Viviana Valentine Goes Up the River by Emily J. Edwards

May 022023
 

1950, New York. Viviana Valentine–Girl Friday turned partner to New York’s top investigator, Tommy Fortuna–is drawn into a sordid new case when Buster Beacon, a wealthy man of science, beckons them to a party at his mansion north of the city. There, Buster entertains blue-blooded friends as well as investors keen to make a dollar on the many advancements made in his home laboratory, but he’s been hearing strange noises in the night coming from his expansive estate, and he doesn’t know who to trust.

Once Viviana and Tommy arrive, the party is snowed in. And suddenly, there is a dead body and nowhere to hide. Who killed the disguised federal agent in their midst? And how have details from the top-secret lab become public? Once chomping at the bit to be brought into this mysterious life, Viviana wonders if she’s ready for the risks that come with the territory—risks that rise treacherously high as the killer targets the next victim.

Set in the gritty, noir world of 1950 New York City, Emily J. Edwards’s Viviana Valentine Goes Up the River packs all the elements mystery fans love: an irresistibly clever protagonist, a posh cast of heroes and villains, and a murder case that could defy even the most seasoned investigator.

The Fourth Enemy by Anne Perry

Apr 112023
 

Daniel Pitt prosecutes a beloved philanthropist whose good deeds may hide dark—and dangerous—secrets in this gripping mystery from New York Times bestselling author Anne Perry.

Working his way up at London law firm fford Croft and Gibson, Daniel Pitt is named second prosecutor on a fraud case with the potential to make or break his—and the firm’s—reputation. The trouble is, Malcolm Vayne, the man on trial, has deep pockets, and even deeper connections. Vayne’s philanthropic efforts paint him a hero in the eyes of the public, but Daniel’s friend Ian, a police officer, has evidence to suggest otherwise. Nervously working alongside the new head of his firm, Daniel is under pressure to prove that Vayne is guilty.

Meanwhile, Daniel’s new bride, forensic scientist Miriam fford Croft, befriends Rose, the wife of Daniel’s colleague Gideon Hunter, and the two become engrossed in the women’s suffrage movement. Miriam finds herself among women who are brave and determined enough to undergo hunger strikes and prison sentences. Vayne’s image is improved by his support of their cause, but Miriam is not deceived.

The trial of Vayne reveals his political ambitions in both England and Europe and heats up further when a crucial witness is found dead. During the medical examination, Miriam discovers evidence that will influence the case against Vayne, but is kidnapped by one of his crazed supporters before she can reveal it. Daniel leaves the trial and, in a desperate midnight drive, attempts to rescue her from a dangerous, sea-swept dungeon, putting their lives—and the case against Vayne—in peril.

Never Vacation With Your Ex by Emily Wibberley and Austin Siegemund-Broka

Apr 042023
 

Seventeen-year-old volleyball star Kaylee Jordan lives a life of player rankings, constant training, and a carefully curated social media full of followers watching to see if she’ll go pro out of high school like her famous mom. Her one refuge, and the thing she looks forward to every summer? The vacation her family spends in Malibu with the Freeman-Yus. This year, there’s only one problem: Kaylee and their son, Dean, dated for the past three months, and Kaylee just unceremoniously dumped him. Hoping to spare them the worst summer ever, Kaylee comes to Dean with her unconventional solution: she’s going to walk him through her rules for getting over an ex. When Dean grudgingly cooperates, Kaylee’s got her work cut out for her. But helping Dean follow her own rules starts becoming difficult when the pressures of Kaylee’s family legacy and perfect life start to feel less like a plan and more like a prison…and amid warm California nights and stolen laughs, Kaylee feels herself falling for Dean for the same reasons and some new ones. With their trip coming to an end, Kaylee has to make the complicated choice between doing what’s expected and taking a (second) chance on love.

Hybrid Heart by Iori Kusano

Mar 282023
 

Rei is a pop idol in near future Japan trying to push past middling success despite competition from Vocaloid-style digital singers. Haunted by both guilt and the insidious manipulations of a controlling talent manager, Rei is forced to question what parts of herself—and those around her—she will sacrifice on the path to top billing.

The Ten Percent Thief by Lavanya Lakshminarayan

Mar 282023
 

Nothing has happened. Not yet, anyway. This is how all things begin.

Welcome to Apex City, formerly Bangalore, where everything is decided by the mathematically perfect Bell Curve.

With the right image, values and opinions, you can ascend to the glittering heights of the Twenty Percent – the Virtual elite – and have the world at your feet. Otherwise you risk falling to the precarious Ten Percent, and deportation to the ranks of the Analogs, with no access to electricity, running water or even humanity.

The system has no flaws. Until the elusive “Ten Percent Thief” steals a single jacaranda seed from the Virtual city and plants a revolution in the barren soil of the Analog world.

Ellie is Cool Now by Victoria Fulton and Faith McClaren

Mar 212023
 

TV writer Ellie Jenkins worked her butt off to put her nerdy, outcast teen years behind her. So there’s a certain delicious irony in that she works for a hit show about popular high school kids when she was So. Not. Cool. And now she’s been offered the promotion of a lifetime—if she attends her reunion. But Ellie’s memory of High School Hell isn’t nearly as traumatic as the reality . . .

No one at the reunion is what Ellie expected. Not her ex-best friend, who still has the ability to see right through Ellie. And not her secret crush, who has only gotten hotter, sexier, and way more complicated. The only way she’s going to survive this whole weird ordeal is by fixing her bad high school karma, kissing the boy who got away, and getting the hell out of Ohio for good. But Ellie’s discovering that in real life, she can’t just rewrite the script.

Bitter Medicine by Mia Tsai

Mar 142023
 

In this inspired contemporary fantasy, a Chinese immortal and a French elf try to balance new romance, familial loyalty, and workplace demands. In her debut novel, Taiwanese American author Mia Tsai has created an unforgettable paranormal adventure that is full of humor, passion, and depth.

As a descendant of the Chinese god of medicine, ignored middle child Elle was destined to be a doctor. Instead, she is underemployed as a mediocre magical calligrapher at the fairy temp agency. Nevertheless, she challenges herself by covertly outfitting Luc, her client and crush, with high-powered glyphs.

Half-elf Luc, the agency’s top security expert, has his own secret: he’s responsible for a curse laid from an old assignment. To heal them, he’ll need to perform his job duties with unrelenting excellence and earn time off from his tyrannical boss.

When Elle saves Luc’s life, they begin a dangerous collaboration, but their chemistry blooms. Happiness, for once, is an option for them both. But Elle is loyal to her family, and Luc is bound by his true name. To win freedom from duty, they must make unexpected sacrifices.

The Queen’s Price by Anne Bishop

Mar 072023
 

Enter the dark and sensual realms of the Black Jewels in this sweeping story in the New York Times bestselling fantasy saga of three young women who must navigate life within the powerful SaDiablo family—and come to terms with Witch, the Queen who is still the heart and will of that family.

The Queen’s price is to stand against what you know is wrong. To stand and fight, no matter the cost to your court or to yourself. Especially to yourself.

Zoey, a young Queen-in-training at SaDiablo Hall, is wounded…and vulnerable to taunts and criticism. When an opportunity arises to befriend a stranger seeking sanctuary at the Hall, she puts herself and others in danger by ignoring Daemonar Yaslana’s warning to back off.

Meanwhile, the witch Jillian’s family prepares for her Virgin Night, the rite of passage that assures a woman will retain her power and her Jewels. The trouble is Jillian secretly went through the ceremony already. Now she has to explain the omission of that detail to her powerful and lethal family.   And the High Lord of Hell’s daughter, Saetien, travels to Scelt to find out about Jaenelle Angelline’s sister—and perhaps to discover truths about herself.

With some guidance from Witch, these three young women will learn when to yield because it is right—and when to take a stand, even if they must pay the Queen’s price.

Maybe She’ll Stay by Robyn Lucas

Feb 282023
 

A daughter’s return home opens old wounds in a novel of family, love, and emotional rescue by the author of Paper Doll Lina.

After three disastrous marriages, a series of bad dates, and a tumultuous relationship with an emotionally abusive mother, psychology professor Nancy Jewel is through with love and commitment. Romantic or familial, the notion is a waste of her time. Content with being alone, she’s starting to feel normal-ish when she learns her father, incarcerated in Georgia, has been diagnosed with a terminal illness. Nancy is determined to get him a compassionate release, even if it means returning home and reaching out for help from the last attorney she wants to see: her recent ex.

Back in her estranged mother’s orbit, and dealing with the fear of losing her father, Nancy wrestles with the ghosts of her toxic childhood and her reconnection with a failed bid at love. When an unexpected career challenge pushes Nancy to the edge, her impulse is to run. What other choice does she have? Face life head-on, and maybe, for once, stay.

The Summer She Disappeared by Carissa Ann Lynch

Feb 282023
 

A secret has been kept for twenty years, until now…

A new home. A new start. An old nightmare.

Inheriting a house was supposed to be the perfect escape for Willow Roberts. But the home is in a town she hasn’t been to since childhood, when her friend ran away.

Twenty years later Willow is back. Nothing has changed, but everything is different.
Then a body is found, and Willow knows exactly who it is.

Now Willow must face the truth.

What really happened the summer her friend disappeared?

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