Haunted by the ghosts of her former life, the only female to survive a devastating virus is determined to follow through on her father's mission to go back to the beginning and end the plague.

A reporter searching for her kidnapped son must untangle the connection to her brother’s long-ago disappearance in this “sharp, breathless thriller” (Lisa Jackson, #1 New York Times bestselling author). Thirty years ago, Julia Gooden’s nine-year-old brother Ben was abducted from their shared room. Though she’s tried to recall any clue about what happened, she has no memory of that terrible night. Now a crime reporter at a Detroit newspaper, Julia tries to give others the closure she’s never found. Still, she lives in fear that whoever took her brother could come back. Nowhere seems safe—not even the secluded lake town where she plans to raise her children. And then, on the anniversary of Ben’s disappearance, Julia’s worst fears are realized when her two-year-old son, Will, is snatched from his bed. Convinced that the crimes are related, Julia tries to piece together memories from her final day with Ben. Julia knows she has hours at best to find Will alive, but the deeper she digs, the more personal and terrifying the battle becomes. “A gripping story that I read in one night—I could not put it down.” —Debbie Howells, author of The Bones of You

2023-2024 Tome Society It List 2023 University of Wisconsin Madison English Department Early Career Alumni Award Survival is everything. So is love. Ara hasn’t seen another human in months―not since her father disappeared. As the only female to survive a devastating virus, her world is haunted by the ghosts of her former life. Her mother. Her sister. Kaden and his crew live by a code: stay alert, stay alive. When they catch Ara trying to steal from them, they are furious―and confused. She’s the first girl they’ve seen in three years. And while Kaden knows taking her captive is wrong, he tells himself it’s for her protection. That the only place she’ll be safe is with the clan, his new home. The world of men. However, Ara is determined to discover the truth about the plague, and nothing will stop her. And as Kaden becomes mesmerized by her will and beauty, he realizes that he will do anything to help her, even if it tears their worlds apart. But the world of men isn’t prepared for The Last She, and the odyssey to save themselves means Kayden and Ara have to leave behind everything they’ve come to know. To burn it down to the ground. In the ashes they can start again.

Sweet Home Alabama meets Emily in Paris in this hilarious romp through the world of extravagant southern weddings. When floundering and unlucky-in-love twentysomething Lottie Jones lands a new career as a wedding planner at a top-tier boutique event firm, she begins navigating a cutthroat workplace specializing in over-the-top details, unlimited budgets, and a broad spectrum of taste. Whether planning for parachute landings or wrangling intoxicated groomsmen, she has her hands full at every million-dollar wedding she helps organize. After her boss announces he’s opening a new office, Lottie sees her chance to finally carve out her place—and earn an income that justifies her dating app subscription fees. The weddings get bigger, the clients get wilder, the mishaps get funnier, and the stakes get higher. And Lottie’s forced to discover what she’ll risk for love and how far she’ll go to find herself. Set against the glamorous, ruthless world of high-end Southern weddings and inspired by real events in the authors’ lives, Without a Hitch is a hilarious romp about taking ownership, facing fears, planning your ex-boyfriend’s wedding, and choosing a happy ending that wasn’t what you once expected. Praise for Without a Hitch: “Without a Hitch is a delightfully quirky novel that proves the age-old adage ‘We plan, God laughs.’ Filled with fascinating insights into the world of high-end wedding planning, you can’t help but cheer for Lottie Jones as she learns that you can’t script your life and that, sometimes, the best laid plans are the ones you never make.” —Emily Giffin, #1 New York Times bestselling author of All We Ever Wanted and The Lies that Bind “Put a ring on Without a Hitch—a sweet, Southern confection of a book about what it takes to orchestrate everyone else’s happily ever after when your own heart has been broken. This sneak peek into the world of high-end wedding planning will keep you laughing as Lottie deconstructs the fairy tale and finds her authentic self.” —Jodi Picoult, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Wish You Were Here and The Book of Two Ways “Without a Hitch is a must read. It is absolutely fabulous. As someone who works in the wedding industry, I found this book’s brevity, humor, and the glamorous over-the-top world of Southern Weddings a true joy to read. This is the book you will be gifting to all your friends!” —Mindy Weiss, bestselling author of The Wedding Book Stand-alone novel Book length: 106,000 words Includes discussion questions for book clubs

Fifteen-year-old Noelle's life is messy. Her dad left when she was little. Her mom would rather be someone's girlfriend than her mother. And her half-sister pretty much hates her. With so much family drama to deal with, making friends is the last thing on Noelle's mind. But when she receives a mysterious invitation inviting her to the cemetery at midnight, that all changes...Noelle thought having friends was supposed to make life better but soon finds herself trying to solve a murder instead. And when everyone's a suspect, it won't be easy. At least Noelle has a grandma who adores her and a boy in the neighborhood who does too--oh, wait, isn't he a suspect also? Noelle's grandma has an unusual gift and Noelle may discover she has a talent of her own.

If he had been with me everything would have been different... I wasn't with Finn on that August night. But I should've been. It was raining, of course. And he and Sylvie were arguing as he drove down the slick road. No one ever says what they were arguing about. Other people think it's not important. They do not know there is another story. The story that lurks between the facts. What they do not know—the cause of the argument—is crucial. So let me tell you...

Called “remarkable” (The Wall Street Journal) and “an ambitious, colossal debut novel” (Publishers Weekly), Helen DeWitt’s The Last Samurai is back in print at last Helen DeWitt’s 2000 debut, The Last Samurai, was “destined to become a cult classic” (Miramax). The enterprising publisher sold the rights in twenty countries, so “Why not just, ‘destined to become a classic?’” (Garth Risk Hallberg) And why must cultists tell the uninitiated it has nothing to do with Tom Cruise? Sibylla, an American-at-Oxford turned loose on London, finds herself trapped as a single mother after a misguided one-night stand. High-minded principles of child-rearing work disastrously well. J. S. Mill (taught Greek at three) and Yo Yo Ma (Bach at two) claimed the methods would work with any child; when these succeed with the boy Ludo, he causes havoc at school and is home again in a month. (Is he a prodigy, a genius? Readers looking over Ludo’s shoulder find themselves easily reading Greek and more.) Lacking male role models for a fatherless boy, Sibylla turns to endless replays of Kurosawa’s masterpiece Seven Samurai. But Ludo is obsessed with the one thing he wants and doesn’t know: his father’s name. At eleven, inspired by his own take on the classic film, he sets out on a secret quest for the father he never knew. He’ll be punched, sliced, and threatened with retribution. He may not live to see twelve. Or he may find a real samurai and save a mother who thinks boredom a fate worse than death.