Search:

The last chance library / by Sampson, Freya,author.;
"June Jones emerges from her shell to fight for her beloved local library, and through the efforts and support of an eclectic group of library patrons, she discovers life-changing friendships along the way. Lonely librarian June Jones has never left the sleepy English village where she grew up. Shy and reclusive, the thirty-year-old would rather spend her time buried in books than venture out into the world. But when her library is threatened with closure, June is forced to emerge from behind the shelves to save the heart of her community and the place that holds the dearest memories of her mother. Joining a band of eccentric yet dedicated locals in a campaign to keep the library, June opens herself up to other people for the first time since her mother died. It just so happens that her old school friend Alex Chen is back in town and willing to lend a helping hand. The kindhearted lawyer's feelings for her are obvious to everyone but June, who won't believe that anyone could ever care for her in that way. To save the place and the books that mean so much to her, June must finally make some changes to her life. For once, she's determined not to go down without a fight. And maybe, in fighting for her cherished library, June can save herself, too"--
Subjects: Chick lit.; Librarians; Libraries and community; Life change events;

The ascent : a novel / by Buccola, Allison,author.;
"Twenty years ago, the members of a reclusive commune outside Philadelphia vanished without a trace. The mystery of their disappearance has never been solved. No sightings of the members were ever verified, and no bodies ever found. But the group did leave one thing behind: a twelve-year-old girl wandering alone on the side of the road in search of her lost family. In the years since that morning, Lee Burton has tried to put the pain of her past behind her. She has built a new identity for herself, with a doting husband and seven-month-old daughter. No one in her life now knows about her connection to "the cult that went missing," not even her husband. But new motherhood is proving a bigger challenge than she anticipated. She doesn't want to let her daughter, Lucy, out of her sight even for a moment. She can't return to work. She is not sleeping, and starting to have paranoid thoughts of Lucy being harmed. Then a stranger show up on her doorstep, who claims to be her long-lost sister. In her Lee sees the path to understanding the truth about her past, finally--if she could only trust that the woman is who she says she is. As she digs deeper into the truth about the woman's history the safe, stable life that Lee has constructed for herself threatens to shatter"--
Subjects: Thrillers (Fiction); Psychological fiction.; Novels.; Cults; Identity (Psychology); Missing persons; New mothers;

Home for erring and outcast girls : a novel / by Kibler, Julie,author.;
"In turn-of-the-twentieth-century Texas, the Berachah Home for the Redemption of Erring Girls is an unprecedented beacon of hope for young women consigned to the dangerous poverty of the streets by birth, circumstance, or personal tragedy. Built in 1903 on the dusty outskirts of Arlington, a remote dot between the red-light districts of Dallas and Fort Worth, the progressive home bucks public opinion by offering faith, training, and rehabilitation to prostitutes, addicts, unwed mothers, and "ruined" girls without forcibly separating mothers from children. When Lizzie Bates and Mattie McBride meet there-- one sick and abused, but desperately clinging to her young daughter, the other jilted by the beau who fathered her ailing son-- they form a friendship that will see them through unbearable loss, heartbreak, difficult choices, and ultimately, diverging paths. A century later, Cate Sutton, a reclusive university librarian, uncovers the hidden histories of the two troubled women when she stumbles upon the cemetery on Berachah's former grounds. She begins to comb through the home's archives in university's library. Pulled by an indescribable connection, Cate confronts her own heartbreaking past, and to reclaim the life she thought she had forever let go of."-- Dust jacket flap.
Subjects: Historical fiction.; Unmarried mothers; Women; Reformatories for women; Female friendship; Librarians;

Poison lilies : a novel / by Tallo, Katie,author.;
"After moving back to her hometown and solving her mother's murder, Augusta (Gus) Monet thought she was finally settled. Content for the first time in her life. Done with digging into the past. But it's not to be. Cue hard reset number whatever. When Gus makes a mistake she can't undo, she does the only thing she can: cuts and runs. Packs all her things in the dead of night and takes off. Gus lands at The Ambassador Court, an art-deco apartment building with cheap rent in one of Ottawa's oldest neighborhoods where no one knows her. The perfect place for a fresh start--or at least a good place to hide. She soon meets Poppy Honeywell, her reclusive elderly neighbor who wanders about in a pink kimono like an aging Hollywood starlet and who happens to be a descendant of the Mutchmores, one of the city's founding families. When a body emerges from an icy pond in a nearby park, Gus's growing curiosity with Poppy and her influential family suddenly takes a perilous turn with deadly consequences. The Mutchmores have been hiding a treacherous secret for decades--one they are willing to sacrifice anything--and anyone--to keep buried. Little do they know, that's just the kind of secret Gus can't resist."--
Subjects: Thrillers (Fiction); Psychological fiction.; Novels.; Apartment houses; Family secrets; Murder; Women detectives;

Seven days in June : a novel / by Williams, Tia,1975-author.;
"Brooklynite Eva Mercy is a single mom and bestselling erotica writer, who is feeling pressed from all sides. Shane Hall is a reclusive, enigmatic, award-winning literary author who, to everyone's surprise, shows up in New York. When Shane and Eva meet unexpectedly at a literary event, sparks fly, raising not only their past buried traumas, but the eyebrows of New York's Black literati. What no one knows is that twenty years earlier, teenage Eva and Shane spent one crazy, torrid week madly in love. They may be pretending that everything is fine now, but they can't deny their chemistry-or the fact that they've been secretly writing to each other in their books ever since. Over the next seven days in the middle of a steamy Brooklyn summer, Eva and Shane reconnect, but Eva's not sure how she can trust the man who broke her heart, and she needs to get him out of New York so that her life can return to normal. But before Shane disappears again, there are a few questions she needs answered ... With its keen observations of Black life and the condition of modern motherhood, as well as the consequences of motherless-ness, Seven Days in June is by turns humorous, warm and deeply sensual"--
Subjects: Romance fiction.; Authors; African Americans; Man-woman relationships;

Loyalty / by Scottoline, Lisa,author.;
"Loyalty can save a soul--or destroy one. Franco Fiorvanti is a handsome laborer toiling on the estate of a baron. He dreams of owning a lemon grove, but the rigid class system of Sicily thwarts his ambition. When the baron asks him to kidnap a little boy, Franco makes a decision that will change his life--and the history of Sicily. Gaetano Catalano is an idealistic young lawyer whose devotion to justice is tantamount to a calling. He's a member of the Beati Paoli, a real-life secret society of aristocrats who investigate crime in Palermo, a city riddled with graft. Gaetano sets out to find the kidnapped boy, but his mission leads him to a darker place than he had ever imagined. Meanwhile, Mafalda Pancari is a new mother rejoicing at the birth of her daughter, Lucia, when disaster strikes. And Alfredo D'Antonio is a reclusive goatherd under constant threat of being discovered as a Jew. How the lives of these unforgettable characters collide makes Loyalty an epic tale of good versus evil. Readers will be transported to the dramatic and ruggedly beautiful island of Sicily, where lush lemon groves and mouth-watering cuisine contrast with a turbulent history of colonization and corruption - and they will not be able to put down this riveting masterpiece"--
Subjects: Historical fiction.; Novels.; Kidnapping; Mafia; Missing persons; Nobility; Orchards; Organized crime;

The cherry robbers / by Walker, Sarai,author.;
"The highly anticipated second novel from Sarai Walker, following her "slyly subversive" (EW) cult-hit Dietland-a feminist gothic about the lone survivor of a cursed family of sisters, whose time may finally be up. New Mexico, 2017: Sylvia Wren is one of the most important American artists of the past century. Known as a recluse, she avoids all public appearances. There's a reason: she's living under an assumed identity, having outrun a tragic past. But when a hungry journalist starts chasing her story, she's confronted with whom she once was: Iris Chapel. Connecticut, 1950: Iris Chapel is the second youngest of six sisters, all heiresses to a firearms fortune. They've grown up cloistered in a palatial Victorian house, mostly neglected by their distant father and troubled mother, who believes that their house is haunted by the victims of Chapel weapons. The girls long to escape, and for most of them, the only way out is marriage. But not long after the first Chapel sister walks down the aisle, she dies of mysterious causes, a tragedy that repeats with the second, leaving the rest to navigate the wreckage, to heart-wrenching consequences. Ultimately, Iris flees the devastation of her family, and so begins the story of Sylvia Wren. But can she outrun the family curse forever?"--
Subjects: Feminist fiction.; Gothic fiction.; Novels.; Artists; Blessing and cursing; Families; Heiresses; Sisters;

The super secret Octagon Valley Society / by De la Cruz, Melissa,1971-;
"After passing an intense exam, Edwin Edgefield becomes one of the lucky few to attend an exclusive weekend at the mysterious high-tech institute of the uber-famous-ultrabazillionaire-genius-recluse Onasander Octagon. Edwin hopes he'll meet other kids like him--kids who will accept him even though he's got a photographic memory, genius-level math skills, and some very specific personality quirks. But when he meets the other misfits (um, students), he starts to wonder if they're all in the right place. There's amateur rapper Li'l Kimmy, violin prodigy Julie, video game-obsessed Anton, teacher's pet Ting-Ting, mean girl Maureen, and surfer dude Dilip. And we're not even going to talk about Harold. Are you sitting down? Because this is when things get really weird. Octagon's weekend events include an escape-room challenge, a zero-gravity chamber, a river full of piranhas, and... some ninjas? Surviving Octagon Valley may require these outcasts to embrace their inner weird and become greater together than they ever could separately. Those who rise to the wacky occasion will be treated to the biggest, most spectacular surprise of their lives--a chance to be truly extraordinary!"--
Subjects: Action and adventure fiction.; Adventure and adventurers; Treasure hunting; Friendship; Treasure hunt (Game); Escape room games;

All together now : a novel / by Norman, Matthew,1977-author.;
"A dying man brings his oldest friends together for one last beach blowout in this witty, heartfelt novel from the author of Last Couple Standing. At just thirty-five, reclusive billionaire Robbie Malcolm is a renowned financial prognosticator, a celebrated philanthropist, and a mathematical genius. Also, he's dying, which is a fact he's carefully concealing from the world. As he takes stock, Robbie realizes that his wealth means nothing if he can't help the people who matter most. So, he invites his oldest friends--Blair, Cat, and Wade--to their beloved Fenwick Island on the coast of Delaware to share his secret and to reveal plans for each of them that he believes will change their lives forever. However, Robbie isn't the only one with secrets. The bonds they formed as teenagers still exist, but adulthood has brought a whole new set of complications, like unrequited loves, marriages on the brink, and so much unfulfilled potential. Robbie's plans may look good on paper, but are they any match for the utter disaster that is real life? As everything comes to light over a wild weekend full of surprises, Robbie learns there are still some things money can't buy, and a group of friends who thought their best years were behind them realize just how much they have to look forward to"--
Subjects: Humorous fiction.; Friendship; Rich people; Secrecy; Terminally ill;

A most puzzling murder / by Marais, Bianca,1976-author.;
"How do you solve a murder that hasn't happened yet? Destiny Whip is a former child prodigy, world-renowned enigmatologist and very, very alone. A life filled with loss has made her a recluse, an existence she's content to endure until a letter arrives inviting her to interview for the position of Scruffmore family historian. Not only does an internet search for the name yield almost nothing, it's a role she never applied to in the first place! She decodes the invitation's hidden message with ease, and its promise to reveal her family secrets proves too powerful a draw for the orphaned Destiny, who soon finds herself on Eerie Island. It's a place whose inhabitants are almost as inhospitable as the tempestuous weather. The Scruffmores themselves turn out to be not much better, a snarled mess of secrets and motives connected by their mistrust for one another. Their newly arrived guest proves to be just as much an enigma to them as they are to her. While Destiny slowly works to unravel the mysteries hidden throughout the ominous castle, she struggles to interpret disturbing nightly visions of what is to come. In the midst of cryptic ciphers, hidden passages, and the family's magical line of succession, Destiny is certain of two things: one of the Scruffmores is going to die and she's running out of time to stop it."--
Subjects: Detective and mystery fiction.; Novels.; Family secrets; Magic; Murder;