Crooks: A Novel about Crime and Family by Lou Berney Think crime novels aren’t for you? Crooks may make you reconsider. In 1960s Vegas, Buddy Mercurio is a low-ranks mobster getting exactly nowhere. When Buddy catches department store clerk Lillian swiping cash from a customer, it’s love at first sight. “Mercurios don’t play by the … Read more
El Dorado Drive by Megan Abbott Oh, how the once-golden Bishop sisters have fallen. Nothing about their adult lives resembles their well-heeled childhood. Debra is drowning in medical debt, Pam’s contentious divorce drained her dry, and Harper is underemployed and ducking creditors. And then, salvation appears. The Wheel is a women-only financial “gifting club” – … Read more
Sounds Like Love by Ashley Poston With a hit song on her resume, songwriter Joni Lark should be at the top of her game professionally. But the truth is, Joni is stalled. Her creative inspiration has fled in the face of worries about her mother’s health and her parents’ recent decision to shutter the Revelry, … Read more
Back After This by Linda Holmes Cecily Foster dreams of hosting her own podcast, and until then, she’s busy keeping everything going as a producer. Relationships are the last thing on her mind – so when her boss pitches a show focusing on Cecily’s dating life, she immediately says no. Unfortunately, the company is in … Read more
Homeseeking by Karissa Chen This sweeping epic examines themes of displacement, identity and loss through the lives of a couple separated by war and circumstance. Suchi and Haiwen meet as children in pre-WWII Shanghai. Their connection is instant and intense, and friendship eventually blossoms into love. But Shanghai is gripped by occupation and political upheaval, … Read more
The Names by Florence Knapp The baby is to be named Gordon. Her husband insists on it. Gordon is his name, and the son should be named after his father. And Cora knows that she must obey her husband’s instructions. Years of abuse have taught her the consequences if she does not. Yet she cannot … Read more
Famous Last Words by Gillian McAllister On a beautiful June morning, literary agent Cam Deschamps has just arrived at work when she receives shocking news. Her husband Luke is involved in a hostage situation – not as a victim, Cam soon learns, but as the hostage taker in a standoff with police. The news is … Read more
The Quiet Librarian by Allen Eskens To most people, Hana Babić is an unassuming librarian, easily overlooked. Only her friend Amina knows the truth: that Hana is a survivor of the war in Bosnia who garnered a fierce reputation as a militia fighter following an unspeakable personal tragedy. After fleeing Bosnia, Hana cast aside her … Read more
Book and Dagger: How Scholars and Librarians Became the Unlikely Spies of World War II by Elyse Graham Mention the word “spy” and most people picture an action hero, not a professor combing through dusty archives. Yet that is exactly who extracted the intelligence necessary for the Allies to win World War II: librarians and … Read more
The Small and the Mighty: Twelve Unsung Americans Who Changed the Course of History, from the Founding to the Civil Rights Movement by Sharon McMahon In the face of struggle it sometimes feels like the odds are insurmountable and that we cannot make an impact on our own. But the people in The Small and … Read more