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LIBRARY JOURNAL'S DECEMBER DEBUT OF THE MONTH!In this debut mystery, DCI Lilian Wyles, the first woman detective chief inspector in the CID, is determined to find a killer with the help of the four queens of crime, Agatha Christie, Dorothy L. Sayers, Ngaio Marsh, and Margery Allingham, perfect for fans of Elly Griffiths and Claudia Gray.1938, London. The four queens of British crime fiction, Agatha Christie, Dorothy L. Sayers, Ngaio Marsh, and Margery Allingham, are hosting a gala to raise money for the Women’s Voluntary Service to help Britain prepare for war. Baronet Sir Henry Heathcote has loaned Hursley House for the event, and all the elites of London society are attending. The gala is a brilliant success, despite a few hiccups, but the next morning, Sir Henry is found dead in the library. Detective Chief Inspectors Lilian Wyles and Richard Davidson from Scotland Yard are quickly summoned and discover a cluster of potential suspects among the guests, including an upset fiancée, a politically ambitious son, a reserved but protective brother, an irate son-in-law, a rebellious teenage daughter, and the deputy home secretary. Quietly recruiting the four queens of crime, DCI Wyles must sort through the messy aftermath of Sir Henry’s death to solve the mystery and identify the killer.

Envy and desire infiltrate the lives of twin sisters in this dark, Gothic suspense set in England and New York City, perfect for fans of Laura Joh Rowland and Hester Fox. A mirror will never show you the truth.England 1904. Mirror twins Adelaide and Victoria have spent their lives in orbit of each other– doomed to be in the other’s shadow, their lives are intertwined and inextricable as each other’s identical inverse. Adelaide is dutiful and reserved, happy to remain in her childhood home, Harewood Hall, forever. Victoria wishes for a thrilling life, exploring the world and finding a great romance–but the twins cannot live apart. Visiting Lord Stanley bewitches Victoria with his talk of a life of luxury in New York, but it is obedient Adelaide whom he marries against her will and to Victoria’s fury. Together, they all move to New York and begin a new life. Adelaide finds herself trapped in a gilded cage on Fifth Avenue with no one but her angry and tempestuous twin for company. Amid the glamor of the upper class, Adelaide is captivated by the independent and educated women of the elite social circle Mrs. Astor’s 400. As Adelaide’s star rises, tensions begin to surface between the sisters, and as Adelaide grows apart from her twin for the very first time, Victoria descends into a rage-fueled darkness that threatens everything and anyone standing in her way. Darker and darker with every turn of the page, this Gothic suspense will enrapture readers of Daphne du Maurier and Laura Purcell.

Could Alexander Hamilton be at the center of a vast murder plot engulfing Old New York? As his widow, Eliza, pieces together the puzzle, she unearths a heartbreaking secret that threatens to tear her family apart.Perfect for fans of Sherry Thomas and Deanna Raybourn, taking us from the city’s gilded mansions to its meanest streets, Mollie Ann Cox’s debut historical mystery transports readers to center stage in a time of grave political danger.New York, 1804. America’s beloved Alexander Hamilton lies dead after a duel with Aaron Burr. Meanwhile, Eliza Hamilton’s eighteen-year-old son, Alexander Jr., was seen fighting with a man in a tavern the night before his father’s duel and quickly comes under suspicion for murder when the man turns up dead. Eliza searches for ways to clear her son’s name, even as she is grieving, but as she combs through her late husband’s papers, she finds evidence of a plot to steal money from the government during his tenure as secretary of state. Hamilton was accused of stealing that money, and it was a scandal that almost broke the family—but is Eliza now holding proof of Alexander’s innocence?Deep in debt and despair, with eight children to support, Eliza turns to selling her handmade lace—and is drawn into a mysterious network of widow lacemakers who are intimately connected to New York’s high-society families. They know their dead husbands’ secrets—and soon, Eliza begins to piece together the truth.There’s a dark plot connected with the duel, as one by one, witnesses to the bout are being killed. Now, Eliza must not only clear her husband’s and son’s names but keep herself out of the killer’s sights.

“A brilliant book...a must-read for the frazzled perfectionist.” —Thomas Curran, PhD, leading perfectionism researcher and author of The Perfection TrapBreak free of toxic perfectionism by cultivating emotional courage and self-compassion to face life's challenges with a 6-step program.In today’s high-pressure society, we are constantly fed a fable of individualism, exceptionalism, determination, and ingenuity and taught a mythology of grin and bear it; no pain, no gain; and hard work pays off, despite the fact that the conditions for success are unpredictable and ever changing. Psychologist Tara Cousineau claims that perfectionism is a paradox: it is the tension created by the need for belonging, a desire for excellence, and a quest for a meaningful and productive life. But perfectionism can be transformed by learning to connect both head and heart, replacing inner algorithms of comparison and criticism with self-acceptance and self-compassion.In The Perfectionist’s Dilemma, Cousineau introduces an innovative six-step solution based on the acronym EVOLVE:Embody the present moment.Validate your experience.Open your heart.Love your inner critic.Make a Vow.Spark the Energy of excellence.EVOLVE helps readers overcome perfectionism and cultivate three essential resources—inner worth, inner humanity, and inner leadership.  Through storytelling and anecdotes from recovering perfectionists who have participated in Cousineau’s workshops, readers can learn to align mind, body, heart, and spirit—to become happy achievers.

Find your perfect life partner with this breakthrough 3-part Soulmating system by dating coaches Orna and Matthew Walters."If you’re looking for a step-by-step approach to change your luck in love, then Getting It Right This Time is for you." ~Jack Canfield Today, people have more ways to find their life partner than ever before. Dating apps, meet-up groups, and professional matchmakers provide unlimited options to meet the love of your life. And yet, it seems more difficult — not easier — to meet a desirable partner, build a life together, and make that special relationship last.Dating is made even more complicated because of the pervasive myth that love will magically happen by accident, like winning the lottery. Or that it will happen when you least expect it. In Getting It Right This Time, holistic dating coaches and founders of Creating Love on Purpose Orna and Matthew Walters bust the myth of accidental love and teach you how to take a conscious approach to relationships.In their groundbreaking method, you will learn how to do the following:●      Identify the relationship patterns that have held you back,●      Build new communication habits and develop emotional mastery, and●      Move forward with intentional dating.Getting It Right This Time provides the tools you need to identify and transform your Love Imprint — your inner GPS that unconsciously drives your choices in romantic relationships. By learning the brain science of attraction and creating a new road map for love, you will override your internal GPS if it’s leading you off course — and find the fastest route to long-lasting love.Uplifting personal stories, client examples, guided exercises, and step-by-step advice will guide you to get it right this time and to find genuine, long-lasting, soul-satisfying love.

USA TODAY BESTSELLER From 4-time Emmy-nominated actor Jon Lindstrom of General Hospital, Bosch, and True Detective fame, comes a gripping debut thriller. Set in the dark underbelly of the LA film industry, Hollywood Hustle is the perfect read for fans of Alex Finlay and Jeffery Deaver. Winston Greene, a has-been film star, wakes one morning to find his six-year-old granddaughter at his bedside--traumatized, unattended, and gripping onto a thumb drive. She comes bearing video proof that her mother, Win's troubled adult daughter, has been kidnapped by a murderous gang demanding all his "movie money" for her safe return. But what they don't know is...his movie money is long gone. Unable to go to the police for fear the kidnappers will make good on their promise to kill his daughter, Winston turns to two close friends--a legendary Hollywood stuntman and a disgraced former LAPD detective. There's no easy way out for Winston or his daughter--the gang is violent and willing to do anything to get the money they're after, and Winston begins to realize that to get his daughter back, he'll have to beat the kidnappers at their own game. This propulsive and tense thriller will transport readers to the seedier side of LA, depicted in bold prose by a Hollywood insider.

"Algiers, North Africa, 1943. After her abusive German husband left her for dead and took their daughter with him behind enemy lines, Dottie Lincoln learned that it's better to be a trained soldier rather than a victim. As a newly minted squad leader in the Women's Army Auxiliary Corps, she spends her days moving men and materials to the front and her nights attending mandatory dances to boost the morale of the men. Despite the grueling nature of her job, she has found a sanctuary amongst the women in the Army. When Ruth, a member of her squad, is murdered, she's devastated and determined to get to the bottom of the murder"--

"After the newspaper she works for folds and the freelance assignments no longer pay the bills, Maya Wong reluctantly returns to her native Hawaii to ghostwrite controversial land developer Parker Hamilton's biography. But when the Hamilton patriarch is found dead under suspicious circumstances, Maya is unwittingly drawn into the investigation. ... All too soon, Maya is dodging assailants and digging for clues while juggling girls' nights out with her old BFFs and weekly family dinners. Convinced the police are after the wrong man, Maya is determined to stop the killer before it's too late"--

It's been three years since food anthropologist and cooking show star Miriam Quinones-Smith had her last brush with death. Her Spanglish culinary show, Abuela Approved, is topping the charts. Her parents are back in Miami and living with her in Coral Shores. And her kids are great. But when bones start popping up in unexpected places, Miriam's idyllic life is threatened.

"Carrie Singleton is ready to kiss the single life goodbye. Her wedding to Dylan Avery is just a few weeks away, and a happy ending is about to be hers. But when a body is found on the lawn of their wedding venue, happily-ever-after is looking deadlier than ever. The victim turns out to be Billy Carpenter, a young man recently released from prison after serving time for a bank robbery. The stolen money he'd buried is gone and Carrie and the police suspect Billy's two alleged co-conspirators, his friends Luke Rizzo and Tino Valdez. But then Luke is murdered and Tino is nowhere to be found. With no leads and only a week to go before her big day, Carrie is on the hunt for clues. She hopes to wrap up this investigation with a neat bow before she and Dylan tie the knot. Carrie has something old, something new, and something borrowed ready for her walk down the aisle. Now she needs to find the killer without becoming the 'something blue'"--

"A young woman is invited to a mysterious relative's estate and winds up entangled in a murder investigation in this witty historical mystery that pits the gothic eeriness of Crimson Peak against the comic absurdities of Knives Out."--Provided by publisher.

"Sea Isle, Scotland, is magical during the holiday season, and Dr. Emilia McRoy can't wait to enjoy everything her village has to offer. But when the lead singer of a famous band is murdered in the village, just as they were about to launch a world tour, her holiday instantly comes to a halt. As the band's future hangs in the balance, Emilia discovers that the victim was working on new music that has since disappeared. Were these new lyrics worth killing for? And if so, who is the culprit?"--

"In the small town of Wonderland, Wyoming, the truth is whatever the Coldwater family says it is. When their prodigal daughter, Jessica, was murdered forty years ago, their truth was that Holly Prine killed her-regardless of Holly's innocence. But the Coldwaters aren't the only reason private investigator Quinn Cuthridge hasn't set foot in the town in nearly a decade. After her aunt sent her away when she was a teen, Quinn swore she'd never return. When she gets an unexpected call from her aunt's ranch hand, Hunter, Quinn learns that her aunt has gone missing. Reluctantly, she returns to Wyoming to investigate and soon realizes that her aunt was getting dangerously close to long-buried Wonderland secrets, including who really murdered Jessica Coldwater. As Hunter and Quinn dig into what lies in the Wyoming backcountry, attraction flares between the two women, complicating their investigation-and Quinn's steadfast refusal to have any ties to Wonderland. With someone threatening Quinn and her own dark past echoing in the present, Quinn must struggle against her hometown and herself to find the truth"--

Bask in the warm glow of the menorah in this debut Jewish romantic comedy featuring a hard-of-hearing hero and a Chanukah meet-cute, perfect for fans of Rachel Lynn Solomon and Jean Meltzer.Andie Williams is not looking forward to spending her first Chanukah alone after her father’s death. About to lose her job, with her only prospect across the country for another work opportunity, she could use some chutzpah to make it through the eight nights alone. Leo Dentz has had a crush on the girl across the hall from his apartment for years but has never had the courage to say anything—until she drops her grocery bags and he notices her drug store Chanukah candles. Ready to take a chance outside of his comfort zone, Leo offers to join Andie on the first night, sharing his dinner with her. As Andie and Leo fall for each other one night at a time, and the clock ticks down on Andie’s move, will this season of miracles light their way forward?

"Homebody Lex McCall loves her sleepy Vermont town and quiet bookstore job. When the bookshop owner, eager to off-load the supposedly haunted building, offers to sell the store to Lex at an unbeatable price, Lex jumps at the chance to further put down roots. Then handsome stranger James stops by the bookstore. Lex assumes he's just another tourist passing through, but it turns out he's part of a ghost-hunting documentary crew that's looking into the many 'verified' ghost stories in town"--

In the thrilling sequel to #1 New York Times bestselling author P. C. Cast’s Into the Mist, a group of women fight for a just future in the wake of global destruction.Practical Magic meets Station Eleven in this pulse-pounding postapocalyptic thriller about the power of women.Mercury Rhodes and her world were utterly changed when the bombs fell, releasing the green mist. While it proved deadly to all the men who breathed it in, it gave new life to women who did the same. The green mist provided each member of her newfound family an ability:  Stella’s heightened intuition, Imani’s earthly connection, Karen’s bond with Spirit, and Gemma’s healing ability. Although Mercury now has incredible physical strength—she doesn’t know if she will be strong enough for what comes next. Especially after the death of Ford, their companion through the aftermath of the mist.The group finds respite in creating a small community in the John Day Fossil Preserve, near the Painted Hills in Oregon. Together, they hope to find a place where they can start over and rebuild a better world. But Mercury knows it won’t be that simple, not when she knows someone, or something, is hunting them. Something that wants to rule the ruins of the world and something that sees Mercury as a threat that must be eliminated.Mercury will have to muster all her strength if she is to fight for a new dawn. The fate of her friends—and the world—depends on it.

"Marketing executive Elena Voss's newest assignment for Sparkle Cookie, a large cookie conglomerate, was meant to be a much-needed break from her toxic boss and the stressful city. She never expected to get into a public--and embarrassing--argument with a sexy baker in New Hope, Pennsylvania. But the townsfolk aren't exactly thrilled about a corporate chain bakery coming in to ruin their small-town feel. Lawrence Higgins-and his dog Sugar-have been a beloved staple in New Hope for years. Their bakery specializes in cookies, but with Sparkle Cookie's upcoming grand opening, he's worried about rent spikes and stolen customers. Elena wants to write Lawrence off as an opponent she can crush, but his good looks and passion for baking make it difficult to stay professional. Elena and Lawrence immediately butt heads at a town hall meeting. When a cookie competition makes them join forces, sparks fly, and they find first impressions are often wrong. Can their blossoming connection survive the ensuing cookie war?"--

"Alice Katz is a young Jewish physicist, one of the only female doctoral students at her university, studying with the famed Dr. Oppenheimer. Her well-to-do family wants her to marry a man of her class and settle down. Instead, Alice answers her country's call to come to an unnamed city in the desert to work on a government project shrouded in secrecy. At Los Alamos, Alice meets Caleb Blum, a poor Orthodox Jew who has been assigned to the explosives division. Around them are other young scientists and engineers who have quietly left their university posts to come live in the desert. No one seems to know exactly what they are working on--what they do know is that it is a race and that they must beat the Nazis in developing an unspeakable weapon. In this atmosphere of fear and uncertainty, and despite their many differences, Alice and Caleb find themselves drawn to one another."--Provided by publisher.

"Conwoman Harmony Hale has sold lies up and down California for years, never looking back at her crafty scams or one-night stands. Now she's come to Brookville, California, with her sights set on its wealthy mayor--the man who stole her father's music-streaming algorithm and ruined his life. Harmony is finally ready to take him down, with her trusty con of selling a nonexistent music festival. All she needs is the cooperation of the man who owns the potential festival site. Autistic librarian and piano teacher Preston Jones spends his days fighting book challengers trying to shut down his library programs. He's responsible for raising his selectively nonspeaking little sister and needs to focus on keeping his job. He doesn't have time for a romance like the ones in his books--and certainly none for the brassy festival promoter who wants to use his land for her "Coachella North." Preston sees things in black and white, and he sees Harmony--amazing curves, flashy smile, and all--as nothing but trouble. But when Harmony promises to help him win the public over and save his youth programs, Preston finds himself wondering if this hustler with a heart of gold might be the someone he's been waiting for. Soon things are getting steamy in the stacks, and with her con coming to a crescendo, Harmony needs to choose: revenge and running again or the happy ending she never saw coming"--

This gripping, high-stakes debut thriller about the lengths mothers will go to protect their children is perfect for fans of Wanda M. Morris and Jess Lourey. Boots Marez is a Latina single mother raising a headstrong and sly eighteen-year-old boy she adopted six years ago. She also runs a school that helps the undocumented people in her politically divided town in Northern California. When her son Jaral is jailed for the murder of one of her former students, her world is turned upside down. Struggling to protect her son, Boots has to spotlight a community used to living in the shadows, putting her hard work over the years in doubt. Meanwhile, a vicious parents’ board wants to trash her ideals and oust her from the school she helped build. As she faces increasing danger to clear her son’s name, she must decide how far she is willing to go to bring her son home. But nothing is as it seems—Jaral has been keeping secrets from her after all. And as she puts the missing pieces together, she will discover a deeper and darker web of lies that has been hiding in plain sight.

Six former friends are forced to relive their deadly past in this psychologically charged and suspenseful locked-room mystery perfect for fans of Lucy Foley and Ruth Ware.Old friends. Old grudges. One evening back together again. The last time they all had dinner, someone wound up dead. What could go wrong?Sophie Lind hasn’t seen her college friends in a decade when a dinner invitation from one of the friends, Ava, arrives on her doorstep. They used to all be inseparable, meeting for dinner every week, even after graduation. But the last time they all had dinner, ten years ago, someone was dead by the end of the night.It was Sophie’s then-fiancé William who died that night in his apartment, just a room away from the friends he called family. Sophie isn’t sure if it’s curiosity—or guilt—that pushes her to accept Ava’s dinner invitation and unbury those old wounds. When the six friends arrive for the dinner, there’s a small box waiting for each of them by their plates. Each box uncovers secrets that the friends have kept hidden all these years, and with the door to the apartment locked from the outside, it’s clear that Ava didn’t plan this dinner just to reminisce about the past. What happened to William is buried beneath someone’s lies—and nobody’s leaving this dinner table until the truth comes out.

"It's 1968, and the Watry-Ridder family is feared and respected in equal measure. The local farmers seek out their water charms, and the teenagers, their love spells. The family's charms and spells, passed down through generations of witches descending from the Black Forest, have long served the small town of Friedrich, Minnesota. Eldest daughter Elisabeth has just graduated high school--she is expected to hone her supernatural abilities to take over for her grandmother, the indomitable Magda. She's also expected to marry her high school sweetheart and live the rest of her life in Friedrich. But all she can ask is, why her? Why is her path set in stone, and what else might be out there for her?"--

Irish step dance takes a deadly turn in this Celtic cozy series debut, perfect for fans of Carlene O’Connor and Paige Shelton. Single-mom and police chief’s daughter Kate Buckley is all about family. After she receives an urgent text from her younger sister Colleen, she puts her life on hold and rushes to her Irish-themed hometown of Shamrock, Massachusetts, where her family owns and operates a bed and breakfast. With her two daughters in tow, she’s ready to fight if it means she can help her charming but hapless sibling. When they arrive, Colleen claims it was all a misunderstanding. But everything changes in an Irish minute when Colleen’s best friend, Deirdre, a dance show star, is found dead in the parish hall. With the discovery of a possible witness, a chilling motive, and a wee bit of incriminating evidence, Colleen quickly becomes a person of interest in Deirdre’s murder. Convinced her sister isn't a killer, Kate is determined to clear Colleen’s name. As Kate investigates, Colleen takes charge of Shamrock’s popular Irish dance show in honor of her late friend—with disastrous results. With the St. Patrick’s Week festivities in full swing, Kate must catch the killer before the celebrations are ruined and her sister’s Irish luck runs out.

"After surviving a nightmarish childhood, Anneliese Bakker is on the mend and searching for her birth mother. But when she meets Willem, she falls madly in love and finally finds a safe place to land. Engaged and expecting her first child, she moves into the Veldkamp mansion on a stately, tree-lined avenue in Amsterdam. And yet, nothing about Willem's family is as it seems. Instead of the loving home she has longed for her entire life, she's confronted with a cold and hostile household. Increasingly isolated, Anneliese is drawn to a creepy basement shrine to Louisa, Willem s mother. Louisa Veldkamp was a legendary Dutch pianist who presumably drowned-but whose body has never been found. Though still revered by her fans, Louisa is a taboo subject in the family home. Haunted by her own demons, Anneliese must dig into the family's past to untangle a dark web of secrets, inadvertently putting herself and her unborn child in grave danger."--

There are always two sides to a story. This dark and twisted reimagining of Cinderella, told from her stepsister's POV, is perfect for fans of T. Kingfisher and Naomi Novik.Eunice lives her life by three simple rules: One, always refer to Cinderella as family. Two, never let Cinderella gain access to rats or mice. Three, never look upon Cinderella between the hours of twelve and three a.m. Cinderella has dark and terrifying powers. As her stepsister, Eunice is expected to care for her and keep the family’s secret. For years, Eunice has faithfully done so. Her childhood flew by in a blur of nightmares, tears, and near-misses with the monster living in the cellar. But when she befriends the handsome Prince Credence and secures an invitation to the ball, Eunice is determined to break free. When her younger sister, Hortense, steps up to care for Cinderella, Eunice grabs her chance to dance the night away—until Cinderella escapes. With her eldritch powers, Cinderella attends the ball and sweeps Prince Credence off his feet, leaving behind a trail of carnage and destruction as well as a single green glass slipper.   With Cinderella unleashed, Eunice must determine how much of herself she is willing to sacrifice in order to stop Cinderella. Unsettling and macabre at every turn, this page-turning horror will bewitch horror fans and leave its readers anxiously checking the locks on their cellar doors.