NCW Libraries

Sarah Quinlan's husband, Jack, has been haunted for decades by the untimely death of his mother when he was just a teenager, her body found in the cellar of their family farm, the circumstances a mystery. The case rocked the small farm town of Penny Gate, Iowa, where Jack was raised, and for years Jack avoided returning home. But when his beloved aunt Julia is in an accident, hospitalized in a coma, Jack and Sarah are forced to confront the past that...

"All is calm in Melinda's hometown ... until outsiders start to shake things up. The quiet days of early winter make Prosper look like a scene from a snow globe. Holiday lights glow in every window, plans are being made for the Christmas festival, and greetings of good cheer fill the aisles at Prosper Hardware. Everything changes when a national magazine sets its sights on the town's newest business, creating controversy about the best way to put...

"Welcome to Maverick, Iowa. Once a thriving farm community, the peaceful little town is now a bristling hotbed of drugs, crime, and homelessness. Thanks to the misguided policies of a new state governor, the floodgates have been opened to a devastating and very unwelcome wave of newcomers, grifters, fentanyl dealers, thieves, and roving gangs of smash-and-grabbers--and one powerful billionaire who's buying up the farmland. Lifelong residents watch...

"Moving to the country has given Melinda a new set of skills, but does she have what it takes to fix matters of the heart? It's hard enough to let the past go, and let a new love in. But when a mysterious box is pulled from her farmhouse's crawlspace, she's torn between protecting the former owner's privacy and tracking down the woman he once loved. Prosper's Main Street may appear deserted on these sleepy summer afternoons, but there's plenty happening...

No one is exempt from the winds of change, and that includes the residents of little Prosper. Between debate about the fate of a vacant property and the rush to open the community center, new ideas are taking root all around town. But it's a season of secrets, too. Someone seeks a chance to start over, while others are too proud to ask for a helping hand. And as Melinda searches for answers to a decades-old rumor, she discovers the past is never far...

A dreamer builds a baseball diamond amid the Iowa cornfields and waits for the outstanding, but dead, baseball players of the past to show up for a very special game.

Patrice Powell is a New York-based magazine writer for European Art magazine. She reluctantly returns to her native Iowa to write a story about the death of Nan Wood Graham - the famous face of American Gothic. In returning to Iowa to research the story, she learns about her own connection to Nan Wood Graham, and the historic Stone City Art Colony. She makes a discovery that will change how the art world perceives American Gothic, and in doing so,...

"The first blush of spring finds Melinda filled with great expectations and high-flying goals. The charming farm and its critters are finally hers forever, and new life is popping up in unexpected places. But as the songbirds return and the garden's soil is turned, not everything's coming up roses: A no-nonsense housing inspector claims her sweet deal with Horace could come at a high cost, and her latest idea to improve life in her rural community...

Golden Age combines intimate drama, emotional suspense, and a full command of history, bringing to a magnificent conclusion the century-long portrait of one unforgettable family.

"She has matrimony on her mind--but not necessarily for herself. As summer slips in over the countryside, Melinda's focused on giving her farmhouse the facelift of a lifetime and preparing for Prosper's Founders Day festival. Her to-do list gets longer when Horace's great-niece suddenly needs a wedding venue. Melinda and her friends vow to give Jen a celebration she'll never forget--but will Jen be the only one to make a commitment? Love may be in...