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Trouble island : a novel / by Short, Sharon Gwyn,author.;
"A gripping new novel inspired by a real place and events from the author's family, Trouble Island is the standalone suspense debut from historical mystery writer Sharon Short. Many miles from anywhere in the middle of Lake Erie, Trouble Island serves as a stop-off for gangsters as they run between America and Canada. The remote isle is also the permanent home to two women: Aurelia Escalante, who serves as a maid to Rosita, lady of the mansion and wife to the notorious prohibition gangster, Eddie McGee. In the freezing winter of 1932, the women anticipate the arrival of Eddie and his strange coterie: his right-hand man, a doctor, a cousin, a famous actor, and a rival gangster who Rosita believes murdered their only son. Aurelia wants nothing more than to escape Trouble Island, but she is hiding a secret of her own. She is in fact not a maid, but a gangster's wife in hiding, as she runs from the murder she committed five years ago. Her friend Rosita took her in under this guise, but it has become clear that Rosita wants to keep Aurelia right where she is. Shortly after the group of criminals, celebrities, and scoundrels arrive, Rosita suddenly disappears. Aurelia plans her getaway, going to the shore to retrieve her box of hidden treasures, but instead finds Rosita's body in the water. Someone has made sure Aurelia was the one to find her. An ice storm makes unexpected landfall, cutting Trouble Island off from both mainlands, and with more than one murderer among them. Both a gripping locked room mystery, and a transporting, evocative portrait of a woman in crisis, Trouble Island marks the enthralling standalone suspense debut from Sharon Short, promising to be her breakout novel, inspired by a real island in Lake Erie, and true events from her own rich family history"--
Subjects: Detective and mystery fiction.; Novels.; Islands; Murder; Nineteen thirties; Organized crime;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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Didion & Babitz / by Anolik, Lili,author.;
"Eve Babitz died on December 17, 2021. Found in a closet in the back of an apartment full of wrack, ruin, and filth was a stack of boxes packed by her mother decades before. These boxes were pristine, the seals of duct tape unbroken. Inside: journals, photos, scrapbooks, manuscripts, letters. No: inside a lost world. This world turned for a certain number of years in the late sixties and early seventies, and was centered on a two-story house rented by Joan Didion and her husband, writer John Gregory Dunne, in a down-at-heel section of Hollywood. 7406 Franklin Avenue, a combination salon-hotbed-living end where writers and artists mixed with movie stars, rock n' rollers, drug trash. 7406 Franklin Avenue was the making of one great American writer: Joan Didion, cool and reserved behind her oversized sunglasses and storied marriage, a union as tortured as it was enduring. 7406 Franklin Avenue was the breaking and then the remaking -- and thus the true making-- of another great American writer: Eve Babitz, goddaughter of Igor Stravinsky, nude of Marcel Duchamp, consort of Jim Morrison (among many, many others), who burned so hot she finally almost burned herself alive. The two formed a complicated alliance: a friendship that went bad, amity turning to enmity; a friendship that was as rare as true love, as rare as true hate. Didion, in spite of her confessional style, her widespread fame, is so little known or understood. She's remained opaque, elusive. Until now. With deftness and skill, journalist Lili Anolik uses Babitz, Babitz's brilliance of observation, Babitz's incisive intelligence, and, most of all, Babitz's diary-like letters -- as the key to unlocking the mighty and mysterious Didion"--
Subjects: Biographies.; Personal narratives.; Babitz, Eve; Didion, Joan; Women authors, American;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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The witching year : a memoir of earnest fumbling through modern witchcraft / by Helmuth, Diana,author.;
Includes bibliographical references and index."Diana Helmuth, thirty-three, is skeptical of organized religion. She is also skeptical of disorganized religion. But, more than anything, she is tired of God being dead. So, she decides to try on the fastest growing, self-directed faith in America: Witchcraft. The result is 366 days of observation, trial, error, wit, and back spasms. Witches today are often presented as confident and finished, proud and powerful. Diana is eager to join them. She wants to follow all the rules, memorize all the incantations, and read all the liturgy. But there's one glaring problem: no Witch can agree on what the right rules, liturgy, and incantations are. As with life, Diana will have to define the craft for herself, looking past the fashionable and figuring out how to define the real. Along the way, she travels to Salem and Edinburgh (two very Crafty hubs) and attends a week-long (clothing optional) Witch camp in Northern California. Whether she's trying to perform a full moon ritual on a cardboard box, summon an ancient demon with scotch tape and a kitchen trivet, or just trying to become a calmer, happier person, her biggest question remains: Will any of this really work?"--
Subjects: Biographies.; Autobiographies.; Personal narratives.; Helmuth, Diana; Self-actualization (Psychology) in women.; Witchcraft; Witches;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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Courtroom Drama A Novel [electronic resource] : by Tubati Alexander, Neely.aut; CloudLibrary;
Legally Blonde and Jury Duty meet The Real Housewives in this high-stakes courtroom love story—a sexy and sweet but heartfelt novel about friendship, romance, and reality television from the acclaimed author of Love Buzz and In a Not So Perfect World. Sydney Parks thinks she might be the first person in the world to look forward to serving jury duty. When Margot Kitsch, an OG cast member of the hit reality show Authentic Moms of Malibu is arrested after the untimely death of her cast member husband, Joe, Sydney knows being selected for the jury is the most interesting thing that ever happened to her.  However, it doesn’t take long for Sydney to realize that being part of a sequestered jury in a high-profile case is not at all what legal dramas had led her to expect—especially when she learns that her childhood best friend, Damon, whom she hasn't seen in ten years, is also a jury member. As the trial wears on, Sydney realizes there's a lot more to the case than she first thought. And there's also a lot more to Damon—she soon finds herself falling under his spell despite the court’s instructions not to fraternize. His tendency to break the rules and find adventure is hard to resist in their otherwise dull juror's world. But getting close to Damon also means having to face the complicated reasons their friendship abruptly ended just when they were on the precipice of something more. With all the drama in and out of the courtroom, how is Sydney supposed to ignore the fraught history between them? How is she supposed to avoid him when he’s sitting next to her in the jury box every day with his broad shoulders and intoxicating smell? And how is she supposed to ensure Margot gets a fair trial if her unfinished business with Damon causes the mistrial of the century?
Subjects: Electronic books.; Contemporary; Romantic Comedy; Contemporary Women;
© 2025., HarperCollins,
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The stolen key / by Haddix, Margaret Peterson.;
"Colin has spent all summer solving mysteries with his friend Nevaeh. But they've only ever dealt with other people's mysteries--ones that are safe for Colin to think about. He's still stuck on the mystery surrounding his own father, who his mother refuses to talk about and he can't remember meeting. Then one morning Colin finds a shoebox on his porch with a note on top: 'Your father wanted you to have this.' Inside the box is a key. This new clue makes Colin even more determined to find out the truth about his dad and why his parents split up when he was a baby. Colin and Nevaeh begin investigating Colin's father in a quest that takes them from eerie storage units to lock-lined bridges to, strangely, secrets in Nevaeh's family. But the closer they get to connecting the clues, the more trouble awaits them. A serious accident leaves Nevaeh's family reeling--and Nevaeh racked with guilt. And digging into Colin's father's past may lead Colin and his mom into even more danger. Can Colin and Nevaeh solve the mystery before it's too late?"--Amazon.
Subjects: Detective and mystery fiction.; Crime; Detectives; Junk trade; Family secrets; Social justice; Women's rights; Friendship;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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But everyone feels this way : how an autism diagnosis saved my life / by Layle, Paige,author.;
Includes bibliographical references.""For far too long, I was told I was just like everyone else. All my struggles and feelings were supposedly universal, and the real difference was that I was just a weak, manipulative, selfish, emotional baby. I had to toughen up. But as much as everyone tried to convince me, I knew it couldn't be true. Living just seemed so much harder for me than everyone else. Whilst the people around me seemed to have no problem being calm and happy, I had panic attacks multiple times a day, where my hyperventilating made my legs numb and sometimes I lost consciousness. I cried almost every day from stress, frustration, exhaustion, or all three at once. This wasn't okay. This wasn't normal. This wasn't functioning. And it certainly wasn't fine." Paige Layle was normal. She lived in the countryside with her mom, dad, and brother Graham. She went to school, hung out with friends, and all the while everything seemed so much harder than it needed to be. A break in routine threw off the whole day. If her teacher couldn't answer "why" in class, she dissolved into tears, unable to articulate her own confusion or explain her lack of control. But Paige was normal. She smiled in photos, picked her feet up when her mom needed to vacuum instead of fleeing the room, and received high grades. She was popular and well-liked. And until she had a full mental breakdown, no one believed her when she claimed that she was not okay. In "But Everyone Feels This Way," Paige Layle shares her story as an autistic woman diagnosed late. Women are frequently diagnosed with autism much later than men - in their late teens or early twenties. Armed with the phrase "Autism Spectrum Disorder" (ASD), Paige set out to learn how to live her authentic, autistic life. She challenges stigmas, taboos, and stereotypes so that everyone can see themselves. Along the way, her online activism has spread awareness, acceptance, and self-recognition in millions of others"--
Subjects: Biographies.; Autobiographies.; Personal narratives.; Layle, Paige.; Autistic people; Autistic women;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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The resistance painter : a novel / by Jonathan, Kath,author.;
"1939. Irena Marianowka's dreams of attending art school in Paris are crushed when the Nazis invade Poland. Instead, she joins the Home Army and, together with her young husband, risks her life every day in the sewers of Warsaw. In 1944, after a harrowing mission, she returns home to learn that her sister, Lotta, has been abducted by the Gestapo. Determined to find her, Irena is willing to risk everything--all but the safety of her unit. 2011. Jo Blum lives in Toronto with her beloved grandmother, a lauded painter of WWII and a decorated war hero. Jo has a flourishing career creating sculptures for grave sites based on the life stories of her dying clients. Her recorded interviews with Stefan, her new Polish client, unveil a heroic wartime past eerily similar to her grandmother's. But Jo's quest to uncover the truth about Stefan and her grandmother opens an explosive Pandora's box with shockwaves that threaten all she has known. The Resistance Painter will resonate with fans of Woman with the Blue Star, The Book of Lost Names, The Tattooist of Auschwitz, The German Girl, and The Dutch Wife, confronting the questions of the accuracy of the stories we tell about our lives and whether buried secrets stay buried."--
Subjects: Historical fiction.; Novels.; Poland. Polskie Siły Zbrojne. Armia Krajowa; Grandmothers; Married people; Sisters; Survival; Women painters; World War, 1939-1945; World War, 1939-1945;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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Restaurant kid : a memoir of family and belonging / by Phan, Rachel,author.;
"A warm and poignant narrative about finding one's self amidst the grind of restaurant life, the cross-generational immigrant experience, and a daughter's attempts to connect with parents who have always been just out of reach. When she was three years old, Rachel Phan met her replacement. Instead of a new sibling, her mother and father's time and attention were suddenly devoted entirely to their new family restaurant. For her parents--whose own families fled China during Japanese occupation and then survived bombs and starvation during the war in Vietnam--it was a dream come true. For Phan, it was something quite different. Overnight, she became a restaurant kid, living on the periphery of her own family and trying her best to stay out of the way. As Phan grew up, the restaurant was the most stalwart and suffocating member of her family. For decades, it's been both their crowning achievement and the origin of so much of their pain and suffering: screaming matches complete with smashed dishes; bodies worn down by long hours and repetitive strain; and tenuous relationships where the family loved one another deeply without ever really knowing each other. In Restaurant Kid, Phan seeks to examine the way her life has been shaped by the rigid boxes placed around her. She had to be a "good daughter," never asking questions, always being grateful. She had to be a "real Canadian," watching hockey and speaking English so flawlessly that her tongue has since forgotten how to contort around Cantonese tones. As the only Chinese girl at school, she had to alternate between being the sidekick, geek, or Asian fetish, depending on whose gaze was on her. Now, three decades after their restaurant first opened, Phan's parents are cautiously talking about retirement. As an adult, Phan's "good daughter" role demands something new of her--and a chance to get to know her parents away from the restaurant. In Restaurant Kid, Phan deftly combines candour, wit and insight to craft a vibrant and important narrative on the strength and foibles of family, and how we come to understand ourselves."--Provided by publisher.
Subjects: Biographies.; Autobiographies.; Personal narratives.; Phan, Rachel.; Phan, Rachel; Children of immigrants; Restaurateurs; Restaurateurs; Chinese Canadian women;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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The hiding place / by Munier, Paula,author.;
"Mercy and Elvis are back in The Hiding Place, the most enthralling entry yet in USA Today bestselling Paula Munier's award-winning Mercy Carr mystery series. When the man who killed her grandfather breaks out of prison and comes after her grandmother, Mercy must unearth the long-buried scandals that threaten to tear her family apart. And she may have to do it without her beloved canine partner Elvis, if his former handler has his way ... Some people take their secrets with them to the grave. Others leave them behind on their deathbeds, riddles for the survivors to solve. When her late grandfather's dying deputy calls Mercy to his side, she and Elvis inherit the cold case that haunted him--and may have killed him. But finding Beth Kilgore 20 years after she disappeared is more than a lost cause. It's a Pandora's box releasing a rain of evil on the very people Mercy and Elvis hold most dear. The timing couldn't be worse when the man who murdered her grandfather escapes from prison and a fellow Army vet turns up claiming that Elvis is his dog, not hers. With her grandmother Patience gone missing, and Elvis's future uncertain, Mercy faces the prospect of losing her most treasured allies, the only ones she believes truly love and understand her. She needs help, and that means forgiving Vermont Game Warden Troy Warner long enough to enlist his aid. With time running out for Patience, Mercy and Elvis must team up with Troy and his search-and-rescue dog Susie Bear to unravel the secrets of the past and save her grandmother--before it's too late. Once again, Paula Munier crafts a terrific mystery thriller filled with intrigue, action, resilient characters, the mountains of Vermont, and two amazing dogs"--
Subjects: Detective and mystery fiction.; Women veterans; Cold cases (Criminal investigation); Missing persons; Search dogs;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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It takes a psychic / by Castle, Jayne,author.;
"Two unlikely allies search for the secrets of their pasts while on the run within the Alien world of Harmony in the thrilling new novel by New York Times bestselling author Jayne Castle. Leona Griffin is at the height of her career as a para-archeologist thanks to a recent Underworld discovery. Her high profile attracts the attention of an organization of elite, secretive collectors. They want her to authenticate the artifacts that aspiring members submit as evidence to join their group. The ceremony takes place at a glittering reception where Leona is shocked to discover that one of the relics is a powerful Old-World object known as Pandora's Box. But she's not the only one interested in that artifact. Oliver Rancourt, a man with a unique talent -- they say you never see him coming -- is also there. Leona knows she must not underestimate him. Attempting to make a discreet exit, she stumbles over the body of a waiter wearing the emblem of a dangerous cult. Before she can alert authorities, a police raid sends the reception into chaos. To avoid being arrested, Leona slips away with Oliver -- a risky decision that gets her fired. Now forced to work together, Leona and Oliver pursue an investigation that leads them to the town of Lost Creek where the locals are obsessed with a chilling legend involving a long-dead cult leader and illicit paranormal experiments. But Leona knows the real danger may be the irresistible attraction between herself and Oliver"--
Subjects: Paranormal fiction.; Romance fiction.; Novels.; Cults; Man-woman relationships; Psychic ability; Relics; Women archaeologists;
Available copies: 0 / Total copies: 1
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