A suspenseful novel about an idyllic town in Maine dealing with the suspicious death of one of their own -- and her best "summer" friend, who is trying to uncover the truth... before fingers point her way. Littleport, Maine, has always felt like two separate towns: an ideal vacation enclave for the wealthy, whose summer homes line the coastline; and a simple harbor community for the year-round residents whose livelihoods rely on service to the visitors....

May, Christine, Heed, Junior, Vida, even L: all women obsessed by Bill Cosey. More than the wealthy owner of the famous Cosey Hotel and Resort, he shapes their yearnings for father, husband, lover, guardian, and friend, yearnings that dominate the lives of these women long after his death. Yet while he is both the void in, and the center of, their stories, he himself is driven by secret forces: a troubled past and a spellbinding woman named Celestial....

'Twas the night before Christmas, and all through Pine Cove, creatures are stirring--not all of them in a holiday way. When a little boy sees Santa take a shovel to the head, he makes a heartfelt prayer for his resurrection. Unfortunately, the stupidest angel in the heavenly hosts hears the plea.

A subtle and powerful work of contemporary fiction. Combe Island off the Cornish coast has a bloodstained history of piracy and cruelty but now, privately owned, it offers respite to over-stressed men and women in positions of high authority who require privacy and guaranteed security. But the peace of Combe is violated when one of the distinguished visitors is bizarrely murdered. Commander Adam Dalgliesh and his team are called on to solve a sensitive...

"Termush caters to every need of its wealthy patrons-first among them, a coveted spot at this exclusive seaside getaway, a resort designed for the end of the world. Everyone within its walls has been promised full protection from the aftereffects of "the disaster." The staff work behind the scenes to create a calming and frictionless mood; they pipe soothing music into the halls and quickly remove the dead birds that fall out of the sky. But the specter...

Maris Brown has been told two things about her destiny: 1. She will fall happily and madly in love. 2. She could be dead before she turns eighteen. The summer before that fateful birthday, Maris is in the wealthy beach town of Cross Cove with her estranged father and his new family--and the infamous Duvals. Since the youngest member of the Duval family, Edison, is back from college and back in the arms of Maris's new stepsister, her summer looks...

"The story of an endearing unlikely friendship set against the backdrop of a remote and beautiful Maine coastal town, The Country of the Pointed Firs is one of Sarah Orne Jewett's most loved works, and it quickly earned her a reputation as a talented writer upon its publication. Praised by Alice Brown for its "idyllic atmosphere of country life," Jewett's novel shows her intimate understanding of New England and its unique inhabitants, whose prickly...

Catapulted from her home, her marriage and her children, artist Rebecca Simms has come to Pawleys Island, South Carolina, to hide herself from herself. Little does she know that on this “arrogantly shabby” family playground, she’ll encounter three people who will change her life: a wise and irresistible octogenarian who will pry her secrets from her, a gallery owner who caters to interior decorators and heaven save us, tourists, and a retired...