Author: Belcher, Chris, 1985- author.
Published: 2022
Call Number: B BELCHER
Format: Books
Summary: Moving between the embodied world of the pro domme and the abstract realm of academia, a former sex worker, who branded herself as L.A.'s Renowned Lesbian Dominatrix, reveals how lessons from the classroom apply to the dungeon and vice versa, showing how power and desire can be renegotiated--or reinforced. The dominatrix is the id of American femininity. She says the words that we all wish we could say when we find ourselves frozen in the presence of men. No is principal among them. So writes Chris Belcher, who appeared destined for a life of conventional femininity after she took first place in an infant beauty contest--a minor glory that can follow you around a working-class town of 1,600 people in rural West Virginia. But when she came out as queer, the conservative community that had once celebrated its prettiest baby turned on her. A decade later, living in Los Angeles and trying to stay afloat in the early years of a PhD program, Belcher plunges into the work of a pro domme. Branding herself as LA's Renowned Lesbian Dominatrix, she specializes in male clients who want a domme to make them feel worthless, shameful, and weak--all the abuse regularly heaped upon women for free. A queer woman whom men can trust with the unorthodox sides of their sexualities, Belcher is paid to be the keeper of the fantasies that they can't enact in their everyday relationships. But moonlighting as a sex worker also carries risks, like the not-so-submissive who tries to turn the tables and the jealous client out for revenge. As Belcher moves between the embodied world of the pro domme and the abstract realm of academia, she discovers how lessons from the classroom apply to the dungeon, and vice versa. Still, fear that her doctoral program won't approve burdens her with a double life. Pretty Baby is her second coming out.
Author: Kuehn, Stephanie, author.
Published: 2022
Call Number: Y KUEHN
Format: Books
Summary: "Two girls find friendship on their path to mental health in a story of acceptance, recovery, and resilience"-- Dani comes from the richest, most famous Black family in Texas and seems to have everything a girl could want. So why does she keep using and engaging in other self-destructive behavior? Camila's Colombian-American family doesn't have much, but she knows exactly what she wants out of life and works her ass off to get it. So why does she keep failing, and why does she self-harm every time she does? When Dani and Camila find themselves rooming together at Peach Tree Hills, a treatment facility in beautiful rural Georgia, they initially think they'll never get along and they'll never get better. But then they find a mysterious music box filled with letters from a former resident of PTH, and together they set out to solve the mystery of who this girl was . . . and who she's become. The investigation will bring them together, and what they find at the end might just bring them hope.
Author: Culley, Betty, author.
Published: 2022
Call Number: Y CULLEY
Format: Books
Summary: Rynn was born with a hole in her heart--literally. Although it was fixed long ago, she still feels an emptiness there when she wonders about her birth family. As her relationship with her adoptive mother fractures, Rynn finally decides she needs to know more about the rest of her family. Her search starts with a name, the only thing she has from her birth mother, and she quickly learns that she has a younger sister living in foster care in a nearby town. But if Rynn reconnects with her biological sister, it may drive her adoptive family apart for good.
Author: Benway, Robin, author.
Published: 2022
Call Number: Y BENWAY
Format: Books
Summary: A year after her sister Nina's death and still unable to imagine a world without her, Leo forms a friendship with Nina's boyfriend East based on their shared grief, only to discover he knows more about the accident that killed Nina than he is letting on. "It's been a year--a year of missing Nina. Leo can't remember what happened the night of the accident. All she knows is that she left the party with her older sister, Nina, and Nina's boyfriend, East. And now Nina is dead, killed by a drunk driver, leaving Leo with a hole inside her that's impossible to fill. East, who loved Nina almost as much as Leo did, is the person who seems to most understand how she feels, and the two form a friendship based on their shared grief." --Front jacket flap
Author: Diederich, Phillippe, 1964- author.
Published: 2022 2021
Call Number: Y DIEDERIC
Format: Books
Summary: When four Mexican-American teenagers from Houston travel to Diamond Park to buy a 1959 Chevy Impala from Magaña's godfather, something goes very wrong, and one of them, Susi, ends up arrested for murder; convinced that the real killer is a drug trafficker called Anaconda, Flaco and Magaña head to Mexico hunting for him to clear Susi's name--but in the process of kidnapping Anaconda, Flaco discovers how little he understands about what really happened in Diamond Park.
Author: Redwine, C. J., author.
Published: 2022
Call Number: Y REDWINE
Format: Books
Summary: The first in a YA political fantasy duology about a fierce princess determined to bring lasting peace to her kingdom regardless of the cost to her heart--from C.J. Redwine, the author of the Defiance series and the New York Times bestselling Ravenspire series. Perfect for fans of These Violent Delights, And I Darken, and Ash Princess. Princess Charis Willowthorn is the dutiful sword of Calera. Raised to be ruthless and cunning, her only goal is to hold her war-torn kingdom together long enough to find a path toward peace with their ancient foe Montevallo, even if the cost is her own heart. When violence erupts in the castle itself, nearly killing the queen, Charis must assume her mother's duties and manage both the war and her kingdom. But as an unseen enemy begins sinking Calera's ships, Charis realizes a threat much greater than Montevallo is coming for her people. So she forms a plan. By day, she is Calera's formidable princess intent on forging an alliance with Montevallo. By night, she disguises herself as a smuggler and roams the sea with a trusted group of loyalists, hunting for their new enemies. And through it all, she accidentally falls in love with the wrong boy. But her enemies are much closer than Charis realizes, and her heart isn't the only thing she has left to lose.
Author: Greaney, Mark, author.
Published: 2022 2021
Call Number: LP F GREANEY
Format: Large print
Summary: After losing part of his left leg, former bodyguard Joshua Duffy takes a job as a mall cop to support his family, but runs into an old friend who has a much more intriguing job offer, to join a mission into the Sierra Madre mountains in Mexico to broker peace between the drug cartels in the region. Joshua Duffy is a Close Protection Agent--a professional bodyguard--and, as such, he's one of the world's elite operatives. That is, he was until his last mission in Lebanon. Against all odds, Josh got his primary out alive, but the cost was high--the loss of Josh's lower left leg. There's not much call for a high-end guardian with such an injury. So, Josh has to support his family working as a mall cop in Virginia. For a man like Josh, this is purgatory on earth, but miracles can occur even in the suburbs. A lucky run-in reunites Josh with an old comrade who offers the desperate man a shot at a lucrative job. The UN is sending a peace mission into the Sierra Madre mountains in Mexico--an area so dangerous it's known as Espinazo del Diablo-the Devil's Spine. Just two problems: Only a fool would think they could broker peace between the homicidal drug cartels in the region, and only a madman would sign on to keep those fools alive"--
Author: Miranda, Megan, author.
Published: 2022
Call Number: F MIRANDA
Format: Books
Summary: When a journalist investigating a string of unsolved disappearances goes missing, Abigail Lovett, the manager of The Passage Inn in the North Carolina mountain town of Cutter's Pass, decides to investigate and discovers how little she knows about her coworkers, neighbors, and even those closest to her. Ten years ago, Abigail Lovett fell into a job she loves, managing The Passage Inn, a cozy, upscale resort nestled in the North Carolina mountain town of Cutter's Pass. Cutter's Pass is best known for its outdoor offerings--rafting and hiking, with access to the Appalachian trail by way of a gorgeous waterfall--and its mysterious history. As the book begins, the string of unsolved disappearances that has haunted the town is once again thrust into the spotlight when journalist Landon West, who was staying at the inn to investigate the story of the vanishing trail, then disappears himself. Abby has sometimes felt like an outsider within the community, but she's come to view Cutter's Pass as her home. When Landon's brother Trey shows up looking for answers, Abby can't help but feel the town closing ranks. And she's still on the outside. When she finds incriminating evidence that may bring them closer to the truth, Abby soon discovers how little she knows about her coworkers, neighbors, and even those closest to her.
Author: Reichs, Kathy, author.
Published: 2022
Call Number: LP F REICHS
Format: Large print
Summary: "Winter has come to North Carolina and, with it, a drop in crime. Freed from a heavy work schedule, Tempe Brennan is content to dote on her daughter Katy, finally returned to civilian life from the army. But when mother and daughter meet at Tempe's place one night, they find a box on the back porch. Inside: a very fresh human eyeball. GPS coordinates etched into the eyeball lead to a Benedictine monastery where an equally macabre discovery awaits. Soon after, Tempe examines a mummified corpse in a state park, and her anxiety deepens. There seems to be no pattern to the subsequent killings uncovered, except that each mimics in some way a homicide that a younger Tempe had been called in to analyze. Who or what is targeting her, and why? Helping Tempe search for answers is detective Erskine "Skinny" Slidell, retired but still volunteering with the CMPD cold case unit--and still displaying his gallows humor. Also pulled into the mystery: Andrew Ryan, Tempe's Montreal-based beau, now working as a private detective. Could this elaborately staged skein of mayhem be the prelude to a twist that is even more shocking? Tempe is at a loss to establish the motive for what is going on... and then her daughter disappears. At its core, Cold, Cold Bones is a novel of revenge--one in which revisiting the past may prove the only way to unravel the present" -- Provided by publisher.
Author: McMyne, Mary, author.
Published: 2022
Call Number: F MCMYNE
Format: Books
Summary: "Haelewise has always lived under the shadow of her mother, Hedda--a woman who will do anything to keep her daughter protected. For with her strange black eyes and even stranger fainting spells, Haelewise is shunned by her village, and her only solace lies in the stories her mother tells of child-stealing witches, of princes in wolf-skins, of an ancient tower cloaked in mist, where women will find shelter if they are brave enough to seek it. Then, Hedda dies, and Haelewise is left unmoored. With nothing left for her in her village, she sets out to find the legendary tower her mother used to speak of--a place called Gothel, where Haelewise meets a wise woman willing to take her under her wing. But Haelewise is not the only woman to seek refuge at Gothel. It's also a haven for a girl named Rika, who carries with her a secret the Church strives to keep hidden. A secret that people will kill to uncover..."--
Author: Silva, Daniel, 1960- author.
Published: 2022
Call Number: LP F SILVA
Format: Large print
Summary: "A gripping story of deception in the world of international fine art. Restorer and spy Gabriel Allon embarks on a dangerous hunt across Europe for the secret behind the forgery of a seventeenth-century masterpiece that has fooled experts and exchanged hands for millions"-- Legendary spy and art restorer Gabriel Allon has at long last severed ties with Israeli intelligence and settled quietly in Venice, the only place where he has ever truly known peace. His beautiful wife, Chiara, has taken over the day-to-day management of the Tiepolo Restoration Company, and their two young children are discreetly enrolled in a neighborhood scuola elementare. For his part, Gabriel spends his days wandering the streets and canals of the watery city, bidding farewell to the demons of his tragic, violent past. But when the eccentric London art dealer Julian Isherwood asks Gabriel to investigate the circumstances surrounding the rediscovery and lucrative sale of a centuries-old painting, he is drawn into a deadly game of cat and mouse where nothing is as it seems. Gabriel soon discovers that the work in question, a portrait of an unidentified woman attributed to Sir Anthony van Dyck, is almost certainly a fiendishly clever fake. To find the mysterious figure who painted it--and uncover a multibillion-dollar fraud at the pinnacle of the art world--Gabriel conceives one of the most elaborate deceptions of his career. If it is to succeed, he must become the very mirror image of the man he seeks: the greatest art forger the world has ever known.
Author: Ware, Ruth, author.
Published: 2022
Call Number: LP F WARE
Format: Large print
Summary: "April Clarke-Cliveden was the first person Hannah Jones met at Oxford. Together, they developed a group of inseparable friends during their first term. By the end of the second, April was dead. Now, a decade later, Hannah is expecting her first child, and the man convicted of killing April, John Neville, has died in prison. Relieved to have finally put the past behind her, Hannah's world is rocked when a journalist presents new evidence that Neville may have been innocent. As Hannah reconnects with old friends and delves deeper into the mystery of April's death, she realizes that the friends she thought she knew all have something to hide... including a murder"--
Author: Meyer, Joanna Ruth, author. Companion to: Meyer, Joanna Ruth. Echo north.
Published: 2022
Call Number: Y MEYER
Format: Books
Summary: "In the dark, cold reaches of the north, magic is causing the world to unravel. The magic once belonged to the formidable North Wind before he traded it away in exchange for mortality. Now, his only daughter, Satu, is forced to watch her home, her family, and the very mountain they live on be devoured piece by piece--and the unraveling shows no signs of stopping." --Front jacket flap
Author: Oates, Joyce Carol, 1938- author.
Published: 2022
Call Number: F OATES
Format: Books
Summary: "Two hitmen in a depressed rust belt town struggle with a job gone wrong. A girl witnesses a horrifying accident and carries it with her for the rest of her life. Medical students bring a severed foot to a college party. Five-time Pulitzer Prize finalist Joyce Carol Oates has made a career of exploring the forbidden corners of human experience, and the stories collected here, spanning her first three decades as a writer, are among her most unsettling and unforgettable works to date. These tales have not appeared in any form this century--until now; formally fresh and endlessly experimental, they show a writer boldly engaging with disturbing truths and terrifying possibilities, and deconstructing the tropes and expectations of traditional prose writing as she does so. But beyond their stylistic ingenuity, these are creepy, suspenseful stories that cut straight to the bone; their darkness will linger long after the final page is turned"--
Author: McCall Smith, Alexander, 1948- author.
Published: 2022
Call Number: F MCCALLSM
Format: Books
Summary: "Our favorite moral philosopher is caught up in a delicate dispute between members of a prominent family as her husband, Jamie, is dragged into his own internecine rivalry. Isabel accepts an invitation to serve on the advisory committee of the Scottish National Portrait Gallery, but soon finds herself swept up in an all-too-familiar dilemma. David is the grandson of a Scottish clan chief and is supportive of Scottish nationalism. But his fervent beliefs are threatening family harmony, especially because his sister Catriona's socialist views put her at odds with her brother. When their mother, Laura, a fellow committee member, asks Isabel to intervene, she tries to demur. But always one for courteous resolutions to philosophical disagreements, Isabel can't help but intercede. In the meantime, Jamie, having criticized Isabel for getting involved in the affairs of others, does precisely that himself. Jamie is helping to select a new cellist for his ensemble, but he suspects that the conductor may be focused on something other than his favored candidate's cello skills. With so many factors complicating matters, Isabel and Jamie will have to muster all their tact and charm to ensure that comity is reached between all these fractious parties"--
Author: Hillier, Jennifer, author.
Published: 2022
Call Number: F HILLIER
Format: Books
Summary: "Things We Do in the Dark is a brilliant new thriller from Jennifer Hillier, the award-winning author of the breakout novels Little Secrets and Jar of Hearts. Paris Peralta is suspected of killing her celebrity husband, and her long-hidden past now threatens to destroy her future. When Paris Peralta is arrested in her own bathroom -- covered in blood, holding a straight razor, her celebrity husband dead in the bathtub behind her -- she knows she'll be charged with murder. But as bad as this looks, it's not what worries her the most. With the unwanted media attention now surrounding her, it's only a matter of time before someone from her long hidden past recognizes her and destroys the new life she's worked so hard to build, along with any chance of a future. Twenty-five years earlier, Ruby Reyes, known as the Ice Queen, was convicted of a similar murder in a trial that riveted Canada in the early nineties. Reyes knows who Paris really is, and when she's unexpectedly released from prison, she threatens to expose all of Paris's secrets. Left with no other choice, Paris must finally confront the dark past she escaped, once and for all. Because the only thing worse than a murder charge are two murder charges"--
Author: Goldberg, Leonard S., author.
Published: 2022
Call Number: F GOLDBERG
Format: Books
Summary: "The fate of the allied forces lies in the hands of Joanna and the Watsons in the next Daughter of Sherlock Holmes mystery from USA Today bestselling author Leonard Goldberg. During a critical stage in World War One, the Governor--General of South Africa journeys to London for a meeting of The Imperial War Conference. Days prior to the conference, the Governor-General is scheduled to have an audience at Buckingham Palace at which time a most precious blue diamond will be presented to King Edward as a symbolic gesture of the colonies' resolute and never-ending allegiance to England. The flawless blue diamond, with its magnificent luster, weighs nearly 3000 carats, which renders it one of the world's largest and most valuable gems. On the Governor-General's arrival, he is ensconced at the fashionable Windsor Hotel under the tightest security, with his entire entourage and formidable security team occupying the entire penthouse floor. All entrances and exits are locked down and closely guarded, and no one is allowed entrance after 6 PM. Despite the extreme precautions, the famous diamond is stolen from the Governor-General's suite in the middle of the night, with no clues left behind. With Scotland Yard baffled, Joanna and the Watsons are called in to investigate the theft and it becomes clear that the crime is not simply the work of a master thief, but one that could greatly aid the Germans and turn the tide of war in their favor. Time is of the essence and the blue diamond must be recovered before it begins its travels which could cause irreparable damage to the allied war plans"--
Author: Patrick, Phaedra, author.
Published: 2022
Call Number: LP F PATRICK
Format: Large print
Summary: "Liv Green barely scrapes by to make ends meet, often finding escape in a good book. She can't believe her luck when she lands a job housekeeping for her hero, bestselling author Essie Starling. The last thing Liv expected was to be the only person Essie talks to, which leads to a tenuous friendship. When Essie passes away suddenly, Liv is astonished to learn that her dying wish was for Liv to complete her final novel. To do so, Liv will have to step into Essie's shoes. As Liv begins to write, she uncovers secrets from the past that reveal a surprising connection between the two women that will change Liv's own life story forever"--
Author: Moshfegh, Ottessa, author.
Published: 2022
Call Number: LP F MOSHFEGH
Format: Large print
Summary: "In a village in a medieval fiefdom buffeted by natural disasters, a motherless shepherd boy finds himself the unlikely pivot of a power struggle that puts all manner of faith to a savage test, in a spellbinding novel that represents Ottessa Moshfegh's most exciting leap yet Little Marek, the abused and delusional son of the village shepherd, never knew his mother; his father told him she died in childbirth. One of life's few consolations for Marek is his enduring bond with the blind village midwife, Ina, who suckled him when he was a baby, as she did so many of the village's children. Ina's gifts extend beyond childcare: she possesses a unique ability to communicate with the natural world. Her gift often brings her the transmission of sacred knowledge on levels far beyond those available to other villagers, however religious they might be. For some people, Ina's home in the woods outside of the village is a place to fear and to avoid, a godless place. Among their number is Father Barnabas, the town priest and lackey for the depraved lord and governor, Villiam, whose hilltop manor contains a secret embarrassment of riches. The people's desperate need to believe that there are powers that be who have their best interests at heart is put to a cruel test by Villiam and the priest, especially in this year of record drought and famine. But when fate brings Marek into violent proximity to the lord's family, new and occult forces upset the old order. By year's end, the veil between blindness and sight, life and death, the natural world and the spirit world, will prove to be very thin indeed"--
Author: Hart, Alison B., author.
Published: 2022
Call Number: F HART
Format: Books
Summary: Three fierce women connected to a billionaire film mogul collide at a Hollywood party in this richly observed novel about female ambition, complicity, and privilege. Zanne Klein never planned to be a personal assistant to Hollywood royalty Ted and Holly Stabler. But a decade in at thirty-eight, that's exactly how she spends her days, earning six figures to make sure the movie mogul and his family have everything they could ever dream of and more. However, today is no ordinary day at the Stabler estate. Tonight, everyone who's anyone will be there for the Hollywood event of the season, and if the party's a success, that chief of staff job Zanne's been chasing may soon be hers. Which means she can buy a house, give her girlfriend the life she deserves, pay off her student loans. Northing's going to get in Zanne's way--not disgruntled staff, not a nosy reporter, not even a runaway hostess. But when Ted's former business partner, Phoebe Lee, unexpectedly shows up right before go time, Zanne suddenly has a catastrophe unfolding before her--one with explosive consequences. As the truth comes out and Zanne realizes how deeply entangled she's become in the Stablers' world, she must decide if the sacrifices she's made for the job are worth the moral price she has to pay.
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