Akron Public Library

Being a cop runs in Billy Harney's family. The son of Chicago's Chief of Detectives whose twin sister, Patty, also followed in their father's footsteps, there's nothing Billy won't give up for the job, including his life. Left for dead alongside his tempestuous former partner and a hard-charging assistant district attorney out for blood, Billy miraculously survives. But he remembers nothing about the events leading up to the shootout. Charged with...

"Imagine everyone's surprise when Carter von Oehson, a sophomore in Dr. Dylan Reinhart's Abnormal Psychology class, posts on Instagram that he plans to kill himself. 24 hours later and still no one has seen him. Release the hounds. A massive search ensues. But when Carter's sailboat rolls in with the tide without him or anyone else on it, the worst seems to be confirmed. He really did it... Or did he? The one person convinced he's still alive is...

"From the beloved Pulitzer Prize-winning and best-selling author: a rollicking murder mystery set in Gold Rush California, as two young prostitutes follow a trail of missing girls. Monterey, 1851. Ever since her husband was killed in a bar fight, Eliza Ripple has been working in a brothel. It seems like a better life, at least at first. The madam, Mrs. Parks, is kind, the men are (relatively) well behaved, and Eliza has attained what few women have:...

When Madam Karina discovers Domino in an alleyway, she offers her a position inside her home for entertainers in secluded West Texas. Left with few alternatives and an agenda of her own, Domino accepts. It isn't long before she's fighting her way up the ranks to gain the madam's approval. But after suffering weeks of bullying and unearthing the madam's secrets, Domino decides to leave. It'll be harder than she thinks, though, because the madam doesn't...

A powerful attorney with a cut-throat reputation, Lizzie has just taken on a high-profile new case. Only when the deal is made does Lizzie realize she'll be defending Lily Flowers, the infamous Madam of a high-class bordello. Her clients included some of the most influential men in the country, and Lily is on the run, sure she'll rot in jail while her arrogant customers get off scot-free.

"The oldest of seven sisters, Ursula Simmons has followed in her mother's footsteps as a novelist. With a bad case of writer's block, she brings her notebooks and computer home to the old brothel called Paradise where they all grew up, in the hope that being home for the holidays will inspire her—and since it's Christmas, all her sisters will be there too. The sisters take the holidays very seriously, and as soon as they've celebrated Thanksgiving,...

Readers met the irrepressible Karen Memory in Elizabeth Bear's 2015 novel Karen Memory, and fell in love with her steampunk Victorian Pacific Northwest city, and her down-to-earth story-telling voice. Now Karen is back with a new story about spiritualists, magicians, con-men, and an angry lost tommy-knocker--a magical creature who generally lives in the deep gold mines of Alaska, but has been kidnapped and brought to Rapid City. Karen and Priya are...

"Sara A. Mueller's The Bone Orchard is a fascinating whodunit set in a lush, gothic world of secrets and magic--where a dying emperor charges his favorite concubine with solving his own murder, and preventing the culprit, which undoubtedly is one of his three terrible sons, from taking control of an empire. Charm is a witch, and she is alone. The last of a line of conquered necromantic workers, now confined within the yard of regrown bone trees at...

"Young dandy Fletcher Ralston's privileged life of education and ease in the East comes to an abrupt end when he's summoned to the dried-up Wyoming town of Promise to inherit a run-down bordello and a lifetime of debts. The old woman he's known only via correspondence as his "aunt" is in truth the madam of the brothel. After their meeting, she is found with her throat slit, and Fletcher is suspect number one. But the old lady's paramour, crusty Gunnar...

"Johnny Fierro is finally settling into the Sinclair family ranch. But as his life reaches a more even keel, the arrival of a rabble-rousing new minister in Cimarron threatens his new-found security. As the reverend sets about overseeing the closure of the bordello, Johnny realized that his brother, Guy, is haunted by events in his own past. Determined to save the bordello, Johnny has to bring all his most Machiavellian skills to bear. He also delves...