December 17, 2021
New Fiction
Dear Santa by Debbie Macomber – Lindy Carmichael isn’t feeling particularly joyful when she returns home to Wenatchee, Washington, for Christmas. The man she thought was “the one” has cheated on her with her best friend, and she feels completely devoid of creativity in her graphic-design job. Not even carolers or Christmas cookies can cheer her up – but Lindy’s mother, Ellen, remembers an old tradition that might lift her daughter’s spirits. Reading through a box of childhood letters to Santa and reminiscing about what she’d wished for as a young girl may be just the inspiration Lindy needs. With Ellen’s encouragement, she decides to write a new letter to Santa, one that will encourage her to have faith and believe just as she’d done all those years ago. Little does Lindy know that this exercise in gratitude will cause her wishes to unfold before her in miraculous way. And, thanks to some fateful twists of Christmas magic – especially an unexpected connection with a handsome former classmate – Lindy ultimately realizes that there is truly no place like home for the holidays.
Everything We Didn’t Say by Nicole Baart – Juniper Baker was nineteen when her world was torn apart. As fireworks lit up the summer sky, her neighbours were brutally murdered right outside their barn, and –to Juniper’s horror – her younger brother became the prime suspect. In an instant, everything she loved fell away. She escaped, pledging never to return. Until now. Offically, Juniper is back in town to help a friend. But really, she’s here to repair her relationship with her teenage daughter, the source of her deepest regret, and to solve the infamous Murphy murders. As history begins to repeat itself and a dogged local true-crime podcaster starts sniffing around, the race to the truth puts past and present on a dangerous collision course. Except this time, it’s her daughter’s life that hangs in the balance.
No One Will Miss Her by Kat Rosenfield – On a beautiful October morning in rural Maine, a homicide investigator from the state police pulls into the hard luck town of Copper Falls. The junkyard is burning, and the local pariah, Lizzie Ouellette, is dead – with her husband, Dwayne, nowhere to be found. As scandal ripples through the community, Detective Ian Bird’s inquiries unexpectedly lead him away from backwoods Maine to a swank city town house several hours south. Adrienne Richards, blond and fabulous social media influencer and wife of a disgraced billionaire, had been renting Lizzie’s tiny lake house as a country getaway …even though Copper Falls is anything but a resort town. As Adrienne’s connection to the case becomes clear, so too does her connection to Lizzie, who narrates their story from beyond the grave. Each woman is desperately lonely in her own way, and they navigate a relationship that cuts across class boundaries: transactional, complicated, and, finally, deadly.
The Attic on Queen Street by Karen White – After the devastating events of the past few months, the last thing Melanie Trenholm wants is to think about the future. Why, when her husband, Jack, has asked for a separation – a separation that might have been her fault? Nevertheless, with twin toddlers, a stepdaughter leaving for college soon, a real estate career to resume, and a historic home that is still being restored, Melanie doesn’t have much time to wonder where it all went wrong – but that doesn’t stop her from trying to win her husband back. Their relationship issues are pushed aside, however, when long time nemesis Marc Longo comes to them with a proposition: Allow their Tradd Street house to be used as the filming location for the movie adaption of Marc’s bestselling book, and he will help Jack re-establish his stalled writing career. Despite Melanie’s hesitation, Jack jumps at the chance. But Melanie’s doubts soon prove to be well founded when she uncovers ulterior reasons Marc wants to be back in their house – reasons that include a hidden gem so brilliant that legend links it to the most famous jewel of all, the Hope Diamond. But Melanie has an unexpected ally in protecting the house and its inhabitants – the ghost a Civil War – era girl warns her of increasing threats to her family. But she’s not the only spirit who is haunting Melanie. A malevolent ghost seems determined to stop Melanie from investigating the decades old murder of a friend’s sister, and this spirit will stop at nothing to protect its secrets even from beyond the grave. Melanie and Jack must work together to find the answers before evil spirits of the past and present destroy everything they love.