Charming Billy is the winner of the 1998 National Book Award for Fiction.
Alice McDermott's striking novel, Charming Billy, is a study of the lies that bind and the weight of familial love, of the way good intentions can be as destructive as the truth they were meant to hide.
Billy Lynch's family and friends have gathered to comfort his widow, and to pay their respects to one of the last great romantics. As

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"Halle and her mother find unexpected solace on a tuberculosis ward in 1930s upstate New York"--Provided by publisher.

"In 1850, Sophie Neumann flees New York with her two young charges after witnessing a crime. Reinhold Weiss has finally purchased his own small farm when an old friend shows up, pleading for help. But how can he help her when mounting debts and past scars still haunt him?"-- 1850. After witnessing a crime, Sophie Neumann needs to flee New York with her two young charges. She manages to find passage to Illinois on an orphan train, with the aid of...

"After returning from her father-in-law's funeral in Florida, Lucy can almost hear the death knell of her part-time reporter job the instant she meets new hire Rob Callahan. He's young, ambitious, and positioning himself to become the Pennysaver's next star reporter. Adding insult to injury, Lucy only gets assigned the local St. Patrick's Day parade once Rob passes on the story. But before beer flows and bagpipes sound, Rob becomes suspected of destroying...

"Retired from the Navajo Tribal Police, P.I. Joe Leaphorn is hired to find the birth parents of a woman raised by a bilagaana family, which unexpectedly turns into a complicated case, while Officer Bernadette Manuelito investigates an explosion linked his investigation"--

Brett and Rory should never have met, and they absolutely, positively should never have had to deal with the consequences of one stupid, drunken night, one disastrous lie, one career in jeopardy, one missing football player, and a very dead body.

When Ren, a rare firebird, crashes into her life, mermaid Atana, determined to protect Ren, embarks on an adventure that takes them to strange new islands and entangles them with the powerful Witch Queen, who holds the key to Atana's past.

"A man presumed dead is suddenly wanted for murder in this thriller of secrets, lies, and dangerous conspiracies that threaten to cover up the truth ... Three years ago, sports agent Myron Bolitar gave a eulogy at the funeral of his client, renowned basketball coach Greg Downing. Myron and Greg had history: initially as deeply personal rivals, and later as unexpected business associates. Myron made peace and moved on--until now, when two federal agents...

"Maple Bishop is ready to put WWII and the grief of losing her husband, Bill, behind her. But when she discovers that Bill left her penniless, Maple realizes she could lose her Vermont home next and sets out to make money the only way she knows how: by selling her intricately crafted dollhouses. Business is off to a good start--until Maple discovers her first customer dead, his body hanging precariously in his own barn. Something about the supposed...

"Grace and her friends are still recovering from the evil attacks plotted by ancient warlord Daijiang when Nate suddenly reappears and whisks Grace away to the Dragon King's lair. There, she learns that Daijiang is searching for a powerful dragon stone that will help him take over the world--and that he has enlisted a terrifyingly fierce beast called Shadowfire to capture Grace. Pursued by the Shadowfire, Grace and her friends must get to Paris and...