Christmas is approaching, and in Québec it’s a time of dazzling snowfalls, bright lights, and gatherings with friends in front of blazing hearths. But shadows are falling on the usually festive season for Chief Inspector Armand Gamache. Most of his best agents have left the Homicide Department, his old friend and lieutenant Jean-Guy Beauvoir hasn’t spoken to him in months, and hostile forces are lining up against him. When Gamache receives a message from Myrna Landers that a longtime friend has failed to arrive for Christmas in the village of Three Pines, he welcomes the chance to get away from the city. Mystified by Myrna’s reluctance… Read more.
It’s Been a Pleasure, Noni Blake by Claire Christian
Of all the women and men Noni Blake has pleased in her life, there’s one she’s often overlooked—herself. After the end of a decade-long relationship, Noni decides it’s time for that to change. She’s finally going to prioritize her wants and desires and only do things (and people) that feel good in the moment. As she embarks on a pleasure-seeking quest that takes her halfway around the world, she discovers that maybe she can have everything, and everyone, she’s ever wanted.
The last time Maeve saw her cousin was the night she escaped the cult they were raised in. For the past two decades, Maeve has worked hard to build a normal life in New York City, where she keeps everything—and everyone—at a safe distance. When Andrea suddenly reappears, Maeve regains the only true friend she’s ever had. Soon she’s spending more time at Andrea’s remote Catskills estate than in her own cramped apartment. Maeve doesn’t even mind that her cousin’s wealthy work friends clearly disapprove of her single lifestyle. After all, Andrea has made her fortune in the fertility industry—baby fever comes with the territory… Read more.
‘To the boys in apartment 5A. Congratulations. You have a kid.’ That’s what the note attached to the abandoned baby carrier says. And now my three gorgeous neighbors are in deep trouble. None of them have a clue how to look after the baby that’s been left on their doorstep. Luckily, there’s a nanny in the building. I can barely believe my eyes when the sizzling boys next door come knocking for my help. The truth is, I’ve been secretly crushing on the guys in 5A for years—and now I finally have an excuse to meet them all. There’s Jack, the sweet, nerdy game designer with the… Read more.
Lady Georgiana Arlington has always done what’s best for her family—even when it meant marrying a man she didn’t love to save her father. Her husband’s death has left her stronger and bolder—a hellion, some would even say. When a mysterious enemy jeopardizes her livelihood and reputation, there’s only one person she can trust to help her uncover the threat: the same man she left heartbroken years ago. Captain Henry Harris is no longer the penniless fortune hunter he was when they first met. Now a decorated naval hero, he could have his choice of women, but no other… Read more.
It’s been years since Grace, Felicity, Alice and Hannah were together – The Wild Girls, as they were once called, are no longer so wild. Alice has settled with a new baby and partner. Hannah is now a teacher. Grace has gone to ground. Only Felicity seems to have the same spark she once had. And now Felicity has invited them all on the weekend of a lifetime – a mini-break in Botswana to celebrate her birthday, a chance to put that night two years ago behind them, when things went so very wrong between them, and their bomb-proof friendship was shattered for ever. But on arriving.. Read more.
Mattie can’t remember a time before she and William lived alone on a mountain together. She must never make him upset. But when Mattie discovers the mutilated body of a fox in the woods, she realizes that they’re not alone after all. There’s something in the woods that wasn’t there before, something that makes strange cries in the night, something with sharp teeth and claws. When three strangers appear on the mountaintop looking for the creature in the woods, Mattie knows their presence will anger William. Terrible things happen when William is angry.
Every day I clean the Winchesters’ beautiful house top to bottom. I collect their daughter from school. And I cook a delicious meal for the whole family before heading up to eat alone in my tiny room on the top floor. I try to ignore how Nina makes a mess just to watch me clean it up. How she tells strange lies about her own daughter. And how her husband Andrew seems more broken every day. But as I look into Andrew’s handsome brown eyes, so full of pain, it’s hard not to imagine what it would be like to live Nina’s life. The walk-in closet, the fancy car, the perfect… Read more.
Graphic domestic violence & abuse, including captivity, torture, unethical surveillance, and gaslighting (on-page)
Infidelity & divorce (on-page)
Weight gain discussed (on-page)
Infertility mentioned (faked)
Incarceration for assault recounted
Psychiatric hospitalisation for (perceived) hallucinations recounted
Captivity by intimate partner (on-page)
Physical & psychological torture, including forcing someone to remove their own tooth, and in a domestic violence context (on-page)
Stalking
Near-drowning of an infant child recounted
Context : The second narrator, Nina, covertly hired the main protagonist, Millie, as her housemaid in order to trick her into killing her husband. Nina has been abused and tortured by her husband, who even tried to drown their newborn daughter and gaslight her into believing she did it, for years. She is institutionalised after the incident, and convinces herself she hallucinated the abuse & incident, until it begins after her release. Nina believes she can make her husband fall in love & leave her for Millie, possibly even coerce Nina to kill him in self-defence, so she can escape with her daughter. She goes as far as to fake infertility, Millie was incarcerated for nearly fatally assaulted a man she caught sexually assaulting her friend.
When violinist Anna Sun accidentally achieves career success with a viral YouTube video, she finds herself incapacitated and burned out from her attempts to replicate that moment. And when her longtime boyfriend announces he wants an open relationship before making a final commitment, a hurt and angry Anna decides that if he wants an open relationship, then she does, too. Translation: She’s going to embark on a string of one-night stands. The more unacceptable the men, the better.. That’s where tattooed, motorcycle-riding Quan Diep comes in. Their first attempt at a one-night stand fails, as does their second, and their third, because being with Quan is more than… Read more.
On a rainy October night in Kentucky, recently divorced therapist Tallie Clark is on her way home from work when she spots a man precariously standing on the side of a bridge. Without a second thought, Tallie pulls over and jumps out of the car into the pouring rain. She convinces the man to join her for a cup of coffee, and he eventually agrees to come back to her house, where he finally shares his name: Emmett. On a rainy October night in Kentucky, recently divorced therapist Tallie Clark is on her way home from work when she spots a man precariously standing on the side of a bridge. Without a second thought, Tallie pulls….Read more.
Trigger Warning Database 