Both Heaven and Hell have their own ideas for the future of magician/hitman James Stark, in this wild, weird, nail-biting supernatural thriller that blends demonic evil and quirky humor ("Publishers Weekly").

Dominic LaVeq is the son of a French nobleman and his mistress, a freed slave.  After the death of his mother, he and his father sailed the seas until his father's death.  Dominic is now a privateer in the time of the American Revolution.  When he takes a British ship, he demands that Clare, a slave woman who is with her Savannah mistress, come to his ship, or he will sink the captured ship. 

Clare has been a slave since her capture at the age of seven.  She does not want to go with Dominic because she has two children who were sold to a neighboring plantation that she is allowed to see on Sundays.  Her mistress has no problem sacrificing Clare to save herself.  Clare is afraid of Dominic, but soon finds he is much more than a pirate.

Annotation by: St. Louis Public Library staff.

Ben Holiday, High Lord of the magic kingdom of Landover, and his wife Willow have sent their 15-year-old daughter Mistaya to a prestigious girls' boarding school, where she is forbidden to use her magic for any reason. It is only a matter of time before the authorities have to act.

A novel of the red planet from the Hugo and Nebula Award–winning author of The Accidental Time Machineand Old Twentieth. Young Carmen Dula and her family are about to embark on the adventure of a lifetime—they’re going to Mars. Once on the Red Planet, however, Carmen realizes things are not so different from Earth. There are chores to do, lessons to learn, and oppressive authority figures to rebel against. And when she ventures out into the bleak Mars landscape alone one night, a simple accident leads her to the edge of death until she is saved by an angel—an angel with too many arms and legs, a head that looks like a potato gone bad, and a message for the newly arrived human inhabitants of Mars: We were here first.

This sequel to Casting Spells returns to the quaint Vermont town of Sugar Maple were everyone except Luke, the temporary police chief, is a supernatural.  Luke's girlfriend,Chloe, isthe last of her family of sorcerers and half human, but responsible for keeping the town protected from hostile humans and from Isadora, the fae woman who tried to move the town beyond the mist in the previous book.  When Luke's ex-wife arrives saying that their dead daughter has been calling her on her cellphone and the monthly town meeting is interrupted by an earthquake with purple glitter, Chloe knows that Isadora is trying to come back.

Annotation by: St. Louis Public Library staff.

Payton and J.D. are both hardworking associates in a large law firm.  Both of them are up for partner this year and both expect to make it.  The two of them got off to a bad start their first year with the firm and it hasn't gotten any better.  When a possible new client requires both of their specific skills, they must work together, but, they are also told that this year only one of them will make partner.  Can they do their jobs, bring in a new client, and compete for the one position and still fight the growing attraction they suddenly discover?

Annotation by: St. Louis Public Library staff.

James continues her "Desperate Duchesses" series by finally giving the Duke of Villiers his own story.  He has been in all of the other books of the series, as a rival, a foil, a help, or an observer.  He has decided to find and take more responsibility for his six bastard children, now that he knows that the employee who was supposed make sure they were cared for put them in awful situations and absconded with the money.  He also decides that he needs to find a wife of high standing so that he can bring these children into society.

Eleanor is the daughter of a duke who has said that she will marry no one less than a duke.  The boy she loved in her youth was heir to a duke, but his father arranged a marriage with another girl and he was unwilling to go against him.  He broke her heart, so she has put all suitors off by her declaration.  Villliers and Eleanor end up in a social situation the puts them together and they are suddenly engaged in the eyes of the ton.  Humor and wit are at the forefront of this fun romance.

Annotation by: St. Louis Public Library staff.

In the follow-up to his award winning national bestseller, Letters to a Young Brother, actor and star of CSI: NYshares his powerful wisdom for young women everywhere, drawing on the courageous advice of the female role models who transformed his life. Letters to a Young Sisterunfolds as a series of letters written by older brother Hill to a universal Young Sistah. SheÂ’s up against the same challenges as every young woman: from relating to her parents and dealing with peer pressure, to juggling schoolwork and crushes and keeping faith in the face of heartache. In his straight-talking style, Hill helps his young sister build self-confidence, self-reliance, self-respect, and encourages her on her journeys towards becoming a strong and successful woman. The book also includes contributions from admirable women like Angela Basset, Ciara, Michelle Obama, Tatyana Ali, Nikki Giovanni, Congresswoman Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrikck, Eve, Malinda Williams, Kim Porter, and more.

1. Every shade of noir / introduction by Paul Gravett -- Old gangsters never die / by Alan Moore and Lloyd Thatcher -- Torpedo 1936: the switch / by Sanchez Abuli and Jordi Bernet -- The money-making machine swindlers / by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby -- 87th Precinct: blind man's bluff / by Bernie Krigstein and anonymous -- The murderer of Hung / by Dominique Grange and Jacques Tardi -- Murder, morphine and me / by Jack Cole -- El Borbah: love in vein / by Charles Burns.
   
2. The Spirit: the Portier fortune / by Will Eisner -- Secret Agent X-9 / by Dashiell Hammett and Alex Raymond -- Commissario Spada: Strada [Street] / by Gianluigi Gonano and Gianni De Luca -- Lily-white Joe / by Bernie Krigstein and anonymous -- The crushed gardenia / by Alex Toth and anonymous -- Ms. Tree: Maternity leave / by Max Allan Colins and Terry Beatty -- Roy Carson and the old master / Colin McLoughlin and Denis McLoughlin -- Mary Spratchet / by anonymous -- Alack Sinner: Talkin' with Joe / by Carlos Sampayo and José Muñoz.
   
3. The button / by Bill Everett and anonymous -- Kane: Rat in the house / by Paul Grist -- Who dunnit? / by Fred Guardineer and anonymous -- Mike Lancer and the syndicate of death / by Mickey Spillane and Harry Sahle -- Mike Hammer: Dark City / by Mickey Spillane and Ed Robbins -- The court / by Neil Gaiman and Warren Pleece -- The sewer / by Johnny Craig -- I keep coming back / by Alan Moore and Oscar Zarate.
   

Sunny continues the story of Lucinda, the demon princess, in this second book of a series, a spinoff of the Mona Lisa series.  Lucinda and her entourage go to Arizona to try and settle down after the confrontations in the previous book.  When the dangerous rogue demon, Derek, appears out of nowhere and kidnaps her and guard Haric to the wastelands of Hell.  A nice side story involves another guard, the disfigured Ruric, and a blind woman, Mary.

Annotation by: St. Louis Public Library staff.

The haunted side of St. Augustine, Florida is the backdrop for this story of ghosts and serial killers, modern and historic.  Historian Sarah returns to the town of her birth and gets the opportunity to purchase an old house that she has loved since she was a child.  When a renovation crew discovers a number of Civil War era bodies enclosed in one of the walls, she sets out to discover the truth about the bloody history of her new home.  Caleb works for a P.I. firm that investigates crimes as well as paranormal activity.  He is in town to search for a woman missing for over a year.  Another young woman who looks very similar to the first woman has just been taken.  Caleb is drawn to Sarah's house and to Sarah and the two of them soon discover that old evil and contemporary evil are about to collide.

Annotation by: St. Louis Public Library staff.

Albright served as U.S. secretary of state from 1997 to 2001, the first woman ever to hold the position. Here, she tells the stories behind her many pins and jewelry collected on her diplomatic trips around the world.