Professional crisis manager Philippa Tannenbaum is spokesperson for the law enforcement task force charged with solving a high-profile case. She never dreams her position as Homecoming Pageant Director and her second-place finish in the previous year's competition has placed her on a serial killer's hit list. Always a runner-up in life, she wants to finally come in first at finding the killer targeting the current crop of beauties. Her friend Luke Slaughter, a Graysville city cop, shows up at Philippa's office, assigned to partner with her in solving the case and to protect her 24/7 for the duration. Unfortunately, he's also the man she hooked up with for a one-night stand when she broke up with her fiancé. Working with her is going to be less than easy, for a number of reasons...

For Honey Palladino, the holidays have lost their magic. She is sure her husband is cheating on her. Her daughter plans to spend the time with a friend. Her widowed mother sees the image of Jesus in a live oak tree. As if that's not enough, her mother is also talking about going on a Christmas cruise with some old geezer, without benefit of marriage. That would be right after she signs away the family business -- the real estate agency Honey's father built into a company worth millions, the job to which Honey has devoted her life. At her mother's condo in Boca Raton, Florida, many have recently lost a spouse and are now with "significant others," and Honey is intrigued by the promise of new love even at an old age but doubts she'll ever find another significant other after her inevitable divorce. When her mother reunites with a lost love from years before, Honey is completely undone, but the "Jesus tree" puts into motion a series of holiday miracles. Discovering what's important in life brings a message of hope for lovers of all ages.

Childless heiress Abigail Adams Longley and three other widows bond over a Renaissance masterpiece in Florence, Italy, and find love, friendship and joy in their joint venture to open an art gallery at the Longley mansion in Lobster Cove, Maine. Since the death of her husband, Abigail has been lonely and drifting in a house that’s too big and a town that’s too small. When she literally runs into sexy widower and whale-watching excursion captain Tack Garrity on the dock, she’s entranced by his adorable five-year-old daughter. But will Tack, who has harbored a secret crush on Abigail for almost two decades, be able to capture her heart? A secret pact her husband made with Tack could either tear them apart or bring them closer together and change their lives forever.

When Julie Paver’s husband Matt moves his business to Atlanta, she is forced to leave behind her thriving jewelry boutique, Stones. The move threatens their twenty-five-year marriage, because now if Matt isn’t out of town negotiating a merger, he’s spending late hours on overseas phone calls with his sexy-sounding second-in-command. Feeling neglected and unloved, Julie seeks closure by reconnecting with her first love, Manny, when he pursues her with his Internet innuendos. Manny is unaware he’s the father of Julie’s son, and Julie contemplates revealing the secret to him on the eve of their son’s wedding. But would such a walk down memory lane be worth the cost? Julie and Manny finally meet at her oceanfront condo — in the midst of a hurricane — and elements collide to create the perfect storm in a coming-of-middle-age crisis.

Eva, a minor goddess of the Venus variety, descended from a distinguished line of matchmakers, operates a business called Someday My Prints Will Come, a virtual lost-and-found of mismatched prints for photo processors around the country. She uses the leftover space on the database to accomplish her primary mission as a modern-day matchmaker. While Eva successfully helps others find their soulmates, she has never been in love. No matter how hard she tries, she can’t find the perfect woman for a particularly picky client—Noah Prince, the emissary for rich and powerful CEO Adam Prinsky of Prinsky Electronics. Noah holds the key to Eva’s past, and he’s hoping to win her heart before he has to break it. This paranormal/fantasy tells the tale of how the matchmaker, who also hopes that one day her prince will come, finds a match.

A guide to series fiction lists popular series, identifies novels by character, and offers guidance on the order in which to read unnumbered series.

This accessible edition for students brings the Agamemnon, Aeschylus' opening play in the Oresteia trilogy, to life for first-time readers. A hugely popular play in antiquity and with a rich reception history to the present day, this is an essential play for students of classics, drama and the canon of western literature. Leah Himmelhoch provides a helpful guide for students and instructors wishing to study and teach the play, building on her over twenty-five years of experience teaching college and university students. A quick introduction sets out Agamemnon's historical, literary, and performative context, its use of imagery and themes (especially gender conflict and the perversion of sacrificial ritual), and its subsequent literary and cultural impact while extensive commentary notes guide students through every line of the Greek text. Difficult passages are carefully explained while the power and beauty of the language is brought out at every opportunity. Himmelhoch's commentary also offers a companion website with a running vocabulary for the entire Agamemnon as further help for students.

WINNER OF THE PULITZER PRIZE FOR GENERAL NON-FICTON ONE OF THE NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEWS' 10 BEST BOOKS LONG-LISTED FOR THE NATIONAL BOOK AWARD FINALIST, CURRENT INTEREST CATEGORY, LOS ANGELES TIMES BOOK PRIZES "Locking Up Our Own is an engaging, insightful, and provocative reexamination of over-incarceration in the black community. James Forman Jr. carefully exposes the complexities of crime, criminal justice, and race. What he illuminates should not be ignored." —Bryan Stevenson, author of Just Mercy and founder of the Equal Justice Initiative "A beautiful book, written so well, that gives us the origins and consequences of where we are . . . I can see why [the Pulitzer prize] was awarded." —Trevor Noah, The Daily Show Former public defender James Forman, Jr. is a leading critic of mass incarceration and its disproportionate impact on people of color. In Locking Up Our Own, he seeks to understand the war on crime that began in the 1970s and why it was supported by many African American leaders in the nation’s urban centers. Forman shows us that the first substantial cohort of black mayors, judges, and police chiefs took office amid a surge in crime and drug addiction. Many prominent black officials, including Washington, D.C. mayor Marion Barry and federal prosecutor Eric Holder, feared that the gains of the civil rights movement were being undermined by lawlessness—and thus embraced tough-on-crime measures, including longer sentences and aggressive police tactics. In the face of skyrocketing murder rates and the proliferation of open-air drug markets, they believed they had no choice. But the policies they adopted would have devastating consequences for residents of poor black neighborhoods. A former D.C. public defender, Forman tells riveting stories of politicians, community activists, police officers, defendants, and crime victims. He writes with compassion about individuals trapped in terrible dilemmas—from the men and women he represented in court to officials struggling to respond to a public safety emergency. Locking Up Our Own enriches our understanding of why our society became so punitive and offers important lessons to anyone concerned about the future of race and the criminal justice system in this country.

When Tucker Mouline is killed the night of Orson’s Homecoming dance, Baycourt Hall is once again considered the destination for danger. And another murder is the very last thing Anna Glenn needs as she continues to help Sean and Ruby run the once-beloved party venue. Self-centered, rude, and unfaithful, Tucker earned plenty of enemies within Orson. Several of them had joined him in the preparation of the Homecoming court’s procession to the dance, the last time he was seen alive, but someone didn’t want him to be part of the celebration. Who shot him, and why? A scorned lover or a peeved parent tired of his son’s bullying ways? A disgruntled former teammate, or an official who’s tired of his highhandedness? Until they find Tucker’s murderer, Anna stands with Ruby and Sean, hoping this dose of bad press won’t cling to the hall for long. When Tucker’s death is mentioned in the news, though, they also learn that Baycourt’s former manager, Brandon, is wanted for questioning elsewhere. Elusive and seemingly untraceable, Brandon is Anna and her aunt Pru’s last chance at answers about Josie Glenn’s disappearance years ago. Torn between identifying Tucker’s murderer and wanting to find clues about Josie, Anna digs deeper into the motives of those in the Homecoming court. Because someone has to know more than they’re sharing, and perhaps it’s the key to all the questions she has about deaths—past and present.

With new clues about her aunt Josie’s disappearance from Baycourt Hall, Anna Glenn is all ears when Officer Romona wants to speak to her at Orson’s Fall Ball. Except, attempted murder strikes again, hindering Anna from learning any news about the cold case. Or…has it? Vera Kessel is the town’s drama queen, but is her fall simply due to a medical condition or a lethal bump to the head? Vera’s life hangs by a thread, and it seems more than one person is threatened by what secret she can spill. From jealous former friends, outrageous bribes, and grudges with jilted lovers, there are plenty of enemies who might want to silence her for good. Sure, it’s fodder for drama and gossip, but that’s not the only headache Anna faces. While she helps the Banners clear the Baycourt Hall’s bad rep—again—trouble crops up at home, too, when Aunt Pru sees someone trespassing. Keeping secrets is a dangerous, complicated business, something Anna comes to appreciate as a warning in finding Vera’s attacker and in unearthing her long-lost relative’s fate…