"Broken Wheel, Iowa, has never seen anyone like Sara, who traveled all the way from Sweden just to meet her pen pal, Amy. When she arrives, however, she finds that Amy's funeral has just ended. Luckily, the townspeople are happy to look after their bewildered tourist--even if they don't understand her peculiar need for books. Marooned in a farm town that's almost beyond repair, Sara starts a bookstore in honor of her friend's memory. All she wants...

"Things My Son Needs to Know About the World collects the personal dispatches from the front lines of one of the most daunting experiences any man can experience: fatherhood. As he conveys his profound awe at experiencing all the "firsts" that fill him with wonder and catch him completely unprepared, Fredrik Backman doesn't shy away from revealing his own false steps and fatherly flaws, tackling issues both great and small, from masculinity and mid-life...

It's been more than twenty years since Olof Hagström left home. Returning to his family's house, he knows instantly that something is amiss. The front door key, hidden under a familiar stone, is still there. Inside, there's a panicked dog, a terrible stench, water pooling on the floor. Upstairs in the shower, the father Olaf has not seen or spoken to in decades is dead. For police detective Eira Sjödin, the investigation of this suspicious death...

"Three years ago, Saga Bauer received a postcard with a threatening message. It mentioned a gun and nine white bullets-one of which was intended for Detective Joona Linna. According to the anonymous sender, Saga was the only person who could save him. But as time passed, the threat faded. That is, until now. A sack with a decomposing body has been found tied to a tree in the forest, and a milky white bullet casing turns up at the scene. Soon, the...

"The scars from a family tragedy draw an estranged police detective back to her childhood home as a teenage boy's death quickly causes the past to collide with the present"-- Police detective Hannah Duncker didn't expect to return to her native land. She fled after her father's murder conviction and returned to make peace with her shame. She has a new job with the local police and a nosy new partner. When a fifteen-year-old's death catapults her...

Helena Folasadu should of course say no. She doesn't know the man talking to her, she doesn't know Monsieur Bellivier, and she certainly isn't waiting for him. But, bored of life, and sparked by a whim, she says yes. The go-between leads her to a deserted floor in an office building and offers her a large sum of money to sit at a computer and forward emails to Monsieur Bellivier. The emails turn out to be in code, and the bouquets Helena is handed...

A biographical and bibliographical guide to current writers in all fields including poetry, fiction and nonfiction, journalism, drama, television and movies. Information is provided by the authors themselves or drawn from published interviews, feature stories, book reviews and other materials provided by the authors/publishers.