In 1950, Ellie Chang, a 28-year-old Chinese American journalist, is traveling to North Korea following the invasion of South Korea by its army and the initiation of a "police action" by the United States under the United Nations. After her plane is shot down, Ellie is saved by Emma, a woman searching for her daughter, who was captured and forced to become a "comfort woman" by the Imperial Japanese Army. Ellie is taken in by Pak Sung-Ho, a Baptist minister, and his wife Imo, w

In Durham, England, defense attorney Leila Reynolds is preparing for her first murder trial, and it's guaranteed to be a high-profile one. Popular Judge Smythe has been murdered and Jack Millman, an ex-con found at the scene, claims he is innocent. It's surprising to everyone that Jack specifically chose Leila to represent him. While Leila is eager to prove herself, she faces a particularly challenging situation as the prosecutor is her husband, Julian Kesler, who also served

Simone survived a challenging childhood, but now, life is good. Living in the UK, she is happily married to Damien, has a treasured daughter, Lucy, and a thriving career as a restaurateur. With Lucy preparing to head off to university, Simone planned a mother-daughter vacation together in Texas. But the unthinkable happens soon after they are together in Texas. In the middle of the night, Lucy is abducted from their remote cabin, and a phone has been left behind. Simone is g

It's 1956 and life on California's Balboa Island is about to become very complicated. Milly Kinkaid, along with her two young children and her TV executive husband, are newcomers to the island. His frequent overnight stays in Hollywood have put a strain on their marriage. Sylvia Johnson, the head of Balboa Island's social activities, and her husband own The Island Club, which is centered around tennis, but his poor financial management has put their future in jeopardy. Meanwh

It's 2007 and twenty-six-year-old Alicia Canales Forten is living in Fort Greene, Brooklyn. Her mother is Puerto Rican, and her affluent father is Black. The two never married. Alicia is engaged, but it's a long-distance relationship, and she is questioning the direction of her life. She becomes fascinated by her charismatic neighbor, La Garza, a fashion designer who is determined to succeed. After observing her parties from across the street, Alicia is invited to join in and

Sejal Chaudhary, the daughter of two career criminals, lives in hiding. She makes money by conning men using sleight-of-hand tricks. Her father has died, and her mother, the former head of Cobra, a crime syndicate, is in jail. Sejal's ex-boyfriend is the son of the head of a Russian mafia family, and she has reasons to fear him. Krish Anand has his eye on Sejal, hoping she can help him find his missing brother, who works for the FBI and has been accused by the agency of col

Annie is 50 years old and divorced. She and her younger sister Katherine had been huge fans of '90s boy band Boy Talk so Annie bought the two of them tickets on a four-day fan cruise to the Bahamas where they could re-live their former days of fandom. When Katherine, still a big fan, had to cancel, Annie took the cruise on her own. The five members of the band have gone through their own share of life's ups and downs. Corey is the only one who has achieved breakout success, b

Married couple Roz and Vin enjoyed a happy life in New York City. But a terrible accident left both of them, along with Vin’s younger brother Raffi, who is also Roz’s best friend, left with internal and external scars. With the one-year anniversary of the accident approaching, Roz has been hopeful that time would eventually mend their deteriorating marriage. However, when she discovers a lease for a new apartment on their kitchen table, she realizes that Vin is planning to mo

Meet Marilyn Weisfeld. It's 1978 and she's 39 years old with four daughters, living in the Modern Orthodox Jewish community of River Ridge, New Jersey, close to New York City. Although she graduated summa cum laude from City College with aspirations of becoming a writer, Marilyn is a homemaker, caring for her children and supporting her egotistical husband Jerry, an economics professor at a local college, by hosting dinner parties and managing everything for him. But what abo

Elsie Mabel Fitzpatrick has been living on quiet Kenny Lane for sixty of her eighty-one years. When she checks up on her ninety-three-year-old neighbor Ishaan, she discovers he is already dead when she goes into his house. The police suspect Elsie of homicide because of her notorious past. News quickly spreads that Elsie is actually the infamous "Mad Mabel" Waller, who, during her youth, was believed to have done some very bad things to people close to her. Two true-crime jou

When Rahmat and Maryam Sharaf left Afghanistan for northern Virginia, they sought a better life, the American Dream. After early challenges, Rahmat worked hard and overcame many obstacles to amass enough wealth to buy a large home, providing for his wife and four children, who were born in the U.S. Rahmat and Maryam strived to maintain their Afghan customs and beliefs, which proved difficult when their teenage daughter Zorah began to feel trapped by her parents' guidelines a

Lena lives with her seventeen-year-old son, Lucas, in a house on a quiet tree-lined street in Bristol, England. Recently separated from her husband, she faces further separation as her son prepares to leave home to attend college. Lena is struggling to find her own identity. When a retired couple, Henry and Marielle Morgan, move in next door, she is at first happy to meet them. However, Lena overhears a conversation between the couple on an old boom microphone Lucas is using

While some sequels can be enjoyed as standalones, with Hope Rises , it's strongly recommended to start with book one, Nash Falls . If you've already read the first installment of the Walter Nash series, you've surely been anticipating this next book about a mild-mannered investment banker who becomes embroiled in an FBI investigation, loses everything, and transforms completely, now seeking vengeance under the alias Dillon Hope. Walter is determined to make Victoria Steers p

In 1963 London, Evelyn Westbrook was a successful model who gave up her career when she married Henry, aiming to be the perfect wife. But she wasn't happy, feeling pressure to start a family and tormented by a recurring nightmare. She sought treatment with Dr. Daley, a Freudian psychoanalyst. As Evelyn begins to her open up to her new doctor, she finds herself becoming more and more attracted to him. Daley keeps his distance while encouraging Evelyn's transference of emotio

The affluent lakefront community of Cloverhill Lakes, Connecticut, takes pride in its close to zero crime rate. But at its annual Labor Day picnic, Regan Hoffman's car explodes, killing one of the other housewives, who had the misfortune of borrowing the car. Why would anyone want to harm Regan? But under the surface, conflict has already been brewing. Regan, who has a daughter, is still grieving the death of her husband, Jack. Andi, a mother of two, has found new happiness w

Madeline Cohen from Rolling Stone Magazine is eager to write her first cover story. After an unsuccessful stint as a comedian and a fan of The Midnight Show, Madeline decides to explore the challenges women comedians have had working on the successful late-night show. The 40th anniversary of the death of Lillian Martin, one of the show's original cast members, becomes the focus of her story. Speculation continues about what truly happened to Lillian when she vanished fro

After World War I, Poland had gained its independence, and prospects appeared promising. Women had the right to vote, and the country was ethnically diverse. Although most people were poor, Warsaw was a vibrant city filled with arts and culture. However, as right-wing nationalism and Nazi ideology spread, everything started changing, particularly affecting Poland's Jewish community. In 1938, Fanny Zelshinsky, raised in an affluent household, was preparing to get married. She

Charlie Kilgore is twenty-six years old and grew up in a lake house in Hero, New Hampshire. He is haunted by his family history, which he has no memory of. As an infant, his father, Mark, fatally stabbed close friend Isaac Haviland, driven by the recent discovery of Isaac's affair with his wife, Jane, who was also injured but survived. Charlie's older brother, Reid, grabbed him and they escaped in a rowboat. Now living in Boston, Charlie wants to make a podcast about the crim

Cassia Park lives in Los Angeles and is approaching her fortieth birthday. She works as a matchmaker for her family's business, One & Only. Cassia is the last in her line, dating back to when her family lived in Korea, who has the mystical gift of being able to read faces, see past lives, and identify a person's "fated" match. Cassie knows who her "fated" match is, but for the past ten years, despite knowing his name (Daniel Nam), she hasn't been able to find him. When she me

Jane Kim is the daughter of Korean immigrants. When the story begins in 2001, Jane is in her final year of law school in San Francisco, feeling dissatisfied with her career path, which she has pursued more to meet her parents' expectations than her own. Her mother is also unhappy and has finally made the decision to move out of the family home in Napa, leaving her husband, Jane's father. Jane's domineering parents also affected her brother Kevin, a police officer who, like