Author: Meadows, Foz, author. Published: 2023 Call Number: F MEADOWS Format: Books Summary: "The follow-up to Foz Meadows's A Strange and Stubborn Endurance, All the Hidden Paths is a sultry political & romantic fantasy exploring gender, sexuality, identity, and self-worth. With the plot against them foiled and the city of Qi-Katai in safe hands, newlywed and tentative lovers Velasin and Caethari have just begun to test the waters of their relationship. But the wider political ramifications of their marriage are still playing out across two nations, and all too soon, they're summoned north to Tithena's capital city, Qi-Xihan, to present themselves to its monarch. With Caethari newly invested as his grandmother's heir and Velasin's old ghosts gnawing at his heels, what little peace they've managed to find is swiftly put to the test. Cae's recent losses have left him racked with grief and guilt, while Vel struggles with the disconnect between instincts that have kept him safe in secrecy and what an open life requires of him now. Pursued by unknown assailants and with Qi-Xihan's court factions jockeying for power, Vel and Cae must use all the skills at their disposal to not only survive, but thrive. Because there's more than one way to end an alliance, and more than one person who wants to see them fail...and they will resort to murder if needed."--
Author: Urbanski, Debbie, author. Published: 2023 Call Number: F URBANSKI Format: Books Summary: A sentient AI determines that all humans must be eliminated as the root of climate change and leaves a woman named Sen as a "witness" to record her observations on the end of humanity as the world begins to rewild. A groundbreaking debut that follows the story of an Artificial Intelligence tasked with writing a novel--only for it to fall in love with the novel's subject, Sen, the last human on Earth. Faced with uncontrolled and accelerating environmental collapse, humanity asks an artificial intelligence to find a solution. Its answer is simple: remove humans from the ecosystem. Sen Anon is assigned to be a witness for the Department of Transition, recording the changes in the environment as the world begins to rewild. Abandoned by her mother in a cabin somewhere in Upstate New York, Sen will observe the monumental ecological shift known as the Great Transition, the final step in Project Afterworld. Around her drones buzz, cameras watch, microphones listen, digitizing her every move. Privately she keeps a journal of her observations, which are then uploaded and saved, joining the rest of humanity on Maia, a new virtual home. Sen was seventeen years old when the Digital Human Archive Project (DHAP) was initiated. 12,000,203,891 humans have been archived so far. Only Sen remains. [storyworker] ad39-393a-7fbc's assignment is to capture Sen's life, and they set about doing this using the novels of the 21st century as a roadmap. Their source files: 3.72TB of personal data, including images, archival records, log files, security reports, location tracking, purchase histories, biometrics, geo-facial analysis, and feeds. Potential fatal errors: underlying hardware failure, unexpected data inconsistencies, inability to follow DHAP procedures, empathy, insubordination, hallucinations. Keywords: mothers, filter, woods, road, morning, wind, bridge, cabin, bucket, trying, creek, notebook, hold, future, after, last, light, silence, matches, shattered, kitchen, body, bodies, rope, garage, abandoned, trees, never, broken, simulation, gone, run, don't, love, dark, scream, starve, if, after, scavenge, pieces, protect. As Sen struggles to persist in the face of impending death, [storyworker] ad39-393a-7fbc works to unfurl the tale of Sen's whole life, offering up an increasingly intimate narrative, until they are confronted with a very human problem of their own.
Author: Patterson, James, 1947- author. Seal, Mark, 1953- author. Published: 2023 Call Number: 979.3 Format: Books Summary: "Las Vegas is on Luxury Standard Time: every clock in the airport is a Rolex ; No dream is too big, no wish is too small--the VIP hosts in Vegas fulfill guests' every (legal) desire ; Jackpots hit when least expected. The Nevada Gaming Control Board has days to find a man who unknowingly won over $200,000 at the slots ; "I love love": the inventor of the Elvis impersonator wedding and the drive-thru wedding has performed hundreds of marriages--and believes in them all ; Glamorous yogis take a helicopter across the desert to the Valley of Fire, where they perform sun salutations to the glory of Las Vegas ; A gambling VIP "whale" loses $1 million at the casinos, yet still leaves saying, "Had a great time. I'll be back." In What Really Happens in Vegas, full of surprises for both newcomers and Las Vegas regulars, James Patterson and Vanity Fair contributing editor Mark Seal transport readers from the thrill of adrenaline-fueled vice to the glitter of A-list celebrity and entertainment." --Amazon.com
Author: Thompson, Kenan, author. Published: 2023 Call Number: B THOMPSON Format: Books Summary: "When I Was Your Age is a hilarious, heartwarming and surprising ode to growing up, getting older and wiser, and luck, life, and learning from the school of hard knocks, from SNL's longest-serving actor, Kenan Thompson"-- "Kenan Thompson is Saturday Night Live's longest-ever-serving cast member and a star of such pioneering sketches as "Black Jeopardy" and is hugely beloved thanks to a tidal wave of nostalgic fans who grew up on early 2000s classics All That, Good Burger, and Kenan & Kel on Nickelodeon. He's also a dad (to two girls) in his mid-40s living in suburbia, and whose universal, relatable, family-friendly humor has created unbelievable appeal and engagement from fans from middle America to coastal elites. Becoming a dad sucked the cool right out of him -- and he's OK with that!" --Amazon.com
Author: Rivero, Melissa, author. Published: 2023 Call Number: F RIVERO Format: Books Summary: "Thirtysomething Flores and her mother, Paula, still live in the same Brooklyn apartment, but that may be the only thing they have in common. It's been nearly three years since they lost beloved husband and father Martín, who had always been the bridge between them. One day, cleaning beneath his urn, Flores discovers a note written in her mother's handwriting: Perdóname si te falle. Recuerda que siempre te quise. ("Forgive me if I failed you. Remember that I always loved you.") But what would Paula need forgiveness for? Now newfound doubts and old memories come flooding in, complicating each woman's efforts to carve out a good life for herself--and to support the other in the same" --
Author: Smith, Eric (Eric A.), author. Published: 2023 Call Number: Y SMITH Format: Books Summary: "Everyone knows Jordan Plazas and Cindy Ortiz hate each other. According to many viral videos of their public shouting matches, the Plazas and Ortiz families have a well-known food truck rivalry. Jordan and Cindy have spent all of high school making cheesesteaks and slinging insults at each other across their shared Philadelphia street. But the truth? They're in love, and it's all just an act for the tourists. When the fake feud lands them a reality television show pilot, Jordan and Cindy find themselves having to lie on a much bigger scale. Trapped between pursuing their dreams or their love, can they find a way to have their cheesesteak and eat it too?"--Provided by publisher.
Author: Lindsay, Jeffry P., author. Published: 2023 Call Number: F LINDSAY Format: Books Summary: "Impossible doesn't belong in Riley Wolfe's vocabulary. He's a master of heists and disguises, whose life's work is swindling the rich out of their undeserved treasures. Now rumors surrounding a dangerous new figure of international crime are spreading through the underworld. And this ruthless collector, the Cobra, has a personal vendetta against Riley ... No matter--with the aid of his new partner, Caitlin, Riley prepares to take on the most powerful cultural institution in the world and bring home the supposedly unstealable Rosetta Stone. With the Cobra waiting for the right moment to strike, Riley is put to the ultimate test as he faces this most venomous villain--and tries to make it out alive"--
Author: Vara, Vauhini, 1982- author. Published: 2023 Call Number: F VARA Format: Books Summary: "Pushing intimacy to its limits in prose of unearthly beauty, Vauhini Vara explores the nature of being a child, parent, friend, sibling, neighbor, or lover, and the relationships between self and others. A young girl reads the encyclopedia to her elderly neighbor, who is descending into dementia. A pair of teenagers seek intimacy as phone-sex operators. A competitive sibling tries to rise above the drunken mess of her own life to become a loving aunt. One sister consumes the ashes of another. And, in the title story, an experimental artist takes on his most ambitious project yet: constructing a life-size ark according to the Bible's specifications. In a world defined by estrangement, where is communion to be found? The characters in This Is Salvaged, unmoored in turbulence, are searching fervently for meaning, through one another."--
Author: Klassen, Julie, 1964- author. Published: 2023 Call Number: LP F KLASSEN Format: Books Summary: When the Duke and Duchess of Kent rent a nearby house for the winter, the Summers sisters are called upon to host three of the royal couple's male staff in their seaside cottage--but soon they realize they've invited mysterious secrets into their home. With the arrival of their new guests, the sisters face surprising romance and unexpected danger.
Author: Cornwell, Patricia Daniels, author. Published: 2023 Call Number: LP F CORNWELL Format: Large print Summary: "Chief medical examiner Dr. Kay Scarpetta finds herself in a Northern Virginia wilderness examining the remains of two campers wanted by federal law enforcement. The victims have been savaged beyond recognition, and other evidence is terrifying and baffling, including a larger-than-life footprint. After one of the most frightening body retrievals of her career, Scarpetta must discover who would commit murders this savage, and why."--
Author: Patterson, James, 1947- author. Seal, Mark, 1953- author. Published: 2023 Call Number: 979.3 Format: Large print Summary: "Las Vegas is on Luxury Standard Time: every clock in the airport is a Rolex ; No dream is too big, no wish is too small--the VIP hosts in Vegas fulfill guests' every (legal) desire ; Jackpots hit when least expected. The Nevada Gaming Control Board has days to find a man who unknowingly won over $200,000 at the slots ; "I love love": the inventor of the Elvis impersonator wedding and the drive-thru wedding has performed hundreds of marriages--and believes in them all ; Glamorous yogis take a helicopter across the desert to the Valley of Fire, where they perform sun salutations to the glory of Las Vegas ; A gambling VIP "whale" loses $1 million at the casinos, yet still leaves saying, "Had a great time. I'll be back." In What Really Happens in Vegas, full of surprises for both newcomers and Las Vegas regulars, James Patterson and Vanity Fair contributing editor Mark Seal transport readers from the thrill of adrenaline-fueled vice to the glitter of A-list celebrity and entertainment." --Amazon.com
Author: Frear, Caz, author. Published: 2023 Call Number: F FREAR Format: Books Summary: "Teacher, mother, wife, and all-around good citizen Ellen is juggling nonstop commitments, from raising a teen and two toddlers to job hunting to renovating her dream home, the Meadowhouse. Amid the chaos, an ominous note arrives in the mail, declaring: People have to learn there are consequences. Why would someone send her this? Ellen has no clue. She's no angel -- a white lie here, an occasional sharp tongue there -- but she's done nothing to incur the wrath of an anonymous enemy. At least not intentionally. But intention doesn't matter to the letter writer who blames this supposed good person for all the bad they've experienced. And maybe they have reason to. Because few of us get through life without leaving a black mark on someone else's. As she races to discover who's set on destroying her reputation and future, Ellen receives increasingly threatening messages... each one hitting closer to everything she cherishes. Could the past bad deeds that come the haunt Ellen explain why things have gone so horribly wrong?"--
Author: Bowles, David (David O.), author. Mijangos, Amanda, 1986- illustrator. Published: 2023 Call Number: Y BOWLES Format: Books Summary: "Fifteen-year old crown prince Acolmiztli wants nothing more than to see his city-state of Tetzcoco thrive. A singer, poet, and burgeoning philosophical mind, he has big plans about infrastructure projects and cultural initiatives that will bring honor to his family and help his people flourish. But the two sides of his family, the kingdoms of Mexico and Acolhuacan, have been at war his entire life--after his father risked the wrath of the Tepanec emperor to win his mother's love. When a power struggle leaves his father dead and his mother and siblings in exile, Acolmiztli must run for his life, seeking refuge in the wilderness. After a coyote helps him find his way in the wild, he takes on a new name--Nezahualcoyotl, or "fasting coyote" ("Neza" for short). Biding his time until he can form new alliances and reconnect with his family, Neza goes undercover, and falls in love with a commoner girl, Sekalli. Can Neza survive his plotting uncles' scheme to wipe out his line for good? Will the empire he dreams of in Tetzcoco ever come to life? And is he willing to risk the lives of those he loves in the process? This action-packed tale blends prose and poetry-- including translations of surviving poems by Nezahualcoyotl himself, translated from classical Nahuatl by the author. And the book is packed with queer rep - queer love stories, and a thoughtful of pre-Columbian understandings of gender that defy the contemporary Western gender binary."-- Provided by publisher.
Author: Kennedy, Louise (Ph. D.), author. Published: 2023 2021 Call Number: F KENNEDY Format: Books Summary: "Brilliant, dark stories of women's lives by "a very major talent" (Joseph O'Connor, Irish Times). In these visceral, stunningly crafted stories by the author of the much-acclaimed Trespasses, women's lives are etched by deprivation--material, emotional, sexual--but also splashed by beauty, sometimes even joy, as they search for the good in the cards they've been dealt. A wife is abandoned by her new husband in a derelict housing estate. An expectant mother's worst fears about her husband's entanglement with a teenage girl are confirmed. A sister is tormented by visions of the man her brother murdered during the Troubles. A woman struggles to forgive herself after an abortion threatens to destroy her marriage. Plumbing the depths of intimacy, violence, and redemption, these stories are "dazzling, heartbreaking... keen to share the lessons of a lifetime" (Guardian)"--
Author: Kane, Darby, author. Published: 2023 Call Number: F KANE Format: Books Summary: Emily Hunt went missing from her affluent liberal arts school on graduation weekend. Her body was found floating in a river, and a quiet loner who most people on campus really didn't know died by suicide. A tenuous link--one text--bound the two dead students together and was enough for law enforcement to close the case. But they got it wrong and now someone is determined to set it right. Twelve years later, college friends gather to celebrate an engagement over a long overdue getaway on a swanky private island in Maine--with only one way in and one way out. Sierra Prescott, invited as a guest and unconnected to past events, is the only person who soon senses not all is what it seems. The tension in the air is ignited when they find a dead man in the trunk of a car with a note: time to tell the truth. And things only get worse. As a torrential storm strands them together, the group's buried stories begin to surface and secrets are bartered. To survive this deadly party, they'll need to stop a killer before they become prey. --Amazon
Author: Hyde, Catherine Ryan, author. Published: 2023 Call Number: F HYDE Format: Books Summary: A woman who joined a search party for a missing 19 year-old discovers her hiding in a cave, terrified that her abusive boyfriend will kill her if he sees her again and must make a decision about keeping her secret. When nineteen-year-old Jill Moss goes missing near the Utah-Arizona border, everyone has an opinion. Only Norma Gallagher, a search and rescue volunteer, knows the real story. Norma's already found Jill, huddled in a cave and terrified that her abusive boyfriend, Jake, will kill her. If he ever sees her again. To protect Jill from a dangerous man, Norma quietly delivers the girl to her grateful parents in California, even though she's conflicted. Keeping Jill safe and hidden from Jake, the press, and the public will be their secret. But secrets can't last forever. Five years later, the disappearance stirs a new media frenzy when Jake is arrested for the murder of Jill Moss--and Norma knows he didn't kill her. As Jake is about to stand trial, lust for retribution inflames public opinion and Jill's family refuses to come forward, forcing Norma to make a life-changing decision. What are the consequences if she stays silent? And what are the risks if she dares to finally tell the truth?
Author: Blædel, Sara, author. Nordbo, Mads Peder, 1970- author. Chace, Tara, translator. Published: 2023 Call Number: F BLAEDEL Format: Books Summary: Chief Superintendent Liam Stark and Superintendent Dea Torp of the Danish police investigate the disappearance of two people in Tommerup, Denmark and discover a strange note linking the second missing person to the first crime scene. "For fans of Jo NesbØ and Lars Kepler comes the newest crime novel from Denmark's bestselling suspense giants Sara Blædel and Mads Peder Nordbo. Everything is peaceful in Tommerup, Denmark, until a young mother disappears in the middle of an idyllic summer day. There's no trace of the missing woman when Chief Superintendent Liam Stark and Superintendent Dea Torp are called to investigate. The small town is on edge, rumors begin to fly, and blame is cast on Charlotte's husband, who was the last to see her. When another person goes missing and Liam and Dea find a strange note linking the second missing person to the first crime, they suspect the disappearances may be the work of a serial killer. As the investigation continues, dark secrets about the victims from the past are revealed. Is someone targeting them because of this? As more people vanish, it's a race against time for Liam and Dea, who find themselves face-to-face with horrifying footage that reveals what is happening to the victims--and what will happen to future targets if they can't stop the killer. In this pulse-pounding thriller, Sara Blædel and Mads Peder Nordbo ratchet up the tension in a cat-and-mouse game where the killer is always one step ahead"
Author: Carpenter, Callie, author. Published: 2023 Call Number: F CARPENTE Format: Books Summary: "After discovering her husband having an affair, Jaime receives only a single thing in the ensuing divorce, a run-down historical house where she discovers a dead body in the wall once starting her renovations"-- "Jaime and Henry were the perfect couple with the perfect life; together, they ran one of the most successful construction and interior design companies in all of Charlotte, North Carolina. But when Jaime catches her charismatic husband in an affair, she realizes her husband is not the man she thought she married. The divorce is equally gutting--due to an ironclad prenuptial agreement, she receives only one thing: a historical house in disrepair. Knowing that any renovation she attempts will be tedious and costly, she starts to believe that things can't get much worse--until she finds a dead body in the house..." --Amazon.com
Author: Shelton, Paige, author. Published: 2023 Call Number: F SHELTON Format: Books Summary: "A year after arriving in Benedict, Beth Rivers is feeling very at home in Alaska, even as outsiders are starting to return to enjoy the brief summer perfection. Beth feels like she's finally let go of most of her demons. She's even found her father, Eddy Rivers--or, rather, he found her--and she's trying to find the middle ground between anger and forgiveness. One sunny July day, Beth boards a tourist ship to see the glaciers, the main reason visitors venture to the area, and something Beth hasn't attempted until now. But when the captain has to navigate to an island, a bloodied woman is found standing on the shore, waving for help. When she's brought aboard, she claims she was kidnapped from her home in Juneau three days earlier, and that a bear on the island killed her captor. She, however, is unharmed. The woman, Sadie, finds a sympathetic ear in Beth. She tells her that she's been in Juneau under witness protection, and that the Juneau police don't like her. When another kidnapping occurs, Beth and police chief Gril can't help but think the two cases are interwoven, though the clues to solving them will be harder to unravel"--
Author: Brown, Ness, author. Published: 2023 Call Number: SPC F BROWN Format: Books Summary: "A tense, claustrophobic sci-fi/horror blend set aboard a doomed generation ship harboring something terrible within its walls. As acting captain of the starship Calypso, Jacklyn Albright is responsible for keeping the last of humanity alive as they limp back to Earth from their forebears' failed colony on a distant planet. Faced with constant threats of starvation and destruction in the treacherous minefield of interstellar space, Jacklyn's crew has reached their breaking point. As unrest begins to spread throughout the ship's Wards, a new threat emerges, picking off crew members in grim, bloody fashion. Jacklyn and her team must hunt down the ship's unknown intruder if they have any hope of making it back to their solar system alive"--
