October 2020 list by Donalee Jacobs
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The Book of Hidden Wonders
by Polly Crosby
A girl who would save her mentally ill artist father from succumbing to the pressures of fame follows clues in the illustrations of his remarkable children’s book before uncovering an astonishing family secret.
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The Brightest Star
by Fern Michaels
Writing biographies to support her family’s struggling Christmas shop, Lauren is assigned to pen the life story of a handsome and surprisingly intelligent online retailer mogul who has put hundreds of small companies out of business.
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The Brilliant Life of Eudora Honeysett
by Annie Lyons
Wanting to organize an assisted death on her own terms, a world-weary octogenarian forges an unexpected bond with an exuberant 10-year-old who drags her to tea parties, shopping sprees and other social excursions.
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Chance of a Lifetime
by Jude Deveraux
In 1840s Ireland, thief Liam O'Connor lures away lovely Cora from her intended, so angels send him to a small town in contemporary America to right this wrong. He must convince today's Cora, a police detective, to marry a lawyer she loves, or Liam will be damned for eternity.
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Choppy Water
by Stuart Woods
When his Maine vacation is interrupted by extreme weather that a menacing adversary uses as cover to target a close friend, Stone Barrington uncovers a massive scheme with corrupt ties spanning New York City through Key West.
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Christmas Cupcake Murder
by Joanne Fluke
Firing up the Cookie Jar’s ovens to attend a lengthy holiday checklist, Hannah Swensen helps loved ones manage seasonal doldrums before she is challenged to identify a skilled antique restorer found near death outside her bakery.
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The Dazzling Truth
by Helen Cullen
In the courtyards of Trinity College, Dublin, in 1978, aspiring actress Maeve meets pottery student Murtagh Moone. As their relationship progresses, marriage and motherhood come in quick succession, but for Maeve, with the joy of children also comes the struggle to hold on to the truest parts of herself.
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The Dirty South
by John Connolly
A latest entry in the best-selling series by the author of A Book of Bones traces Charlie Parker’s first case, in which his efforts to bring his wife and child’s killer to justice are stymied by corruption.
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Dreaming Death
by Heather Graham
Sparring with a new partner who considers her underqualified, a rookie Krewe of Hunters agent uses her supernatural prophetic dreams to outmaneuver a killer who has been targeting vulnerable young women in Washington, D.C.
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Happily This Christmas
by Susan Mallery
An independent businesswoman and single mother offers support to her neighbor and secret crush during a holiday season shaped by a prickly daughter’s pregnancy, a painful secret, difficult past mistakes and an unexpected second chance at love.
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Homeland Elegies
by Ayad Akhtar
A deeply personal work about identity and belonging in a nation coming apart at the seams, Homeland Elegies blends fact and fiction to tell an epic story of longing and dispossession in the world that 9/11 made.
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It Will Just Be Us
by Jo Kaplan
Struggling to maintain her sanity in the haunted corners and memory-laden passages of her decaying ancestral home, Sam takes in her pregnant sister before the appearance of a knife-wielding ghost boy reveals dangerous family secrets.
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Jack
by Marilynne Robinson
A conclusion to the story that began with the Pulitzer Prize-winning Gilead traces the story of prodigal son John Ames Boughton, who pursues a star-crossed, interracial romance with a high school teacher who is also the child of a preacher.
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Monogamy
by Sue Miller
Derailed by the sudden passing of her husband of 30 years, an artist on the brink of a gallery opening struggles to pick up the pieces of her life before discovering harrowing evidence of her husband’s affair.
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Murder at Hotel 1911
by Audrey Keown
In this elegant and atmospheric murder mystery, a hotel clerk prone to panic attacks turns amateur detective when the hotel's chef is suspected of murder.
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Only Truth
by Julie Cameron
Surviving a violent assault she cannot remember, a successful artist relocates to the country with her husband to recuperate from her injuries before uncovering dark secrets and noting the return of an eerily familiar stranger from her clouded past.
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The Return
by Nicholas Sparks
Moving into a family beekeeper cabin to recuperate from war injuries, an Afghanistan veteran falls in love with a guarded sheriff while working with a sullen local teen to investigate the mystery of a grandparent’s death.
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Robert B. Parker's Fool's Paradise
by Mike Lupica
Surprised by the murder of a man he met the night before at an AA meeting, Paradise Police Chief Jesse Stone follows leads to one of the wealthiest families in town to identify the victim and his mysterious agenda.
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Set My Heart to Five
by Simon Stephenson
A first novel by a former Pixar screenwriter follows the emotional awakening of a human-like bot, a small-town dentist who, in the wake of an inexplicable response to a classic movie, endeavors to forge real connections.
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Squeeze Me
by Carl Hiaasen
When a high-society dowager murdered at the height of Palm Beach’s charity gala season is declared a political martyr by the colorful President she supported, a talented wildlife wrangler uncovers the truth amid the discovery of a controversial affair.
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The Unraveling of Cassidy Holmes
by Elissa R. Sloan
Shocked by the suicide of a member of their idolized band, three surviving former bandmates reexamine the secrets they shared throughout their early years and meteoric rise to fame.
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Unrestricted Access: New and Classic Short Fiction
by James Rollins
A first anthology of short fiction by the best-selling author of the Sigma series includes 11 previously published stories as well as a new full-length novella featuring Captain Tucker Wayne and his military war dog, Kane.
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When No One Is Watching
by Alyssa Cole
Finding unexpected support from a new friend while collecting stories from her rapidly vanishing Brooklyn community, Sydney uncovers sinister truths about a regional gentrification project and why her neighbors are moving away.
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Whirlwind
by Janet Dailey
One of three sisters who would carry on their family's bull-breeding legacy debuts a promising specimen at a professional bull rider's competition while resisting the advances of an attractive cowboy who tests her resolve against the dangers of rodeo life.
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