A Crimson Warning by Tasha Alexander, 324 pages

Secrets prove deadly in this new novel from Tasha Alexander featuring Lady Emily Hargreaves. Some very prominent people in London are waking up to find their doorsteps smeared with red paint, the precursor to the revelation of a dark secret – and worse – by someone who enjoys destroying lives.

Newly returned to her home in Mayfair, Lady Emily Hargreaves is looking forward to enjoying the delights of the season. The delights, that is, as defined by her own eccentricities—reading The Aeneid, waltzing with her dashing husband, and joining the Women’s Liberal Federation in the early stages of its campaign to win the vote for women.

But an audacious vandal disturbs the peace in the capital city, splashing red paint on the neat edifices of the homes of London’s elite. This mark, impossible to hide, presages the revelation of scandalous secrets, driving the hapless victims into disgrace, despair and even death.

Soon, all of London high society is living in fear of learning who will be the next target, and Lady Emily and her husband, Colin, favorite agent of the crown, must uncover the identity and reveal the motives of the twisted mind behind it all before another innocent life is lost.

Giant Days, Volume 9, 112 pages

It’s the end of second year, and everything is happening so fast for Esther, Susan and Daisy!

It’s the end of second year, and everything is happening so fast! Moving out, breaking up, breaking hearts, breaking…bones? Best-Mates-for-Life Esther, Daisy, and Susan had better hold on tight if they want to make it to their third year, never mind in one piece! 

John Allison (Bad Machinery, Scary Go Round) and illustrators Max Sarin and Liz Fleming shepherd us through another action-packed semester in Giant Days Volume 9, which collects Issues #33-36 of the Eisner Award-nominated series. 

Giant Days, Volume 8, 112 pages

Best friends Susan, Daisy, and Esther's adventures at university continue in Giant Days Vol. 8.

It’s the end of second year for best mates Susan, Daisy, and Esther, and cracks are appearing in the foundation of this unshakeable trio. Between (irritating) new loves, (secretive) old loves, (unlikely) new friendships and (terrible) old houses, they’ll be lucky to make it to third year alive!

John Allison (Bad Machinery, Scary Go Round) and illustrators Max Sarin and Liz Fleming shepherd us through another action-packed semester in Giant Days Volume 8, which collects Issues #29-32 of the Eisner Award-nominated series. 

The Jasmine Moon Murder by Laura Childs, 257 pages

Indigo Tea Shop owner Theodosia Browning is catering a Charleston benefit, a "Ghost Crawl" through Jasmine Cemetery. But the organizer, Dr. Davis, won't get to enjoy the festivities: during the Crawl's theatrical number, he drops dead. It looks like foul play-but how could such an upstanding citizen have enemies?

With a nose for trouble, Theodosia starts stirring things up with her own investigation to find the do-badder. But before long, chasing down the culprit gets her in hot water up to her neck

The Body in the Wake by Katherine Hall Page, 221 pages

Amateur detective and caterer Faith Fairchild is at her Penobscot Bay, Maine cottage preparing for a summer wedding, when she stumbles across . . . another body in this 25th entry in the beloved mystery series.

For the first time in years, Faith Fairchild has time for herself. Her husband Tom is spending days on the other side of the island using a friend’s enhanced WiFi for a project; their son, Ben, after his first year in college, is studying abroad for the summer; and their daughter Amy is working at the old Laughing Gulls Lodge, now a revamped conference center.

Faith is looking forward to some projects of her own. Her friend Sophie Maxwell is also spending the summer on Sanpere Island, hoping for distractions from her worries that she isn’t yet pregnant. And the daughter of Faith’s good friend Pix Miller is getting married to a wonderful guy . . . with a less-than-wonderful mother. Between keeping Sophie’s spirits up and Pix’s blood pressure down, Faith has her hands full.

And that’s before a body with a mysterious tattoo and connections far away from small Sanpere Island appears in the Lily Pond. Once again, Faith will get to the bottom of this strange case—and whip up a delicious blueberry buckle on the side.

Follow the Rabbit-Proof Fence by Doris Pilkington & Nugi Garimara, 135 pages

This extraordinary story of courage and faith is based on the actual experiences of three girls who fled from the repressive life of Moore River Native Settlement, following along the rabbit-proof fence back to their homelands. Assimilationist policy dictated that these girls be taken from their kin and their homes in order to be made white. Settlement life was unbearable with its chains and padlocks, barred windows, hard cold beds, and horrible food. Solitary confinement was doled out as regular punishment. The girls were not even allowed to speak their language. Of all the journeys made since white people set foot on Australian soil, the journey made by these girls born of Aboriginal mothers and white fathers speaks something to everyone. 

The Thrilling Adventure Hour: A Spirited Romance by Phil Hester & Mauricio Wallace, 112 pages

Based on the popular Hollywood stage show and podcast, The Thrilling Adventure Hour: A Spirited Romance follows fan-favorite characters Frank and Sadie Doyle in “Beyond Belief”.

It’s time to send the little ones to dreamland and set your radio’s dial to “spooky.” Steel yourself for mysterious suspense in…BEYOND BELIEF!

Meet Frank and Sadie Doyle, toast of the upper crust. Headliners on the society pages. And, oh yes, they see ghosts. Trading quips and tossing back cocktails, the Doyles take what they want and hoodwink their clientele for the rest. Ghosts, vampires, werewolves, mummies, even diabolical gingerbread men are nothing but obstacles in the way of the liquor cabinet for our fast-talking, hard-drinking sleuths.

Written by the creators of the wildly popular Hollywood stage show and podcast, Ben Acker and Ben Blacker (Deadpool, Star Wars Adventures), and illustrated by Phil Hester (Batman Beyond), The Thrilling Adventure Hour: A Spirited Romance is a rip-roaring adventure that harkens back to the heyday of old-time radio entertainment.

Sorcery & Cecelia, or The Enchantment Chocolate by Patricia C. Wrede & Carolilne Stevermer, 320 pages

A great deal is happening in London and the country this season.

For starters, there's the witch who tried to poison Kate at the Royal College of Wizards. There's also the man who seems to be spying on Cecelia. (Though he's not doing a very good job of it--so just what are his intentions?) And then there's Oliver. Ever since he was turned into a tree, he hasn't bothered to tell anyone where he is.

Clearly, magic is a deadly and dangerous business. And the girls might be in fear for their lives . . . if only they weren't having so much fun!

The Bride Test by Helen Hoang, 300 pages

Khai Diep has no feelings. Well, he feels irritation when people move his things or contentment when ledgers balance down to the penny, but not big, important emotions—like grief. And love. He thinks he’s defective. His family knows better—that his autism means he just processes emotions differently. When he steadfastly avoids relationships, his mother takes matters into her own hands and returns to Vietnam to find him the perfect bride.

As a mixed-race girl living in the slums of Ho Chi Minh City, Esme Tran has always felt out of place. When the opportunity arises to come to America and meet a potential husband, she can’t turn it down, thinking this could be the break her family needs. Seducing Khai, however, doesn’t go as planned. Esme’s lessons in love seem to be working…but only on herself. She’s hopelessly smitten with a man who’s convinced he can never return her affection.

With Esme’s time in the United States dwindling, Khai is forced to understand he’s been wrong all along. And there’s more than one way to love.

The Bookshop of the Broken Hearted by Robert Hillman, 415 pages

Tom Hope doesn’t think he’s much of a farmer, but he’s doing his best. He can’t have been much of a husband to Trudy, either, judging by her sudden departure. It’s only when she returns, pregnant to someone else, that he discovers his surprising talent as a father. So when T

rudy finds Jesus and takes little Peter away with her to join the holy rollers, Tom’s heart breaks all over again.

Enter Hannah Babel, quixotic smalltown bookseller: the second Jew—and the most vivid person—Tom has ever met. He dares to believe they could make each other happy.

But it is 1968: twenty-four years since Hannah and her own little boy arrived at Auschwitz. Tom Hope is taking on a batttle with heartbreak he can barely even begin to imagine. 

Binge Parenting by Rick Kirkman & Jerry Scott, 208 pages

Baby Blues is a pitch-perfect and hilarious family-oriented comic strip that typifies modern parenting.

 In this chronological collection, readers get a close-up view inside the home of the MacPhersons, a perfectly normal family with perfectly chaotic lives. Daryl and Wanda are deep in the trenches of childrearing and earning their stripes as parents to Zoe, Hammie, and Wren.

Baby Blues expertly illustrates why Band-Aids remain in short supply, tattling and teasing lead to time-outs, and an unplanned visit to the dentist or auto mechanic occurs just when the bills seem to be caught up.
Baby Blues transcends the comic page by fusing the award-winning imaginations of Rick Kirkman and Jerry Scott with familiar family life. Inside this annotated collection, Kirkman and Scott intuitively balance the humorous with the poignant though relatable and sometimes all-too-familiar parenting scenes.

Calvin and Hobbes by Calvin by Bill Watterson, 128 pages

This is the first collection of the popular comic strip that features Calvin, a rambunctious 6-year-old boy, and his stuffed tiger, Hobbes, who comes charmingly to life.

Freedom's Detective: The Secret Service, the Ku Klux Klan and the Man Who Masterminded America's First War on Terror by Charles Lane, 348 pages

Freedom’s Detective reveals the untold story of the Reconstruction-era United States Secret Service and their battle against the Ku Klux Klan, through the career of its controversial chief, Hiram C. Whitley.
In the years following the Civil War, a new battle began. Newly freed African American men had gained their voting rights and would soon have a chance to transform Southern politics. Former Confederates and other white supremacists mobilized to stop them. Thus, the KKK was born.

After the first political assassination carried out by the Klan, Washington power brokers looked for help in breaking the growing movement. They found it in Hiram C. Whitley. He became head of the Secret Service, which had previously focused on catching counterfeiters and was at the time the government’s only intelligence organization. Whitley and his agents led the covert war against the nascent KKK and were the first to use undercover work in mass crime—what we now call terrorism—investigations.

Like many spymasters before and since, Whitley also had a dark side. His penchant for skulduggery and dirty tricks ultimately led to his involvement in a conspiracy that would bring an end to his career and transform the Secret Service.

Populated by intriguing historical characters—from President Grant to brave Southerners, both black and white, who stood up to the Klan—and told in a brisk narrative style, Freedom’s Detective reveals the story of this complex hero and his central role in a long-lost chapter of American history.

Gross! by Rick Kirkman & Jerry Scott, 206 pages

Before there was Go the F**k to Sleep, there was Baby Blues, the tell-it-like-it-is comic strip that reveals the hilarious truth about parenting and living through it!

For more than 25 years, the MacPherson family has brought the joy, humor, and poignancy of raising three children to funny pages worldwide in the popular comic strip, Baby Blues. Gross! reveals the sticky underbelly of parenting, shining a comedic light on everything from dealing with picky eaters to too much screen time. From gargantuan messes to legendary sibling disputes, readers will love following along as the MacPhersons--Darryl, Wanda, and children Zoe, Hammie, and Wren--overcome many of life's hurdles.

Gross! offers a perceptive glimpse into the lives of modern parents, complemented by witty and informative commentary from the co-creators themselves. This collection will appeal to anyone who has kids or who remembers what it was like to be one.

Bitter Brew by G.A. McKevett, 276 pages

Although P.I. Savannah Reid always has a lot on her plate, she would drop just about anything for a friend in trouble. But when good intentions pull her into a toxic murder case, Savannah’s days as San Carmelita’s most full-figured detective might be running out . . .  
Savannah is shaken to the core when coroner Dr. Jennifer Liu appears on her doorstep late one night with a disturbing confession. In a potentially career-ruining move, a remorseful Dr. Liu admits to fudging an autopsy report to keep her friend Brianne’s suicide a secret—fulfilling a final promise made before the terminally ill woman administered a lethal drug cocktail. But after Dr. Liu finds the same unique mixture in a second body, she fears the deaths share a dark connection . . .
 
Apprehensive about concealing a felony, Savannah and the Moonlight Magnolia Detective Agency launch a discreet investigation into Brianne’s rare condition and the deadly concoction linking the two bodies. As chilling evidence points to an undeniable case of double murder, the agency races to slim down the suspect list and blow the lid off a shifty criminal’s poisonous agenda. Savannah only hopes that, like Dr. Liu, her desire to help a friend won’t put her reputation at risk—or, worse, land her on the next slab . . .

The Children of the New Forest by Frederick Marryat, 325 pages

An engaging adventure story set in England during the time of the Civil War when King Charles was deposed and the Roundheads were vying with the Cavaliers. The central characters are the four children of staunch Royalist Colonel Beverley killed in battle while fighting for King Charles. Through the efforts of aged forester Jacob Armitage, the children escape the burning of their ancestral home and take up residence with him in his cottage in the New Forest. As his "grandchildren" they take eagerly to the peasant life and learn to provide for themselves by using their wits. The pitfall they build to trap cattle catches more than they bargain for, leading to one adventure after another. Against all odds they deftly maneuver through the treacherous landscape of the times, eventually recovering their family estate.

My Lovely Wife by Samantha Downing, 539 pages

Dexter meets Mr. and Mrs. Smith in this wildly compulsive debut thriller about a couple whose fifteen-year marriage has finally gotten too interesting...
Our love story is simple. I met a gorgeous woman. We fell in love. We had kids. We moved to the suburbs. We told each other our biggest dreams, and our darkest secrets. And then we got bored.

We look like a normal couple. We're your neighbors, the parents of your kid's friend, the acquaintances you keep meaning to get dinner with.

We all have secrets to keeping a marriage alive.

Ours just happens to be getting away with murder.

The Illustrated Cider With Rosie by Laurie Lee, 224 pages

At all times wonderfully evocative and poignant, Cider With Rosie is a charming memoir of Laurie Lee's childhood in a remote Cotswold village, a world that is tangibly real and yet reminiscent of a now distant past.

In this idyllic pastoral setting, unencumbered by the callous father who so quickly abandoned his family responsibilities, Laurie's adoring mother becomes the centre of his world as she struggles to raise a growing family against the backdrop of the Great War.

The sophisticated adult author's retrospective commentary on events is endearingly juxtaposed with that of the innocent, spotty youth, permanently prone to tears and self-absorption.

My Life as a White Trash Zombie by Diana Rowland, 310 pages

Angel Crawford is a loser.

Living with her alcoholic deadbeat dad in the swamps of southern Louisiana, she's a high school dropout with a pill habit and a criminal record who's been fired from more crap jobs than she can count. Now on probation for a felony, it seems that Angel will never pull herself out of the downward spiral her life has taken.

That is, until the day she wakes up in the ER after overdosing on painkillers. Angel remembers being in a horrible car crash, but she doesn't have a mark on her. To add to the weirdness, she receives an anonymous letter telling her there's a job waiting for her at the parish morgue—and that it's an offer she doesn't dare refuse.

Before she knows it she's dealing with a huge crush on a certain hunky deputy and a brand new addiction: an overpowering craving for brains. Plus, her morgue is filling up with the victims of a serial killer who decapitates his prey—just when she's hungriest!

Angel's going to have to grow up fast if she wants to keep this job and stay in one piece. Because if she doesn't, she's dead meat.

Literally.

Finding Dorothy by Elizabeth Letts, 351 pages

A richly imagined novel that tells the story behind The Wonderful Wizard of Oz , the book that inspired the iconic film, through the eyes of author L. Frank Baum's intrepid wife, Maud--from the family's hardscrabble days in South Dakota to the Hollywood film set where she first meets Judy Garland.

Maud Gage Baum, widow of the author of the book The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, met Judy Garland, the young actress playing the role of Dorothy on the set of The Wizard of Oz in 1939. At the time, Maud was seventy-eight and Judy was sixteen. In spite of their age difference, Maud immediately connected to Judy--especially when Maud heard her sing "Over the Rainbow," a song whose yearning brought to mind the tough years in South Dakota when Maud and her husband struggled to make a living--until Frank Baum's book became a national sensation.

This wonderfully evocative two-stranded story recreates Maud's youth as the rebellious daughter of a leading suffragette, and the prairie years of Maud and Frank's early days when they lived among the people--especially young Dorothy--who would inspire Frank's masterpiece. Woven into this past story is one set in 1939, describing the high-pressured days on The Wizard of Oz film set where Judy is being badgered by the director, producer, and her ambitious stage mother to lose weight, bind her breasts, and laugh, cry, and act terrified on command. As Maud had promised to protect the original Dorothy back in Aberdeen, she now takes on the job of protecting young Judy. 

Ambushed! in the Family Room by Rick Kirkman & Jerry Scott, 128 pages

From the dark days of sleep deprivation to the cacophony of a trikid family, Baby Blues has been revealing the true dark underbelly of parenting to the delight of newspaper readers everywhere. Like a comic epidural, or butt cream on a raging diaper rash, this comic strip has helped take some of the sting out of parenting for countless parents around the world.

Baby Blues transcends the comic page by fusing the award-winning imaginations of Rick Kirkman and Jerry Scott with familiar family life. Inside Ambushed! In the Family Room, Kirkman and Scott intuitively balance the humorous with the poignant through relatable and sometimes all-too-familiar parenting scenes.

The Princess and the Goblin by George MacDonald, 203 pages

One of the most successful and beloved of Victorian fairy tales, George Macdonald’s The Princess and the Goblin tells the story of young Princess Irene and her friend Curdie, who must outwit the threatening goblins who live in caves beneath her mountain home. Macdonald’s pioneering use of fanstasy as a literary medium had a great influence on Lewis Carroll, J. R. R. Tolkien, and Madeleine L’Engle, all great admirers of his work, which has remained popular to this day. "I write, not for children," he wrote, "but for the child-like, whether they be of five, or fifty, or seventy-five."This edition includes illustrations by Arthur Hughes.

Sheldon & Mrs. Levine: An Excruciating Correspondence by Sam Bobrick & Julie Stein, 43 pages

Humor, Letters sent from Mrs. Levine to Sheldon. Letters exchanged on most significant holidays are ploys for generating laughter.

Who Slays the Wicked by C.S. Harris, 341 pages

When the handsome but dissolute young gentleman Lord Ashworth is found brutally murdered, Sebastian St. Cyr, Viscount Devlin, is called in by Bow Street magistrate Sir Henry Lovejoy to help catch the killer. Just seven months before, Sebastian had suspected Ashworth of aiding one of his longtime friends and companions in the kidnapping and murder of a string of vulnerable street children. But Sebastian was never able to prove Ashworth's complicity. Nor was he able to prevent his troubled, headstrong young niece Stephanie from entering into a disastrous marriage with the dangerous nobleman.

Stephanie has survived the difficult birth of twin sons. But Sebastian soon discovers that her marriage has quickly degenerated into a sham. Ashworth abandoned his pregnant bride at his father's Park Street mansion and has continued living an essentially bachelor existence. And mounting evidence--ranging from a small bloody handprint to a woman's silk stocking--suggests that Ashworth's killer was a woman. Sebastian is tasked with unraveling the shocking nest of secrets surrounding Ashworth's life to keep Stephanie from being punished for his death.