Akron Public Library

The Victorian language of flowers was used to convey romantic expressions: honeysuckle for devotion, asters for patience, and red roses for love. But for Victoria Jones, it’s been more useful in communicating mistrust and solitude. After a childhood spent in the foster-care system, she is unable to get close to anybody, and her only connection to the world is through flowers and their meanings. Now eighteen and emancipated from the system with nowhere...

Stephanie Adams is a devoted stay-at-home mother, married to a successful lawyer in northern California, in a dead marriage she's stayed in for years for the sake of her children. Then, on a ski trip to Squaw Valley, her fifty-two-year-old husband dies suddenly and all bets are off. Despite her children's grief, and her own conflicting emotions, Stephanie tries to move on. A spur-of-the-moment road trip and fork in the road lead her to Las Vegas,...

San Francisco detective Kate Martinelli receives a lesson in detection from the master sleuth himself when she investigates the murder of a Sherlock Holmes aficionado, who may have been killed for a century-old manuscript purportedly penned by Holmes.

After her last harrowing case, Kate Martinelli is more than ready for routine police work and her newfound serenity with longtime lover Lee. But then she's called to the scene of a carefully executed murder, and everything changes

Madcap, zany noir set on the mean streets of post-World War II San Francisco. Sammy "Two Toes" Tiffin is the bartender in a scruffy gin joint, with street connections that make him the go-to guy for just about everything. When one of his schemes goes south and his lady vanishes, Sammy follows a tortuous trail from Chinatown to Telegraph Hill to a hidden forest enclave in a desperate search to find his girl. Meanwhile, a suspicious flying object has...

"When it comes to the confident, charismatic Caleb Parker, Sadie Lane feels the spark--the kind that comes from rubbing each other the wrong way. She's yoga pants, he's a suit. She's a tattoo artist, he's a straight-laced mogul. But after they accidentally co-rescue an abandoned dog from a storm, Sadie sees a vulnerable side to the seemingly invincible hottie. Caleb doesn't do emotions. Growing up the underdog, he's learned the hard way to build up...

Summary: Hired to locate Jane Anthony, the missing companion of acclaimed photographer Abe Snelling, Sharon McCone discovers the crucial clue in Snelling's negatives and finds herself the target of a maniacal killer.

When the body of eleven-year-old Thuy Sen is found in the San Francisco Bay, the police swiftly charge brothers Rennell and Payton Price with her grisly murder. A twelve-person jury, abetted by an incompetent lawyer for the defense, is quick to find the men guilty and to sentence them both to die for their crimes. Fifteen years later, Rennell is days from his execution, and overworked pro-bono lawyer Teresa Peralta Paget, her husband Chris, and stepson...

She Woke Up With A New Face. . . Not only has Marla Cahill survived a deadly car accident, but her beautiful features have been restored through plastic surgery. She should be grateful. Instead, she's consumed by confusion. . .and panic. For the people gathered at her bedside--her family--are strangers. And so is the woman whose haunted eyes stare back from the mirror. . . She Woke Up With No Memories. . . Secluded at the magnificent Cahill mansion,...

"Ji-su's traditional South Korean parents are concerned by what they see as her lack of attention to her schoolwork and her future. Working with Seoul's premiere matchmaker to find the right boyfriend is one step toward ensuring Ji-su's success, and going on the recommended dates is Ji-su's compromise to please her parents while finding space to figure out her own dreams. But when she flubs a test, then skips out on a date to spend time with friends,...