The Velvet Hotline

Ayingbi Mayengbam, a well-meaning primary school teacher, wants to take on some part-time work over the summer, ideally a job through which she can help people. When her first day as a volunteer at a suicide hotline ends in her finding a dead body, she is done with this line of work. But soon, she is approached by the winsome Dr Rastogi, a man who runs another suicide hotline with a more altruistic approach, and she is unable to say no. While initially shy and uncertain, Ayingbi learns quickly, her warmth and sincerity enabling her to connect well with callers, her fierce determination to save lives compensating for lack of experience. Over time, however, Ayingbi is confronted with an unfortunate realization: when working at a suicide hotline, you simply can’t save everyone. On top of that, there is something sinister afoot at Rastogi’s agency, least of which are the three phones in Ayingbi’s cubicle, one of which begins to ring without being plugged in . . .

Luo Qiqi was only the most ordinary member of the myriad of living creatures, but the incident of one in ten thousand living beings falling from the sky caused her to have an extraordinary journey. She traveled between each and every mission, and trained for many lifetimes, allowing this tiny soul to slowly grow stronger.

“If your reading habits alternate between curling up with a good mystery or with a good cookbook, you ought to know about Joanne Fluke.”—Charlotte Observer This summer has been warmer than usual in Lake Eden, Minnesota, and Hannah Swensen is trying to beat the heat both in and out of her bakery kitchen. But she’s about to find out the hard way that nothing cools off a hot day like a cold-blooded murder. At the grand opening of a local hotel, a police department employee nearly dies falling from a penthouse—and then another woman, with whom Hannah has a less-than-friendly relationship, winds up dead. Hannah is the prime suspect—and to clear her own name, she’s got to find out who iced the victim… Features cookie and dessert recipes from The Cookie Jar, including Red Velvet Surprise Cupcakes and Chocolate Covered Peanut Cookies! “Culinary cozies don't get any tastier than this winning series.”—Library Journal “Loaded with mouthwatering recipes and clever plotting, the latest Hannah Swensen mystery delights.”—RT Book Reviews

Ayingbi Mayengbam, a well-meaning primary school teacher, wants to take on some part-time work over the summer, ideally a job through which she can help people. When her first day as a volunteer at a suicide hotline ends in her finding a dead body, she is done with this line of work. But soon, she is approached by the winsome Dr Rastogi, a man who runs another suicide hotline with a more altruistic approach, and she is unable to say no. While initially shy and uncertain, Ayingbi learns quickly, her warmth and sincerity enabling her to connect well with callers, her fierce determination to save lives compensating for lack of experience. Over time, however, Ayingbi is confronted with an unfortunate realization: when working at a suicide hotline, you simply can't save everyone. On top of that, there is something sinister afoot at Rastogi's agency, least of which are the three phones in Ayingbi's cubicle, one of which begins to ring without being plugged in . . .

- Advice and information from a master based on a lifetime of observing, hunting, and photographing deer in the wild Are deer browsers or grazers? Do antlers indicate age? Are buck and doe droppings different? Does moon phase affect the rut? Can antlered does breed? A host of questions about deer behavior and hunting are answered by renowned deer expert Leonard Lee Rue III in this fascinating and useful book. Includes hundreds of facts and observations about feeding behavior, deer movements, the rut, hunting techniques, and antlers--all presented in an easy-to-use Q&A format, illustrated with the author's stunning color photographs. Practical information for anyone who wants a more successful hunt.

AFFAIRS TO REMEMBER A lingering kiss… Angie was determined to throw off her memories of Lance Sterling. It had been nine years since her brother's impossibly handsome friend had stolen her fifteen-year-old-heart with a kiss. It was time to move on, time to stop comparing every man she met with Lance, time to let a man love her. Maybe there would be someone eligible at her brother's party? But there was an unexpected guest…. Lance arrived and announced that his marriage was over. Now the temptation for a certain twenty-four-year-old virgin to try to seduce him was impossible to resist! AFFAIRS TO REMEMBER—stories of love you'll treasure forever.

From the author of the sensational bestseller I Was Told There'd Be Cake comes a new book of personal essays brimming with all the charm and wit that have earned Sloane Crosley widespread acclaim, award nominations, and an ever-growing cadre of loyal fans. In Cake readers were introduced to the foibles of Crosley's life in New York City-always teetering between the glamour of Manhattan parties, the indignity of entry-level work, and the special joy of suburban nostalgia-and to a literary voice that mixed Dorothy Parker with David Sedaris and became something all its own. Crosley still lives and works in New York City, but she's no longer the newcomer for whom a trip beyond the Upper West Side is a big adventure. She can pack up her sensibility and takes us with her to Paris, to Portugal (having picked it by spinning a globe and putting down her finger, and finally falling in with a group of Portuguese clowns), and even to Alaska, where the "bear bells" on her fellow bridesmaids' ponytails seemed silly until a grizzly cub dramatically intrudes. Meanwhile, back in New York, where new apartments beckon and taxi rides go awry, her sense of the city has become more layered, her relationships with friends and family more complicated. As always, Crosley's voice is fueled by the perfect witticism, buoyant optimism, flair for drama, and easy charm in the face of minor suffering or potential drudgery. But in How Did You Get This Number it has also become increasingly sophisticated, quicker and sharper to the point, more complex and lasting in the emotions it explores. And yet, Crosley remains the unfailingly hilarious young Everywoman, healthily equipped with intelligence and poise to fend off any potential mundanity in maturity.