When their mistress is murdered, Anouk and her fellow beasties have only three days until their enchantment ends and they are transformed back into animals, but in seeking to remain human, they threaten the hierarchy imposed by the society of magic handlers in Paris called the Haute.

Skeeter returns home to Mississippi from college in 1962 and begins to write stories about the African-American women that are found working in white households, which includes Aibileen, who grieves for the loss of her son while caring for her seventeenth white child, and Minny, Aibileen's sassy friend, the hired cook for a secretive woman who is new to town.

Janice is a collector of stories. When she starts cleaning for elderly Mrs. B, she finally meets someone who wants to hear her story. But Janice doesn't have a story, at least not one she can share.

The intertwined lives of the prominent Averley family and the servants of Somerton Court are forever changed when an old secret comes to light.

"Sophie Russell was once society's darling. But after the disgrace and death of her father, she now finds all doors firmly shut to her--including those of her family home. To discover the secrets now hidden within its beloved walls, she'll pose as a cook and spy on the estate's new owner, a broodingly handsome viscount, who may have schemed against the Russells. Instead of dishing up the truth, the viscount tempts Sophie with delicacies of his own"--Amazon.com....

"It's hard to find an employer who doesn't ask too many questions about my past. So I thank my lucky stars that the Garricks miraculously give me a job, cleaning their stunning penthouse with views across the city and preparing fancy meals in their shiny kitchen. I can work here for a while, stay quiet until I get what I want. It's almost perfect. But I still haven't met Mrs Garrick, or seen inside the guest bedroom. I'm sure I hear her crying. I...

"Orlando Edison is a stockbroker using London's infatuation with foreign mining ventures to make a fortune. He has curried favor with the nation's most respected aristocrats, even inviting three of the most influential investors in England--known as the Merry Gentlemen--to be part of his latest enterprise. Despite his mysterious past, Edison is now welcomed in the highest circles and moves with ease among the rich and powerful. Yet a few days before...

In 1620 an orphaned fifteen-year-old servant girl joins Separatists seeking religious freedom and others aboard the Mayflower as they undertake a perilous journey to the New World.

"September 1909, and Lady Hardcastle and her maid, Florence, have been invited to Lord Riddlethorpe's country estate for a week of motor racing and parties. They both agree that it sounds like a perfectly charming holiday. But when one of the drivers dies in a crash during the very first race, they discover that what seemed like an uncharacteristic error in judgement may have a more sinister explanation. Closer investigation reveals that the driver's...

"Spring, 1909, and Lady Hardcastle, amateur sleuth and all-round eccentric, is enjoying a well-deserved rest. But a week after a trip to the cattle market, Spencer Caradine, a local farmer, turns up dead in the pub, face-down in his beef and mushroom pie. Once again, it is up to Lady Hardcastle and her maid, Florence, to solve the case. Armed with wit and whimsy, not to mention Florence's mean right hook, the pair set out to discover what really happened...