Ruby Sisson Library

"From two-time Mary Higgins Clark Award-winning author Carol Goodman comes a new mystery, about a group of friends isolated on a remote island with a history of foul play. Lucy Harper still has traumatic memories and lingering health problems from the 2020 pandemic. So, when a new virus surfaces years later, she and her husband, Reed, seek refuge on his family's private island off the coast of Maine. Ostensibly safely sequestered with their five closest...

Doug and his son set out on a backpacking trip through the White Mountains of New Hampshire. But when reports of social collapse reach the ranger station, Doug withdraws even further into the backcountry. The alpine winter presents its own dangers, as father and son must endure the elements, the solitude, and the ever-present threat of outsiders.

In a moment of crisis, Ellis Abbey leaves her daughter, Viola, unattended--for just a few minutes. But when she returns, Viola is gone. A breaking point in an already fractured marriage, Viola's abduction causes Ellis to disappear as well--into grief, guilt, and addiction. Convinced she can only do more harm to her family, Ellis leaves her husband and young sons, burying her desperate ache for her children deeper with every step into the mountain...

"Raymond Jaffe feels like he doesn't belong. Not with his mother's new family. Not as a weekend guest with his father and his father's wife. Not at school, where he's an outcast. After his best friend moves away, Raymond has only two real connections: to the feral cat he's tamed and to a blind ninety-two-year-old woman in his building who's introduced herself with a curious question: Have you seen Luis Velez? Mildred Gutermann, a German Jew who narrowly...

"An English teacher is gaslit by his charismatic high school bully in this tense story of deception, manipulation, and murder. Single father Todd is relaxing at the beach with his son, Anthony, when he catches sight of a man approaching from the water's edge. As the man draws closer, Todd recognizes him as Jack, who bullied Todd relentlessly in their teenage years, but now seems overjoyed to have "run into" his old friend. Jack suggests a meal to...

Overgard is a resourceful yet increasingly desperate man stranded in a remote, snow-covered wilderness. After a plane crash in an icy wasteland, Overgard must live by his wits as he waits for help to arrive. But when a long-awaited rescue effort fails, he faces a life-or-death decision: remain in the relative safety of his camp and hope to be found or embark on an arduous trek that may be the only hope for both him and a critically injured stranger....

"Twelve-year-old Ben is a shy, quiet kid. His life isn't perfect, but he feels at home in his New York City apartment. Then his dad takes a job in London, and everything changes. His parents separate, and Ben's mom moves them back to her hometown of Austin, Texas. Ben's simple life is suddenly complicated. He misses his apartment, his best friend, Jake, and his dad. Then he meets Mabley, who becomes a bright spot to Ben's day. But when his mom starts...

"Life is waiting to happen to Hubert Bird. But first he has to open his front door and let it in. In weekly phone calls to his daughter in Australia, widower Hubert Bird paints a picture of the perfect retirement, packed with fun, friendship, and fulfilment. But he's lying. The truth is day after day drags by without him seeing a single soul. Until he receives some good news - good news that in one way turns out to be the worst news ever, news that...

"A Life Apart tells two stories. The first is of Ritwik Ghosh: a story of a young man's escape from a blighted childhood of squalor and abuse in Calcutta to the edge of what he considers to be a new world, in England, where he has a chance to start all over again. But his past, especially the scarred, all-consuming relationship with his mother, is a minefield: will Ritwik find the salvation he is looking for?" "Could it arrive in the form of the second...

Describes how it feels to be excluded, why this might happen, and how to handle such situations.