On the surface Pagford seems like a quiet little English village. But the truth is, it's a town where the rich are at war with the poor, wives are at war with their husbands, and teachers are at war with their pupils. An empty seat on the town council is the catalyst for the biggest conflict of all.

JP, one of seven living children, contemplates his mother's influence on the family and his life, as he struggles with her disappointment in him and suspects she may have sabotaged a budding relationship.

Young Pip Tyler doesn't know who she is. She knows that her real name is Purity, that she's saddled with $130,000 in student debt, that she's squatting with anarchists in Oakland, and that her relationship with her mother--her only family--is hazardous. But she doesn't have a clue who her father is, why her mother has always concealed her own real name, or how she can ever have a normal life. Enter the Germans. A glancing encounter with a German...

Growers Market is set in remote marijuana country peopled with characters whose backgrounds are diverse and whose futures are uncertain. Sunbeam, who entered adult life as a 1960s San Francisco hippie girl, moved north searching for peace and quiet in unspoiled nature. Eventually she ended up running The Bird of Prey Tavern and growing enough weed to support her tranquil life. The men who eventually work for her-Shadow, Shrimp, Stones, Toon, Shakespeare-are...

Ernie Cunningham, crime fiction aficionado, is a reluctant guest at his family reunion. Family reunions aren't for everyone, of course. But Ern's part of a notorious crime family, and three years ago, he witnessed his brother kill a man and immediately turned him in to the police. Now Ern's brother is being released from prison, and the family is gathering to welcome him home. As if that weren't bad enough, the reunion is taking place at a remote...

The story of the Lesters, a family of white sharecroppers so destitute most of their creditors had given up on them.

Regarded by Charles Dickens as his best novel upon publication, "Martin Chuzzlewit" relates a tale of familial selfishness and eventual moral redemption. First published serially from 1842 to 1844, it is the story of young Martin Chuzzlewit, who has been raised by his grandfather. He has fallen in love with his grandfather's ward and caretaker, the young orphan Mary Graham. Martin's grandfather does not approve and young Martin alienates himself from...

"Maud is an irascible 88-year-old Swedish woman with no family, no friends, and no qualms about a little murder. This funny, irreverent story collection by Helene Tursten, author of the Irene Huss investigations, features two-never-before translated stories that will keep you laughing all the way to the retirement home. Ever since her darling father's untimely death, Maud has lived in the family's spacious apartment in downtown Gothenburg, Sweden,...

-- Prizzi's Honor, Bone in the Throat is a thrilling Mafia caper laced with entertaining characters and wry humor. This first novel is a must-have for fans of Anthony Bourdain's nonfiction.

-- Gone Bamboo is a feast of murder, hitmen, and the hitwomen they love.