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Stone Yard Devotional A Novel [electronic resource] : by Wood, Charlotte.aut; cloudLibrary;
Shortlisted for the 2024 Booker Prize, a novel about forgiveness, grief, and what it means to be good, from the award-winning author of The Weekend. “Stone Yard Devotional is as extraordinary as you’ve heard.” —Ron Charles, The Washington Post “An exquisite, wrenching novel of leaving your life behind.” —Lauren Christensen, New York Times Burnt out and in need of retreat, a middle-aged woman leaves Sydney to return to the place she grew up, taking refuge in a small religious community hidden away on the stark plains of rural Australia. She doesn't believe in God, or know what prayer is, and finds herself living this strange, reclusive existence almost by accident. But disquiet interrupts this secluded life with three visitations. First comes a terrible mouse plague, each day signaling a new battle against the rising infestation. Second is the return of the skeletal remains of a sister who disappeared decades before, presumed murdered. And finally, a troubling visitor plunges the narrator further back into her past. Meditative, moving, and finely observed, Stone Yard Devotional is a seminal novel from a writer of rare power, exploring what it means to retreat from the world, the true nature of forgiveness, and the sustained effect of grief on the human soul.
Subjects: Electronic books.; Small Town & Rural; Literary; Contemporary Women;
© 2025., Penguin Publishing Group,

Loyalty [text (large print)] / 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.; Large print books.; Novels.; Kidnapping; Mafia; Missing persons; Nobility; Orchards; Organized crime;

Loyalty [sound recording] / by Scottoline, Lisa,author,narrator.; Ballerini, Edoardo,1970-narrator.; Penguin Audio (Firm),publisher.;
Read by Lisa Scottoline, Edoardo Ballerini."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: Audiobooks.; Historical fiction.; Novels.; Kidnapping; Mafia; Missing persons; Nobility; Orchards; Organized crime;

The Woman in Suite 11 A Novel [electronic resource] : by Ware, Ruth.aut; CloudLibrary;
In this follow-up to #1 New York Times bestselling author Ruth Ware’s multi-million copy mega-hit The Woman in Cabin 10, Lo Blacklock returns to attend the opening of a luxury hotel, only to find herself in a white-knuckled race across Europe. When the invitation to attend the press opening of a luxury Swiss hotel—owned by reclusive billionaire Marcus Leidmann—arrives, it’s like the answer to a prayer. Three years after the birth of her youngest child, Lo Blacklock is ready to reestablish her journalism career, but post-pandemic travel journalism is a very different landscape from the one she left ten years ago. The chateau on the shores of Lake Geneva is everything Lo’s ever dreamed of, and she hopes she can snag an interview with Marcus. Unfortunately, he proves to be even more difficult to pin down than his reputation suggests. When Lo gets a late-night call asking her to come to Marcus’s hotel room, she agrees despite her own misgivings. She’s greeted, however, by a woman claiming to be Marcus’s mistress, and in life-or-death jeopardy. What follows is a thrilling cat-and-mouse pursuit across Europe, forcing Lo to ask herself just how much she’s willing to sacrifice to save this woman…and if she can even trust her?
Subjects: Electronic books.; Psychological; Suspense; Contemporary Women;
© 2025., Simon & Schuster,

Close up / by Quick, Amanda,author.;
"Welcome to Burning Cove, California, where 1930s Hollywood glamour conceals a ruthless killer ... Vivian Brazier never thought life as an art photographer would include shooting headshots for aspiring male actors or nightly wake-up calls to snap photos of grisly crime scenes. Although she is set on making a career of transforming her photography into a new art form, she knows her current work is what's paying the bills. After shooting crime scene photos of a famous actress-the latest victim of the murderer the press has dubbed the "Dagger Killer"-Vivian notices eerie similarities to the crime scenes of previous Dagger Killer victims, details that only another photographer would have noticed. The kind of details that lead Vivian to become a target herself. Nick Sundridge has always been able to "see" things that others can't, forcing him to cope with disturbing dreams and visions. His talent-or as he puts it, his curse-along with his dark past makes him a recluse but a brilliant investigator. As the only one with the ability to help, Nick is sent to protect Vivian. Together, they discover the Dagger Killer has ties to the glitz and glamour of Hollywood royalty and high society. It is a cutthroat world of allure and deception that Vivian and Nick must traverse-all in order to uncover the killer who will stop at nothing to add them to their gallery of murders"--
Subjects: Historical fiction.; Thrillers (Fiction); Photographers; Serial murders; Man-woman relationships;

Hemlock [electronic resource] : by Albert, Susan Wittig.aut; cloudLibrary;
From Susan Wittig Albert, the New York Times bestselling author of A Plain Vanilla Murder, comes a tightly crafted novel that juxtaposes the disappearance of a rare, remarkably illustrated 18th-century herbal with the true and all-too-human story of its gifted creator, Elizabeth Blackwell. ​Herbalist China Bayles’ latest adventure takes her to the mountains of North Carolina, where her friend Dorothea Harper serves as the director and curator of the Hemlock House Library, a priceless collection of rare gardening books housed in a haunted mountainside mansion that once belonged to Sunny Carswell, a reclusive heiress. But the most valuable book—A Curious Herbal, created by Elizabeth Blackwell in the 1730s—is  missing and Dorothea is under suspicion. China’s search for the thief takes on a new urgency when she discovers Miss Carswell’s bookseller, the victim of an attempted murder. Is his shooting connected with the theft? And there are other urgent questions: What is the Hemlock Guild? Who owns Socrates.com? Did Sunny Carswell really kill herself, or does her ghost have a different story to tell? And what is the real truth behind the many tantalizing mysteries of A Curious Herbal? Hemlock is a compelling mix of mystery and herb lore, past secrets and present sins, and characters who are as real as your friends and neighbors—in an absorbing novel that only Susan Wittig Albert could create.
Subjects: Electronic books.; Mystery & Detective;
© 2021., Persevero Press,

The most wonderful crime of the year : a novel / by Carter, Ally,author.;
Knives Out gets a holiday rom-com twist in this rivals-to-lovers romance-mystery from New York Times bestselling author Ally Carter. The bridge is out. The phones are down. And the most famous mystery writer in the world just disappeared out of a locked room two days before Christmas. Meet Maggie Chase and Ethan Wyatt: She's the new Queen of the Cozy Mystery. He's Mr. Big-time Thriller Guy. She hates his guts. He thinks her name is Marcie (no matter how many times she's told him otherwise.) But when they both accept a cryptic invitation to attend a Christmas house party at the English estate of a reclusive fan, neither is expecting their host to be the most powerful author in the world: Eleanor Ashley, the Duchess of Death herself. That night, the weather turns, and the next morning Eleanor is gone. She vanished from a locked room, and Maggie has to wonder: Is Eleanor in danger? Or is it all some kind of test? Is Ethan the competition? Or is he the only person in that snowbound mansion she can trust? As the snow gets deeper and the stakes get higher, every clue will bring Maggie and Ethan closer to the truth--and each other. Because, this Christmas, these two rivals are going to have to become allies (and maybe more) if they have any hope of saving Eleanor. Assuming they don't kill each other first.
Subjects: Christmas fiction.; Romance fiction.; Humorous fiction.; Novels.; Christmas stories; Authors; Man-woman relationships; Missing persons; Parties; Women authors;

The accomplice : a novel / by Lutz, Lisa,author.;
"Owen's wife was murdered. His best friend, Luna, found the body. Everything and everyone is thrown into question in this riveting suspense novel from the New York Times bestselling author of The Passenger. Owen is rich, charming, and chronically dissatisfied. His life is forever entangled with Luna Grey, his no-nonsense best friend who is struggling to hide her dark past. From the fateful day they meet in college, the two become inextricably linked. They can't be mentioned without the other: Owen and Luna, Luna and Owen. In addition to their own trove of personal secrets, there is the deadly one they share. It forges a bond that will last decades. Years later, Owen disappears on his wife, Irene, for hours, mostly to spend time drinking with Luna. Luna is now an assistant to the eccentric and reclusive artist Leo Whitman, who also happens to be Irene's stepfather. But when Irene is found dead, the victim of a brutal crime, it unleases a torrent of secrets from the past as well as everything they would have preferred to have kept hidden in the present. Despite their innocence, the murder causes the walls to quickly close in around them. The Accomplice examines the intense relationship between two very different misanthropic best friends. What happens when one of them takes a sledgehammer to their bond and the other lights that wreckage on fire? If secrets are what kept Owen and Luna together, they just might tear them apart, too. If they let them"--
Subjects: Thrillers (Fiction); Murder; Secrecy;

Immortal longings / by Gong, Chloe,author.;
"Every year, thousands in the kingdom of Talin will flock to its capital twin cities, San-Er, where the palace hosts a set of games. For those confident enough in their ability to jump between bodies, competitors across San-Er fight to the death to win unimaginable riches. Princess Calla Tuoleimi lurks in hiding. Five years ago, a massacre killed her parents and left the palace of Er empty ... and she was the one who did it. Before King Kasa's forces in San can catch her, she plans to finish the job and bring down the monarchy. Her reclusive uncle always greets the victor of the games, so if she wins, she gets her opportunity at last to kill him. Enter Anton Makusa, an exiled aristocrat. His childhood love has lain in a coma since they were both ousted from the palace, and he's deep in debt trying to keep her alive. Thankfully, he's one of the best jumpers in the kingdom, flitting from body to body at will. His last chance at saving her is entering the games and winning. Calla finds both an unexpected alliance with Anton and help from King Kasa's adopted son, August, who wants to mend Talin's ills. But the three of them have very different goals, even as Calla and Anton's partnership spirals into something all-consuming. Before the games close, Calla must decide what she's playing for- -her lover or her kingdom"--
Subjects: Fantasy fiction.; Epic fiction.; Novels.; Contests; Gladiators; Imaginary places; Man-woman relationships; Monarchy; Nobility; Princesses;

The gathering / by Tudor, C. J.,author.;
"A detective investigating a grisly crime in rural Alaska finds herself caught up in the dark secrets and superstitions of a small town in this riveting novel from the acclaimed author of The Chalk Man. Deadhart, Alaska. Population: 673. Living. In a small Alaskan town, a boy is found with his throat ripped out and all the blood drained from his body. The inhabitants of Deadhart haven't seen a killing like this in twenty-five years. But they know who's responsible: a member of the Colony, an ostracized community of vampyrs living in an old mine settlement deep in the woods. Detective Barbara Atkins, a specialist in vampyr killings, is called in to officially determine if this is a Colony killing - and authorize a cull. Old suspicions die hard in a town like Deadhart, but Barbara isn't so sure. Determined to find the truth, she enlists the help of a former Deadhart sheriff, Jenson Tucker, whose investigation into the previous murder almost cost him his life. Since then, Tucker has become a recluse. But he knows the Colony better than anyone. As the pair delve into the town's history, they uncover secrets darker than they could have imagined. And then another body is found. While the snow thickens and the nights grow longer, a killer stalks Deadhart, and two disparate communities circle one another for blood. Time is running out for Atkins and Tucker to find the truth: Are they hunting a bloodthirsty monster ... or a twisted psychopath? And which is more dangerous?"--
Subjects: Thrillers (Fiction); Vampire fiction.; Novels.; Ex-police officers; Forensic sciences; Murder; Secrecy; Small cities; Vampires; Women detectives;