Staff Picks 2023

"The small idyllic town of Sea Isle, Scotland, harbors some dark secrets, and Dr. Emilia McRoy is determined to uncover all of them-no matter what the diagnosis in this charming cozy, sure to enchant fans of Sheila Connolly and Charlene O'Connor. Sea Isle was supposed to be the fresh start Dr. Emilia McRoy dreamed of. Far from the busy emergency room across the Atlantic in Seattle, she hoped to settle down and begin this new chapter as a small-town...

That summer - more than ten years ago, while they were still in high school - Noelle McDowell and Thomas Sutton fell secretly in love. Secretly because their mothers had been locked in a bitter feud for decades. But despite the animosity between Sarah McDowell and Mary Sutton, Noelle planned to elope with Thom. Until he jilted her. This Christmas Noelle McDowell is home to celebrate the holidays with her family. (After all, December 25 is also her...

"Love takes flight in three connected novellas set at an airport, from the acclaimed author of The Fastest Way to Fall. An airport pet groomer meets her frequent-flier crush and ends up in a fake-dating situation with a professional risk assessor who moonlights as a romance author. Two strangers share a romantic night together only to discover months later that they're professional rivals about to embark on an extended business trip together in this...

"Eleven-year-old Nico Krispis never told a lie. When the Nazi's invade his home in Salonika, Greece, the trustworthy boy is discovered by a German officer, who offers him a chance to save his family. All Nico has to do is convince his fellow Jewish residents to board trains heading to "new homes" where they are promised jobs and safety. Unaware that this is all a cruel ruse, the innocent boy goes to the station platform every day and reassures the...

"Roya is a dreamy, idealistic teenager living in 1953 Tehran who, amidst the political upheaval of the time, finds a literary oasis in kindly Mr. Fakhri's neighborhood book and stationery shop. She always feels safe in his dusty store, overflowing with fountain pens, shiny ink bottles, and thick pads of soft writing paper. When Mr. Fakhri, with a keen instinct for a budding romance, introduces Roya to his other favorite customer -- handsome Bahman,...

"The definitive biography of George Michael, offering an expansive look at the troubled life of the legendary singer, songwriter, and pop superstar" -- George Michael was an extravagantly gifted, openhearted soul singer whose work was both pained and smolderingly erotic. He was a songwriter of true craft and substance, and his music swept the world, starting in the mid-1980s. His fabricated image--that of a hypermacho sex god--loomed large in the...

"2 Children for sale." The sign is a last resort. It sits on a farmhouse porch in 1931, but could be found anywhere in an era of breadlines, bank runs and broken dreams. It could have been written by any mother facing impossible choices. For struggling reporter Ellis Reed, the gut-wrenching scene evokes memories of his family's dark past. He snaps a photograph of the children, not meant for publication. But when it leads to his big break, the consequences...

New York Times BestsellerFrom the New York Times bestselling author of An Altar in the World, Barbara Brown Taylor's Learning to Walk in the Dark provides a way to find spirituality in those times when we don't have all the answers.Taylor has become increasingly uncomfortable with our tendency to associate all that is good with lightness and all that is evil and dangerous with darkness. Doesn't God work in the nighttime as well? In Learning to Walk...

"Eleven-year-old Nico Krispis never told a lie. When the Nazi's invade his home in Salonika, Greece, the trustworthy boy is discovered by a German officer, who offers him a chance to save his family. All Nico has to do is convince his fellow Jewish residents to board trains heading to "new homes" where they are promised jobs and safety. Unaware that this is all a cruel ruse, the innocent boy goes to the station platform every day and reassures the...

"The most twisty, addictive and unputdownable debut thriller you'll read this year. HE LOVES YOU: Adam adores Emily. Emily thinks Adam's perfect, the man she thought she'd never meet. BUT SHE LOVES YOU NOT: Lurking in the shadows is a rival, a woman who shares a deep bond with the man she loves. AND SHE'LL STOP AT NOTHING: Emily chose Adam, but she didn't choose his mother Pammie. There's nothing a mother wouldn't do for her son, and now Emily is...