Books published by Random House Publishing Group

New York Times bestselling author Betina Krahn breathes life into history in a spellbinding tale of a legendary swordswoman, a time of bloodlust and myth, and a love story so powerful it will take your breath away.A Woman's HeartStrong, stunning, and breathtakingly fierce...Aaren Serricksdotter is the eldest daughter of a Viking sword stealer and a beautiful Valkyr. But for the power of a long-ago enchantment, none shall know the true secrets of her heart-perhaps, not even herself. A Man BeguiledHeir to the Norse high-seat, Jorund Borgerson is torn between the ferocious legacy of his clan-and his secret vow to bring peace to his people. Until he meets a distant clansman's daughter, a ravishing warrior who rouses Jorund like no other.Bound together by a force as mysterious as it is powerful, Jorund and Aaren must discover the secret of their remarkable union. For in this time of violence and chaos, two great warriors must prepare for a final battle-a journey beyond the bloodshed...to a true enchantment that is the birthright of every man and woman who has ever loved.

As her myriad of fans can attest, USA Today bestselling author Mary Daheim creates wonderful mysteries peopled with marvelous characters as quirky as they are endearing. The Seattle Times says Daheim is "one of the brightest stars in our city's literary constellation"-and the popularity of her irresistible Pacific Northwest crime series has swept across the nation. For a small town newspaper like The Alpine Advocate, a new play at the local community college is big news. Editor and publisher Emma Lord is duty-bound to attend opening night, but expects the amateur enterprise will serve only as a cure for insomnia. The play is dubbed "a black comedy," but the only laughs Emma gets are from the bad acting and the wretched script. And while the turgid production makes Wagner's Ring cycle seem like a vignette, the real drama begins just before the final curtain. Hans Berenger, dean of students, wasn't well known or well liked around Alpine, but the audience found his death scene genuinely convincing-until they realized he wasn't acting. No one can say how or when the blanks in the prop gun were replaced with the real bullets that killed Berenger, but the list of suspects reads like a playbill of the cast and crew. They all had opportunity, access, and their own axes to grind with the thespically challenged dean. Seeking the assistance of Vida Runkel, the Advocate's redoubtable House and Home editor, Emma Lord vows to unravel a mystery that spirals out into unexpected places. As Emma sets the stage for the most likely suspect, she finds herself in a two-character scene whose next cue could make the resolute editor take a final-and permanent-bow.

WHAT'S ONE LITTLE WHITE LIE?Okay, so it isn't that little. It's kind of a whopper. It's just that when Natalie Raglan ups and quits her job at a Bath advertising firm, breaks up with her loser-ish boyfriend, and moves-to London! Things don't quite turn out the way she planned. Having made the brave move to the Big City, the lifelong country mouse finds that living chic is still a long way off. Even Cressida, the girl who used to rent her tiny flat, still gets more phone calls and mail there than Nat does. Come to think of it, Cressida Langdon's life looks pretty appealing-especially when an invitation to the posh, exclusive Soho House club arrives, addressed to Cressida. Before she really knows what she's done, Nat has opened Cressida's mail . . . and taken up her life. Soon Nat's dating a gorgeous investment banker named Simon, giving "reiki healing sessions,” wearing wonderful clothes, and partying with the A-list at Soho House. But the best part really is Simon. He's everything Nat has ever wanted. The problem is he thinks she's someone else. And as her life and her lies begin to spiral out of control, Nat can't help but wonder: Will she be exposed as a liar and a fake-or be saved from ruin by simply claiming good intentions. . . .

She's drop-dead gorgeous. But one of the guys she's met online might be a stone-cold killer. A chilling game of lies, secrets, and manipulation awaits in R. L. Stine's dark, sexy thriller-now an MTV original series starring Victoria Justice. Lindy Sampson is a beautiful twenty-three-year-old New Yorker with an unusual problem: She's too beautiful, and guys are intimidated by her. Her roommate suggests Internet dating and writes a personal ad for Lindy, calling her "Eye Candy." The responses pour in. Suddenly, Lindy is dating four guys at once-and having the time of her life. Until she gets a terrifying note that warns: "Don't say no, Lindy. Keep going out with me. I'll mess you up if you ever say no." Which one of her admirers is a deadly freak? Lindy is now forced to say yes to everything the four men ask of her-dates, invitations to spend the night, anything. From the East Village to the Hamptons, panic and paranoia shadow her every move. Lindy suspects everyone, even the one person she thought she could trust. But Lindy Sampson doesn't know the half of it-and what she doesn't know could kill her.

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER *; Journey to Star Wars:The Force Awakens ';Star Wars: Aftermath [reveals] what happened after the events of 1983's Return of the Jedi. It turns out, there's more than just the Empire for the good guys to worry about.'The Hollywood Reporter As the Empire reels from its critical defeats at the Battle of Endor, the Rebel Alliancenow a fledgling New Republicpresses its advantage by hunting down the enemy's scattered forces before they can regroup and retaliate. But above the remote planet Akiva, an ominous show of the enemy's strength is unfolding. Out on a lone reconnaissance mission, pilot Wedge Antilles watches Imperial Star Destroyers gather like birds of prey circling for a kill, but he's taken captive before he can report back to the New Republic leaders. Meanwhile, on the planet's surface, former rebel fighter Norra Wexley has returned to her native worldwar weary, ready to reunite with her estranged son, and eager to build a new life in some distant place. But when Norra intercepts Wedge Antilles's urgent distress call, she realizes her time as a freedom fighter is not yet over. What she doesn't know is just how close the enemy isor how decisive and dangerous her new mission will be. Determined to preserve the Empire's power, the surviving Imperial elite are converging on Akiva for a top-secret emergency summitto consolidate their forces and rally for a counterstrike. But they haven't reckoned on Norra and her newfound alliesher technical-genius son, a Zabrak bounty hunter, and a reprobate Imperial defectorwho are prepared to do whatever they must to end the Empire's oppressive reign once and for all.Praise for Aftermath ';The Force is strong with Star Wars: Aftermath.'Alternative Nation ';The Star Wars universe is fresh and new again, and just as rich and mysterious as it always was.'Den of Geek';[Chuck] Wendig neatly captures the current states of the Empire and Rebel Alliance and does so through flawed, real, and nuanced characters. His writing gets you up close and personal. . . . Wendig does wonders with dialogue and voice and carving out space for everyone to breathe. Aftermath is a strong foot forward into unexplored territory and puts down just enough foundation that you can start picturing the Resistance and First Order of The Force Awakens taking shape.'Nerdist ';If the opening chapter of the Wendig's Aftermath trilogy is any indication, the ';Journey to Star Wars: The Force Awakens' will be every bit as exciting as the movie.'New York Daily News ';A wonderful Star Wars adventure by a gifted author.'SF Book Reviews

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER *; Pulitzer Prize–winning author Jon Meacham helps us understand the present moment in American politics and life by looking back at critical times in our history when hope overcame division and fear.NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY NPR *; The Christian Science Monitor *; Southern Living Our current climate of partisan fury is not new, and in The Soul of America Meacham shows us how what Abraham Lincoln called the ';better angels of our nature' have repeatedly won the day. Painting surprising portraits of Lincoln and other presidents, including Ulysses S. Grant, Theodore Roosevelt, Woodrow Wilson, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Harry S. Truman, Dwight Eisenhower, and Lyndon B. Johnson, and illuminating the courage of such influential citizen activists as Martin Luther King, Jr., early suffragettes Alice Paul and Carrie Chapman Catt, civil rights pioneers Rosa Parks and John Lewis, First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt, and Army-McCarthy hearings lawyer Joseph N. Welch, Meacham brings vividly to life turning points in American history. He writes about the Civil War, Reconstruction, and the birth of the Lost Cause; the backlash against immigrants in the First World War and the resurgence of the Ku Klux Klan in the 1920s; the fight for women's rights; the demagoguery of Huey Long and Father Coughlin and the isolationist work of America First in the years before World War II; the anti-Communist witch-hunts led by Senator Joseph McCarthy; and Lyndon Johnson's crusade against Jim Crow. Each of these dramatic hours in our national life have been shaped by the contest to lead the country to look forward rather than back, to assert hope over fear—a struggle that continues even now.While the American story has not always—or even often—been heroic, we have been sustained by a belief in progress even in the gloomiest of times. In this inspiring book, Meacham reassures us, ';The good news is that we have come through such darkness before'—as, time and again, Lincoln's better angels have found a way to prevail.Praise for The Soul of America ';Brilliant, fascinating, timely . . . With compelling narratives of past eras of strife and disenchantment, Meacham offers wisdom for our own time.'—Walter Isaacson ';Gripping and inspiring, The Soul of America is Jon Meacham's declaration of his faith in America.'—Newsday';Meacham gives readers a long-term perspective on American history and a reason to believe the soul of America is ultimately one of kindness and caring, not rancor and paranoia.'—USA Today

A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away. . . .Bestselling Star Wars veteran James Luceno gives Grand Moff Tarkin the Star Wars: Darth Plagueis treatment, bringing the legendary character from A New Hope to full, fascinating life.He's the scion of an honorable and revered family. A dedicated soldier and distinguished legislator. Loyal proponent of the Republic and trusted ally of the Jedi Order. Groomed by the ruthless politician and Sith Lord who would be Emperor, Governor Wilhuff Tarkin rises through the Imperial ranks, enforcing his authority ever more mercilessly . . . and zealously pursuing his destiny as the architect of absolute dominion.Rule through the fear of force rather than force itself, he advises his Emperor. Under Tarkin's guidance, an ultimate weapon of unparalleled destruction moves ever closer to becoming a terrifying reality. When the so-called Death Star is completed, Tarkin is confident that the galaxy's lingering pockets of Separatist rebellion will be brought to heelby intimidation . . . or annihilation.Until then, however, insurgency remains a genuine threat. Escalating guerrilla attacks by resistance forces and newfound evidence of a growing Separatist conspiracy are an immediate danger the Empire must meet with swift and brutal action. And to bring down a band of elusive freedom fighters, the Emperor turns to his most formidable agents: Darth Vader, the fearsome new Sith enforcer as remorseless as he is mysterious; and Tarkinwhose tactical cunning and cold-blooded efficiency will pave the way for the Empire's supremacy . . . and its enemies' extinction.Praise for Tarkin ';Tarkin tells a compelling tale of mystery while revealing much about a character who has fueled debate among fans since 1977, as well as the oppressive regime he represents. [James] Luceno has proven once again that the villains of Star Wars are as much fun as the good guys.'New York Daily News ';Another home run in the new canon . . . This is the highest and best distillation of Tarkin stories, old and new, we've ever been given.'Big Shiny Robot ';A spectacular novel, with the intrigue, action, and profound characterization we have come to expect from the pen of Luceno . . . [Tarkin] provides a nuanced, multi-faceted anti-hero who is captivating, ominous, and calculating; in many ways, this is an origin tale of the Empire [and] a fascinating portrait of one of the more popular characters in the Original Trilogy. It may very well be one my favorite Star Wars novels.'Coffee with Kenobi ';A fascinating look at the pathos of one of the galaxy's most criminally underused characters.'TheForce.net

The Clone Wars are over, but for those with reason to run from the new galactic Empire, the battle to survive has only just begun. . . .The Jedi have been decimated in the Great Purge, and the Republic has fallen. Now the former Republic Commandosthe galaxy's finest special forces troops, cloned from Jango Fettfind themselves on opposing sides and in very different armor. Some have deserted and fled to Mandalore with the mercenaries, renegade clone troopers, and rogue Jedi who make up Kal Skirata' s ragtag resistance to Imperial occupation. Othersincluding men from Delta and Omega squadsnow serve as Imperial Commandos, a black ops unit within Vader's own 501st Legion, tasked to hunt down fugitive Jedi and clone deserters. For Darman, grieving for his Jedi wife and separated from his son, it's an agonizing test of loyalty. But he's not the only one who'll be forced to test the ties of brotherhood. On Mandalore, clone deserters and the planet's own natives, who have no love for the Jedi, will have their most cherished beliefs challenged. In the savage new galactic order, old feuds may have to be set aside to unite against a far bigger threat, and nobody can take old loyalties for granted.Features a bonus section following the novel that includes a primer on the Star Wars expanded universe, and over half a dozen excerpts from some of the most popular Star Wars books of the last thirty years!