THOUGHTS ON THIS 'n THAT

Let me start by saying I loved* All That Life Can Afford* (Putnam) by Emily Everett. I remember in my late teens and twenties hoping to distance myself from my family. I wanted to be everything they weren't, and I spent most of my time chasing that goal. I would arrive, blank like a sheet of notebook paper, and write myself new. Anna first fell in love with London at her hometown library—its Jane Austen balls a far cry from her life of food stamps and hand-me-downs. But when she finally arrives after college, the real London is a moldy flat and the same paycheck-to-paycheck grind—that fairy-tale life still out of reach. Then Anna meets the Wilders, who fly her to Saint-Tropez to tutor their teenage daughter. Swept up by the sphinxlike elder sister, Anna soon plunges herself into a heady whirlpool of parties and excess, a place where confidence is a birthright. There she meets two handsome young men—one who wants to whisk her into his world in a chauffeured car, the other who sees t...

  THE SAVAGE NOBLE DEATH of BABS DIONNE (GPPutnam'sSon) is a mythic, propulsive novel about the tangled fates of a matriarchal crime family in Maine. Your ancestors breathe through you. Sometimes, they call for vengeance. Babs Dionne, proud Franco-American, doting grandmother, and vicious crime matriarch, rules her small town of Waterville, Maine, with an iron fist. She controls the flow of drugs into Little Canada with the help of her loyal lieutenants, girlfriends since they were teenagers, and her eldest daughter, Lori, a Marine vet struggling with addiction. When a drug kingpin discovers that his numbers are down in the upper northeast, he sends a malevolent force, known only as The Man, to investigate. At the same time, Babs's youngest daughter, Sis, has gone missing, which doesn't seem at all like a coincidence. In twenty-four hours, Sis will be found dead, and the whole town will seek shelter from Babs’s wrath. The Savage, Noble Death of Babs Dionne  is a crime saga ...

A MAP TO PARADISE  can be described as a film noir in the form of a novel. It’s crime-laced, historical suspense told from the perspective of three women who each have everything to lose.   Only together can they save themselves — and each other. 1956 - Malibu  -  a veritable paradise in Southern California. The sun is shining. The roses are in bloom. But something is not quite right at the Blankenship house on Paradise Circle.   Three women—a blacklisted Hollywood actress, her widowed next-door neighbor, and her maid—suddenly find themselves thrust together one December morning when Elwood Blankenship, celebrated screenwriter, has inexplicably disappeared from his home. Elwood is agoraphobic — so  where could a man who refuses to leave the house possibly have gone?   One question turns into many more as the three women begin peeling back the layers of Elwood’s — and each other’s — lives. And soon, the trio find that they must work together to cover up...

  Unveiling a journey from poverty to prosperity, this inspiring tale of resilience and self-discovery charts a path through adversity, empowering readers to forge their own destinies. Hiding in Plain View  is a compelling narrative by Marcel Clarke, an entrepreneur, community advocate, and YouTube host. Marcel vividly recounts the twists and turns of his life, revealing how he became the man he is today. His story begins in the streets of Philadelphia where he discovered his fearlessness, resourcefulness, and decision-making abilities, attributes that would later lead him towards entrepreneurship and leadership. The narrative takes a dramatic turn when Marcel is thrust into a life of poverty due to his father's poor choices. Anger, resentment, and fear creep into his life for the first time. A chance encounter changes his life trajectory, as he moves from a comfortable suburban life to become a drug kingpin, leading to a constant struggle between his precarious environment an...

  The long-awaited follow-up to  The Light We Lost. A  thrilling love story by bestselling author Jill Santopolo has written THE LOVE WE FOUND (Putnam). It’s been ten years. In case you’re out there somewhere. In case you’re listening, I’m here. And I have so much to tell you. It’s been nearly ten years since Gabe’s been gone when Lucy finds a tiny piece of paper in a box of his old photos. An address in Rome. Why did Gabe keep it, and what was he doing in Italy? Lucy buys a last-minute plane ticket. Impulsive, but Gabe always brought that out in her. Lucy’s journey to uncover Gabe’s secret leads her to Dr. Dax Armstrong, a New Yorker in Italy working with an NGO. His broad shoulders and sad, intense eyes draw Lucy in. His touch reaches her in a forgotten place—one that no one has neared since Gabe. But her old life awaits, along with an earth-shattering decision—whether she and Darren should tell their son Samuel the truth about his father. How can Lucy move forward whil...