"Upward Bound is not a place anyone dreams of spending their days. The dreary adult daycare center for Los Angeles's disabled community is, for many of its clients and staff, a place of last resort. This includes Carlos, a young aide who lost his mother as a boy and now works there alongside his beloved sister Delia; Jorge, the gentle nonverbal giant whom Carlos seeks to befriend (and prevent from escaping); Tom, a beautiful young man with cerebral palsy, who pines for Ann, the summer lifeguard at the center's pool who feels out of her depth; then there's Mike, Upward Bound's director who came to L.A. to pursue an acting career but now channels his passion into staging an impressive holiday show starring the center's sorely underestimated clients. Framing these interlocking narratives - and connecting them in surprising, shattering ways - is the riveting and sometimes ironic testimony of Walter, a recent community college graduate who, after a family tragedy, must return to the company of his disabled peers"-- Provided by publisher.

In 1843 New Orleans, the reigning Voodoo queen is Marie Laveau, feared by her enemies and followers alike. Her daughter, Marie "Ree" Laveau the Second, is everything her cutthroat and principled mother is not—spoiled and entitled, with a wickedly rebellious streak—and defies her mother at every turn. But Ree’s world is turned upside down when she finds Marie comatose in the bayou, cursed by exiled Voodoo king Jon the Conjurer—Marie’s former teacher, lover, and greatest enemy. As Marie hovers on the brink of death, Ree races to uncover the secrets of her mother’s life in search of a cure and gradually uncovers a web of alliances, dangers, and deception. What’s worse, Henryk Broussard, Ree’s long-missing childhood best friend, returns as a witch hunter of the Church, tasked with investigating her. With so many enemies circling, including a puritanical-minded Brotherhood of alchemists and the slave-holding mayor of the city, Ree must confront the past and face her mother’s demons that have now become her own—or die trying.

"Hundreds of years ago, a brutal war split a land in two. Starside is the realm of magic and immortals--the descendants of the gods, living in a power-rich paradise. Stormside is where mortals fight for scraps of that magic. Every fifty years, the gates between them open, and fifty challengers are allowed to journey across Starside ona deadly quest to access a pool of magic that can heal, grant wealth, or extend life. Everyone has their reasons for entering, but Aris has only one: vengeance. As a child, a goddess set fire to her village, killing her family. Aris isn't after the gods' magic--she's going to kill them. First, she must survive the Culling, the king's deadly competition to choose his fifty challengers. An orphaned blacksmith's apprentice, Aris doesn't have the superior weapons of the heirs from the Great Houses. But the greatest swords--ones that contain power--are not inherited or bought, they are claimed, by both sides. And when Aris claims a great sword, it makes her not just a real competitor--but a target. Getting past the gates is only the beginning. Starside is deadlier than it seems. If the ancient creatures, magic-wielding beasts, and bloodthirsty immortals weren't dangerous enough, a new peril has even immortals fearing what rises from the ground at night. With a blade most would kill to claim, Aris can't trust anyone. Especially not Harlan Raker, the merciless and mysterious king's guard who betrayed her years ago--and who may now be the key to her survival. But Aris is hiding a secret tied to her family's death. And when it's revealed, not even the gods will be able to stopwhat's coming..."--Provided by publisher.

"When a human foot is ejected from a geyser in Yellowstone National Park, Special Agent Emme Helliwell of the National Park Service is assigned the chilling case. Tasked with identifying the victim and uncovering what led to such a grisly end, Emme is drawn into the park's vast, unforgiving wilderness--and into the orbit of a private school for at-risk teens where extreme backcountry excursions are part of the curriculum. As disturbing truths begin to surface, Emme must also confront personal fault lines, including the unresolved tension with an ex-boyfriend who's suddenly back in her life and assigned to the same case. In a place where danger hides behind natural beauty and good intentions can mask darker motives, Emme must navigate both treacherous terrain and emotional landmines to solve a mystery that could cost her everything."--

"Homicide Detective Godai of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department is assigned to investigate the death of a lawyer, Kensuke Shiraishi, whose body was found on a Central Tokyo riverbank. His investigations leads him to one Tatsuro Kuraki, who claims to have had limited contact with Shiraishi - but, surprising the investigators, Kuraki not only confesses to the lawyer's murder, but another one from thirty years ago - for which another man was arrested and died in custody before trial. This brings unexpected resolution to two cases but there is one problem: to Detective Godai the confession rings false. And Godai is not the only one who cannot accept Kuraki's explanation of both murders and his professed motives. The confessed murderer's son and the victim's daughter both feel strongly that both the act and the motive claimed are untrue. As Godai investigates further, he discovers that the relation between the murder of thirty years ago and the recent one is complex, raising multi-faceted questions of guilt and innocence"-- Provided by publisher.

"Welcome to Baines Creek, a humble hamlet hidden deep in Appalachia, where the last one-room schoolhouse in North Carolina is on the brink of closing. It's summer 1980, and teacher Kate Shaw has lived in Baines Creek for ten years. A skeptic at heart, she rejects mountain superstition and Appalachian folklore, much to the disappointment of Birdie Rocas, a powerful and reclusive witch with a trove of secrets. Yet, as Kate prepares to leave, a sudden death, a shocking request, and a legacy that spans centuries throw her into a world that overwhelms her. Enter Lydia Brown, a psychic with a curious birthmark whose visions stopped when she needed them most. Grief-stricken without her gift, and desperate for spiritual guidance, she travels to Baines Creek in search of Birdie and the answers she might provide. The third novel by acclaimed author Leah Weiss, The Creek, The Crone, and the Crow is the tale of a powerful crone, two women cut from the cloth of loss, and a secret sisterhood of empowerment that may be the key to healing them all." --

On an island where the dead once walked, seven noble houses fell to a conqueror's blade, their necromancy lost. Only the House of Teeth survives: heiress Marozia and her silent cousin Agnes, keeper of dark secrets. To reclaim their magic and avenge their family, Agnes must betray her heart - but love may doom them all.

"With her polished persona as a morning show co-host, Minnow Greenwood seems to have it all. But behind the camera, something's about to break. When a public meltdown shatters her facade, Minnow flees back to Kangaroo Bay--a grimy fishing town on Australia's southern coast, where locals vanish and something deadly hunts in the water. On her first night back, a horrifying shark attack rocks the town, adding another body to the unsettling list of deaths and disappearances. Then a former colleague arrives to investigate, so she reluctantly teams up with him to find answers for herself and keep her own dark secrets buried. But with danger closing in, Minnow must unearth her town's deadly past and face the darkness festering inside her before she becomes the next to disappear."

Inspector Ian Rutledge of Scotland Yard travels to England's windswept coastline to investigate a murder in a place where, several years after the end of WWI, the memory of the war still runs strong.

Amina al-Sirafi thinks she's struck gold. Tasked with hunting down arcane artifacts for the council of immortal peris, she can savor the occasional rollicking adventure on the high seas with her cherished criminal companions while still returning home to raise her beloved daughter, Marjana. But when Raksh, the spirit of discord with whom she is reluctantly wed, provokes the council's wrath, Amina is charged with a seemingly impossible quest: steal a spindle capable of rewriting fate from a mysterious sorceress on an island no one can escape. Forced to leave Marjana -- who is increasingly frustrated at being peddled what are clearly lies about her mother's life and her own past -- Amina finds her mission almost immediately thrown into peril. But deadly storms, an erratic poison mistress, and old enemies are the least of her worries. For the peris' story is unraveling, hinting at a far deadlier game whose rules Amina must swiftly puzzle out. A game that sets her against an adversary more cunning and powerful than she has ever faced. A game that not everyone on her crew wants her to win.

"The most famous stories of the Trojan War and its aftermath are Homer's Iliad and Odyssey. But these were not the only tales of the war sung to ancient audiences by bards-there were others, now vanished but for echoes and fragments, collected in what has come to be known as the Epic Cycle. In SON OF NOBODY, one such tale is the Psoad: an epic that follows the son of a goatherd, Psoas of Midea, who leaves his wife and family to fight on the beaches of Troy. Psoas meets his doom, and the epic poem of his life is lost to time-until another man on a foreign shore, a Canadian academic studying at Oxford, discovers its relics thirty centuries later. A truly daring feat of imagination, SON OF NOBODY is a novel composed in two voices: the first, a series of fragments from antiquity that tell the story of Troy from a lost, alt-Homeric tradition; the second, the voice of a modern-day scholar, Harlow Donne, who assembles and comments on these fragments while navigating a conflict of his own. Obsessed with his discovery, Donne still can't seem to let go of his family's past-he weaves together the tale of uncovering ancient papyri, faded codices, and broken cuneiform tablets with memories of his daughter as a child and his wife before their separation. Donne translates and writes in the heartfelt modes of Aphrodite, goddess of love, and Ares, god of war, as the parallel stories offer a poignant glimpse into both the follies of failed relationships and of battle. SON OF NOBODY upends the regal perspective of traditional epics, and by grappling with questions of ambition, family, and responsibility in both the ancient and the modern worlds, it shows "that the past is never done with, that always there are parallels and returns and repetitions, always the song continues.""-- Provided by publisher.

"In the summer of 2000, AJ Graves dreams of writing for Saturday Night Live; instead, she's stuck working in a video rental store, with slim odds of escaping her small Massachusetts town. Then in walks Noah Drew, the enigmatic and intense scion of the Drew acting dynasty, and her life changes forever. Despite wildly different upbringings, the two forge a deep, cosmic bond, first as friends, then as acting partners--until one day, Noah disappears without a word. Seven years later, in New York City, AJ is shocked to find herself cast in the same intergalactic TV production as Noah, by then a well-known Hollywood heartthrob. As their on-screen characters grow closer every day, the lines between reality and acting begin to blur. Unable to stay away from each other, AJ and Noah are forced to confront the truth of what happened years ago--and the devastating secret that will send their lives careening apart, even as fate continues to draw them together. Blending unforgettable characters, explosive chemistry and yearning, and profound emotion, Into the Blue is a journey unlike any other--one that asks: What does it mean to diverge from the script to forge your own story?" --

This crime fiction novel follows Detective Brock Justice and his partner, Detective Chloe Wright, as they investigate the mysterious death of a woman on a remote backcountry road in Maine. The case presents multiple causes of death and a series of complex suspects, while Justice navigates personal and professional challenges within the police department. The novel combines suspense, investigative procedures, and a small-town setting to explore crime, justice, and human motives.

"In the remote hills of western Ireland, fear spreads as the locals struggle to make sense of a killer who is seemingly one of their own... Dr. Alexander Gregory, a psychologist recovering from the collapse of a high-profile criminal profiling unit, wants nothing more than a quiet life to finally sit and think things through. But his rare ability to understand the minds of violent offenders makes him hard to ignore--especially when a small town is shaken by a brutal murder. Reluctantly pulled into the case, Gregory finds himself confronting not only a cunning predator, but the darker corners of his own mind. From internationally bestselling author LJ Ross comes a tense, atmospheric thriller that explores how far we'll go to understand--and survive--the darkness around us"--

"The stories in Marayrasu stage fantastical, mysterious encounters that belie the characters' often harsh economic and political realities as they seek belonging in modern Peru through art, music, and relationships. Depicted in poetic prose, these characters are loners, orphans, and outcasts experiencing quiet, tender encounters with other people and animals, the creative arts, and the land they find themselves depending on. Living vibrantly within these stories, the leviathan of Inca lore considers its own form, a young boy moves to a mining town and gets involved with a local union leader's fight for worker rights while feeling the powerful pull of a large mountain overlooking the town, and a Persian cat captures the attention of a family down on its luck. Amy Olen's translation smoothly captures Rivera Martínez's impressive stories, offering a unique lens into the region at the heart of this canonical author's inimitable work."--

"Aurora is caught between powerful alphas as they fight for the Wolf Throne. But darker forces are rising... Aurora may have survived the Wolf King, but his bite marks her skin. In accordance with wolf law, that makes her his property. Now, he wants her back. To beat him and take his throne, Aurora and Callum must form a dangerous alliance with one of the most feared Wolves in the Kingdom, Blake. He is their enemy, but he has entangled his life with Aurora's-meaning she cannot harm him without forfeiting her own life. As she fights to break their connection, she suspects Blake is keeping secrets about a dark power that rises in the north, and the unsettling nature of the bond between them. It seems there is a bigger game at play than who sits on the Wolf Throne-one that threatens both the Kingdom of Wolves, and the Kingdom of Men. With her wolf awakening, enemies closing in, relationships tested, and secrets revealed-Aurora may be the only one who can stop an ancient evil from rising. If she can figure out who to trust. If she can figure out where she, and her heart, belong. If she can stay alive"-- Provided by publisher.

"Nona McKinley raised three boys in the Hester Gardens section of Medford, Michigan, an impoverished community divided by those who follow their faith in God and those who turn to crime to survive. With her drug dealer husband behind bars and her eldest son shot to death at eighteen, Nona has devoted herself to ensuring her other children escape their brother’s fate. Her second son Marcus is on the right path. He's a valedictorian heading to an Ivy League school. He can get out. But then, strange things start happening to Nona and other residents: mysterious footsteps are heard when she's alone, people have phantom encounters in the streets, unattended appliances go off at all hours. Even more concerning is the state of Nona's living sons. Her youngest, Lance, is hanging around with a bad crowd, and Marcus becomes moody and secretive. Sometimes he even seems to act like a different person entirely. Nona has her secrets too. Her affair with the married church pastor has been weighing on her conscience, but that's not the only guilt haunting her. She fears that someone--or something--is seeking revenge for an act she made in a moment of weakness to protect her family. And now everyone in Hester Gardens must pay the price... "--Description from author's website https://www.tamikathompson.com/the-curse-of-hester-gardens

Olivia Adler’s life is picture-perfect: a behind-the-scenes job she loves in a bustling Manhattan newsroom, an engagement to golden-boy Wells, and a once-in-a-lifetime chance to create the documentary she’s always wanted to make. Then one sleepless night, everything unravels. One message on Wells’s phone shatters her engagement. A second message—an anonymous global email quickly dubbed Soulmail—shakes the world.Delivered to every individual on earth, Soulmail reveals the name and birthdate of their soulmates. Suddenly, love as the world knows it is rewritten overnight, and Olivia accidentally becomes the face of the phenomenon when she reports on the story live and goes viral. With millions watching her every move, Olivia resolutely refuses to open her Soulmail. She’s not ready for fate to make her choices—especially not now. But when she crosses paths with her childhood best friend—the boy she loved and lost—everything she thought she knew about destiny, timing, and love comes into question." —Amazon.

Contains content warning. Reader discretion is advised.

"When a Victorian fossil hunter discovers a baby pterodactyl, she vows to protect him, with the help of a fellow scholar--her former fiancé"--

"After its proxies are devastated and its offensive capability pummeled in the latest war in the Middle East, a rogue group of Iranian regime officials create a brazen plot to strike back at their hated enemies once and for all. They envision a series of operational dominos culminating in a devastating attack, and the first step is the assassination of the Israeli prime minister. And there's only one assassin with the skills to pull it off: Abdul Rahman, known in the shadows as the Ghost. When a routine prison transfer is ambushed, the Ghost escapes and is given the assignment. The only Operator who can hunt him down is the man who stopped him before: Pike Logan. Pike and his team soon learn that the mission involves something bigger than just the escape of his old enemy. Working with Mossad agents, the pursuit leads the Taskforce to Argentina. They work to unravel the scope of the attack, and the chase leads them through the tempestuous waterfalls of Iguazu and the Triple Frontier, to the vibrant streets of Buenos Aires, and the tiny village of Ushuaia at the "End of the World". As the team races against the clock, Pike learns the stakes are much greater than a single life--the consequences extend into the heartland of America itself. The Ghost may hold the key to an escalation that will upend the worldwide balance of power, and if Pike fails, the fallout won't just be persona--it'll be global"--

"The women in Cold Harbor all have something to prove, and they'll have to do it in a world full of monsters. Something's not right in Cold Harbor--more so than usual. While this sleepy small town has seen its fair share of monsters in cheating husbands and leering bosses, none are as hungry as Mrs. Smith. The mysterious resident has finally emerged from her crumbling mansion on the hill, mesmerizing the townspeople with her beauty. Her secret? Nine human sacrifices tofeed her immortality. Natalie Scott is more worried about Mrs. Smith blocking her first real estate sale--the one that will take her from stay-at-home mom to working woman extraordinaire. She's eager toprove herself in a world where the social mores of 1980s suburbia reign, where she's expected to keep a magazine-perfect home and raisebeautiful children, all while sticking to her husband's budget. Natalie's two best friends are facing their own demons, and Mrs. Smith and her deep, dark woods are an easy scapegoat for everyone's problems. But Natalie's twelve-year-old daughter, Jill, and her Icelandichousekeeper, Una, can sense something deeper at play. Armed with library books and a whole lot of grit, Jill and Una team up to save the town once and for all. But as the rest of Cold Harbor sinks into anger, fear, and jealousy, they'll have to confront the question: What does it really mean to be a monster?"--

"An electric debut from a rising-star screenwriter about a millennial antihero who seeks revenge on her ex-situationship with a drunken hex, only for him to actually die the next day. Lillian and Henry have very much been enjoying each other's company the last few months, and quite frantically in bed. Even though Lillian's plain Jane of a best friend Jamie still frustratingly calls it "a situationship," she doesn't know anything. Lillian will lock Henry down--and she has a plan. Everyone knows you have to be strategic about these things. After all, it's clear Henry's hooked on her sexually deviant ways. So when Henry blindsides her with a breakup instead of the love declaration she told herself was on its way, Lillian exacts revenge by performing a drunken hex. There's a little wrinkle, though: Henry actually ends up dead the next morning, and Lillian becomes a prime suspect in his murder case. As the Boston police begin investigating Henry's death, Lillian quickly learns she wasn't the only woman in his life--and to cope with this reckoning, she plunges into a new obsession: stalking the long-term girlfriend Henry left behind. Desperate to control the narrative around her relationship with Henry, her season of mourning, and where she was the night he died, Lillian's chaotic pursuit for recognition (but only in all the right ways) takes her to ever darker places, and slowly she begins to uncover a reality she dearly wishes had stayed under wraps"--