Julia Bartz

Paperback (1 to 2 lbs)

Connecticut

A Novel

"Darkly satirical and action-packed....An absolutely splendid debut!" --Wendy Walker, nationally bestselling author of Don't Look for Me

The Plot meets Please Join Us in this psychological suspense debut about a young author at an exclusive writer's retreat that descends into a nightmare.

Alex has all but given up on her dreams of becoming a published author when she receives a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity: attend an exclusive, month-long writing retreat at the estate of feminist horror writer Roza Vallo. Even the knowledge that Wren, her former best friend and current rival, is attending doesn't dampen her excitement.

But when the attendees arrive, Roza drops a bombshell--they must all complete an entire novel from scratch during the next month, and the author of the best one will receive a life-changing seven-figure publishing deal. Determined to win this seemingly impossible contest, Alex buckles down and tries to ignore the strange happenings at the estate, including Roza's erratic behavior, Wren's cruel mind games, and the alleged haunting of the mansion itself. But when one of the writers vanishes during a snowstorm, Alex realizes that something very sinister is afoot. With the clock running out, she's desperate to discover the truth and save herself.

A claustrophobic and propulsive thriller exploring the dark side of female friendships and fame, The Writing Retreat is the unputdownable debut novel from a compelling new talent.

The Writing Retreat

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Alex Michaelides

A masterfully paced thriller about a reclusive ex–movie star and her famous friends whose spontaneous trip to a private Greek island is upended by a murder — from the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Silent Patient This is a tale of murder. Or maybe that’s not quite true. At its heart, it’s a love story, isn’t it? Lana Farrar is a reclusive ex–movie star and one of the most famous women in the world. Every year, she invites her closest friends to escape the English weather and spend Easter on her idyllic private Greek island. I tell you this because you may think you know this story. You probably read about it at the time ― it caused a real stir in the tabloids, if you remember. It had all the necessary ingredients for a press sensation: a celebrity; a private island cut off by the wind...and a murder. We found ourselves trapped there overnight. Our old friendships concealed hatred and a desire for revenge. What followed was a game of cat and mouse ― a battle of wits, full of twists and turns, building to an unforgettable climax. The night ended in violence and death, as one of us was found murdered. But who am I? My name is Elliot Chase, and I’m going to tell you a story unlike any you’ve ever heard.

The Fury

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Dann McDorman

Hardcover (1 to 2 lbs)

An irresistible murder mystery set at a remote hunting lodge where everyone is a suspect, including the erratic detective on the scene—a remarkable debut that gleefully upends the rules of the genre and marks the arrival of a major new talent "A thoroughly original suspense novel that hops across elements of the genre—a diabolical locked-room mystery interspersed with a fascinating primer on the form—while always being tremendous fun to read."—Chris Pavone, best-selling author of Two Nights in Lisbon An isolated hunt club. A raging storm. Three corpses, discovered within four days. A cast of monied, scheming, unfaithful characters. When private detective Adam McAnnis joins an old college friend for the Bicentennial weekend at the exclusive West Heart club in upstate New York, he finds himself among a set of not-entirely-friendly strangers. Then the body of one of the members is found at the lake’s edge; hours later, a major storm hits. By the time power is restored on Sunday, two more people will be dead. The elements of the classic murder mystery are all present in West Heart Kill, but it’s the daring structure and mischievously subversive narration that set this debut apart. This is no ordinary whodunit. Both an homage to the masters of the genre, and a wholly original spin on the form, it’s a sheer delight from start to finish.

West Heart Kill

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Ava Reid

"Achingly atmospheric and beautifully sharp, A Study in Drowning will draw you in from the first page." --Rory Power, New York Times bestselling author of Wilder Girls Bestselling author Ava Reid makes her YA debut in this dark academic fantasy perfect for fans of Melissa Albert and Elana K. Arnold. Effy Sayre has always believed in fairy tales. Haunted by visions of the Fairy King since childhood, she's had no choice. Her tattered copy of Angharad--Emrys Myrddin's epic about a mortal girl who falls in love with the Fairy King, then destroys him--is the only thing keeping her afloat. So when Myrddin's family announces a contest to redesign the late author's estate, Effy feels certain it's her destiny. But musty, decrepit Hiraeth Manor is an impossible task, and its residents are far from welcoming. Including Preston Héloury, a stodgy young literature scholar determined to expose Myrddin as a fraud. As the two rivals piece together clues about Myrddin's legacy, dark forces, both mortal and magical, conspire against them--and the truth may bring them both to ruin. Part historical fantasy, part rivals-to-lovers romance, part Gothic mystery, and all haunting, dreamlike atmosphere, Ava Reid's powerful YA debut will lure in readers who loved The Atlas Six, House of Salt and Sorrows, or Girl, Serpent, Thorn.

A Study in Drowning

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Ashley Poston

Light Paperback (1 lb or less)

An overworked book publicist with a perfectly planned future hits a snag when she falls in love with her temporary roommate…only to discover he lives seven years in the past, in this witty and wise new novel from the New York Times bestselling author of The Dead Romantics. Sometimes, the worst day of your life happens, and you have to figure out how to live after it. So Clementine forms a plan to keep her heart safe: work hard, find someone decent to love, and try to remember to chase the moon. The last one is silly and obviously metaphorical, but her aunt always told her that you needed at least one big dream to keep going. And for the last year, that plan has gone off without a hitch. Mostly. The love part is hard because she doesn’t want to get too close to anyone—she isn’t sure her heart can take it. And then she finds a strange man standing in the kitchen of her late aunt’s apartment. A man with kind eyes and a Southern drawl and a taste for lemon pies. The kind of man that, before it all, she would’ve fallen head-over-heels for. And she might again. Except, he exists in the past. Seven years ago, to be exact. And she, quite literally, lives seven years in his future. Her aunt always said the apartment was a pinch in time, a place where moments blended together like watercolors. And Clementine knows that if she lets her heart fall, she’ll be doomed. After all, love is never a matter of time—but a matter of timing.

The Seven Year Slip

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The Holiday Swap

Eric Rickstad

From the internationally bestselling author of I Am Not Who You Think I Am--a New York Times Thriller of the Year--comes Lilith, an incendiary powerhouse of a novel that strikes straight at the wounded heart of America. Mother. Hero. Villain. Killer. After her son, Lydan, suffers traumatic injuries in a school shooting, single mom Elisabeth Ross grows enraged at men in power. If they won't do anything to help end this epidemic of violence, she will. Believing it's her destiny, she sets out to awaken the world to the cowards these men are and commits her own shocking act of violence. Going by the name Lilith--the first wife of Adam who fled Eden rather than serve a man--she posts a video of her crime that reverberates throughout society. Praised by some, demonized by others, and hunted by the FBI and vigilantes alike, Elisabeth must keep her identity a secret as she tries to care for her son. As events take startling twists, Elisabeth begins to question her act of violence and the very roots and mythology of violence itself. Was her act justified, or has she become the monster that the original Lilith was accused of being? As the FBI draws closer and Lydan starts to display odd, terrifying behavior, Elisabeth plots to avoid capture and keep her son safe at all costs, fearing she'll never escape what she's done without losing her son forever. Written with Rickstad's singular command of language, human insight, and unnerving suspense, Lilith is a tale of our times. Tragic and profound, it echoes in the mind and lingers in the blood.

Lilith

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Kristin Hannah

Reluctantly giving up her California practice working with troubled children, Julia Cates is forced to draw on all her skills to deal with a young mute girl found abandoned and terrified in her Pacific Northwest hometown and joins forces with Max Cerasin, a handsome physician with a mysterious past, to help the young girl. By the best-selling author of Between Sisters. Reprint.

Magic Hour

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Emma Törzs

"Follow where this novel leads and you will be lost in a bewitching spell, a book of magic about books of magic . . . extraordinary." - MARLON JAMES

"If, like me, you're a fan of Holly Black and Leigh Bardugo, pick up this book at once." -- KELLY LINK 

In this spellbinding debut novel, two estranged half-sisters tasked with guarding their family's library of magical books must work together to unravel a deadly secret at the heart of their collection--a tale of familial loyalty and betrayal, and the pursuit of magic and power.

For generations, the Kalotay family has guarded a collection of ancient and rare books. Books that let a person walk through walls or manipulate the elements--books of magic that half-sisters Joanna and Esther have been raised to revere and protect.

All magic comes with a price, though, and for years the sisters have been separated. Esther has fled to a remote base in Antarctica to escape the fate that killed her own mother, and Joanna's isolated herself in their family home in Vermont, devoting her life to the study of these cherished volumes. But after their father dies suddenly while reading a book Joanna has never seen before, the sisters must reunite to preserve their family legacy. In the process, they'll uncover a world of magic far bigger and more dangerous than they ever imagined, and all the secrets their parents kept hidden; secrets that span centuries, continents, and even other libraries . . .

In the great tradition of Ninth House, The Magicians, and Practical Magic, this is a suspenseful and richly atmospheric novel that draws readers into a vast world filled with mystery and magic, romance, and intrigue--and marks the debut of an extraordinary new voice in speculative fiction.

"Ink Blood Sister Scribe is so many things at once: an adventure, a puzzle, a twisty thriller, and a tender romance. . . . I adored it." - ALIX E. HARROW

Ink Blood Sister Scribe

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Pierce Brown

Red Rising

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Kirsty Greenwood

"This book has it all. Humor, heart, and a heroine I was desperately rooting for. Kirsty Greenwood has a new fan!” —Colleen Hoover, New York Times bestselling author A recently deceased woman meets “the one” in the afterlife waiting room, scoring a second chance at life (and love!) if she can find him on earth before ten days are up… If she wasn’t dead already, Delphie would be dying of embarrassment. Not only did she just die by choking on a microwaveable burger, but now she’s standing in her ‘shine like a star’ nightie in front of the hottest man she’s ever seen. And he’s smiling at her. As they start to chat, everything else becomes background noise. That is until someone comes running out of a door, yelling something about a huge mistake, and sends the dreamy stranger back down to earth. And here Delphie was thinking her luck might be different in the afterlife. When Delphie is offered a deal in which she can return to earth and reconnect with the mysterious man, she jumps at the opportunity to find her possible soulmate and a fresh start. But in a city of millions, Delphie is going to have to listen to her heart, learn to ask for help, and perhaps even see the magic in the life she’s leaving behind…

The Love of My Afterlife

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Middle of the Night

#hardcover #fiction #bigsummer #jenniferweiner #mystery #romance #suspense #drama 

AN INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

"Sexy and satisfying, Big Summer is the perfect quarantine read." --USA TODAY

"The beach read to end all beach reads." --Entertainment Weekly

"Big fun, and then some. It's empowering and surprising--a reminder to put down the phone and enjoy each moment for what it is." --The Washington Post

A deliciously funny, remarkably poignant, and simply unputdownable novel about the power of friendship, the lure of frenemies, and the importance of making peace with yourself through all life's ups and downs. From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Good in Bed and Best Friends Forever, Big Summer is the perfect escape with one of the most lovable heroines to come to the page in years.

Six years after the fight that ended their friendship, Daphne Berg is shocked when Drue Cavanaugh walks back into her life, looking as lovely and successful as ever, with a massive favor to ask. Daphne hasn't spoken one word to Drue in all this time--she doesn't even hate-follow her ex-best friend on social media--so when Drue asks if she will be her maid-of-honor at the society wedding of the summer, Daphne is rightfully speechless.

Drue was always the one who had everything--except the ability to hold onto friends. Meanwhile, Daphne's no longer the same self-effacing sidekick she was back in high school. She's built a life that she loves, including a growing career as a plus-size Instagram influencer. Letting glamorous, seductive Drue back into her life is risky, but it comes with an invitation to spend a weekend in a waterfront Cape Cod mansion. When Drue begs and pleads and dangles the prospect of cute single guys, Daphne finds herself powerless as ever to resist her friend's siren song.

A sparkling novel about the complexities of female relationships, the pitfalls of living out loud and online, and the resilience of the human heart, Big Summer is a witty, moving story about family, friendship, and figuring out what matters most.

Big Summer

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#hardcover #fiction #suspensethrillers #botm #suspense #thriller #murder 

Light Hardcover (1 lb or less)

New York Times Book Review recommends M.T. Edvardsson’s A Nearly Normal Family and lauds it as a “page-turner” that forces the reader to confront “the compromises we make with ourselves to be the people we believe our beloveds expect.” (NYTimes Book Review Summer Reading Issue) M.T. Edvardsson’s A Nearly Normal Family is a gripping legal thriller that forces the reader to consider: How far would you go to protect the ones you love? In this twisted narrative of love and murder, a horrific crime makes a seemingly normal family question everything they thought they knew about their life—and one another. Eighteen-year-old Stella Sandell stands accused of the brutal murder of a man almost fifteen years her senior. She is an ordinary teenager from an upstanding local family. What reason could she have to know a shady businessman, let alone to kill him? Stella’s father, a pastor, and mother, a criminal defense attorney, find their moral compasses tested as they defend their daughter, while struggling to understand why she is a suspect. Told in an unusual three-part structure, A Nearly Normal Family asks the questions: How well do you know your own children? How far would you go to protect them?

A Nearly Normal Family

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#hardcover #suspense #thriller #bookclub #gothic

The Sanatorium

#hardcover #fiction #youngadult #thriller #ikilledzoespanos #murder #kitfrick #contemporary 

A People Best Book of Summer 2020 A Parade Best Book of Summer 2020 “The YA thriller of the summer.” —Bustle For fans of Sadie and Serial, this gripping thriller follows two teens whose lives become inextricably linked when one confesses to murder and the other becomes determined to uncover the real truth no matter the cost. What happened to Zoe won’t stay buried… When Anna Cicconi arrives to the small Hamptons village of Herron Mills for a summer nanny gig, she has high hopes for a fresh start. What she finds instead is a community on edge after the disappearance of Zoe Spanos, a local girl who has been missing since New Year’s Eve. Anna bears an eerie resemblance to Zoe, and her mere presence in town stirs up still-raw feelings about the unsolved case. As Anna delves deeper into the mystery, stepping further and further into Zoe’s life, she becomes increasingly convinced that she and Zoe are connected—and that she knows what happened to her. Two months later, Zoe’s body is found in a nearby lake, and Anna is charged with manslaughter. But Anna’s confession is riddled with holes, and Martina Green, teen host of the Missing Zoe podcast, isn’t satisfied. Did Anna really kill Zoe? And if not, can Martina’s podcast uncover the truth? Inspired by Daphne du Maurier’s Rebecca, Kit Frick weaves a thrilling story of psychological suspense that twists and turns until the final page.

I Killed Zoe Spanos

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#hardcover #fiction #mystery #botm #adultfiction #bookofthemonth 

A Novel in Clues

*Wall Street Journal’s “Mysteries: Best of 2018” *Book of the Month Club Selection “Hugely entertaining…The Last Equation of Isaac Severy is full of delight. Though Ms. Jacobs’s writing has echoes of Thomas Pynchon, Nathanael West and J.D. Salinger, her terrific book displays in abundance a magic all its own.” —The Wall Street Journal The Family Fang meets The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry in this literary mystery about a struggling bookseller whose recently deceased grandfather, a famed mathematician, left behind a dangerous equation for her to track down—and protect—before others can get their hands on it. Just days after mathematician and family patriarch Isaac Severy dies of an apparent suicide, his adopted granddaughter Hazel, owner of a struggling Seattle bookstore, receives a letter from him by mail. In it, Isaac alludes to a secretive organization that is after his final bombshell equation, and he charges Hazel with safely delivering it to a trusted colleague. But first, she must find where the equation is hidden. While in Los Angeles for Isaac’s funeral, Hazel realizes she’s not the only one searching for his life’s work, and that the equation’s implications have potentially disastrous consequences for the extended Severy family, a group of dysfunctional geniuses unmoored by the sudden death of their patriarch. As agents of an enigmatic company shadow Isaac’s favorite son—a theoretical physicist—and a long-lost cousin mysteriously reappears in Los Angeles, the equation slips further from Hazel’s grasp. She must unravel a series of maddening clues hidden by Isaac inside one of her favorite novels, drawing her ever closer to his mathematical treasure. But when her efforts fall short, she is forced to enlist the help of those with questionable motives.

The Last Equation of Isaac Severy

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#hardcover #fiction #mystery #cozymystery #botm #detective #arsenicandadobo #murdermystery 

Arsenic and Adobo

#paperback #fiction #noraroberts #romance #bestseller #romanticsuspense 

From #1 New York Times bestselling author Nora Roberts, Under Currents is a novel about the power of family to harm—and to heal. For both Zane and Darby, their small town roots hold a terrible secret. Now, decades later, they've come together to build a new life. But will the past set them free or pull them under? Inside a pristine home in North Carolina's Blue Ridge Mountains, Zane Bigelow has learned to keep secrets. Strangers see his parents as a successful surgeon and his stylish wife, proud of their children. Only Zane and his sister know the terrible truth. Dominated by his father's rages--and his mother's complicity--Zane fears for his and little Britt's lives. Still he maintains the insidious lie that all is fine, while scribbling his real thoughts in a secret journal he must carefully hide away. Now, as a grown man struggling to build a new life, Zane will find that while his past may always shadow him, it will also show him that love and goodness can triumph--and give him strength to draw on when we once again must stand up and defend himself and the woman he loves.

Under Currents

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#paperback #fiction #cjtudor #mystery #thriller #fastpaced #kidnapping #suspense 

The Other People

#paperback #fiction #suspensethrillers #nytbestseller #karinslaughter #drama #bestseller #slaughter 

Instant New York Times Bestseller! New York Times bestselling author Karin Slaughter brings back Will Trent and Sara Linton in this superb and timely thriller full of devious twists, disturbing secrets, and shocking surprises you won't see coming A mysterious kidnapping On a hot summer night, a scientist from the Centers for Disease Control is grabbed by unknown assailants in a shopping center parking lot. The authorities are desperate to save the doctor who's been vanished into thin air. A devastating explosion One month later, the serenity of a sunny Sunday afternoon is shattered by the boom of a ground-shaking blast--followed by another seconds later. One of Atlanta's busiest and most important neighborhoods has been bombed--the location of Emory University, two major hospitals, the FBI headquarters, and the CDC. A diabolical enemy Medical examiner Sara Linton and her partner Will Trent, an investigator with the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, rush to the scene--and into the heart of a deadly conspiracy that threatens to destroy thousands of innocent lives. When the assailants abduct Sara, Will goes undercover to save her and prevent a massacre--putting his own life on the line for the woman and the country he loves.

The Last Widow

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#paperback #thriller #fiction #mystery #youngadult #botm #psychologicalthriller 

From the bestselling author of All Is Not Forgotten, a thriller about two missing sisters, a twisted family, and what happens when one girl comes back... One night three years ago, the Tanner sisters disappeared: fifteen-year-old Cass and seventeen-year-old Emma. Three years later, Cass returns, without her sister Emma. Her story is one of kidnapping and betrayal, of a mysterious island where the two were held. But to forensic psychiatrist Dr. Abby Winter, something doesn't add up. Looking deep within this dysfunctional family Dr. Winter uncovers a life where boundaries were violated and a narcissistic parent held sway. And where one sister's return might just be the beginning of the crime. Bestselling author Wendy Walker returns with another winning psychological thriller, Emma in the Night. Praise for Emma in the Night: "Twisty...a thriller that keeps readers guessing." —The New York Times "In this searing psychological thriller...Walker's portrayal of the ways in which a narcissistic, self-involved mother can affect her children deepens the plot as it builds to a shocking finale." —Publishers Weekly, Starred Review "A tense thriller explores the bond between sisters and family dynamics that give new meaning to the term 'dysfunctional'...This thriller aims right for the heart and never lets go." —Kirkus, Starred Review "Both twisted and twisty, this smart psychological thriller sets a new standard for unreliable narrators." —Booklist, Starred Review

Emma in the Night

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#paperback #fiction #relationships #family #love #drama #lovestory 

A heartwarming tale of love set on Mystic Lake follows Annie Colwater on journey of discovery of passion as she struggles to cope with a shattered marriage. Reader's Guide included. Reprint.

On Mystic Lake

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#paperback #fiction #mystery #suspense #tvadaptation #neverbeenread 

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • NOW A TNT ORIGINAL SERIES • “A first-rate tale of crime and punishment that will keep readers guessing until the final pages.”—Entertainment Weekly “Caleb Carr’s rich period thriller takes us back to the moment in history when the modern idea of the serial killer became available to us.”—The Detroit News When The Alienist was first published in 1994, it was a major phenomenon, spending six months on the New York Times bestseller list, receiving critical acclaim, and selling millions of copies. This modern classic continues to be a touchstone of historical suspense fiction for readers everywhere. The year is 1896. The city is New York. Newspaper reporter John Schuyler Moore is summoned by his friend Dr. Laszlo Kreizler—a psychologist, or “alienist”—to view the horribly mutilated body of an adolescent boy abandoned on the unfinished Williamsburg Bridge. From there the two embark on a revolutionary effort in criminology: creating a psychological profile of the perpetrator based on the details of his crimes. Their dangerous quest takes them into the tortured past and twisted mind of a murderer who will kill again before their hunt is over. Fast-paced and riveting, infused with historical detail, The Alienist conjures up Gilded Age New York, with its tenements and mansions, corrupt cops and flamboyant gangsters, shining opera houses and seamy gin mills. It is an age in which questioning society’s belief that all killers are born, not made, could have unexpected and fatal consequences. Praise for The Alienist “[A] delicious premise . . . Its settings and characterizations are much more sophisticated than the run-of-the-mill thrillers that line the shelves in bookstores.”—The Washington Post Book World “Mesmerizing.”—Detroit Free Press “The method of the hunt and the disparate team of hunters lift the tale beyond the level of a good thriller—way beyond. . . . A remarkable combination of historical novel and psychological thriller.”—The Buffalo News “Engrossing.”—Newsweek “Gripping, atmospheric . . . intelligent and entertaining.”—USA Today “A high-spirited, charged-up and unfailingly smart thriller.”—Los Angeles Times “Keeps readers turning pages well past their bedtime.”—San Francisco Chronicle

Browse by categories

Julia Bartz

The Writing Retreat

Alex Michaelides

The Fury

Dann McDorman

West Heart Kill

Ava Reid

A Study in Drowning

Ashley Poston

The Seven Year Slip

Maggie Knox

The Holiday Swap

Eric Rickstad

Lilith

Kristin Hannah

Magic Hour

Emma Törzs

Ink Blood Sister Scribe

Pierce Brown

Red Rising

Kirsty Greenwood

The Love of My Afterlife

Riley Sager

Middle of the Night

Jennifer Weiner

Big Summer

M. T. Edvardsson; Rachel Willson-Broyles (Translator)

A Nearly Normal Family

Sarah Pearse

The Sanatorium

Kit Frick

I Killed Zoe Spanos

Nova Jacobs

The Last Equation of Isaac Severy

Mia P. Manansala

Arsenic and Adobo

Nora Roberts

Under Currents

C. J. Tudor

The Other People

Karin Slaughter

The Last Widow

Wendy Walker

Emma in the Night

Kristin Hannah

On Mystic Lake

Caleb Carr

The Alienist (TNT Tie-In Edition)

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