June 9, 2023

New Fiction

Between Two Strangers by Kate White – Struggling artist Skyler Moore is shocked when she receives a phone call from a lawyer telling her she’s the recipient of a large bequest, a life-changing sum.  Once she realizes it’s not a scam, she’s awestruck – the money will allow her to realize her long-held dream of becoming a mother.  But who was her benefactor, Christopher Whaley?  The name means nothing to Skyler, and she has no idea why he would leave her such an enormous amount of money.  Looking into his background, Skyler finally realizes they met once at a hotel bar and had a one-night stand.  But they never exchanged numbers, or even last names – and it was more than ten years ago.  If the inheritance is a message of some kind, she can’t imagine what it’s trying to convey.  Whaley’s surviving family is confused too, and his widow thinks Skyler was her late husband’s mistress and threatens revenge.  To protect herself, Skyler has to understand the reason for the gift.  But as she digs for the truth, it becomes clear that Chris Whaley might have taken other secrets to the grave, ones that could have terrifying consequences for her.

In The Shadow of the River by Ann H. Gabhart – In 1881, Jacci Reed is only five years old when a man attempts to kidnap her from the steamboat her mother, Irena, works on.  Badly wounded during the confrontation, Irena takes Jacci aboard the Kingston Floating Palace, a showboat tied up beside them.  There, Jacci’s actor grandfather tends to her mother, and Jacci gets a first taste of the life she will come to lead.  Fifteen years later, Jacci is an actress aboard that same showboat and largely contended with her adopted family of actors, singers, and dancers.  Especially Gabe, who has always supported her, and the gruff grandfather she has come to know and love.  Jacci’s mother has been gone for years, but the memory of the altercation that ultimately took her life – and the cryptic things Jacci has overheard about her past – is always there, lurking in the back of her mind.  When someone on the showboat tries to kill Jacci, it’s clear her questions demand answers.  But secrets have a way of staying in the shadows…and the answers she craves will not come easily.

City of Dreams by Don Winslow – Hollywood.  The city where dreams are made.  On the losing side of a bloody East Coast crime war, Danny Ryan is now on the run.  The Mafia, the cops, the FBI all want him dead or in prison.  With his little boy, his elderly father and the tattered remnants of his loyal crew of soldiers, he makes the classic American migration to California to start a new life.  A quiet, peaceful existence.  But the Feds track him down and want Danny to do them a favor that could make him a fortune or kill him.  And when Hollywood starts shooting a film based on his former life, Danny demands a piece of the action and begins to rebuild his criminal empire.  Then he falls in love.  With a beautiful movie star who has a dark past of her own.  As their worlds collide in an explosion that could destroy them both, Danny Ryan has to fight for his life in a city where dreams are born.  Or where they go to die. 

Our Hideous Progeny by C.E. McGill – Mary is the great-niece of Victor Frankenstein.  She knows her great-uncle disappeared under mysterious circumstances in the Artic, but she doesn’t know why or how…  The 1850s are a time of discovery, and London is ablaze with the latest scientific theories and debates, especially when a spectacular new exhibition of dinosaur sculptures opens at the Crystal Palace.  Mary is keen to make her name in this world of science alongside her geologist husband, Henry-but despite her sharp mind and sharper tongue, without wealth and connections their options are limited.  When Mary discovers some old family papers that allude to the shocking truth behind her great-uncle’s past, she thinks she may have found the key to securing her and Henry’s professional and financial future.  Their quest takes them to the wilds of Scotland; to Henry’s intriguing but reclusive sister, Maisie; and to a deadly chase with a rival who is out to steal their secret.