Joan

It’s the murder trial of the century. And Joshua Kane has killed to get the best seat in the house - and to be sure the wrong man goes down for the crime. Because this time, the killer isn’t on trial. He’s on the jury.

Even through the roar and effervescence of the 1920s, everyone in New York has heard of Benjamin and Helen Rask. He is a legendary Wall Street tycoon; she is the daughter of eccentric aristocrats. Together, they have risen to the very top of a world of seemingly endless wealth—all as a decade of excess and speculation draws to an end. But at what cost have they acquired their immense fortune? This is the mystery at the center of Bonds, a successful 1937 novel that all of New York seems to have read. Yet there are other versions of this tale of privilege and deceit.

Woodrow Wilson Nickel, age 105, feels his life ebbing away. But when he learns giraffes are going extinct, he finds himself recalling the unforgettable experience he cannot take to his grave. It’s 1938. The Great Depression lingers. Hitler is threatening Europe, and world-weary Americans long for wonder. They find it in two giraffes who miraculously survive a hurricane while crossing the Atlantic. What follows is a twelve-day road trip in a custom truck to become Southern California’s first giraffes. Behind the wheel is the young Dust Bowl rowdy Woodrow.

When Hollywood auctioneer Emsley Wilson finds her famous grandmother's diary while cleaning out her New York brownstone, the pages are full of surprises. The first surprise is, the diary isn't her grandmother's. It belongs to Johanna Bonger, Vincent van Gogh's sister-in-law.

It’s the spring of 1969, and Lakshmi, now married to Dr. Jay Kumar, directs the Healing Garden in Shimla. Malik has finished his private school education. At 20, he has just met a young woman named Nimmi when he leaves to apprentice at the Facilities Office of the Jaipur Royal Palace. Their latest project: a state-of-the-art cinema. Malik soon finds that not much has changed as he navigates the Pink City of his childhood. Power and money still move seamlessly among the wealthy class, and favors flow from Jaipur’s Royal Palace, but only if certain secrets remain buried.

Michael Shellenberger, author of Apocalypse Never has had a long career at the intersection of frontline environmental studies and international development. Throughout the book he introduces us to key figures in environmental and economic politics, stretching right the way back to the 18th century. He looks at how these people have contributed to (or attempted to mitigate the effects of) climate alarmism. This is an unofficial summary and analysis of Michael Shellenberger’s designed to enrich your listening experience.

The irascible A. J. Fikry, owner of Island Books - the only bookstore on Alice Island - has already lost his wife. Now his most prized possession, a rare book, has been stolen from right under his nose in the most embarrassing of circumstances. The store itself, it seems, will be next to go. One night upon closing, he discovers a toddler in his children’s section with a note from her mother pinned to her Elmo doll: I want Maya to grow up in a place with books and among people who care about such kinds of things. I love her very much, but I can no longer take care of her.

Counted among the fiercest Andarion warriors ever born, Hauk is one of the five founding members of the Sentella: An organization that has declared war on the League. They rule the Ichidian universe with an iron fist and terrify it with an army of well-trained assassins. Hauk’s enemies are legion, but he fears nothing and no one. He will do whatever it takes to survive and protect his Sentella brethren. Sumi Antaxas is one of the best assassins the League has ever trained. In her world, failure is not an option and she has never met a target she couldn’t execute.

When her brother was arrested for murder, the ton shut its doors to Marietta Winters. No one would help her save him from the gallows - no one but Gabriel Noble. In exchange for taking the case, Gabriel requests three favors from the desperate young beauty, and Marietta has no other choice but to make a deal with the sinfully handsome devil. Searching for clues in the rough underbelly of London, Marietta must masquerade as a shamelessly wanton wench - much to Gabriel's delight. But Marietta swears to herself that her passionate moans are just for show.

Lady Rebecca Newland cannot forget the captivating nobleman who saved her life, and she sets out to meet him again when she is of an age to be courted. Unbeknownst to her, her timing is impeccable, for Devon Sinclair, the future Duke of Pembroke, has just been informed by his mad father that he must take a wife before Christmas in order to thwart a family curse and preserve his inheritance. Lady Rebecca is everything Devon could want in a wife - she is beautiful, charming, and she desires him openly.