The Secret Starling

A tattered ballet slipper found under the floorboards of Braithwaite Manor may be the key to Clara’s sinister family secrets in this delightful, lightly Gothic mystery for fans of Maryrose Wood and Claire Legrand. Clara Starling lives a life of dull rules, deadly routine, and flavorless meals under her cold uncle's strict regime—until the day Uncle disappears, leaving Clara alone in his old mansion. When streetwise orphan Peter and his rescue cat arrive unexpectedly, the children seize the chance to live by their own rules. But when the pair’s wild romps through the halls of Braithwaite Manor reveal a single, worn ballet slipper, they are hurled into a mystery that will lead to London’s glittering Royal Opera House and the unraveling of twisted Starling family secrets of poison, passion, and murder. Diabolical villains, plucky orphans, and glamorous ballet stars populate this absorbing adventure with a classic feel.

Nell is determined to find her beloved missing au pair in this vibrant adventure set in, and underneath, Paris. Penelope Magnificent spends as little time as possible with her awful parents—a grocery-mogul father and a fashion-obsessed mother who loves expensive purses more than she does her daughter. But when they mention an important trip to Paris, Nell begs to come along. Paris holds something very dear to her: her old au pair Perrine—Pear—who lives there. Pear used to write to Nell every week, promising to come to her rescue, but recently the letters stopped. With the help of a savvy bellboy named Xavier, Nell sets out from her parents’ ultra-fancy Parisian hotel to find her beloved Pear. But Pear’s old neighbors and coworkers are strangely tight-lipped. And as Nell’s search for the truth takes her and Xavier to some of the darkest, most mysterious parts of the city, a sinister plot comes to light involving the destruction of a cherished—and delicious—part of Parisian life. Food, fashion, and intrigue abound in this delightful caper from the author of The Secret Starling.

POWERLESS? For Amy Sturgess, life in the big city comes with even bigger problems. Her marketing career is being derailed by a conniving coworker stealing her accounts. Her family crises range from her down-and-out brother running afoul of the law to her mother’s growing affections for the house cats. And Amy’s love life just flatlined thanks to an unexpected reunion with the one that got away—who’s now engaged. When Xanax and therapy fail to relieve her stress, Amy does what any young woman in her position would do: She uses her superstrength, speed, flight, and ability to generate 750 volts from her hands to fight crime as the mysterious masked vigilante Starling. But while Starling is hailed as a superhero, will Amy remain a super-zero?

From the author of Messiah, Storm and Vodka comes a thrilling mystery set during the Great Fog of post-World War Two London, a time of secrets and intrigue. At first, it seems the Great Fog has claimed another victim. A drunk, perhaps, wandering unsighted through Hyde Park and stumbling into the icy shallows of Long Water. But Max Stensness was stone cold sober when he died. And in the hours before his death, the young biochemist had claimed to be in possession of a secret that would change the world. Having traded MI5 for New Scotland Yard, Detective Inspector Herbert Smith thinks he has left the murky world of espionage behind him – until he begins retracing the final footsteps of Max Stensness. Suddenly he’s being tailed, and thinly veiled threats are issued–danger lurks at every turn in the investigation. The CIA, KGB and MI5 are all vying to get their hands on the dead man’s secret, and as the body count climbs, it’s clear there’s someone who will stop at nothing to claim it.

***AN INSTANT BESTSELLER!*** Best Books of 2021 · NPR ALA/The Reading List Best Horror 2021 Pick Longlisted for the Bram Stoker Awards for Superior Achievement in a Novel, 2021 From the Bram Stoker-nominated author of The Luminous Dead comes a gothic fantasy horror—The Death of Jane Lawrence. "A jewel box of a Gothic novel." —New York Times Book Review “Delicious.... By the time the book reached that point of no return, I was so invested that I would have followed Jane into the very depths of hell.” —NPR.org “Intense and amazing! It’s like Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell meets Mexican Gothic meets Crimson Peak.” —BookRiot Practical, unassuming Jane Shoringfield has done the calculations, and decided that the most secure path forward is this: a husband, in a marriage of convenience, who will allow her to remain independent and occupied with meaningful work. Her first choice, the dashing but reclusive doctor Augustine Lawrence, agrees to her proposal with only one condition: that she must never visit Lindridge Hall, his crumbling family manor outside of town. Yet on their wedding night, an accident strands her at his door in a pitch-black rainstorm, and she finds him changed. Gone is the bold, courageous surgeon, and in his place is a terrified, paranoid man—one who cannot tell reality from nightmare, and fears Jane is an apparition, come to haunt him. By morning, Augustine is himself again, but Jane knows something is deeply wrong at Lindridge Hall, and with the man she has so hastily bound her safety to. Set in a dark-mirror version of post-war England, Caitlin Starling crafts a new kind of gothic horror from the bones of the beloved canon. This Crimson Peak-inspired story assembles, then upends, every expectation set in place by Shirley Jackson and Rebecca, and will leave readers shaken, desperate to begin again as soon as they are finished.

On May 27th, 1784, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart met a flirtatious little starling in a Viennese shop who sang an improvised version of the theme from his Piano Concerto no. 17 in G major. Sensing a kindred spirit in the plucky young bird, Mozart bought him and took him home to be a family pet. For three years, the starling lived with Mozart, influencing his work and serving as his companion, distraction, consolation, and muse. Two centuries later, starlings are reviled by even the most compassionate conservationists. A nonnative, invasive species, they invade sensitive habitats, outcompete local birds for nest sites and food, and decimate crops. A seasoned birder and naturalist, Lyanda Lynn Haupt is well versed in the difficult and often strained relationships these birds have with other species and the environment. But after rescuing a baby starling of her own, Haupt found herself enchanted by the same intelligence and playful spirit that had so charmed her favorite composer. In Mozart's Starling, Haupt explores the unlikely and remarkable bond between one of history's most cherished composers and one of earth's most common birds. The intertwined stories of Mozart's beloved pet and Haupt's own starling provide an unexpected window into human-animal friendships, music, the secret world of starlings, and the nature of creative inspiration. A blend of natural history, biography, and memoir, Mozart's Starling is a tour de force that awakens a surprising new awareness of our place in the world.

Alice Quinn's young life has never been marked by stability, and it's about to turn upside down again. When her mother abruptly decides to move the pair from their small Canadian town to an area that is even more remote, Alice is left to navigate the strange and hostile community on her own. She is befriended by a classmate named Remy, who hails from his own bleak circumstances, and the two forge a bond that helps to buffer the forces prevailing against them. The story follows Alice and Remy through the everyday beauties and terrors of childhood, capturing their startling resilience while at the mercy of whims and cruelties beyond their control. Despite the vile treatment Alice endures at the hands of her teacher, the persecutions of a local bully, and the disturbing presence of her mother's new boyfriend, she retains an outlook on the world marked by optimism and wonder, enhanced at times by her own imagination. Remy, who is enduring physical abuse at home, adopts a more cynical approach to life. Between them and with the assistance of a mysterious neighbor, the children find a haven for their bright and curious minds, as well as the essence of meaning they are both seeking in this grim and unpredictable world.

Withdrawing from a family party to the solitude of her tree house, 16-year-old Laurel Nicolson witnesses a shocking murder that throughout a subsequent half century shapes her beliefs, her acting career and the lives of three strangers from vastly different cultures. By the best-selling author of The Distant Hours. Reprint. 200,000 first printing.