Frank Carlson Library

Suspecting foul play when a mild-mannered villager is found dead, housekeeper Florence Norris investigates a surprise will that reveals dark secrets in the victim's family history.

Theodora is the matriarch of a family that has grown into "an insufferable bunch of truculent knuckleheads." While she's finally gotten them all together in South Carolina to celebrate, this Christmas looks nothing like the extravagant homey holidays of her childhood. Luckily someone shows up to help Theodora with pockets full of common sense and Gullah magic to make Theodora's Christmas the miracle it's meant to be. -- Publisher.

"Housemaid Anne Webster will stop at nothing to save her family from their dire circumstances. Even if it means accepting the proposal of the roguish Marquess of Blackthorne, who just returned to England from the Americas under a veil of mystery. Both have their own agendas--she to use his riches and he to use her lace-making skills--but neither could have dreamed what they would discover on the other side of their scheming. As always, society tattler...

Over the summer of 1911, Joan pours her heart into her diary as she seeks a new, better life for herself, one in which, she hopes, as a hired girl working for six dollars a week can become what a Pennsylvania farm girl could only dream of, a woman with a future.

"At 28, Stephanie Land's plans of breaking free from the roots of her hometown in the Pacific Northwest to chase her dreams of attending a university and becoming a writer, were cut short when a summer fling turned into an unplanned pregnancy. She turned to housekeeping to make ends meet, and, with a tenacious grip on her dream to provide her daughter the very best life possible, Stephanie worked days and took classes online to earn a college degree,...

Although sixteen-year-old Skybright feels lucky to be the handmaid and companion to the daughter of a wealthy family, she is hiding a secret that threatens to destroy her position and her closest relationships.

"Crazy Rich Asians meets The Help! From Reese's Book Club veteran Balli Kaur Jaswal comes an absolute tour de force--the wildly entertaining and sharply observed story of three women who work in the homes of Singapore's elite, and band together to solve a murder mystery involving one of their own"-- The wealthy island nation of Singapore seems like an oasis of luxury and order, but it owes everything to the immigrant women no one sees. Corazon, Donita,...

"Tucked away among Devon's rolling green hills, Mallowan Hall combines the best of English tradition with the modern conveniences of 1930. Housekeeper Phyllida Bright, as efficient as she is personable, manages the large household with an iron fist in her very elegant glove. In one respect, however, Mallowan Hall stands far apart from other picturesque country houses . . . The manor is home to archaeologist Max Mallowan and his famous wife, Agatha...

"Ever since Fern could remember, she and her mother have lived as servants in Wyndemere House, the old gothic mansion of the Davenport family. She may have been a servant, but Fern developed a sweet friendship with Dr. Davenport's son, Ryder, and she was even allowed free range of the estate. But Dr. Davenport has remarried and his new wife has very different ideas about a servant's place. Now Fern and her mother are subject to cruel punishments,...

"A spooky and witty Knives Out-style whodunnit featuring a long-ago love affair, icy death, and a rich family gone bad, from Kat Rosenfield, the acclaimed author of the Edgar nominated No One Will Miss Her"-- On Christmas Eve, eighty-five-year-old Miriam Gardiner walks onto the vast frozen river behind her home. As a younger woman, she used to steal out on winter nights to meet her lover, walking straight across the ice to their secret meeting place....