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Big Store WindowIn a spectacular livestream from New York City's Times Square, drones lift a tarp off The Window, a ten-story glass building filled with captivating human-like figures modeling daily tasks behind every windowpane. Patrick Turner, founder and CEO of P.T. Global Innovation, a trusted pharmaceutical monopoly, introduces the structure as the world's first museum of humankind's future. 28-year-old Cole Edwards, a troubled former P.T. Global employee, watches in dismay as Turner invites the public to help perfect the society of the future. A simple injection, Turner claims, will give every parent exactly what they want: flawless, defect-free children. Soon, doctors, scientists, celebrities, and world leaders hail The Window's groundbreaking eugenic solution. News outlets urge the public to do their part in healing humanity by ridding future generations of undesirable hereditary traits. Trusting the science, pregnant women around the world eagerly undergo injections as The Window and its global pop-up clinics make them available. But some question P.T. Global's methods, and intentions. Small pockets of resistance emerge. Cole and his ex-lover, Julia Sommers, reunite to find their place in the fight against Turner's campaign. Racing toward an artificially engineered generation at P.T. Global Innovation's hand-or its opposition redirecting public opinion-alternate stances vie for humanity's fate. Tyler Marioni's Big Store Window is a fast-paced dystopian thriller that examines the ethical dilemmas surrounding pharmaceutical marketing, scientific infallibility, and eugenics.
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Adams Morgan FugueA retired lawyer, an unlicensed contractor, and an ex-ballplayer walk into a bar . . . and transform their neighborhood. With a dark secret weighing heavily on his conscience, former government lawyer Oliver Bartholomew teams with two buddies to perform random acts of kindness in their Adams Morgan, DC, neighborhood. Sid is a brash but tender-hearted contractor who recently lost all but his shorts in a comically botched remodel. PJ is a former pro baseball player pining for the magic he once felt at the plate. The Squad meets nightly at Gary's Bar & Grill and grapples with everything from mistreated dogs to broken school windows. But when a ruthless investor fund threatens to drive the neighborhood's beloved pizzeria from business, the men are utterly stumped by their new mission-that is, until Oliver's old college flame, Rose, arrives for what was supposed to be a day visit. Now, bolstered by Rose's bighearted spirit and real-world savvy, the Squad must rally their neighbors to action. And Rose and Oliver must discover if, despite the tragedy that drove them apart long ago, they are meant to be together after all. For fans of Fredrik Backman, Kent Haruf, and Virginia Evans, Adams Morgan Fugue is a neighborhood love story, an uplifting and often funny novel of friendship, community, and second chance romance that celebrates the revolutionary power of showing up for the people around you. To save the world, begin at home. Awarded the B.R.A.G. Medallion "An impressive literary novel filled with both searing regret and stirring hope." - Kirkus Reviews "[D]eeply intimate and remarkably life-affirming . . . skillfully weaves together touching moments with sharp, witty humor." I.S., Goodreads Review
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Crocodilopolis: A Novel"A darkly intoxicating novel, at once mythic and wickedly contemporary...Here is a writer in full command of his world, delivering a ferocious meditation on masculinity, legacy, and national myth through an audacious, unforgettable book." --Ocean Vuong, the New York Times bestselling author of The Emperor of Gladness and On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous From the author of national bestseller Where There Was Fire comes a gripping tale of sibling rivalry, family secrets, and the fate of a nation. Once a powerful, cold-blooded politician in Costa Rica, Seth Oreamundo is now living in exile in Washington, DC – and his younger brother Osario is to blame. Born into a corrupt political dynasty and raised on a seemingly idyllic coffee estate, the Oreamundo brothers were destined for greatness. But a dark family secret and a scandalous double crossing sent their lives into a tailspin, changing the country forever. Osario must pay, and Seth decides the only way to do so is to return home to Costa Rica and feed his brother to the infamous river of crocodiles from their childhood. What follows is a spellbinding story of revenge alternating between Seth's murderous plans and memories of the brothers' upbringing. With the wisdom of biblical myth and the soapy wit of a telenovela, Crocodilopolis is a masterful interrogation of power, masculinity, destiny, and legacy from a literary star on the rise.
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Get Started- 5.
The Cult of Dr. BlackThe long-awaited follow-up to The Resurrectionist, this gorgeously illustrated volume continues the story of Dr. Spencer Black. Genius. Healer. Madman. Destroyer. Once, a gifted surgeon believed he could cure all illness with quick strokes of his knife, that he could create perfection in the human body. Spencer Black's fascination with mythical creatures led him to believe they had once lived and walked upon the earth; he became determined to re-create them. Triumphant for a time, Dr. Black traveled the world, opening people's eyes to wonder and horror, until tragedy struck. He lost nearly everything, including his son, Alphonse. But Dr. Black's desire to usher in a new world remained unquenched. He married machinery and medicine in a quest to form new beings who would lead humanity into a golden age of immortality and perfection. Word spread of Dr. Spencer Black's philosophy, growing into the Noumenon, a community where all were welcome, regardless of faith, ethnicity, creed, or state of health. Acolytes flocked there from across the United States, caught up in Dr. Black's vision of the future. Presented here in deeply interwoven words and illustrations, The Cult of Dr. Black is told through meticulously rendered anatomical drawings, melancholic images from Alphonse's notebooks, newspaper clippings, and even the guiding texts of the Noumenon. Herein lies an entire world, created by E. B. Hudspeth for the reader's enjoyment ...
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The Pirate Queen: A Novel from the New York Times bestselling author of The Frozen RiverA sweeping historical adventure inspired by the life of Grace O’Malley, the legendary Irish folk heroine who risked everything to defend her people. Venture onto the high seas with the thrilling latest from the New York Times bestselling author of The Frozen River and I Was Anastasia. Grace O’Malley was born to be a sea captain. But despite her natural skill on the water, Grace learns early that her dreams of a life at the helm are not compatible with the expectations of her noble family. As the only daughter of a powerful chieftain, her role is to secure a strong alliance and bear children. But when she’s sent to foster with a nearby clan, Grace falls for a clever and open-minded second son—a man she cannot have. Married off against her will to a brutal warrior, Grace performs her duty, all the while gathering followers loyal to her, and consolidating her husband’s power, only to be ousted from his lands. But this betrayal offers Grace the opportunity to return to sea, finally leading clan O’Malley’s mighty fleet. Just as she finds true independence, Queen Elizabeth’s incursions into Ireland grow bolder and Grace must fight to defend her land, her ships, and the people she loves most against the cruel and power-hungry English deputies, who will stop at nothing to check her influence. Keenly observed and fiercely written, Ariel Lawhon's new action-packed novel channels the untamed beauty and harsh realities of sixteenth-century Ireland, as seen through the eyes of an unforgettable heroine who rightly became “the Pirate Queen of Ireland.”
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Sunflower Sisters: A Novel (Woolsey-Ferriday)NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • Martha Hall Kelly’s million-copy bestseller Lilac Girls introduced readers to Caroline Ferriday. Now, in Sunflower Sisters, Kelly tells the story of Ferriday’s ancestor Georgeanna Woolsey, a Union nurse during the Civil War whose calling leads her to cross paths with Jemma, a young enslaved girl who is sold off and conscripted into the army, and Anne-May Wilson, a Southern plantation mistress whose husband enlists.
“An exquisite tapestry of women determined to defy the molds the world has for them.”—Lisa Wingate, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Before We Were Yours
Georgeanna “Georgey” Woolsey isn’t meant for the world of lavish parties and the demure attitudes of women of her stature. So when war ignites the nation, Georgey follows her passion for nursing during a time when doctors considered women on the battlefront a bother. In proving them wrong, she and her sister Eliza venture from New York to Washington, D.C., to Gettysburg and witness the unparalleled horrors of slavery as they become involved in the war effort.
In the South, Jemma is enslaved on the Peeler Plantation in Maryland, where she lives with her mother and father. Her sister, Patience, is enslaved on the plantation next door, and both live in fear of LeBaron, an abusive overseer who tracks their every move. When Jemma is sold by the cruel plantation mistress Anne-May at the same time the Union army comes through, she sees a chance to finally escape—but only by abandoning the family she loves.
Anne-May is left behind to run Peeler Plantation when her husband joins the Union army and her cherished brother enlists with the Confederates. In charge of the household, she uses the opportunity to follow her own ambitions and is drawn into a secret Southern network of spies, finally exposing herself to the fate she deserves.
Inspired by true accounts, Sunflower Sisters provides a vivid, detailed look at the Civil War experience, from the barbaric and inhumane plantations, to a war-torn New York City, to the horrors of the battlefield. It’s a sweeping story of women caught in a country on the brink of collapse, in a society grappling with nationalism and unthinkable racial cruelty, a story still so relevant today. - 8.
North CountryFrom USA Today and international bestselling author of The Simple Wild comes a sweeping second-chance, forbidden romance set against the rugged beauty of northern Ontario. Emery McAllister once dreamed of leaving Cold River with the boy next door, but one devastating night destroyed their future and left her heart carefully guarded. Twenty years later, she's built a life of control: running the town's police detachment, raising her daughter, and keeping a fragile peace with her ex-husband, the mayor. She's certain she has moved on until the day she has dreaded-and secretly hoped for-finally arrives. Logan Landry is home. After two decades behind bars for being in the wrong place at the wrong time-and the choices that haunted him ever since-Logan returns to his family's bison ranch carrying the weight of everything he lost, but especially Emery. Friendship is all he dares hope for now, but seeing her ignites a fire he thought long extinguished. When a teenage girl disappears and old wounds reopen, Logan becomes Cold River's favorite suspect, despite his airtight alibi. As distrust closes in, Emery must choose between the life she's built ... and the love she can't let go. Reading with a group?
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Set Up Your Club- 9.
The Unicorn Hunters: A NovelNATIONAL BESTSELLER • In a desperate gamble to save her throne, a young monarch conceals a secret marriage in the shadows of an enchanted forest—and unknowingly alters the fate of her world—in this dazzling novel from the New York Times bestselling author of The Bear and the Nightingale. This otherworldly hardcover edition includes an illustrated jacket, a foil-stamped case, and designed full-color endpapers! “I loved every moment I spent in this magical, dangerous, and haunted realm in the company of its clever and captivating duchess.”—Naomi Novik, author of A Deadly Education Anne of Brittany was a child when France invaded and drove her royal father to his death. Now she is a young woman, sovereign duchess of an occupied realm, and France means to crown their conquest by marrying her to their king. Such an alliance would put her title, her lands, and her body forever in the hands of her enemies. But Anne refuses to be the last duchess of Brittany. Her only hope of resisting conquest is another alliance sealed with marriage, so Anne arranges a daring last gambit: a secret betrothal to Charles of France’s greatest rival. But secrets are hard to keep in a world where rival courts spy on each other with diviners. The forest of Brocéliande was once the haunt of Merlin the Enchanter and the long-lost faerie queen. But magic is long gone from Broceliande, except for the occasional sight of a unicorn and one critical quirk: This ancient forest is completely hostile to divination. While pretending compliance with France, Anne plans a unicorn hunt in Brocéliande. A bit of pointless pageantry. A diversion so she can wed in secret. Or so she thinks. In this rich and epic novel, the author of the acclaimed Winternight trilogy turns the real history of a remarkable woman into an unforgettable tale of mystery, enchantment, and the price of power. - 10.
Paper Ghosts: Roman (German Edition)A Texas map marked with three red dots like drops of blood. A serial killer who claims to have dementia. A mysterious young woman who wants answers. What could go wrong?
FINALIST FOR THE ITW THRILLER AWARD • “Fast and furious . . . You’ll never see what’s coming.”—The Washington Post
Years ago, her sister Rachel vanished. Now she is almost certain the man who took Rachel sits in the passenger seat beside her. He claims to have dementia and no memory of murdering girls across Texas in a string of places where he shot eerie pictures. To find the truth, she proposes a dangerous idea: a ten-day road trip with a possible serial killer to examine cold cases linked to his haunting photographs. Is he a liar or a broken old man? Is he a pathological con artist—or is she? You won’t see the final, terrifying twist spinning your way until the very last mile.
Praise for Paper Ghosts
“Paper Ghosts is a riveting summer read that shows Texas in a powerfully intimate light.” —The Austin Chronicle
“[An] artful and elegiac psychological thriller . . . riveting.”—Publishers Weekly (starred review)
“[Paper Ghosts] elevates the often tawdry genre of the serial killer novel to a work of art.”—Sunday Express (UK)
“Texas has yet again bred a major American noir writer.”—D Magazine
“[Heaberlin has] developed a distinctive literary voice, one that is on full display in Paper Ghosts.”—Houston Chronicle
“Entertainingly unnerving.”—The Dallas Morning News
“Strong characterisation, haunting images, a wonderful sense of place, and some dark comedy make this travelogue-cum-psychological thriller well worth the read.”—The Guardian