Fools Rush In by Ed Gorman, 329 pages

It's 1963. All spring, Freedom Riders have been facing police dogs and fire hoses in Birmingham, Alabama. While no one is marching in Black River Falls, Iowa, attorney Sam McCain's sleepy heartland town is showing signs of racial unease nonetheless. A black college student has turned up dead. Close by him in the woods outside of town lies a second victim: a white local photographer. All the evidence points to blackmail, and to a scandal that could ruin the reelection campaign of the very white Senator Lloyd Williams.....

American Gods by Neil Gaiman, 541 pages

Locked behind bars for three years, Shadow did his time, quietly waiting for the magic day when he could return to Eagle Point, Indiana. A man no longer scared of what tomorrow might bring, all he wanted was to be with Laura, the wife he deeply loved, and start a new life.
But just days before his release, Laura and Shadow's best friend are killed in an accident. With his life in pieces and nothing to keep him tethered, Shadow accepts a job from a beguiling stranger he meets on the way home, an enigmatic man who calls himself Mr. Wednesday. A trickster and rogue, Wednesday seems to know more about Shadow than Shadow does himself.
Life as Wednesday's bodyguard, driver and errand boy is far more interesting and dangerous than Shadow ever imagined-it is a job that takes him on a dark and strange road trip and introduces him to a host of eccentric characters whose fates are mysteriously intertwined with his own. Along the way, Shadow will learn that the past never dies, that everyone, including his beloved Laura, harbors secrets; and that dreams, totems, legends, and myths are more real than we know. Ultimately, he will discover that beneath the placid surface of everyday life a storm is brewing- an epic war for the very soul of America-and that he is standing squarely in the path.

Chocolate Wars by Deborah Cadbury, 340 pages

When Richard Tapper Cadbury sent his son to London to study cocoa in the early nineteenth century, he could not have imagined what lay in store; within a generation, his grandson Richard and George had created a chocolate company to rival the world's confectionery powerhouses.
The Cadbury brothers were staunch Quakers, as determined to improve the lives of their employees as they were produce a popular product that would seal their success. Their company soon became the largest of its kind-but in the new millennium, Cadburys too would face a threat to its very survival, culminating in a multi-billion pound showdown.
Featuring a dazzling cast of characters, Chocolate Wars tells the tale of a unique family and a beloved product, in a history unlike any other.

The Marriage Pact by Michelle Richmond, 414 pages

Newlyweds Alice and Jake are a picture-perfect couple. Alice, once a singer in a well-known rock band, is now a successful lawyer. Jake is a partner in an up-and-coming psychology practice. Their life together holds endless possibilities. After receiving an enticing wedding gift from one of Alice's prominent clients, they decide to join an exclusive and mysterious group known only as The Pact.
The goal of The Pact seems simple: to keep marriages happy and intact. And most of its rules make sense.

Always answer when your spouse calls. Exchange thoughtful gifts monthly. Plan a trip together once per quarter....
Never mention The Pact to anyone.
Alice and Jake are initially seduced by the the glamorous parties, the sense of community, their widening social circle of like-minded couples.
And then one of them breaks the rules.
The young lovers are about to discover that for adherents to The Pact, membership, like marriage, is for life. And The Pact will go to any lengths to enforce that rule.
For Jake and Alice, the marriage of their dreams is about to become their worst nightmare.
In this relentlessly paced novel of psychological suspense, New York Times bestselling author Michelle Richmond crafts an intense and shocking tale that asks: How far would you go to protect your marriage?

Breaking Up is Hard to Do by Ed Gorman, 301 pages

Late October of 1962 is certainly not dull; not with Russian premier Khrushchev threatening to launch nuclear missiles from Cuba if the U.S. attempts an invasion there. The Kennedy White House has been facing down the Soviets with an ultimatum, but the Russian warships are steady on their course to Cuba. In Black River Falls, Iowa, frightened townspeople are gathering in churches to pray for peace. And Ross Murdoch, the popular gubernatorial candidate, is laying in supplies for his newly built bomb shelter. It's a place you don't expect to find a corpse. At least young lawyer and sometimes private investigator Sam McCain doesn't-no more than he expects his four prime suspects to be pillars of the community.

Strange Practice by Vivian Shaw, 385 pages

Dr. Greta Helsing has inherited the family's highly specialized, and highly peculiar, medical practice. She treats the undead for a host of ills-vocal strain in banshees, arthritis in barrow-wights, and entrops in mummies.
It's a quite supernatural-adjacent life, until a sect of murderous monks emerges, killing human and undead Londoners alike. As terror takes hold of the city, Greta must user her unusual skills to stop the cult if she hopes to save her practice-and her life.

The Painted Queen by Elizabeth Peters and Joan Hess, 323 pages

Egypt, 1912—Amelia Peabody and her dashing archeologist husband, Radcliffe Emerson, are once again in danger as they search for a priceless, stolen bust of legendary Queen Nefertiti and Amelia finds herself the target of assassins in this long-awaited, eagerly anticipated final installment of Elizabeth Peters’ bestselling, beloved mystery series.
Arriving in Cairo for another thrilling excavation season, Amelia is relaxing in a well-earned bubble bath in her elegant hotel suite in Cairo, when a man with knife protruding from his back staggers into the bath chamber and utters a single word—"Murder"—before collapsing on the tiled floor, dead. Among the few possessions he carried was a sheet of paper with Amelia’s name and room number, and a curious piece of pasteboard the size of a calling card bearing one word: "Judas." Most peculiarly, the stranger was wearing a gold-rimmed monocle in his left eye.
It quickly becomes apparent that someone saved Amelia from a would-be assassin—someone who is keeping a careful eye on the intrepid Englishwoman. Discovering a terse note clearly meant for Emerson—Where were you?"—pushed under their door, there can be only one answer: the brilliant master of disguise, Sethos.
But neither assassins nor the Genius of Crime will deter Amelia as she and Emerson head to the excavation site at Amarna, where they will witness the discovery of one of the most precious Egyptian artifacts: the iconic Nefertiti bust. In 1345 B.C. the sculptor Thutmose crafted the piece in tribute to the great beauty of this queen who was also the chief consort of Pharaoh Akhenaten and stepmother to King Tutankhamun.
For Amelia, this excavation season will prove to be unforgettable. Throughout her journey, a parade of men in monocles will die under suspicious circumstances, fascinating new relics will be unearthed, a diabolical mystery will be solved, and a brilliant criminal will offer his final challenge . . . and perhaps be unmasked at last.