Rachel Watkins has her hands full. Her mother had been the town midwife, but after her daughter Alice died under her care, she refused to assist in a childbirth ever again. Since then Rachel has assumed the work. She also takes care of Alice's six-year old, Charlotte, because the child's father was lost in World War I. But Rachel's principal job is running the boardinghouse that is the family's main source of income. One day, Charlotte befriends a...

Now a best-selling author, Allison MacKenzie returns home to celebrate the publication of her novel, Samuel's Castle. Loosely, yet clearly, based on her acquaintances and experiences growing up in Peyton Place, Allison's novel exposes the intolerant attitudes of Peyton Place's ruling families, who undertake to teach Allison--and those who defend her--a lesson in respect. A hastily-penned sequel to the wildly successful Peyton Place, Return to Peyton...

America's favorite senior citizen wants to stay hidden under the bed covers. It's bad enough her husband Sam wants them to attend marriage enrichment classes. But when she hears Dr. Fred Fowler will lead the sessions, she's mortified. Yet she can't hide forever, especially when someone knocks Francie Pitts in the noggin and sends her to the hospital.

Charles Dickinson's novels and short stories have won widespread acclaim for their deft characterization, humanity, and humor. Now Dickinson slips beyond the bounds of mundane realism to create a poignant fantasy that bears comparison to the work of Jack Finney and Jonathan Carroll. Euclid, Illinois, is a town of many shortcuts, between houses, through orchards, and across fields. Josh Winkler, a local artist and longtime resident, knows these irregular...

"The classic trifecta of talent, heart, and a bone-deep sense of storytelling….A masterful performance, deftly rendered and deeply satisfying. For days on end, I woke with this story on my mind." - David Wroblewski "A new Tom Franklin novel is always a reason to get excited, but Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter is more-a cause for celebration. What a great novel by a great novelist." -Dennis Lehane A powerful and resonant novel from Tom Franklin-critically...

In the little town of Prosper, the holidays are merry and bright! As a reflective hush falls over the harvested fields surrounding her farm, Melinda Foster packs away her memories of city life and turns toward the coming holidays. She has a list of ideas that will make the season perfect, and she's checked it more than twice: Prepare her acreage and animals for the coming winter, host her family's Christmas dinner, and use her marketing smarts to...

Local librarian Emily Tomlinson must confront a long-hidden secret when someone from her past appears in the Texas town, while new lawyer Rick Matheson must protect himself from attempts on his life while he contemplates a new-found, and maybe true, love.

Recently a number of Western stories have been discovered among Max Brand's unpublished works and the first story in this book, The White Streak is one of them. Its protagonist is a twenty-one-year-old Jimmy Babcock, a former football star, now working at the local bank run by William Parker in the town of Dresser, which has changed from cattle country to one made up of oil and alfalfa fields. When Parker fires Jimmy, all Jimmy can think is how much...

When Penny Dahl calls the Finders Keepers detective agency hoping for help locating her missing daughter, Holly is reluctant to accept the case. Her own mother has just died, and Holly is supposed to be taking time off. But something in Penny Dahl's desperate voice makes it impossible for Holly to turn her down. Mere blocks from where Bonnie Dahl disappeared live Professors Rodney and Emily Harris. They are the picture of bourgeois respectability:...