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The Woman in the Window
by A. J. Finn
It isn't paranoia if it's really happening . . .
Anna Fox lives alone. She is a recluse in her New York City home, unable to venture outside. She spends her day drinking wine, watching old movies, recalling happier times, and spying on her neighbors.
Then the Russells move into the house across the way: a father, a mother, their teenage son. The perfect family. But when Anna, gazing out her window one night, sees something she shouldn't, her world begins to crumble, and its shocking secrets are laid bare.
What is real? What is imagined? Who is in danger? Who is in control? In this diabolically gripping thriller, no one - and nothing - is what it seems.
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The Pillars of the Earth
by Ken Follett
Follett's historical masterpiece is a spellbinding epic tale of ambition, anarchy, and absolute power set against the sprawling medieval canvas of 12th-century England. Against a backdrop filled with the ravages of war and the rhythms of daily life, he draws the reader irresistibly into the intertwined lives of his characters - their dreams, their labors, and their loves.
The building of a cathedral, with the almost eerie artistry of the unschooled stonemasons, is the center of the drama. Around the site of the construction, Follett weaves a story of betrayal, revenge, and love, which begins with the public hanging of an innocent man, and ends with the humiliation of a king.
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Catch-22
by Joseph Heller
Fifty years after its original publication, Catch-22 remains a cornerstone of American literature and one of the funniest - and most celebrated - books of all time.
Set in Italy during World War II, this is the story of Yossarian, an incomparable, malingering bombardier who is furious because thousands of people he has never met are trying to kill him. But Yossarian's real problem is not the enemy - it is his own army, which keeps increasing the number of missions the men must fly to complete their service.
If he makes any attempt to excuse himself from the perilous missions he's assigned, he'll be in violation of Catch-22, a hilariously sinister bureaucratic rule that considers a man insane if he willingly continues to fly dangerous combat missions, but sane (and therefore ineligible to be relieved) if he makes a formal request to be removed from duty.
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Simon the Fiddler
by Paulette Jiles
In March 1865, the long and bitter Civil War is winding down. Simon Boudlin has evaded military duty thanks to his slight stature, youthful appearance, and utter lack of compunction about bending the truth. But following a barroom brawl in Victoria, Texas, Simon finds himself conscripted into the Confederate Army. Luckily his talent with a fiddle gets him a comparatively easy position in a regimental band.
Weeks later, on the eve of the Confederate surrender, Simon and his bandmates are called to play for officers and their families from both sides of the conflict. There the quick-thinking, audacious fiddler can't help but notice the lovely Doris Mary Dillon, an indentured girl from Ireland, who is governess to a Union colonel's daughter.
After the surrender, Simon and Doris go their separate ways. He will travel around Texas seeking fame and fortune as a musician. She must accompany the colonel's family to finish her three years of service. But Simon cannot forget the fair Irish maiden, and vows that someday he will find her again.
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Madame Tussaud
by Michelle Moran
The world knows Madame Tussaud as a wax artist extraordinaire, but who was this woman who became one of the most famous sculptresses of all time?
While the tensions rise between the royalty and the people, Madame Tussaud is requested to tutor the King's sister in wax sculpting and must find a way for her family to survive the coming revolution.
Spanning five years, from the budding revolution to the Reign of Terror, we are brought into the world of an incredible heroine whose talent for wax modeling saved her life and preserved the faces of a vanished kingdom.
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Beneath a Scarlet Sky
by Mark T Sullivan
An epic tale of one young man's incredible courage and resilience during one of history's darkest hours, based on the true story of a forgotten hero.
Giuseppe "Pino" Lella wants nothing to do with the war or the Nazis. He's a normal Italian teenager obsessed with music, food, and girls. But his days of innocence are numbered.
When his family home in Milan is destroyed by Allied bombs, Pino joins an underground railroad helping Jews escape over the Alps, and falls in love with Anna, a beautiful widow six years his senior.
In an attempt to protect him, Pino's parents force him to enlist as a German soldier - a move they think will keep him out of combat. But after Pino is injured, he becomes the personal driver for General Hans Leyers, one of the Third Reich's most mysterious and powerful commanders.
Now, with the opportunity to spy for the Allies inside the German High Command, Pino endures the horrors of the war and the Nazi occupation by fighting in secret, his courage bolstered by his love for Anna and for the life he dreams they will one day share.
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