THOUGHTS ON THIS 'n THAT

  Four women come together at a tumultuous time in their lives, forging an unbreakable bond that will leave them all forever changed in Robyn Carr's new novel, THE FRIENDSHIP CLUB. Celebrity cooking show host Marni McGuire has seen it all. She’s been married—twice—and widowed and divorced. Now in her midfifties, she’s single. Happily so. She just needs to convince her pregnant daughter, Bella, of this fact. And maybe convince herself, too. Especially after Marni’s efforts to humor her determined daughter result in a series of disastrous dates that somehow prompt Marni to wonder if maybe the right man for her is still out there after all.    Similarly single, Marni’s best friend and colleague is confident she’s content without a man, but both older women soon find themselves leading by example as the young intern on their show appears caught in a toxic relationship—and Bella reveals her own marriage maybe isn’t built to withstand the stresses of the baby on the way. Suddenly, all fo

From the  New York Times  bestselling author of  I Was Anastasia  and  Code Name Hélène  comes a gripping historical mystery inspired by the life and diary of Martha Ballard, a renowned 18th-century midwife. Ariele Lawton investigates a shocking murder in her new novel, THE FROZEN RIVER (Doubleday). Maine, 1789: The Kennebec River freezes, entombing a man in the ice. Martha Ballard is summoned to examine the body and determine cause of death. As the local midwife and healer, Martha is good at keeping secrets. Her diary is a record of every birth and death, every murder and debacle that unfolds in the town of Hallowell. In that diary she also documented the details of an alleged rape that occurred four months earlier. Now, one of the men accused of that heinous attack has been found dead in the ice. While Martha is certain she knows what happened the night of the assault, she suspects that the two crimes are linked, and that there is more to both cases than meets the eye. Over the cours

Miracle From Ukraine by James Herbert Harrison is a story inspired by actual events. At first it was a challenge to read a romance that takes place in Ukraine, while the war rages on. But Harrison's heartwarming story lets readers know love really conquers all. Irina, a young Ukrainian woman meets and falls in love with John, an American businessman. A storm strands John in Ukraine and they begin an unlikely romance. Language, age and culture are just some of the obstacles they face as their love grows. A jealous Ukrainian State Security officer is determined to keep Irina from leaving the country, but perseverance is a powerful thing. I enjoyed reading MIRACLE FROM UKRAINE. I regularly speak with a woman in Kyiv. It's part of a volunteer program which pairs Americans with Ukrainians. She basically practices her English with me - American English, which I've learned is different from British English. It's fun to learn new information about Ukraine and also to be familia

Laurel Grant is playing house for the holidays—complete with a fake husband and kids—in this delightful, charming rom-com by Kerry Winfrey. Laurel Grant works as the social media manager for  Buckeye State of Mind , an Ohio tourism magazine and website. She most definitely does  not  run a farm . . . but one tiny misunderstanding leads her boss, Gilbert, to think she owns her twin sister Holly’s farm just outside of Columbus. Laurel only handles the social media for the farm, but she’s happy to keep her little white lie going if it means not getting fired—she  cannot  be jobless again. And keep it going she must when Gilbert, recently dumped by his wife, invites himself over for the farm’s big Christmas Eve Eve dinner (as advertised on Meadow Rise Farm’s Instagram, thanks to Laurel herself). Laurel immediately goes into panic mode to figure out how she can trick Gilbert into thinking she’s basically the Martha Stewart of rural Ohio and keep her job in the process. Laurel and Holly come

  The 11th segment in John Cunningham's, Buck Reilly Adventure Series, BURIED IN ORANGE (GreeneStreetLLC) has arrived for Buck Reilly fans. Buck is asked to come to Italy by Sir Harry Greenbaum, his former main investor, and old family friend, to do a flyover at the beginning of the Formula 1 race in Monza. Turns out the real reason Harry asked him to come was to help him combat organized crime members intent on forcing their way into his pending investment into one of the Formula 1's most historic teams. When Harry gets kidnapped, Buck is forced to scour northern Italy to search for him and to negotiate with his captors. If everything isn't settled by the end of the race, Harry and Buck's lives are on the line, but when they try to outmaneuver the head of the crime syndicate, thousands of innocent lives are thrust into immediate danger. Buck's race against time leads to more surprises than he ever anticipated. John H. Cunningham is the USA TODAY best selling author

  You know how they live. This is how they die... A STUNNING DEBUT FROM YOUR NEXT FAVORITE MYSTERY WRITER • Rupert's 30th birthday party is a black-tie dinner at the Kentish Town McDonald's—catered with cocaine and expensive champagne. The morning after, his girlfriend Clemmie is found murdered on Hampstead Heath, a single stiletto heel jutting from under a bush. Who killed Clemmie? Was it the blithe, sociopathic boyfriend? His impossibly wealthy godmother? The gallery owner with whom Clemmie was having an affair? Or was it the result of something else entirely? All the party-goers have alibis. Naturally. This investigation is going to be about aristocrats and Classics degrees, Instagram influencers and whose father knows who. Or is it 'whom'? Detective Caius Beauchamp isn't sure. He's sharply dressed, smart, and thoroughly modern—he discovers Clemmie's body on his early morning jog. As he searches for the dark truth beneath the luxurious life of these Londo

  MERCURY PICTURES PRESENTS (Hogarth) by Anthony Marra is brilliant on so many levels. It's hilarious one moment, then turns serious, all the while presenting multi-dimensional, complex characters within a complicated novel.   . It's 1940s pre-war Europe: Immigrants are fleeing the continent on the cusp of WWII. Maria and her mother escape Italy's dictator, Benito Mussolini for America. They leave behind her father and a neighborhood boy who are imprisoned. In Los Angeles, Maria gets a job at Mercury Pictures Studio as an associate producer, working for studio founder, Artie Feldman, an eccentric man who believes women can work during these sexist times. Maria tries to forget her past but reminders are around every corner. She interacts with other recent immigrants, many who are also dealing with the guilt of leaving her father behind and the ever-present memories of what once was home. MERCURY PICTURES PRESENTS reveals the lives of  many people in Europe and  America strug

  A sharp-edged, supremely twisty thriller about three women who find themselves trapped inside stories they know aren’t their own, from the author of  Alice  and  Near the Bone, Christina Henry. In GOOD GIRLS DON'T DIE (Berkley), Celia wakes up in a house that’s supposed to be hers. There’s a little girl who claims to be her daughter and a man who claims to be her husband, but Celia knows this family—and this life—is not hers… Allie is supposed to be on a fun weekend trip—but then her friend’s boyfriend unexpectedly invites the group to a remote cabin in the woods. No one else believes Allie, but she is sure that something about this trip is very, very wrong… Maggie just wants to be home with her daughter, but she’s in a dangerous situation and she doesn’t know who put her there or why. She’ll have to fight with everything she has to survive… Three women. Three stories. Only one way out. This captivating novel will keep readers guessing until the very end. Christina Henry is a hor

  Once okay staying in the shadows and not rocking the boat, Lady Petra has changes. She becomes headstrong and determined to uncover the truth in Celeste Connally's new novel, ACT LIKE A LADY, THINK LIKE A LORD (Minotaur). Her actions and desire for independence are used against her, putting her own freedom—and possibly her life—in jeopardy. It is 1815 in London and Lady Petra Forsyth, daughter of the Earl of Holbrook, has made a shocking proclamation. After losing her beloved fiancé in an accident three years earlier, she announces in front of London’s loosest lips that she will never marry. A woman of independent means—and rather independent ways—Petra sees no reason to cede her wealth and freedom to any man now that the love of her life is gone. Instead, she plans to continue enjoying the best of society without any expectations. But when ballroom gossip suggests that a longtime friend has died of a fit due to her “melancholia” while in the care of a questionable physician, Pet

Sparks fly when an occult expert and a disgraced archeologist become enemies-with-benefits in this steamy romance from "go-to author" Rosie Danan ( The New York Times Book Review ). Riley Rhodes finally has the chance to turn her family’s knack for the supernatural into a legitimate business when she’s hired to break the curse on an infamous Scottish castle. Used to working alone in her alienating occupation, she's pleasantly surprised to meet a handsome stranger upon arrival—until he tries to get her  fired . Fresh off a professional scandal, Clark Edgeware can’t allow a self-proclaimed “curse breaker” to threaten his last chance for redemption. After he fails to get Riley kicked off his survey site, he vows to avoid her. Unfortunately for him, she vows to get even. Riley expects the curse to do her dirty work by driving Clark away, but instead, they keep finding themselves in close proximity. Too close. Turns out, the only thing they do better than fight is fool around.

  When a literary icon stays with the Dickinson family, Emily and her housemaid Willa find themselves embroiled in a shocking murder in the new mystery I HEARD A FLY WHEN I DIED (Berkley) from  Agatha Award–winning author, Amanda Flower. August 1856. The Dickinson family is comfortably settled in their homestead on Main Street. Emily’s brother, Austin Dickinson, and his new wife are delighted when famous thinker and writer Ralph Waldo Emerson comes to Amherst to speak at a local literary society and decides he and his young secretary, Luther Howard, will stay with the newlyweds. Emily has been a longtime admirer of Emerson’s writing and is thrilled at the chance to meet her idol. She is determined to impress him with her quick wit, and if she can gather the courage, a poem. Willa Noble, the second maid in the Dickinson home and Emily's friend, encourages her to speak to the famous but stern man. But his secretary, Luther, intrigues Willa more because of his clear fondness for the D

  "Some people fear her, some want to recruit her and everyone seems to want her dead!" PERFECT SHOT, Minotaur Move over Fiona Barton, Ruth Ware and Karin Slaughter, there's a new thriller author who is introducing us to Special Agent Alexandra Martel, also known as the shooter. She holds the record for the most sniper kills and another specialty is making sure weapons-grade plutonium doesn't get into the hands of the bad guys. Alex is on loan to Interpol and learns an old friend has been killed in mysterious circumstances. She puts that aside when she learns an America nuclear device has been stolen from base in Turkey. She knows the Russians have taken it. At the same time, all leaders of the free world are gathering for the Paris Peace Summit. Her bosses say the nuke is in New York City, but she knows it's going to blow in Paris. This is the first book in Urszenyi, Special Agent Alexandra Martel series. Buckle up and get ready for the ride. THINKER. WRITER. AUT