December Fiction

"Ainhoa lives a protected life within the walls of her grandmother's house in the neighborhood of Limones. Surrounded by a gaggle of aunts who love, correct, and teach her, Ainhoa narrates moments that evoke the powerful presence of music and dance in her daily life, while also touching on historical and current themes: the dollarisation of the Ecuadorian economy and the huge wave of emigration that it provoked, dividing families; environmental racism...

Alma Alt, the sheltered youngest daughter of an interfaith, interracial Jewish-Mexican couple, rarely ventures far from her home on a wealthy tree-lined street in Ottawa, where nothing ever happens. The one time she did, striking out to visit her older sister, Marnie, in Montreal, things ended in disaster as she found out that beautiful, blonde Marnie had been lying about their family's background, trying to pass herself off as white. The unintended...

"Ruth, an only child of recent immigrants to New England, lives in an emotionally cold home and attends the local Catholic girl's school on a scholarship. Maria, a beautiful orphan whose Panamanian mother dies by suicide and is taken care of by an ill, unloving aunt, is one of the only other students attending the school on a scholarship. Ruth is drawn forcefully into Maria's orbit, and they fall into an easy, yet intense, friendship. Ruth's devotion...

Tami Adams can't resist Christmas on beautiful Polk Island--but getting dumped shortly before the holidays wasn't her plan. So, she forms a new plan to guarantee a truly happy festive season, free from her mother's pushy get fake-engaged to her best friend, Aiden Worthington. Aiden's avoiding Christmas since his dad passed, but helping Tami might help him get through the holidays. There's only one problem--this pretend relationship's feeling a little...

"'Who says Cinderella is the only one who gets a happily ever after? Shouldn't the fairy godmother get a knight in shining armor too? After all, she's the one with all the magic.' Kendall Freeman is a self-assured, full-figured seamstress and aspiring fashion designer who loves Christmas. Niya Fine, a shy, introverted, plus-size teen, is dealing with the recent loss of her mother. She's now living with her widowed grandmother, Claudia, an elitist...

"He's gone behind enemy lines countless times before. But this time, he's going alone. Foster Quinn is more than a former Force Recon Marine. He's a husband. A father. A faithful brother to his teammates. When one of them is killed during a high-risk operation to track down a dangerous arms dealer, Foster struggles to balance his roles as a dedicated family man and an elite warrior. Despite his inner demons--or maybe because of them--Foster can't...

A true crime author helps in a desperate hunt for a killer in this dark and twisted thriller from the deviously inventive horror author that Peter Farris calls the "clear heir to Stephen King." Ellie Isles first became obsessed with the I-64 murders when she saw her own face on one of the victims. Identical to every detail, the woman wasn't her, but she could have been. Compelled to discover the story of her dopplegänger's death, Ellie wrote a bestselling...

"New York Times bestseller Julia Spencer-Fleming returns to her beloved Clare Fergusson/Russ Van Alstyne mystery series. It's Christmas time in Millers Kill, and Reverend Clare Fergusson and her husband Russ van Alstyne - newly resigned from his position as chief of police - plan to enjoy it with their baby boy. On their list: visiting Santa, decorating the tree, and attending the church Christmas pageant. But when a beloved holiday parade is crashed...

"Trapped on a remote island by a howling storm, nine people sit down to dinner. One of them is about to die. A group of international players has gathered in a tiny village off the coast of Iceland for a diplomatic dinner. There's Kristján, the mayor reeling from a personal tragedy. Graeme, the ambassador with an agenda to push. Jane, his wife, along for the ride on another one of her husband's many business trips. And several others, from Iceland...