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LIES WE TELL ABOUT THE STARS by Susie Nadler - Spotlight

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  A gorgeous debut about friendship, grief, and new beginnings set in near-future San Francisco in the aftermath of a catastrophic earthquake and on the cusp of the first human mission to Mars. Celeste Muldoon is alone when the Big One finally hits, because, for the first time ever, her best friend stood her up after school. Nicky and Celeste share a birthday, matching tattoos, an obsession with the upcoming Mars mission, and pretty much everything else. So why did he ghost her on the day she needed him most? As the quake’s death toll rises and days pass, Nicky and Celeste’s parents fear the worst. But Celeste doesn’t buy it. He couldn’t be dead. Nicky’d spent their senior year selling essays to rich kids and was about to get caught. He’d told Celeste about his plan to vanish, to reinvent himself and escape the disaster he’d created. The quake would be perfect cover. But she can’t convince anyone that he could still be alive. Only Meo, a mysterious stranger who was somehow mixed up...

I CAME BACK FOR YOU by Kate White - Spotlight

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  A mother begins to challenge everything she’s been told about her daughter’s murder in a shocking novel of suspense by bestselling author Kate White. Ten years after her daughter, Melanie, was murdered, Bree Winter is finally moving on with a new love, a new home, and a new beginning. Then a deathbed confession from the convicted killer throws Bree’s life into a tailspin all over again. He readily confesses to murdering four girls. But not Melanie. At first, Bree and her ex-husband don’t buy a word of it. Until inconsistencies about the crime emerge. So does the dreadful feeling that the monster who shattered Bree’s family isn’t lying. The only way she can get to the truth is to power through the trauma and return to the town in upstate New York where Melanie’s life came to a brutal end. Bree will do anything to find justice for her daughter and finish this nightmare forever. Instead, it’s just beginning. Not only could the real killer still be in their midst, but as Bree be...

JIGSAW by Jonathan Kellerman - Spotlight

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This one looked like a slam: a young woman found dead at her kitchen table, DNA on cigarette butts linking quickly to an ex-boyfriend with a criminal record. Or so homicide lieutenant Milo Sturgis thought. Then everything changed, and a quick close turned into a mind-bending whodunit. That’s when Milo called in psychologist Alex Delaware, his best friend and a long-term consultant on “those cases.” The ones that are different. Then there’s another old woman found brutally murdered, her body stashed in a deep freeze and mutilated. And when Milo learns who she is, he’s stunned. This victim is someone he once knew. Complicating matters further, her home is an extreme hoarder’s den, virtually impassable due to years of stored trash and apparently meaningless objects. Except for the envelopes of cash stashed among the garbage. As Alex and Milo dig deeper into the seemingly unrelated crimes, they discover shocking links between the victims and realize they have a labyrinthine—and deadly—puzz...

SISTERS IN YELLOW by Mieko Kawakami - Spotlight

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  From award-winning Mieko Kawakami  comes a bold novel of sacrifice and the tumultuous bonds of sisterhood, set in the gritty Tokyo of the 1990s. Hana has nothing – she’s fifteen years old and living in a tiny apartment in a suburb of Tokyo with her young mother, a hostess at a local dive bar. They have no money, no security. Then Kimiko appears. Kimiko is older, a bright light in Hana’s dark world. Together they set up Lemon, a bar that, despite its shabby setting and seedy clientele, becomes a haven for Hana. Suddenly, Hana has a job she loves, friends to share her days with, and the glittering promise of money. She feels like a normal girl. She feels invincible. But in the narrow alleys of Sangenjaya, nothing is as it seems. Soon all of Hana’s hope, her optimism, and her drive will be pushed to the limit . . . A story of enduring friendship and deep betrayal,  Sisters in Yellow  is a masterpiece of teenage dreams and adult cruelties that confirms Mieko Kawakami a...

SAVE THE DATE by Mallory Kass - Spotlight

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  Some journeys to love don’t follow a straight line. And, as Mallory Kass—re-emerging under her own name after writing as Kass Morgan ( The 100 )—reminds us in  SAVE THE DATE , romance can be gloriously tangled, deeply honest, and, just sometimes, unexpectedly redemptive. Set over one unforgettable weekend on Sandpiper Island—a place as beautiful as it is unpredictable— SAVE THE DATE   invites you to witness three women at the intersection of heartbreak, hope, and forgiveness. Kass weaves together witty banter and vulnerable moments, exploring how love is shaped by secrets, longing, and the messy realness of human connection. (And yes, Bellarke fans: even if you already thought Kass Morgan wrote a mean romance, she’s bringing all that heart—and heartache—here.) You’ll meet: Marigold (The Bride):  Charming and quick-witted beneath her It-girl veneer, Marigold wants to prove she’s more than everyone’s assumptions—but a secret from her past could upend everything she’s...

AND NOW BACK TO YOU by B.K. Borison - Spotlight

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  Two competing meteorologists are forced to find common ground in this opposites attract, When Harry Met Sally inspired romance, from New York Times bestselling author B.K. Borison. Jackson Clark and Delilah Stewart have had their fair share of run-ins over the years, often ending in disaster. While Jackson thrives on routine and organization from the comfort of his radio booth, Delilah loves the spontaneity and adventure out in the field. When they’re partnered against their will to cover the snowstorm of the century, they find themselves scrambling to figure out how to work together. Eager to be taken seriously as a journalist, Delilah offers Jackson a deal. If he can help her ace this assignment, she’ll help him rediscover his long-lost fun side. With an undiscovered chemistry burning beneath their clashes, the unlikely partnership quickly tumbles into an easy and surprising friendship. But when other feelings start to enter the equation, can Jackson and Delilah withstand the s...

FAMILY LIES by Karen Rose - Spotlight

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The fourth nerve-shattering installment of the San Diego Case Files from  New York Times  bestselling author Karen Rose sees Kit McKittrick’s sister caught in a maelstrom of deadly family secrets. As an infant, Kit McKittrick’s foster sister Akiko was abandoned at a firehouse. Now 32, Akiko has received an unsettling phone call from a woman who says that she knew her birth mother but refuses to divulge any details except in person. Akiko is nervous but also thrilled at the prospect of finally learning about her blood relations. Kit has a bad feeling about this and insists on accompanying Akiko to meet the woman. Sure enough, as they stand on Mary Sherman’s doorstep, shots are fired and Kit is hit...and inside the house is a corpse: Mary Sherman herself. Although she’s on medical leave and forbidden to work the case, Kit cannot rest. With police psychologist Sam Reeves, she undertakes a covert investigation into the mysterious Mary Sherman. Was  she  Akiko’s birth mot...