As a sensational celebrity libel trial unfolds, a young woman at the periphery secretly wields the power to make or break the case. But with her own hidden past, will she dare to speak up?Everyone is watching. Only one person knows the truth. The whole country has been riveted by the trial: Beloved TV star and national treasure Anna Finbow, standing in court, accusing her daughter's therapist Jean Guest of brainwashing her daughter Mary for her own financial gain. Jean insists Mary's traumatic memories arise from her upbringing and her time studying at a prestigious art school in Rome; wounds only Jean's therapy can heal. But as the trial unfolds, it's Augusta "Gus" Bird, Anna's former employee—a seemingly insignificant bystander, a nobody—who holds the key to unraveling the tangled web of lies and deceit. What really happened to Mary in Rome? And if her memories can't be trusted, how will they ever uncover the truth behind her...

"A bold and beautifully written examination of a mother's love told through the eyes of Cinderella's 'wicked' stepmother." —Kirkus Reviews (starred review) "Destined to be one of the biggest books of the year." —Glennon Doyle, #1 bestselling author of Untamed "Splendid." —Publishers Weekly (starred review) "Breathtakingly beautiful." —Emilia Hart, bestselling author of Weyward Twice-widowed, Lady Etheldreda Verity Isolde Tremaine Bramley is solely responsible for her two children, a priggish stepdaughter, a razor-taloned peregrine falcon, and a crumbling manor. Fierce and determined, Ethel clings to the respectability her deceased husband's title affords her, hoping it will secure her daughters' future through marriage.When a royal ball offers the chance to change everything, Ethel risks her pride in pursuit of an invitation for all three of her daughters—only to see her hopes fulfilled by...

The remote Scottish island chain of St Kilda was abandoned by its people over a century ago.And for good reason.Bruce hates the cold, he hates being away from the city, and, most of all, he hates spiders.Now, drawn by the promise of rich gas reserves, he leads a team of corporate surveyors to these lonely shores. With no way off, they must endure harsh storms, gruelling terrain, and an infestation of arachnids.In this desolate isolation, a monstrous presence looms as they uncover the dark truth behind the island's evacuation.

A Coffin Full of Pineapples is the second in a series of mystery novels that Hilary Cohen first introduced to readers in 2023 with A Turquoise Grave. Set in the remote Grenadine Islands of the southern Caribbean, the novels feature former Chicago lawyer Maggie Mullaley, young, plucky, trying to leave past sorrows behind. Maggie is in the Caribbean to regain her emotional footing, longing for nothing more than the sea and the charms of village life. An experienced sailor, she winds up crewing for raffish charter boat captain Jack Phelps and finds herself in a world about as far from her disintegrating former existence in Chicago as possible.

In this debut story collection, Ysabelle Cheung weaves an eerie fabulism with tales that cross continents, technology, and time.Set in Hong Kong and America—between the present day and an uncannily altered future—this story collection warps the familiar rules of our world to ask: what does it mean to be Asian and a woman—living under the specter of state and technological surveillance—or trying to break free from it?In the title story, a young woman of color realizes she can make her fortune by surgically selling her facial features to whiter, wealthier clients. In "Please, Get Out and Dance," a group of rebels escapes a city that is literally disappearing around them—building by building, person by person—to migrate to a new home beneath the ocean, defying their government's mandate. "Herbs" follows an elderly widow who, when the clones of her dead husband start to appear uninvited in her home, must grapple with her...