Nora Eldridge, an elementary school teacher in Cambridge, Massachusetts, long ago abandoned her dream to be a successful artist. Instead she has become the "woman upstairs," a reliable friend and tidy neighbor always on the fringe of others' achievements. Then into her classroom walks Reza Shahid, a child who enchants as if from a fairy tale, and Nora is drawn into the complex world of his glamorous and cosmopolitan family. As happiness explodes her...

"When Professor Hess stumbles across an unusual letter to the editor in an art journal, he is surprised to have known so little about the brilliant and mysterious artist it describes, the late Harriet Burden. Intrigued by her story, and by the explosive scandal surrounding her legacy, he begins to interview those who knew her, hoping to separate fact from fiction, only to find himself tumbling down a rabbit's hole of personal and psychological intrigue....

"Annie Zook--the preacher's eldest daughter--is expected to join the Amish church, but at 20 she is 'still deciding.' Because of the strict rules that guide the Plain community, she must continually squelch her artistic passion, although it has become her solace"--Provided by publisher.

Daisy Flattery agrees to pose as her neighbor's fiancée to help him get his dream job, but what will she be left with when the charade is over?

"From award-winning novelist Idra Novey comes a "deft and surprising novel" with two unforgettable female voices. (Rumaan Alam) Set in the Allegheny Mountains of Pennsylvania, Take What You Need follows the estrangement and reconciliation of stepmother and daughter, Jean and Leah. Leah always felt her path diverged from Jean's and left her hometown without looking back, making a life for herself in the city as a young mother and academic. Now that...

"The narrator of this creepy but feministically delicious novella, an early 21st-century novelist decides to write the biography of Helen Ralston, an all-but-forgotten 20th-century novelist she has long admired. In the late 1920s, Helen studied painting with W.E. Logan. Logan painted her as Circe, and Helen painted herself as an island titled My Death. When they parted for good, both turned to writing. Willy became famous; Helen did not. The narrator...

When the pregnant teenage daughter of a wealthy newcomer to Llanelen is found dead in the nearby woods, spa owner Penny Brannigan investigates the family's suspicious financial dealings while her paramour, Detective Inspector Davies, tracks down the killer.

Watercolorist Olivia Rutherford fashioned an image to appeal to wealthy art collectors. But a magazine contract for illustrations of Yosemite National Park should lift Olivia and her sisters out of poverty. Former minister Clark Johnson lost everything but found purpose as a guide in this natural cathedral. As he opens her eyes to its wonders, Olivia experiences a revelation that may bring her charade to an end.

Ten years ago, devastated by an ugly scandal, Brooke Martin fled the small town of Hayden to pursue a career as a stained glass artist. Now Brooke has returned on business to discover that some things never change. Her spotted reputation remains. Tongues still wag. And that makes what should be her dream assignment tough.Brooke has been hired to design new stained glass windows at Hayden Bible Church. The job is a career windfall. But Nick Marcello...