Greed. Envy. Sex. Property. In her subversively funny and genuinely moving new novel, Jane Smiley nails down several American obsessions with the expertise of a master carpenter. Forthright, likable Joe Stratford is the kind of local businessman everybody trusts, for good reason. But it's 1982, and even in Joe's small town, values are in upheaval: not just property values, either. Enter Marcus Burns, a would-be master of the universe whose years with...

"This summer, meet your neighbors. The residents of the exclusive cul-de-sac on Alton Road are entangled in a web of secrets and scandal utterly unknown to the outside world, and even to each other. On the night of the annual Summer block party, there has been a murder. But, who did it and why takes readers back one year earlier, as rivalries and betrayals unfold-discovering that the real danger lies within their own block and nothing-and no one-is...

A novel on the witness protection program. The heroine is Lacey Farrell of New York, a real estate agent who witnesses a murder. The police relocate her to Minneapolis, but she is lonely, makes phone calls to her mother and the killer finds out

"Melanie has grown accustomed to renovating old houses, but she never imagined she'd have to renovate her own life to include her estranged mother. Ginnette Prioleau Middleton left Charleston thirty-five years ago. She's returned wanting to protect the daughter she's never really known after receiving an ominous premonition. Melanie never wanted to see her mother again, but with some prodding from her partner, Jack Trenholm, she agrees-and begins...

"A young workaholic avoiding home for the holidays discovers that you can't run away from who you are. Everly Lancaster always dreamed of leaving her hometown in rural Illinois. Now she helps run a burgeoning startup in Chicago, where her professional goals leave little time for friends ... or a vacation. When a massive snowstorm hits, Everly's mother urges her to come home for Christmas, but she hesitates to return to the life she's worked so hard...

Realtor and amateur sleuth Darby Farr is back in her Maine hometown for the highly anticipated wedding of her fellow real estate associate, Tina Ames. But the festive mood on the snow-swept island of Hurricane Harbor is darkened when the body of Lorraine Delvecchio-- the police chief's assistant-- is found tangled in a lobster trap near the abandoned lighthouse on the Manatuck Breakwater. Darby uncovers evidence that the death was more than just a...

"Darby arrives in Manhattan for a much-anticipated visit with Miles Porter -- and to find a dream property for her client Hideki Kobayashi -- only to learn that Miles is a suspect in a murder investigation. Russian businessman Alec Rodin was stabbed to death near Miles' office after a public confrontation between the two men. It doesn't help matters that Miles and Rodin's fiancée live in the same ritzy apartment building. Darby and Miles set out...

"It's the season of new beginnings for Helena and Gilly. Gilly runs her own B&B business from her much-loved family home, which she doesn't want to part with - at any price. But that's before she meets handsome estate agent Leo. Soon he has her wondering whether it's finally time to sell up and try something new in life. Meanwhile, Gilly's daughter Helena has a budding romance of her own. A talented weaver, she's becoming very close to her new landlord...