Bernadette Dunne

In the wake of her mother's death, Cheryl Strayed's family scattered and her marriage was destroyed. Four years later, twenty-six years old with nothing to lose, Cheryl made the decision to hike the Pacific Crest Trail from the Mojave Desert to Washington State - alone. She had no experience as a long-distance hiker and the trail was little more than an idea. But it was a promise of piecing back together a life that had come undone.

The story of four seekers who arrive at a notoriously unfriendly place called Hill House: Dr. Montague, an occult scholar looking for solid evidence of a "haunting;' Theodora, his lighthearted assistant; Eleanor, a friendless, fragile young woman well acquainted with poltergeists; and Luke, the future heir of Hill House. At first, their stay seems destined to be merely a spooky encounter with inexplicable phenomena. But Hill House is gathering its...

This is a story of people whose lives are changing - a southern gentleman returning home to lead a more peaceful life and his talented New York wife who is not quite sure she is ready to make the transition. They are moving north to south, fast pace versus slow pace, downsizing. And while they are doing this, they are getting glimpses into other people's lives over the course of a summer, holidays that will amuse, shock and transform them.

"It's Christmastime in Caerphilly and Meg Langslow, full of holiday spirit, is helping out with the town's nativity pageant when she finds a surprise in the manger: a live baby. A note says that it's time for her father to take care of her -- and implicates Meg's brother as the father."--Provided by publisher. It's Christmastime in Caerphilly. Meg is directing the town's nativity pageant when she finds a surprise in the manger: a live baby. A note...

"As the holidays draw near in Caerphilly, Mother volunteers to take part in a big Christmas-themed decorator show house--each room of a temporarily untenanted house is decorated to the hilt by a different decorator for the public to tour. Of course, Mother insists that Meg pitch in with the organization, and she finds herself surrounded by flamboyant personalities with massive egos clashing and feeling their professional reputations are at stake....

When her husband organizes a full-scale production of A Christmas Carol with a famous veteran actor in the starring role, Meg Langslow finds herself navigating unexpected challenges in the star's baggage and enemies.

The revelatory, poignant story of Rosemary Kennedy, the eldest and eventually secreted-away Kennedy daughter, and how her life transformed her family, its women especially, and an entire nation.

"Gone Gull brings readers yet another knee-slapping adventure filled with New York Times bestselling author Donna Andrews' cast of wacky characters. Meg Langslow is spending the summer at the Biscuit Mountain Craft Center, helping her grandmother Cordelia run the studios. But someone is committing acts of vandalism, threatening to ruin the newly-opened center's reputation. Is it the work of a rival center? Have the developers who want to build a resort...

"Still known to millions only as the author of the "The Lottery," Shirley Jackson (1916-1965) remains curiously absent from the American literary canon. A genius of literary suspense, Jackson plumbed the cultural anxiety of postwar America better than anyone. Now, biographer Ruth Franklin reveals the tumultuous life and inner darkness of the author behind such classics as The Haunting of Hill House and We Have Always Lived in the Castle. Placing Jackson...

"Meg's grandfather has been booked to give lectures on a cruise as part of the education/entertainment itinerary, and he's arranged for a passel of family members to join him. The passengers' vacation quickly becomes a nightmare when they wake up to find themselves broken down and in need of repairs. Things get even worse when a crew member announces to all that a woman has jumped overboard, leaving behind her shoes, shawl, and a note. The note reveals...