"Philbet Lawson is born in 1960s rural Georgia with two inescapable strikes against him: he's gay and physically misshapen, both of which inform his every thought, unless he's thinking about cars, his obsession. His world is populated by an ineffectual father; a devoted though fearful mother; a rowdy but popular older brother; his best friend, a Black boy who also understands the sting of being an outsider; boorish uncles who belittle Philbet for...

When Scotland is hit by the recession, Police Constable Hamish Macbeth notices that the Highland people are forced to come up with inventive ways to lure tourists to their sleepy towns. The quaint village of Braikie doesn't have much to offer, other than a place of rare beauty called Buchan's Wood, which was bequeathed to the town. The savvy local tourist director renames the woods "The Fairy Glen," and has brochures printed with a beautiful photograph...

"Have you ever been wrong about someone? Juno was wrong about Winnie Crouch.Before moving in with the Crouch family, Juno thought Winnie and her husband, Nigel, had the perfect marriage, the perfect son - the perfect life. Only now that she's living in their beautiful house, she sees the cracks in the crumbling facade are too deep to ignore. Still, she isn't one to judge. After her grim diagnosis, the retired therapist simply wants a place to live...

Some of the stormy weather of the past few seasons seems to have finally lifted for the Quinns. Kevin is about to tie the knot with Isabelle, and there's hopeful news about Bart, who has been captured by enemy forces in Afghanistan. That doesn't mean there aren't a few dark clouds on the horizon as the family juggle health scares and love triangles. But if there's one holiday that brings the Quinn family together, it's Christmas. And this year promises...

Twelve Native Americans came to the Big Oakland Powwow for different reasons. Jacquie Red Feather is newly sober and trying to make it back to the family she left behind in shame. Dene Oxedrene is pulling his life together after his uncle's death and has come to work the powwow and to honor his uncle's memory. Edwin Frank has come to find his true father. Bobby Big Medicine has come to drum the Grand Entry. Opal Viola Victoria Bear Shield has come...

After being rejected by Anastasia Steele, Christian Grey attempts to regain her trust while also dealing with the consequences of his past sexual relationships.

At the end of the Second World War, Cyril Conroy combines luck and a single canny investment to begin an enormous real estate empire, propelling his family from poverty to enormous wealth. His first order of business is to buy the Dutch House, a lavish estate in the suburbs outside of Philadelphia. Meant as a surprise for his wife, the house sets in motion the undoing of everyone he loves. The story is told by Cyril's son Danny, as he and his older...

"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...

"There is a girl, and her name is Sam. She adores her father, though he isn't around much. Her mother, Courtney, struggles to make ends meet, and never fails to remind her daughter that her life should be different. Sam doesn't fit in at school, where the other girls have the right shade of blue jeans and don't question the rules. Sam doesn't care about jeans or rules. She just loves to climb--trees, fences, walls, the side of a building. When she's...

"Mira Patel's got an accounting career, good friends, and a whole lot of distance between herself and her dysfunctional family. All that's missing is a stable romantic relationship. Armed with a spreadsheet and professional help, she sets out to find her partner in only legal activities, but much to her matchmaker's dismay, no one is quite right. Including Naveen Desai, the very first match, whom she unceremoniously rejected. Lately Naveen's been...