Escape, by Barbara Delensky

Emily Aulenbach is thirty, a lawyer married to a lawyer, working in Manhattan. An idealist, she had once dreamed of representing victims of corporate abuse, but she spends her days in a cubicle talking on the phone with vic­tims of tainted bottled water—and she is on the bottler’s side. And it isn’t only work. It’s her sister, her friends, even her husband, Tim, with whom she doesn’t connect the way she used to. She doesn’t connect to much in her life, period, with the exception of three things—her computer, her BlackBerry, and her watch. Acting on impulse, Emily leaves work early one day, goes home, packs her bag, and takes off. Groping toward the future, uncharacteristically following her gut rather than her mind, she heads north toward a New Hampshire town tucked between mountains. She knows this town. During her college years, she spent a watershed summer here. Painful as it is to return, she knows that if she is to right her life, she has to start here. 

Pampered To Death, by Laura Levine

When Jaine’s friend Lance surprises her with a trip to The Haven, a deluxe health spa on the California coast, she and her feline pal Prozac are eager to hit the road and bask in a week of pampering and pedicures. But upon their arrival, she discovers that this oasis in the hills is merely a fat farm in disguise, complete with celery-juice cocktails, humiliating weigh-ins, and a zero-tolerance position on carbs. And as she gets to know her fellow inmates, she realizes 300-calorie dinners aren’t the craziest thing she’ll be dealing with. Among her bulge-battling companions is Mallory Francis, a B-list movie star with a knack for making frenemies with everyone she meets. When she’s found strangled during a seaweed wrap gone awry, Jaine is hard-pressed to think of anyone who couldn’t have done it. Perhaps it was Kendra, Mallory’s bitter sister-slash-personal assistant. Or maybe Clint, a macho former co-star whose dirtiest secret is in danger of being undressed in the drama queen’s upcoming memoir. Or was it The Havens’ pretty young masseuse, driven to commit a crime of passion when Mallory seduced her aerobics instructor husband Sven? With the suspects mounting faster than her hunger pangs, Jaine doesn’t know whom to believe. And when her search for truth, justice, and contraband calories leads her straight to the cold-blooded killer, it seems murder may be on the menu once again… 

The Ideal Man, by Julie Garwood

Dr. Ellie Sullivan has just completed her residency at a large urban hospital. While jogging in a park nearby, she witnesses the shooting of an FBI agent in pursuit of wanted criminals, a couple identified as the Landrys. The only person to see the shooter’s face, Ellie is suddenly at the center of a criminal investigation. Agent Max Daniels takes over the Landry case. A no-nonsense lawman, he’s definitely not the ideal man that Ellie has always imagined, yet she’s attracted to him in a way she can’t explain. Ellie heads home to Winston Falls, South Carolina, to attend her sister’s wedding. Shortly after she arrives, though, she receives a surprise visitor: Max Daniels. The Landrys have been captured, and she’ll be called to testify. But they’ve been captured before, and each time the witnesses are scared into silence-or disappear before they can take the stand. Max vows to be Ellie’s shadow until the trial, and it isn’t long before sparks fly. 

The Sixes, by Kate White

Phoebe Hall’s Manhattan life has suddenly begun to unravel. Right after her long-term boyfriend breaks off their relationship, she’s falsely accused of plagiarizing her latest bestselling celebrity biography. Looking for a quiet place to put her life back together, Phoebe jumps at the offer to teach in a sleepy Pennsylvania town at a small private college run by her former boarding school roommate and close friend, Glenda Johns. But behind the campus’s quiet cafes and leafy maple trees lie evil happenings. The body of a female student washes up on the banks of a nearby river, and disturbing revelations begin to surface: accusations from coeds about abuses wrought by a secret society of girls on campus known as The Sixes.. To help Glenda, Phoebe embarks on a search for clues—a quest that soon raises painful memories of her own boarding school days years ago. As the investigation heats up, Phoebe unexpectedly finds herself falling for the school’s handsome psychology professor, Duncan Shaw.  But when nasty pranks turn into deadly threats, Phoebe realizes she’s in the middle of a real-life nightmare, not knowing whom she can trust and if she will even survive. Plunging deeper into danger with every step, Phoebe knows she’s close to unmasking a killer. But with truth comes a terrifying revelation: your darkest secrets can still be uncovered . . . and starting over may be a crime punishable by death. 

Before I Go To Sleep, by S.J. Watson

Every day Christine wakes up not knowing where she is. Her memories disappear every time she falls asleep. Her husband, Ben, is a stranger to her, and he’s obligated to explain their life together on a daily basis—all the result of a mysterious accident that made Christine an amnesiac. With the encouragement of her doctor, Christine starts a journal to help jog her memory every day. One morning, she opens it and sees that she’s written three unexpected and terrifying words: “Don’t trust Ben.” Suddenly everything her husband has told her falls under suspicion. What kind of accident caused her condition? Who can she trust? Why is Ben lying to her? And, for the reader: Can Christine’s story be trusted? At the heart of S. J. Watson’s Before I Go To Sleep is the petrifying question: How can anyone function when they can’t even trust themselves? Suspenseful from start to finish, the strength of Watson’s writing allows Before I Go to Sleep to transcend the basic premise and present profound questions about memory and identity. 

The Darling Dahlias and the Cucumber Tree, by Susan Wittig Albert

Albert, best known for her clever puzzles, engaging characters, love of nature—is debuting yet another exceptional series. This one begins in May 1930 in the small town of Darling, Alabama (population 907). The Dahlias comprise the 12 members of a gardening club dedicated to beautifying their town while struggling to survive the Depression. Even small towns can have their share of mysteries, and Darling is no exception—fortunately, the Dahlias are sleuths as well as gardeners. Before long, they are searching for an escaped prisoner and a stolen car and investigating troubles at the local bank. And then there is the mysterious death of a young woman. By the end of the account, the mysteries are solved, and readers are thoroughly smitten by Lizzy, Verna, Ophelia, Myra May, Bessie, and the other garden club members. Hints on how to stretch resources (1930s style) and favorite recipes from the period are also included.

Second Grave On The Left, by Daryrnda Jones

When Charley is rudely awakened in the middle of the night by her best friend who tells her to get dressed quickly and tosses clothes out of the closet at her, she can’t help but wonder what Cookie’s up to. Leather scrunch boots with a floral miniskirt? Together? Seriously? Cookie explains that a friend of hers named Mimi disappeared five days earlier and that she just got a text from her setting up a meet at a coffee shop downtown. They show up at the coffee shop, but no Mimi. But Charley finds a message on the bathroom wall. Mimi left a clue, a woman’s name. Mimi’s husband explains that his wife had been acting strange since she found out an old friend of hers from high school had been found murdered a couple weeks prior. The same woman Mimi had named in her message. Meanwhile, Reyes Alexander Farrow has left his corporeal body and is haunting Charley. He’s left his body because he’s being tortured by demons who want to lure Charley closer. But Reyes can’t let that happen. Because if the demons get to Charley, they’ll have a portal to heaven

Gucci Gucci Coo, by Sue Margolis

How do starlets walk into the delivery room pregnant and walk out in size 0 jeans without a shred of evidence that the adorable bundles in their arms actually ever resided inside their perfectly toned abdomens? Banking on the average woman’s disbelief, Margolis offers this mystery-cum-romance, putting narrator Ruby Silverman in a perfect position to blow a starlet’s cover. Ruby partially owns Les Sprogs, a chi-chi celeb-frequented baby store in London’s Notting Hill—where she just happens to keep running into a cute American doctor who works at St. Luke’s, the “Bentley of birth centers,” where stars deliver babies with shamans at their bedsides. When Ruby just happens to glance into the dressing room at her store and spots a too-flat tummy on one of her supposedly pregnant celebrity customers, her antennae go up and the investigation begins. The absurd, good-humored mystery and a colorful array of secondary characters sets this bit of chick lit a notch higher than your usual girl-meets-doctor. (June)  

Strange Angels: Jealousy, by Lilli St. Crow *Young Adult*

It’s a good thing Dru Anderson is fast. Because the sucker chasing her isn’t slowing down—and he won’t rest until he has tasted her blood and silenced her heart . . . Dru’s best friend, Graves, and her strange and handsome savior, Christophe, are ready to help her take on the ultimate evil. But will their battle for Dru’s heart get in the way of her survival? 　

Torment, by Lauren Kate *Young Adult*

This sequel to Fallen continues they complex tale as Luce tries to uncover the truth and break the cycle of falling in love, dying young, and being reincarnated. Daniel, her lover through the ages and a fallen angel, institutes a truce with Demons to protect her from the Outcasts, who would do her harm. For her safety, Daniel hides her at a boarding school for the Nephilim, children of human and fallen angels, and cautions her to remain on campus and learn all she can. Unfortunately a little knowledge can be dangerous and Luce’s naive attempts to manipulate her powers constantly put her and others in danger. Some of the rescues employ a deus ex machina as is the case when Arriane inexplicably arrives in Vegas and saves the day. At times the story plods along, with a full chapter devoted to a fencing lesson. Daniel regularly returns to check on Luce and there’s lots of swooning, passionate kissing, and playing at being in love, though it often ends with bickering. Interest is piqued with the hint of a love triangle, and the suspense is ratcheted up in the heart-pounding final battle scene. In the end, readers won’t be much closer to unraveling Luce’s mystery and will need to stay tuned for the next installment. It’s unlikely this title will garner new fans for the series, but those already hooked on the epic romance won’t want to miss it.

The Art of Sign Language, by Christopher Brown

Learning sign language is a rewarding experience that leads to greater communication skills. This basic introduction guide is for people without any prior knowledge of sign. The approach to “Signed English” is based upon the way a child would first be taught a language. In 17 sections, The Art of Sign Language teaches by using themed exercises about topics such as everyday communication, the body, home, school, leisure, eating, and drinking. 

Willmaker: Estate Planning Essentials, from Nolo Press

Nearly 60 percent of Americans lack a legal will – and Quicken WillMaker: Estate Planning Essentials is the simple estate-planning solution they need! Step by step, it provides readers with a straightforward path through the complexities of ensuring their families’ futures. Best of all, your readers will not only understand wills, living trusts and financial powers of attorney – they’ll also create them, quickly and easily. The interactive CD-ROM helps them to make their own: legal wills; living trusts; living wills; health care powers of attorney; financial powers of attorney; final arrangements documents and forms for executors. Plus, Quicken WillMaker provides other financial and legal documents that help protect their families and property, such as authorizations, agreements and promissory notes – over 50 forms in all. What’s new? The 5th edition is completely updated to provide the latest state and federal laws, and all documents are revised to reflect each state’s specifications.