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In a fusion of fact and fiction, nineteenth-century women institutionalized as hysterics reveal what history ignored “ City of Incurable Women is a brilliant exploration of the type of female bodily and psychic pain once commonly diagnosed as hysteria—and the curiously hysterical response to it commonly exhibited by medical men. It is a novel of powerful originality, riveting historical interest, and haunting lyrical beauty.” — Sigrid Nunez , author of The Friend and What Are You Going Through “Where are the hysterics, those magnificent women of former times?” wrote Jacques Lacan. Long history’s ghosts, marginalized and dispossessed due to their gender and class, they are reimagined by Maud Casey as complex, flesh-and-blood people with stories to tell. These linked, evocative prose portraits, accompanied by period photographs and medical documents both authentic and invented, poignantly restore the humanity to the nineteenth-century female psychiatric patients confined in Paris’s Salpêtrière hospital and reduced to specimens for study by the celebrated neurologist Jean-Martin Charcot and his male colleagues. Maud Casey is the author of five books of fiction, including The Man Who Walked Away , and a work of nonfiction, The Art of Mystery: The Search for Questions . A Guggenheim Fellow and recipient of the St. Francis College Literary Prize, she teaches at the University of Maryland.

Murder can be most foul… Is a sweet ending possible when a rival meets his bitter end? Marilyn Hayes, amateur sleuth and owner of SubLime Sweets, Key West’s most popular pie shop, is stunned when a nearby rival starts selling Key Lime pie. The pie mysteriously tastes all too similar to Marilyn’s, and when her rival starts giving his Key Lime pie away for free, Marilyn’s business takes a huge hit. Furious, she tries to beat him at his own game, but when she lashes out, and her rival is later found dead in his shop, her actions look more than suspicious. A special investigator comes in to tackle the case, and his gaze is laser-focused on Marilyn…as the prime suspect. With business dwindling rapidly, and a detective who is ready to close the case and throw Marilyn in jail, the stressed-out pie baker has to find the real killer before it’s too late. Will she clear her name and save her business? Find out in this delicious Cozy Culinary Mystery!

Revenge may be best served cold… But the right pie can be murder. Key Lime pie shop owner, Marilyn Hayes, moved to the sublime paradise of Key West after her divorce to make a new life for herself and her daughter. With unshakable determination, and a killer recipe for Key Lime pie, she grew her home-based business into a thriving enterprise and opened a shop across the street from the beach. Life was sunny and sweet, until murder walked into Marilyn’s quirky little shop, bringing with it a whole heap of trouble. When a man is found dead, and her daughter is implicated in the crime, Marilyn reluctantly becomes an amateur sleuth, sniffing out clues and putting herself in danger in the process. Will her determination and smarts lead her to catch a criminal? Or, will she get caught up in a dangerous game of cat and mouse? Find out in this fast-paced Culinary Cozy Mystery!

Real life can be ugly sometimes… But not as ugly as reality TV. SubLime Sweets owner and amateur sleuth, Marilyn Hayes is in quite a pickle when a reality show producer asks to visit her store, with cast and cameras in tow. She’s hesitant, but when her daughter, Tiara convinces her that the publicity would boost their business, she agrees. Marilyn gets more than she bargained for when Tiara has a showdown with one of the reality celebrities, and things really heat up when a body is found. The stressed-out baker has her hands full, and grows even more agitated when her creepy new neighbor keeps dropping in on her. Suspects abound, and unfortunately, Tiara is among them. Will Marilyn be able to get to the bottom of the case before her daughter is dragged off to jail? Find out in this delightful Cozy Culinary Mystery!

When the cynic... Fredi doesn’t believe in love. She might be a successful bridal gown designer but that’s just business. Sure, she’s watched her three best girlfriends fall head over heels with the men of their dreams but she’s certain that’s not in the cards for her. That doesn’t mean that she’s not interested in some fun with a handsome movie star––one who just happens to be her assigned date for her best friend’s wedding in Monaco. Meets the movie star... Zayn’s used to women falling at his feet so he’s utterly captivated by Fredi’s quick wit and her refusal to be impressed by him. Their chemistry is off the charts and their connection is something unexpected. Sparks are about to fly... With only a few days before Fredi disappears back to her life, Zayn is determined to convince her that she can trust him with the one thing she swore to never give anyone–her heart. Each book in the Girls Weekend Away series is STANDALONE: * What Happens in Vegas * Meet Me In San Francisco * The Nashville Bet * A Match Made in Monaco

Part memoir, part cultural exploration, this book covers the author’s journey as she grows up in an evangelical Christian home, leaves religion behind as a young adult, and goes on to raise children in a family outside of religious belief. Maria Polonchek weaves a personal story with up-to-date studies and philosophic exploration of what it means to raise secular children in an otherwise religious world. Offering careful and respectful advice for other parents who are raising their children outside of a particular religious belief system, she explores the many other ways of instilling identity, belonging, and meaning into our lives and the lives of children. Honest and irreverent, the author admits to her religious “baggage” and searches for better understanding of such topics as religious education, morality, awe, death, purpose, and meaning, and tradition from secular perspectives. She interviews experts, looks at various studies, and turns to a variety of sources for answers, while maintaining a casual and personal tone. While she ultimately argues for parents to let their children shape their own beliefs, she encourages families to tend to existential and social needs that sometimes go unnoticed or unconsidered in life outside religion.