Physical TBR

From the #1 New York Times bestselling author Lisa Jewell comes an intricate and affecting novel about twisted marriages, fractured families, and deadly obsessions in this standalone sequel to The Family Upstairs. Early one morning on the shore of the Thames, DCI Samuel Owusu is called to the scene of a gruesome discovery. When Owusu sends the evidence for examination, he learns the bones are connected to a cold case that left three people dead on the kitchen floor in a Chelsea mansion thirty years ago. Rachel Rimmer has also received a shock—news that her husband, Michael, has been found dead in the cellar of his house in France. All signs point to an intruder, and the French police need her to come urgently to answer questions about Michael and his past that she very much doesn’t want to answer. After fleeing London thirty years ago in the wake of a horrific tragedy, Lucy Lamb is finally coming home. While she settles in with her children and is just about to purchase their first-ever house, her brother takes off to find the boy from their shared past whose memory haunts their present. As they all race to discover answers to these convoluted mysteries, they will come to find that they’re connected in ways they could have never imagined. In this masterful standalone sequel to her haunting New York Times bestseller, The Family Upstairs, Lisa Jewell proves she is writing at the height of her powers with another jaw-dropping, intricate, and affecting novel about the lengths we will go to protect the ones we love and uncover the truth.

Generationen junger und alter, männlicher und weiblicher Leser haben sich in die March-Schwestern aus Louisa May Alcotts beliebtestem und dauerhaftestem Roman, „Betty und ihre Schwestern“, verliebt. Da sind die talentierte Wildfangin und angehende Schriftstellerin Jo, die tragisch gebrechliche Beth, die schöne Meg und die romantische, verwöhnte Amy, vereint in ihrer Hingabe füreinander und ihrem Kampf ums Überleben in Neuengland während des Bürgerkriegs. Es ist kein Geheimnis, dass Alcott „Betty und ihre Schwestern“ auf ihr eigenes frühes Leben stützte. Während ihr Vater, der freidenkende Reformer und Abolitionist Bronson Alcott, mit so bedeutenden männlichen Autoren wie Emerson, Thoreau und Hawthorne verkehrte, verdiente Louisa ihren Lebensunterhalt für sich und ihre Schwestern mit „Frauenarbeit“, darunter Nähen, Wäschewaschen und Arbeit als Hausangestellte. Doch schon bald entdeckte sie, dass sie mit Schreiben mehr Geld verdienen konnte. „Betty und ihre Schwestern“ brachte ihr dauerhaften Ruhm und Wohlstand, und weit davon entfernt, das von ihrem Verleger gewünschte „Mädchenbuch“ zu sein, erkundet der Roman so zeitlose Themen wie Liebe und Tod, Krieg und Frieden, den Konflikt zwischen persönlichem Ehrgeiz und familiären Verpflichtungen sowie den Zusammenprall der Kulturen Europas und Amerikas.

In this unnamed city, to be interesting is dangerous. Middle sister, our protagonist, is busy attempting to keep her mother from discovering her maybe-boyfriend and to keep everyone in the dark about her encounter with Milkman. But when first brother-in-law sniffs out her struggle, and rumours start to swell, middle sister becomes 'interesting'. The last thing she ever wanted to be. To be interesting is to be noticed and to be noticed is dangerous. Milkman is a tale of gossip and hearsay, silence and deliberate deafness. It is the story of inaction with enormous consequences.

For centuries, the story of Dracula has captured the imagination of readers and storytellers alike. Kostova's breathtaking first novel, ten years in the writing, is an accomplished retelling of this ancient tale. "The story that follows is one I never intended to commit to paper... As an historian, I have learned that, in fact, not everyone who reaches back into history can survive it." With these words, a nameless narrator unfolds a story that began 30 years earlier. Late one night in 1972, as a 16-year-old girl, she discovers a mysterious book and a sheaf of letters in her father's library—a discovery that will have dreadful and far-reaching consequences, and will send her on a journey of mind-boggling danger. While seeking clues to the secrets of her father's past and her mother's puzzling disappearance, she follows a trail from London to Istanbul to Budapest and beyond, and learns that the letters in her possession provide a link to one of the world's darkest and most intoxicating figures. Generation after generation, the legend of Dracula has enticed and eluded both historians and opportunists alike. Now a young girl undertakes the same search that ended in the death and defilement of so many others—in an attempt to save her father from an unspeakable fate. (Fall 2005 Selection)

Sixteen-year-old Deka lives in fear and anticipation of the blood ceremony that will determine whether she will become a member of her village. Already different from everyone else because of her unnatural intuition, Deka prays for red blood so she can finally feel like she belongs. But on the day of the ceremony, her blood runs gold, the color of impurity—and Deka knows she will face a consequence worse than death. Then a mysterious woman comes to her with a choice: stay in the village and submit to her fate, or leave to fight for the emperor in an army of girls just like her. They are called alaki—near-immortals with rare gifts. And they are the only ones who can stop the empire's greatest threat. Knowing the dangers that lie ahead yet yearning for acceptance, Deka decides to leave the only life she's ever known. But as she journeys to the capital to train for the biggest battle of her life, she will discover that the great walled city holds many surprises. Nothing and no one are quite what they seem to be—not even Deka herself.

Die siebzehnjährige Julie hat ihre Zukunft ganz durchgeplant: Sie will mit ihrem Freund Sam aus ihrer Kleinstadt wegziehen, in der Stadt aufs College gehen und einen Sommer in Japan verbringen. Doch dann stirbt Sam. Und alles verändert sich. Mit gebrochenem Herzen bleibt Julie seiner Beerdigung fern, wirft seine Sachen weg und versucht alles, um ihn und die tragische Art, wie er gestorben ist, zu vergessen. Doch eine Nachricht, die Sam in ihrem Jahrbuch hinterlassen hat, ruft die Erinnerungen wieder wach. Verzweifelt, seine Stimme noch einmal zu hören, ruft Julie Sams Handy an, nur um seine Mailboxansage abzuhören. Und Sam geht ans Telefon. Durch eine wundersame Wendung der Ereignisse erhält Julie eine zweite Chance, sich zu verabschieden. Die Verbindung ist nur vorübergehend. Doch Sams Stimme zu hören, lässt sie sich erneut in ihn verlieben, und mit jedem Anruf wird es schwerer, ihn gehen zu lassen. Allerdings ist es nicht leicht, ihre übernatürlichen Telefonate mit Sam geheim zu halten, besonders als Julie miterlebt, wie sehr Sams Familie leidet. Weil sie nicht tatenlos zusehen kann, wie ihre gemeinsamen Angehörigen Schmerzen ertragen, ist Julie hin- und hergerissen zwischen dem Wunsch, die Wahrheit über ihre Telefonate mit Sam zu erzählen, und dem Risiko, dadurch ihre Verbindung zu gefährden und ihn für immer zu verlieren.

Adam Silvera reminds us that there’s no life without death and no love without loss in this devastating yet uplifting story about two people whose lives change over the course of one unforgettable day. On September 5, a little after midnight, Death-Cast calls Mateo Torrez and Rufus Emeterio to give them some bad news: They’re going to die today. Mateo and Rufus are total strangers, but, for different reasons, they’re both looking to make a new friend on their End Day. The good news: There’s an app for that. It’s called the Last Friend, and through it, Rufus and Mateo are about to meet up for one last great adventure—to live a lifetime in a single day.

A coming-of-age tale of fanfiction, family, and first love. Cath is a Simon Snow fan. Okay, the whole world is a Simon Snow fan.... But for Cath, being a fan is her life—and she's really good at it. She and her twin, Wren, ensconced themselves in the Simon Snow series when they were just kids; it's what got them through their mother leaving. Reading. Rereading. Hanging out in Simon Snow forums, writing Simon Snow fanfiction, dressing up like the characters for every movie premiere. Cath's sister has mostly grown away from fandom, but Cath can't let go. She doesn't want to. Now that they're going to college, Wren has told Cath she doesn't want to be roommates. Cath is on her own, completely outside of her comfort zone. She's got a surly roommate with a charming, always-around boyfriend; a fiction-writing professor who thinks fanfiction is the end of the civilized world; a handsome classmate who only wants to talk about words... and she can't stop worrying about her dad, who's loving and fragile and has never really been alone. For Cath, the question is: Can she do this? Can she make it without Wren holding her hand? Is she ready to start living her own life? And does she even want to move on if it means leaving Simon Snow behind?

Galaxy “Alex” Stern is the most unlikely member of Yale’s freshman class. Raised in the Los Angeles hinterlands by a hippie mom, Alex dropped out of school early and into a world of shady drug dealer boyfriends, dead-end jobs, and much, much worse. By age twenty, in fact, she is the sole survivor of a horrific, unsolved multiple homicide. Some might say she’s thrown her life away. But at her hospital bed, Alex is offered a second chance: to attend one of the world’s most elite universities on a full ride. What’s the catch, and why her? Still searching for answers to this herself, Alex arrives in New Haven tasked by her mysterious benefactors with monitoring the activities of Yale’s secret societies. These eight windowless “tombs” are well-known to be haunts of the future rich and powerful, from high-ranking politicos to Wall Street and Hollywood’s biggest players. But their occult activities are revealed to be more sinister and more extraordinary than any paranoid imagination might conceive.

For readers of Modern Lovers and Conversations with Friends, an addictive, humorous, and poignant debut novel about the shock waves caused by one couple's impulsive marriage. Twenty-four-year-old British painter Cleo has escaped from England to New York and is still finding her place in the sleepless city when, a few months before her student visa ends, she meets Frank. Twenty years older and a self-made success, Frank's life is full of all the excesses Cleo's lacks. He offers her the chance to be happy, the freedom to paint, and the opportunity to apply for a Green Card. But their impulsive marriage irreversibly changes both their lives, and the lives of those close to them, in ways they never could've predicted. Each compulsively readable chapter explores the lives of Cleo, Frank, and an unforgettable cast of their closest friends and family as they grow up and grow older. Whether it's Cleo's best friend struggling to embrace his gender queerness in the wake of Cleo's marriage, or Frank's financially dependent sister arranging sugar daddy dates to support herself after being cut off, or Cleo and Frank themselves as they discover the trials of marriage and mental illness, each character is as absorbing, and painfully relatable, as the last. As hilarious as it is heartbreaking, entertaining as it is deeply moving, Cleopatra and Frankenstein marks the entry of a brilliant and bold new talent.

Darkness blooms in bestselling author Kalynn Bayron's new contemporary fantasy about a girl with a unique and deadly power. Briseis has a gift: she can grow plants from tiny seeds to rich blooms with a single touch. When Briseis' aunt dies and wills her a dilapidated estate in rural New York, Bri and her parents decide to leave Brooklyn behind for the summer. Hopefully there, surrounded by plants and flowers, Bri will finally learn to control her gift. But their new home is sinister in ways they could never have imagined—it comes with a specific set of instructions, an old-school apothecary, and a walled garden filled with the deadliest botanicals in the world that can only be entered by those who share Bri's unique family lineage. When strangers begin to arrive on their doorstep, asking for tinctures and elixirs, Bri learns she has a surprising talent for creating them. One of the visitors is Marie, a mysterious young woman who Bri befriends, only to find that Marie is keeping dark secrets about the history of the estate and its surrounding community. There is more to Bri's sudden inheritance than she could have imagined, and she is determined to uncover it . . . until a nefarious group comes after her in search of a rare and dangerous immortality elixir. Up against a centuries-old curse and the deadliest plant on earth, Bri must harness her gift to protect herself and her family. From the bestselling author of Cinderella Is Dead comes another inspiring and deeply compelling story about a young woman with the power to conquer the dark forces descending around her.

The Witch in the Well is a dark Norwegian thriller from Camilla Bruce, author of You Let Me In. When two former friends reunite after decades apart, their grudges, flawed ambitions, and shared obsession swirl into an all-too-real echo of a terrible town legend. Centuries ago, beautiful young Ilsbeth Clark was accused of witchcraft after several children disappeared. Her acquittal did nothing to stop her fellow townsfolk from drowning her in the well where the missing children were last seen. When author and social media influencer Elena returns to the summer paradise of her youth to get her family's manor house ready to sell, the last thing she expected was connecting with―and feeling inspired to write about―Ilsbeth’s infamous spirit. The very historical figure that her ex-childhood friend, Cathy, has been diligently researching and writing about for years. What begins as a fiercely competitive sense of ownership over Ilsbeth and her story soon turns both women’s worlds into something more haunted and dangerous than they could ever imagine.

Gilbert Markham is deeply intrigued by Helen Graham, a beautiful and secretive young woman who has moved into nearby Wildfell Hall with her young son. He is quick to offer Helen his friendship, but when her reclusive behaviour becomes the subject of local gossip and speculation, Gilbert begins to wonder whether his trust in her has been misplaced. It is only when she allows Gilbert to read her diary that the truth is revealed and the shocking details of the disastrous marriage she has left behind emerge. Told with great immediacy, combined with wit and irony, The Tenant of Wildfell Hall is a powerful depiction of a woman's fight for domestic independence and creative freedom.

«Γεια, με λένε Μάθιου, αν και μπορεί να με γνωρίζετε με άλλο όνομα. Οι φίλοι μου με φωνάζουν Μάτι. Και θα έπρεπε να είμαι νεκρός». Έτσι αρχίζει η συναρπαστική ιστορία του καταξιωμένου ηθοποιού Μάθιου Πέρι, που μας παίρνει μαζί του στο ταξίδι του από τις φιλοδοξίες της παιδικής ηλικίας στη φήμη, στην εξάρτηση και στην ανάρρωση μετά από μια απειλητική για τη ζωή του περιπέτεια υγείας. Πριν από τις συχνές επισκέψεις στο νοσοκομείο και τις περιόδους σε κέντρα απεξάρτησης, υπήρχε ο πεντάχρονος Μάθιου, που ταξίδευε από το Μόντρεαλ στο Λος Άντζελες, πηγαινοερχόμενος ανάμεσα στους χωρισμένους γονείς του· ο δεκατετράχρονος Μάθιου, που ήταν πρωταθλητής του τένις με εθνική κατάταξη στον Καναδά· ο εικοσιτετράχρονος Μάθιου, που εξασφάλισε έναν περιζήτητο ρόλο ως μέλος του βασικού καστ στον πολυσυζητημένο πιλότο που τότε λεγόταν Friends Like Us... και τόσα πολλά ακόμη. Σε μια εκπληκτική ιστορία που μόνο εκείνος μπορούσε να αφηγηθεί —και με τον εγκάρδιο, ξεκαρδιστικό και οικεία ζεστό τρόπο που μόνο εκείνος μπορούσε να χρησιμοποιήσει— ο Μάθιου Πέρι αποκαλύπτει τη διαλυμένη οικογένεια που τον μεγάλωσε (και τον άφησε επίσης στην τύχη του), την επιθυμία για αναγνώριση που τον οδήγησε στη φήμη και το κενό μέσα του που δεν μπορούσε να γεμίσει ούτε η πραγματοποίηση των μεγαλύτερων ονείρων του. Περιγράφει όμως και τη γαλήνη που βρήκε στη νηφαλιότητα, καθώς και το πώς νιώθει για την πανταχού παρουσία των Friends, μοιραζόμενος ιστορίες για τους συμπρωταγωνιστές του και άλλους αστέρες που γνώρισε στην πορεία. Ειλικρινής, με αυτογνωσία και με το χαρακτηριστικό του χιούμορ, ο Πέρι σκιαγραφεί ζωντανά τη διά βίου μάχη του με την εξάρτηση και όσα την τροφοδότησαν, παρόλο που φαινομενικά τα είχε όλα. Το Φιλαράκια, εραστές και το μεγάλο φριχτό πράγμα είναι ένα αξέχαστο απομνημόνευμα, ταυτόχρονα προσωπικό και διαφωτιστικό — καθώς και ένα χέρι απλωμένο σε όποιον παλεύει με τη νηφαλιότητα. Αμείλικτα ειλικρινές, συγκινητικό και ξεκαρδιστικά αστείο, αυτό είναι το βιβλίο που οι θαυμαστές περίμεναν.

An investigative criminologist, Christopher Berry-Dee is a man who talks to serial killers. In this book, their pursuit of horror and violence is described in their own words, transcribed from audio and videotape interviews conducted deep inside some of the toughest prisons in the world. Berry-Dee describes the circumstances of his meetings with some of the world's most evil men, and reproduces their very words as they describe their crimes and discuss their remorse—or lack of it. This work offers a penetrating insight into the workings of the criminal mind.

Leigh Fletcher: happily married stepmom to two gorgeous boys goes missing on Monday. Her husband, Mark, says he knows nothing of her whereabouts. She went to work and just never came home. Their family is shattered. Kai Janssen: married to wealthy Dutch businessman Daan and vanishes the same week. Kai left their luxurious penthouse and glamorous world without a backward glance. She seemingly evaporated into thin air. Daan is distraught. Detective Clements knows that people disappear all the time—far too frequently. Most run away from things, some run toward, others are taken but find their way back. A sad few never return. These two women are from very different worlds. Their disappearances are unlikely to be connected. And yet, at a gut level, the detective believes they might be. How could these women walk away from their families, husbands and homes willingly? Clements is determined to unearth the truth, no matter how shocking and devastating it may be. #1 Sunday Times bestselling author Adele Parks returns with her most provocative, compelling book to date.

DI Ben Kitto has become the Scilly Islands’ Deputy Chief of Police. As the island’s lazy summer takes hold, he finds himself missing the excitement of the murder squad in London. But when a body is found anchored to the rocks of a nearby cave, it appears he’s spoken too soon. The island of Tresco, and the deep and murky waters that surround it, hold a dark secret. One that someone seems desperate to uncover . . .

If you loved I AM ANASTASIA you won't want to miss this novel about her sister, Grand Duchess Maria. What really happened to this lost Romanov daughter? A new novel perfect for anyone curious about Anastasia, Maria, and the other lost Romanov daughters, by the author of THE SECRET WIFE. 1918: Pretty, vivacious Grand Duchess Maria Romanov, the nineteen-year-old daughter of the fallen Tsar Nicholas II, lives with her family in suffocating isolation, a far cry from their once-glittering royal household. Her days are a combination of endless boredom and paralyzing fear; her only respite are clandestine flirtations with a few of the guards imprisoning the family—never realizing her innocent actions could mean the difference between life and death 1973: When Val Doyle hears her father’s end-of-life confession, “I didn’t want to kill her,” she’s stunned. So, she begins a search for the truth—about his words and her past. The clues she discovers are baffling—a jewel-encrusted box that won’t open and a camera with its film intact. What she finds out pulls Val into one of the world’s greatest mysteries—what truly happened to the Grand Duchess Maria?

In April 1942, Lale Sokolov, a Slovakian Jew, is forcibly transported to the concentration camps at Auschwitz-Birkenau. When his captors discover that he speaks several languages, he is put to work as a Tätowierer (the German word for tattooist), tasked with permanently marking his fellow prisoners. Imprisoned for more than two and a half years, Lale witnesses horrific atrocities and barbarism—but also incredible acts of bravery and compassion. Risking his own life, he uses his privileged position to exchange jewels and money from murdered Jews for food to keep his fellow prisoners alive. One day in July 1942, Lale, prisoner 32407, comforts a trembling young woman waiting in line to have the number 34902 tattooed onto her arm. Her name is Gita, and in that first encounter, Lale vows to somehow survive the camp and marry her. A vivid, harrowing, and ultimately hopeful re-creation of Lale Sokolov's experiences as the man who tattooed the arms of thousands of prisoners with what would become one of the most potent symbols of the Holocaust, The Tattooist of Auschwitz is also a testament to the endurance of love and humanity under the darkest possible conditions.

A nail\-biting and perfectly formed Thriller for the YA BookTok generation. This is SCOOBY DOO meets WIN LOSE KILL DIE. When hot "it\-couple" Brad and Shelley are brutally murdered in a manor on the edge of town, a group of teen friends investigate. Set in Sanera, a small community in California where rumour spreads as fast as the fire on the day of the killings, the theory is the old ghoul who haunts the house after his own murder has finally taken revenge. As Cam, Jonesy, Amber and new\-girl Buffy investigate, the rumour feels closer to the truth than they ever dared think possible, and as they enter the mansion themselves, the idea of splitting up to find evidence will prove to be either the best ... or worst decision of all... A guaranteed page turner full of tension and twists you won't see coming! From BookToker Bill Wood comes SCOOBY DOO meets WIN KILL LOSE DIE Perfect for the YA BookTok generation

In an isolated castle deep in the Austrian forest, Laura leads a solitary life with only her ailing father for company. Until one moonlit night, a horse-drawn carriage crashes into view, carrying an unexpected guest – the beautiful Carmilla. So begins a feverish friendship between Laura and her mysterious, entrancing companion. But as Carmilla becomes increasingly strange and volatile, prone to eerie nocturnal wanderings, Laura finds herself tormented by nightmares and growing weaker by the day… Pre-dating Dracula by twenty-six years, Carmilla is the original vampire story, steeped in sexual tension and gothic romance.

Was würdest du ändern, wenn du in der Zeit zurückreisen könntest? In einer kleinen Seitengasse in Tokio gibt es ein Café, das seit mehr als einhundert Jahren sorgfältig gebrühten Kaffee serviert. Doch dieses Café bietet seinen Gästen ein einzigartiges Erlebnis: die Möglichkeit, in der Zeit zurückzureisen. In „Bevor der Kaffee kalt wird“ begegnen wir vier Besucherinnen und Besuchern, die das Angebot des Cafés nutzen möchten, um den Mann zur Rede zu stellen, der sie verlassen hat, einen Brief von ihrem Mann zu erhalten, dem Alzheimer im Frühstadium die Erinnerung genommen hat, ihre Schwester ein letztes Mal zu sehen und die Tochter kennenzulernen, die sie nie kennenlernen konnten. Doch die Reise in die Vergangenheit ist nicht ohne Risiken: Die Gäste müssen auf einem bestimmten Platz sitzen, sie dürfen das Café nicht verlassen, und schließlich müssen sie in die Gegenwart zurückkehren, bevor der Kaffee kalt wird . . . Toshikazu Kawaguchis schöne, bewegende Geschichte erkundet die uralte Frage: Was würdest du ändern, wenn du in der Zeit zurückreisen könntest? Und noch wichtiger: Wen würdest du vielleicht ein letztes Mal treffen wollen?

In powerful black\-and\-white comic strip images, Satrapi tells the story of her life in Tehran from ages six to fourteen, years that saw the overthrow of the Shah’s regime, the triumph of the Islamic Revolution, and the devastating effects of war with Iraq. The intelligent and outspoken only child of committed Marxists and the great\-granddaughter of one of Iran’s last emperors, Marjane bears witness to a childhood uniquely entwined with the history of her country. Persepolis paints an unforgettable portrait of daily life in Iran and of the bewildering contradictions between home life and public life. Marjane’s child’s\-eye view of dethroned emperors, state\-sanctioned whippings, and heroes of the revolution allows us to learn as she does the history of this fascinating country and of her own extraordinary family. Intensely personal, profoundly political, and wholly original, Persepolis is at once a story of growing up and a reminder of the human cost of war and political repression. It shows how we carry on, with laughter and tears, in the face of absurdity. And, finally, it introduces us to an irresistible little girl with whom we cannot help but fall in love.