Recommendations based on "Family & Felonies: A Necessary Evils Anthology"

From million-copy-bestselling author John Boyne, an inescapably gritty story about one young man whose direction in life takes a vastly different turn than what he expected.It’s the tabloid sensation of the two well-known footballers standing in the dock, charged with sexual assault, a series of vile text messages pointing towards their guilt. As the trial unfolds, Evan Keogh reflects on the events that have led him to this moment. Since leaving his island home, his life has been a lie on many levels. He’s a talented footballer who wanted to be an artist. A gay man in a sport that rejects diversity. A defendant whose knowledge of what took place on that fateful night threatens more than just his freedom or career. The jury will deliver a verdict but, before they do, Evan must judge for himself whether the man he has become is the man he wanted to be.

“Wise and heartbreaking” (Ann Napolitano), this captivating epic weaves the intimate lives of two Midwestern families across generations, from World War II to the late twentieth century.In the small Ohio town of Bonhomie, a stolen moment of passion, sparked in the exuberant aftermath of the Allied victory in Europe, binds Cal Jenkins, a man wounded not in war but by his inability to serve in it, to Margaret Salt, a woman trying to obscure her past. Cal’s wife, Becky, has a spiritual gift: she is a seer who can conjure the dead, helping families connect with those whom they’ve lost. Margaret’s husband, Felix, is serving on a Navy cargo ship; she will soon learn that he may have perished in a predawn attack in the Philippine Sea.As the country reconstructs during the postwar boom, a secret grows in Bonhomie—but nothing stays buried forever in a small town. Against the backdrop of some of the most transformative decades in modern America, the consequences of that long-ago encounter ripple through the next generation of both families, compelling them to re-examine who they thought they were, and what the future might hold.Sweeping yet intimate, rich with piercing observation and the warmth that comes from profound understanding of the human spirit, Buckeye captures the universal longing for love, and for goodness.

Single parent Paige Harmer is at her wit's end about her son. Dillon’s a good kid, but he’s fallen in with a bad crowd. She’s determined to enlist the help of her next door neighbor, the extremely handsome and much younger Tommy Godsoe. Tommy is a local cop, and until he got shot recently in a police raid, was a dog handler. His injury is such that he can never go back to field work, and he refuses to be a desk jockey. All he wants is to nurse his wounds in solitude, and he’s done a great job driving his friends and colleagues away. But Paige is an unstoppable force. Before he knows it, he’s drawn into their lives. As it turns out, Paige and Dillon are going to need a cop in their corner. And Tommy needs Paige to drag him out of his self-pity and back to life. 

"Locked up in a maximum-security prison, Romeo's highlight each week is a visit from Chad. Despite his friends, colleagues, and therapist all telling Chad to stop, he can't, and he becomes the only joy in Romeo's boring, bleak life.More than his need to kill, he needs Chad to live, but a Copycat killer has other ideas.At first flattered, Romeo relishes the new killer's triumphs, but as he countdown his victims, Romeo realizes the danger Chad's in, not only from the killer, but from his colleagues, and even more alarmingly, himself.Romeo must do something drastic to reunite the Monster and the Magpie, but the Copycat is closing in on Chad fast, and he's intent on doing the one thing Romeo couldn't, concluding his countdown, and claiming number one..." -- Provided by publisher.

#1 New York Times bestselling author Sherryl Woods brings readers two classic tales of the Devaneys...brothers torn apart in childhood, reunited by love. Michael's Discovery For years, Kelly Andrews has waited for her big brother's best friend to notice her. As the physical therapist assigned to his recovery, she's finally getting the chance. But navy SEAL Michael Devaney is broken in body and spirit, and all he sees is himself--as half a man. He's sure he'll never be enough for the beautiful and vibrant Kelly. Can Kelly convince him that he's all the man she would ever need? Patrick's Destiny Devastated by the discovery of a terrible family secret, Patrick Devaney has shut out the world. But enchanting kindergarten teacher Alice Newberry sees the hurt in his eyes and is determined to help Patrick find peace. She knows it will take a lesson in love and forgiveness to coax the brooding fisherman out of hiding. Soon, Patrick begins to hope, but before he can truly claim Alice as his own, he has to face the greatest challenge of his life--his past.

"In the span of a single tumultuous evening, Amal calls off his arranged marriage, comes out to his conservative parents, gets disowned, goes on a bender-- and wakes up next morning to find a lanky, dreadlocked vagrant named TJ in his kitchen. TJ claims that the two have made a drunken pact to travel from Berkeley, California to Providence, Rhode Island. As it happens, Amal promised his sister he'd be in Providence for her graduation the following week. As for TJ-- well, he's got his own reasons. The agreement is simple: Amal does the driving, TJ pays the way-- but a 3500 mile journey leaves plenty of time for things to get complicated"--Page 4 of cover

Jake offers to act as foreman of the family mine after a series of mysterious accidents have left Indigo's father seriously injured. But Jake's real motives are as secret as his true identity, and as personal as his growing attraction to Indigo. When Indigo and Jake are unfairly compromised, Indigo's sense of betrayal hardens into a wariness of Jake's tenderness and suspicion of his intentions. Will Jake's patient efforts to win over the outwardly rebellious, inwardly vulnerable Indigo be enough to break through her loving heart? Or will a devious villain's attempt to sabotage the mine also endangered their future together?

From an ordinary hood life to an extraordinary good life... Featuring Black Expressions Bestselling author Karen Williams, along with Brandi Johnson and Iniko, this book will have readers consumed with emotion. But before it all even begins, National Bestselling author, Kiki Swinson, holds no punches in her introduction to what is sure to be the journey of a lifetime. Edited by award winning author E. N. Joy, Even Sinners Still Have Souls hits readers hard in the gut with its twisted, edge of the seat storylines and plots. The characters draw the readers into their, often times, strange and distorted worlds. With conflict and tension so high, the reader is almost forced to mentally endure the same daily struggles as some of the characters. Even Sinners Still Have Souls goes beyond the typical love, power and respect. It branches off into a new dimension as characters try to go from just living the hood life, to living the good life. It's one of those few books sure to leave an imprint in the reader's mind, footsteps on their soul and a message in their heart.

Marshall only wanted to help his friends, to undo the pain of the past, but a few moments of thoughtless action changed everything. Altered Realities is the tale of a changed world. All bets are off. Nothing is as it was and what is to be is transformed too. Mark, Taylor, Ethan, Nathan, Brendan, Casper and nearly the entire cast of the Gay Youth Chronicles come together in a tapestry of tales as they all try to deal with the consequences of Marshall's actions. The road to hell is paved with good intentions.

Two boys. Two farms. One deadly secret.Every day's the same on the farm. Seventeen-year-old Seb rides his quad bike alongside his dad and cattle dog, dreaming about a different life. A life that doesn't require him to spend all day in the blistering sun. Where the nearest town isn't a forty-minute drive away with a population of fewer than three hundred people. Where he can talk to someone who isn't his little brother or short-tempered father.So when new neighbours move into the derelict farm on the opposite side of the shrub, Seb hopes his luck is finally about to change. Could Jake, the enigmatic boy with a dangerous glint in his eye, be his ticket out of The Nowhere? And if so, how far are they both willing to go to escape?Fast forward two decades and Seb's working as a nurse back in Perth. With his dad living in his home, Seb is tormented by the demons that have followed him his entire adult life. He begins confiding in his caring colleague Sandra, who convinces him the only way he'll be able to move forward is to exorcise his ghosts and seek closure.But when Jake calls out the blue telling Seb he's coming to visit, Seb has to decide whether he's ready to face exactly what happened that summer. On the night that forever changed not only the lives of the two boys, but that their entire families.Youthful, brutal and ferociously fantastic, The Nowhere is a coming-of-age novel about aspiration and isolation, sexuality and sadness, love, loss, and how life changes. Despite his best efforts, Seb learns that secrets can't be kept forever. The truth always comes out eventually.You can't keep it secret forever, the truth always comes out eventually.