ON THE SHELF: New Adult Fiction that’ll take you somewhere new

Published 8:00 am Sunday, February 5, 2023

This column was submitted by Evangeline Cessna, Local History Librarian at the Warren County-Vicksburg Public Library.

This week’s column features titles from our New Adult Fiction collection.

Popular author Victoria Thompson’s latest is called “City of Fortune.” Sebastian Nolan is wealthy but unrefined in his manners and this shows in the manners of his daughter, Irene. Sebastian has invited his lawyer, Gideon Bates, and his lovely wife, Elizabeth, to attend the Belmont Stakes in hopes that Elizabeth can help Irene. Now that his venture into thoroughbred racing has allowed them access into society, Sebastian wants Irene to be accepted and to find a wealthy suitor. Elizabeth is not who she purports to be, but she is eager to attend the races. She comes from a family of con artists, and they have made a lot of money at the racetracks. Irene seems more interested in the horses than in a husband, so she jumps at the chance to show Elizabeth her horse, Trench, and introduce her to his rider, Cal Regan. When Cal and Trench are hurt in a freak accident, Sebastian believes it’s sabotage by one of his enemies. Elizabeth — with the ever-honest Gideon at her side  — must come up with one creative con to catch the saboteur and help Irene and Cal’s love blossom.

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“The Whittiers” is by the ever-popular Danielle Steel. Preston and Constance Whittier have built a good life together. They raised their brood of six children in a beautiful historic Manhattan mansion. Now that they are nearly empty nesters, it’s easier than ever to maintain their tradition of a solo romantic “Wintermoon” ski trip. This year’s ski trip brings tragedy and reunites the Whittier children in the family home without their parents. Lyle, the oldest, has come to a crossroads in his marriage and must decide whether divorce would be the best thing for him and his two children. Gloria is still single, and cynical, at 39 thanks to her big job on Wall Street. The twins, Caroline and Charlie, moved out long ago to start a fashion business that is now floundering. Benjie has special needs and has been hit hard by the loss of his parents and needs his siblings to step up and help him. The youngest, Annabelle, drops out of college and starts to spiral out of control. The four oldest siblings must come up with a solution to help the two youngest, or their family could be torn farther apart.

Wanda M. Morris sets her novel, “Anywhere You Run,” in Mississippi in the summer of 1964. Against the backdrop of the Civil Rights movement, 21-year-old Violet Richards finds herself in more trouble than she’s ever seen. Following a brutal attack, Violet kills the man responsible, but with the color of her skin, there isn’t any way she can find justice in Jim Crow Jackson. With the help of her white boyfriend, Violet escapes, but because of desperation and fear, she ends up in the rural town of Chillicothe, Ga., where danger may be closer than she thinks. Marigold, Violet’s older sister, dreams of being a lawyer. She has spent the summer working for the Mississippi Summer Project helping further the cause of the Black vote. Marigold is in a different kind of trouble; she finds herself pregnant and unmarried. After the murder brings the police to her door, Marigold, too, decides to flee Jackson. She heads north looking for the promise of a better life and no more segregation. Two sisters, on the run, with the same man on their trail. This man has his own dark secrets and twisted motives — known only to him — for finding the sisters.

Rachel Kapelke-Dale explores the bonds of family, the limits of talent, the risks of ambition, and the rewards of revenge in her novel “The Ingenue.” Former piano prodigy Saskia Kreis returns home to Milwaukee upon the unexpected death of her mother fully expecting to inherit the family estate. The Elf House, however, has been bequeathed to a man with whom Saskia has a complicated history. She is forced to re-examine her past and the romantic relationship that changed the course of her life if she wants answers. Will she be able to reclaim her heritage while keeping her secrets buried or will the fallout from digging too deep destroy her?

Lisa Jackson’s latest is called “Wicked Dreams.” A group of women will need to pool their considerable talents in order to keep evil from burning their refuge to the ground. A dead body turns up on a remote beach with Ravinia Rutledge’s name and phone number and the words, “Next of Kin” pinned to it. Ravinia is adamant that she doesn’t know the man lying on the slab in the mortuary, but Detective Nev Rhodes isn’t so sure. Rhodes can tell that Ravinia is one of the Siren Song women of The Colony. It’s been five years since Ravinia moved away and she has built a life as a private investigator whose specialty is helping find missing loved ones. “Good Time Charlie” is the name the Siren Song women gave to the monster, a man who the women thought was gone forever. The dead man on the beach is a sign that Charlie was just waiting in the darkness and is now ready to fulfill his mission of ridding the world of the Siren Song, and anyone else who gets in the way. Though she is reluctant, Ravinia must team up with detective Nev if they want to catch the monster hell-bent on destroying everyone associated with The Colony.

Onyi Nwabineli’s debut novel is titled “Someday, Maybe.” A young woman must face an emotional journey through immeasurable loss, pulled along by her tight-knit Nigerian family, a gaggle of friends, and the love and laughter she once shared with her husband. He was the great love of the young woman’s life despite the fact he periodically went incommunicado. As far as anyone could tell, he was perfectly happy. That’s significant because he died on New Year’s Eve and his wife found the body. No, she’s most decidedly not okay. The only way for her to cope is with the love of family and friends and the memories of their good times together.