Book Buzz

Looking for a good book? Ask at the Reference Desk for a suggestion or two. Whether you are a reader who likes romance, mystery, fantasy, science fiction or historical books, our librarians can assist you in finding that next great read.

The Scarecrow–Review

The Scarecrow by Michael Connelly
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I wait for a Michael Connelly crime title like I used to await Christmas morning with great expectation and a bit of dizzy joy. Although instead of ripping off the paper cover and devouring it like a chocolate-covered cherry—I take my time reading it—savoring his musical language and getting to know his characters as they and I are engaged with the clever and stimulating plot.

Pursuing a big story in anticipation of his imminent layoff, Los Angeles reporter Jack McEvoy (The Poet 1996) investigates the murder confession of a teen drug dealer and realizes that the youth may be innocent, a discovery that pits him against a serial killer operating below police radar. He teams up with his old flame FBI agent Rachel Walling and both sexual tension and brilliant detecting ensue.

In this effort, Connelly describes a horrendous serial killer chase juxtaposed to his elegy to newspaper reporting and the print medium. The whole growth of the Internet and the tension it presents between old and new methods of communication and data storage as well as a brand new supply of crimes is very well researched and explicated.

Using alternating point of view between villain and reporter, Connelly builds tension expertly, using dramatic irony to its fullest potential. The worst part of reading a Connelly novel is that it inevitably ends. Heavy Sigh.

Leane


The Manual of Detection–Review

The Manual of Detection by Jedediah Berry
berrydetection Unexpectedly promoted to detective when his predecessor goes missing and a supervisor is killed, agency clerk Charles Unwin struggles with inexperience and nerves during a case in which he encounters bizarre clues and is framed for murder. In a giant and rigidly Pinkerton-like bureaucratic agency, Charles Unwin is the personal clerk for legendary detective Travis Sivart. The detail-minded Unwin loves his job, but when Sivart suddenly goes missing, Unwin is unwillingly promoted to fill the vacancy. He only wants to solve one case: he wants to find Sivart so he can go back to being a clerk. In his first novel, Berry has created a wonderful and fantastic world, a vintage mystery seen through a hall of fun-house mirrors.

This first novel is both homage and a satiric look at detective fiction and is also reminiscent of Jasper Fforde’s Thursday Next series twisted take on literature and the nature of writing, as well as the intrigue of undercover work. This clever novel both amuses and confuses as the reader discovers puzzle boxes within puzzle boxes and you wander through the characters waking and sleeping moments. Critics have compared Berry to both Kafka and Paul Auster and agree that this first effort is wildly inventive and loads of fun for both mystery and fantasy lovers alike.

Leane


New Fiction for June 2009

newfictiondisplay

Click on the titles below to search the catalog

Berentson, Jane. Miss Harper can do it. [Smart Funny Women]
Diary format

Bond, Larry. Cold choices. [SUSPENSE]
Captained by former naval pilot Jerry Mitchell, the USS Seawolf is on a reconnaissance mission deep in the frigid Barents Sea when the Russian nuclear sub Severodvinsk attempts to run it off. A miscalculation on the Russian captain’s part, however, damages the Seawolf and sends his own sub to the sea floor. As the air runs out in both subs, Captain Mitchell must decide–does he put his own crew at risk in a desperate attempt to rescue the aggressors, or does he return his badly damaged sub to port?

Brennert, Alan. Moloka’i. [HISTORICAL]
Seven-year-old Rachel is forcibly removed from her family’s 1890s Honolulu home when she contracts leprosy and is placed in a settlement, where she loses a series of new friends before new medical discoveries enable her to reenter the world.

Bruen, Ken. Sanctuary. [MYSTERY]
When a letter containing a list of victims arrives in the post, P.I. Jack Taylor tells himself that its got nothing to do with him. He has enough to do just staying sane. His close friend Ridge is recovering from surgery, and alcohols siren song is calling to him ever more insistently. A guard and then a judge die in mysterious circumstances. But it is not until a child is added to the list that Taylor determines to find the identity of the killer, and stop them at any cost. What he doesnt know is that his relationship with the killer is far closer than he thinks. And its about to become deeply personal.

Cantrell, Rebecca. A trace of smoke.
Even though hardened crime reporter Hannah Vogel knows all too well how tough it is to survive in 1931 Berlin, she is devastated when she sees a photograph of her brothers body posted in the Hall of the Unnamed Dead. Ernst, a cross-dressing lounge singer at a seedy nightclub, had many secrets, a never-ending list of lovers, and plenty of opportunities to get into trouble. Hannah delves into the city’s dark underbelly to flush out his murderer, but the late night arrival of a five-year-old orphan on her doorstep complicates matters.

Chenoweth, Emily. Hello goodbye.
Mothers & daughters/New Hampshire

Child, Lee. Gone tomorrow: a Reacher novel. [SUSPENSE]
In this 13th Reacher novel, the former army MP confronts a possible suicide bomber on a nearly deserted Manhattan subway car — a confrontation that will lead him back to the Soviet war in Afghanistan in the 1980s and forward to the war on terrorism. It turns out that Susan Mark’s life was critical to dozens of others in Washington, California, and Afghanistan … from a former Delta Force operator now running for the U.S. Senate to a beautiful young woman with a story to tell, but can Reacher sort through their lies in time to save himself and help a woman police officer.

Coben, Harlan, Long lost. [SUSPENSE]
Myron Bolitar hasn’t heard from Terese Collins since their torrid affair ended ten years ago, so her desperate phone call from Paris catches him completely off guard. Now a suspect in the murder of her ex-husband in Paris, Terese has nowhere else to turn for help. Myron heeds the call but then a startling piece of evidence turns the entire case upside down.

Connelly, Michael, The scarecrow. [SUSPENSE]
Newspaperman Jack McEvoy decides to use his final days at the LA Times to write the definitive murder story of his career. Focusing on the case of Alonzo Winslow, a 16-year-old drug dealer in jail after confessing to a brutal murder, Jack realizes that Winslow’s so-called confession is bogus and that the real killer is operating completely below police radar–and with perfect knowledge of any move against him.

Cook, Claire, The wildwater walking club.
Female friendship

Coyle, Harold, Rapiers and goose quills. [SUSPENSE]
Friendly Fire Iraq

Davis, Lindsey. Alexandria: a Marcus Didius Falco novel. [MYSTERY]

De Jonge, Peter. Shadows still remain. [MYSTERY]
New York

Drake, John, Flint and silver: a prequel to Treasure Island. [HISTORICAL ADVENTURE]

Fitten, Marc, Valeria’s last stand.

Freveletti, Jamie. Running from the devil. [SUSPENSE]

Gordon, Emily Fox, It will come to me.
Teachers

Grant, Andrew, Even. [SUSPENSE]
David Trevellyan is a Royal Navy intelligence operative who usually works undercover, sometimes with the approval of his masters and sometimes not. Now he has no choice but to go it alone. If Jack Reacher had a younger brother, he’d be David Trevellyan. Lee Child does have a younger brother, and his name is Andrew Grant.

Gunn, Robin Jones, Sisterchicks in wooden shoes!: a sisterchicks novel. [Smart Funny Women]

Hart, John, The last child. [MYSTERY]
After his twin sister Alyssa disappears, thirteen year-old Johnny Merrimon is determined to find her. When a second girl disappears from his rural North Carolina town, Johnny makes a discovery that sends shock waves through the community in this multi-layered tale of broken families and deadly secrets.

Housewright, David, Jelly’s gold. [MYSTERY]
Rushmore McKenzie, a retired St. Paul policeman and unexpected millionaire, often works as an unlicensed P.I., doing favors as it suits him. When graduate students Ivy Flynn and Josh Berglund show up with a story about $8 million in missing stolen gold from the ’30s, McKenzie is intrigued. But they aren’t the only ones looking. So are a couple of two-bit thugs, a woman named Heavenly, a local big-wig, and others. When Berglund is shot dead outside of Ivy’s apartment, the treasure hunt turns unexpectedly deadly. McKenzie is looking for more than a legendary stash from seventy-five years ago, he’s looking for a killer and the long hidden truth behind Jelly’s gold.

Huston, James W. Marine One. [SUSPENSE]
On its way to a top-secret meeting at Camp David, the helicopter carrying the president crashes, killing everyone on board. Annapolis attorney Mike Nolan is hired by the helicopter’s manufacturer to defend it against lawsuits, but the more that Mike learns, the more questions he has. First of all, was there a mechanical defect, or was the helicopter sabotaged?

Jones, Wendy P. Waves crashing.
Riley Brennan is a freshman at the only high school in the small, quaint New England town. When tragedy strikes her family, she is forced to search deep inside her core for the strength to handle its rip tide effects. Riley’s journey compels her to discover who she is, as well as the difference between family values and the value of family.

Keane, Mary Beth. The walking people.
Greta Cahill never believed she would leave her village in the west of Ireland until she found herself on a ship bound for New York. Labeled a “softheaded goose” by her family, Greta discovers that in America she can fall in love, raise her own family, and earn a living. Though she longs to return and show her family what she has made of herself, her decision to spare her children knowledge of a secret in her past forces her to keep her life in New York separate from the life she once loved in Ireland, and tears her apart from the people she is closest to. Even fifty years later, when the Ireland of her memory bears little resemblance to that of present day, she fears that it is still possible to lose all when she discovers that her children–with the best of intentions–have conspired to unite the worlds she’s so carefully kept separate for decades.

Khoury, Raymond. The sign. [SUSPENSE]
In this gripping thriller, a scientific expedition in Antarctica stops for a live news feed. As the CNN journalist Gracie Logan begins her report, a massive, shimmering sphere of light suddenly appears in the sky, enveloping the ship in luminous white light before disappearing as mysteriously as it arrived–the entire event witnessed by an incredulous world audience. Meanwhile, a monk in Egypt experiences visions that seemed connected, and back in Boston, Matt Sherwood learns that his brother’s death may have been actually murder related to this erupting worldwide controversy over the meaning of this “sign” in the sky.

Lalami, Laila, Secret son.
Morocco

Larsen, Reif. The selected works of T.S. Spivet.
Debut–with drawings & text

Leonard, Elmore, Road dogs.
LA Swindlers

Liang, Diane Wei, Paper butterfly: a Mei Wang mystery.

Lipman, Elinor. The family man.

Listfield, Emily. Best intentions.

Lowry, Elizabeth. The Bellini Madonna.
Art Historians

Mandanipur, Shahriyar. Censoring an Iranian love story.

Marshall, Michael, Bad things. [SUSPENSE]

Marsot, Vanina. Foreign tongue: a novel of life and love in Paris.

McNulty, Bridget. Strange nervous laughter.
Set in the hottest summer Durban has ever known, this debut novel follows six quirky characters as they muddle their way through life.

Michaels, Anne, The winter vault.

Michaels, Fern. Razor sharp.
Sisterhood

Milne, Kevin Alan. The nine lessons: a novel of love, fatherhood, and second chances.

Palahniuk, Chuck. Pygmy.

Parker, John L., Jr. Once a runner.
Reissue

Patterson, James, The 8th confession. [MYSTERY]
The Women’s Murder Club faces its toughest challenge as Detective Lindsay Boxer investigates the high-profile murder of two San Francisco millionaires and reporter Cindy Thomas digs into the brutal slaying of a preacher with a message of hope for the homeless.

Pears, Iain. Stone’s fall.
In this dazzling historical mystery, John Stone, financier and arms dealer, dies falling out of a window at his London home. The quest to uncover the truth behind his death plays out against the backdrop of high-stakes international finance, Europe’s first great age of espionage, and the start of the twentieth century’s arms race.

Pelecanos, George P. The way home. [MYSTERY}

Peterson, Tracie. A dream to call my own.
Brides of Gallatin County; 3

Preston, Douglas J. Cemetery dance. [SUSPENSE]
After New York Times reporter William Smithback and his wife Nora Kelly, a Museum of Natural History archaeologist, are brutally attacked in their apartment on Manhattan’s Upper West Side, Pendergast–the world’s most enigmatic FBI Special Agent–returns to New York City to investigate a murderous Obeah cult.

Robinson, Patrick. Diamondhead. [SUSPENSE]
Iraq War

Rosenberg, Liz. Home repair.

Sandford, John, Wicked prey. [SUSPENSE]
Danger stalks Lucas Davenport at work and all too close to home when petty thief and paraplegic Randy Whitcomb targets Lucas’s pretty fourteen-year-old adopted daughter and a young man with the .50 caliber sniper rifle and the right-wing-crazy background roams through the city filled with the most powerful politicians on earth . . . .

See, Lisa. Shanghai girls. Two sisters leave Shanghai to find new lives in 1930s Los Angeles in this fresh, fascinating adventure.

Sekaran, Shanthi. The prayer room.
Searching for identity

Smith, Tom Rob. The secret speech. [MYSTERY]
Soviet Union

Smith, Wilbur A. Assegai. [SUSPENSE]
Espionage

St. John Mandel, Emily, Last night in Montreal.

Toibin, Colm, Brooklyn.

Updike, John. The widows of Eastwick.
Alexandra, Jane, and Sukie return to the old Rhode Island seaside town where they indulged in wicked mischief under the influence of the diabolical Darryl Van Horne.

Urrea, Luis Alberto. Into the Beautiful North.
Immigration

Waters, Sarah, The little stranger.
Ghost Story

Whitehead, Colson, Sag Harbor.
Adolescence


Revenge of the Spellmans–Review

The Revenge of the Spellmans by Lisa Lutz
spellmanrevenge
If you have not read any of Lisa Lutz’s delightful Spellman series books: (The Spellman Files, Curse of the Spellmans, Revenge of the Spellmans), then I highly suggest you do so this summer. Isabelle (Izzy) Spellman is our narrator and every book is done in a journal format with humorous footnotes and addenda. She is the oldest daughter in a private investigation family and that means she has “issues” with her parents, her younger sister Rae (precocious and cunning), her brother David (perfect lawyer and son). Having just completed the delightful third book, I highly recommend you start with the first one so that you have a complete overview of the characters. It will only make your experience an even funnier one. In the first book, Izzy Spellman launches her career as a private investigator while working for the firm of her outlandishly dysfunctional family as they search for her missing sister. In the second, Izzy struggles to retain her private investigator’s license after a pseudo engagement and her fourth arrest, a challenge that is further complicated by David’s marriage to her best friend Petra and Rae’s teenage angst. And in the third: Isabel pursues therapy while trailing her newest client’s errant wife, Rae faces skyrocketing expectations in light of her high SAT score, and Henry (the detective on Rae’s disappearance in the first) disrupts the family with a new love interest. Evanovich fans may find this series exactly what they need for a fix of fun—not as much sexual tension (ST) but there is some…but the laugh out loud moments are really excellent. Izzy’s voice is sarcastic and honest. These books are part farce and parody of the PI business/mystery and also a look at modern relationships. The pages easily turn as you wonder what is going to happen next to Izzy and to those around her.

In addition to fans of Janet Evanovich’s Stephanie Plum books, Kathleen Bacus’s Calamity Jayne novels, Toni Causey’s Bobbie Faye series, and Leslie Langtry’s “Greatest Hits” romances featuring the Bombay family assassins will enjoy Lutz’s Spellman books.

Leane


Books By the Lake–July 15, 2009

The next gathering of Beebe Library’s book discussion group, Books By the Lake, is on July 15, 2009 when the book group will meet at a group member’s home for a potluck and a discussion of Doris Kearns Goodwin’s Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln.

People may start arriving at 6:00pm for the potluck. The book discussion will begin at 7:30pm.

Please contact the group leader, Leane Ellis, for information on where the group will meet.

Doris Kearns Goodwin’s Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln. NON-FICTION

Goodwin’s perspective offers fresh insights into Lincoln’s leadership style and his deep understanding of human behavior and motivation. The author makes the case for Lincoln’s political genius by examining his relationships with three men he selected for his cabinet, all of whom were opponents for the Republican nomination in 1860: William H. Seward, Salmon P. Chase, and Edward Bates.


Pride and Prejudice and Zombies-Review

Pride and Prejudice and Zombies: The Classic Regency Romance - Now with Ultraviolent Zombie Mayhem! by Jane Austen and Seth Grahame-Smith.
prideprejudicezombies
This is a delightful parody of a classic that will appeal to both die hard Austen fans with a sense of humor and those who like their zombies meandering and mindless. I laughed so hard in parts that I had to take deep breaths to regain my senses. I am an Austen fan so I felt that the liberties taken by Grahame-Smith by inserting the zombies into the text was artful and well-considered. The violence is actually quite civilized–there is brain-chomping and limb-rending but also Elizabeth Bennet and her sisters as Buffy-like zombie-slayers. For more than 50 years, we learn, England has been overrun by zombies, prompting people like the Bennets to send their daughters away to China for training in the art of deadly combat, and prompting others, like Lady Catherine de Bourgh, to employ armies of ninjas. This gives the Elizabeth/Lady de Bourgh conversation a whole different “spin.” Hilarious! Does the book still have the happy-ever-after-ending–you bet–and then some, because now Bennet & Darcy fight back-to-back as well as mind-to-mind. Yee-Haw!

This is sure to be one of my favorite zombie books as well as my favorite Austen.

Leane Ellis


Savory Summer Selections

Mystery DisplayAward winners are a great resource to turn to when you are looking for a sure-bet title to please your reading palate. Aside from some obvious sources like the National Book Awards and the Mystery Writers of America’s Edgar Awards—there is a group of librarians (RUSA) who choose the best genre fiction of the year—fantasy, historical, horror, mystery, romance, science fiction, suspense, and women’s fiction. Often this list intersects with other “best” lists, but what is always compelling about this group of titles is that often it is the under-appreciated writer that gets a nod. These writers often experiment with different ways of telling stories, in addition to producing books that readers will savor for a long time.

Kim Wilkins’ “The Veil of Gold,” is an enthralling fantasy tale of love and self-discovery set in Russia. Daniel and Rosa split up long ago, but the discovery of a golden bear acts as a catalyst for their reunion and the vehicle that transports Daniel into the magical parallel universe of Skazki. Daniel can’t escape or protect himself from treacherous magic; Rosa can’t rescue him until she completes the impossible tasks of all good fairy tales. Wilkins’s human characters are endearing and her mythic monsters spring into vibrant life. This Australian author blends dark urban fantasy with adventure/intrigue in a story that combines Russian myth and modern sensibilities. If the fairy tale/parallel world themes appeal to you, you may want to pick up John Connolly’s “The Book of Lost Things.” Taking refuge in fairy tales after the loss of his mother, twelve-year-old David finds himself violently propelled into an imaginary land in which the boundaries of fantasy and reality are disturbingly combined.
Featured New Fiction
Rich in authentic detail, “The Steel Wave: A Novel of World War II,” is Jeff Shaara’s exploration of the days before and immediately after D-Day. This historical novel, a second installment in the World War II trilogy that includes “The Rising Tide” takes readers from D-Day through the battle for Normandy, while imagining the experiences of ground soldiers as well as such figures as Bradley, Patton, and Eisenhower. Shaara portrays his characters as human and fully capable of pettiness, making mistakes and committing atrocities. Intense, compelling, and thoroughly researched, this is much more than just an excellent historical novel. If WWII is your area of historical interest, David L. Robbins’ “Liberation Road” contains similar thematic content and another perspective on the supply troubles that plagued both sides of the fight. This book chronicles the interlocking stories of three men trying to move supplies to the constantly shifting Allied front after the D-Day invasion.

Horror is a great summer read because there is a lot more daylight to protect readers as they shudder in fear. At first look Toby Barlow’s “Sharp Teeth” seems to be about L.A. gangs and turf wars; however, this is an adrenaline-packed, fast-paced, darkly comic horror/thriller about the fantastical world of the urban werewolf. Anthony, a kindhearted, down-and-out dogcatcher, is caught in the middle of savage pack rivalry because of the girl he loves, a female werewolf. The touching moments between the woman and Anthony work as powerfully as the most graphic violence in the story. Barlow’s debut depicts the lives of seemingly ordinary people who have crossed the boundaries between human and beast. Written in a free verse style like the beat of rock ‘n roll lyrics, this style perfectly complements the action as it moves from slower-paced narratives to short, jagged scenes of graphic violence and heartbreak. The dark humor and grim story line will immediately draw in fans of other neo-horror novels, such as Christopher Moore’s “You Suck: A Love Story,” but Barlow’s style is wholly his own.

In “The Garden of Evil” by David Hewson, a surplus of clues baffle detective Nic Costa (sixth in a mystery series) and the Rome police upon discovering seemingly unrelated murder victims in an artist’s studio where the murder scene mirrors a scandalous Caravaggio painting. If you like the “what if?” aspect of mysteries, pick up Jennifer Lee Carrell’s “Interred with Their Bones.” Receiving a mysterious box from her eccentric mentor, who claims it contains a newly found work by Shakespeare, theater director and scholar Kate Stanley is horrified when her theater is burned to the ground and her mentor killed. Kate’s use of her academic skills to decode letters and other historical artifacts will appeal to “Da Vinci Code” fans, the fast-paced globe-trotting action to Robert Ludlum readers, and the exploration of the Shakespeare mysteries to English majors everywhere.

C.J. Box has been around awhile with his excellent Joe Pickett mystery series, but his novel, “Blue Heaven,” is for those readers who enjoy fast-paced, edge-of-your-seat suspense. In the woods of northern Idaho, 12-year-old Annie and her little brother William find themselves on the run after witnessing a brutal murder. While hiding in a barn, they are discovered by Jess Rawlins, a man with his own problems. Rawlins and another very unlikely ally search for justice as the story line whips from one startling event to another.“Booklist” reviewer Keir Graff writes that Box “builds suspense so brilliantly that ‘Blue Heaven’ could serve as a textbook of how to do it.” If you have read this title and you are looking for another contemporary Western with an infusion of thriller; Michael McGarrity’s Kevin Kerney series is an excellent procedural series to explore.

Historical romance won accolades through Joanna Bourne’s “The Spymaster’s Lady.” To save herself, one of Napoleon’s most skillful spies must help a British spymaster escape from a French prison. Annique Villiers and Robert Grey are enemies, but neither can avoid the smoldering attraction that draws them together. While the two match wits across France and England, their chemistry raises the stakes in the deadly game they must play. In her exceptional debut romance, Bourne deftly distills danger, deception, and desire into a seamlessly constructed story that will captivate readers with its irresistible combination of superbly nuanced characters and a whirlwind plot. The second in the series, “My Lord and the Spymaster,” also entices with subtle subterfuge and heated romance. Fans of this winning combo of spies and spice may want to pick up “The Spy Wore Silk” by Andrea Pickens, the first in the Merlin’s Maidens trilogy. At Mrs. Merlin’s Academy for Select Young Ladies, young street orphans are pulled from the street, transformed into English spies for the Crown, including Siena, who is given the mission to infiltrate an elite circle of British aristocrats, including the reclusive Earl of Kirtland, to find a traitor selling state secrets.

Hunter’s Run” by George R.R. Martin, Gardner Dozois and Daniel Abraham is the Science Fiction selection. On the planet Sao Paolo, a prospector kills a man in a barroom brawl and flees into the mountains looking for that one great score that will lift him out of poverty. Instead, he finds an alien race in hiding. The aliens force him to chase another man who has observed them. The mission, of course, is to keep the aliens’ existence a secret. This novel is a gripping, thoughtful adventure about the “other” and how it changes people and takes on new meanings. For a Science Fiction romp that also has action and secret aliens, try Matthew Reilly’s “Contest.” Unwittingly entered into a dangerous contest along with his young daughter, Stephen Swain is placed into the labyrinth of the New York Public Library from which only one of seven contestants will emerge alive.

Kate Maloy’s “Every Last Cuckoo” is an excellent example of fine women’s fiction. After a long marriage, 75-year-old Sarah finds that widowhood unexpectedly closes some doors and opens others. As she slowly relearns how to live again, her unorthodox approach to adding new members to her household reminds her of her mutigenerational home during the Great Depression and makes her determined to build new memories for the future. Maloy’s wordplay and startling nature imagery are enchanting. Readers may also enjoy Anne Rivers Siddons “Off Season” in which a widow returns to her family cottage in Maine, her late husband’s ashes and ornery cat in tow, and ponders her first experience of love and loss or Anne Tyler’s “Before We Were Grownups.” Rebecca Davitch is a fifty-three-year-old grandmother who discovers that she has turned into the wrong person. She begins an exploration to find out who she really is.


Supper Sleuths Read…June 2009

**Highly Recommended by readers

Ablow, Keith. Denial. Frank Clevenger; bk.1 addiction fiction

Bentley, E.C. Trent’s Last Case. (1978/1993) Trent series. Very British.

Blair, Annette. A Veiled Deception: A Vintage Magic Mystery. Romance writer and it shows.

Block, Lawrence. Lucky at Cards. Hard Case Crime series. (Disappointing) Seedy characters and sleazy motives.

Brand, Christianna. Green for Danger. Inspector Cockrill mystery; bk.2. British.

Burke, James Lee. Sunset Limited. Dave Robicheaux series

**Connelly, Michael. The Poet. Followed by The Narrows & The Scarecrow. Serial killers & Jack McEvoy.

Craig, Philip. A Vineyard Chill. Final in J.W. Jackson series.

Ephron, Hallie. Never Tell a Lie. Suspense.

** Franklin, Ariana. Mistress of the Art of Death. !st in Historical series. Excellent Audio.

Frey, Stephen. The Successor. Christian Gillette series. Suspense.

Harrod-Eagles, Cynthia. Gone Tomorrow. Bill Slider series. Great Britain.

**Kostova, Elizabeth. The Historian. Literary Suspense/Gothic/Horror retells Dracula

Liang, Diane Wei. Paper Butterfly. Mei Wang mystery.

Massey, Sujata. Girl in a Box. Rei Shimura. Japanese Mystery.

McCall Smith, Alexander. Tea-time for the Traditionally Built. Precious series. Cozy

Parker, Robert. B. Night and Day: A Jesse Stone Novel.

Pearl, Matthew. The Last Dickens. Historical. (Disappointing) Convoluted plotting.

**Pelecanos, George. The Turnaround. Washington, DC suspense/fathers&sons

**Savage, Tom. Inheritance.
Precipice. Excellent suspense.

Spencer-Fleming, Julia. I Shall Not Want. Rev. Claire Fergusson & Russ Van Alstyne series; bk.6

**Stanley, Michael. A Carrion Death: Introducing Detective Kubu. Botswana–Like McCall Smith with a bit more violence & male POV. Excellent audio.

Swann, Leonie. Three Bags Full: A Sheep Detective Story. Yes, the solve the mystery.

Taylor, Andrew. Four Last Things. Roth Trilogy–1990s to 1950s backwards/
excellent plotting

**Thomas, Scarlett. Seaside. #3 Lily Pascale series

**Walker, Martin. Bruno, Chief of Police. New series. Cozy like Peter Mayle. France.


New Fiction for May 2009

Click on the titles below to search the catalog

Abdullah, Shaila, Saffron dreams.
Reflections of America series; bk. 5

Agarwal, Shilpa, Haunting Bombay.
Indian Ghost Story

Ahern, Cecelia, Thanks for the memories.
How can you know someone you’ve never met? Justin Hitchcock is divorced, lonely and restless. He arrives in Dublin to give a lecture on art and meets an attractive doctor, who persuades him to donate blood. It’s the first thing to come straight from his heart in a long time. When Joyce Conway leaves the hospital after a terrible accident, with her life and her marriage in pieces,
she moves back in with her elderly father. All the while, a strong sense of deja
vu is overwhelming her and she can’t figure out why.

Albert, Susan Wittig. Wormwood. [Mystery]
While getting some much needed rest and assisting with some herbal workshops, China Bayles stumbles over old secrets in a Kentucky Shaker village after a shocking death occurs during her stay.

Ames, Greg. Buffalo lockjaw.

Aridjis, Chloe. Book of Clouds.
Tatiana settles in Berlin, distancing herself from her family, and takes a job transcribing notes for historian, Doktor Weiss, who introduces her to Jonas, a meteorologist.

Backhaus, Bhira. Under the lemon trees.

Baldacci, David. First family. [Suspense]

Barnard, Robert. The killings on Jubilee Terrace: a novel of suspense.

Barr, Nevada. Borderline. [Mystery]
Hoping the adventure of a raft trip in Big Bend National Park will lift her spirits, Paul takes Anna Pigeon to southwest Texas. Instead of the soul-soothing experience they’d longed for, the couple finds a pregnant woman–more dead than alive–and soon they are sucked into a labyrinth of intrigue that leads from the Mexican desert to the steps of the Governor’s Mansion in Austin.

Barrett, Jo. Don’t let it be true.
Texas rich romance

Bausch, Richard, Peace.
Italy, near Cassino. The terrible winter of 1944. A dismal icy rain, continuing unabated for days. Guided by a seventy-year-old Italian man in rope-soled shoes, three American soldiers are sent on a reconnaissance mission up the side of a steep hill that they discover, before very long, to be a mountain. And the old man’s indeterminate loyalties only add to the terror and confusion that engulf them on that mountain, where they are confronted with the horror of their own time–and then set upon by a sniper.–From publisher description.

Beecroft, Alex. False colors.
Gay Historical Romance

Berg, Elizabeth. Home safe.
Recently widowed Helen Ames and her twenty-seven-year-old daughter Tessa discover that money has disappeared in several big withdrawals from the Ames’ retirement savings. What Helen’s husband did with all their money turns out to be provocative, revelatory–and leads Helen and her daughter to embark on new adventures, and change.

Boyden, Joseph, Through black spruce.
Ontario Cree Indians from Canadian writer

Brown, Dale, Rogue forces. [Suspense]
Scion Aviation International has been hired by the Pentagon to take over aerial patrols in northern Iraq as the U.S. military begins to downsize its presence there. But when Kurdish nationalist attacks led by the Republic of Turkey and joined by the new government in Persia invade northern Iraq, retired Air Force lieutenant-general Patrick McLanahan makes the decision to take the fight to the Turks.

Chamberlain, Marisha. The Rose variations.
1970s Minnesota

Clark, Carol Higgins. Cursed: a Regan Reilly mystery.
Private Investigator Regan Reilly moved from Los Angeles to New York City when she married her husband, Jack “no relation” Reilly, head of the NYPD Major Case Squad. To help a friend she ends up taking on a case that calls her back to her old stomping ground.

Clark, Mary Higgins. Just take my heart. [Suspense]
Emily Wallace, an attractive thirty-two-year-old assistant prosecutor and heart-transplant recipient, is given a plum assignment–the murder trial of theatrical agent Gregg Aldrich, accused of murdering his wife. During the trial, Emily experiences sentiments that defy all reason and continue after Gregg Aldrich’s fate is decided by the jury. In the meantime, she does not realize that her own life is now at risk.

Coelho, Paulo. The winner stands alone.
At the Cannes Film Festival, a successful, driven entrepreneur goes to the darkest lengths to reclaim a lost love. Captured in all their crassness are
producers, actors, aspiring starlets, supermodels, and notorious fashionistas,
whose lives and actions hold sway over millions.

Coles, William. Prelude.
Previously published as: The well-tempered clavier, 2007, London

Dahl, Kjell Ola, The man in the window.

Dallas, Sandra. Prayers for sale.
Set in the high country of Colorado during the Depression, this is the story of an unforgettable friendship between two women–eighty-six-year-old Hennie Comfort and seventeen-year-old Nit Spindle–and the deepest hardships and darkest secrets they shared with each other.

Diamond, Elizabeth. An accidental light.
Psychological drama in London

Dugoni, Robert. Wrongful death. [Mystery]
Just minutes after winning a $1.6 million wrongful-death verdict, attorney David Sloane confronts the one case that threatens to blemish his unbeaten record in the courtroom. Beverly Ford wants Sloane to sue the United States government and military in the mysterious death of her husband, James, a national guardsman killed in Iraq. While a decades-old military doctrine might make Ford’s case impossible to win, Sloane, a former soldier himself, is compelled to find justice for the widow and her four children in what is certain to become the biggest challenge of his career.

Dunn, Sarah, Secrets to happiness. [Smart Funny Women]

Elliott, Elissa. Eve: a novel of the first woman.
We’ve all heard the story of Adam and Eve and how they were banished from the Garden of Eden, but what happened after that? In this novel, which combines Biblical characters and ancient Mesopotamian culture, Eve finally tells her side of the story. Still wracked with guilt for succumbing to Lucifer’s temptation, Eve recounts how she and Adam wandered the world before settling down to create their own garden. Their success in cultivating the soil, however, is matched by their failure to manage their children. Daughter Naava falls in love with the prince of a neighboring city, which results in a clash of cultures that forces the family to flee, while Cain and Abel’s lifelong rivalry turns deadly in this “highly original look at Original Sin” (Kirkus Reviews).

Erastes. Transgressions.
Gay Historical Romance

Estleman, Loren D. The branch and the scaffold: a novel of Judge Parker. [Historical]

Ford, Jamie. Hotel on the corner of bitter and sweet.
Set in the ethnic neighborhoods of Seattle during World War II and Japanese American internment camps of the era, this debut novel tells the heartwarming story of widower Henry Lee, his father, and his first love Keiko Okabe.

Freeman, Brian, In the dark. [Mystery]
Thirty years ago, Jonathan Stride was a teenager in love with his soon-to-be wife, Cindy Starr, when her sister Laura was murdered. Though the police determined that a transient was responsible, both Jonathan and Cindy thought it unlikely. Now himself a detective in the Duluth police force–and a widower–Jonathan’s past is brought home to him when a former friend of Cindy’s returns with the intent to write a book about Laura’s murder.

Freeman, Castle, All that I have.
Sheriff Lucian Wing confronts a series of trials that test his work, his marriage, and the settled order of his life. Wing is an experienced, practical man who enforces the law in his corner of Vermont with a steady hand and a generous tolerance. Things are not as they should be, however, in the sheriffs small, protected domain. The outside world draws near, and threats multiply: the arrival in the district of a band of exotic, major league criminals; an ambitious and aggressive deputy; the self-destructive exploits of a local bad boy; Wings discovery of a domestic crisis. The sheriffs response to these diverse challenges calls on all the personal resources he has cultivated during his working life: patience, tact, and (especially) humor.

Glass, Matthew, Ultimatum.
World politics and global environmental change

Goodman, Matthew Aaron, Hold love strong
Queens, NY coming of age

Goudge, Eileen. The diary.

Graham, Heather. Nightwalker. [Suspense]
P.I. Dillon Wolf is fascinated by gambler Jessy Spearhawk and by the single word a dying man spoke: Indigo. From the glitz of the Vegas strip to a desert ghost town, the unlikely pair forge ahead with an investigation that will risk both their lives.

Griffin, Lynne Reeves. Life without summer.
Bereavement

Grippando, James, Intent to kill: a novel of suspense.
A fallen baseball star must use his new skills as Boston’s king of sports radio to outwit a dangerous caller and prove–live and on the air–that the hit-and-run that killed his wife was no accident.

Gruenenfelder-Smith, Kim. Misery loves cabernet. [Smart Funny Women]

Haddam, Jane, Living witness. [Mystery]
Gregor Demarkian

Haji, Nafisa. The writing on my forehead.
Muslim families

Halberstam, Joshua. A seat at the table: a novel of forbidden choices.
“Elisha walks through Brooklyn with side curls tucked behind his ears and an oversized black hat on his head. He is a Chassidic Orthodox Jew and the son
of a revered rabbi in whose footsteps he’s expected to follow. When he leaves
his insular world to take classes at a secular college, he vows to remain
unchanged…”–p.[4] of cover.

Hamilton, Jane, Laura Rider’s masterpiece.
After 12 years of marriage, successful plant-nursery owner Laura Rider shares everything with her husband Charlie…except a bed. Laura, who dreams of
becoming a famous author, encourages correspondence–and, later, an affair–
between Charlie and local radio personality Jenna Faroli in the hope that it
will provide her with material for her book. But when her plan works better than expected, Laura discovers that the price of her literary ambitions is higher than she anticipated.

Harris, Charlaine. Dead and gone. [Fantasy]
In Bon Temps, Louisiana, a race of unhuman beings–older, more powerful and far more secretive than vampires or werewolves– is preparing for war. And Sookie Stackhouse will find herself an all-too human pawn in their battle as she investigates the murder of a were-panther. Series basis for HBO series True Blood.

Harvey, Samantha, The wilderness.
Alzheimer’s disease

Helget, Nicole Lea, The turtle catcher.
This debut novel from memoirist Helget is set in rural New Germany, Minnesota in the early part of the 20th century and focuses on two immigrant families: the Richters and the Sutters. Liesel Richter, born with both male and female genitalia, lives a harsh and isolated life. Her only friend is the gentle Lester Sutter, brain-damaged from his abusive father’s beatings. As they grow, a tentative romance blossoms between them, only to be abruptly and violently ended by Liesel’s brothers.

Heller, Zoe. The believers.

Henriquez, Cristina, The world in half.
Miraflores has never known her father, and until now, she’s never thought that he wanted to know her. She’s long been aware that her mother had an affair
with him while she was stationed with her then husband in Panama, and she’s
always assumed that her pregnant mother came back to the United States alone with his consent. But when Miraflores returns to the Chicago suburb where she grew up, to care for her mother at a time of illness, she discovers that her mother and father had a greater love than she ever thought possible, and that her father had wanted her more than she could have ever imagined.

Higginbotham, Susan. The traitor’s wife. [Historical]
“Young Eleanor has two men in her life: her uncle King Edward II, and her husband Hugh le Despenser, a mere knight but the newfound favorite of the king. She has no desire to meddle in royal affairs– she wishes for a serene, simple life with her family. But as political unrest sweeps the land, Eleanor, sharply intelligent yet blindly naive, becomes the only woman each man can trust”–P. [4] of cover.

Hood, Ann. Somewhere Off the Coast of Maine.
It is 1969, and as Peter, Paul, and Mary croon on the radio, poster paints splash the latest antiwar slogans. Suzanne, a poet, lives in a Maine beach house awaiting the birth of her love child, whom she will name Sparrow. Claudia, who weds a farmer during college, is planning to raise three strong sons. And Elizabeth and Howard get married, organize protest marches, and try to raise their two children with their own earthy, hippie values.

Howard, Ginnah. Night navigation.
Drug addiction & suicide

James, Tania. Atlas of unknowns.
Indian Families

Jiles, Paulette, The color of lightning. [Historical]
The story of two different families, headed by a former slave and by a Quaker, who settle in Texas during the Civil War.

Johansen, Iris. Deadlock. [Suspense]
CIA and MI6 operative John Garret is called on a desperate mission to save Emily Hudson, an archeologist and the only survivor of a ruthless massacre. But their may be more to this job than he is being told.

Johnson, Denis, Nobody move.
Nobody Move, which first appeared in the pages of Playboy, is the story of an assortment of lowlifes in Bakersfield, California, and their cat-and-mouse game over $2.3 million. Touched by echoes of Raymond Chandler and Dashiell Hammett, Nobody Move is at once an homage to and a variation on literary form. It salutes one of our most enduring and popular genres–the American crime novel–but with a grisly humor and outrageousness that are Denis Johnson’s own. –publisher.

Johnson, Todd, The sweet by and by.
Five very different Southern women meet in a nursing home and develop a friendship that resonates over the decades.

Keener, Rachel. The killing tree.
Mentally ill young woman

Khadivi, Laleh. The age of orphans.
Kurds in Iran

King, Laurie R. The language of bees: a Mary Russell novel. [Mystery]

Kingsbury, Karen & Gary Smalley. Return.
Christian Fiction about 9/11

Kolpan, Gerald. Etta. [Historical]
While outlaws Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid are legendary figures, almost nothing is known about their companion Etta Place–including her real name. In this biographical novel, Etta’s story begins in Philadelphia, where she is born Lorinda Jameson. When her wealthy father’s death leaves her orphaned and penniless, Lorinda heads West and changes her name. She falls for Sundance (real name Harry Longabaugh) and is soon a part of his and Butch’s train-robbing adventures. But that’s just the beginning of a long and colorful career in which she meets real-life historical figures such as Eleanor Roosevelt and Annie Oakley.

Korelitz, Jean Hanff, Admission.
Princeton drama

Lang, Maureen. My sister Dilly.
Christian Fiction

Lathan, Sharon. Mr. and Mrs. Fitzwilliam Darcy: two shall become one: Pride and prejudice continues. [Romance]
Through the honeymoon and then the challenges of Elizabeth assuming the role of Mistress of Pemberley, the Fitzwilliams’ passion and love for each other grows. To Lizzy’s delight, Darcy’s sister, Georgiana, returns home just as Christmas preparations are underway, but all is not calm–the marquis of Orman, whom Elizabeth first encounters at the Twelfth Night Ball, has sinister intentions.

Le Clezio, J.-M. G. Onitsha.
A novel on white colonialism in Africa through the eyes of Fintan, a 12-year-old boy who joins his parents in Nigeria. He meets an African boy his age and participates in the world of the Africans, contrasting it with the world of the whites.

Lewis, Beverly, The secret.
Christian Fiction about Amish/Seasons of grace; bk.1

Li, Yiyun, The vagrants. [Historical]
20th C. China

Lockwood, Cara. Every demon has his day. [Fantasy]

Lovely, Stephen. Irreplaceable.
On a windy April afternoon, a young woman bicycles along a stretch of Iowa highway, hurrying to get home in time for dinner…So begins this story about two families whose lives intersect forever in the aftermath of a tragic accident.

Macomber, Debbie.Summer on Blossom Street.
Upbeat cancer survivor Lydia and her pragmatic sister, Margaret, start a “Knit to Quit” group in their Blossom Street yarn store in Seattle, bringing in a delightful assortment of customers for weekly self-help sessions, including a local baker who wants a baby as much as Lydia does, a super-stressed chocolate magnate who takes the knitting class after his doctor suggests it, and a young woman who is trying to quit obsessing about a broken engagement.

Mankell, Henning, Italian shoes.

Mayo, C. M. The last prince of the Mexican empire: a novel based on the true story.
Maximilian, Emperor of Mexico

McCall Smith, Alexander, Tea time for the traditionally built.
Precious Ramotswe uses her formidable detection talents to track down her tiny white van–sold by her estimable husband Mr. J.L.B. Matekoni and stolen from its new owner–while simultaneously helping to explain the dreadful losing streak of a local football team and smoothing out a snag in Mma Makutsi’s engagement to Mr Phuti Radiphut.

McCoy, Judi. A matter of trust.
“Hiding from her abusive husband, Abby August has lived a lie for 4 years. As a gifted psychic she makes a living reading customers over the phone in order to stay home and care for her 9-year-old daughter. When a stranger moves in next door and befriends her child, she soon finds out the stranger is after her. Ex FBI agent Matt Layton had located his target, but soon learns Abby August is not the faithless wife Roman Zanelli projected. More importantly, Abby and Kate have helped him find the family he lost several years earlier. But can he protect them from a serial killer and an angry husband who has vowed to see them dead?”–p.[4] of cover.

McMahan, Janna. The ocean inside.
Emmett and Lauren Sullivan have always been a team, working together to raise their daughters on tranquil Pawley’s Island, South Carolina. Now, with all their attention focused on nine-year-old Ainslie, they barely notice as their older daughter Sloan drifts further away from them and toward a reckless path that could tear the family apart.

Meyer, Philipp, American rust. [Mystery]
Pennsylvania

Michaels, Fern. Mr. and Miss Anonymous. [Suspense]
Two teenage boys are missing and their disappearance may be linked to a shady fertility clinic Sam Parker and Lily Madison visited in college as penniless students. When Sam and Lily learn that one of the missing boys looks exactly like Sam, they set out to discover what really went on at the clinic all those years ago.

Moerk, Christian. Darling Jim.
Irish Suspense

Morgan, C. E., All the living. [Historical]
19th C. Kentucky tobacco farms

Morgan, Jude, An accomplished woman. [Romance]
In this Regency comedy of manners self-reliant Lydia Templeton rejects the county’s most eligible bachelor but years later, when her ward proves surprisingly tricky to manage, discovers that her own spinster’s heart may not
be the closed book she thought it was.

Morris, Mary McGarry. The last secret.
Adultery

Morton, Kate, The forgotten garden.
Australia

Novack, Sandra. Precious.
Runaways

Oates, Joyce Carol, Dear husband.
Short stories

Parker, Robert B., Brimstone. [Western]
Everett Hitch and Virgil Cole track down Virgil’s sweetheart Allie and the three head north to start over in the town of Brimstone. Given their reputations as guns for hire, Everett and Virgil are able to secure positions as the town’s deputies. But a sanctimonious leader of a local church stirs up trouble at the local saloons, and as the violence escalates into murder, the two struggle to keep the peace.

Pasha, Kamran. Mother of the believers: a novel of the birth of Islam. [Historical]

Patterson, James, The 8th confession. [Suspense]
The Women’s Murder Club faces its toughest challenge as Detective Lindsay Boxer investigates the high-profile murder of two San Francisco millionaires and reporter
Cindy Thomas digs into the brutal slaying of a preacher with a message of hope for the homeless.

Peterson, Tracie. A love to last forever. [Romance]
Nick Lassiter has loved Beth since she first came to their rugged Montana town, but she’s always seemed to think of him more as a brother. Just when he finally gets Beth to consider him, however, a challenger threatens the affection growing between them. But neither Nick nor Beth is prepared when they must face the consequences of Nick’s complicated past. Brides of Gallatin County; book 2

Phillips, Arthur, The song is you.

Pipkin, John. Woodsburner. [Historical]
Henry David Thoreau

Quick, Amanda. The perfect poison. [Romantic Suspense]

Rainone, Sarah. Love will tear us apart.
Coming of age

Rakoff, Joanna Smith, A fortunate age.
Details the lives of a group of Oberlin graduates whose ambitions and friendships threaten to unravel as they chase their dreams, shed their youth,
and build their lives in Brooklyn during the late 1990s and the turn of the
twenty-first century.

Randolph, Ladette. A sandhills ballad.
Women ranchers

Rice, Luanne. The geometry of sisters.
In the halls of Newport Academy, a unique private school that has attracted generations of rebels, outcasts, and visionaries, a poignant and unforgettable lesson in the eternal truths of sisterhood is about to begin for Maggie Shaw, her fourteen-year-old daughter Beck, and her sixteen-year-old son Travis.

Roberts, Sheila. Love in bloom. [Romance]
Breast CA

Rolo, Elaine di, A proper education for girls. [Historical]
Originally published as: The peachgrowers’ almanac. London, 2008

Ross, Ann B. Miss Julia delivers the goods.
Abbotsville finds itself the scene of a heist; and Miss Julia knows there’s only one man who can solve the crime. It’s J. D. Pickens, P.I., renowned investigator and Hazel Marie’s wayward love. When he’s summoned, one thing becomes clear: Miss Julia must help set things right between them or find herself the only one who can, quite literally, deliver the goods.

Rucka, Greg. Walking dead. [Suspense]

Scottoline, Lisa. Look again. [Suspense]
When reporter Ellen Gleeson gets a “Have You Seen This Child?” flyer in the mail, her heart stops–the child in the photo is identical to her adopted
son, Will. She investigates the story behind the flyer, uncovering clues no one
was meant to discover, and when she digs too deep, she risks losing her own life–and that of the son she loves.

Scudiere, A. J. Vengeance. [Suspense]
Two victims of a mafia family team up to extract revenge on the powerful Kurev family. FBI agent Owen Dunham is on their trail, naming the serial murders the Grudge Ninja killings. Even as he questions whether bringing in the ninja is the right thing, the voice in the back of his head is telling him that it will make his career.

Shaw, Deirdre. Love or something like it.

Somerville, Patrick, The cradle.
In the summer of 1997, a newlywed couple, Matt and Marissa, are living in Wisconsin and expecting their first child. With the baby almost due, Marissa
sends Matt on a quest to recover an antique cradle from her mother, who claimed it when she abandoned her family years earlier. Ten years later, a middle-aged couple, Bill and Renee, are living outside Chicago and preparing to see their only son, Adam, off to war in Iraq. Adam’s departure brings to the surface deeply personal memories of Renee’s first love, and forces the confession of a long-held secret that brings the two stories together in the novel’s powerful climax.

Sundell, Joanne. The parlor house daughter. [Historical Romance]
Amidst the hustle and bustle of 1880 Denver, 17-year-old Rebecca Rose, the daughter of a Nevada City prostitute who met a terrible fate, has followed
her mother’s footsteps into the world’s oldest profession. But when wealthy, 25-year-old Morgan Larkspur, who is searching for a little distraction in the arms of a beautiful lady, becomes one of Becca’s clients, they both get more than they bargained for.

Sunley, Christina. The tricking of Freya.
Icelandic family secrets

Umrigar, Thrity N.The weight of heaven.
Adoption, Indian-Americans

Walker, Martin, Bruno, chief of police. [Mystery]
Southwest France

White, Karen, The lost hours.

White, Susan Rebecca. Bound south. [Smart Funny Women]
Southern friendships

Willett, Marcia. The way we were.
Family secrets

Woods, Stuart. Loitering with intent. [Suspense]
New York cop turned lawyer Stone Barrington travels to Key West, Florida, to track down Evan Keating, a young man whose signature is needed on documents allowing his father to sell the family business. Meanwhile, a beautiful Swedish doctor, Annika Swenson, learns the hard way that being involved with Stone is the most dangerous job in America.

Wray, John, Lowboy.
Teenage boy schizophrenia (YA)


Supper Sleuths for September 8, 2009

Mystery Display - June, 2007Supper Sleuths, a mystery discussion group, meets every second Tuesday evening at 6:00pm to discuss mysteries of every genre and type. Feel free to bring your own snack or brown bag lunch with you to the meeting.

The next Supper Sleuths Discussion takes place September 8, 2009 at 6:00pm to 7:30pm in the Lecture Hall. The group will be discussing their summer reading: the series of Robert Crais craissusnsetexpressand Rick Riordanriordanbigredrequila.craismonkeysraincoatriordanwidowerscraischasingdarkness riordanrebels

To participate in the discussion, please read Robert Crais’s Sunset Express, the sixth in the Elvis Cole series, and any other in this series that you may wish to read. In addition, please read the first in the Tres Navarre series by Rick Riordan, Big Red Tequila, as well as any other in this series that you may wish to read.

Complete list of Crais/Riordan series.

For more on this group’s schedule, go to the Supper Sleuths page.