End the year on a high note with one or more books hitting our shelves in December. Keep warm with a steamy romance, an action-packed thriller, or a hopeful historical novel!
Looking for more personalized suggestions? Fill out our new Choose My Next Book form to receive five titles hand-picked just for you, or feel free to give us a call at 847/590-4070.
One January morning in 1938, Samir Vij, apprentice perfumer and a Hindu, meets Firdaus Khan, calligr… More
One January morning in 1938, Samir Vij, apprentice perfumer and a Hindu, meets Firdaus Khan, calligrapher's apprentice and a Muslim, in his family's ittar (a fragrant essential oil) shop in Lahore. Time passes, and their friendship deepens into love, until they find themselves on opposite sides of the border after Partition. Less
When former piano prodigy Saskia Kreis returns home to Milwaukee after her mother's unexpected … More
When former piano prodigy Saskia Kreis returns home to Milwaukee after her mother's unexpected death, she expects to inherit the family estate, the Elf House. But with the discovery that her mother's will bequeathed the Elf House to a man that Saskia shares a complicated history with, she is forced to reexamine her own past, and the romantic relationship that changed the course of her life. Less
Newlywed Niki Novotná is recruited by a new American spy agency to establish a secret branch in Ita… More
Newlywed Niki Novotná is recruited by a new American spy agency to establish a secret branch in Italy's capital. One of the OSS's few female operatives abroad and multilingual, she's tasked with crafting fake stories and distributing propaganda to lower the morale of enemy soldiers. Despite limited resources, Niki and a scrappy team of artists, forgers and others, now nicknamed The Lipstick Bureau, find success, forming a bond amid the cobblestoned streets and storied villas of the newly liberated city. Less
Toni and Agatha are in the car on the way to Officer Bill Wong's long-awaited wedding when, muc… More
Toni and Agatha are in the car on the way to Officer Bill Wong's long-awaited wedding when, much to their shock, a young man bursts through a hedge on the side of the road and comes running toward them. Terrified, he explains that he has just seen a dead body in the woods. Less
Grayson Hale, the most infamous murderer in Scotland, is better known by a different name: the Devil… More
Grayson Hale, the most infamous murderer in Scotland, is better known by a different name: the Devil’s Advocate. The twenty-five-year-old American grad student rose to instant notoriety when he confessed to the slaughter of his classmate Liam Stewart, claiming the Devil made him do it. When Hale is found hanged in his prison cell, officers uncover a handwritten manuscript that promises to answer the question that’s haunted the nation for years: was Hale a lunatic, or had he been telling the truth all along? Less
Nursing school roommates BettyKay and Kitty don’t have much in common. BettyKay has risked her fam… More
Nursing school roommates BettyKay and Kitty don’t have much in common. BettyKay has risked her family’s disapproval to pursue her dreams away from her small town. Cosmopolitan Kitty has always relied on her beauty and smarts to get by and to hide a painful secret. Yet the two share a determination to prove themselves in a changing world, forging an unlikely bond on a campus unkind to women. Less
Senator Bernie Sanders and his Millennial aide Carly "Crash" Romero investigate when a loc… More
Senator Bernie Sanders and his Millennial aide Carly "Crash" Romero investigate when a local farmer's body washes ashore during Eagle Creek's Summer Jazz Festival. Less
In 1900 Sardinia, an intelligent and ambitious young woman with an impossible dream, becoming the se… More
In 1900 Sardinia, an intelligent and ambitious young woman with an impossible dream, becoming the seamstress for a wealthy family, is drawn into a world far different than her own where she observes the town’s residents who are not quite what they pretend to be. Less
In 1924 Brooklyn, dress shop owner Beatrice forms a close friendship with a neighbor, leaving Alice,… More
In 1924 Brooklyn, dress shop owner Beatrice forms a close friendship with a neighbor, leaving Alice, the teenaged orphan she brought north with her feeling left out, setting off a series of events that force all three women to confront the past to envision a better future. Less
Over the last few years, prominent people, a retired diplomat, beloved basketball coach, the CEO of … More
Over the last few years, prominent people, a retired diplomat, beloved basketball coach, the CEO of an empire, have died in a series of fluke accidents and shocking suicides. There’s no apparent connection, no signs of foul play. Behind it all is a powerful group of women, the Sophie Foundation, who meet over wine and cheese to review files of men who behave very, very badly, and then mete out justice. Less
Natalie Fincher has it all, a handsome new husband, a fixer-upper cottage of her dreams, and the opp… More
Natalie Fincher has it all, a handsome new husband, a fixer-upper cottage of her dreams, and the opportunity to tour with the musical she’s spent years writing. But when her husband suddenly dies, all her hopes and dreams instantly disappear.
Two and a half years later, Natalie is still lost. She’s lost motivation, faith in love, in happiness…in everything. But when someone begins to mysteriously leave the sheet music for her husband’s favorite songs at the station’s piano, Natalie begins to feel a sense of hope and excitement for the first time. Less
Three generations of the Desai women, 65-year-old Bindu, her daughter-in-law Aly and her granddaught… More
Three generations of the Desai women, 65-year-old Bindu, her daughter-in-law Aly and her granddaughter Cullie, navigate bad dates, reemerging exes and secrets that refuse to remain hidden as they embark on a daring shared journey of self-discovery to live their most authentic lives. Less
Schizophrenic genius and math prodigy Alicia Western, voluntarily admitted herself into Stella Maris… More
Schizophrenic genius and math prodigy Alicia Western, voluntarily admitted herself into Stella Maris, a facility for the care of psychiatric patients. Capable of understanding, even elucidating the most complex mathematical models, Alicia’s brilliance remains undiminished, though her hallucinations have become more pronounced. Less
Whether it's working at his cousin's funeral home or tossing around the local riffraff at … More
Whether it's working at his cousin's funeral home or tossing around the local riffraff at his favorite bar, Nathan Waymaker is a man who knows how to handle the bodies. A former marine and sheriff's deputy, Nathan has built a reputation in his small Southern town as a man who can help when all other avenues have been exhausted. When a beloved local minister is found dead, his parishioners ask Nathan to make sure the death isn’t swept under the rug. Less
Lena Papadopoulos, whose overprotective father Theo is a brilliant illusionist, spends her childhood… More
Lena Papadopoulos, whose overprotective father Theo is a brilliant illusionist, spends her childhood traveling across Europe with the World of Wonders. But as a polio survivor using a wheelchair, Lena doesn’t fit in, and her self-esteem suffers. At nine, she rescues an older Jewish boy, Alexandre, who becomes Theo’s apprentice. Alexandre and Lena become close friends, but secrets reside within both their families. As Europe grows darker, terrible circumstances force them apart and leave Lena to forge her path alone. Less
At the Belmont Stakes, Sebastian Nolan is shocked to discover his daughter is having a dalliance wit… More
At the Belmont Stakes, Sebastian Nolan is shocked to discover his daughter is having a dalliance with a jockey who appears to be the subject of a vendetta. Less
Colleagues turned spouses, Dr. Laurie Montgomery and Dr. Jack Stapleton already have their plates fu… More
Colleagues turned spouses, Dr. Laurie Montgomery and Dr. Jack Stapleton already have their plates full with crazy work schedules and family pressures. The last thing they need is a murder. When Laurie’s longtime friend, by all accounts healthy Dr. Sue Passero, dies mysteriously in the hospital parking garage, an autopsy is required, which falls squarely under Laurie’s purview as newly appointed chief medical examiner. So when Laurie asks Jack to take special care with the case, he can hardly refuse. Less
Someone has abducted two people about whom Riley cares very much, and that person is forcing super t… More
Someone has abducted two people about whom Riley cares very much, and that person is forcing super thief Riley to do something he’d really rather not do: plan and execute a major heist, snatching a flash drive from a Soviet missile silo, on a too-tight time clock. Riley is a meticulous thief, and he knows that if he goes into a situation before he’s ready, bad things might happen. Less
When she witnesses the murder of a cop that is linked to a 20-year-old cold case involving the disap… More
When she witnesses the murder of a cop that is linked to a 20-year-old cold case involving the disappearance of a business mogul, down-on-her-luck photography Morgan Mori collides with a detective determined to make a name for himself as she exposes her own dark demons to solve this mystery. Less
Discovered floating in a basket along the canals of Venice, Sebastien Trovato wrestles with question… More
Discovered floating in a basket along the canals of Venice, Sebastien Trovato wrestles with questions of his origins. Decades later, on an assignment to translate a rare book, Daniel Goodman finds himself embroiled in a web of secrets carefully kept within the ancient city and in the mystery of the man whose story the book does not finish: Sebastien. Less
On the wild Oregon coast, tucked between the mountains and the sea, stands Siren Song, home to a gro… More
On the wild Oregon coast, tucked between the mountains and the sea, stands Siren Song, home to a group of women known as The Colony. Their aunt hoped the isolated lodge would be a sanctuary, a place where she could protect them and their special gifts. But nowhere is safe from the man who has marked them for death . Less
Born during a powerful hurricane, Wanda, an unusual woman in a rapidly changing world, loses family,… More
Born during a powerful hurricane, Wanda, an unusual woman in a rapidly changing world, loses family, gains community and ultimately seeks adventure, love and purpose in a place abandoned by civilization and remade by nature. Less
Ever since her husband was killed in a bar fight, Eliza Ripple has been working in a brothel. It see… More
Ever since her husband was killed in a bar fight, Eliza Ripple has been working in a brothel. It seems like a better life, at least at first. The madam, Mrs. Parks, is kind, the men are (relatively) well behaved, and Eliza has attained what few women have: financial security. But when the dead bodies of young women start appearing outside of town, a darkness descends that she can't resist confronting. Less
When their father's death leaves them impoverished, the Summers sisters open their home to gues… More
When their father's death leaves them impoverished, the Summers sisters open their home to guests to provide for their ailing mother. But instead of the elderly invalids they expect, they find themselves hosting eligible gentlemen. Sarah must confront her growing attraction to a mysterious widower, and Viola learns to heal her deep hidden scars. Less
