New arrivals added to our Adult Fiction Collection in the last 7 days
"From Sophia Bannion's first day on the Storytelling team at HEBE, a luxury skincare/wellness company based in New York City's glitziest neighborhood, it's clear something is deeply amiss. But Sophia, pushing thirty with plenty of skeletons in her closetnext to the designer knock-offs, doesn't care. Though she leads an outwardly charmed life, she aches for a deeper meaning to her flat existence-and a cure for her brutal nail-biting habit. She finds it all and more at HEBE, and with Tree Whitesto
"'I'm not inarticulate, but I leave language to the room around me,' says Fine Fine Greab2l 's nameless narrator as she dreams of furniture flickering to life in the room she occupies at a temporary psychiatric care unit for young adults. A chair that greets you, or shiny tiles of floor that follow a peculiar grammar of their own. Our narrator is obsessed with the way items rise up out of their thingness, assuming personalities and private motives. She also cannot sleep, and practices her daily
"An African coup may force Josh Duffy to choose between his mission and his family in this intense thriller from the #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Gray Man series. Josh Duffy lives by a simple code: Duty. Honor. Family. But sometimes it's hard to know what order the words go in. Josh Duffy and his wife, Nikki, are both working for the State Department's Diplomatic Security Service, providing protection for diplomats in the field. They and their two children have been posted to Ghan
"Temperance Jean Madigan and Duncan Brady have never gotten it right. After one radiant, secret summer together when they were eighteen, they've been on-again off-again ever since. Now, despite red-hot chemistry and TJ's closeness with Duncan's family, they're virtually strangers, only capable of adversarial banter, awkward small talk-and the occasional messy hookup. When a wedding at the Bradys' vineyard lands TJ there for the summer, their mutual avoidance strategies prove impossible. The last
"A glimpse of a quickly melting corpse at the foot of a volcano has amateur sleuth and food enthusiast Valerie Corbin shocked. But how can she investigate a murder, when there's no evidence the victim ever existed?"--
"In the latest jaw-dropping thriller from New York Times bestselling author Riley Sager, a man must contend with the long-ago disappearance of his childhood best friend-and the dark secrets lurking just beyond the safe confines of his picture-perfect neighborhood"--
"Emlyn doesn't let herself think about the past. How she and her best friend, Janessa, barely speak anymore. How Tyler, the love of her life, left her half dead on the side of the road three years ago. Her new life is simple and safe. She lives alone in her Airstream trailer and works as a fishing and hunting guide in scenic Idaho. Her closest friends are the community's makeshift reverend and a handsome Forest Service ranger who took her in at her lowest. But when Tyler shows up with the news t
''Malie Pukui doesn't believe in happy ever after. After a tragedy caused her to flee her family and friends in Devon she found a fresh start in Hawaii. Here, working at a surf school, she can give back to those in need and try to overcome the greatest loss in her life. Moved around foster homes throughout his childhood, Todd Masters has worked hard to be able to offer a brighter future to young disadvantaged children. Now he has his own charitable foundation working with a surf school in Hawaii
"Aima and Kalu are a long-time couple who have just split. When Kalu, reeling from his loss, visits a sex party hosted by his best friend Ahmed, he makes a decision that will plunge them all into chaos, brutally upending their lives. Ola and Souraya, twoNigerian sex workers visiting from Kuala Lumpur, intersect with the three old friends as everything goes to hell. Sucked into the city's corrupt underworld, they're all looking for a way out of the trouble they've instigated, driven by loss and f
"From his youth as a revolutionist to his time as a Deputy U.S. Marshal, aging lawman Iron St. John has become a larger-than-life figure-and in the process, the man has disappeared behind the myth. During his brief, unsuccessful political career, St. Johnpublished his memoirs-a sanitized version of his adventures to appeal to the masses. A generation later, the clouded truth of this giant of the Old West has been all but lost. Now, Buck Jones, a pioneering film star, is vying for a cinematic sto
In everyone's eyes, Prince Huai is a blight on the virtues of the imperial court. When others come to him to conspire for a coup, he takes this chance to prove his loyalty once and for all.
Date added:
Apr 22, 2024
"Max Maury should be on top of the world. He's a famous horror director. Actors love him. Hollywood needs him. He's making money hand over fist. But it's the 80s, and he's directing cheap slashers for audiences who only crave more blood, not real art. Notreal horror. And Max's slimy producer refuses to fund any of his new ideas. Sally Priest dreams of being the Final Girl. She knows she's got what it takes to score the lead role, even if she's only been cast in small parts so far. When Sally mee
"After a deployment in the Iraq War dually defined by threat and interminable mundanity, Joseph Thomas is fighting to find his footing. Now a doctoral student at The University, and an EMS worker at the hospital in North Philly, he encounters round the clock friends and family from his past life and would-be future at his job, including contemporaries of his estranged father, a man he knows little about, serving time at Holmesburg prison for the statutory rape of his then-teenage mother. Meanwhi
"A tender, funny, and fresh novel about a gay writer in New York City whose life is irrevocably altered, and then again thirty years later"--
"When two sisters in their twenties go missing while investigating a series of brutal murders committed over two decades before, Kendra Michaels joins the search for the missing women. The sisters' mother was one of the victims, and police seem to have had little interest in actively pursuing the cold case. Armed with the box of photos, videos, police reports and notes gathered by the sisters over the years, Kendra's investigation takes her to nearby Catalina Island, a peaceful hamlet that may b
"Daphne McFadden is tired of rejection. After submitting her manuscript to dozens of agents, she's gotten rejection after rejection, and now it's time for something drastic. And so, Daphne submits her manuscript again... under a man's name. Imagine her surprise when it sells for big money at an auction and soon becomes a publicity darling. Only problem: she needs a man to play her super macho alter ego Zane Remington. Enter Chris Stanton, who absolutely looks the part of a survivalist and has a
Date added:
Apr 19, 2024
" ... a new collection of tales exploring the irradiated post-apocalypse of the 23rd century and the worlds we've built up from the ashes."--
"1985, Rhode Island. A private jet carrying four partners of a Providence law firm crashes outside New York City, killing all aboard but leaving behind more questions than answers and setting the stage for four widows to find the truth. Justine: a formerfashion model adjusting to suburban life. Camille: a beautiful, young second wife whom some suspect is a gold digger. Meredith: a stripper who was in a relationship with the firm's only female partner. Krystle: a founding partner's wife committed
"Avalie Monfared has a theory about saying "I Do"-that the magic ends there. After thirteen years of magic-free marriage to her high school sweetheart, she's discovered where it went: gambling and prostitutes. Now, Ava is on a quest to rediscover herself-and men. Her soul-searching finds her living on a succession of friends' and family's couches, which happen to be in some of the most luxurious zip codes in and around Los Angeles. What follows is an unpredictable summer full of shamans, attack
"On the night before graduation, seven students gather in the basement of their university's rare books library. They're not allowed in the library after closing time, but it's the perfect place for the ritual they want to perform--one borrowed from the Greeks, said to free those who take part in it from the fear of death. And what better time to seek the wisdom of ancient gods than in the hours before they'll scatter in different directions to start their real lives? But just a few minutes into
"Benefits of a summer romance: It's always fun, always brief, and no one gets their heart broken. Ali Morris is a professional organizer whose own life is a mess. Her mom died two years ago, then her husband left, and she hasn't worn pants with a zipper in longer than she cares to remember. No one is more surprised than Ali when the first time she takes off her wedding ring and puts on pants with hardware-overalls count, right?-she meets someone. Or rather, her dog claims a man for her in the sa
Date added:
Apr 19, 2024
"From acclaimed African-American novelist Trisha Thomas comes the story of Bailey Dowery, a Black dressmaker in 1950s Oklahoma whose gift of "second sight" pulls her into a dangerous small-town scandal involving a society wedding, a murder, and shocking family secrets"--
"Brooklyn-based Hannah is a bestselling author struggling to write her second book after personal losses. Her older sister, Sara, still lives in Chatham, Cape Cod, where they grew up, and is married with four children. Once a dedicated librarian, Sara dreams of reviving her love affair with literature, but instead, she is stuck with too many family responsibilities and a fizzling marriage. When Hannah gets the chance to retreat to her aunt's oceanfront house in Chatham for the summer, it seems l
"Ashanti Wright is ecstatic over the success of her dog boarding business, Barkingham Palace. In fact, it has become so successful that Ashanti has plans to expand her empire with a doggie bake shop. There's just one problem, the building she's had her eye on has just been sold to the surly grandson of one of her favorite customers. Thaddeus Sims is not a dog person. He's barely a person's person. But when his grandmother is transferred to a senior living facility that doesn't accept pets, the f
"Winnifred "Win" McNulty has always been wildly independent and not one to be coddled for her limb difference. Win has spent most of her life trying to prove that she can do it all on her own. With some minor adjustments, she's done just fine. Then a one-night stand at a costume party with the incredibly charming Bo changes everything. Win finds herself pregnant--and decides to keep it. While Bo is surprisingly elated to step up to the plate, Win is unsure of whether she can handle this new chal
"Genevieve Raymond was born an overachiever. After opening a hot new hotel chain location in Panama, she's on track for a major promotion. But first, she desperately needs a break, even if her overbearing mother doesn't approve. For two glorious weeks, Gen's giving herself permission to explore the beautiful beaches of Colaon-and the stimulating attraction she shares with her sexy-as-hell driver, Adriaan Nicolas. After a family tragedy, Adriaan's recently shifted his own focus to prioritizing th
"Can comedy be taught? Someone, at some point, seemed to think so. The Chicago Stand-Up program has enrolled young comedians for nearly a decade. Its teachers and students all know how bits work-in theory, at least. They know that there's a line between sharp and cruel, that sad becomes funny at the right angle, that the worst is the best, the truth is the worst, and any moment of your life that isn't a punchline will either get you to a punchline or force you to be one. They're all afraid to be
"A young woman discovers the love and family she has always longed for when she spends a life-changing summer at her grandparents' old house in North Carolina"--
"Lose yourself in this enemies-to-lovers romance set on a sunny Malibu hillside Ivy Bauer is a young, bright environmental scientist, PhD candidate, and inventor of a game-changing organic irrigation system. She's on top of the world when, suddenly, her husband is killed in a biking accident. Needing space to grieve, she takes a summer job as a gardener in Malibu. Conrad Reed is a wealthy Hollywood has-been who, after the death of his young wife, feels overwhelmed by the care of his rambunctious
""Three times that day someone pushed roses into her arms - yellow roses each time, until they reached Dallas. There, the roses were red." (November 22, 1963) And so begins Jackie, a spellbinding, deeply researched novel which goes back in time to imagineJacqueline Kennedy Onassis is telling us the first-person story of her life. At the center of this book is the love story of Jackie and Jack, beginning when Jackie is 21 and meets the charismatic Congressman at a dinner party in Georgetown. She
"An addictive coming-of-age story that follows the meteoric rise of pop star Amber Young as she navigates fame and self-discovery in the late 90s and early 2000s It is 1997, and Amber Young has received a life-changing call. It's a chance thousands of girls would die for: the opportunity to join girl group Cloud9 in Los Angeles and escape her small town. She quickly finds herself in the orbits of fellow rising stars Gwen Morris, a driven singer-dancer, and Wes Kingston, a member of the biggest b
"A novel by a brilliant new voice, Hombrecito is a queer coming-of-age story about a young immigrant's complex relationships with his mother and his motherland"--
Beauty school dropout Casey Walsh returns home to run her family's tavern and steer clear of mechanic Boone Murphy, the boy who once stole her heart, but fate has other plans when her car breaks down and he comes to her rescue on what's supposed to be hiswedding day.
"As a Hungarian immigrant working as a studio hack writing monster movies in 1950s Hollywood, George Curtis must navigate the McCarthy-era studio system filled with possible communists and spies, the life of closeted men along Sunset Boulevard, and the inability of the era to cleave love from persecution and guilt. But when Madeline, a famous actress, offers George a writing residency at her estate in Malibu to work on the political writing he cares most deeply about, his world is blown open. So
Arriving in California to recover from a possible career-ending injury, dancer Beth Spence manages widower Eli Murphy's veterinary clinic while staying in his guest house, and despite their undeniable attraction, she has every intention of returning to New York and he has no intention of loving and losing again.
"This tight-knit, four-person unit has worked together to save countless lives and stop out of control fires before they cause major destruction. They've also stolen millions from banks, jewelry stores, and art galleries. Under the cover of saving the city, they've used their knowledge and specialist equipment to become the most successful heist crew on the East Coast. Andy Nearland is the newest member of the unit, and she's helping them prepare for their largest heist yet -- New York's largest
"A heartwarming novel about a dad who whisks his 11-year-old daughter away to a week-long father-daughter camp to bond before he loses her to teenage girlhood entirely, and ends up reconnecting with the person he gave up to become a Super Dad"--
"She's an honors student with ambitious graduate school plans and he's a jock with only hockey on his mind, but once their worlds collide, their connection is hot enough to melt an ice rink. An ultimatum from Summer Preston's thesis advisor thrusts her into an unexpected collision with the hockey team's captain, Aiden Crawford. She's caught between conflicting desires of fulfilling her lifelong dream of becoming a sport psychologist and staying as far away as possible from the god-awful sport. A
"Moonlight meets Purple Hibiscus in this gay coming-of-age novel from an astonishing young talent, set in post-military Nigeria and culminating in the Same-Sex Marriage Prohibition Act of 2014. Obiefuna has always been the black sheep of his family-sensitive where his father, Anozie, is pragmatic, a dancer where his brother, Ekene, is a natural athlete. But when an intimate connection blossoms between Obiefuna and a boy from a nearby village, happiness is fleeting once his father catches them to
"An epic, dazzling tale based on true events, The Ballad of Jacquotte Delahaye illuminates a woman of color's rise to power as one of the few purported female pirate captains to sail the Caribbean, and the forbidden love story that will shape the course of history"--
"Three tight-knit friends embark on an extravagant divorce trip to the Maldives where they can unwind and celebrate a new chapter in midlife - until they realize the resort of their dreams is harboring a killer"--
"A genre-bending story about love and loss, hope and heartbreak, and the healing to be found in life's little limbos, those in-between spaces where you're no longer who you were and not yet the person you will be. About her debut, Out of Love, Hazel Hayessaid, "The journey from writing horror to writing love stories was a short one. There is nothing more horrific than love." In her new novel, she sets out to prove it. This genre-defying, meta-modern novel is unlike anything you have ever read, a
Date added:
Apr 19, 2024
"From New Yorker and Paris Review contributor and Wallace Stegner Fellow Zach Williams comes a staggering debut story collection that confronts parenthood, mortality, and life's broken promises. Parents awaken in a home in the woods, again and again, to find themselves aging as their infant remains unchanged. An employee is menaced by a conspiracy-minded security guard and accused of sending a sinister viral email. An aging tour guide leads a troublesome group to the site of a UFO, witnessing th
A retired hitman's quiet life explodes into a desperate game of cat and mouse with a ghost from his past and a young assassin holding the key to a truth that could shatter his world.
"A masterful and redemptive retelling of the biblical story of the princess Tamar and her determination to reclaim her life and God-given purpose. Ahoti brings to life the Old Testament story of the biblical princess Tamar, the daughter of David, King ofIsrael. Tamar's search to overcome humiliation and betrayal after being assaulted by her brother takes her away from her childhood home and forces her to navigate the machinations of royal courts and play a fateful role in the lives of far-off ki
A tale of the forest preserves in Utah, featuring Ken Ward.
"Infamous social media influencer Evie Davis has spent her whole life online, since her mother shared a viral video of her at age five. When she suddenly disappears in the middle of a live stream, her older sister, Hazel, becomes determined to find Evie and the truth behind her disappearance"--
Date added:
Apr 15, 2024
Sometimes, wishes do come true... Brooke Weatherby is tired of being the dependable one, the boring one of everyone at Sanderling Cove. She agreed to come to the cove for the summer unaware her two cousins, Charlotte "Charlie" Bradford and Olivia "Livy" Winters, would also be there to help manage The Sanderling Cove Inn while her grandparents take a long road trip in Europe. More than anything, she wishes for independence from her role as a sometime caretaker of her mother, so she's free to fin
"Ani, journeying across a great distance accompanied by a stolen kitten, meets many people along her way, but her encounters only convince her that she is meant to keep searching. Annamae, journeying from childhood to young adulthood alongside her mother,older brother, and the denizens of her Manhattan neighborhood, never outgrows her yearning for a friend she cannot describe. From their different worlds, Annamae and Ani reach across the divide, perhaps to discover--or perhaps to create--each ot
"When Jasmyn and King Williams move their family to the planned Black utopia of Liberty, California, they hope to find a community of like-minded people, a place where their growing family can thrive. King settles in at once, embracing the Liberty ethos,including the luxe wellness center at the top of the hill, which proves to be the heart of the community. But Jasmyn struggles to fit in. She expected to find liberals and social justice activists striving for racial equality, but Liberty residen
"Lenny Marks is excellent at not having a life. She bikes home from work at exactly 4pm each day, buys the same groceries for the same meals every week, and owns thirty-six copies of The Hobbit (currently arranged by height). The closest thing she has toa friendship is playing Scrabble against an imaginary Monica Gellar while watching Friends reruns. And Lenny Marks is very, very good at not remembering what happened the day her mother and stepfather disappeared when she was still a child. The d
Date added:
Apr 15, 2024
"A horror novel about a haunting, told from the perspective of a young girl whose troubled family is targeted by an entity she calls "Other Mommy.""--
Date added:
Apr 15, 2024
Chu Wanning has slumbered for five years since Mo Ran rescued his soul from the underworld. He wakes to find the world changed--and the greatest change of all is to his disciple Mo Ran. Now grown up, Mo Ran is nothing like the callow youth he remembers, and Chu Wanning finds himself drawn to his disciple with a force he never anticipated. Meanwhile, Mo Ran has at last set aside the misunderstandings of two lifetimes. When his hatred for his teacher falls away, he finds the feelings beneath are n
Date added:
Apr 15, 2024
"Cruel tyrant Taxian-jun killed his way to the throne and now reigns as the first ever emperor of the mortal realm. Yet somehow, he is unsatisfied. Left cold and bereft, abandoned by all he held dear, he takes his own life...only to be reborn anew. Awakening in the body of his younger self-Mo Ran, a disciple of the cultivation sect Sisheng Peak-he discovers the chance to relive his life. This time, he vows to attain the gratification that once eluded him: all who defied him will fall, and never
Date added:
Apr 15, 2024
"Connecticut, 2022. Mallory Dunne has spent her life trying to be a good mother to her son, Sam. Raising him alone is hard, even with the help of her sister. Two years ago, Sam ingested a toxic mushroom and fell into a coma. Now recovered, he needs a newkidney to live a normal life, forcing Mallory to track down his father in the hope that they're a match. Her journey to find him again transports her back to the summer they spent on the paradise of Winthrop Island - a time of music, porch cockta
When a successful New York lawyer suddenly disappears without a trace, neither his wife nor his daughter Julia has any idea where he might be--until they find a love letter he wrote many years ago to a Burmese woman they have never heard of. Intent on solving the mystery and coming to terms with her father's past, Julia decides to travel to the village where the woman lived. There she uncovers a tale of unimaginable hardship, resilience, and passion that will reaffirm the listener's belief in th
"Sebastiaan lived a childhood of privilege in Mexico City. Now in his twenties, he has a degree from Yale, an American girlfriend, and a slot in the University of Iowa's MFA program. But Sebastiaan's life is shaken by the Trump administration's restrictions on immigrants, his mother's terminal cancer, the cracks in his relationship with his American girlfriend, and his father's forced resignation at the hands of Mexico's new president. As he struggles through the Trump and Laopez Obrador years,
"Poppy never dreamed she would find the love she's found with Prince Casteel. She wants to revel in her happiness but first they must free his brother and find hers. It's a dangerous mission and one with far-reaching consequences neither dreamed of. Because Poppy is the Chosen, the Blessed. The true ruler of Atlantia. She carries the blood of the King of Gods within her. By right the crown and the kingdom are hers. The enemy and the warrior... Poppy has only ever wanted to control her own life
If Elizabeth Ferguson had her way, she'd spend her days savoring good books, cooking great meals, and waiting for the love of her life to walk in the door. But it's not a man she's waiting for, it's her daughter, Rosie-her wild-haired, smart-mouthed, and wise-beyond-her-years alter ego. With Rosie around, the days aren't quite so long, but Elizabeth can't keep the realities of the world at bay, and try as she might, she can't shield Rosie from its dangers or mysteries. As Rosie grows older and m
"As they took turns pushing each other on the swing that hung from a large tree, the mature-for a five-year-old-Jacob Lantz asked Trini Sutter to marry him. The nine-year-old thoughtfully responded that she'd consider his proposal when they were older. Nearly two decades later, the Amish farmer returns to the beautiful countryside of Arthur, Illinois, to take the independent owner of The Quilt Room up on her promise. Quiet, handsome Jacob is truly in love with the spirited list maker, and Trini
Ryder Creed's top priority keep his scent dogs safe. That's why he's avoided nighttime searches. When a boy goes missing, Creed must put aside his fears and navigate the risks his dogs will face after dark.
The story of a teenage tennis star in a small town in northern California. She is Rosie, 13, and she has problems. Her mother is a recovering alcoholic still beset by grief over the early death of her first husband, Rosie's tennis partner is experimenting with sex and Rosie is attracted to a middle-aged man.
"In Anthony Burgess's influential nightmare vision of the future, where the criminals take over after dark, the story is told by the central character, Alex, a teen who talks in a fantastically inventive slang that evocatively renders his and his friends'intense reaction against their society. Dazzling and transgressive, A Clockwork Orange is a frightening fable about good and evil and the meaning of human freedom"--
When the late Billy Lynch's relatives and friends gather together to keep his memory alive, stories are woven and memories relived detailing his life in the close Irish-American community and the intricate feelings that resurface.
After the loss of a child along with a slew of agonizing misfortunes, Nick and Jess decide to end their lives. But nothing could prepare him for the nightmares he found...nothing could prepare him for The Black Farm.
"Pulitzer Prize finalist At Weddings and Wakes is "a brilliant, highly complex, extraordinary piece of fiction" (Chicago Tribune)"--
The women of the Sisterhood need to get Martine Connor into the White House in order to win their promised presidential pardon, and so they help her campaign against an opponent backed by Ruben Rumson, owner of Info Corp.
When Crispin, Lord Cavratt, thoroughly and scandalously kisses a serving woman in the garden of a country inn, he assumes the encounter will be of no consequence. But he couldn't be more mistaken--the maid is not only a lady of birth, she's the niece of a very large, exceptionally angry gentlemen, who claims Crispin has compromised his niece beyond redemption. The dismayed young lord has no choice but to marry Miss Catherine Thorndale, who lacks both money and refinement and assumes all men are
"The gods are at war, the Titans have been released, and Hades and Persephone must fight tooth and nail for their happy ending. Persephone, Goddess of Spring, never guessed that a chance encounter with Hades, God of the Underworld, would change her life forever-but he did. Now embroiled in a fight for humanity and battles between the gods, Persephone and Hades have entered a world they never thought they would see. To end the chaos, Persephone must draw upon her darkness and embrace who she's be
"Welcome back to Wells Landing, Oklahoma, the tranquil Amish community where still waters run deep and a brave young woman sets out to discover her faith, her family, and herself. . . Lorie Kauffman is grief-stricken when her father passes away unexpectedly. But her heartache quickly turns to bewilderment when she discovers he'd been leading two lives--one of simplicity and hard work in Wells Landing, and one fraught with painful ordeals in Tulsa. As she starts digging into her family's past, Lo
"In 1983, a wealthy businessman named Carl Fletcher is kidnapped from his driveway in the nicest part of Long Island, brutalized, and held for ransom. He is returned to his wife and kids less than a week later, only slightly the worse for wear, and the family begins the hard work of trying to move on with their lives and resume their prized places in the saga of the American dream, coming to understand that though their money may have been what put them in danger, it is also what guaranteed them
A young drifter with a passion for solitude and carpentry, Carlisle McMillan purchases some land near Wolf Butte, South Dakota, a region considered sacred by the Sioux, and sets out to build a life for himself among the locals.
"An astonishing novel about a young microbiologist investigating an unfathomable deep vent in the ocean floor, leading her on a journey that will encompass the full trajectory of the cosmos and the passage of a single human life. Leigh grew up in Rotterdam, drawn to the waterfront as an escape from her unhappy home life and volatile father. Enchanted by the undersea world of her childhood, she excels in marine biology, traveling the globe to study ancient organisms. When a trench is discovered i
From the celebrated author of the phenomenal bestsellers The Bridges of Madison County, Slow Waltz in Cedar Bend, and Old Songs in a New Cafe comes a moving, poignant, unforgettable novel of love and life. Border Music is the tale of Texas Jack Carmine, a man who inspires others to take risks and reach beyond the borders of their lives--while his own life is chained to the past and a tragedy he cannot overcome.