February 23, 2024
New Fiction
Final Appeal by Remigiusz Mroz – When whip-smart criminal defense lawyer Joanna Chylka is tasked with defending the son of her law firm’s biggest client, she is stumped for the first time in her career. Her client, Piotr Langer Jr., does not admit guilt, but neither does he claim innocence. Assisted by the firm’s newest trainee, Kordian Orynski, Joanna finds herself in a maze of tangled evidence. Piotr is alleged to have sat in his apartment for ten days with two corpses before calmly opening the door to the police as if nothing had happened. But the truth is far more complex and shocking than they could have imagined. Joanna and Kordian face a treacherous situation. And with the spotlight on them, a killer may have them both on his hit list.
The Phoenix Crown by Kate Quinn & Janie Chang – San Francisco, 1906. In a city bustling with newly minted millionaires and scheming upstarts, two very different women hope to change their fortunes: Gemma, a golden-haired, silver-voiced soprano whose career desperately needs rekindling, and Suling, a petite and resolute Chinatown embroideress who is determined to escape an arranged marriage. Their paths cross when they are drawn into the orbit of Henry Thornton, a charming railroad magnate whose extraordinary collection of Chinese antiques includes the fabled Phoenix Crown, a legendary relic of Beijing’s fallen Summer Palace. His patronage offers Gemma and Suling the chance of a lifetime, but their lives are thrown into turmoil when a devastating earthquake rips San Franscico apart and Thornton disappears, leaving behind a mystery reaching further than anyone could have imagined…until the Phoenix Crown reappears five years later at a sumptuous Paris costume ball, drawing Gemma and Suling together in one last desperate quest for justice.
Almost Surely Dead by Amina Akhtar – Dunia Ahmed lives an ordinary life – or she definitely used to. Now she’s the subject of a true crime podcast. She’s been missing for over a year, and no one knows if she’s dead or alive. But her story has listeners obsessed, and people everywhere are sporting merch that demands “Find Dunia!” In the days before her disappearance, Dunia is a successful pharmacist living in New York. The daughter of Pakistani immigrants, she’s coping with a broken engagement and the death of her mother. But then something happens that really shakes up her world: someone tries to murder her. When her would-be killer winds up dead, Dunia figures the worst is over. But then there’s another attempt on her life…and another. And police suspect someone close to her may be the culprit. Dunia struggles to make sense of what’s happening. And as childhood superstitions seep into her reality, she becomes convinced that someone – or something – is truly after her.
A Wild and Heavenly Place by Robin Oliveira – Hailey MacIntyre seems conjured from the depths of Samuel Fiddes’s loneliness. Caring for this young sister in the tenements of Glasgow, Scotland, Samuel has known only hunger, while Hailey has never known want. Yet, when Samuel saves Hailey’s brother from a runaway carriage, their connection is undeniable. Through secret meetings and stolen moments, their improbable love grows. But then the City of Glasgow bank fails, and Hailey’s bankrupt father impulsively moves their family across the globe to Seattle, a city rumored to have coal in its hills and easy money for anyone willing to work for it. Samuel is haunted by Hailey’s parting words: Remember, Washington Territory. Armed only with his wits, he determines to follow her, leaving behind everything he has ever known in search of Hailey and the chance of a better life for his sister. But the fledgling town barely cut out of the wilderness holds its own secrets and will test them all in ways unimaginable.