Madigan Library Popular Collection: September 2025

Ten years ago, they joined the CIA.  Six years ago, he left the game.  Five years ago, they fell in love.  One year ago, she ran out into the cold with absolutely no intention of ever coming back. And two minutes ago, they woke up, bloody and bruised and handcuffed together in the dark. They don't know where they are. They don't know how they got there. And they have absolutely no idea who is after them or what this nameless, faceless villain wants.  The only thing that's clear is that, after ten years of covers and chemistry, secrets and lies, these two rival spies have been sucked into their greatest mission yet, and now they're going to have to team up to stay alive. (If they don't kill each other first.) 

Alice, a professional mother of one, is hosting a playdate with friends at her upscale London home when a disturbed man breaks in. With her child in the next room, Alice panics and kills him--an act later ruled to have been in self-defense. Everyone tries to encourage Alice to move on with her life--but with strange comments appearing online, a mysterious phone call telling her all is not as it seems, and her husband, nanny, and friends behaving strangely, Alice finds herself drawn to the mystery of who her intruder really was. As she digs deeper, she discovers a trail of dark secrets that spiral closer to home than she ever could have imagined.

On a clear October day, the American skies empty after hundreds of pilots refuse to fly, triggering a complete ground stop as authorities seek to explain an act of baffling coordination that the pilots insist was anything but planned. The pilots received disturbing, middle-of-the-night calls from their mothers, and each mother had a simple and urgent request: do not fly today. There are a few concerning elements to the calls. None of the mothers remember making them--and some of the mothers are dead. While the nation's military chiefs and artificial intelligence experts mobilize in search of answers, a sixteen-year-old girl named Charlie on the coast of Maine watches a strange, silvery balloon drift across the water and toward her home--a place she loathes. Her father's dream of opening a craft brewery on an old airfield has been a disaster, and all she wants is an escape back to Brooklyn. She's about to get much more than that. Her new home is ground zero for a story that begins at a remote naval base in Indiana during the winter of 1962, when a physicist named Martin Hazelton discovered something extraordinary--and deadly. All Hazelton wanted was time to seek an explanation, but pressure from both American and Russian actors forced him into a perilous race. Moving between the two characters and timelines, Scott Carson deftly weaves Cold War espionage with contemporary terror in a story that explains why #1 New York Times bestseller Joe Hill has declared himself "a fan for life."

In this beautiful story of connection and self-reflection, a missing dog in Georgia sets Amy Webb on an adventure away from her tumultuous marriage and lack-luster personal life and towards a journey of self-discovery and joy. Amy Webb is a chef. Or rather, she was a chef.  Somewhere along the way she also became a wife and a stepmother and an emergency contact, and the part of her that was a chef disappeared entirely- along with her sense of self.  Which is why she is currently in the republic of Georgia, on a mission to find a lost dog named Angel, and, more importantly, the life's purpose she once took for granted.   For months, Amy has escaped by watching Youtube videos of Angel walking the children of Tbilisi to school.  When Angel goes missing, Amy volunteers to go find him. The fact that her husband may be having (another) affair and her stepson is away at college probably has something to do with it.  Who is Amy, after all, if she's not taking care of other people?   But to her surprise, Angel proves elusive, and while she does make friends with a number of stray dogs, what she finds in Tblisi is entirely human. Is she happy in her marriage? What happened to her career? Why doesn't she ever cook anymore, even just for herself?    Helping her on this journey of self-discovery is a rebellious teenager, a mysterious and attractive Russian, and several post-Soviet grandmothers. And, of course, the rich food and culture and complicated politics of Georgia itself.   After a lifetime of looking away from her own needs and appetites, Amy is forced to confront what she really wants and how to finally find herself -   And a dog.    

The power to be seen. The power to be heard. The power to be adored. . . NATIONAL BESTSELLER . A woman's life is forever changed by a mysterious perfume in this stunning novel about ambition and untapped desire from the New York Times bestselling author of Ghosts of Harvard. "An absolutely gorgeous read-the perfect combination of romance, mystery, and magical realism, with a vibrant cast of characters."-Sarah MacLean, author of These Summer Storms Reeling from a breakup and overlooked at her job as a lighting designer, Iris Sunnegren finds herself stuck, disconnected, and lonely in crowded New York City. Her wealthy friends are married and having babies, while she's trying to pay for freezing her eggs. And the future she longs for feels out of reach. Then, a mysterious neighbor, an older Frenchwoman, makes her a gift- a bespoke perfume. One spritz, a dab behind the ears, and Iris feels like a different woman. Suddenly, she is the object of every man's desire, and she can satisfy her own hungers for sex, love, and ambition. She can cast off her inhibitions and use her newfound allure to dazzle the high-profile client, attract a man who excites her like no other, and access all the rarified spaces that once excluded her. Invigorated by the perfume, Iris embodies her maximum power-a flower fully bloomed. But there is danger in connecting to our primal emotions. Scent awakens buried memories, and nightmares of the childhood house fire she barely survived return to haunt her. As Iris ventures deeper into the glamorous and male-dominated worlds of New York real estate, dimly-lit steakhouses, and beachfront mansions in the Hamptons, she finds herself getting closer to unspeakable truths-about the people she trusted, about the people she loved, and about the new circle of power-players that invited her in. A sensual and seductive novel set among the upper echelons of New York City, Full Bloom is at once a poignant story of becoming and a riveting mystery that asks- Who are you without your inhibitions? Does being wanted get you what you want, or will you be devoured by desire?

Can one random act of kindness change the trajectory of a life? In elementary school, Chloe Hanako Quinn is assigned Oliver Jones as her pen pal partner. Before sending her letter, she also whispers a note into it...and he hears her. Little does she know it would be the beginning of a friendship that would bloom into something more. That is, until disaster strikes, and Oliver and his family disappear without a trace. Now over twenty years later, Chloe is a high school guidance counselor in New York City. But life in the Big Apple is not what she dreamed it would be as she faces a layoff, rising rent, a situationship, and loneliness. Desperate for encouragement, she gives herself a pep talk via uplifting messages written on yellow origami paper that she folds into roses. When one of the roses unexpectedly finds its way to a neighbor in need of cheering up, a desire to spread kindness and optimism is sparked in Chloe, who begins folding more roses and leaving them around town. Across the city, Oliver has picked himself up from the rough circumstances that forced him to leave everything behind as a teenager--including Chloe. Now a successful financial analyst, Oliver's past continues to haunt him. But when the city is suddenly inundated with yellow origami roses, a specific one finds its way into his hands and changes his life forever...

Reeling from her husband's death and best friend's dementia diagnosis, seventy-six-year-old Linda Davidson feels lost and alone. Her beloved daughter Kleo and son-in-law Mick have moved into her house to keep her company, but the constant bickering quickly turns their presence into yet another worry on Linda's long list. Eager to escape the tension at home, Linda goes to visit her friend at Legacy Place, a memory care facility for the elderly, where she meets Jenny Cooper, a ninety-two-year-old dementia patient who makes a shocking confession: she kills people. Linda dismisses the so-called secret as the confusion of an ailing mind, but Jenny seems strangely lucid during their visits as she recounts stories of her many victims--mostly men who hurt her. Then a fellow patient at Legacy Place dies. Everyone else sees it as the natural death of an sick old man, but Linda can't help but wonder: is there any chance Jenny's telling the truth?

Come here. Come closer. Halley James knows her marriage is over. But she's not prepared for the rest of her life to fall apart too. No one can hear you. No one can help you. She just lost her job at the forensics lab. Her dad needs emergency surgery. But the biggest blow comes back home in Marchburg, Virginia, where she discovers her mother didn't actually die in a car crash. Her mom was murdered--and her father lied about it all these years. I have nothing to hide from you. Are you hiding something from me? Since she was six years old, it's been Halley and her dad. Now, she doesn't know what to believe. Desperate for the truth, Halley chases down a lead in Brockville, Tennessee. But all there is not as it seems. Brockville's utopian charm hides a chilling darkness. And Halley's search for answers threatens to expose an unspeakable reality.

Some doors should never be opened. Was it bitter, all-consuming jealousy? Pathological sibling rivalry? Pure insanity? Whatever the cause―and everyone has a theory―it's the Crime of the Decade when glamorous Georgia Cartwright, who was adopted as a newborn, is accused of killing the biological daughter of her wealthy, Southern family. Georgia is locked in a psychiatric institution where the most violent offenders are held while she awaits trial. The only words she whispers when her estranged twin sister Amanda visits are, "I didn't do it. You've got to get me out of here." Amanda doesn't trust Georgia, but she can't abandon her in a place so eerie and menacing that it seems to exist in another dimension. Is Georgia the victim of a powerful family that's so depraved murder is the least of their crimes? Or is Amanda being led down a path of madness into the web of a master manipulator?

An historical novel inspired by the experiences of the author's own family after the Holocaust, a sweeping saga about survival, loss, love, and the reverberating effects of war In 2018, Zoe Rosenzweig is reeling after the loss of her beloved grandfather, a Holocaust survivor. She becomes obsessed with finding out what really happened to her family during the war. Vienna, 1946: Chana Rosenzweig has endured the horrors of war to find herself, her mother, and her younger brother finally free in Vienna. But freedom doesn't look like they'd imagined it would, as they struggle to make a living and stay safe. Despite the danger, Chana sneaks out most nights to return to the hotel kitchen where she works as a dishwasher, using the quiet nighttime hours to bake her late father's recipes. Soon, Chana finds herself caught in a dangerous love triangle, torn between the black-market dealer who has offered marriage and protection, and the apprentice baker who shares her passions. How will Chana balance her love of baking against her family's need for security? The Lost Baker of Vienna affirms the unbreakable bonds of family, shining a light on the courageous spirit of WWII refugees as they battle to survive the overwhelming hardships of a world torn apart.

The beloved author of Holes presents his first adult novel, a modern fantasy classic of forbidden love, a crumbling kingdom, and the unexpected magic all around us. Long ago and far away (and somewhere south of France) lies the kingdom of Esquaveta. There, Princess Tullia is in nearly as much peril as her struggling kingdom. Esquaveta desperately needs to forge an alliance, and to that end, Tullia's father has arranged a marriage between her and an odious prince. However, one month before the "wedding of the century," Tullia falls in love with a lowly apprentice scribe. The king turns to Anatole, his much-maligned magician. Seventeen years earlier, when Anatole first came to the castle, he was regarded as something of a prodigy. But after a long series of failures--the latest being an attempt to transform sand into gold--he has become the object of contempt and ridicule. The only one who still believes in him is the princess. When the king orders Anatole to brew a potion that will ensure Tullia agrees to the wedding, Anatole is faced with an impossible choice. With one chance to save the marriage, the kingdom, and, of most importance to him, his reputation, will he betray the princess--or risk ruin?

Mrs. B, the landlady of The Marigold Cottages is a stubborn idealist who only rents to people she cares about: Sophie, an anxious young playwright with a dark past; Hamilton, an agoraphobe who likes to overshare; Ocean, a queer sculptor raising two kids alone; the perfectionist Lily-Ann; and Nicholas, a finance bro who's hiding secrets. The tenants live contentedly in their doll-house bungalows in Santa Barbara, just minutes from the beach, until their peace is shattered when Anthony, a quiet, hulking, but potentially violent ex-con moves in. Three weeks later, a dead body is discovered on the streets of the peaceful neighborhood. Anthony is arrested, and the tenants heave sighs of relief. Until Mrs. B, convinced that he's innocent, marches down to the police station and confesses to the crime herself. The tenants band together and form "The Marigold Cottages Murder Collective" to save their beloved landlady. As clues are unearthed and secrets are revealed, the community of misfits only grows more tight-knit...until a second body is found.

Tory Van Dyne is the most down-to-earth member of a decidedly eccentric old-money New York family. For one thing, as book conservator at Manhattan's Mystery Guild Library, she actually has a job. Plus, she's left up-town society behind for a quiet life downtown. So she's not thrilled when she discovers a woman in the library's Christie Room who calmly introduces herself as Agatha Christie, politely requests a cocktail, and announces she's there to help solve a murder - that has not yet happened. But as soon as Tory determines that this is just a fairly nutty Christie fangirl, her socialite/actress cousin Nicola gets caught up in the suspicious death of her less-than-lovable talent agent. Nic, as always, looks to Tory for help. Tory, in turn, looks to Mrs. Christie. The woman, whoever or whatever she is, clearly knows her stuff when it comes to crime. Aided by a found family of unlikely sleuths - including a snarky librarian, an eleven-year-old computer whiz, and an NYPD detective with terrible taste in suits - Tory and the woman claiming to be her very much deceased literary idol begin to unravel the twists and turns of a murderer's devious mind. Because, in the immortal words of Miss Jane Marple, 'murder is never simple.'

A missing child, two girls in search of their true identities--a stunning novel of mothers, daughters and best friends In June 1998, Mimi Truang is on her way home to Vietnam when her toddler daughter vanishes in the Philadelphia airport. Seventeen years later, two best friends in Chestnut Hill, Pennsylvania, discuss their summer plans before college. Kit, with the support of her white adoptive parents, will travel to Tokyo to explore her Japanese roots. This dizzying adventure offers her a taste of first love and a new understanding of what it means to belong. Sabrina had hoped to take a similar trip to China, but money is tight. Her disappointment subsides, however, when she meets a bold, uncompromising new mentor who prompts Sabrina to ask questions she's avoided all her life. Meanwhile, Mimi purchases a plane ticket to Philadelphia. She finally has a lead in her search for her daughter.

You are cordially invited to the Secret Book Society... London, 1885: Trapped by oppressive marriages and societal expectations, three women receive a mysterious invitation to an afternoon tea at the home of the reclusive Lady Duxbury. Beneath the genteel facade of the gathering lies a secret book club--a sanctuary where they can discover freedom, sisterhood and the courage to rewrite their stories. Eleanor Clarke, a devoted mother suffocating under the tyranny of her husband. Rose Wharton, a transplanted American dollar princess struggling to fit the mold of an aristocratic wife. Lavinia Cavendish, an artistic young woman haunted by a dangerous family secret. All are drawn to the enigmatic Lady Duxbury, a thrice-widowed countess whose husbands' untimely deaths have sparked whispers of murder. As the women form deep, heartwarming friendships, they uncover secrets about their marriages, their pasts and the risks they face. Their courage is their only weapon in the oppressive world that has kept them silent, but when secrets are deadly, one misstep could cost them everything.

A tapestry of joyful and startling interconnected stories that celebrate how people from all across America cope with adversity and unexpected changes in a confusing world--from the beloved New York Times bestselling author of Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe Fannie Flagg once said that what the world needs now is a good laugh. And that is what she gives us in these warmhearted, always surprising stories about people who are finding clever ways to deal with the curveballs life sometimes throws at us. Velma in Kansas, a loving great-grandmother, struggles to bridge generational gaps with her family. We cheer for Helen, in Ithaca, New York, who takes an audacious course of action when her husband leaves her for a younger woman. In Bent Fork, Wyoming; in Milwaukee, Wisconsin; in Tucson, Arizona; and in towns and cities all across America, people figure out inventive ways to overcome obstacles to happiness. And in Fort Wayne, Indiana, Special Agent Frawley is studying the mysteries of being human from an original perspective.

When Jack Quinlan's mother dies of a drug overdose, it's not his father that raises him, but Gus--a ruthless crime boss who sees Jack for what he is: a whip-smart kid with untapped potential. It doesn't take long for Gus to forge Jack into a weapon. But Jack was also self-aware enough to know where this sort of life was going to lead him. When the time was right, he got out. Or so he thought. Seven years later, Jack is now Luke Harris, a regular guy putting himself through college and aiming for a real job and a real future. Falling in love. But Jack's past isn't so easily forgotten, and the bodies in his closet won't forgive him. When Luke's newfound life collides with Gus's underworld, survival becomes a deadly game. Luke must resurrect his dormant skills and confront the demons that threaten to consume him.

In many ways, twelve-year-old Artem's life in Chernihiv, Ukraine, is normal. He spends his days helping on his grandfather's sunflower farm, drawing in his sketchbook--a treasured gift from his father, who works in America--and swimming in the river with his little brother, Yuri. In secret, Artem has begun wrestling with romantic feelings for his best friend, Viktor. In a country where love between two boys is unthinkable, Artem has begun to worry that growing up, his life will never be normal. Then, on a February night, Artem and Yuri are woken by explosions--the beginning of a war that will tear their life in two. The invading Russians destroy their home, killing their mother and grandfather, and leaving young Artem and Yuri to fend for themselves. Fleeing in hopes of somehow reuniting with their father, the brothers traverse the country their ancestors once fought and died for, with nothing but their backpacks and each other. Surrounded by death and destruction, Artem is certain of one thing--that whatever may come, he must keep himself and his brother alive. A harrowing and gorgeous tale of love, identity, lost innocence, and survival set in a time of devastating war, The Sunflower Boys is a powerful, heartrending exploration of young queer love, the Ukrainian spirit, and a family's struggle to survive.

Lottie Jones thought her crimes were behind her. Decades earlier, she changed her identity and tucked herself away in a small town. Her most exciting nights are the weekly bingo games at the local church and gossiping with her friends.  When investigative journalist Plum Dixon shows up on her doorstep asking questions about Lottie's past and specifically her involvement with numerous unsolved cases, well, Lottie just can't have that. But getting away with murder is hard enough when you're young. And when Lottie receives another annoying knock on the door, she realizes this crime might just be the death of her...

Violet Adams is the perfect, youngest child in a family of loud, passionate women on Sullivan's Island, South Carolina. As the sweet, traditional one, she's always been the steady hand in her family but after a sudden breakup and subsequent tragedy, she doesn't know who she is anymore. Aly Knox, Violet's best friend, is a young influencer still struggling with the loss of her mother and adjusting to joining Violet in Southern living. With her best friend's help, Violet is determined to break out of her shell--and who she thought she was--no matter what. And what better place to look for success, meaning, and possibly love than the Lowcountry of South Carolina?

Welcome to North Falls--a small town where everyone knows everyone. Or so they think. Until the night of the fireworks. When two teenage girls vanish, and the town ignites. For Officer Emmy Clifton, it's personal. She turned away when her best friend's daughter needed help--and now she must bring her home. But as Emmy combs through the puzzle the girls left behind, she realizes she never really knew them. Nobody did. Every teenage girl has secrets. But who would kill for them? And what else is the town hiding? "Karin Slaughter's new series starts with a book that is a knock-out punch... My God. Sign me up for more."  -- Dervla McTiernan, #1 internationally bestselling author of What Happened to Nina?

A ninth-generation Appalachian, Archer Sullivan brings the mountains of North Carolina to life in The Witch's Orchard, a wonderfully atmospheric novel that introduces private investigator Annie Gore. Former Air Force special investigator Annie Gore joined the military right after high school to escape the fraught homelife of her childhood. Now, she's getting by as a private investigator, and her latest case takes her to an Appalachian holler not unlike the one where she grew up. Ten years ago, three little girls went missing from their tiny mountain town. While one was returned, the others were never seen again. After all this time without answers, the brother of one of the girls wants to hire an outsider, and he wants Annie. While she may not be from his town, she gets mountain towns. Mountain people. Driving back into the hills for a case this old--it might be a fool's errand. But Annie needs to put money in the bank and she can't turn down a case. Not even one that dredges up her own painful past. In the shadow of the Blue Ridge, Annie begins to track down the truth, navigating a decade's worth of secrets, folklore of witches and crows, and a whole town that prefers to forget. But while the case may have been forgotten, echoes of the past linger. And Annie's arrival stirs someone into action.

Our climate, and our democracy, are melting down. But Bill McKibben, one of the first to sound the alarm about the climate crisis, insists the moment is also full of possibility. Energy from the sun and wind is suddenly the cheapest power on the planet and growing faster than any energy source in history--if we can keep accelerating the pace, we have a chance. Here Comes the Sun tells the story of the sudden spike in power from the sun and wind--and the desperate fight of the fossil fuel industry and their politicians to hold this new power at bay. From the everyday citizens who installed solar panels equal to a third of Pakistan's electric grid in a year to the world's sixth-largest economy--California--nearly halving its use of natural gas in the last two years, Bill McKibben traces the arrival of plentiful, inexpensive solar energy. And he shows how solar power is more than just a path out of the climate crisis: it is a chance to reorder the world on saner and more humane grounds. You can't hoard solar energy or hold it in reserves--it's available to all. There's no guarantee we can make this change in time, but there is a hope--in McKibben's eyes, our best hope for a new civilization: one that looks up to the sun, every day, as the star that fuels our world.

How the rich and powerful use math to exploit you, and what you can do to beat them at their own game     Everything we do today is recorded as data that's sold to the highest bidder. Plugging our personal data into impersonal algorithms has made government agencies more efficient and tech companies more profitable. But all this comes at a price. It's easy to feel like an insignificant number in a world of number crunchers who care more about their bottom line than your humanity. It's time to flip the equation, turning math into an empowering tool for the rest of us.     Award-winning mathematician Noah Giansiracusa explains how the tech giants and financial institutions use formulas to get ahead--and how anyone can use these same formulas in their everyday life. You'll learn how to handle risk rationally, make better investments, take control of your social media, and reclaim agency over the decisions you make each day.      In a society that all too often takes from the poor and gives to the rich, math can be a vital democratizing force. Robin Hood Math helps you to think for yourself, act in your own best interests, and thrive.

How carbon dioxide made planet Earth, shaped human history, and now holds our future in the balance Every year, we are dangerously warping the climate by putting gigantic amounts of carbon dioxide into the air. But CO2 isn't merely the by-product of burning fossil fuels--it is also fundamental to how our planet works. All life is ultimately made from CO2, and it has kept Earth bizarrely habitable for hundreds of millions of years. In short, it is the most important substance on Earth. But how is it that CO2 is as essential to life on Earth as it is capable of destroying it? In The Story of CO2 Is the Story of Everything, award- winning science journalist Peter Brannen reveals how carbon dioxide's movement through rocks, air, water, and life has kept our planet's climate livable, its air breathable, and its oceans hospitable to complex life. Starting at the dawn of life almost 4 billion years ago, and working all the way up through today's global climate crisis and beyond, he illuminates how CO2 has been responsible for the planet's many deaths and rebirths, for shaping the evolution of life, and for the development of modern human society. And he argues that it's only by reckoning with this planetary-scale history that we can understand the cosmic stakes of our current moment on Earth--and how dangerous our experiment with the climate really is. Drawing on groundbreaking research and with a clear- eyed perspective, Brannen shows how a deep exploration of the carbon cycle can shed light on the way forward for humanity as we try to avert environmental catastrophe in the future. And it all begins with a richer understanding of the critical role of CO2 in our world.