A Winters Reckoning

William Faulkner Literary Competition, Honorable Mention Forty-six-year-old Madeline Fairbanks has no use for ideas like “separation of the races” or “men as the superior sex.” There are many in her dying Southern Appalachian town who are upset by her socially progressive views, but for years—partly due to her late husband’s still-powerful influence, and partly due to her skill as a healer in a remote town with no doctor of its own—folks have been willing to turn a blind eye to her “transgressions.” Even Maddie’s decision to take on a Black apprentice, Ren Morgan, goes largely unchallenged by her white neighbors, though it’s certainly grumbled about. But when a charismatic and power-hungry new reverend blows into town in 1917 and begins to preach about the importance of racial segregation, the long-idle local KKK chapter fires back into action—and places Maddie and her friends in Jamesville’s Black community squarely in their sights. Maddie had better stop intermingling with Black folks, discontinue her herbalistic “witchcraft,” and leave town immediately, they threaten, or they’ll lynch Ren’s father, Daniel. Faced with this decision, Maddie is terrified . . . and torn. Will she bow to their demands and walk away—or will she fight to keep the home she’s built in Jamesville and protect the future of the people she loves, both Black and white?

Forty-six-year-old Madeline Fairbanks has no use for ideas like "separation of the races" or "men as the superior sex." There are many in her dying Southern Appalachian town who are upset by her socially progressive views, but for years--partly due to her late husband's still-powerful influence, and partly due to her skill as a healer in a remote town with no doctor of its own--folks have been willing to turn a blind eye to her "transgressions." Even Maddie's decision to take on a Black apprentice, Ren Morgan, goes largely unchallenged by her white neighbors, though it's certainly grumbled about. But when a charismatic and power-hungry new reverend blows into town in 1917 and begins to preach about the importance of racial segregation, the long-idle local KKK chapter fires back into action--and places Maddie and her friends in Jamesville's Black community squarely in their sights. Maddie had better stop intermingling with Black folks, discontinue her herbalistic "witchcraft," and leave town immediately, they threaten, or they'll lynch Ren's father, Daniel. Faced with this decision, Maddie is terrified . . . and torn. Will she bow to their demands and walk away--or will she fight to keep the home she's built in Jamestown and protect the future of the people she loves, both Black and white?

After the untimely death of her mother and the arrest of her father for killing a man in barroom brawl, fourteen-year-old Sarah Crane is forced to grow up fast. Left in the cold care of a foster family and alienated at school, Sarah befriends classmate Nick Dunnigan, a former mental patient still plagued by voices and visions, and the eccentric art instructor Bettina Phillips, a mentor eager to nurture Sarah’s talent for painting. But within the walls of Bettina’s ancestral mansion, Sarah finds that monstrous images from the house’s dark history seem to flow unbidden from her paintbrush—images echoed by Nick’s chilling hallucinations. It seems the violence and fury of long-dead generations have finally found a gateway from the grave into the world of the living. And Sarah and Nick have found a power they never had: to take control, and take revenge.

'Yrsa is a magnificent writer' Karin Slaughter 'The queen of Icelandic thriller writers' Guardian A chilling note written by a thirteen-year-old predicting the deaths of six people is found in a time capsule, ten years after it was buried. Can it be a real threat? Detective Huldar turns to psychologist Freyja to help understand the child who hid the message. But the discovery of the letter coincides with a string of murders. All of the victims match the initials from the note. Huldar and Freyja must race to identify the writer and the murderer, before the rest of the targets are killed... 'One of the best books I've read for a long time: dark, creepy, and gripping from beginning to end.' Stuart MacBride 'Will give you thrills and chills in equal measures.' Cosmopolitan

Life in a small town is like staying in a cheap motel. You hear more than you should, but can’t keep yourself from listening; everybody knows everybody business. Into this environment come William and Gabriella Simpson. She’s a dot.com millionaire and he’s a retired war hero. They don’t fit in with the local people and they don’t try to, but circumstances change when William Simpson is murdered in his front yard by a party or parties unknown. An ambitious DA, facing a tough opponent, sees the murder as an opportunity to prosecute a high profile murder case just before the election. The charged party’s innocence or guilt seems to be immaterial. The local newspaper, owned Cawley Jenkins, a decorated former Marine decides to take on the powerful DA to discover the truth behind the murder. The stakes are high for everybody. His quest to find the truth takes him far from Iron Forge, Texas to the dusty hills and mountains of Afghanistan and deep into the power structure of the United States Marine Corp.

Kim Hopper has dedicated his career to trying to address the problem of homelessness in the United States. In this powerful book, he draws upon his dual strengths as anthropologist and advocate to provide a deeper understanding of the roots of homelessness.

The honeymoon is over for Cody and Remy LeBeau. And Cody’s darkest secret haunts her, threatening to destroy their marriage. The brutal murder of a former judge sets in motion a domino effect of killings that all point back to Cody and her father. She suspects her father is hiding something sinister from her and Remy. But the closer she tries to get to her husband, the more she feels Remy drifting away from her, taken by his job and his stubborn instance that she’s not trusting him enough. Then her ex-boyfriend sends her a warning note, and with her world spinning out of control, Cody turns to the only man she does trust to help her and protect Remy. Her actions produce a result she’s not prepared to handle. Remy watches as his once happy marriage is pulled apart brick by brick. With threats closing in all sides, he’s forced to resort to his cold, secretive style that has kept him alive. If he’s to have any chance at succeeding, he must rely on the assistance of the last person on earth he wants to reach out to, even if the result continues to push Cody away. Death will have a reckoning, and for Cody and Remy it could mean the end of everything they’ve loved. Sensuality Level: Behind Closed Doors

Emmaus faces a reckoning.As deep winter descends, the fundamental transformation of the world they knew continues in the outside world. Meanwhile, Emmaus faces killing weather, dwindling resources, and the breakdown of community. Some cling to the ragged edge of hope and the demons of his past push Shane toward a long-resisted confrontation.When death stalks the land, what choices do you have left?