Nicola Moriarty makes her US debut with this stunning page-turner for fans of Jojo Moyes, Emily Griffin, Kate Morton, and Jessica Knoll, about four best friends on a relaxing vacation that turns devastating when old secrets are revealed, long-held grudges surface, and a shattering betrayal is discovered that shakes the foundation of their lives. Best friends from high school, Joni, Deb, Eden, and Trina had always looked forward to the vacations they spent together. But the demands of careers, husbands, and babies gradually pulled them apart, and now their annual getaways may be a thing of the past. Joni doesn’t want to lose her friends, and this year she’s coaxed them all back together for some fun at a beach house. Late on a laughter and wine-filled night, the women dare one another to write anonymous letters, spilling her most intimate thoughts like they did as teenagers. But the fun game meant to bring them closer together turns painfully serious, exposing cracks in their lives and their relationships. Each letter is a confession revealing disturbing information. A rocky marriage. A harrowing addiction. A hidden pregnancy. A heartbreaking diagnosis. Days later, Joni notices something in the fireplace—a crumpled and partially burned fifth letter that holds the most shattering admission of all. Best friends are supposed to keep your darkest secrets. But the revelations Joni, Deb, Eden and Trina have shared will have unforeseen consequences . . . and none of them will ever be the same.

Sometimes you're damned if you do and damned if you don't. Such is the position in which Associate Supreme Court Justice Katherine Helena Ross, the first black female on the U.S. Supreme Court, finds herself in "The Fifth Letter," the new legal thriller by author Vivian Carpenter. Rooted in the historical treatment of Blacks in the United States, Justice Katherine Ross, the first Black female on the U.S. Supreme Court, struggles to do what is right as her mother's 1940s memoir influences her actions and emotions. Once on the Court, Katherine gains the power to ignite an involuntary retirement process to remove conservative Justice John Galt from the bench after the U.S. Constitution is amended to create an involuntary retirement process for incapacitated justices. John Galt, an outspoken egoist, survives an assassination attempt but is severely injured. He appears incapacitated. Pressures for Galt's removal from the bench mount with his prolonged absence from the Court. However, John Galt will not resign is seat. Katherine must decide whether or not to issue the fifth letter for Galt's retirement. While weaving through Katherine's personal challenges, "The Fifth Letter" turns a spotlight on the most important issue currently facing the Court today: who is a person with inalienable legal rights in America? And it asks this question of its main character: What happens when a liberal Black female justice of the Supreme Court is caught between her conscience and the call of political expedience? PRAISE FOR "THE FIFTH LETTER" "Frequently political novels are a genre for truth telling. Dr. Vivian Carpenter's description of inside Washington rings true. 'The Fifth Letter' takes us forward to a United States Supreme Court foreshadowed by the current Court's personalities and political tilt. This novel will engage and educate its readers." ---Former Senator Bob Graham of Florida, ---Former Chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee "'The Fifth Letter' is a remarkable first novel... The past informs the present in this contemplative, sophisticated judicial thriller. The moral/legal conundrum at the center hooked me and never let go. In this court of public appeal... a clear victory." ---Gregory Allen Howard, ---Screenwriter, "Ali" "Remember The Titans" "'The Fifth Letter' is a fine new addition to the field of legal fiction. But we've never had one like this before, because it's about judges, not lawyers, and not just any judges. 'The Fifth Letter' takes us into the chambers of the Supreme Court and brings to vivid fictional life the men and women who in so many ways determine our national destiny. Vivian Carpenter gives us a fascinating view of how business gets done in the Court and on Capitol Hill while also delivering a novel of big political ideas, a riveting study of race in America, and a tale of buried secrets, lost loves, and page-turning suspense." --- William Martin, New York Times Bestselling Author of "The Lost Constitution" and "The Lincoln Letter"

Translated from the Original Spanish. The letter is dated 1526. The supplementary material consists of the 1868 annual report. First published: 1868.

Never before translated into English, Rainer Maria Rilke’s fascinating Letters to a Young Painter, written toward the end of his life between 1920 and 1926, is a surprising companion to his infamous Letters to a Young Poet, earlier correspondence from 1902 to 1908. While the latter has become a global phenomenon, with millions of copies sold in many different languages, the present volume has been largely overlooked. In these eight intimate letters written to a teenage Balthus—who would go on to become one of the leading artists of his generation—Rilke describes the challenges he faced, while opening the door for the young painter to take himself and his work seriously. Rilke’s constant warmth, his ability to sense in advance his correspondent’s difficulties and propose solutions to them, and his sensitivity as a person and an artist come across in these charming and honest letters. Writing during his aged years, this volume paints a picture of the venerable poet as he faced his mortality, through the perspective of hindsight, and continued to embrace his openness towards other creative individuals. With an introduction by Rachel Corbett, author of You Must Change Your Life: The Story of Rainer Maria Rilke and Auguste Rodin (2016), this book is a must-have for Rilke’s admirers, young and old, and all aspiring artists.