On a road crew in California, a former colonel in the Iranian Air Force under the Shah yearns to restore his family's dignity. When an attractive bungalow comes available on county auction for a fraction of its value, he sees a great opportunity for himself, his wife, and his children. But the house's former owner and her lover don’t see it that way.

New England veterinarian, Jo Becker, has everything a woman could desire: a loving spouse, contented children, and a nice dog or two. When an old friend shows up at her office with his sick dog, Jo’s past comes back to haunt her. Long ago, it seems, Jo had escaped her family and identity for a commune in Cambridge. Her Aquarian illusions came to an abrupt, bloody end when one of her housemates was brutally murdered.

Drowning Ruth,

Drowning Ruth opens in 1919, on the heels of the influenza epidemic that followed the First World War. As a young woman, Amanda Starkey had been forbidden to marry a Catholic boy. A few years later, as a nurse in Milwaukee, a dishonorable man seduces her. She returns to the family farm in shame. Soon after Amanda’s return, her sister, Mathilde, drowns under mysterious circumstances
 

The Red Tent, by Anita Diamant

Dinah, daughter of Jacob from the Book of Genesis, tells the fascinating story of what transpires within the feminine world of the red tent.  Dinah whispers stories of her four mothers, Rachel, Leah, Zilpah, and Bilhah--all wives to Jacob. Eventually Dinah delves into her own saga of betrayals, grief, and a call to midwifery.

We Were the Mulvaneys,

The Mulvaneys are a happy family. But as we all know, Eden can't last forever. By the time all is said and done, a rape occurs, a daughter is exiled, much alcohol is consumed, and the farm is lost. 

Open House is a love story about what can blossom between a man and a woman, and within a woman herself. After Samantha’s husband leaves her, she reconstructs a life for herself and her 11-year-old son. 

The Blind Assassin, by Margaret Atwood

 The Blind Assassin is a tale of two sisters. One sister, Margaret, dies under ambiguous circumstances in the opening pages. The surviving sister, Iris, seems a little cold-blooded about this death in the family. But as the story unfolds as a novel within a novel, the reader is reminded just how complicated families can be.

Back When We Were Grownups, by Anne Tyler

 The first sentence of this novel sounds like something out of a fairy tale: "Once upon a time, there was a woman who discovered she had turned into the wrong person." Rebecca Davitch is having a late-middle-age crisis at the age of 53. She is the matriarch of a large family--and the proprietress of a party-and-catering business. After trying to recapture the life that might have been Rebecca discovers, "There is no true life. Your true life is the one you end up with, whatever it may be." 

The Bonesetter’s Daughter

Ruth’s mother, Lu Ling is suffering from Alzheimer's. Ruth translates Lu Ling's lengthy journal and learns that her mother was once a strong-willed, courageous girl who overcame a background of family secrets and lies, persevered despite romantic heartbreak and survived tremendous hardships and suffering in war-torn China.

Disobedience, by Jane Hamilton

 Henry, a lonely high school senior is the story’s narrator. He has inadvertently opened his mother's e-mail and discovered that she's having an affair with a violin player who lives in a log cabin just over the Wisconsin border. This knowledge frightens, angers, and intrigues him since he is in the throes of his first passionate relationship. Henry ponders the mysteries of love, sex, marriage, and duty.

Girl With a Pearl Earring,

 Vermeer’s painting, Girl with a Pearl Earring, has fascinated viewers for centuries. This novel by the same title centers on Vermeer's prosperous Delft household during the 1660s and 16-year-old, Griet, who is employed as a maid in the household.

The Last Time They Met,

 Famous poet, Tomas Janes and a successful writer, Linda Fallon, sustain a life-long passionate relationship even though they have been together only three times. Since last seeing him, Linda has married, given birth, and been widowed. Thomas' surprise appearance at a literary conference rocks Linda, raises questions she had long abandoned, and inspires new dreams.