Opposites attract and sparks fly, but can they be contained? Member of Parliament, Edward Archibald, lives in constant fear of being discovered as a gay man and having his life ruined because of it. He has avoided scandal in every way possible…until his brother runs off with a married duchess and kidnaps Lord Selby's son and heir. As Selby's friend, Edward is called on to help with the investigation by contacting his brother. There's just one small problem: The mission means he's been thrown into close quarters with the object of his desire, actor Martin Piper. Martin Piper loves life and isn't afraid to enjoy it to the fullest. He can't help but draw attention to himself in everything he does, particularly when he's paired with stodgy politician, Edward, as they work to reunite Lord Selby and his son. But Martin can only pay attention to one thing-his fascination with and desire for Edward. He adores the man at first sight and relishes the opportunity to crack Edward's shell to get to the sensuality he knows Edward is capable of. But their mission veers wildly off-course and seems destined to fail, especially when their conflicting ideas about desire and discretion prove how different they are. Can they overcome their differences to complete their mission and enjoy an epic love story, or will passion drive them apart? A tender and heartfelt gay historical romance. PLEASE BE ADVISED: Steam level - very spicy! And yes, this is an m/m romance involving friends to lovers, second chances, and a single father, so if that's not your thing, feel free to pass on this one. THE BROTHERHOOD series consists of: Just a Little Wickedness Just a Little Temptation Just a Little Danger Just a Little Seduction Just a Little Heartache Just a Little Christmas Just a Little Madness Just a Little Gamble Just a Little Mischief Just a Little Rivalry

A brilliant young intelligence officer and a troubled heiress stumble into a global conspiracy that pits present-day Russia against the CIA in this electrifying, globetrotting spy thriller. Combining realistic thrills with sophisticated spycraft and witty dialogue, The Collaborators delivers a gut-punch answer to the biggest geopolitical question of our time. How exactly did post-Soviet Russia turn down the wrong path? Criss-crossing the globe on the way to this shocking revelation are disaffected millennial CIA officer Ari Falk, thrown into a moral and professional crisis by the death of his best asset, and brash, troubled LA heiress Maya Chou, spiralling after the disappearance of her Russian American billionaire father. The duo’s adventures take us to both classic and surprising locales – from Berlin and Tangier to Latvia, Belarus and a semi-abandoned technopark outside Moscow. Dynamic, fast-paced and filled with captivating details that provide a window into a secretive world, The Collaborators is a first-rate thriller that pays homage to both meanings of ‘intelligence’. ‘A terrific espionage thriller with a propulsive plot and fantastic twists, but what really sets this book apart is the writing, sparkling on every page’ Chris Pavone, New York Times bestselling author of The Expats and Two Nights in Lisbon ‘Crackles with energy as it veers between international caper and more classic espionage thriller, laced with the promise of romance. Idov . . . brings a pleasing cinematic sweep, insider knowledge of Russia and sharp dialogue to this enjoyable tale as it roams around the world’ Financial Times ‘Gathers stories from the headlines – novichok, Ponzi schemes, Wagner Group mercenaries – and blends them into a hipster spy smoothie’ The Times, Book of the Month ‘A skilful story about manipulative spymasters in Russia and the United States. . . . Switching perspectives and continents and written with vivid intelligence, this is a great example of the international spy novel’ Literary Review ‘Idov breathes fresh air into [the genre] . . . A sparkling new voice in spy thrillers’ CrimeTime

Sandwich meets The Wedding People in this irresistible comedy of manners as three generations of a family-a snail scientist, a soon-to-be divorcée, her teenage daughter, a hapless con man, and their feckless patriarch-descend on a ritzy Lake Michigan vacation island. "Engaging and charming, perfect for your own summer vacation." -Elin Hilderbrand, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Hotel Nantucket When the Pickford siblings arrive at The Grand Hotel-a nostalgic tourist paradise of horse-drawn carriages, muddled cocktails, and white sweaters on the tennis court-they have every intention of spending the long weekend making nice. Pete, the nation's foremost expert on gastropods (mollusks), is keen to wade around the lake in search of a rare and exciting Carthusian snail. Viv, reeling from the secret revelation that her husband is gay, is determined to put on a brave face for her daughter. And Corey, a charming, handsome grifter, has lucked into five pounds of cocaine he plans to sell to the first dumb rich guy he can find. But when Pete falls for the alluring mother of a local kid, when Viv's daughter gets up to teenage trouble, and when Corey finds the wealthy guests less interested in party drugs than golf clubs and waffle cones, the long weekend of family bonding veers into disaster. Why did their father bring them to this cushy island resort in the first place? And why does Corey, the biggest screw-up of them all, seem to be the only one who knows the truth? As secrets spill, old flames are fanned, and an innocent snail is crushed beneath the unrelenting heel of a hiking boot. In a story that is as sneakily wise as it is absurdly funny, Ryan Effgen's debut shows how sometimes the people who bring out your worst-your family-can also be the ones to bring you out of your shell.

ONE OF QUEER FORTY'S BEST PRIDE READS FOR SUMMER 2023! Three gay men in pre-Stonewall New York City find their fates thrown together in the police raid of a Village bar. Roger Moorhouse is a Wall Street banker and Westchester family man with a preciously guarded secret. As the shouting begins and flashlights blaze in his face, the life he's carefully curated over the years―a fancy new office overlooking lower Broadway, a house in Beechmont Woods, his wife and children―is about to come crashing down around him. Columbia literature professor Julian Prince lives a comparatively uncloseted life when he finds his first committed relationship tested to its limits. How could he explain to Gus, a fearless young artist, that he couldn't stay with him that weekend because the woman who was still technically Julian's fiancée would be visiting? But when Gus is struck unconscious by a police baton, Julian comes out of hiding to protect him, even if exposure means losing everything. For Danny Duffy, an Irish kid from the Bronx with a sassy mouth and a diverse group of friends, the raid is a galvanizing, Spartacus moment. Danny doesn't have too much left to lose; his family has just disowned him. But once his name appears in the newspaper, he'll be fired from his job at Sloan's Supermarket, where he's risen to assistant manager of produce, and begin a journey that veers between political enlightenment and violent revenge. The three men find themselves in a police wagon together, their hidden lives threatened to be revealed to the world. Blackmail, a private investigator, Gus's disappearance, and Danny's quest for retribution propel Disorderly Men to its piercing conclusion, as each man meets the boundaries of his own fear, love, and shame. The stakes for each are different, but all of them confront a fundamental question: How much happiness is he allowed to have . . . and what share of it will he lay claim to?

Film is Like a Battleground: Sam Fuller's War Movies is the first book to focus on the genre that best defined the American director's career: the war film. It draws on previously unexplored archival materials, such as Fuller's Federal Bureau of Investigation files and WWII-era amateur films, to explore the director's lifelong interest in making challenging, thought-provoking, and often politically dangerous movies about war. After establishing the roots of Fuller's cinematographic schooling in the trenches during World War II, including careful consideration of his 16mm footage of a Nazi camp at the end of that war, Film is Like a Battleground explores Fuller's first forays into hot war representation in Hollywood with the pioneering Korean conflict films The Steel Helmet (1951) and Fixed Bayonets (1951). This pair of films introduced Fuller to his first run-ins with the American political machine when they triggered both FBI and Department of Defense investigations into his political sympathies and affiliations. Fuller's cold war films Pickup on South Street (1953) and, though it veers into hot war territory, Hell and High Water (1954) are Fuller's responses to the political pressures he had now personally experienced and resented. A chapter on Fuller's representation of pre-American-invasion Vietnam in China Gate (1957) alongside his unrealized Vietnam war screenplay, The Rifle (ca. late 1960s), illustrates the degree to which Fuller's representation of war and nation shifted even as he continued to probe war's impossible contradictions. Film is Like a Battleground would be incomplete without a thorough exploration of the films depicting the war Fuller personally experienced and spent a lifetime contemplating, WWII. Verboten! (1959), Merrill's Marauder's (1962), and The Big Red One (1980) demonstrate Fuller's representation of a morally justifiable war. Fuller's 1959 CBS television pilot--Dogface--offers a glimpse at one of Fuller's failed attempts to bring his WWII story into American living rooms. The book concludes with a chapter about a documentary film made late in the director's life that returns Fuller to the actual site of the Nazi's Falkenau camp, at which he discusses his experiences there and that powerful, unforgettable footage he shot in the spring of 1945.

Film is Like a Battleground: Sam Fuller's War Movies is the first book to focus on the genre that best defined the American director's career: the war film. It draws on previously unexplored archival materials, such as Fuller's Federal Bureau of Investigation files and WWII-era amateur films, to explore the director's lifelong interest in making challenging, thought-provoking, and often politically dangerous movies about war. After establishing the roots of Fuller's cinematographic schooling in the trenches during World War II, including careful consideration of his 16mm footage of a Nazi camp at the end of that war, Film is Like a Battleground explores Fuller's first forays into hot war representation in Hollywood with the pioneering Korean conflict films The Steel Helmet (1951) and Fixed Bayonets (1951). This pair of films introduced Fuller to his first run-ins with the American political machine when they triggered both FBI and Department of Defense investigations into his political sympathies and affiliations. Fuller's cold war films Pickup on South Street (1953) and, though it veers into hot war territory, Hell and High Water (1954) are Fuller's responses to the political pressures he had now personally experienced and resented. A chapter on Fuller's representation of pre-American-invasion Vietnam in China Gate (1957) alongside his unrealized Vietnam war screenplay, The Rifle (ca. late 1960s), illustrates the degree to which Fuller's representation of war and nation shifted even as he continued to probe war's impossible contradictions. Film is Like a Battleground would be incomplete without a thorough exploration of the films depicting the war Fuller personally experienced and spent a lifetime contemplating, WWII. Verboten! (1959), Merrill's Marauder's (1962), and The Big Red One (1980) demonstrate Fuller's representation of a morally justifiable war. Fuller's 1959 CBS television pilot--Dogface--offers a glimpse at one of Fuller's failed attempts to bring his WWII story into American living rooms. The book concludes with a chapter about a documentary film made late in the director's life that returns Fuller to the actual site of the Nazi's Falkenau camp, at which he discusses his experiences there and that powerful, unforgettable footage he shot in the spring of 1945.

"This is a clean contemporary romance that you will find hard to put down!" --Amazon reviewer (regarding Always, Forever) FACEOFF FLING is the third book in a spellbinding new sports romance series by Fiona Grace, #1 bestselling author of Murder in the Manor, which has over 10,000 five star reviews! In picturesque Ashville, Minnesota, the ice may be cold but hockey gets heated at Ashville College. Sports Management major Jessica Clarke is determined to shatter the ice ceiling in hockey management, but she veers off course when the Ashville Aces' dependable goalie enlists her trust. But when a crafty winger, ensnared by scandal, scores Jessica's help to pose as his girlfriend, she finds herself skating on thin ice. Can Jessie keep her eyes on the goal? Or will love force an unforeseen power play? Prepare to be captivated by the ASHVILLE ACES, where a fusion of sporty action and romantic adventures beckons, leading you to a charming setting replete with witty banter, heartfelt moments, and unexpected twists. Alluring new protagonists in each book will steal your heart and have you reading late into the night. Future books in the series are now available! "Very entertaining. I highly recommend this book to the permanent library of any reader that appreciates a very well written mystery, with some twists and an intelligent plot. You will not be disappointed. Excellent way to spend a cold weekend!" --Books and Movie Reviews, Roberto Mattos (regarding Murder in the Manor) "The story line wasn't just a who done it, but had a story about her life and romance, including village life. Very entertaining." --Amazon reviewer (regarding Murder in the Manor) "It has endearing and sometimes quirky characters, a plot that keeps you reading and the right amount of romance. I can't wait to start book two!" -Amazon reviewer (regarding Murder in the Manor) "What a great story of murder, romance, new beginnings, love, friend ships and a wonderful cascade of mystery." --Amazon reviewer (regarding Murder in the Manor) "A bit of romance and a very determined woman! I have read many of Fiona Grace's novels and loved every one of them—this was no exception. I am looking forward to reading the rest of this new series!" --Amazon reviewer (regarding Always, With You)

'I can honestly say I can't think of another book that ever made me laugh this much. Ever' Patrick Rothfuss, New York Times bestselling author of The Name of the Wind Ensign Andrew Dahl has just been assigned to the Universal Union Capital Ship Intrepid, flagship of the Universal Union since the year 2456. It's a prestige posting, and Andrew is even more delighted when he's assigned to the ship's Xenobiology laboratory. Life couldn't be better ... although there are a few strange things going on: (1) every Away Mission involves a lethal confrontation with alien forces (2) the ship's captain, the chief science officer, and the handsome Lieutenant Kerensky always survive these encounters (3) at least one low-ranked crew member is, sadly, always killed. Suddenly it's less surprising how much energy is expended below decks on avoiding, at all costs, being assigned an Away Mission. Andrew's fate may have been sealed ... until he stumbles on a piece of information that changes everything ... and offers him and his fellow redshirts a crazy, high-risk chance to save their own lives ... Readers are crying with laughter at Redshirts: 'One of the best Star Trek novels without really being about Star Trek . . . a fine masterpiece of crafty reading' Goodreads reviewer, 'It's never a good thing to wear a red shirt in sci-fi . . . I am very impressed with how creative, funny and moving it is all at the same time. It pokes fun at cheesy sci-fi television while honouring it at the same time' Goodreads reviewer, 'It begins as a pretty funny, genre-aware, semi-parody of old school Star Trek . . . Slowly though, the flavour transitions into a more serious, meta-narrative quest' Goodreads reviewer, 'Satirical without being mean or mocking, and it is extremely, laugh out loud funny. But rather than taking the easy way out, Mr Scalzi slowly takes the story in a very meta direction, but in doing so turns the story into something real and thought-provoking' Goodreads reviewer, 'I fell in love with all of the characters, their plight, and the plot, all equally . . . What fantastic fun this book was!' Goodreads reviewer, 'The story veers in unexpected directions and becomes about fate and creativity and love and the dialogue a creator has with their creations. It was so unexpected and brilliant. This really was a laugh and cry read for me. I loved it' Goodreads reviewer,

'I can honestly say I can't think of another book that ever made me laugh this much. Ever' Patrick Rothfuss, New York Times bestselling author of The Name of the Wind Ensign Andrew Dahl has just been assigned to the Universal Union Capital Ship Intrepid, flagship of the Universal Union since the year 2456. It's a prestige posting, and Andrew is even more delighted when he's assigned to the ship's Xenobiology laboratory. Life couldn't be better ... although there are a few strange things going on: (1) every Away Mission involves a lethal confrontation with alien forces (2) the ship's captain, the chief science officer, and the handsome Lieutenant Kerensky always survive these encounters (3) at least one low-ranked crew member is, sadly, always killed. Suddenly it's less surprising how much energy is expended below decks on avoiding, at all costs, being assigned an Away Mission. Andrew's fate may have been sealed ... until he stumbles on a piece of information that changes everything ... and offers him and his fellow redshirts a crazy, high-risk chance to save their own lives ... Readers are crying with laughter at Redshirts: ' One of the best Star Trek novels without really being about Star Trek . . . a fine masterpiece of crafty reading' Goodreads reviewer, 'It's never a good thing to wear a red shirt in sci-fi . . . I am very impressed with how creative, funny and moving it is all at the same time. It pokes fun at cheesy sci-fi television while honouring it at the same time' Goodreads reviewer, 'It begins as a pretty funny, genre-aware, semi-parody of old school Star Trek . . . Slowly though, the flavour transitions into a more serious, meta-narrative quest' Goodreads reviewer, ' Satirical without being mean or mocking, and it is extremely, laugh out loud funny . But rather than taking the easy way out, Mr Scalzi slowly takes the story in a very meta direction, but in doing so turns the story into something real and thought-provoking ' Goodreads reviewer, 'I fell in love with all of the characters , their plight, and the plot, all equally . . . What fantastic fun this book was!' Goodreads reviewer, 'The story veers in unexpected directions and becomes about fate and creativity and love and the dialogue a creator has with their creations. It was so unexpected and brilliant. This really was a laugh and cry read for me. I loved it' Goodreads reviewer,

'I can honestly say I can't think of another book that ever made me laugh this much. Ever' Patrick Rothfuss, New York Times bestselling author of The Name of the Wind Ensign Andrew Dahl has just been assigned to the Universal Union Capital Ship Intrepid, flagship of the Universal Union since the year 2456. It's a prestige posting, and Andrew is even more delighted when he's assigned to the ship's Xenobiology laboratory. Life couldn't be better ... although there are a few strange things going on: (1) every Away Mission involves a lethal confrontation with alien forces (2) the ship's captain, the chief science officer, and the handsome Lieutenant Kerensky always survive these encounters (3) at least one low-ranked crew member is, sadly, always killed. Suddenly it's less surprising how much energy is expended below decks on avoiding, at all costs, being assigned an Away Mission. Andrew's fate may have been sealed ... until he stumbles on a piece of information that changes everything ... and offers him and his fellow redshirts a crazy, high-risk chance to save their own lives ... Readers are crying with laughter at Redshirts: ' One of the best Star Trek novels without really being about Star Trek . . . a fine masterpiece of crafty reading' Goodreads reviewer, ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ 'It's never a good thing to wear a red shirt in sci-fi . . . I am very impressed with how creative, funny and moving it is all at the same time. It pokes fun at cheesy sci-fi television while honouring it at the same time' Goodreads reviewer, ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ 'It begins as a pretty funny, genre-aware, semi-parody of old school Star Trek . . . Slowly though, the flavour transitions into a more serious, meta-narrative quest' Goodreads reviewer, ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ' Satirical without being mean or mocking, and it is extremely, laugh out loud funny . But rather than taking the easy way out, Mr Scalzi slowly takes the story in a very meta direction, but in doing so turns the story into something real and thought-provoking ' Goodreads reviewer, ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ 'I fell in love with all of the characters , their plight, and the plot, all equally . . . What fantastic fun this book was!' Goodreads reviewer, ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ 'The story veers in unexpected directions and becomes about fate and creativity and love and the dialogue a creator has with their creations. It was so unexpected and brilliant. This really was a laugh and cry read for me. I loved it' Goodreads reviewer, ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐

Slachtoffers gevonden met een enkele, mysterieuze veer op hun lichaam. Een ex-gedetineerde FBI-agente, ontketend. Een waanzinnige seriemoordenaar die nergens voor terugdeinst... "Een meesterwerk van spanning en mysterie." —Books and Movie Reviews, Roberto Mattos (over Once Gone) VOOR EÉN KEER is het achtste deel in een langverwachte nieuwe serie van bestsellerauteur Blake Pierce, wiens thriller Once Gone (gratis te downloaden) meer dan zevenduizend vijfsterrenbeoordelingen heeft ontvangen. FBI-topagente Morgan Cross stond op het hoogtepunt van haar carrière toen ze werd geframed, onterecht veroordeeld en tien jaar achter de tralies belandde. Nu eindelijk vrijgesproken en op vrije voeten, komt Morgan uit de gevangenis als een veranderd persoon—verhard, meedogenloos, afgesloten van de wereld en onzeker hoe ze opnieuw moet beginnen. Wanneer de FBI aan haar deur klopt, wanhopig op zoek naar Morgans hulp om een moordenaar op te sporen die geobsedeerd lijkt met verdrinking, is ze verscheurd. Morgan is niet meer dezelfde persoon, niet langer bereid zich aan de regels te houden, en zal deze keer voor niets terugdeinzen. In een non-stop thriller ontspint zich een dodelijk kat-en-muisspel tussen een duivelse moordenaar en een ex-gedetineerde FBI-agente die niets meer te verliezen heeft—met het lot van een nieuw slachtoffer in de weegschaal. Een pageturner van een misdaadthriller met een briljante en gekwelde FBI-agente in de hoofdrol. De Morgan Cross-serie is een meeslepend mysterie, boordevol non-stop actie, spanning, plotwendingen en onthullingen, voortgedreven door een adembenemend tempo dat je tot diep in de nacht aan het lezen houdt. Fans van Rachel Caine, Teresa Driscoll en Robert Dugoni zullen ongetwijfeld als een blok vallen voor deze serie. Nieuwe delen in de serie verschijnen binnenkort! "Een thriller die je op het puntje van je stoel houdt in een nieuwe serie die je blijft boeien! ...Zoveel wendingen, verrassingen en dwaalspooren... Ik kan niet wachten om te zien wat er hierna gebeurt." —Lezersrecensie (Her Last Wish) "Een sterk, complex verhaal over twee FBI-agenten die proberen een seriemoordenaar te stoppen. Als je een auteur zoekt die je aandacht vasthoudt en je laat gissen, maar toch de puzzelstukjes in elkaar laat vallen, dan is Pierce jouw auteur!" —Lezersrecensie (Her Last Wish) "Een typische Blake Pierce thriller vol wendingen en spanning. Houdt je aan het lezen tot de laatste zin van het laatste hoofdstuk!!!" —Lezersrecensie (City of Prey) "Meteen vanaf het begin hebben we een ongewone hoofdpersoon die ik nog niet eerder in dit genre ben tegengekomen. De actie is non-stop... Een zeer sfeervolle roman die je tot in de kleine uurtjes aan het lezen houdt." —Lezersrecensie (City of Prey) "Alles wat ik in een boek zoek... een geweldig plot, interessante personages, en het grijpt je meteen. Het boek gaat in een razend tempo verder en houdt dat vol tot het einde. Nu op naar deel twee!" —Lezersrecensie (Girl, Alone) "Spannend, hartkloppend, op het puntje van je stoel... een must-read voor liefhebbers van mysterie en spanning!" —Lezersrecensie (Girl, Alone)

In the weeks that followed, Jane did her best not to think about anything very much. Usually, it worked. But every so often she would freeze, and tremble at the terrifying realisation that she wanted to leave her husband.'While many regard her marriage with admiration and a touch of envy, Jane Lytton quietly reaches the shocking conclusion that her relationship with Michael, a successful banker with little time for her - or the nitty-gritty of family life - is failing.Even daring to contemplate leaving Michael is daunting. With no obvious outward signs of any marital problems, family and friends greet news of the predicament with a mixture of anger and uncomprehending sympathy.Forced to accept that she is alone, Jane takes drastic steps that veer her life off course. When at last her vision clears to reveal the best chance of happiness, it looks as if she may have left it too late. Being with the wrong man does not make finding the 'right' one any easier.Amanda Brookfield's loving but unflinching dissection of marriage and relationships is timeless and irresistible. The Wrong Man demonstrates brilliantly why she got her well-deserved reputation for writing about women's lives with humour and honesty.*Please note this title was originally published as *Walls of Glass. **Praise for Amanda Brookfield:'An engaging, emotionally-charged and intriguing story' Michelle GormanNo one gets to the heart of human relationships quite so perceptively as Brookfield.' The Mirror'Unputdownable. Perceptive. Poignant. I loved it.' bestselling author Patricia Scanlan on Before I Knew You'If Joanna Trollope is the queen of the Aga Saga, then Amanda Brookfield must be a strong contender for princess.' Oxford TimesWhat readers are saying about Amanda Brookfield:'I've loved all Amanda Brookfield's books and this latest one was excellent too. She writes so well, with insight and natural dialogue.''I could read it again, I read it so fast, I couldn't put it down. Very well written. I will definitely read more from this author in the future.''Brilliant book - just when I thought I knew what was going to happen, another twist popped up -had me picking it up whenever I had the chance.''A great story, great characters, vivid, immediate, so 'real', and such compassion. Every bit a page turner as Brookfield so gets you into her people. Only my second (Good Girls was a lucky dip first), but am hooked. If you like reading really well written real-life novels about your relationships, try this.''I enjoyed Amanda Brookfield's writing style. She really taps into her characters and writes them warts and all, with some raw and honest emotions.''All of Amanda's books are well written. She certainly knows how to grab the reader's attention and draw them into what proves to be an enjoyable read.

Winner of the 2018 Norbert Blei/August Derleth Nonfiction Book Award, from the Council for Wisconsin Writers “Motherhood; complicated and personal.”— The New York Times “In a work that veers from confessional to cautionary tale to small-town crime blotter, Baker offers a harrowing account of her childbearing years at the center of the Midwestern methamphetamine crisis. . . . The author writes with an imaginative, studied complexity . . . [in a memoir] which readers may find themselves unable to put down or soon forget.”— Kirkus Reviews “Emotionally engrossing reading . . . A feminist’s perspective on prolific procreating; the unusual premise of linking addiction and crime with motherhood and birth will keep most readers on the line.”— Library Journal “ The Motherhood Affidavits is a gripping blend of family memoir and true crime, bound together by an acute awareness of class and economic hardship in small-town America. Baker’s frank account of her Midwestern family life and her husband’s work as a public defender reads like a real-life Fargo, by turns darkly comic and desperately poignant.”— Peter Ho Davies , author of The Welsh Girl and The Fortunes “ The Motherhood Affidavits is the most compelling and original memoir I’ve read in years. In her profound exploration of marriage, parenthood, baby-lust, and crime, Laura Jean Baker takes a compassionate yet unsentimental look at the ways in which the poor and unlucky are driven to act in ways that might seem unforgivable . . . until we realize how close we, too, have come to committing the same horrifying mistakes.”— Eileen Pollack , author of A Perfect Life “Who’s more desperate, the young wife and mother of five, or the petty (or not so petty) criminal? Laura Jean Baker doesn’t ask this question directly, but it’s always right below the surface in The Motherhood Affidavits. With humor, grace, and compassion, Baker connects her own vulnerabilities with those of the driftless and often clueless clients her attorney-husband takes on. What comes of this hard-sought, hard-won wisdom is sublime.”— Peter Geye , author of Wintering “Sometimes tender, often harrowing, always a page-turner, The Motherhood Affidavits examines Laura Jean Baker’s own impulse to parent—as well as the full scope and expression of human desire, whether for love, passion, comfort, power, or just plain survival. Stunning and memorable—and definitely not just for mothers.”— Judith Claire Mitchell , author of A Reunion of Ghosts “In this trenchant, frank, compelling memoir, hope and invention crash into hardscrabble economics, and Baker lights up the fractured lines between legality and criminality. The Motherhood Affidavits smartly explores Baker’s own pull to the chemical transformations of childbearing and the shifting realities of her marriage, then vaults beyond as she chronicles the lives of fellow city residents who’ve landed on the other side of the law.”— Nancy Reisman , author of Trompe l'Oeil “Brilliantly conceived and deftly written, The Motherhood Affidavits is a uniquely powerful—and memorable—book. Simply calling it a ‘memoir’ really doesn’t do it justice, as it vividly weaves together Laura Jean Baker’s experiences with those of her husband’s hardscrabble legal clients. A read that is as gripping as it is provocative.”— Shawn Francis Peters , author of Judging Jehovah's Witnesses and The Catonsville Nine “Like an Olympic ice skater nailing a triple axel, Laura Jean Baker makes it look easy. This unflinching and elegant memoir glides between tales of childbearing, parenting, and true crime. Ambitious in its scope, harrowing in its subject matter, and dazzling in its execution, The Motherhood Affidavits asks necessary questions about the intersections between the body and the state and between addiction and empathy.”— Shelley Puhak author of Guinevere in Baltimore “Laura Jean Baker's memoir is the perfect combination of rollicking narrative, whip-smart prose, and searing self-reflection. Here is a w

“Dark; confident, prickling stories. . . . Moshfegh uses ugliness as if it were an intellectual and moral Swiss Army knife. . . . Her stories veer close to myth in a manner that can resemble fiction by the English writer Angela Carter. There’s some Flannery O’Connor; Harry Crews and Katherine Dunn in her interest in freaks and quasi-freaks. . . . At her best, she has a wicked sort of command. Sampling her sentences is like touching a mildly electrified fence. There is a good deal of humor in Homesick for Another World, and the chipper tone can be unnerving. It’s like watching someone grin with a mouthful of blood.” — Dwight Garner, New York Times “A fluent, deeply talented artist . . . Moshfegh quickly established herself as an important new voice in the literary world, and her concerns for those isolated not only in the margins of society but within the physical confines of the body itself mirrored the work of brilliant predecessors like Mary Gaitskill, Christine Schutt and, in some ways, Eileen Myles. Homesick for Another World continues that exploration but with a wider range, over a larger landscape. It’s a paradox that in order to locate a sense of national character—and that ever-elusive American dream—art must continually probe the places where that dream seems to have all but disappeared.” —New York Times Book Review “I can’t recall the last time I laughed this hard at a book. Simultaneously, I’m shocked and scandalized. She’s brilliant, this young woman." —David Sedaris “On second and third reading, these stories reveal coils of plain language and quick narratives tight as songs. What is at first urgent and disorienting becomes a hymn, improving with repetition, all of it worth memorizing.” —Village Voice “[A] stunning debut short story collection. . . . Moshfegh displays a preternatural ability in short fiction, her stories impeccably shaped, her sentences sharp, and her voice controlled and widely confident; the stories of Homesick For Another World are near perfect examples of the form. . . . What makes the pieces composing Homesick so thrilling, in addition to their technical inscrutability, is their ability to surprise—with their ferocity, depravity, and casual violence, with their very ability to so consistently unsettle. . . . Amid the collection’s dark tone, Moshfegh imbues an equally dark humor, at times absurd, at others melancholy and bone-dry. . . . If you’re the kind of person who laughs when the grandma gets axed in “A Good Man Is Hard To Find;” you’ll be right at home in Homesick.” — AV Club “Ottessa Moshfegh's story collection, Homesick for Another World, couldn't come at a better time. Notions of class and power are in an unpredictable flux. A new elite rises, flipping the deck into the air. Nobody knows where the cards will land. So here comes Moshfegh, whose imaginative writing about train-wreck characters, rich and poor, adheres to a relentlessly dim worldview where a divided America comes together in the muck. . . . The best stories in the collection, however, contain memorable, conflicting images of squalor and beauty, chaos and pattern.” —Associated Press “All psychologically astute, astringently funny and wonderfully entertaining.” —Minneapolis Star Tribune “Startling and impressive new short story collection. . . . Despite her unsparing dissection of their paranoias, fetishes, and failings, Moshfegh doesn’t condescend to her characters; she is both gimlet-eyed and compassionate . . . there is both piercing wit and unexpected poignancy to be found in Moshfegh’s original and resonant collection.” —Boston Globe “The characters in this collection are an unlovely bunch but make for an irresistible read. . . . Moshfegh—a Boston-born, Los Angeles-based writer whose Man Booker-shortlisted novel Eileen (2016) infused the same sensibility into a witty, skillfully told suspense story—has other tones and tricks at her command. She writes terrific, attention-grabbing openings, and impactful last lines that

“Dark; confident, prickling stories. . . . Moshfegh uses ugliness as if it were an intellectual and moral Swiss Army knife. . . . Her stories veer close to myth in a manner that can resemble fiction by the English writer Angela Carter. There’s some Flannery O’Connor; Harry Crews and Katherine Dunn in her interest in freaks and quasi-freaks. . . . At her best, she has a wicked sort of command. Sampling her sentences is like touching a mildly electrified fence. There is a good deal of humor in Homesick for Another World, and the chipper tone can be unnerving. It’s like watching someone grin with a mouthful of blood.” — Dwight Garner, New York Times “A fluent, deeply talented artist . . . Moshfegh quickly established herself as an important new voice in the literary world, and her concerns for those isolated not only in the margins of society but within the physical confines of the body itself mirrored the work of brilliant predecessors like Mary Gaitskill, Christine Schutt and, in some ways, Eileen Myles. Homesick for Another World continues that exploration but with a wider range, over a larger landscape. It’s a paradox that in order to locate a sense of national character—and that ever-elusive American dream—art must continually probe the places where that dream seems to have all but disappeared.” —New York Times Book Review “I can’t recall the last time I laughed this hard at a book. Simultaneously, I’m shocked and scandalized. She’s brilliant, this young woman." —David Sedaris “On second and third reading, these stories reveal coils of plain language and quick narratives tight as songs. What is at first urgent and disorienting becomes a hymn, improving with repetition, all of it worth memorizing.” —Village Voice “[A] stunning debut short story collection. . . . Moshfegh displays a preternatural ability in short fiction, her stories impeccably shaped, her sentences sharp, and her voice controlled and widely confident; the stories of Homesick For Another World are near perfect examples of the form. . . . What makes the pieces composing Homesick so thrilling, in addition to their technical inscrutability, is their ability to surprise—with their ferocity, depravity, and casual violence, with their very ability to so consistently unsettle. . . . Amid the collection’s dark tone, Moshfegh imbues an equally dark humor, at times absurd, at others melancholy and bone-dry. . . . If you’re the kind of person who laughs when the grandma gets axed in “A Good Man Is Hard To Find;” you’ll be right at home in Homesick.” — AV Club “Ottessa Moshfegh's story collection, Homesick for Another World, couldn't come at a better time. Notions of class and power are in an unpredictable flux. A new elite rises, flipping the deck into the air. Nobody knows where the cards will land. So here comes Moshfegh, whose imaginative writing about train-wreck characters, rich and poor, adheres to a relentlessly dim worldview where a divided America comes together in the muck. . . . The best stories in the collection, however, contain memorable, conflicting images of squalor and beauty, chaos and pattern.” —Associated Press “All psychologically astute, astringently funny and wonderfully entertaining.” —Minneapolis Star Tribune “Startling and impressive new short story collection. . . . Despite her unsparing dissection of their paranoias, fetishes, and failings, Moshfegh doesn’t condescend to her characters; she is both gimlet-eyed and compassionate . . . there is both piercing wit and unexpected poignancy to be found in Moshfegh’s original and resonant collection.” —Boston Globe “The characters in this collection are an unlovely bunch but make for an irresistible read. . . . Moshfegh—a Boston-born, Los Angeles-based writer whose Man Booker-shortlisted novel Eileen (2016) infused the same sensibility into a witty, skillfully told suspense story—has other tones and tricks at her command. She writes terrific, attention-grabbing openings, and impactful last lines that