House On Fire

Divorce lawyer Leigh Huyett knows all too well that most second marriages are doomed to fail. But five years in, she and... (more)

Divorce lawyer Leigh Huyett knows all too well that most second marriages are doomed to fail. But five years in, she and Pete Conley have a perfectly blended family of her children and his. To celebrate their anniversary, they grab some precious moments of alone time and leave Pete{u2019}s son Kip, a high school senior, in charge of Leigh{u2019}s fourteen-year-old daughter Chrissy at their home. Driving back on a rainy Friday night, their cell phones start ringing. After a raucous party celebrating his college acceptance to Duke and his upcoming birthday, Kip was arrested for drunk driving after his truck crashed into a tree. And he wasn{u2019}t alone--Chrissy was with him. Twelve hours later, Chrissy is dead and Kip is charged with manslaughter. Kip has always been a notorious troublemaker, but he's also a star student with a dazzling future ahead of him. At first, Leigh does her best to rally behind Pete and help Kip through his ordeal. Until he changes his story, and claims that he wasn't driving after all--Chrissy was, and he swears there is a witness. Leigh is stunned that he would lie about such a thing, while Pete clutches onto the story as the last, best hope to save his son, throwing his energy and money into finding this elusive witness. As they hurtle toward Kip{u2019}s trial date, husband and wife are torn between loyalty to their children and to each other, while the mystery of what really happened that night intensifies. This richly conceived and tightly plotted exploration of family and tragedy will have you racing toward its shocking and thought-provoking conclusion. (less)

Beyond sounding an alarm, House on Fire identifies the key threat to our democracy{u2014}that the GOP has become a Trump... (more)

Beyond sounding an alarm, House on Fire identifies the key threat to our democracy{u2014}that the GOP has become a Trumpist authoritarian cult{u2014}and outlines how we fight back. A response that must include both citizen opposition and practical reforms, including an end to the Senate filibuster, discarding the Electoral College, expanding the Supreme Court, and requiring that justices adhere to a code of ethics. Cicilline actually believes in politics and the system. He used them both to deliver for the people in a once-corrupt city he ran as mayor and in Washington, where he has risen to help lead the Democratic Party in Congress. In House on Fire, Cicilline spares no one from criticism as he argues for a politics that produces results and warns that without it Trump, or someone worse, will take power in 2024 and make us wish for the days when the only thing we complained about was gridlock. (less)

Divorce lawyer Leigh Huyett knows all too well that most second marriages are doomed to fail. But five years in, she and... (more)

Divorce lawyer Leigh Huyett knows all too well that most second marriages are doomed to fail. But five years in, she and Pete Conley have a perfectly blended family of her children and his. To celebrate their anniversary, they grab some precious moments of alone time and leave Pete{u2019}s son Kip, a high school senior, in charge of Leigh{u2019}s fourteen-year-old daughter Chrissy at their home. Driving back on a rainy Friday night, their cell phones start ringing. After a raucous party celebrating his college acceptance to Duke and his upcoming birthday, Kip was arrested for drunk driving after his truck crashed into a tree. And he wasn{u2019}t alone--Chrissy was with him. Twelve hours later, Chrissy is dead and Kip is charged with manslaughter. Kip has always been a notorious troublemaker, but he's also a star student with a dazzling future ahead of him. At first, Leigh does her best to rally behind Pete and help Kip through his ordeal. Until he changes his story, and claims that he wasn't driving after all--Chrissy was, and he swears there is a witness. Leigh is stunned that he would lie about such a thing, while Pete clutches onto the story as the last, best hope to save his son, throwing his energy and money into finding this elusive witness. As they hurtle toward Kip{u2019}s trial date, husband and wife are torn between loyalty to their children and to each other, while the mystery of what really happened that night intensifies. This richly conceived and tightly plotted exploration of family and tragedy will have you racing toward its shocking and thought-provoking conclusion. (less)