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Robert B. Parker's Payback / by Lupica, Mike,author.; Parker, Robert B.,1932-2010,creator.;
PI Sunny Randall has often relied on the help of her best friend Spike in times of need. When Spike's restaurant is taken over under a predatory loan agreement, Sunny has a chance to return the favor. She begins digging into the life of the hedge fund manager who screwed Spike over--surely a guy that smarmy has a skeleton or two in his closet--and soon finds this new enemy may have the backing of even badder criminals. At the same time, Sunny's cop contact Lee Farrell asks her to intervene with his niece, a college student who reported being the victim of a crime but seems to know more than she's telling police. As the uncooperative young woman becomes outright hostile, Sunny runs up against a wall that she's only more determined to scale. Then, what appear to be two disparate cases are united by a common factor, and the picture becomes even more muddled. But one thing is clear: Sunny has been poking a hornet's nest from two sides, and all hell is about to break loose.
Subjects: Detective and mystery fiction.; Randall, Sunny (Fictitious character); Organized crime; Private investigators; Women detectives;

Everyday delicious : 30 minute(ish) home-cooked meals made simple / by DiSpirito, Rocco,author.; Pushnik, Jonathan,photographer.;
"Finding himself at home more during the pandemic and in the hybrid world that followed author and chef Rocco DiSpirito rediscovered for the first time in decades, the joy of cooking for and savoring weekday meals with his family and friends, something that was not a regular occurrence when he was working in a busy restaurant or as celebrity chef on the go. Of course, as a home cook preparing nightly family meals, Rocco also experienced the fatigue of spending hours planning and cooking every night, rather than sitting at the table enjoying family and friends. That's what inspired this book: a collection of 100 no-fuss weekday meals to help you cook like a chef every night, in about thirty minutes or less. Every recipe is full of flavor and is sure to be a hit with the entire family. Recipes include many of Rocco's favorites from over the years, plus all new dishes, as well as classic Italian dishes from his childhood. This book is all about simple ingredients, lots of flavor, and efficient cooking. It's sure to become the essential cookbook for everyday dinners that everyone will love"--
Subjects: Cookbooks.; Recipes.; Quick and easy cooking.;

The body by the sea / by Bannalec, Jean-Luc,1966-author.; McDonagh, Sorcha,1988-translator.; translation of:Bannalec, Jean-Luc,1966-Bretonisches Vermächtnis.English.;
"In all of Commissaire Georges Dupin's time living in Brittany, there has never been a murder on his home turf, until now, in Jean-Luc Bannalec's The Body by the Sea. A town on the sea, Concarneau's nickname is Ville Bleue, or the Blue Town. With three harbors at its center, visitors can see enormous ships, sailors, fishermen, and the industry that goes alongside it. Because of its geographical location, Concarneau has shown it's perfectly positioned to protect its inhabitants from enemy attacks. For this reason and more, including his favorite restaurant, the Amiral, Commissaire Georges Dupin calls this town home. Most of his colleagues are on vacation for the Pentecost long weekend, but Dupin remains. His future in-laws are coming to visit. But what happens when an enemy attacks from within? Dupin's plans as host must change when the body of Doctor Chaboseau is discovered. Chaboseau fell to his death, pushed from his home above the Amiral. With only two new colleagues to help-no one else is answering their phone-Dupin is tasked with finding out what happened to the doctor"--
Subjects: Detective and mystery fiction.; Novels.; Murder; Police;

Every step she takes / by Armstrong, Kelley,author.;
Genevieve has secrets that no one knows. In Rome she can be whoever she wants to be. Her neighbours aren't nosy; her Italian is passable; the shopkeepers and restaurant owners now see her as a local, and they let her be. It's exactly what she wants. One morning, after getting groceries, she returns to her 500-year-old Trastevere apartment. She climbs to the very top of the staircase, the stairs narrowing the higher she goes. When she gets to her door, she puts down her bags and pushes the key into the lock ... and the door swings open. It's unlocked. Sometimes she doesn't lock it because break-ins aren't common in Rome. But Genevieve knows she locked the door behind her this morning. She has no doubt. She should leave, call the police. What if someone is in her apartment, waiting for her? But she doesn't. The apartment is empty, and exactly as she left it, perfectly tidy and not a thing out of place ... except for the small box on her kitchen table. A box that definitely wasn't there this morning. A box postmarked from the US. A box that is addressed to "Lucy Callahan." A name that she hasn't used in ten years.
Subjects: Thrillers (Fiction); Psychological fiction.; Americans; Women;

Beautiful you / by Palahniuk, Chuck,author.;
A novel about the apocalyptic marketing possibilities of female pleasure. Penny Harrigan is a low-level associate in a big Manhattan law firm with an apartment in Queens and no love life at all. So it comes as a great shock when she finds herself invited to dinner by one C. Linus Maxwell, aka "Climax-Well," a software mega-billionaire and lover of the most gorgeous and accomplished women on earth. After dining at Manhattan's most exclusive restaurant, he whisks Penny off to a hotel suite in Paris, where he proceeds, notebook in hand, to bring her to previously undreamed-of heights of orgasmic pleasure for days on end. What's not to like? This: Penny discovers that she is a test subject for the final development of a line of sex toys to be marketed in a nationwide chain of boutiques called Beautiful You. So potent and effective are these devices that women by the millions line up outside the stores on opening day and then lock themselves in their room with them and stop coming out. Except for batteries. Maxwell's plan for erotically enabled world domination must be stopped. But how?"--Jacket flap.
Subjects: Erotic fiction.; Humorous fiction.; Suspense fiction.; Apocalyptic fantasies;

Rental person who does nothing : a memoir / by Morimoto, Shoji,author.; Knotting, Don,translator.; translation of:Morimoto, Shoji.'Rental nanmo shinai hito' to iu service wo hajimemasu.English.;
"Shoji Morimoto was constantly being told that he was a 'do-nothing' because he lacked initiative. Dispirited and unemployed, it occurred to him that if he was so good at doing nothing, perhaps he could turn it into a business. And with one tweet, he began his business of renting himself out to do nothing. Morimoto, aka Rental Person, provides a fascinating service to the lonely and socially anxious. Sitting with a client undergoing surgery, accompanying a newly-divorced client to her favourite restaurant, visiting the site of a client's suicide attempt are just a few of his thousands of true life adventures. He is dependable, non-judgmental and committed to remaining a stranger and the curious encounters he shares are revelatory about both Japanese society and human psychology. In Rental Person Who Does Nothing, Morimoto chronicles his extraordinary experiences in his unique line of work and reflects on how we consider relationships, jobs and family in our search for meaningful connection and purpose in life"--Publisher's description.
Subjects: Autobiographies.; Anecdotes.; Personal narratives.; Morimoto, Shoji.; Interpersonal relations; Loneliness; Social psychology; Social service;

Quietly hostile : essays / by Irby, Samantha,author.;
"Beloved writer Samantha Irby has returned to the printed page for her much-anticipated, sidesplitting fourth book following her 2020 breakout, Wow, no thank you, a Vintage Books Original. The success of Irby's career has taken her to new heights. She fields calls with job offers from Hollywood and walks the red carpet with the iconic ladies of Sex and the City. Finally, she has made it. But, behind all that new-found glam, Irby is just trying to keep her life together as she always had. Her teeth are poisoning her from inside her mouth, and her diarrhea is back. She gets turned away from a restaurant for wearing ugly clothes, she goes to therapy and tries out Lexapro, gets healed with Reiki, explores the power of crystals, and becomes addicted to QVC. Making light of herself as she takes us on an outrageously funny tour of all the details that make up a true portrait of her life, Irby is once again the relatable, uproarious tonic we all need"--
Subjects: Biographies.; Essays.; Personal narratives.; Irby, Samantha.; African American comedians; African American women authors; American wit and humor.; Authors, American; Bloggers; Comedians;

Four cuts too many / by Goldstein, Debra H.;
When it comes to murder, there's no need to mince words . . . Sarah Blair gets an education in slicing and dicing when someone in culinary school serves up a main corpse in Wheaton, Alabama... Between working as a law firm receptionist, reluctantly pitching in as co-owner of her twin sister's restaurant, and caretaking for her regal Siamese RahRah and rescue dog Fluffy, Sarah has no time to enjoy life's finer things. Divorced and sort-of dating, she's considering going back to school. But as a somewhat competent sleuth, Sarah's more suited for criminal justice than learning how many ways she can burn a meal. Although she wouldn't mind learning some knife skills from her sous chef, Grace Winston. An adjunct instructor who teaches cutlery expertise in cooking college, Grace is considering accepting an executive chef's position offered by Jane Clark, Sarah's business rival--and her late ex-husband's lover. But Grace's future lands in hot water when the school's director is found dead with one of her knives in his back. To clear her friend's name, Sarah must sharpen her own skills at uncovering an elusive killer...
Subjects: Detective and mystery fiction.; Divorced women; Murder; Sisters;

Total dreamboat : a novel / by Doyle, Katelyn,author.;
"From the author of Just Some Stupid Love Story, an irresistible rom-com about what happens when a cruise ship romance goes ... overboard. Hope Lanover needs a vacation. Her relationship has imploded, her creative ambitions have flatlined, and she can't seem to locate the badass girl she used to be. So when her best friend invites her on a luxury cruise, she goes along with it, despite decidedly not being a cruise person. Felix Segrave, a sober, determinedly single, workaholic chef, hates leaving his restaurant and routine. But when his parents surprise him and his sisters with cruise tickets, he can't say no-he's disappointed them too many times in his troubled past. Hope and Felix are prepared to grin and bear it ... until they lock eyes at check in. Suddenly, a ten-day fling in the Caribbean with a sexy stranger doesn't seem so bad. But when their romantic demons catch up to them, and a huge fight leaves them stranded in paradise, they must work together-not to mention share a bed-to make their way home. Can they navigate the stormy seas of love, or will they face romantic shipwreck?"--
Subjects: Romance fiction.; Novels.; Cooks; Cruise ships; Man-woman relationships;

A dash of salt and pepper / by Jackson, Kosoko,author.;
"Sometimes two cooks in the kitchen are better than one in this swoony romantic comedy. Xavier Reynolds is doing less than stellar. He just got dumped and was passed over for a prestigious fellowship. To top it all off, he's back home in Harpers Cove, Maine, population 9,000. The last thing he wants to do is to work as a prep chef in the kitchen of the hip new restaurant in town: The Wharf. Especially since the hot, single-father chef who owns it can't delegate to save his life. Logan O'Hare doesn't understand Xavier or why every word out of his mouth is dipped in sarcasm. Unfortunately, he has no choice but to hire him--he needs more help in the kitchen and his tween daughter, Anne, can only mince so many onions. It might be a recipe for disaster, but Logan doesn't have many options besides Xavier. Stuck between a stove and a hot place, Logan and Xavier discover an unexpected connection. But when the heat between them threatens to top the Scoville scale, they'll have to decide if they can make their relationship work or if life has seasoned them too differently"--
Subjects: Romance fiction.; Gay fiction.; Novels.; Cooks; Gay men; Interpersonal relations; Interracial couples; Single fathers;