Frank Carlson Library

Set in South Carolina in 1964, [this book] tells the story of Lily Owens, whose life has been shaped around the blurred memory of the afternoon her mother was killed. When Lily's fierce-hearted "stand-in mother," Rosaleen, insults three of the town's fiercest racists, Lily decides they should both escape to Tiburon, South Carolina--a town that holds the secret to her mother's past. There they are taken in by an eccentric trio of black beekeeping sisters...

A woman flees across the South, pursued by people who want to kill her. She is Kendall Burnwood, witness to a racial murder committed by her husband, a newspaper editor. She has been summoned to testify at the trial and the family want to silence her.

As Kumalo searches for his son, Absalom, in the city of Johannesburg, the character of South Africa is revealed. The land, its people and its racial ferment are visible behind the story of the tragic influences of the city upon the native son.

Lina Taylor, a dedicated female archaeologist, and Hunter Johnston, a former immigration and customs enforcement officer, must recover priceless South American artifacts that could bring deadly chaos into the world.

The story follows Hetty "Handful" Grimke, a Charleston slave, and Sarah, the daughter of the wealthy Grimke family. The novel begins on Sarah's eleventh birthday, when she is given ownership over Handful, who is to be her handmaid, and follows the next thirty-five years of their lives. Inspired in part by the historical figure of Sarah Grimke (a feminist, suffragist and, importantly, an abolitionist), the author allows herself to go beyond the record...

On the anniversary of her daughter Emily's death, Sarabess, the matriarch of the Windsor family, enlists the help of lawyer Jake Forrest to find Trinity, the daughter she had given up for adoption, a desperate search that exposes dark secrets and has unexpected consequences.

"Determined to build a new life for her family after her divorce, Adelia Hernandez has bought a home in the historic Swan Point neighborhood of Serenity. Promoted to manager of Main Street's most fashionable boutique, she feels revitalized and ready for a fresh start as a single mom. But barely into this new independent phase, she crosses paths with the sexiest man to hit Serenity in years. Gabe Franklin, back in town to make amends for past mistakes,...

Newly graduated from college and an aspiring writer, Beth Hayes craves independence and has a world to conquer. But her notions of travel, graduate study, and writing the great American novel will have to be postponed--with her mother leaving to fulfill her own dreams in Paris and her Aunt Maggie, Uncle Grant, and stepfather Simon moving to California, Beth is elected by her elders to house-sit the Island Gamble. Buoyed by sentimental memories of...

Betts hasn't been back to Bulls Island since the tragic night that ended her engagement to Charleston's golden boy. Twenty years later, she leaves her comfortable life and is back in contact with everything she's tried to hard to forget.

"There's no place like home, especially if it's Serenity, South Carolina. For Annie Sullivan, though, the homecoming is bittersweet. She'd always envisioned a life there with her childhood best friend, Tyler Townsend. But Ty's betrayal has cost her the family and the future they'd once planned. For Ty, losing Annie was heartbreaking. Still, he can't imagine life without the three-year-old son whose mother left him for Ty to raise. Ty wants it all--Annie,...