Adult Fiction

A mother always knows : a novel

Strohmeyer, Sarah, author.

Stella O'Neill is just your average millennial, working at a public library and worrying about making rent. No one would suspect she's been living under an assumed name or that she was raised in a Vermont commune of "diviners" where, and as a ten-year-old, she witnessed her mother's brutal murder -- a crime that has gone unsolved for years. But her quiet, anonymous existence is upended when a true-crime obsessive posts her current name and location on the internet. Now, Stella has to get out of Boston before her mother's killer can find her and finish the job he started all those years ago. Fed up with living in fear, she heads to the off-the-grid retreat of her childhood to confront her mother's unhinged guru who controlled their lives for so long -- the infamous Radcliffe MacBeath. Stella has two powerful assets: determination and a supernatural gift. Relying on her mother's beloved rose quartz pendulum, Stella will have to outwit the charismatic leader who's ruined so many lives and discover once and for all the true identity of her mother's killer -- before becoming his next victim.....

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Pariah

Fesperman, Dan, 1955- author.

Hal Knight, a comedian and movie star-turned politician, is no stranger to controversy. But after an embarrassing and humiliating encounter on set, Knight resigns from Congress, quits social media, and disappears to the tiny Caribbean island of Vieques to drink dirty martinis and nurse his wounds. Shortly after his arrival, he is approached by a trio of CIA operatives hoping to recruit him to infiltrate the power structure of Bolrovia--a hostile, Eastern European country whose despotic president, Nikolai Horvatz, happens to be a longtime fan of Knight's adolescent male humor. Knowing that Horvatz plans to invite the disgraced star for an official visit, the CIA coaxes Knight to accept. Skeptical, but with little to lose, Knight accepts the challenge, sensing this might be his one chance to do something worthwhile, even if no one else ever finds out. Upon arrival as President Horvatz's guest of honor, Knight confronts his ultimate acting challenge. What begins as an assignment to keep his eyes and ears open quickly turns into a life-or-death battle of wits, with consequences reaching all the way to Washington. With Pariah, Dan Fesperman has crafted a heart-pounding thriller about espionage, entertainment, and one man's pursuit of redemption.....

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Dear Miss Lake : a novel

Pearce, A. J. (Amanda-Jane), author.

London, July 1944. After nearly five years of war, the readers of Woman's Friend magazine are relying on the support of Emmy Lake and her team more than ever. With the city under attack, the magazine staff decamps to the countryside for the summer. Determined to help the women of Britain carry on, Emmy and friends are hard at work finding new ways to inspire resilience. With her army officer husband Charles posted close to home, and best friend Bunty by her side, Emmy happily throws herself into rural life, juggling children, magazine assignments, and plans for a very important wedding. And then a call comes that means she may finally fulfill her long-held dream of becoming a war correspondent. But when disaster strikes, Emmy needs her friends, her community, and her readers more than ever. Filled with courage and compassion, a lovable cast of characters, and winning wartime details, Dear Miss Lake is an enormously uplifting testament to the power of friendship and hope.....

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Bug Hollow : a novel

Huneven, Michelle, 1953- author.

A decades-spanning family saga featuring the messy but loving Samuelson clan trying to make sense of the world after one event changes their lives forever. When Sally Samuelson was eight years old, her golden boy brother Ellis went missing the summer he graduated high school. Ellis finally turned up at the bucolic Bug Hollow, a last gasp of the beautiful Northern California counterculture in the seventies. He had found joy in the communal life there, but died in a freak accident weeks later. From that point, the world of the Samuelsons never spins on the same axis, especially after Julia, Ellis’s girlfriend from Bug Hollow, shows up pregnant on their doorstep. Each Samuelson has sought their own solace: Sybil Samuelson pours herself into teaching and numbing her pain after the loss of her beloved son; her husband, Phil, had found respite in a love that developed while he was working as an engineer in Saudi Arabia; Katie, the high achieving middle Samuelson, comes home to try and make peace with her mother after a cancer diagnosis. And Sally has become the de facto caretaker to Eva, the child Ellis never knew. ....

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The winds from further West

McCall Smith, Alexander, 1948- author.

Dr. Neil Anderson has just started a new position at the University of Edinburgh when he meets Chrissie, an intelligent and ambitious colleague at the institute. Before long, the two move into a gorgeous flat on the south side of the city. Things seem to be going well for Neil, until an accusation of insensitive comments lands him in hot water with the university and he discovers a troubling secret about his relationship. Suddenly feeling as though his life is unraveling, he leaves everything behind for the remote and secluded beauty of the Isle of Mull off the west coast of Scotland. Not long after his arrival, a ship comes in to the harbor whose cargo--two wolf cubs--will drastically change the course of his life yet again. These cubs spark controversy on the island, leading Neil to Katie, the island's resident veterinarian, and bring with them the possibility of new beginnings and a budding romance.....

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The phalanx code

Tata, A. J. (Anthony J.), 1959- author.

Escaping from prison to rescue his team from the manipulations of two tech moguls, Garrett Sinclair learns of a devastating family secret in the process. Influential tech magnate Mitch Drewson calls on Sinclair and the Dagger team to protect his Project Optimus. An ambitious endeavor that empowers citizens to protect their financial and personal data in the face of increasingly authoritarian federal governments, Project Optimus is a threat to Aurelius Blanc’s Phalanx Corporation. Blanc’s data collection and media application are enabling a global security threat, creating a technofascism that monitors the activity of everyone with a smartphone, tablet, computer, or any web-connected device. When Phalanx assassin squads overrun an Optimus server farm in California and attack an Optimus coder named Blair Campbell, who happens to be the president’s daughter, Sinclair must deploy a group of warriors to save Blair and protect the remainder of the Optimus team so they can finish their important work―a project that includes deciphering the mysterious Phalanx Code, suspected to be Phalanx’s kill list of Optimus employees. With Phalanx squads hunting him and those he loves, Sinclair must determine who he can trust while a part of his past comes back to haunt him and threaten everything he holds dear. Nonstop action and authentic detail make this the most compelling, high-stakes entry in the Sinclair series yet.....

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The Union Street Bakery

Taylor, Mary Ellen, 1961- author.

Daisy McCrae’s life got off to a rocky start. Abandoned by a mother she never really knew, she was adopted into a family she’s never truly felt a part of. Thirty years later, her life is just as rocky. Between losing her job and her boyfriend, she’s lost all sense of self. Now Daisy is back where it all began: the Union Street Bakery. She’s resigned to living in the bakery’s attic, learning the family business, and saving it if she can. But patching up the holes in her relationship with her sisters is another story. So, too, is the century-old journal she inherits. Written by an enslaved girl named Susie, the weathered pages offer Daisy a glimpse into a past that has everything to do with her present. As Daisy learns more about Susie, the town, and her family, she starts to see who she’s been and who she wants to be—and realizes that maybe, no matter how much you’ve lost, there’s always something more to find.....

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Exit zero : stories

Bertino, Marie-Helene, author.

Death-shaped entities―with all of their humor and strangeness― haunt the twelve stories in Exit Zero. Vampires, ghost girls, fathers, blank spaces, day-old peaches, and famous paintings all pierce through their world into ours, reminding us to pay attention! and look alive! and offering many other flashes of wisdom from the oracle and author of Beautyland, Marie-Helene Bertino.....

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The phalanx code

Tata, A. J. (Anthony J.), 1959- author.

Escaping from prison to rescue his team from the manipulations of two tech moguls, Garrett Sinclair learns of a devastating family secret in the process. Influential tech magnate Mitch Drewson calls on Sinclair and the Dagger team to protect his Project Optimus. An ambitious endeavor that empowers citizens to protect their financial and personal data in the face of increasingly authoritarian federal governments, Project Optimus is a threat to Aurelius Blanc’s Phalanx Corporation. Blanc’s data collection and media application are enabling a global security threat, creating a technofascism that monitors the activity of everyone with a smartphone, tablet, computer, or any web-connected device. When Phalanx assassin squads overrun an Optimus server farm in California and attack an Optimus coder named Blair Campbell, who happens to be the president’s daughter, Sinclair must deploy a group of warriors to save Blair and protect the remainder of the Optimus team so they can finish their important work―a project that includes deciphering the mysterious Phalanx Code, suspected to be Phalanx’s kill list of Optimus employees. With Phalanx squads hunting him and those he loves, Sinclair must determine who he can trust while a part of his past comes back to haunt him and threaten everything he holds dear. Nonstop action and authentic detail make this the most compelling, high-stakes entry in the Sinclair series yet.....

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Too old for this

Downing, Samantha, author.

A retired serial killer receives a knock on the door. The uninvited guest threatens to blow up her quiet life if she doesn't start killing again. What's a gal to do? Lottie Jones thought her crimes were behind her. Decades earlier, she changed her identity and tucked herself away in a small town. Her most exciting nights are the weekly bingo games at the local church and gossiping with her friends. When investigative journalist Plum Dixon shows up on her doorstep asking questions about Lottie's past and specifically her involvement with numerous unsolved cases, well, Lottie just can't have that. But getting away with murder is hard enough when you're young. And when Lottie receives another annoying knock on the door, she realizes this crime might just be the death of her.......

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The French kitchen : a novel

Cambron, Kristy, author.

Paris, 1952--Still haunted by the years she spent serving in the American Office of Strategic Services (OSS) during WWII, ex-pat Kat Fontaine, now living in Paris, finds a simple cookery class led by indomitable chef Julia Child unearths the tangle of gut-wrenching memories of war. Determined to find her brother who went missing during the war and is presumed dead, Kat questions everything, especially her high-ranking society husband whose past is as murky as her own. But when the puzzle pieces start to come together--and her carefully crafted Paris world begins to fall apart--Kat must confront her own secrets against the mounting suspicions of the husband she thought she knew... Rue, 1943--Deep in the heart of Nazi-controlled northern France, Manon Altier shifts between working for the enemy by day--as a French chef at the famous Chateau du Broutel, where names like Himmler, Rommel, and Goebbels frequent the guest list--and running with underground networks against the Vichy regime at night. Working undercover to filter critical information to agents within the burgeoning OSS presence in France, Manon digs deep into the glitz and glamour of a Nazi stronghold that has her teetering on the edge of being discovered at any turn. But when an intriguing stranger appears at the chateau claiming to work with the French Resistance, Manon must lean on her instincts to judge whether to run and hide or stand firm--even as a terrifying discovery tests her resolve to continue the fight.....

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The lost baker of Vienna

Kurtzman, Sharon, author.

Inspired by the experiences of the author's own family after the Holocaust, this is a sweeping saga about survival, loss, love, and the reverberating effects of war... In 2018, Zoe Rosenzweig is reeling after the loss of her beloved grandfather, a Holocaust survivor. She becomes obsessed with finding out what really happened to her family during the war. Vienna, 1946: Chana Rosenzweig has endured the horrors of war to find herself, her mother, and younger brother finally free in Vienna. But freedom doesn't look like they imagined it would, as they struggle to make a living and stay safe. Despite the danger, Chana sneaks out most nights to return to the hotel kitchen where she works as a dishwasher, using the quiet nighttime hours to bake her late father's recipes. As she tries to balance her love of baking against her family's need for security, Chana finds herself caught in a dangerous love triangle, torn between the black-market dealer who has offered marriage and protection, and the apprentice baker who shares her passions. The Lost Baker of Vienna affirms the unbreakable bonds of family, while shining a light on the courageous spirit of WWII refugees as they battle to survive the overwhelming hardships of a world torn apart.....

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The hounding : a novel

Purvis, Xenobe, author.

Even before the rumors about the Mansfield girls begin, Little Nettlebed is a village steeped in the uncanny, from strange creatures that wash up on the riverbed to portentous ravens gathering on the roofs of people about to die. But when the villagers start to hear barking, and when one claims to see the Mansfield sisters transform before his very eyes, the allegations spark fascination and fear like nothing has before. The truth is that the inhabitants of Little Nettlebed have never much liked the Mansfield girls-a little odd, think some; a little high on themselves, perhaps-but they've always had plenty to say about them and, as the rotating perspectives of five of the villagers quickly make clear, now is no exception. Belief in witchcraft is waning but an aversion to difference is as widespread as ever, and these conflicting narratives all point to the same ultimate conclusion: something isn't right in Little Nettlebed, and the sisters will be the ones to pay for it. As relevant today as any time before, The Hounding celebrates the wild breaks from convention we're all sometimes pulled toward, and wonders if, in a world like this one, it isn't safer to be a dog than an unusual young girl.....

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The surrogate mother

McFadden, Freida, author.

She was promised a miracle. She got more than she bargained for... Abby wants a baby more than anything. But after years of failed infertility treatments and adoptions that have fallen through, it seems like motherhood is not in her future. That is, until her personal assistant Monica makes a generous offer to serve as a surrogate. It's an offer that will make all of Abby's dreams come true. But soon, strange things start happening. And it turns out Monica isn't who she says she is. The woman now carrying Abby's child has an unspeakable secret. And she will stop at nothing to get what she wants.....

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These blue mountains

Thomas, Sarah Loudin, author.

German pianist Hedda Schlagel's world collapsed when her fiancé, Fritz, vanished after being sent to an enemy alien camp in the United States during the Great War. Fifteen years later, in 1932, Hedda is stunned to see Fritz's name in a photograph of an American memorial for German seamen who died near Asheville, North Carolina. Determined to reclaim his body and bring closure to his ailing mother, Hedda travels to the US. Her quest takes a shocking turn when, rather than Fritz's body, his casket contains the remains of a woman who died under mysterious circumstances. Local deputy Garland Jones thought he'd left that dark chapter behind when he helped bury Fritz Meyer's coffin. The unexpected arrival of Hedda, a long-suffering yet captivating woman, forces him to confront how much of the truth he really knows. As they work together to uncover the identity of the woman in the casket and to unravel Fritz's fate, Hedda and Garland grow closer. But with Hedda in the US on borrowed time while Hitler rises to power in Germany, she fears she'll be forced to return home before she can put the ghosts of her past to rest.....

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The hounding : a novel

Purvis, Xenobe, author.

Even before the rumors about the Mansfield girls begin, Little Nettlebed is a village steeped in the uncanny, from strange creatures that wash up on the riverbed to portentous ravens gathering on the roofs of people about to die. But when the villagers start to hear barking, and when one claims to see the Mansfield sisters transform before his very eyes, the allegations spark fascination and fear like nothing has before. The truth is that the inhabitants of Little Nettlebed have never much liked the Mansfield girls-a little odd, think some; a little high on themselves, perhaps-but they've always had plenty to say about them and, as the rotating perspectives of five of the villagers quickly make clear, now is no exception. Belief in witchcraft is waning but an aversion to difference is as widespread as ever, and these conflicting narratives all point to the same ultimate conclusion: something isn't right in Little Nettlebed, and the sisters will be the ones to pay for it. As relevant today as any time before, The Hounding celebrates the wild breaks from convention we're all sometimes pulled toward, and wonders if, in a world like this one, it isn't safer to be a dog than an unusual young girl.....

View in Catalog

These blue mountains

Thomas, Sarah Loudin, author.

German pianist Hedda Schlagel's world collapsed when her fiancé, Fritz, vanished after being sent to an enemy alien camp in the United States during the Great War. Fifteen years later, in 1932, Hedda is stunned to see Fritz's name in a photograph of an American memorial for German seamen who died near Asheville, North Carolina. Determined to reclaim his body and bring closure to his ailing mother, Hedda travels to the US. Her quest takes a shocking turn when, rather than Fritz's body, his casket contains the remains of a woman who died under mysterious circumstances. Local deputy Garland Jones thought he'd left that dark chapter behind when he helped bury Fritz Meyer's coffin. The unexpected arrival of Hedda, a long-suffering yet captivating woman, forces him to confront how much of the truth he really knows. As they work together to uncover the identity of the woman in the casket and to unravel Fritz's fate, Hedda and Garland grow closer. But with Hedda in the US on borrowed time while Hitler rises to power in Germany, she fears she'll be forced to return home before she can put the ghosts of her past to rest.....

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Dear Miss Lake : a novel

Pearce, A. J. (Amanda-Jane), author.

London, July 1944. After nearly five years of war, the readers of Woman's Friend magazine are relying on the support of Emmy Lake and her team more than ever. With the city under attack, the magazine staff decamps to the countryside for the summer. Determined to help the women of Britain carry on, Emmy and friends are hard at work finding new ways to inspire resilience. With her army officer husband Charles posted close to home, and best friend Bunty by her side, Emmy happily throws herself into rural life, juggling children, magazine assignments, and plans for a very important wedding. And then a call comes that means she may finally fulfill her long-held dream of becoming a war correspondent. But when disaster strikes, Emmy needs her friends, her community, and her readers more than ever. Filled with courage and compassion, a lovable cast of characters, and winning wartime details, Dear Miss Lake is an enormously uplifting testament to the power of friendship and hope.....

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The locked ward : a novel

Pekkanen, Sarah, author.

Some doors should never be opened. Was it bitter, all-consuming jealousy? Pathological sibling rivalry? Pure insanity? Whatever the cause -- and everyone has a theory -- it's the Crime of the Decade when glamorous Georgia Cartwright, who was adopted as a newborn, is accused of killing the biological daughter of her wealthy, Southern family. Georgia is locked in a psychiatric institution where the most violent offenders are held while she awaits trial. The only words she whispers when her estranged twin sister Amanda visits are, "I didn't do it. You've got to get me out of here." Amanda doesn't trust Georgia, but she can't abandon her in a place so eerie and menacing that it seems to exist in another dimension. Is Georgia the victim of a powerful family that's so depraved murder is the least of their crimes? Or is Amanda being led down a path of madness into the web of a master manipulator? Nothing is as it seems in Sarah Pekkanen's The Locked Ward, a shocking psychological thriller about the complex bonds of sisterhood-and what happens when they are stretched to the breaking point. Some doors in the Locked Ward should never be opened.....

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The surrogate mother

McFadden, Freida, author.

She was promised a miracle. She got more than she bargained for... Abby wants a baby more than anything. But after years of failed infertility treatments and adoptions that have fallen through, it seems like motherhood is not in her future. That is, until her personal assistant Monica makes a generous offer to serve as a surrogate. It's an offer that will make all of Abby's dreams come true. But soon, strange things start happening. And it turns out Monica isn't who she says she is. The woman now carrying Abby's child has an unspeakable secret. And she will stop at nothing to get what she wants.....

View in Catalog

Too old for this

Downing, Samantha, author.

A retired serial killer receives a knock on the door. The uninvited guest threatens to blow up her quiet life if she doesn't start killing again. What's a gal to do? Lottie Jones thought her crimes were behind her. Decades earlier, she changed her identity and tucked herself away in a small town. Her most exciting nights are the weekly bingo games at the local church and gossiping with her friends. When investigative journalist Plum Dixon shows up on her doorstep asking questions about Lottie's past and specifically her involvement with numerous unsolved cases, well, Lottie just can't have that. But getting away with murder is hard enough when you're young. And when Lottie receives another annoying knock on the door, she realizes this crime might just be the death of her.......

View in Catalog

Bug Hollow : a novel

Huneven, Michelle, 1953- author.

A decades-spanning family saga featuring the messy but loving Samuelson clan trying to make sense of the world after one event changes their lives forever. When Sally Samuelson was eight years old, her golden boy brother Ellis went missing the summer he graduated high school. Ellis finally turned up at the bucolic Bug Hollow, a last gasp of the beautiful Northern California counterculture in the seventies. He had found joy in the communal life there, but died in a freak accident weeks later. From that point, the world of the Samuelsons never spins on the same axis, especially after Julia, Ellis’s girlfriend from Bug Hollow, shows up pregnant on their doorstep. Each Samuelson has sought their own solace: Sybil Samuelson pours herself into teaching and numbing her pain after the loss of her beloved son; her husband, Phil, had found respite in a love that developed while he was working as an engineer in Saudi Arabia; Katie, the high achieving middle Samuelson, comes home to try and make peace with her mother after a cancer diagnosis. And Sally has become the de facto caretaker to Eva, the child Ellis never knew. ....

View in Catalog

The French kitchen : a novel

Cambron, Kristy, author.

Paris, 1952--Still haunted by the years she spent serving in the American Office of Strategic Services (OSS) during WWII, ex-pat Kat Fontaine, now living in Paris, finds a simple cookery class led by indomitable chef Julia Child unearths the tangle of gut-wrenching memories of war. Determined to find her brother who went missing during the war and is presumed dead, Kat questions everything, especially her high-ranking society husband whose past is as murky as her own. But when the puzzle pieces start to come together--and her carefully crafted Paris world begins to fall apart--Kat must confront her own secrets against the mounting suspicions of the husband she thought she knew... Rue, 1943--Deep in the heart of Nazi-controlled northern France, Manon Altier shifts between working for the enemy by day--as a French chef at the famous Chateau du Broutel, where names like Himmler, Rommel, and Goebbels frequent the guest list--and running with underground networks against the Vichy regime at night. Working undercover to filter critical information to agents within the burgeoning OSS presence in France, Manon digs deep into the glitz and glamour of a Nazi stronghold that has her teetering on the edge of being discovered at any turn. But when an intriguing stranger appears at the chateau claiming to work with the French Resistance, Manon must lean on her instincts to judge whether to run and hide or stand firm--even as a terrifying discovery tests her resolve to continue the fight.....

View in Catalog

Exit zero : stories

Bertino, Marie-Helene, author.

Death-shaped entities―with all of their humor and strangeness― haunt the twelve stories in Exit Zero. Vampires, ghost girls, fathers, blank spaces, day-old peaches, and famous paintings all pierce through their world into ours, reminding us to pay attention! and look alive! and offering many other flashes of wisdom from the oracle and author of Beautyland, Marie-Helene Bertino.....

View in Catalog

The lost baker of Vienna

Kurtzman, Sharon, author.

Inspired by the experiences of the author's own family after the Holocaust, this is a sweeping saga about survival, loss, love, and the reverberating effects of war... In 2018, Zoe Rosenzweig is reeling after the loss of her beloved grandfather, a Holocaust survivor. She becomes obsessed with finding out what really happened to her family during the war. Vienna, 1946: Chana Rosenzweig has endured the horrors of war to find herself, her mother, and younger brother finally free in Vienna. But freedom doesn't look like they imagined it would, as they struggle to make a living and stay safe. Despite the danger, Chana sneaks out most nights to return to the hotel kitchen where she works as a dishwasher, using the quiet nighttime hours to bake her late father's recipes. As she tries to balance her love of baking against her family's need for security, Chana finds herself caught in a dangerous love triangle, torn between the black-market dealer who has offered marriage and protection, and the apprentice baker who shares her passions. The Lost Baker of Vienna affirms the unbreakable bonds of family, while shining a light on the courageous spirit of WWII refugees as they battle to survive the overwhelming hardships of a world torn apart.....

View in Catalog

The locked ward : a novel

Pekkanen, Sarah, author.

Some doors should never be opened. Was it bitter, all-consuming jealousy? Pathological sibling rivalry? Pure insanity? Whatever the cause -- and everyone has a theory -- it's the Crime of the Decade when glamorous Georgia Cartwright, who was adopted as a newborn, is accused of killing the biological daughter of her wealthy, Southern family. Georgia is locked in a psychiatric institution where the most violent offenders are held while she awaits trial. The only words she whispers when her estranged twin sister Amanda visits are, "I didn't do it. You've got to get me out of here." Amanda doesn't trust Georgia, but she can't abandon her in a place so eerie and menacing that it seems to exist in another dimension. Is Georgia the victim of a powerful family that's so depraved murder is the least of their crimes? Or is Amanda being led down a path of madness into the web of a master manipulator? Nothing is as it seems in Sarah Pekkanen's The Locked Ward, a shocking psychological thriller about the complex bonds of sisterhood-and what happens when they are stretched to the breaking point. Some doors in the Locked Ward should never be opened.....

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The Union Street Bakery

Taylor, Mary Ellen, 1961- author.

Daisy McCrae’s life got off to a rocky start. Abandoned by a mother she never really knew, she was adopted into a family she’s never truly felt a part of. Thirty years later, her life is just as rocky. Between losing her job and her boyfriend, she’s lost all sense of self. Now Daisy is back where it all began: the Union Street Bakery. She’s resigned to living in the bakery’s attic, learning the family business, and saving it if she can. But patching up the holes in her relationship with her sisters is another story. So, too, is the century-old journal she inherits. Written by an enslaved girl named Susie, the weathered pages offer Daisy a glimpse into a past that has everything to do with her present. As Daisy learns more about Susie, the town, and her family, she starts to see who she’s been and who she wants to be—and realizes that maybe, no matter how much you’ve lost, there’s always something more to find.....

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Pariah

Fesperman, Dan, 1955- author.

Hal Knight, a comedian and movie star-turned politician, is no stranger to controversy. But after an embarrassing and humiliating encounter on set, Knight resigns from Congress, quits social media, and disappears to the tiny Caribbean island of Vieques to drink dirty martinis and nurse his wounds. Shortly after his arrival, he is approached by a trio of CIA operatives hoping to recruit him to infiltrate the power structure of Bolrovia--a hostile, Eastern European country whose despotic president, Nikolai Horvatz, happens to be a longtime fan of Knight's adolescent male humor. Knowing that Horvatz plans to invite the disgraced star for an official visit, the CIA coaxes Knight to accept. Skeptical, but with little to lose, Knight accepts the challenge, sensing this might be his one chance to do something worthwhile, even if no one else ever finds out. Upon arrival as President Horvatz's guest of honor, Knight confronts his ultimate acting challenge. What begins as an assignment to keep his eyes and ears open quickly turns into a life-or-death battle of wits, with consequences reaching all the way to Washington. With Pariah, Dan Fesperman has crafted a heart-pounding thriller about espionage, entertainment, and one man's pursuit of redemption.....

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A mother always knows : a novel

Strohmeyer, Sarah, author.

Stella O'Neill is just your average millennial, working at a public library and worrying about making rent. No one would suspect she's been living under an assumed name or that she was raised in a Vermont commune of "diviners" where, and as a ten-year-old, she witnessed her mother's brutal murder -- a crime that has gone unsolved for years. But her quiet, anonymous existence is upended when a true-crime obsessive posts her current name and location on the internet. Now, Stella has to get out of Boston before her mother's killer can find her and finish the job he started all those years ago. Fed up with living in fear, she heads to the off-the-grid retreat of her childhood to confront her mother's unhinged guru who controlled their lives for so long -- the infamous Radcliffe MacBeath. Stella has two powerful assets: determination and a supernatural gift. Relying on her mother's beloved rose quartz pendulum, Stella will have to outwit the charismatic leader who's ruined so many lives and discover once and for all the true identity of her mother's killer -- before becoming his next victim.....

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The winds from further West

McCall Smith, Alexander, 1948- author.

Dr. Neil Anderson has just started a new position at the University of Edinburgh when he meets Chrissie, an intelligent and ambitious colleague at the institute. Before long, the two move into a gorgeous flat on the south side of the city. Things seem to be going well for Neil, until an accusation of insensitive comments lands him in hot water with the university and he discovers a troubling secret about his relationship. Suddenly feeling as though his life is unraveling, he leaves everything behind for the remote and secluded beauty of the Isle of Mull off the west coast of Scotland. Not long after his arrival, a ship comes in to the harbor whose cargo--two wolf cubs--will drastically change the course of his life yet again. These cubs spark controversy on the island, leading Neil to Katie, the island's resident veterinarian, and bring with them the possibility of new beginnings and a budding romance.....

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