Central Kansas Library System

"Lucy Barton is recovering slowly from what should have been a simple operation. Her mother, to whom she hasn't spoken for many years, comes to see her. Gentle gossip about people from Lucy's childhood in Amgash, Illinois, seems to reconnect them, but just below the surface lie the tension and longing that have informed every aspect of Lucy's life: her escape from her troubled family, her desire to become a writer, her marriage, her love for her two...

Shay Benson adored her younger brother, Caden, and that got her into trouble. When he owed money, Shay realized she would do anything to help him avoid the men who were threatening him and she crossed lines she never should have crossed. Now, determined to start fresh, she finds herself in search of a place to stay and wanders into a church to escape from the cold. Pastor Drew Douglas adored his wife. But when he lost her, it was all he could do to...

Every family has its problems. But even among the most troubled, the Plumb family stands out as spectacularly dysfunctional. Years of simmering tensions finally reach a breaking point on an unseasonably cold afternoon in New York City as Melody, Beatrice, and Jack Plumb gather to confront their charismatic and reckless older brother, Leo, freshly released from rehab. Months earlier, an inebriated Leo got behind the wheel of a car with a nineteen-year-old...

I am a person with Dystonia a rare muscle disorder that knocked me down a lot but never knocked me out. I am a storyteller, but when stories are told as truth it is a lie. This book is my redemption, also an apology to thousands of people I hope will find it in their heart to forgive me. I wrote this as an autobiography that will continue Lord willing for the next hundred years of my life.

Laura Bedrosian, kidnapped at age 13 and ransomed by her father, is forced to repay him by becoming a sexual replacement for her mentally-ill mother. For the next 20 years she repays that debt. But at age 33, her father, now suffering from dementia, is taken to a county fair where he is abandoned. The father's only ID is a piece of paper stating that his name is Larry. With her new-found freedom, Laura attempts to gather the shattered pieces...

Enemies to lovers is one thing, but what about an enemy that used to be a boyfriend? After leaving her home-town years ago, Nicole swore to never return. She took her secret with her and ran away, and become someone new. Today she is a famous influencer, loved my many, envied by more, and partnered to Eddie - the man who made her famous.famous. While she's living a life of luxury, her secret is festering. And when she finally returns home for the...

A tribute to mystery mastermind Agatha Christie and a fun, modern-day murder mystery where everyone is a suspect. When renowned crime novelist Harlan Thrombey is found dead at his estate just after his 85th birthday, the inquisitive and debonair Detective Benoit Blanc is mysteriously enlisted to investigate. From Harlan's dysfunctional family to his devoted staff, Blanc sifts through a web of red herrings and self-serving lies to uncover the truth...

Diane Freeman has a long history of deceit and usually at the expense of her estranged daughters. When she announced to the world, she only had six months to live, both daughters had to contemplate a life-changing question. Was Diane trying to make her first effort at bonding with them using the only tactic she knew, or was this just another attempt at wreaking havoc amongst the Freeman sisters? Before the announcement, sisters Taylor and Tory were...

Canada's top playwright sears the page with three new darkly comic plays that denounce political culture, individualism, and the accompanying moral depravity. The title play, Dead Metaphor, examines the collision of a politician's personal and professional lives, complicated by a son's return from Afghanistan. In The Ravine, a mayoral candidate learns that his ex-wife is living in a gully nearby and wants to put a hit on him. The Burden of Self-Awareness...