Adult

Rekke and Vargas have earned a reputation for solving the unsolvable. But they’ve never been confronted by a serial killer. Until now. Rekke receives a visit from Spanish inspector, who is unable to forget the brutal, unsolved murder of a young woman in Santander in 1988. Now other bodies have come to light, marked with signs that seem to be some kind of numerical order. Still recovering from his latest manic episode, Rekke agrees to help decipher these signs before the killer strikes again. The victim was an aspiring writer and clues from her posthumously published short story draw Rekke and Vargas deep into the murk of Sweden’s literary scene. To unmask the killer, Rekke must relearn the difference between fact and fiction, and discover what really happened that night back in the 1980s.

In SAY NEPHEW, Steven Pfau blends memoir and criticism to celebrate the gay uncles who shape our sense of queer identity, culture and history. The most influential figure in Pfau’s gay boyhood --- the mentor who set the standard for all his future mentors --- was his uncle Bruce. A charismatic storyteller, Bruce came out in 1950s Memphis and lived in New York City through many of the defining events of the gay liberation era. Bruce was both a unique fixture in his nephew’s upbringing and a link in a long lineage of uncles, literal and figurative, who have offered various forms of queer tutelage to younger men. But what role is the nephew supposed to play in these relationships? And who does he become once his uncles are no longer there to guide him?

At 12 years old, Katherine Carey attends her aunt, Queen Anne Boleyn, to the scaffold. Horrified by what she witnesses, Katherine is convinced that King Henry VIII is a murderer and has sent an innocent woman to a terrible death. Although the Boleyn family has now fallen from favor, Katherine still manages to secure a coveted role as companion to her now-motherless cousin, the young Lady Elizabeth. Only when her mother lies dying does Katherine learn the life-shattering truth that the Boleyns have been hiding for years. It is a secret that follows Katherine throughout her life, as she flees religious persecution with her husband and lives abroad in fear, returning home only when Elizabeth becomes queen. But the bond between the Boleyn cousins will never be the same again.

It's a hot, miserable summer in the small town of Sandy Lake. Detective Ben Packard has finally settled into life here --- just in time for a tornado to sweep through the county, causing irreparable damage. Hiding among the debris is someone with a secret. When a mother who made enemies defending her bullied son is killed, the suspect list stretches across the entire town. For Packard, the case hits uncomfortably close to home. The deeper he digs, the more Sandy Lake hums with a tension that refuses to break. As thick smoke from nearby wildfires chokes the air, someone from Packard's past shows up on his doorstep without warning, forcing him to confront the reality of navigating life as a gay man in a small town bent on tradition, no matter the cost. 

The last time we saw Madeline, Celeste, Jane, Renata and Bonnie, their children were five years old. But 10 years have passed and the kids are in high school, navigating all of the drama that accompanies teendom. When the high school principal receives a threatening package in the mail, word quickly spreads throughout the community and parents are in an uproar. But Madeline, Celeste, Jane, Renata and Bonnie have other things to worry about. When a stranger begins lurking around the school asking supposedly innocent questions, this tightly connected group of women must finally face the full repercussions of the big little truths they have and haven’t shared with their kids. Because the stakes are now much higher than not being invited to an ice-skating party.

"Remember what your name means. I'm so sorry." Just two weeks before her final architecture exams, Sloane Connolly receives this cryptic handwritten note from her estranged mother. She returns to her hometown in northwest Massachusetts to discover that her mother has vanished. A thorough search turns up no trace of her, and the police rule her disappearance a suicide. As Sloane deals with the aftermath, she distracts herself by taking on a mysterious commission: to design a memorial for six strangers whose connection to her anonymous client is deliberately kept in the dark. To complete this project, Sloane must trace the lives of all six individuals and uncover the hidden links between them. The secrets she unearths begin to weave dangerously into her own family's tragic history.

NINE MIRACLES is based on the story of how Brody Young survived being shot nine times and severely wounded by a man while on patrol as a park ranger in a remote canyon in Utah one night. After many months, he recovered from his wounds and returned to work, forever changed by his near-death experience. How Young reacted in the face of life-threatening danger takes on heightened meaning when we learn how he decided to respond to the miracles that followed. This book is Brody’s answer to the unavoidable question: How will you handle it when your life is on the line? It is a story of courage, healing and hope, but it’s really about giving others the courage and hope they need to live a full, rewarding, meaningful life.

Blackjack pro Ronnie “the Technician” Redfield has his life blown up when a casino owner decides to take him down. Card counting isn’t illegal --- since thinking isn’t illegal, yet --- but the court battle costs Ronnie, a Vietnam vet, his livelihood, his sobriety and his family. Now, three years later, he’s living in a trailer outside Vegas when his old army buddy “Wild” Bill Grimsley shows up in a limo to drag Ronnie back into the action. Bill has a revenge plot to take down Rodrigo Gwynne, the nastiest, most exploitative casino owner on the Strip. To infiltrate Gwynne’s casino, Ronnie assembles a team of misfit geniuses, blackjack pros who excel at role-playing or flying under the radar. The plan is off to a raring start, the card counters evolving their strategy through every new setback, when intimidation erupts into deadly violence. Ronnie could lose everything --- was his comeback worth the risk?

Björn Diemel, once an overworked defense lawyer for very nasty organized criminals, has mastered the principles of mindfulness, and he only had to kill a couple of people to pull it off. Now, running his own practice, spending more time with his daughter and arguing less with his wife, he should be sitting pretty, but he keeps losing his cool --- with deadly results. Why can’t Björn just enjoy his new mindful life? Does it have something to do with the mafia boss he has locked up in the basement of his daughter’s preschool? Or is his wounded inner child to blame? Over the course of one outrageous week, Björn and his inner child confront overzealous helicopter moms, hypocritical startup bros and mysterious blackmailers as they race to solve all their problems at once before the criminal empire Björn has built for himself comes crumbling down.

Twenty-five-year-old Raven Wynn knows that the ancient plant magic running through her veins brings nothing but destruction. t’s the reason she’s now bound by a painful curse --- one that will destroy her if she can’t find a way to break its hold. When her estranged Aunt Delilah bursts into her life promising a cure, Raven seizes the chance. However, once her magic is fully unleashed, she is more powerful --- and more dangerous --- than anyone thought possible. Desperate to tame powers she never wanted, Raven makes a pact with Delilah: In exchange for learning to control her magic, Raven will capture one of the spirits that roam Delilah’s hometown. With the help of an enigmatic new friend, Cherry, as well as an infuriatingly handsome stoneworker, Idris, Raven learns that her task is even more perilous than she imagined --- one false move and the spirits could trap her soul --- forever.