Dead Water by Ann Cleeves (2013)

"Ann Cleeves returns to her critically acclaimed Shetland Island series with this stunning mystery featuring Inspector Jimmy Perez, who readers will remember from Raven Black, White Nights, Red Bones, and Blue Lightning. When the body of a journalist is found, Detective Inspector Willow Reeves is drafted from outside to head up the investigation. Inspector Jimmy Perez has been out of the loop, but his local knowledge is needed in this case, and he decides to help Willow. The dead journalist had left the islands years before to pursue his writing career. In his wake, he left a scandal involving a young girl. When Willow and Jimmy dig deeper, they realize that the journalist was chasing a story that many Shetlanders didn't want to come to the surface. In Dead Water, a triumphant continuation to her Shetland series, Ann Cleeves cements her place as one of Britain's most successful crime writers. "--

Stink and the shark sleepover by Megan McDonald (2014)

When Stink's parents win an aquarium sleepover, he and his two friends enjoy a scavenger hunt before trying to fall asleep while worrying about the frankensquid on the loose. When Stink's parents win tickets for the whole family to sleep over at the aquarium, it sounds like a science freak's dream come true. Book #9

Snow Flower and the Secret Fan by Lisa See (2005)

Mi karma y yo by Marian Keyes (2014)

'Name: Stella Sweeney. Height: average. Recent life events: dramatic.' One day, sitting in traffic, married Dublin mum Stella Sweeney attempts a good deed. The resulting car crash changes her life. For she meets a man who wants her telephone number (for the insurance, it turns out). That's okay. She doesn't really like him much anyway (his Range Rover totally banjaxed her car). But in this meeting is born the seed of something which will take Stella thousands of miles from her old life, turning an ordinary woman into a superstar, and, along the way, wrenching her whole family apart. Is this all because of one ill-advised act of goodwill? Was meeting Mr Range Rover destiny or karma? Should she be grateful or hopping mad? For the first time real, honest-to-goodness happiness is just within her reach. But is Stella Sweeney, Dublin housewife, ready to grasp it?

Blood Oath by Christopher Farnsworth (2010)

The ultimate secret. The ultimate agent. The President's vampire. Zach Barrows is an ambitious young White House staffer whose career takes an unexpected turn when he's partnered with Nathaniel Cade, a secret agent sworn to protect the president. But Cade is no ordinary civil servant. Bound by a special blood oath, Cade has spent more than 140 years in service to the president, battling nightmares before they can break into the daylight world of the American dream.Immediately Zach and Cade receive their first joint assignment: one that uncovers a shadowy government conspiracy and a plot to attack the Unites States with a gruesome new biological weapon. Zach soon learns that the world is far stranger, and far more dangerous, than he ever imagined . . . and that his partner is the least of his problems.

Past Perfect by Danielle Steel (2017)

What's so perfect about the past for Sybil and Blake Gregory, a successful Manhattan couple with three children who land in San Francisco when Blake impulsively accepts the job of a lifetime as CEO of a start-up? The family moves into a grand, surprisingly affordable Pacific Heights mansion and soon meets the affable Butterfield family, who lived there a century ago. Of course the Butterfields are ghosts, and only the Gregorys can see them, but that doesn't keep the two families from leading a charmed life together.

Corby Flood by Paul Stewart (2005)

The second magical, funny, and fabulously illustrated story in the Far Flung Adventures from the authors of Fergus Crane and the Edge Chronicles.Corby Flood and her family are about to set sail on the rather ramshackle cruise ship, the S.S. Euphonia. Her boisterous brothers might not have noticed that anything is wrong, but Corby is highly observant and has a lot of time for note-taking and eavesdropping. Onboard, among the odd passengers and eccentric crew, there is a strange group of men in bowler-hats who call themselves The Brotherhood of Clowns. There's also a melancholy wailing sound coming from the hold. It's strictly out of bounds but Corby can't help investigating. What could be inside the crate she discovers down in the hold? As the ship arrives at its destination, Corby must enlist the help of some very well mustachioed locals to uncover the contents of the crate and the dark secrets of the menacing Clowns...From the Hardcover edition.

Homeland Elegies by Ayad Akhtar (2020)

"A deeply personal work about identity and belonging in a nation coming apart at the seams, Homeland Elegies blends fact and fiction to tell an epic story of longing and dispossession in the world that 9/11 made. Part family drama, part social essay, part picaresque novel, at its heart it is the story of a father, a son, and the country they both call home. Ayad Akhtar forges a new narrative voice to capture a country in which debt has ruined countless lives and the gods of finance rule, where immigrants live in fear, and where the nation's unhealed wounds wreak havoc around the world. Akhtar attempts to make sense of it all through the lens of a story about one family, from a heartland town in America to palatial suites in Central Europe to guerrilla lookouts in the mountains of Afghanistan, and spares no one--least of all himself--in the process."--

The Song of the Quarkbeast by Jasper Fforde (2011)

King Snodd IV of the Kingdom of Hereford has realized that the power of magic has untold financial possibilities, and the man who controls magic controls almost anything. To this end, he has appointed as Official Court Sorcerer the odious Blix at Industrial Magic, one of only two Houses of Enchantment left in the world. With Blix's willing assistance, only one person stands between King Snodd and his plans for power and riches.

Big Nate Lives It Up by Lincoln Peirce (2015)

Live up

Queenie by Candice Carty-Williams (2019)

Queenie Jenkins is a 25-year-old Jamaican British woman living in London, straddling two cultures and slotting neatly into neither. She works at a national newspaper, where she's constantly forced to compare herself to her white middle class peers. After a messy break up from her long-term white boyfriend, Queenie seeks comfort in all the wrong places . . . including several hazardous men who do a good job of occupying brain space and a bad job of affirming self-worth. As Queenie careens from one questionable decision to another, she finds herself wondering, 'What are you doing? Why are you doing it? Who do you want to be?' -- all of the questions today's woman must face in a world trying to answer them for her.

If You Give a Cat a Cupcake by Laura Joffe Numeroff (2006)

A series of increasingly far-fetched events might occur if someone were to give a cupcake to a cat.

Paris for One and Other Stories by Jojo Moyes (2016)

"From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Me Before You and After You, a sensational collection featuring the title novella and eight other stories. Quintessential Jojo Moyes, Paris for One and Other Stories is an irresistibly romantic collection filled with humor and heart. Nell is twenty-six and has never been to Paris. She's never even been on a romantic weekend away--to anywhere--before. Everyone knows travelling abroad isn't really her thing. But when Nell's boyfriend fails to show up for their romantic mini-vacation, she has the opportunity to prove everyone--including herself--wrong. Alone and in Paris, Nell uncovers a version of herself she never knew existed: independent and intrepid. Could this turn out to be the most adventurous weekend of her life? Funny,charming, and irresistible,Paris for Oneis vintage Moyes--as are the other stories that round out the collection"--

The Ministry of Special Cases by Nathan Englander (2007)

From its unforgettable opening scene in the darkness of a forgotten cemetery in Buenos Aires, Nathan Englander's debut novel The Ministry of Special Cases casts a powerful spell. In the heart of Argentina's Dirty War, Kaddish Poznan struggles with a son who won't accept him; strives for a wife who forever saves him; and spends his nights protecting the good name of a community that denies his existence. When the nightmare of the disappeared children brings the Poznan family to its knees, they are thrust into the unyielding corridors of the Ministry of Special Cases, a terrifying, byzantine refuge of last resort. Through the devastation of a single family, Englander brilliantly captures the grief of a nation.From the Paperback edition.

A necessary evil by Alex Kava (2006)

When a monsignor is found knifed to death in a Nebraska airport restroom, FBI special agent Maggie O'Dell is called in to profile the ritualistic murder of a priest, the latest in a series of killings. Maggie soon discovers a disturbing Internet game that's popular among victims of abuse by Catholic priests. With this first real lead in the investigation, she wonders if the group has turned cyberspace justice into reality. Then Maggie gets a second lead—one that leaves her stunned. For the past four years she has been obsessed with finding Father Michael Keller, whose brutal acts against children continue to haunt her. Now, it seems, he has become a target. When Keller offers to help Maggie solve the ritual killings in exchange for protection, she decides to ally herself with the elusive child killer, stepping into a world of malevolence from which she may not return unscathed. Maggie knows the bargain is a necessary evil—one that may be made in blood.

Grace the Glitter Fairy by Daisy Meadows (2006)

The Party Fairies' magic is missing --- and the Fairyland jubilee is going to be a flop! This is our tenth group of Rainbow Magic fairies; all seven books in the group will be released at once. It's party time! A big bash for King Oberon and Queen Titania is underway in Fairyland. The Party Fairies keep everything running smoothly, until Jack Frost's goblins steal their magic party bags. Now parties everywhere aren't festive --- they're a flop! Party decorations have lost their sparkle, all because of a grumbling goblin! Rachel and Kirsty are determined to help Grace the Glitter Fairy track him down... but how? ---------- **Books in this series** 1. [Cherry the Cake Fairy][1] 2. [Melodie the Music Fairy][2] 3. Grace the Glitter Fairy 4. [Honey the Sweet Fairy][4] 5. [Polly the Party Fun Fairy][5] 6. [Phoebe the Fashion Fairy][6] 7. [Jasmine the Present Fairy][7] [1]: https://openlibrary.org/works/OL9026475W [2]: https://openlibrary.org/works/OL9026485W [4]: https://openlibrary.org/works/OL15910357W [5]: https://openlibrary.org/works/OL5886966W [6]: https://openlibrary.org/works/OL9026487W [7]: https://openlibrary.org/works/OL9026481W

The Solomon Curse by Clive Cussler (2009)

There are many rumors about the bay off Guadalcanal in the Solomon Islands. Some say it was the site of the lost empire of the Solomon king and that great treasure lies beneath the waters. Others say terrible things happened here, atrocities and disappearances at the hands of cannibal giants, and those who venture there do not return. It is cursed. Which is exactly what attracts the attention of husband-and-wife treasure-hunting team Sam and Remi Fargo. How could they resist? Clues and whispers lead them on a hunt from the Solomons to Australia to Japan, and what they find at the end of the trail is both wonderful and monstrous and like nothing they have ever seen before.

Golden in death by Nora Roberts (2020)

"In the latest thriller in the #1 New York Times bestselling series, homicide detective Eve Dallas investigates a murder with a mysterious motive--and a terrifying weapon. Pediatrician Kent Abner received the package on a beautiful April morning. Inside was a cheap trinket, a golden egg that could be opened into two halves. When he pried it apart, highly toxic airborne fumes entered his body--and killed him. After Eve Dallas calls the hazmat team--and undergoes testing to reassure both her and her husband that she hasn't been exposed--it's time to look into Dr. Abner's past and relationships. Not every victim Eve encounters is an angel, but it seems that Abner came pretty close--though he did ruffle some feathers over the years by taking stands for the weak and defenseless. While the lab tries to identify the deadly toxin, Eve hunts for the sender. But when someone else dies in the same grisly manner, it becomes clear that she's dealing with either a madman--or someone who has a hidden and elusive connection to both victims"--

The Chameleon's Shadow by Minette Walters (2007)

Could severe head injuries turn a man into a killer? When an injured soldier returns from Iraq, he appears to undergo a complete change in personality in the latest dark, complex thriller from the Queen of Crime now in paperback.How could he forget eight weeks of his life? How could thirty hours have turned into eternity? Why had the nurse said his wires were crossed? What was wrong with him? When Lieutenant Charles Acland is flown home from Iraq with serious head injuries, he faces not only permanent disfigurement but also an apparent change to his previously outgoing personality. Crippled by migraines and suspicions of his psychiatrist, he begins to display sporadic bouts of aggression, particularly against women, and especially his ex-fianc e, who seems unable to accept that the relationship is over.After his injuries prevent his return to the army, he cuts all ties with his former life and moves to London. Alone and unmonitored, he sinks into a private world of guilt and paranoid distrust until a customer annoys him in a Bermondsey pub ...Out of control and only prevented from killing the man by the intervention of a 250-pound female weightlifter called Jackson, he attracts the attention of police who are investigating three 'gay' murders in the Bermondsey area which seems to have been motivated by extreme rage.Under suspicion, Acland is forced to confront the real issues behind his isolation. How much control does he have over the dark side of his personality? Do his migraines contribute to his rage? Has he always been the duplicitous chameleon that his ex-fiancee claims?And why - if he hates women - does he look to a woman for help?

Welcome to Narnia by Jennifer Frantz (2005)

Four English schoolchildren find their way through the back of a wardrobe into the magic land of Narnia.