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Finding Tessa

Jaime Lynn Hendricks

Jace and Tessa appear to be a young couple in love with nothing to hide. But looks can be deceiving.

When Jace Montgomery comes home late from entertaining clients, he discovers that his wife Tessa is missing. There’s broken glass at the back door. Clumps of her hair. Blood. The cops in their small New Jersey town have him pegged as a suspect, especially after he explodes at a reporter during a press conference. Jace maintains his innocence despite the mounting evidence against him, but when a coworker he's accused of having an affair with also disappears and a search warrant turns up an illegal gun in Jace’s home, all signs point to him as the culprit. What is he really hiding?

Meanwhile, Tessa finally feels safe, having set up her husband to take the fall for her disappearance―and someone close to him is helping her put him away. Breaking her lifelong pattern of bad men is only one hurdle she has to overcome. The other is outrunning her secret past while trying to stay alive, especially when those in her new life aren’t who they appear to be.

Jace’s lies don't add up and the authorities are closing in. Will Tessa’s old life catch up to her and drag her back to a life of abuse before justice is served?

Finding Tessa is a smart domestic thriller where nothing can be taken at face value, where every twist reveals a deadlier secret than the one before. Fans of Gillian Flynn, Samantha Downing, and incisive, fresh psychological suspense won't want to miss it.

Death and the Conjuror

Tom Mead

A magician-turned-sleuth in pre-war London solves three impossible crimes

In 1930s London, celebrity psychiatrist Anselm Rees is discovered dead in his locked study, and there seems to be no way that a killer could have escaped unseen. There are no clues, no witnesses, and no evidence of the murder weapon. Stumped by the confounding scene, the Scotland Yard detective on the case calls on retired stage magician-turned-part-time sleuth Joseph Spector. For who better to make sense of the impossible than one who traffics in illusions?

Spector has a knack for explaining the inexplicable, but even he finds that there is more to this mystery than meets the eye. As he and the Inspector interview the colorful cast of suspects among the psychiatrist’s patients and household, they uncover no shortage of dark secrets―or motives for murder. When the investigation dovetails into that of an apparently-impossible theft, the detectives consider the possibility that the two transgressions are related. And when a second murder occurs, this time in an impenetrable elevator, they realize that the crime wave will become even more deadly unless they can catch the culprit soon.

A tribute to the classic golden-age whodunnit, when crime fiction was a battle of wits between writer and reader, Death and the Conjuror joins its macabre atmosphere, period detail, and vividly-drawn characters with a meticulously-constructed fair play puzzle. Its baffling plot will enthrall readers of mystery icons such as Agatha Christie and John Dickson Carr, modern masters like Anthony Horowitz and Elly Griffiths, or anyone who appreciates a good mystery.

Cat’s Paw

Roger Scarlett, Curtis Evans

When a wealthy bachelor is murdered in his baroque Boston mansion, a bizarre clue holds the key to whodunnit…

Martin Greenough’s walled-off mansion is the last remaining holdout in the Boston parkland known as the Fenway―and the fact that it eluded condemnation by the city is a testament to the elderly bachelor’s great wealth. Childless and nearing the end of his life, he surrounds himself with only his cat, his servants, and a friend, Mrs. Warden―to say nothing of the circle of extended family members whose lives he both subsidizes and rules from afar, the nieces and nephews who all seem to be more fond of Uncle Mart’s money than they are of his character.

On the eve of his birthday, Greenough requests the presence of his heirs at his home, insisting that he has something important to discuss. Before that discussion can take place, though, the man is murdered in his study. In one way or another nearly everyone there would benefit by his death, and none gathered seem terribly upset by it, so finding the culprit is no easy task for Inspector Kane of the Boston PD. But as he untangles the threads and unburies dark family secrets, the discovery of a bizarre clue might hold the key to solving the crime.

A classical “closed circle” mystery featuring a colorful cast of characters, Cat’s Paw exemplifies the puzzling, house-bound tales for which Roger Scarlett is remembered today. It is sure to delight any fan of pure, Golden Age detective stories―especially those with a love of architecturally-focused plots.

Basil’s War

Stephen Hunter

Basil St. Florian is an accomplished agent in the British Army, tasked with dozens of dangerous missions for crown and country across the globe. But his current mission, going undercover in Nazi-occupied France during World War II, might be his toughest assignment yet. He will be searching for an ecclesiastic manuscript that doesn’t officially exist, one that genius professor Alan Turing believes may hold the key to a code that could prevent the death of millions and possibly even end the war.

St. Florian isn’t the classic British special agent with a stiff upper lip―he is a swashbuckling, whisky-drinking cynic and thrill-seeker who resents having to leave Vivien Leigh’s bed to set out on his crucial mission. Despite these proclivities, though, Basil’s Army superiors know he’s the best man for the job, carrying out his espionage with enough charm and quick wit to make any of his subjects lower their guards.

Action-packed and bursting with WWII-era intrigue (much of which has basis in fact), Basil’s War is a classic espionage thriller from Pulitzer Prize-winning critic, essayist, and bestselling novelist Stephen Hunter.

An Inconvenient Woman

Stéphanie Buelens

Claire Fontaine is convinced her ex-husband killed their teenage daughter years ago and believes he’s capable of killing again. When she sees him move in with another woman, to play step-father for a girl the same age as the one she lost, Claire tries desperately to warn the new bride of the danger. But when the woman dismisses her admonishments, Claire takes matters into her own hands.

Sloane Wilson left the LAPD to work as a “sin eater,” a contractor for hire who specializes in cleaning up inconvenient situations―situations better handled outside the law. Like the ex-wife who stalks her former husband and makes threats to his new wife.

As Sloane investigates, she uncovers a history of trauma that casts aspersions on Claire as well as Sloane’s client. Soon the truth becomes increasingly muddled. But Sloane knows one thing for certain: sometimes the only way to prevent a crime is by committing one.

The Emperor’s Sword

Andrew Klavan

Having survived the Nightmare Feast, Austin Lively is living the dream. He has returned to Hollywood and his movie career is in full swing. His new script, Another Kingdom, has been unexpectedly purchased by a top producer at an enormous price. Beautiful women flock to his bed, movie stars court his attention, and the powers-that-be are predicting stardom. His only problems: a recurring vision of a magical landscape he can’t quite remember, and a giant mouse who seems to be following him—a giant mouse with a woman’s face. After his beloved Jane Janeway is accused of murder, Austin begins to realize that this dream he’s living is a nightmare in disguise. He is caught in the coils of a terrible magic, and the only way he can save his soul is to give up his success, re-enter the Eleven Lands, and find the Emperor Anastasius so he can restore Queen Elinda to her throne. But when he arrives at the emperor’s encampment, he is shocked to find Anastasius dead. With a weird hitman on his trail in Los Angeles, he must break Jane out of prison before a murder plot takes her life. In the Eleven Lands, he must follow the Emperor into hell itself where he will face the most shocking revelation of all.

The Nightmare Feast: Another Kingdom, Book Two

Andrew Klavan

Austin Lively, once just an out-of-luck Hollywood screenwriter, is now a chosen hero caught between two worlds and dual quests in both Los Angeles, California, and the magical medieval world of Galiana. Tasked with taking a talisman across the Eleven Lands to restore the rightful queen to her throne, Austin must evade a murderous, vengeance-seeking wizard who seems to have the Eleven Lands under his control. But just how far does his influence reach, and how can Austin defeat him if the wizard also has access to his darkest memories?

Austin’s only hope is to find a missing manuscript by the title, Another Kingdom, but his sister Riley, the one person who may hold the key has gone missing too. With a deranged billionaire set on creating a “utopia” of anarchy and death also on the hunt for the manuscript, Austin must get to Riley before the billionaire’s assassins.

Trapped in a house of horrors in one world and a game of cat and mouse in the other, time is running out in both of Austin’s realities as he struggles to piece together the clues and find Another Kingdom. With higher stakes, darker secrets, and bigger monsters, there is no going back for Austin Lively and no guarantee he will escape the nightmare feast.

Another Kingdom: A Novel

Andrew Klavan

“What was this place? Was I crazy? Or was I crazy before, back in L.A.? Was my real life some sort of dream? Was this hell reality?”

Austin Lively is a struggling, disillusioned screenwriter whose life is suddenly changed forever when he opens a door and is unwittingly transported to a fantastical medieval realm. Austin finds himself wielding a bloody dagger while standing over a very beautiful and very dead woman. Bewildered and confused, he is seized by castle guards and thrown in a dungeon. Just when he begins to fear the worst, he is suddenly transported back to reality in LA.

Did that really just happened? Has he gone insane? Was it all a dream? Did he have a brain tumor? Desperate for answers, he sets out to find them and discovers that the mystery can only be unlocked by a strange piece of fiction that holds the truth about the magical kingdom. But he isn’t the only person searching for the missing manuscript, and his rivals will stop at nothing to get it first. To complicate matters more, Austin soon discovers that he has no control over when he passes between worlds and finds himself out of trust for even the simple things, like walking through doorways.

Stuck between dual realities—charged for a murder he doesn’t recall in one and running from a maniacal billionaire who’s determined to kill him in another—Austin’s monotonous life has become an epic adventure of magic, murder, and political intrigue in both the New Republic of Galiana and the streets of Los Angeles California.

After Everyone Else

Leslie Hooton

Bailey thought she’d gotten her happy ending. She is married to the man she loves, she has started a family, and her design business is flourishing. But when Bailey’s ex-husband, a famous TV chef, is found murdered with her DNA all over his apartment and body, she is suddenly facing murder charges in a high-profile case. Already burdened by the demands and challenges of marriage, motherhood, and her career, Bailey now must do everything she can to prove her innocence. But it’s the ones she thought would surely be on her side—her enigmatic lawyer and her husband—who might be doubting her innocence the most.

Alternating between the past and present, After Everyone Else chronicles the grip of the past, the challenges of forgiveness, and the resilient love we save for the person we love after everyone else.

Before Anyone Else

Leslie Hooton

As a designer of upscale restaurants, 30-year-old Bailey Ann Edgeworth can go into an empty space and immediately see what it would take to transform it into a beautiful and memorable spot. She learns transforming her own life is another proposition entirely. It can get messy, and it doesn’t always go according to a neat blueprint. Bailey’s brother, Henry, and his best friend Griffin are stars in the restaurant field. They are known as the “Color Wheel Boys” because of their renowned Buckhead restaurants Vert, Blanc, and Noir. Bailey is determined to chart her own course; to not be forever known as Hank’s daughter, Henry’s sister, or “whatever” she is to Griffin.

Bailey’s dreams propel her to New York, where her vision garners accolades and fame. After a perceived rejection by Griffin, she rushes into an impetuous marriage with an enigmatic English chef. Their combined charisma and desire lift them to the top of the culinary world. Just when she seems on the verge of having it all, a shocking betrayal throws Bailey's world into chaos. She begins a spectacular downfall, complete with secretive drug use, shady associates, and her career in turmoil. Just what are the secret ingredients to transforming food, a dilapidated building, and one’s own life into something extraordinary?

Before Anyone Else examines the complicated relationship between love and ambition and explores how our earliest relationships and experience shape us into who we ultimately become.

Great Economic Thinkers

Jonathan Conlin

An introduction to the lives and works of the most influential economists of modern times.

Great Economic Thinkers presents an accessible introduction to the lives and works of the most influential economists of modern times: Adam Smith, David Ricardo, John Stuart Mill, Karl Marx, Alfred Marshall, Joseph Schumpeter, John Maynard Keynes, and Nobel Prize winners Friedrich Hayek, Milton Friedman, John Forbes Nash Jr, Daniel Kahneman, Amartya Sen and Joseph Stiglitz.
Free from jargon and equations, the book describes key economic concepts – from the role played by the division of labour to wages and rents, cognitive biases, game theory and liberalism – showing how they have come to shape our society today.

The Art of Verbal Warfare

Rik Smits

We use salty or artful language to win arguments, slander, cheat and bully, as well as to express feelings of joy or frustration and blow off steam. Rik Smits delves into the magic of oaths and profanity, art and advertising, probes the lure of fake-news and propaganda, and explores invective and off-colour jokes the world over. The Art of Verbal Warfare shows why conversation dies in crowded lifts, what drives you to curse at your laptop and what makes some political bigshots fall, but not others. This is, when all is said and done, the story of how we get through life without coming to physical blows.