Coconut trees. Carnival. Rum and coke. To many outsiders, these idyllic images represent the so-called easy life in Caribbean nations such as Trinidad and Tobago. However, the reality is far different for those who live there--a society where poverty and patriarchy savagely rule, and where love and revenge often go hand in hand. Written in a combination of English and Trinidad Creole, Pleasantview reveals the dark side of the Caribbean dream. In this...

"When Katie Straw's body is pulled from the waters of the local suicide spot, the police are ready to write it off as a standard-issue female suicide. But the residents of the domestic violence shelter where Katie worked disagree. These women have spent weeks or even years waiting for the men they're running from to catch up with them. They know immediately: This was murder. Still, Detective Dan Whitworth and his team expect an open-and-shut case--until...

"When I met Mark, I knew I had to make him mine. Thoughtful and sensitive, Mark lived in the most breath-taking house I'd ever seen--all glass and perched on the clifftop, with mesmerizing views across the waves below. It was where his first wife had died tragically, but it would be our promising new start. When our gorgeous daughter Lulu was born, our perfect life was complete. But then I started having accidents at home. A broken hand ... a black...

"When Lilliana Swope's beloved mother dies, Lilliana gathers her last ounce of courage and flees her abusive husband for the home of her only living relative in the foothills of No Creek, North Carolina. Though Hyacinth Belvidere hasn't seen Lilliana since she was five, she offers her cherished great-niece a safe harbor. Their joyful reunion inspires plans to revive Aunt Hyacinth's estate and open a public library where everyone is welcome, no matter...

"Award-winning author Kelly Barnhill brings her singular talents to The Crane Husband, a raw, powerful story of love, sacrifice, and family. "Mothers fly away like migrating birds. This is why farmers have daughters." A fifteen-year-old teenager is the backbone of her small Midwestern family, budgeting the household finances and raising her younger brother while her mother, a talented artist, weaves beautiful tapestries. For six years, it's been just...

"Hilton Head private investigator Bay Tanner has seen enough murder and mayhem to last her several lifetimes. Her decision to accept only the most mundane cases has led to a more settled life with her husband and employees until the appearance of an old friend scuttles all her good intentions. Sylvia Reynolds, lovingly known as Pudge back when their crowd shared forbidden cigarettes in the girls' restroom, has morphed into Sylvie Reynaud, one of the...

"When a mysterious young woman named Katie appears in the small North Carolina town of Southport, her sudden arrival raises questions about her past. Beautiful yet self-effacing, Katie seems determined to avoid forming personal ties until a series of events draws her into two reluctant relationships: one with Alex, a widowed store owner with a kind heart and two young children; and another with her plainspoken single neighbor, Jo. Despite her reservations,...

Taking a caretaking job at a nature preserve, Katie gets more than she bargained for when a terrified woman arrives late at night expecting a safe place to hide, and she suddenly doesn't know whom she can trust as she decides how much she'll risk to do the right thing.