Years ago he was a popular athlete in the local school, then a successful mid-level executive, father, husband. Now Ben is a loner, content to spend his free time in the "reality" of the internet.Ben reluctantly snaps out of his seclusion when he tries to understand why an old friend and neighbor killed himself and realizes that this is no longer the same neighborhood he grew up in. It's as if someone used resources of social media, internet and surveillance to strip away a layer of civilization, exposing a nightmare of conflicts and betrayals. When Ben is threatened by the same forces, he has to re-discover his own strengths to fight back against a shadow opponent.

    Against a backdrop of apartheid and racial violence, traumatized artist Yolanda Petersen returns from the Appalachian foothills to the land of her youth at the behest of her mother. While there Yolanda longs to reconnect with her estranged daughter, Ingrid, the product of an illegal mixed-race affair with a white man.But Ingrid is missing, and as Yolanda quickly discovers, she isn’t the only woman in Cape Town desperate to protect her own. Ingrid’s very existence is proof of a white man’s crime, and that man’s mother will do anything―even kill―to ensure the truth remains buried.An evocative debut novel set during a defining period in history, A Conspiracy of Mothers tells a gripping story of love and betrayal from multiple perspectives while deftly balancing the painful legacy of apartheid with the trials of motherhood.

    With his heart turned black, he rekindles the savagery of his race. In sacking Nantes, his bravery and luck earn him a place in the skalds' songs. Word of his deeds reaches his kin in the North, and more and more sea captains sail to Francia to join him, hoping his luck might help theirs.Thor of Dublin, Hasting's old rival, will seek him out and ask him to join his new alliance of sea kings. Together, they will launch the most ambitious raids their people have ever attempted. They will sail south to the land of the Moors to test their alliance's strength and, if successful, turn their sights to an even more daring prize: Paris.The Norns make nothing easy. A secret affair will risk unraveling the alliance and bring the sea kings to the brink of civil war.

    Mendac was the Fifth of Five, making him the final hero in the Of Five—a five-part series of fairy tales that stretches over 1,500 years.Bryson, unfortunately, was given the impossible task of following in his dead father's footsteps. And after sixteen years of mediocrity, the only time people notice him is to ridicule his existence. The world has given up on Mendac's son.But there are two people on Bryson's side: a stone-faced, lifelong best friend who's never expressed an emotion in her life, and a secret-riddled man who has taken care of Bryson since his father's death. They're his rocks. He has learned to appreciate and lean on their friendship, regardless of their more mysterious side … even if those mysteries put Bryson's life in jeopardy.Things are looking up for the young LeAnce as the new school year at Phesaw begins. He receives a letter informing him of his induction into the recreation of the Jestivan, an elite group of students that had only existed once in the school's history. Its formation presents the opportunity of new friends for Bryson. But when ten highly talented students come together, there is bound to be conflict.Warring personalities and competitive attitudes are minor hurdles, however; considering the fact that warring kingdoms are more pressing. A 1,500-year war boils over as a traitor turns his back on his realm, threats of a dangerous king rising from the ashes begin to surface, one of the Jestivan goes missing, and someone close to Bryson is hiding something with more regard for the thing being protected than Bryson’s life.The Jestivan must develop camaraderie, and do it fast. Otherwise, they’re going to have to force it. And that can end in devastation.Alternate Cover EditionISBN10: 0692606408ISBN13: 9780692606407

    Suddenly, Arkin is thrown into an age old war between the Order and the Dark Society. The kingdom is already in turmoil over the scarcity of jobs and the rationing of food, and now the church is trying to convert the people from their faith of old to a new and less holy religion. Arkin will need all the help he can get to save the people he loves and the land he calls home. Somewhere out there lies the Garden of Stones, a place of myth and magic that Arkin and his new band of friends and warriors are hoping will be the miracle they need to turn the tides of war. Choices made in the past ripple through time as Arkin puts the pieces together. His choices will determine the future of all as he follows The Path of Man.

    A young woman is pushed onto the streets where she learns the harsh realities of what it means to survive, to serve justice, and to fight for the man she loves. As they navigate their way through Seattle's Underground, Monti & Sasha will break and warm your heart!"Sometimes you make so much history with someone, the present just don't make sense."In the summer of 1981, a serial killer preys on black, teenage prostitutes working Seattle’s arterial highways. But the eyes of youth are blind to danger, and Montgomery “Monti” Jackson is distracted by her own problems. She’ll be starting high school soon, and the return of her mother’s boyfriend heightens the tension in her fractured household.To add to her worries, Monti fears she may be in love with her best friend Sasha. But as close as they’d once been, now they couldn’t feel further apart. Sasha is a burnout punk rocker, and has befriended the neighborhood drug dealer. And when an eviction notice is posted on Monti’s door, a strange dynamic forms between them.One night, an altercation leaves her family penniless. So Monti turns to the very streets where a killer stalks and ensnares young women, beginning her journey towards understanding one, simple truth - sometimes your only choices in life are to love and survive.

    It is everywhere: in their new neighborhood, in their old apartment complex, and in the bodies of Ringo’s beloved family. What should a dog do when he survives a plague? Scared and confused, Ringo sets out on his journey.

    One they'll never break. One stronger than the winds off the Nantucket Sound and deeper than the great Atlantic Ocean.There had always been six of them. Until suddenly, the Nantucket Sound waters took one of their own. Michelle drowned at the age of seventeen.Everything changed after that.Now, Michelle's twin, Jennifer, along with Olivia, Amelia, Camila, and Mila, make up The Sisters of Edgartown. Through divorce, trauma, abandonment, childbirth, sickness, and even death, they've been there for one another through and through.But as they enter their forties, new problems arise. Their hearts find new bruises, new aches.And just as they were there for one another at age four, they find strength and confidence within their Sisterhood.Nothing will ever break them—ever.Dive into this new women's fiction series here in Martha's Vineyard - a backdrop of white sand and crystal blue waters that follow the stories of The Sisters of Edgartown, the town just southeast of Oak Bluffs. It's a heartwarming journey of friendship, loss, and love, one that will make you fall in love with the Sisters of Edgartown and want the next book.

    All that's standing in his way are two thousand miles and the child welfare and juvenile justice systems. When he pays a heavy price for a youthful lapse in judgment, who might come to his rescue?Henry, the public defender assigned to the case? Bonnie, the feisty, resourceful justice official? Or Sam, the veteran correctional officer who wants a quiet, orderly existence—or so he thinks?This suspenseful tale of loss and redemption reveals serious flaws in the criminal justice system and the power of kindness, friendship, and love in healing life's deepest wounds." . . . reveals the strengths that can emerge when adults within the system step up to guide youth through hard times and trauma . . . I highly recommend this book for adults and young adults alike."— Marcy Mistrett, CEO, Campaign for Youth Justice, Washington, DC"This book will grab you and hold you till its satisfying ending."— Richard Ross, Author of Juvenile in Justice and creator of Juvenile-in-Justice"An important read, weaving information about our justice system with a narrative that's hard to put down."— Naomi Smoot Evans, Executive Director, Coalition for Juvenile Justice, Washington, D.C.Vicki Reed, after earning her bachelor's degree in Law Enforcement and master's degree in Criminal Justice, immersed herself in a successful decades-long career in juvenile justice. A sought-after speaker, she is currently executive director of the Kentucky Juvenile Justice Initiative in Lexington, where she lives with her husband and son.

    Compassionate and conscientious, she excels as a post-op nurse, but her new supervisor doesn’t care how much she needs time off. Although she’s a selfless wife and mother, news of her husband’s promotion only fills her with anxiety. The country-club lifestyle he craves triggers memories of the dysfunctional family she came from, and of her own mother’s single-minded ambition to climb the social ladder.Laura has reached a breaking point. For her, there’s only one way to pull it all together, to balance the demands of her family and job, and to keep pleasing everyone she loves. But her little blue pills are pushing her closer to the edge…

    . . and her life is changed forever  After the Rain is a graphic novel adaptation of Nnedi Okorafor’s short story “On the Road.” The drama takes place in a small Nigerian town during a violent and unexpected storm. A Nigerian-American woman named Chioma answers a knock at her door and is horrified to see a boy with a severe head wound standing at her doorstep. He reaches for her, and his touch burns like fire. Something is very wrong. Haunted and hunted, Chioma must embrace her heritage in order to survive. John Jennings and David Brame’s graphic novel collaboration uses bold art and colors to powerfully tell this tale of identity and destiny.

    Kit’s angst is compounded by a unique psychological burden he is forced to carry: his intelligent but unstable Uncle Nat has committed an unspeakable act on what, according to the Uncle’s deranged account, were direct orders from God.​The tragedy haunting his family follows Kit like a dark and foreboding cloud, exacerbating his already compulsive struggle with existential questions about the meaning of his life. When the brilliant, perhaps phantasmic, Anna dismisses him, Kit quickly spirals into despair and self-destruction. But when his irrational decision to steal a maintenance truck and speed aimlessly down the highway ends in a horrific accident and months of both physical and emotional convalescence, Kit is forced to examine his perceptions of his life and his version of reality.In this exquisite bildungsroman, calamity leads to fresh perspectives and new perceptions: it focuses Kit’s mind and forces him to confront the issues that plague him. Readers will empathize—and celebrate—as the darkness lifts and Kit comes to terms with the necessity of engagement with life’s pain, pleasure . . . and absurdity.An intelligent, clever, and captivating tale, The Essence of Nathan Biddle soars in the spaces that exist between despair and hope, darkness and light, love and loss. Beautifully written, profoundly moving, and resplendent with characters destined to remain with you long after the last page is turned, The Essence of Nathan Biddle is unforgettable.

    She lives isolated in the Pennsylvania countryside with her affluent and secretive family. When her father dies suddenly, Mary becomes pained with grief and increasingly suspicious of those around her. A humble servant girl has the chance of a lifetime to become a lady's companion. Costly dresses, exquisite rooms, and fine dinners are pleasant distractions from what is really happening in the house.

     Part I of The Parliament House book series When Glaswegian Brogan McLane completes many years of university education and legal training he crosses that great divide from Glasgow to Edinburgh. 'Called' to the Bar of the Scottish Supreme Court, he becomes a member of the most prestigious club in Scotland; The Faculty of Advocates in Parliament House.When High Court Judge, Lord Aldounhill, is found dead after a transvestite party in his sumptuous home, those who know the killer close ranks and need a scapegoat – who better than 'outsider' Brogan McLane?Out on bail with his career on hold, McLane and his band of blood brothers in the Calton Bar in Glasgow need to get ahead of their enemies or McLane will go down for life after Trial. But every time they discover a piece of evidence, it seems there is a mirror image to contradict it.Through the murky world of Russian controlled transvestite hotels and with some unexpected police and judicial help, McLane battles against 'Low Life in High Places in the Old Town' until the killer is found.But well protected and knowing all the tricks, will the killer ever stand trial in Parliament House Get your copy of The Trial Today!!!

    Daniel Horvath's not-quite-ex-wife dies unexpectedly, a woman he has been avoiding for thirty years rings his doorbell-and flips his predictable life on its head. Can she help untangle the emotional and financial knots Lorraine left him tied up in?Will a young temptress at his clinic ruin everything?And...can a little French bulldog named Lylou help Danny discover the love and family he yearns for?