, yet he can't understand why she keeps him at arm's length. So Eric sets out to convince Jubilee to open herself and her heart to everything life can offer.

With unforgettable performances such as Moses in The Ten Commandments, the anguished astronaut George Taylor in 1968’s Planet of the Apes, and the eponymous Ben-Hur --- for which he won an Academy Award --- Charlton Heston cemented his place in the pantheon of 20th-century Hollywood royalty. But his fame as an actor was matched by his political activism. A Democrat in his early years, Heston became a staunch supporter of Richard Nixon and Reagan republicanism. He was also president of the National Rifle Association and an outspoken crusader for gun rights. At long last, Marc Eliot tells the story of Heston’s life and six-decade-long career in full detail.

Michael Beaumont is head over heels with the woman of his dreams. But Alison is harboring a dangerous secret, one that threatens to break loose once Michael introduces her to his last remaining relative. Michael's grandmother Rose, who raised him from childhood, isn't quite the woman she used to be --- her memory is failing her, and she's prone to fits of wild emotion. But something about Rose's outburst upon meeting Alison seems like more than just a simple delusion. And something about the string of murders terrorizing London, with incidents occurring just blocks from Michael, feels like more than just a coincidence. What is Rose not telling Michael? What is Alison hiding?

In 1997, Tiger Woods was already among the most-watched and closely examined athletes in history. But it wasn't until the Masters Tournament that his career would definitively change forever. Woods, then only 21, won the Masters by a historic 12 shots, which remains the widest margin of victory in the tournament's history, making it an iconic moment for him and sports. Now, 20 years later, Woods is ready to explore his history with the game, how it has changed over the years, and what it was like winning such an important event.

When Emily asks Stephanie to pick up her son, Nicky, after school, she happily says yes. Nicky and Stephanie’s son, Miles, are classmates and best friends, and the five-year-olds love being together --- just like she and Emily. But Emily doesn’t come back. She doesn’t answer calls or return texts. Stephanie knows something is terribly wrong; Emily would never leave Nicky. Terrified, she reaches out to Emily’s husband, Sean, offering emotional support. Then, she and Sean receive shocking news. Emily is dead. The nightmare of her disappearance is over. Or is it? Because soon, Stephanie will begin to see that nothing --- not friendship, love, or even an ordinary favor --- is as simple as it seems.

When his family home in Milan is destroyed by Allied bombs, Pino Lella joins an underground railroad helping Jews escape over the Alps, and falls for Anna, a beautiful widow six years his senior. In an attempt to protect him, Pino’s parents force him to enlist as a German soldier, which they think will keep him out of combat. But after Pino is injured, he is recruited at the age of 18 to become the personal driver for Adolf Hitler’s left hand in Italy, General Hans Leyers. Now, with the opportunity to spy for the Allies inside the German High Command, Pino endures the horrors of the war and the Nazi occupation by fighting in secret, his courage bolstered by his love for Anna and for the life he dreams they will one day share.

The ex-planet Pluto has a few choice words about being thrown out of the solar system. A listing of alternate histories tells you all the various ways Hitler has died. A lawyer sues an interplanetary union for dangerous working conditions. And four artificial intelligences explain, in increasingly worrying detail, how they plan not to destroy humanity. These four stories, along with 14 other pieces, have one thing in common: They're short, sharp and to the point --- science fiction in miniature, with none of the stories longer than 2,300 words. But in that short space exist entire universes, absurd situations, and the sort of futuristic humor that propelled Scalzi to a Hugo with his novel, REDSHIRTS.