Everybody says that the owner of Sal's Diner is a former Mafioso, but nine-year-old Joanna, whose mom has worked for him as long as she can remember, has a hard time believing he's a Mafia retiree. But one day, when two fat, toothless men who look like the Godfather's brothers show up at the diner, she wonders if maybe the rumor is true. And when Sal is arrested a few days later, Joanna's mother not only runs the diner while he's in jail, she also leads the charge to save him. Can the women who frequent his diner--the League of Women Who Live in Coffee Shops--save Sal from doing hard time in prison? Set against an urban backdrop of seedy motels and dilapidated houses next to industrial buildings and railroad tracks, Stella Pope Duarte's award-winning stories follow characters who make up the city's underbelly. Some strut through the lethal streets, flamboyant and hard to miss--flashy divas, transvestites, and prostitutes, like Valentine, "one of the girls who decorated Van Buren Street like ornaments dangling precariously on a Christmas tree." Others remain hidden, invisible to those who don't seek them out--bag ladies, illegals, and addicts.

Many of the stories feature young people who know too much, too soon. An eight-year-old girl, with the help of a hooker, finally meets the addict father she has never known. A boy falls to his death and though his older brother is blamed, young Sarita isn t sure her fourth-grade classmate was responsible. And two children, unbeknownst to their parents, befriend a suspected child molester.

Angelou the firebrand has opened a coffee shop for women, where they can gather to drink and gossip like the men. These days, the hot topic of conversation is a macabre one: Angelou has just discovered her close friend Avraam Salih, shadow theatre master extraordinary, dead of a knife wound outside his house. Who killed him? Tensions between Christians and Moslems are high, and the dead man was of mixed parentage - could it have been a political murder? He also led a complex life - might the motive have been passion, money, professional envy? Angelou has some ideas, and she and the women of the coffee shop swing into action.....This offbeat whodunit will keep you turning the pages and entertain you with a vivid cast of unforgettable characters.

Analyn Sanchez can handle the long hours and arrogant clients that come with her job as a crisis management associate at Denver’s largest publicity firm. The high-powered job, expensive condo, and designer wardrobe are all part of her plan to prove to her family that her life choices haven’t been in vain. But when she’s asked to cover up a client’s misdeeds with serious moral and legal ramifications, she can no longer sacrifice her conscience for her career . . . and the cost is no less than her job. Ever since a devastating climbing accident in South America eight months ago, and a bad decision that dried up his sponsorships, professional rock climber Bryan Shaw has found himself at similar loose ends. When the opportunity to buy a coffee farm in Colombia arises, he jumps on it—only to discover his wandering ways have left him utterly unprepared to run a business. When Bryan returns home and offers Ana a role in his company as a solution to both their problems, she’s desperate enough to consider working with the far-too-flippant and far-too-handsome climber, even though he’s the polar opposite of her type A nature. As they delve deeper into the business, however, she begins to suspect there’s much more to Bryan than she’s given him credit for . . . and that sometimes the best plans are the ones you never see coming.

“[Deborah] Rodriguez paints a vivid picture of Afghan culture. . . . As if Maeve Binchy had written The Kite Runner.”—Kirkus Reviews After hard luck and heartbreak, Sunny finally finds a place to call home—in the middle of an Afghanistan war zone. There, the thirty-eight-year-old serves up her American hospitality to the expats who patronize her coffee shop, including a British journalist, a “danger pay” consultant, and a wealthy and well-connected woman. True to her name, Sunny also bonds with people whose language and landscape are unfamiliar to most Westerners, but whose hearts and souls are very much like our own: the maternal Halajan, who vividly recalls the days before the Taliban and now must hide a modern romance from her ultratraditional son; and Yazmina, a young Afghan villager with a secret that could put everyone’s life in jeopardy. In this gorgeous first novel, New York Times bestselling author Deborah Rodriguez paints a stirring portrait of a faraway place where—even in the fog of political and social conflict—friendship, passion, and hope still exist. Originally published as A Cup of Friendship. Praise for The Little Coffee Shop of Kabul “A superb debut novel . . . [Deborah] Rodriguez captures place and people wholeheartedly, unveiling the faces of Afghanistan’s women through a wealth of memorable characters who light up the page.”—Publishers Weekly “[A] fast-paced winner of a novel . . . the work of a serious artist with great powers of description at her disposal.”—The Kansas City Star “Readers will appreciate the in-depth, sensory descriptions of this oft-mentioned and faraway place that most have never seen.”—Booklist “Charming . . . [a book] to warm your heart.”—Good Housekeeping

Bethany: This coffee shop is going to kill me. Sure, it's my dad's dream. If he hadn't died eight months ago, I wouldn't be here, a college drop out, trying not to drown in debt. Nor would I be staring into the muddy eyes of a viking-sized man that's telling me everything I'm doing wrong-as if he knows so much about business in a small mountain town. Except he does. And when the biggest, most unexpected surprise of all falls in my lap, I'll have no choice but to ask for his help. Time for some power lipstick. Maverick This girl is drowning. She might have eyes like glacier pools and hair so black it's glossy, but that doesn't mean she knows how to run a coffee shop. She's drowning in more than debt, interest, and credit card payments. She'll never make it. But I kind of want her to. Because underneath that bright lipstick and those sun dresses is a woman that I have an uncomfortable feeling is about to rock. my. world. This is a clean, standalone (first in series) contemporary romance with sizzle and spice-but no sex scenes. Guaranteed bantering and happily ever after.

Irresistible stories of love and fidelity, mystery and unexpected lives from some of the bestselling authors writing today. Published in conjunction with Woman & Home and Breast Cancer Care, this collection of terrific short stories includes many of the top names in fiction writing today: Fanny Blake, Fern Britton, Elizabeth Buchan, Tracy Chevalier, Jenny Colgan, R J Ellory, Julia Gregson, Tessa Hadley, Maeve Haran, Veronica Henry, Victoria Hislop, Eowyn Ivey, Cathy Kelly, Erin Kelly, Deborah Lawrenson, Kathy Lette, Lesley Lokko, Jill Mansell, Val McDermid, Kate Mosse, Jojo Moyes, Adele Parks, Nicky Pellegrino, Ian Rankin, newcomer Cara Ross, Penny Vincenzi and Katherine Webb.