One summer night, an emboldened fourteen-year-old Clare and her best friend, Abby, ventured into the haunting Octagon House hidden deep in the woods. Clare came out, but a piece of Abby never did. Twenty years later, an adult Clare receives word that Abby has attempted suicide at the Octagon House and now lies in a coma. With little to lose and still grieving after a personal tragedy, Clare returns to her roots to uncover the darkness responsible for Abby’s accident.
When Josephine N. Leary moves to Edenton, North Carolina from the plantation where she was born, she is free, and ready to follow her dreams. But as the demands of life pull Josephine’s attention away, it becomes difficult for her to pursue her aspirations. She finds herself immersed in her marriage, being a mother, and a dutiful daughter. Still, she manages to teach herself to be a businesswoman, but it becomes more and more difficult for her to focus on building her legacy from the ground up.
Hannah Swensen gets asked for her help in baking pastries at the local inn for a flashy fishing competition with big prizes and even bigger names. But the fun stops when she spots a runaway boat and, on board, the lifeless body of the event’s renowned celebrity spokesperson, Sonny Bowman. With goodies to bake and a mess of challenges mixed into her personal life, it’s either sink or swim as Hannah joins forces with her sister, Andrea, to catch a clever culprit.
Emma Caan is a forger, an artist who specializes in nineteenth-century paintings. But she isn’t a criminal; her copies are commissioned by museums and ultra-wealthy collectors protecting their investments. When oligarch art collector Leonard Sobetsky unexpectedly appears with an invitation, Emma sees a way out. But every invitation incurs an obligation, and Emma isn’t prepared for what’s to come.
Jessica Russo knows nothing about her mother’s family or her Cuban culture. Every time she’s asked about it, her mother has shut down. But when Jessica has the chance to come to Miami and meet her estranged family, she can’t help but say yes. Her grandmother is successful, intelligent, and nothing like what she expected. As Jessica’s stay turns from days to weeks, she is determined to find a way to heal her fractured family.
Jess needs a fresh start. Her half-brother Ben didn’t sound thrilled when she asked if she could crash with him for a bit, but he didn’t say no. Only when she shows up, he’s not there. And the longer Ben stays missing, the more questions she has. Jess may have come to Paris to escape her past, but it’s starting to look like it’s Ben’s future that’s in question. Ben’s neighbors start to look suspicious and Jess feels like everyone knows something they’re not telling.
The last time Natalie Collins spoke to her sister, Kit, she was convinced that there was more out there for her. And then she found Wisewood, a resort where guests commit to a six-month stay and are prohibited from contact with the outside world, and Kit voluntarily joins. Six months later, Natalie receives an email from Wisewood threatening to reveal a secret. She travels there, hoping to get her sister and come clean. But she’ll soon learn that Wisewood won’t let either of them go without a fight.
Claudia is used to keeping secrets from her family, such as that she prefers girls—and that she’s just been stealth-recruited by Veracity, a referrals-only online-dating detective agency. A lifelong mystery reader who wrote her senior thesis on Jane Austen, Claudia believes she’s landed her ideal job. But when a client vanishes, Claudia breaks protocol to investigate—and uncovers a maelstrom of personal and corporate deceit.
In 1920 Galway, amid the Irish War of Independence, Annabeth De Lacy, the daughter of a British landlord becomes an apprentice jeweler to the descendent of the creator of the famed Claddagh ring. As the two learn to work together and see each other in a new light, they start to uncover the true meaning of love, loyalty, and friendship.