In 1950s Hollywood, an actress is haunted by a bookseller’s death: A novella from the Edgar Award-winning author of Give Me Your Hand. In 1953, Penny is just another washed-up, wannabe Hollywood actress who is past her prime. She has settled in to a quiet lifestyle, and when she finds a low-rent bungalow in Canyon Arms, it’s a dream come true; Penny takes to the place instantly. But the dream cottage with its French doors and tiled courtyard may not be as perfect as it seems. Penny’s new neighbors start filling her head with stories about past tenants, whispering voices, and a suicide that may not have been a suicide at all. Soon enough, Penny starts hearing strange noises and she can’t help but wonder about the true fate of the bookseller who died in her home a dozen years earlier. Her suspicions are only fueled by the ominous inscription that she discovers in a book that’s closely guarded by her landlord . . . From the national bestselling author of Dare Me and other thrillers, this is a spooky mystery set on the dark fringes of glamorous Los Angeles. The Bibliomysteries are a series of short tales about deadly books, by top mystery authors.

Little Women is based on author Louisa May Alcott’s experiences growing up with three sisters as they face and overcome serious financial straits, life-threatening illness, and other heartaches. Little Men continues the story of Jo March as she and her husband, Professor Bhaer, open up their home to care for a group of young boys.

'Read this book' Alastair Campbell 'A really wonderful book' Nigella Lawson via Twitter In 1975 Richard Beard was sent away to boarding school. So were Boris Johnson and David Cameron. He didn't enjoy it. But the first and most important lesson was not to let that show. A public school education has long been accepted in Britain as a preparation for leadership, but being separated from your parents at a young age is traumatic. What sort of adult does it mould? Tackling debates about privilege head-on, Sad Little Men reveals what happens when you put a succession of men from boarding schools into positions of influence, including at 10 Downing Street, and asks the question- is this really who we want in charge? 'The most important book I've read this year' Adam Rutherford

Considered the unofficial sequel to Little Women, Little Men is about a now adult and married Jo March and the boy's school she runs with her husband, Professor Bhaer. Plumfield is not a traditional school of the time—some of children run their own little businesses. They are also allowed to have pets and gardens, and there's even a scheduled pillow fight time. The story begins with the arrival of new student Nat Blake, and it is from his perspective that we see the other characters. Mischief, friendship, and learning abound in Plumfield as the boys are molded into little men.

Ira Mittelman, the middle-aged hero of "A Box of Ashes," one of two novellas in Little Men, is wrestling with a dilemma: should he fulfill his late father's dying wish by taking the old man's ashes back to Missouri, to scatter them on the grounds of Camp HaHaTonka, the Boy Scout camp where Ira spent several summers as a boy? It's a long way to go just to dump some ashes, and if Ira makes this pilgrimage, his absence might jeopardize the fragile relationship he's managed to maintain with his ex-wife (they're still having sex every Friday night). In "Spivak in Babylon," Little Men's other novella, it's 1982, and Leo Spivak, an ambitious 30-year-old copywriter at a large Chicago advertising agency, is about to get his big break: a chance to go to Hollywood to participate for the first time in the filming of a television commercial. A week in Hollywood, on the company's expense account! A room at the fabled Chateau Marmont (Garbo's old suite, in fact)! The only problem is the subject of the commercial itself: a new feminine hygiene spray to be marketed to pre-adolescent girls. Hovering over all the proceedings in "Spivak in Babylon" is the genial, befuddled presence of President Ronald Reagan, the Leader of the Free World, who haunts Leo's dreams.

The novel follows the story of Jo March, who now runs a boarding school called Plumfield with her husband, Professor Friedrich Bhaer. They take in troubled and orphaned boys, providing them with education and moral guidance. The narrative primarily revolves around the lives of the boys at Plumfield, their adventures, friendships, and challenges as they grow up under Jo and Friedrich's care. The characters deal with various moral dilemmas, learning important life lessons along the way. Through "Little Men," Alcott continues to explore themes of family, friendship, education, and moral development. The novel presents a heartwarming and often humorous portrayal of childhood and adolescence, capturing the essence of growing up and finding one's place in the world.