Fiction set in San Francisco

Today in history - January 5th, 1933 - Construction of the Golden Gate Bridge begins.  Here are ten novels set in San Francisco.

1st to Die by James Patterson - Each one holds a piece of the puzzle: Lindsay Boxer is a homicide inspector in the San Francisco Police Department, Claire Washburn is a medical examiner, Jill Bernhardt is an assistant D.A., and Cindy Thomas just started working the crime desk of the San Francisco Chronicle.
But the usual procedures aren't bringing them any closer to stopping the killings. So these women form a Women's Murder Club to collaborate outside the box and pursue the case by sidestepping their bosses and giving each other a hand. The four women develop intense bonds as they pursue a killer whose crimes have stunned an entire city. Working together, they track down the most terrifying and unexpected killer they have ever encountered-before a shocking conclusion in which everything they knew turns out to be devastatingly wrong. Book 1 in the Women's Murder Club series

Family of Lies by Mary Monroe - After growing up poor in Texas, Vera Lomax used every gold-digging trick in the book to land a rich husband. Now living in the lap of luxury in San Francisco, her only job is to fawn over her much-older husband, so it's been easy for her to balance a life of shopping and affairs with younger men with a major secret: the sixteen-year bribery of one of her husband's mistresses to keep her pregnancy under wraps. Vera figures that a little hush money every month will ensure her husband's fortune is hers alone. . . Unfortunately for Vera, Sarah Cooper is the child Kenneth Lomax always wanted. When the father she never knew shows up at her mother's funeral to claim her, it's a fairy tale journey from the ghetto to a mansion on a hill. But Sarah's life is not as carefree as her father wants it to be . . .because Sarah knows from the start that her step-mother is as two-faced as they come. And after losing all the family she's ever known, she wants a life that's richer than what Vera's got planned for her. Neither woman can be sure who will win Kenneth's heart and fortune. But as Vera and Sarah scheme to get what they want, everyone they know will be choosing sides, taking chances, and gambling it all to come out on top.

In Places Hidden by Tracie Peterson - 1905. Caleb Coulter, a lawyer, went missing three months ago. His sister, Camriann, heads to San Francisco to find him. She meets Judith and Kenzie, who also have mysteries to solve in the booming West Coast city. Camri's search leads her deep into the political corruption of the city-- and into the acquaintance of Patrick Murdock, an Irishman who Caleb saved from a false murder charge. Together they see the truth, will Patrick be able to protect Camri from the dangers of the city? Book 1 in the Golden Gate Secrets series 

The Language of Flowers by Vanessa Diffenbaugh - A mesmerizing, moving, and elegantly written debut novel, The Language of Flowers beautifully weaves past and present, creating a vivid portrait of an unforgettable woman whose gift for flowers helps her change the lives of others even as she struggles to overcome her own troubled past.
The Victorian language of flowers was used to convey romantic expressions: honeysuckle for devotion, asters for patience, and red roses for love. But for Victoria Jones, it's been more useful in communicating grief, mistrust, and solitude. After a childhood spent in the foster-care system, she is unable to get close to anybody, and her only connection to the world is through flowers and their meanings.
Now eighteen and emancipated from the system, Victoria has nowhere to go and sleeps in a public park, where she plants a small garden of her own. Soon a local florist discovers her talents, and Victoria realizes she has a gift for helping others through the flowers she chooses for them. But a mysterious vendor at the flower market has her questioning what's been missing in her life, and when she's forced to confront a painful secret from her past, she must decide whether it's worth risking everything for a second chance at happiness.

Love and Other Words by Christina Lauren - Macy Sorensen works hard as a new pediatrics resident, plans a wedding to an older, financially secure man, and keeps her heart tucked away. When she runs into Elliot Petropoulos, the first and only love of her life, the careful bubble she's constructed begins to dissolve. As teenagers, Elliot and Macy spent lazy summers together in a house outside of San Francisco devouring books, sharing favorite words, and talking through their growing pains and triumphs. As adults, they have become strangers until their chance reunion. Will they overcome the past to revive a faith in the possibility of an all-consuming love?

Murder at the Palace by Margaret Dumas - When Nora Paige's movie-star husband leaves her for his latest co-star, she flees Hollywood to take refuge in San Francisco at the Palace, a historic movie theater that shows the classic films she loves. There she finds a band of misfit film buffs as well as some shady financial dealings, a ghost of a 1930's usherette, and the body of a murdered stranger. Book 1 in the Movie Palace Mysteries 

Nocturnal by Scott Sigler - Homicide detective Bryan Clauser is losing his mind.
 How else to explain the dreams he keeps having--dreams that mirror, with impossible accuracy, the gruesome serial murders taking place all over San Francisco? How else to explain the feelings these dreams provoke in him--not disgust, not horror, but excitement?
 As Bryan and his longtime partner, Lawrence "Pookie" Chang, investigate the murders, they learn that things are even stranger than they at first seem. For the victims are all enemies of a seemingly ordinary young boy--a boy who is gripped by the same dreams that haunt Bryan.  Meanwhile, a shadowy vigilante, seemingly armed with superhuman powers, is out there killing the killers.  And Bryan and Pookie's superiors--from the mayor on down--seem strangely eager to keep the detectives from discovering the truth.
 Doubting his own sanity and stripped of his badge, Bryan begins to suspect that he's stumbled into the crosshairs of a shadow war that has gripped his city for more than a century--a war waged by a race of killers living in San Francisco's unknown, underground ruins, emerging at night to feed on those who will not be missed.
 And as Bryan learns the truth about his own intimate connections to the killings, he discovers that those who matter most to him are in mortal danger...and that he may be the only man gifted--or cursed--with the power to do battle with the nocturnals.

Special Circumstances by Sheldon Siegel - Meet Mike Daley. Ex-priest. Ex-public defender. Ex-husband. And as of yesterday, ex-partner at Simpson & Gates, one of San Francisco's most prominent law firms. Today he's out on his own, setting up a private practice on the wrong side of town. Then his best friend and former colleague is charged with a brutal double murder. Daley has his first client--and is instantly catapulted into a high-profile case involving the prestigious law firm that just booted him.
The victims are one of Simpson & Gates's most powerful partners and a beautiful young associate. There's a suicide note on the partner's computer, but neither the police nor the ambitious district attorney believe it's authentic--and they think the man they've arrested is the killer. It's up to Mike Daley to prove them wrong, but time is very short.
As Daley prepares his case, he begins to uncover the firm's dirtiest secrets--and dirty they are--but he also discovers that his friend, too, has a lot to hide. Even as the trial is under way, Daley and his investigators are still frantically digging for evidence that will clear their client. Against a chorus of morning press reports and nightly TV commentaries picking apart each day's session, Daley comes to realize that ambition, politics, greed, and long-standing grudges will play just as important a role in the outcome as truth and justice. This is the real world of law practice at work, and it's as ruthless as it is startling. Book 1 in the Mike Daley / Rosie Fernandez series 

Tales of the City by Armistead Maupin - Armistead Maupin's Tales of the City has blazed a singular trail through popular culture -- from a groundbreaking newspaper serial to a classic novel to a television event that entranced millions around the world. The first of six novels about the denizens of the mythic apartment house at 28 Barbary Lane, Tales is both a wry comedy of manners and a deeply involving portrait of a vanished era. Book 1 in the Tales of the City series 

Unsub by Meg Gardiner - A riveting psychological thriller inspired by the never-caught Zodiac Killer, about a young detective determined to apprehend the serial murderer who destroyed her family and terrorized a city twenty years earlier. Caitlin Hendrix has been a Narcotics detective for six months when the killer at the heart of all her childhood nightmares reemerges: the Prophet. An UNSUB--what the FBI calls an unknown subject--the Prophet terrorized the Bay Area in the 1990s and nearly destroyed her father, the lead investigator on the case. The Prophet's cryptic messages and mind games drove Detective Mack Hendrix to the brink of madness, and Mack's failure to solve the series of ritualized murders--eleven seemingly unconnected victims left with the ancient sign for Mercury etched into their flesh--was the final nail in the coffin for a once promising career. Twenty years later, two bodies are found bearing the haunting signature of the Prophet. Caitlin Hendrix has never escaped the shadow of her father's failure to protect their city. But now the ruthless madman is killing again and has set his sights on her, threatening to undermine the fragile barrier she rigidly maintains for her own protection, between relentless pursuit and dangerous obsession. Determined to decipher his twisted messages and stop the carnage, Caitlin ignores her father's warnings as she draws closer to the killer with each new gruesome murder. Is it a copycat, or can this really be the same Prophet who haunted her childhood? Will Caitlin avoid repeating her father's mistakes and redeem her family name, or will chasing the Prophet drag her and everyone she loves into the depths of the abyss? Book 1 in the Unsub series 

Bullying

The first Monday of every October is World Day of Bullying Prevention.  Schools and communities around the world will go 'blue' together against bullying.  It also kicks off National Bullying Prevention Awareness Month.  To celebrate, here are ten juvenile novels with bullying as a part of the plot.

Bernice Buttman, Model Citizen by Niki Lenz - When you're a Buttman, the label "bully" comes with the territory, and Bernice lives up to her name. But life as a bully is lonely, and if there's one thing Bernice really wants (even more than becoming a Hollywood stuntwoman), it's a true friend. After her mom skedaddles and leaves her in a new town with her aunt (who is also a real live nun), Bernice decides to mend her ways and become a model citizen. If her plan works, she just might be able to get herself to Hollywood Hills Stunt Camp! But it's hard to be kind when no one shows you kindness, so a few cheesy pranks may still be up her sleeve.

Captain Superlative by J. S. Puller - Red mask, blue wig, silver swimsuit, rubber gloves, torn tights, high top sneakers and . . . a cape? Who would run through the halls of Deerwood Park Middle School dressed like this? And why?
Janey-quick to stay in the shadows-can't resist the urge to uncover the truth behind the mask. The answer pulls invisible Janey into the spotlight and leads her to an unexpected friendship with a superhero like no other. Fearless even in the face of school bully extraordinaire, Dagmar Hagen, no good deed is too small for the incomparable Captain Superlative and her new sidekick, Janey.
But superheroes hold secrets and Captain Superlative is no exception. When Janey unearths what's truly at stake, she's forced to face her own dark secrets and discover what it truly means to be a hero . . . and a friend.

Finding Langston by Lesa Cline-Ransome - When 11-year-old Langston's mother dies in 1946, he and his father leave rural Alabama for Chicago's brown belt as a part of what came to be known as the Great Migration. It's lonely in the small apartment with just the two of them, and at school Langston is bullied. But his new home has one fantastic thing. Unlike the whites-only library in Alabama, the local public library welcomes everyone. There, hiding out after school, Langston discovers another Langston, a poet whom he learns inspired his mother enough to name her only son after him.

Home Court by Amar'e Stoudemire - Eleven-year-old Amar'e Stoudemire has a lot going on. He plays sports with his friends. He takes his schoolwork seriously. He helps out with his dad's landscaping company. And he loves to go skateboarding in the park.But when an older group of boys start bullying his friends on the basketball court, Amar'e is forced to step in and use his athletic ability and intelligence to save the day. He realizes basketball is his true passion. Book 1 of 5 in the STAT: Standing Tall and Talented series

I, Funny by James Patterson & Chris Grabenstein - Jamie Grimm is a middle schooler on a mission: he wants to become the world's greatest standup comedian--even if he doesn't have a lot to laugh about these days. He's new in town and stuck living with his aunt, uncle, and their evil son Stevie, a bully who doesn't let Jamie's wheelchair stop him from messing with Jamie as much as possible. But Jamie doesn't let his situation get him down. When his Uncle Frankie mentions a contest called The Planet's Funniest Kid Comic, Jamie knows he has to enter. But are the judges only rewarding him out of pity because of his wheelchair, like Stevie suggests? Will Jamie ever share the secret of his troubled past instead of hiding behind his comedy act? Book 1 of 6 in the I, Funny series

The Infinity Year of Avalon James by Dana Middleton - Avalon James and Atticus Brightwell have a secret--one that they aren't allowed to discuss with anyone. This secret is shared between two best friends. When you and your best friend turn ten years old magical things are said to happen. You both will receive some kind of magical power. It can be a power you can call on time and time again. Or it can be a power that comes once when you need it most. It's your Infinity Year and the possibilities are endless.
The past year hasn't been great with her family being torn apart and bullying at school, so Avalon is depending on her magical ability to appear soon and help. With the clock ticking and her eleventh birthday approaching, which would be the end of her powers, Avalon's hopes are running high. Will she and Atticus get the powers they so desperately want and need?

Save Me a Seat by Sarah Weeks & Gita Varadarajan - Two boys - one white, one Indian American - gain strength from each other from afar as they struggle to navigate middle school, family, and friendships.
Two boys - one white, one Indian American - gain strength from each other from afar as they struggle to navigate middle school, family, and friendships.
Joe and Ravi might be from very different places, but they're both stuck in the same place: SCHOOL.
Joe's lived in the same town all his life, and was doing just fine until his best friends moved away and left him on his own.
Ravi's family just moved to America from India, and he's finding it pretty hard to figure out where he fits in.
Joe and Ravi don't think they have anything in common -but soon enough they have a common enemy (the biggest bully in their class) and a common mission: to take control of their lives over the course of a single crazy week.

The Secret Sheriff of Sixth Grade by Jordan Sonnenblick - In sixth grade, bad things can happen to good kids. Bullies will find your weakness and jump on it. Teachers will say you did something wrong when really you didn't mean to do anything wrong. The kids who joke the loudest can drown out the quieter, nicer kids.
Maverick wants to change all that. One of the last things his father left him was a toy sheriff's badge, back when Maverick was little. Now he likes to carry it around to remind him of his dad -- and also to remind him to make school a better place for everyone . . . even if that's a hard thing to do, especially when his own home life is falling apart.

Sidetracked by Diana Harmon Asher - If middle school were a race, Joseph Friedman wouldn't even be in last place--he'd be on the sidelines. With an overactive mind and phobias of everything from hard-boiled eggs to gargoyles, he struggles to understand his classes, let alone his fellow classmates. So he spends most of his time avoiding school bully Charlie Kastner and hiding out in the Resource Room, a safe place for misfit kids like him.
But then, on the first day of seventh grade, two important things happen. First, his Resource Room teacher encourages (i.e., practically forces) him to join the school track team, and second, he meets Heather, a crazy-fast runner who isn't going to be pushed around by Charlie Kastner or anybody else.
 With a new friend and a new team, Joseph finds himself off the sidelines and in the race (quite literally) for the first time. Is he a good runner? Well, no, he's terrible. But the funny thing about running is, once you're in the race, anything can happen.

The Truth As Told by Mason Buttle by Leslie Connor - Mason Buttle is the biggest, sweatiest kid in his grade, and everyone knows he can barely read or write. Mason's learning disabilities are compounded by grief. Fifteen months ago, Mason's best friend, Benny Kilmartin, turned up dead in the Buttle family's orchard.
An investigation drags on, and Mason, honest as the day is long, can't understand why Lieutenant Baird won't believe the story Mason has told about that day.
Both Mason and his new friend, tiny Calvin Chumsky, are relentlessly bullied by the other boys in their neighborhood, so they create an underground haven for themselves. When Calvin goes missing, Mason finds himself in trouble again. He's desperate to figure out what happened to Calvin and, eventually, Benny.
But will anyone believe him?

Friday the 13th

Today is Friday the 13th, a date supposed to be unlucky.  The number 13 has been traditionally considered an unlucky number, but today we're embracing it with ten novels with 'thirteen' in the title.

The 13: Fall by Robbie Cheuvront & Erik Reed - Former Black Ops specialist-turned-CIA operative Jonathan Keene is investigating the disappearance of border agents along the US/Mexico border when hes called to join a battle against an enemy no one saw coming. . .yet waits right at Americas doorstep.  Book 1 of 2 in The 13 series

Code 13 by Don Brown - A billion-dollar contract for the sale of drones to the Navy, the largest drone contract in history, puts two Navy JAG officers in the gun sights of a mysterious killer. Caroline is just getting her feet wet at the prestigious Code 13, but is thankful for at least one familiar face--old flame, PJ McDonald. He loops her into the assignment he is currently working on--the legality of a proposed drone-sharing contract with Homeland Security that would allow the sale of drones for domestic surveillance. The contractor wants a legal opinion clearing the contract for congressional approval. But the Mob wants the proposal dead-on-arrival. But when McDonald is gunned down in cold blood and a second JAG officer is killed, one thing becomes clear: Whoever is ordered to write the legal opinion on the drones has become a target. Which is exactly why Caroline goes to her commanding officer and volunteers to write the legal opinion herself. She is determined to avenge PJ's death, and trap the killer, even if that means making herself a target. It is a deadly game of Russian roulette for the sake of justice. But Caroline is determined to see it through, even if it costs her life. Book 2 of 2 in the Navy JAG series

Pretty Girl-13 by Liz Coley - Angie Chapman was thirteen years old when she ventured into the woods on a Girl Scout camping trip. Now she's returned home...only to find that it's three years later and she's sixteen--or at least that's what everyone tells her. What happened to the last three years of her life?
With a tremendous amount of courage, Angie embarks on a journey to discover the fragments of her lost time. She eventually discovers a terrifying secret and must decide: What do you do when you remember things you wish you could forget? 

Thirteen by Kelley Armstrong - It's been more than ten years, a dozen installments, and hundreds of thousands of copies since Kelley Armstrong introduced readers to the all-too-real denizens of the Otherworld: witches, werewolves, necromancers, vampires, and half-demons, among others. And it's all been leading to Thirteen, the final installment, the novel that brings all of these stories to a stunning conclusion.
A war is brewing--the first battle has been waged and Savannah Levine is left standing, albeit battered and bruised. She has rescued her half brother from supernatural medical testing, but he's fighting to stay alive. The Supernatural Liberation Movement took him hostage, and they have a maniacal plan to expose the supernatural world to the unknowing.
Savannah has called upon her inner energy to summon spells with frightening strength, a strength she never knew she had, as she fights to keep her world from shattering. But it's more than a matter of supernaturals against one another--both heaven and hell have entered the war; hellhounds, genetically modified werewolves, and all forces of good and evil have joined the fray. Book 13 of 13 in the Women of the Otherworld series

Thirteen by Steve Cavanagh - It's the murder trial of the century. And Joshua Kane has killed to get the best seat in the house - and to be sure the wrong man goes down for the crime. Because this time, the killer isn't on trial. He's on the jury. But there's someone on his tail. Former-conman-turned-criminal-defense-attorney Eddie Flynn doesn't believe that his movie-star client killed two people. He suspects that the real killer is closer than they think - but who would guess just how close? Book 4 of 4 in the Eddie Flynn series

Thirteen Hours by Deon Meyer - It's early morning in Cape Town and Bennie Griessel, homicide detective with the South African Police Service, has a bad feeling. He's been sober for nearly six months--156 days. But day 157 is going to be tough. A teenage girl's body has been found on the street, her throat cut. The girl was an American--a P.R. nightmare in the #1 tourist destination in South African. And she wasn't alone. Somewhere in Cape town her friend, Rachel Anderson, an innocent American girl, is hopefully still alive. Book 2 of 6 in the Benny Griessel series 

Thirteen Rising by Romina Russell - New York Times bestselling author Romina Russell's epic sci-fi fantasy series ZODIAC reaches its breathtaking conclusion with THIRTEEN RISING, the highly anticipated fourth and final novel. The master has been unmasked. Rho's world has been turned upside down. With her loved ones in peril and all the stars set against her, can the young Guardian from House Cancer muster the strength to keep fighting? Or has she finally found her match in a master whose ambition to rule knows no limits? Book 4 of 4 in the Zodiac series

Thirteen Ways of Looking by Colum McCann - In the exuberant title novella, a retired judge reflects on his life's work, unaware as he goes about his daily routines that this particular morning will be his last. In "Sh'khol," a mother spending Christmas alone with her son confronts the unthinkable when he disappears while swimming off the coast near their home in Ireland. In "Treaty," an elderly nun catches a snippet of a news report in which it is revealed that the man who once kidnapped and brutalized her is alive, masquerading as an agent of peace. And in "What Time Is It Now, Where You Are?" a writer constructs a story about a Marine in Afghanistan calling home on New Year's Eve.
Deeply personal, subtly subversive, at times harrowing, and indeed funny, yet also full of comfort, Thirteen Ways of Looking is a striking achievement. With unsurpassed empathy for his characters and their inner lives, Colum McCann forges from their stories a profound tribute to our search for meaning and grace. The collection is a rumination on the power of storytelling in a world where language and memory can sometimes falter, but in the end do not fail us, and a contemplation of the healing power of literature.

Thirteen Years Later: Russia, 1825 by Jasper Kent - 1825 - Europe and Russia have been at peace for ten years. Bonaparte is long dead and the threat of invasion is no more. For Colonel Aleksei Ivanovich Danilov, life is peaceful. Not only have the French been defeated but so have the twelve monstrous creatures he once fought alongside, and then against, ten or more years ago. His duty is still to serve and to protect his tsar, Aleksandr the First. But now the one who was betrayed by the Romanovs has returned to exact revenge for what has been denied him. And for Aleksei, knowing this chills his very soul. For it seems the vile pestilence that once threatened all he believed in and all he held dear has returned, thirteen years later... Book 2 of 5 in the Danilov Quintet

Unlucky 13 by James Patterson & Maxine Paetro - San Francisco Detective Lindsay Boxer is loving her life as a new mother. With an attentive husband, a job she loves, plus best friends who can talk about anything from sex to murder, things couldn't be better. Then the FBI sends Lindsay a photo of a killer from her past, and her happy world is shattered. The picture captures a beautiful woman at a stoplight. But all Lindsay sees is the psychopath behind those seductive eyes: Mackie Morales, the most deranged and dangerous mind the Women's Murder Club has ever encountered. In this pulse-racing, emotionally charged novel by James Patterson, the Women's Murder Club must find a killer--before she finds them first. Book 13 of 20 in the Women's Murder Club

Back to School - College Edition

It's about that time to head back to classes.  Here are ten novels featuring college students or set on college campuses. 

Anytime Soon by Tamika Christy - Frenzied. Overburdened. Stressed. Overwhelmed. These are just a few ways to describe college senior Anaya Goode's life. Add to this no career prospects following a looming graduation, and Anaya quickly finds herself drowning in the chaos of her own life. Her family and friends demand much of Anaya, and she's struggling to balance herself in the mire. Facing an onslaught of grief, complex relationships, and a life that is full of deafening noise, Anaya must find herself, and maybe even true love and redemption, amid old traditions and new beginnings.

The Art of Fielding by Chad Harbach - At Westish College, a small school on the shore of Lake Michigan, baseball star Henry Skrimshander seems destined for big league stardom. But when a routine throw goes disastrously off course, the fates of five people are upended.
Henry's fight against self-doubt threatens to ruin his future. College president Guert Affenlight, a longtime bachelor, has fallen unexpectedly and helplessly in love. Owen Dunne, Henry's gay roommate and teammate, becomes caught up in a dangerous affair. Mike Schwartz, the Harpooners' team captain and Henry's best friend, realizes he has guided Henry's career at the expense of his own. And Pella Affenlight, Guert's daughter, returns to Westish after escaping an ill-fated marriage, determined to start a new life. 

Beautiful Oblivion by Jamie McGuire - A relationship develops between fiercely independent bartending college student Camille "Cami" Camlin and Big-Man-On-Campus- turned-tattoo-parlor-employee Trenton Maddox.
Tending bar at The Red Door, Cami doesn't have time for much besides work and classes. On her first weekend off in almost a year, she's sitting alone at a table at The Red when Trenton walks in. He left campus after an accident left him with crushing guilt, and now lives at home with his widower father, working at a local tattoo parlor to help with the bills. The new friendship is strictly platonic. But when a Maddox boy falls in love, he loves forever....  Book 1 of 4 in the Maddox Brothers series

Come and Get Me by August Norman - When award-winning journalist Caitlin Bergman is invited back to campus to receive an honorary degree, she finds an opportunity for a well-earned victory lap--and a chance to face the trauma that almost destroyed her as an undergrad. But her lap becomes an all-out race when a student begs her to probe an unsolved campus disappearance: Angela Chapman went out one Friday night and never came back. To find the missing woman, Caitlin must join forces with a local police detective and the department that botched her own case so long ago. But while Caitlin follows the clues behind Angela's disappearance, someone else is following her... Unearthing secrets hidden beneath an idyllic Midwestern college town, Caitlin must expose what really happened to Angela--before she herself becomes the newest addition to a twisted collection. Book 1 in the Caitlin Bergman Mysteries

The Good Goodbye by Carla Buckley - The first thing you should know is that everyone lies. The second thing is that it matters. On her way to her nineteenth wedding anniversary celebration, Natalie Falcone leaves the struggling restaurant she owns with her brother-in-law, Vince. She doesn't speak to him on her way out; they haven't spoken in months. But out on the sidewalk, she gets a phone call every mother dreads: It's from the emergency room where her daughter, Arden, attends college. Arden's been in a fire, along with Natalie's niece, Rory-- Vince's daughter and Arden s best friend. Natalie rushes to the hospital and learns that both Arden and Rory lie unconscious, and that another student has died in the blaze. The police suspect arson. As the investigation mounts, Natalie struggles to piece together the elusive details of Arden's and Rory's freshman year. Growing up, Rory was charming, popular, and charismatic, while Arden was artistic, perceptive, and reserved. They were different yet inseparable, more like sisters than cousins. But the case unearths a different portrait of a complex friendship, a love triangle, a fight, and a girl who was struggling more than anyone realized. To discover what really happened that tragic night, Natalie's and Vince's families must confront the one truth that ultimately emerges: Nothing is ever exactly what it seems.

If We Were Villains by M. L. Rio - On the day Oliver Marks is released from jail, the man who put him there is waiting at the door. Detective Colborne wants to know the truth, and after ten years, Oliver is finally ready to tell it.
A decade ago: Oliver is one of seven young Shakespearean actors at Dellecher Classical Conservatory, a place of keen ambition and fierce competition. In this secluded world of firelight and leather-bound books, Oliver and his friends play the same roles onstage and off: hero, villain, tyrant, temptress, ingénue, extras.
But in their fourth and final year, good-natured rivalries turn ugly, and on opening night real violence invades the students' world of make-believe. In the morning, the fourth-years find themselves facing their very own tragedy, and their greatest acting challenge yet: convincing the police, each other, and themselves that they are innocent. 

Kill Me If You Can by James Patterson & Marshall Karp - Matthew Bannon, a poor art student living in New York City, finds a duffel bag filled with diamonds during a chaotic attack at Grand Central Station. Plans for a worry-free life with his stunning girlfriend Katherine fill his thoughts--until he realizes that he is being hunted, and that whoever is after him won't stop until they have reclaimed the diamonds and exacted their revenge.
Trailing him is the Ghost, the world's greatest assassin, who has just pulled off his most high-profile hit: killing Walter Zelvas, a top member of the international Diamond Syndicate. There's only one small problem: the diamonds he was supposed to retrieve from Zelvas are missing. Now, the Ghost is on Bannon's trail--but so is a rival assassin who would like nothing more than to make the Ghost disappear forever.

The Life We Bury by Allen Eskens - College student Joe Talbert has the modest goal of completing a writing assignment for an English class. His task is to interview a stranger and write a brief biography of the person. With deadlines looming, Joe heads to a nearby nursing home to find a willing subject. There he meets Carl Iverson, and soon nothing in Joe's life is ever the same. Iverson is a dying Vietnam veteran--and a convicted murderer. With only a few months to live, he has been medically paroled to a nursing home, after spending thirty years in prison for the crimes of rape and murder. As Joe writes about Carl's life, especially Carl's valor in Vietnam, he cannot reconcile the heroism of the soldier with the despicable acts of the convict. Joe, along with his skeptical female neighbor, throws himself into uncovering the truth, but he is hamstrung in his efforts by having to deal with his dangerously dysfunctional mother, the guilt of leaving his autistic brother vulnerable, and a haunting childhood memory. Thread by thread, Joe unravels the tapestry of Carl's conviction. But by the time Joe discovers the truth, it is too late to escape the fallout.  Book 1 of 5 in the Max Rupert series

No Exit by Taylor Adams - Darby Thorne is a college student stranded by a blizzard at a highway rest stop in the middle of nowhere. She's on the way home to see her sick mother. She'll have to spend the night in the rest stop with four complete strangers. Then she stumbles across a little girl locked inside one of their parked cars. There is no cell phone reception, no telephone, no way out because of the snow, and she doesn't know which one of the other travelers is the kidnapper. Full of shocking twists and turns, this beautifully written novel will have you on the edge of your seat.

Normal People by Sally Rooney - At school Connell and Marianne pretend not to know each other. He's popular and well-adjusted, star of the school football team, while she is lonely, proud, and intensely private. But when Connell comes to pick his mother up from her job at Marianne's house, a strange and indelible connection grows between the two teenagers--one they are determined to conceal. A year later, they're both studying at Trinity College in Dublin. Marianne has found her feet in a new social world while Connell hangs at the sidelines, shy and uncertain. Throughout their years at university, Marianne and Connell circle one another, straying toward other people and possibilities but always magnetically, irresistibly drawn back together. And as she veers into self-destruction and he begins to search for meaning elsewhere, each must confront how far they are willing to go to save the other.