Adult

When Stone Barrington embarks on a trip to Bel-Air, he expects a relaxing break from the fast pace and mean streets of New York. But a case that had seemingly been resolved has returned in full force --- with lethal results. And this deadly situation makes for strange bedfellows when Stone finds himself teamed with the least likely ally: a gentleman of unique abilities who can fly below the radar and above the law.

A private museum devoted solely to Florida’s earliest settlers and pioneers has been announced, and many of Hannah Smith’s friends and neighbors in Sulfur Wells are being pressured to make contributions. The problem is, the whole thing is a scam. And when Hannah sets out to uncover whoever is behind it, she discovers that things are even worse than she thought.

It is 2001 in New York City, in the lull between the collapse of the dot-com boom and the terrible events of September 11th. Silicon Alley is a ghost town, Web 1.0 is having adolescent angst, Google has yet to IPO, Microsoft is still considered the Evil Empire. There may not be quite as much money around as there was at the height of the tech bubble, but there's no shortage of swindlers looking to grab a piece of what's left.

NINE INCHES, Tom Perrotta’s first true collection, features 10 stories --- some sharp and funny, some mordant and surprising, and a few intense and disturbing. Whether he’s dropping into the lives of two teachers --- and their love lost and found --- in “Nine Inches,” or documenting the unraveling of a dad at a Little League game in “The Smile on Happy Chang’s Face,” Perrotta writes with a sure sense of his characters and their secret longings.

It's Christmas in Tinker's Cove, Maine, and Lucy Stone is excited about her acting debut in the town's production of A Christmas Carol. But a real life Scrooge has everyone feeling frosty, and with a murderer on the loose, Lucy will have to unwrap her sleuthing skills faster than she can say, "Bah! Humbug!"

WHO ASKED YOU? opens as Trinetta leaves her two young sons with her mother, Betty Jean, and promptly disappears. BJ already has her hands full dealing with her other adult children, two opinionated sisters, an ill husband, and her own postponed dreams --- all while holding down a job delivering room service at a hotel. The drama unfolds through the perspectives of a rotating cast of characters, each playing a part, and full of surprises.

John Sevier had not taken much interest in the American Revolution, since he was too busy fighting Indians in the Carolinas and taming the wilderness. But when an arrogant British officer threatened his settlement --- promising to burn the farms and kill families --- the war became personal. That arrogant officer is Patrick Ferguson of the British Army. Inventor of the Ferguson rifle and the devoted lover to his mistress, Virginia Sal, Patrick becomes a delightful anti-hero.

Two brothers born in Calcutta during World War II share a close childhood but separate from one another as adults. Subhash, the older, quieter brother, moves to the US to study marine chemistry. Udayan, the younger and more volatile, stays in India and becomes active in the Naxalite Communist movement. The circumstances that draw them apart and eventually bring their families together form the drama of Jhumpa Lahiri’s second novel.

Sir Richard Stewart, chairman of the racing authority, begs retired investigator Sid Halley to investigate a series of dodgy races. Sid adamantly refuses, but the following day, Sir Richard is found dead under suspicious circumstances. And then a man with an Irish accent contacts Sid, telling him to deliver a whitewashed report about the suspected race-fixing…or else. Sid realizes he must meet his enemy head-on, or he might pay the ultimate price for his refusal.

Held captive for centuries and finally freed, Tatijana vowed to now live only by her rules. She is Carpathian. Dragonseeker. She'll never again acquiesce to authority --- inhuman or human. Then Tatijana is drawn to the forest-scent of a stranger --- and the freedom and wild nature it represents. And now everything she is fighting for --- and running from --- will change.