Agnes is a food writer in the humorous Agnes and the Hitman who's hit more than one cheating man with a pan.

Shane kills people for a living. The two meet when someone breaks into Agnes' old southern mansion and threatens her with a gun. Despite Agnes' skill with a skillet, Shane's uncle, an ex-mobster, calls him home to Keyes, South Carolina, in order to protect Agnes. Sparks fly between the two even as more strangers with guns show up and Agnes prepares the house for her

In Victorian-era London, Gabriella Montini, the key character in The Virgin's Secret, is intent on tracking down a priceless ancient seal that her late brother believed could help uncover the lost city of Ambropia.

If you enjoyed Steve Knopper's take on digital music in Appetite for Self-Destruction, you might like Greg Kot's Ripped: how the wired generation revolutionized music, which looks at the same issues but with a focus on how musicians--rather than record labels--have reacted to the shift toward MP3s and the distribution issues that come

"My family has a grand tradition. After a woman gives birth, she goes mad. I thought that I would be the one to escape." So begins Adrienne Martini's candid, compelling, and darkly humorous history of her family's and her own experiences with depression and postpartum syndrome, Hillbilly Gothic : a memoir of madness and motherhood.

Along with her own

A debut novel, Inside the Whale,features two characters separated by fate. In the summer of 1939, Stevie and Michael are young lovers. They are torn apart by war when Michael is sent to fight in Africa and doesn't return.

At the opening of My Heart Remembers, the Irish-immigrant parents of three young children are killed in a devastating

Join us for a reading from award-winning Canadian author Bonnie Burnard, author of A Good House, at the Central Library. She will read from her new work entitled "Suddenly".

Get a head start on reading the newest stars from Canadian authors this fall.

The Brutal Telling by Louise Penny. Chief Inspector Gamache and his team follow the trail of clues after a murdered man is discovered in the woods at a summer vacation destination.

The Man Booker Prize, one of the most prestigious fiction awards, will be awarded on October 6, 2009. In the meantime, here are the shortlisted titles. If you are looking for something to read, one of these is a good bet.

Here are some of the books featured on BookNet's Top 20 Health and Fitness Titles: