Central Kansas Library System

Tory Bodeen grew up in a small, rundown house where her father ruled with an iron fist and a leather belt. But she had Hope, whose friendship allowed Tory to be something she wasn't allowed to be at home: a child. But after young Hope's brutal murder, Tory's life began to fall apart. Now, as she returns to the tiny town of Progress, South Carolina, she is determined to find a measure of peace and free herself from the haunting visions of that terrible...

One beautiful summer afternoon, from her bedroom window on the second floor, Jody Linder is unnerved to see her three uncles parking their pickups in front of her parents' house. "What is this fearsome thing I see?" the young high school English teacher whispers, mimicking Shakespeare. Polished boots, pressed jeans, fresh white shirts, Stetsons- her uncles' suspiciously clean visiting clothes are a disturbing sign. The three bring shocking news: Billy...

Amos Decker's life changed forever-- twice. The first time was on the gridiron. A big, towering athlete, he was the only person from his hometown of Burlington ever to go pro. But his career ended before it had a chance to begin. On his very first play, a violent helmet-to-helmet collision knocked him off the field for good, and left him with an improbable side effect -- he can never forget anything. The second time was at home nearly two decades...

Brutally raped and murdered by a deceptively mild-mannered neighbor, Susie begins with a compelling description of her death. During the next ten years, she watches over her family and friends as they struggle to cope with her murder. She observes their disintegrating lives with compassion and occasionally attempts, sometimes successfully, to communicate her love to them. Although the lives of all who knew her well are shaped by her tragic death,...

It was no work for a woman. That's what they told Mary Breydon when she came to manage a rundown stagecoach station on the Cherokee Trail. But Mary had no choice. Her fine Virginia home burned to ashes in the Civil War and her husband was brutally shot down on the way to Colorado. She needed to make a new beginning for herself and her young daughter on the raw frontier. Isolated in an untamed land, their life at the station was achingly hard and they...