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We're All Damaged


Matthew Norman - 2016
    He had a solid job. He ran 5Ks for charity. He was living a nice, safe Midwestern existence. And then his wife left him for a handsome paramedic down the street.We’re All Damaged begins after Andy has lost his job, ruined his best friend’s wedding, and moved to New York City, where he lives in a tiny apartment with an angry cat named Jeter that isn’t technically his. But before long he needs to go back to Omaha to say good-bye to his dying grandfather.Back home, Andy is confronted with his past, which includes his ex, his ex’s new boyfriend, his right-wing talk-radio-host mother, his parents’ crumbling marriage, and his still-angry best friend.As if these old problems weren’t enough, Andy encounters an entirely new complication: Daisy. She has fifteen tattoos, no job, and her own difficult past. But she claims she is the only person who can help Andy be happy again, if only she weren’t hiding a huge secret that will mess things up even more. Andy Carter needs a second chance at life, and Daisy—and the person Daisy pushes Andy to become—may be his last chance to set things right.

The Joneses


Shelia M. Goss - 2014
    In this intriguing novel full of drama and plot twists, one family tries to hold on to their “perfect” life before their secrets, lies, and scandals are exposed.On the outside, the Joneses seem like the ideal family: Royce Jones, a funeral home mogul, and his wife, Lexi, are parents to Charity, Hope, and Lovie—and everybody wants to be them. But it’s true that money can’t buy happiness, and the Joneses are harboring secrets that can’t stay hidden forever… The funeral home business has been slow lately, and Royce is in serious trouble. When Lexi learns of their financial strain, she vows to hold on to her status by any means necessary—even if it means going behind her husband’s back. Lovie, seeing his beloved mother so stressed, will do whatever it takes to put a smile back on her face. And sibling rivalries tense up when Charity and Hope both fall for the same guy. On top of this, they all have secrets they’re hiding not only from people outside their family—but from each other. It’s only a matter of time before the Joneses’ perfect life goes spinning out of control and they’re revealed for who they truly are.

Healing Maddie Brees


Rebecca Brewster Stevenson - 2016
    But she also has an old friend, an ex-boyfriend who might be able to heal her. She was witness to Vincent Elander’s so-called miracles in the past. But that was a long time ago, a memory that she would rather stay buried.Now she is happily married to Frank and mother of their three young boys. The religion of her past is behind her, along with any confidence she once had in it. With the onset of her cancer, the memories of Vincent won’t leave Maddie alone, and before long they are affecting everything else: her marriage, her husband, the things they thought they agreed on, the beliefs they thought they shared. Soon Frank, who was to be Maddie’s rock throughout her treatment, is finding fault-lines of his own. In this exquisitely written narrative, Stevenson explores the questions of honesty and commitment, of disease and isolation, and of the many shapes healing takes.

Kurt Vonnegut, Jr.'s Welcome To the Monkey House


Christopher Sergel - 1970
    Includes the stories "Where I Live," "Harrison Bergeron," "Who Am I This Time?," "Welcome to the Monkey House," "Long Walk to Forever," "The Foster Portfolio," "Miss Temptation," "All the King's Horses," "Tom Edison's Shaggy Dog," "New Dictionary," "Next Door," "More Stately Mansions," "The Hyannis Port Story," and "D.P."

The Necessary Angel


C.K. Stead - 2017
    With a surprising twist at the end, this book is gripping and hugely satisfying.It can be read on many levels - as a story of people grappling with love and fidelity; as a story about the importance of books in everyday life; as a commentary on living in complex modern-day Europe; and as a page-turning mystery.Peopled mainly by lecturers and students of the Sorbonne The Necessary Angel touches on the machinations of various players as they position for power. Written against the wider backdrop of the political turmoil of 2014 - ISIS, Syria and the threat of Brexit - these themes become global. One of the characters quotes Flaubert: 'There is no truth, there is only perception', and this thread runs throughout.This is a sophisticated novel that shows CK Stead writing at the height of his powers.

The Promise


Ruth Saberton - 2019
    Drawn to Cornwall in search of answers, a neglected garden and crumbling Second World War fortifications offer some explanation, but does anyone remain who might remember the truth? And whose promise was broken with devastating consequences?As her world turns upside down, Nell must face her own past and confront secrets deeper and darker than she could ever imagine. From the bestselling Winston Graham Historical Prize for Fiction shortlisted author, comes a haunting and beautiful new novel.What Amazon readers and reviewers are saying about The Promise: "One of my books of the year," "If you like Kate Morton, this is the book for you!" "I loved every word and had to ration myself" "A truly captivating and well told story" "My favourite book of the year" "Compelling and enchanting." "A heartwrenching story that will live long in the memory"

Miss Alphie's Secret


David R. Johnson - 2010
    Now that secret is about to be revealed--with potentially catastrophic geopolitical consequences.

A Mongrel's Curse


Paul C. Middleton - 2016
    Yeah, even the government comes crying. When those that hunt the thing that go bump in the night become the hunted, he's the one that bumps back.But nobody likes the guy because they don’t know what to expect. After all, he wakes up a new man every morning. Then there's the relatives. Being the grandson of a Fury wins him no popularity contests amongst those in the know. And the rest of his heritage being a big freaking blank isn't of help either.He takes no favorites. In the battles between the supernaturals, he’s neutral. Picking sides in a twenty or thirty-sided conflict is plain crap. Even his family pays for his help.When there’s a fuck-up that others won’t touch, you go to the Mongrel. And you’d better bring your life savings with you—he don’t work for short pay.So who’s this Mongrel, you ask? That'd be Me

The Trap


Evie Hunter - 2022
    Until one day, she wakes up to discover that the man she thought she loved has taken everything from her, leaving her penniless. Desperate to get answers, Callie goes after the man she once trusted and discovers a world built on secrets and lies...Jack Carlisle has never heard of the man Callie Devereaux claims to have once loved, but he has a good idea who it is – his business partner and old friend, Logan Armitage. Jack can’t believe Logan would steal, but as he helps Callie to find his old friend, Jack discovers money missing too…But with Logan missing without trace, there is only option left to catch this thief – to set a trap.A gripping revenge thriller, perfect for fans of Gemma Rogers!

Love Letters to the Dead: Chapters 1-5


Ava Dellaira - 2013
    Laurel chooses Kurt Cobain because her sister, May, loved him. And he died young, just like May did. Soon, Laurel has a notebook full of letters to people like Janis Joplin, Amy Winehouse, Amelia Earhart, Heath Ledger, and more—though she never gives a single one of them to her teacher. She writes about starting high school, navigating new friendships, falling in love for the first time, learning to live with her splintering family. And, finally, about the abuse she suffered while May was supposed to be looking out for her. This luminous debut novel has garnered exhuberant pre-publication praise from Laurie Halse Anderson, Jay Asher, Gayle Forman, and Lauren Myracle, and foreign rights have sold to six countries.

A Season to Remember


Carson Tinker - 2014
    But on April 27, 2011 everything changed. An EF4 tornado ripped through the small college town and changed it forever. Carson Tinker, the starting long snapper for the 2011 and 2012 National Champion Crimson Tide, was among those forever changed by the events of April 27. Tinker lost his girlfriend Ashley Harrison to the storm, but not his faith. In the midst of unfathomable destruction, Tinker saw love, companionship, perseverance, and triumph in a community torn apart by a natural disaster. Where everyone else saw tragedy, Carson Tinker saw blessing. Following the storm, the Crimson Tide suited up to face their most challenging season to date. Tinker’s personal story guides readers through what cannot be described any other way than a season to remember.

The Secrets of Lost Stones


Melissa Payne - 2019
    Haunted by memories and grief, Jess packs what’s left and heads for the small mountain town of Pine Lake, where she takes a position as caregiver to an eccentric old woman.A rumored clairvoyant, Lucy is strange but welcoming and immediately intuits Jess as a “loose end” in need of closure. But Jess isn’t the only guest in Lucy’s large Victorian home. There’s also Star, a teenage runaway with a secret too painful to share. And the little boy with heart-shaped stones, who comes with a hope for reconciliation—and a warning.Soon Jess learns that she’s not the only lost soul running from the ghosts of the past. She and Star have been brought together for a reason: to be saved by the very thing that destroyed them.

Star Sand


Roger Pulvers - 2016
    Alongside it are the remains of three people.The journal reveals the story of Hiromi, a sixteen-year-old girl who’d grown up in the United States before living in Japan in the midst of World War II. One day, while collecting star sand—tiny star-shaped fossils—Hiromi finds two army deserters hiding in the seaside cavern—one American, one Japanese. The soldiers don’t speak the same language, but they’ve reached an agreement based on a shared hope: to cause no more harm and survive. Hiromi resolves to care for the men—feeding them and nursing their ailments—despite the risk that, if caught, she’ll die alongside them as a traitor. But when a fourth person joins in on their secret, they must face a threat from within. The diary abruptly ends, leaving everyone’s fate a mystery.Decades later, in 2011, a young female university student decides to finally determine who died in that cave and who lived. Her search will lead her to the lone survivor—and bring closure to a gripping tale of heroism at a time when committing to peace was the most dangerous act of all.

Blood, Guts, and Glory: Smoke Jensen: American Legend


William W. Johnstone - 2021
    Two of the wildest tales of frontier vengeance from William Johnstone's classic bestselling saga. This is how Smoke Jensen became a legend.REVENGE OF THE MOUNTAIN MANThey came in the dead of night like a pack of wolves. They invaded Smoke Jensen's ranch. They destroyed Smoke Jensen's dream. Then they finished the job by putting three bullets in Smoke Jensen's wife. By the time Smoke arrived on the scene, it was too late to save her. Now he lives for revenge. Ruthless, righteous, merciless revenge...VENGEANCE OF THE MOUNTAIN MANWith his darkest days behind him, Smoke Jensen hopes to return to a normal life. Unfortunately, he can't escape his past. A vicious young gunfighter named Sundance holds an all-consuming grudge against the mountain man. He's got backup from Mexico, bullets to spare, and bloodlust in his eyes. Tonight, the past is coming for Smoke Jensen. With a vengeance...

The Forgotten Hours


Katrin Schumann - 2019
    Katie’s life fell apart almost a decade earlier, during an idyllic summer at her family’s cabin on Eagle Lake when her best friend accused her father of sexual assault. Throughout his trial and imprisonment, Katie insisted on his innocence, dodging reporters and clinging to memories of the man she adores.Now he’s getting out. Yet when Katie returns to the shuttered lakeside cabin, details of that fateful night resurface: the chill of the lake, the heat of first love, the terrible sting of jealousy. And as old memories collide with new realities, they call into question everything she thinks she knows about family, friends, and, ultimately, herself. Now, Katie’s choices will be put to the test with life-altering consequences.