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.
Thank you to those of you who responded to our query for “The Best Book of 2011.” We asked that the title be published in 2011 and only the following two titles fulfilled that criterion:
Stephen King’s 11/22/63 and Geraldine Brooks’s Caleb’s Crossing are both readers’ favorites. They have also made many 2011 lists elsewhere.
Other Fiction titles mentioned were Abraham Verghese’s Cutting for Stone (2009) and Ayn Rand’s Atlas Shrugged (1957), as well as nonfiction: Laura Hillenbrand’s Unbroken (2010) and Zachary Mason’s The Lost Books of the Odyssey (2010).
Click on the titles below to search the catalog
Ahmad, Jamil. The wandering falcon.
“The Wandering Falcon begins with a young couple, refugees from the area between Afghanistan and Pakistan, fleeing the cruel punishments that come from going against the rigid tribal rules on love and marriage. Their son, Tor Baz, descended from chiefs and outlaws, becomes the Wandering Falcon, journeying among the tribes in their towns and tents, over the mountains and the plains.”–adapted from inside cover.
Altenberg, Karin. Island of wings. [HISTORICAL FICTION]
Arriving in the St. Kilda islands in 1830 to serve as a minister to the small community, Neil McKenzie and his pregnant wife, Lizzie, struggle with life and their marriage in a climate that is beautiful but also extremely difficult.
Baer, Neal. Kill switch. [SUSPENSE]
Claire Waters is a young, dedicated forensic psychiatrist with unnervingly personal insights into the criminal mind. Haunted by a disturbing childhood incident–and driven by her demons–Claire has always been drawn to those rare “untreatable” patients who seem to have no conscience or fear. She has a natural ability to put people at ease, to help them face their darkest secrets. But one shocking case could make or break her career–and it’s waiting for her in the psychiatric wing of New York City’s Rikers Island.
Beck, Glenn with Nicole Baart. The snow angel.
Years after losing her mother in a car accident that rendered her father emotionally distant, Rachel resolves to escape from an abusive marriage to
protect her young daughter.
Bird, Sarah. The gap year.
A single mom and her seventeen-year-old daughter learn how to let go in that precarious moment before college empties the nest.
Bunn, T. Davis. Lion of Babylon. [SUSPENSE]
An American operative sent to rescue two vanished soldiers in Iraq finds himself in the midst of a centuries-old conflict of religion, violence, and hatred.
Cannell, Stephen J. Vigilante. [MYSTERY]
“Lita Mendez was a thorn in the LAPD’s side. An aggressive police critic and gang activist, she’d filed countless complaints against the department. So
when she’s found dead in her home, Detective Scully and his partner Hitchens fear the worst: that there’s a killer in their ranks. Outside the crime scene, Nixon Nash and his television crew have set up shop. Nash is the charismatic host of a hit reality show called “Vigilante TV,” dedicated to beating the cops at their own game: solving murders before they can. Now he has the murder of Lita Mendez in his sights. He presents the detectives with a choice: either join his team, or prepare for a public takedown. But Scully knows that Nash isn’t the folk-hero he seems. He will do anything in the name of self-promotion. If a detective got in his way, would he be prepared to kill? In this new novel, Scully will have to risk everything save himself and the job he loves”–Provided by publisher.
Clancy, Tom. Locked on. [SUSPENSE]
Coming out of retirement to run for president, Jack Ryan finds himself in the middle of a high-stakes attack from his opponent as his close comrade, John Clark, is the subject of treacherous charges, at the same time Jack Ryan, Jr. and other members of Campus struggle to stop terrorists.
Cook, Robin. Death benefit. [SUSPENSE]
Behind the prim gates of the Greenwich, Connecticut, McMansions, Wall Street whizzes turn their attentions from mortgages to another possible profit
source: the $25 trillion life-insurance industry. By securitizing the policies of the old and sick, they hope to make another financial killing. At the same time, Natalie Savondnik and Ronald Goodall-two exceptional yet aloof medical residents-are working closely with their medical center’s premier scientist on cutting-edge diabetes research. When their mentor dies suddenly, they launch a quiet investigation. As they dig deeper, it becomes clear that the scientist’s death was not from natural causes. Is it possible someone is manipulating private life insurance information to allow investors to benefit from the deaths of others?
Doetsch, Richard. Half-past dawn: a thriller. [LJ Top Ten Suspense 2011]
Waking up with suspicious injuries and no memory of the previous night, attorney Harper Keller is horrified to discover that he has been reported murdered and that his wife is missing.
Dunmore, Helen. The betrayal. [HISTORICAL FICTION]
St. Petersburg, Russia
Eco, Umberto. The Prague cemetery. [HISTORICAL FICTION]
19th-century Europe, from Turin to Prague to Paris, abounds with the ghastly and the mysterious. Jesuits plot against Freemasons. From the Dreyfus Affair to the Protocols of the Elders of Zion, the Jews are blamed for everything. One man connects each of these threads into a massive crazy-quilt conspiracy within conspiracies. Here, he confesses all, thanks to Umberto Eco’s ingenious imagination, a thrill-ride through the underbelly of actual, world-shattering events. — Provided by publisher.
Ellis, Robert. Murder season. [MYSTERY]
“Detective Lena Gamble knows how to handle the hottest cases–do it fast and keep her head down because if it all goes south, the department won’t
hesitate to make a scapegoat out of her. So when she gets called to the scene of a double murder at Club 3 AM, the A-list hangout for Hollywood celebs, she knows the fun is only beginning. And she’s not wrong. It’s just much worse than that. As expected, one of the victims is club owner Johnny Bosco, one of the most well -connected men in Hollywood politics. But the shocker comes when Lena sees the other: 25-year-old Jacob Gant, acquitted just days ago of murdering his 16-year-old neighbor, after L.A.’s latest trial-of-the-century. But are these victims of a father’s righteous anger or is something bigger at play? Robert Ellis’s third white-knuckled thriller delivers all the twists and turns fans have come to expect, with plenty more to spare”– Provided by publisher.
Gregson, Jessica. The angel makers. [HISTORICAL FICTION]
WWI Hungary
Griffin, W. E. B. Covert warriors. [SUSPENSE]
There’s an uneasy and unholy alliance building across the Caribbean. Few in the U.S. government want to believe that a Third World country and its chest-thumping leader could pose a credible threat-but then why are the Chinese helping to train its special forces? Why are the Russians helping to build a nuclear power plant? The presidential agent series; bk. 7.
Higgins, Jack. A devil is waiting. [SUSPENSE]
“A devil is indeed waiting. The President is coming to London, but not to an entirely warm welcome. A fanatical mullah is offering a blessing to anyone who will assassinate the President, and though most London Muslims think the mullah has crossed the line, a few think otherwise. Urgently, Sean Dillon, General Charles Ferguson, and the rest of the small band known as the “Prime Minister’s private army” are called in, augmented by an extraordinary new recruit, an intelligence captain and Afghan war hero named Sara Gideon. She has her own deep contacts, but the more she investigates, the more she discovers herself in a very dark place indeed. For the assassination plan is only the beginning. “– Provided by publisher.
Hill, Sean. Very short stories: 300 bite-size works of fiction.
Hoag, Tami. Down the darkest road. [SUSPENSE]
1980s California FBI agent Vince Leone taps into the powers of science-based forensic techniques to unveil dark secrets and stop a killer who is terrorizing the citizens of Oak Knoll. Third in the series.
Holt, Anne. 1222: a Hanne Wilhelmsen novel. [MYSTERY]
Norway
Hunter, Stephen. Soft target. [SUSPENSE]
A follow-up to Dead Zero finds retired marine sergeant Ray Cruz confronting a band of terrorists who have taken over the Mall of America, where they begin to systematically execute more than one thousand hostages.
James, P. D. Death comes to Pemberley. [MYSTERY]
It is 1803, six years since Elizabeth and Darcy embarked on their life together at Pemberley, Darcy’s magnificent estate. Their peaceful, orderly world seems almost unassailable. Elizabeth has found her footing as the chatelaine of the great house. They have two fine sons, Fitzwilliam and Charles. Elizabeth’s sister Jane and her husband, Bingley, live nearby; her father visits often; there is optimistic talk about the prospects of marriage for Darcy’s sister Georgiana. And preparations are under way for their much-anticipated annual autumn ball. But now, Pemberley is thrown into chaos after Elizabeth Bennett’s disgraced sister Lydia arrives and announces that her husband Wickham has been murdered.
Jepson, Duncan. All the flowers in Shanghai. [HISTORICAL FICTION]
Shanghai, 1930s. Heroine Xiao Feng must take her dead sister’s place in an arranged marriage to Xiong Fa, a son from the prosperous Sang family.
Khoury, Raymond. The devil’s elixir. [SUSPENSE]
“Sean Reilly and Tess Chaykin return in an edge-of-your-seat story that reaches from the present day back to 1800s Mexico-and possibly beyond. What if there was an herb, previously lost to history in the jungles of Central America, capable of inducing an experience so momentous it might shake the very foundations of Western civilization?”– Provided by publisher.
Kingsbury, Karen & Gary Smalley. Rejoice.
Brooke Baxter has achieved everything this world has to offer–a prestigious career, a beautiful home, and two wonderful children. Her recent return to her faith is an encouragement to her family. But if she faces tremendous loss, can her fledgling faith and her rocky marriage survive?
Koontz, Dean R. 77 Shadow Street.
Once the center of madness, suicide, mass murder, and whispers of things far worse, the 1800s Gilded Age palace known as the Pendleton, has been re-christened in the 1970s as a luxury apartment building. But now inexplicable shadows caper across walls, security cameras relay impossible images, phantom voices mutter in strange tongues, not-quite-human figures lurk in the basement, and elevators plunge into unknown depths.
Lescroart, John T. The hunter. [SUSPENSE]
Raised by loving adoptive parents, San Francisco private investigator Wyatt Hunt never had an interest in finding his birth family–until he gets a chilling text message from an unknown number: “How did ur mother die?” The answer is murder, and urged on by curiosity and the mysterious texter, Hunt takes on a case he never knew existed, one that has lain unsolved for decades.
McCall Smith, Alexander. The forgotten affairs of youth.
Isabel Dalhousie helps a new friend discover the identity of her father. But Isabel also manages to find time for her own concerns: her young son, Charlie, already walking and talking; her housekeeper, Grace, whose spiritualist has lately been doubling as a financial advisor; her niece Cat’s latest relationship; and the pressing question of when and how Isabel and Jamie should finally get married.
Meister, Ellen. The other life.
Hiding the truth about her ability to cross into alternate realities where she has made different life decisions, a married and pregnant Quinn
Braverman learns that her unborn child will be disabled and glimpses into a
parallel life where she is married to someone else and childless.
Mercier, Pascal. Perlmann’s silence.
Translated from the German: psychological fiction
Michaels, Fern. Deadline.
No sooner have Toots Loudenberry and her three best friends–Sophie, Ida, and Mavis–returned from Sacramento, where Sophie provided some much-needed psychic advice to the First Lady of California, when another situation demands their attention… Laura Leigh, a Hollywood starlet whose main talent seems to be landing in trouble, is missing. Toots’ daughter, Abby, has both a personal and professional stake in the story. Not only is she editor-in-chief at gossip magazine The Informer, but entertainment attorney Chris Clay, Abby’s would-be beau, was the last person to see Laura. And now he’s missing, too. With the help of friends in high–and low–places, the Godmothers will navigate Hollywood’s glittering inner circles and seedy underbelly to discover the truth. Along the way, they’ll uncover unexpected secrets that not even one of Sophie’s séances could have predicted…Godmothers series; bk. 4.
Moriarty, Liane. What Alice forgot.
Amnesia in Australia
Nesbo, Jo. The leopard. [MYSTERY]
After two young women are found dead, both drowned in their own blood, Inspector Harry Hole is compelled to return to Norway to see his dying father
and to investigate the brutal crime, which may be the work of a serial killer.
Paretsky, Sara. Breakdown. [MYSTERY]
When the teenage daughters of some of Chicago’s most influential families discover the body of a ritually murdered victim, investigator Warshawski
explores theories that the killing is linked to a hostile media campaign against a senatorial candidate or a wealthy patriarch’s childhood in Nazi-occupied Lithuania.
Patterson, James & Maxine Paetro. Private: #1 suspect. [SUSPENSE]
Since former Marine helicopter pilot Jack Morgan started Private, it has become one of the world’s most powerful investigation firms, sought out by the rich and famous to discretely handle their most sensitive problems. Private’s investigators are the smartest, the fastest, and the most technologically advanced in the world, and they always uncover the truth. When a former lover is found murdered in Jack’s bed, he is instantly the number one suspect. While the police are investigating Jack, the mob strong arms him into recovering $30 million in stolen pharmaceuticals, and the beautiful manager of a luxury hotel chain persuades him to quietly investigate a spree of murders occurring on their properties. Fighting for his life on both sides of the law, Jack realizes that he may not be able to save himself this time. Contains more action, more intrigue, and more twists than ever before. Series; bk.2.
Phillips, Scott. The adjustment.
Returning veteran Wayne Ogden has trouble adjusting to civilian life back in Wichita, Kansas, and begins receiving poison pen letters hinting at his
secret wartime past.
Rasmussen, Rebecca. The Bird sisters.
As elderly women, sisters Twiss and Milly live alone in the house where they grew up in Spring Green, Wis. They spend their days tending to injured birds and roaming their land, lost in memories. For Milly, there is the constant reminder of what could have been. Twiss spent her childhood happily trailing behind their golf-pro father, but Milly dreamed about a family and children that never happened. There was hope for a young Milly, until an accident strips their father of his golfing abilities and sets in motion a series of events that rips apart the already unstable family.
Rayner, Sarah. One moment, one morning.
“The Brighton to London line. The 7:44 am train. Cars packed with commuters. One woman occupies her time observing the people around her. Opposite, a girl puts on her make-up. Across the aisle, a husband strokes his wife’s hand. Further along, another woman flicks through a glossy magazine. Then, abruptly, everything changes: a man collapses, the train is stopped, and an ambulance is called. For at least three passengers on the 7:44 on that particular morning, life will never be the same again. There’s Lou, in an adjacent seat, who witnesses events first hand. Anna, who’s sitting further up the train, impatient to get to work. And Karen, the man’s wife. Telling the story of the week following that fateful train journey, One Moment, One Morning is a stunning novel about love and loss, about family and – above all- friendship. A stark reminder that, sometimes, one moment is all it takes to shatter everything. Yet it also reminds us that somehow, despite it all, life can and does go on”–Provided by publisher.
Robards, Karen. Sleepwalker. [SUSPENSE]
While housesitting for her Uncle Nicco, policewoman Micayla Lange catches Jason Davis in the act of stealing money from her uncle’s locked safe. But when they both find incriminating photos that implicate Nicco in the murder of a city councilman, Mick and Jason hurtle into a race for their lives.
Roslund, Anders & Borge Hellström. Cell 8. [SUSPENSE]
An Ohio death row inmate, convicted of killing his 16-year-old girlfriend when he was 17 years old, dies of heart disease. Six years later, the police
arrest a Canadian expatriate living in Sweden for repeatedly kicking a drunken man in the head. A cantankerous Det. Supt. Ewert Grens of the Stockholm police discovers that the foreigner in their jail cell is a convicted murderer, the same death row inmate who supposedly died in America six years earlier.
Shapiro, Molly, Point, click, love.
“In Molly Shapiro’s fun and sexy debut novel, four women try to sort through the wild and complicated world of text messaging, status updates, and other high-speed connections. Best friends and fellow midwesterners Katie, Annie,
Maxine, and Claudia are no strangers to dealing with love and relationships, but with online dating and social networking now in the mix, they all have the feeling they’re not in Kansas anymore. Katie, a divorced mother of two, secretly seeks companionship through the Internet only to discover that the rules of the dating game have drastically changed. Annie, a high-powered East Coast transplant, longs for a baby, yet her online search for a sperm donor is not as easy–or anonymous–as she anticipates. Maxine, a successful artist with a seemingly perfect husband, turns to celebrity gossip sites to distract herself from her less-than-ideal marriage. And Claudia, tired of her husband’s obsession with Facebook, finds herself irresistibly drawn to a handsome co-worker. As these women navigate the new highs and lows of the digital age, they each find that their wrong turns lead surprisingly to the right click and, ultimately, the connection they were seeking”– Provided by publisher.
Smith, Tom Rob. Agent 6. [SUSPENSE]
“Former secret police agent Leo Demidov is thrown into a foreign conflict and is forced to question and confront everything he ever thought he knew about his country, his family, and himself”–Provided by publisher. Leo Demidov thrillers; bk. 3.
Spiegelman, Peter. Thick as thieves. [SUSPENSE]
Carr–ex-CIA–is the reluctant leader of an elite crew planning to take tens of millions of dollars belonging to a disgraced financier, Curtis Prager. But Carr’s seasoned pros are wound drum-tight–months before, the man who brought them together was killed in what Carr suspects was a setup.
Stevens, Taylor. The innocent: a Vanessa Michael Munroe novel. [SUSPENSE]
“Eight years ago, a man walked five-year-old Hannah out the front doors of her school and spirited her over the Mexican border, taking her into the
world of a cult known as The Chosen. For eight years, followers of The Prophet have hidden the child, moving her from country to country, shielding the man who stole her. Now, those who’ve searched the longest know where to find her. They are childhood survivors of The Chosen, thirty-somethings born and raised inside the cult who’ve managed to make a life for themselves on the outside. They understand the mindset, the culture within that world, and turn to Vanessa Michael Munroe for help, knowing that the only possibility of stealing Hannah back and getting her safely out of Argentina is to trust someone who doesn’t trust them, and get Munroe on the inside. Tautly written, brilliantly paced, and with the same evocation of the exotic combined with chilling violence that made The Informationist such a success, The Innocent confirms Taylor Stevens’ reputation as a thriller writer of the first rank”– Provided by publisher.
Tobar, Hector, The barbarian nurseries.
After the husband and wife that she works for disappear, live-in maid Araceli takes their two boys on a journey through sprawling Los Angeles to
locate their grandfather.
Weir, Ian. Daniel O’Thunder. [HISTORICAL FICTION]
Set in the 1850s in London, England, this story, told through the interwoven voices of several narrators, relates the adventures of a troubled but
charismatic prize-fighting evangelist whose career finally takes him to British Columbia and the greatest match of his life when he challenges the Devil to a battle in the ring.
Wolff, Isabel. The very picture of you.
Female painter
Woods, Stuart. D.C. dead. [SUSPENSE]
“Stone Barrington, his former NYPD partner Dino Bachetti and CIA agent Holly Barker investigate a possible serial killer with ties to the White House”-
- Provided by publisher.
Got the Downton Abbey fever? Can’t get enough of this compelling story and world? Give these titles a try…
FICTION
Fellowes, Julian. creator/writer of Downton Abbey & Gosford Park–also wrote: Snobs (2005). Preparing to marry heir Charles Broughton, attractive accountant’s daughter Edith Lavery makes humorous and astute observations about contemporary England’s class system.
Forster, E.M. Howard’s End. (1910) Howards End, an English country house, passes to the moneyed, the cultured, and then to the lower class.
Galsworthy, John. The Forsyte Saga (1920). The classic portrait of upper-middle-class life in Victorian England contains three novels–The Man of Property, In Chancery, and To Let–and their interconnecting interludes. Also an ExxonMobil Masterpiece Theatre production on DVD.
Ishiguro, Kazuo. The Remains of the Day (1988). Also a stunning film–Stevens, an elderly butler, hopes to rise to the top of his profession, and he remains stoic and unemotional at his father’s death and neglects the opportunity to pursue a relationship with a former housekeeper.
ALSO TRY:
Byatt, A.S. The Children’s Book (2010). A tale spanning the end of the Victorian era through World War I finds famous children’s book author Olive Wellwood taking in a runaway and exposing the boy to dark truths about her family’s summer bacchanals at their rambling country house.
Follett, Ken. Fall of Giants (2011) 1st in the Century trilogy: Follows the fates of five interrelated families–American, German, Russian, English, and Welsh–as they move through the dramas of the First World War, the Russian Revolution, and the struggle for women’s suffrage.
Ford, Ford Madox. Parade’s End (1950). The four Tietjens novels depicting the breakdown of the English Tory world are presented under one title. Included are Some Do Not (1924), No More Parades (1925), A Man Could Stand Up (1926), and The Last Post (1928), celebrated and controversial in their day.
Goodwin, Daisy. The American Heriess (2010). Traveling abroad with her mother at the turn of the twentieth century to seek a titled husband, beautiful, vivacious Cora Cash, whose family mansion in Newport dwarfs the Vanderbilts’, suddenly finds herself Duchess of Wareham, married to Ivo, the most eligible bachelor in England. However, nothing is quite as it seems. Witty, moving, and brilliantly entertaining, Cora’s story marks the debut of a glorious storyteller who brings a fresh new spirit to the world of Edith Wharton and Henry James
Solomons, Natasha. The House at Tyneford (2011) “It’s the spring of 1938 and no longer safe to be a Jew in Vienna. Nineteen-year-old Elise Landau realizes her only means of escape is to advertise her services as a domestic servant in England. Fate brings her ad to the attention of Christopher Rivers, handsome scion of the aristocratic Rivers family and master of Tyneford. An anxious Elise arrives at Tyneford and immediately falls under its spell. When Christopher’s young son, Kit, returns home, the two strike up an unlikely friendship that will change Tyneford–and Elise–forever” (NoveList Plus 2/1/12)
Todd, Charles. A Bitter Truth: A Bess Crawford Mystery (2011). Bk.3. A battlefield nurse during World War I, Bess Crawford, returning to London for a well-earned Christmas leave, finds her holiday fraught with mystery and murder when she agrees to help a bruised and battered woman return to her small village in Sussex. Follows A Duty to the Dead (2009) and An Impartial Witness (2010).
Winspear, Jacqueline. Maisie Dobbs. (2003) Bk.1. Private detective Maisie Dobbs must investigate the reappearance of a dead man who turns up at a cooperative farm called the Retreat that caters to men who are recovering their health after World War I.
NONFICTION
Cannadine, David. The Decline and Fall of the British Aristocracy (1900).
Carnarvon, Countess of. Lady Almina and the Real Downton Abbey: The Lost legacy of Highclere Castle (2011).
Davis, Wade. Into the Silence: The Great War, Mallory and the Conquest of Everest (2011). Recounts George Mallory’s attempt to scale Mount Everest in the early 1920s, and how, in the aftermath of World War I, the expedition became a symbol of national pride and hope.
Fellowes, Jessica. The World of Downton Abbey (2011).
Harrison, Rosina. Rose: my Life in Service to Lady Astor (1975).
Horne, Eric. What the Butler Winked At: Being the Life and Adventures of Eric Horne, Butler (2011). reissue
Powell, Margaret. Below Stairs: The Classic Kitchen Maid’s Memoir that Inspired Upstairs Downstairs and Downton Abbey (2012)
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Beattie, Ann. Mrs. Nixon: a novelist imagines a life.
Pat Nixon remains one of our most mysterious and intriguing public figures, the only modern first lady who never wrote a memoir. Beattie, like many of her generation, dismissed Richard Nixon’s wife as “interchangeable with a Martian.” But decades later, she wonders what it must have been like to be
married to such a spectacularly ambitious and catastrophically self-destructive man. Drawing on a wealth of sources from Life magazine to accounts by Nixon’s daughter, and his doctor, to The Haldeman Diaries and Jonathan Schell’s The Time of Illusion, Beattie reconstructs dozens of scenes in an attempt to see the world from Mrs. Nixon’s point of view.
Bessette, Alicia. A pinch of love.
After she joins a baking contest to try to shake off the lingering grief from her husband’s death, Zell Carmichael Roy befriends her nine-year-old next-door neighbor, a motherless girl who joins Zell’s quest for dessert-competition glory.
Brokaw, Charles. The Temple Mount code. [SUSPENSE]
“An old friend summons dashing linguistics professor Thomas Lourds to Jerusalem to examine an ancient text. But Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, also wants the same document. Khamenei and many others believe that the book contains a secret that will allow its owner to rule all of Islam and wage a Global Jihad the likes of which has never been seen before. Arriving in Jerusalem, Lourds discovers that his friend has been murdered and his apartment ransacked. With the help of Miriam Abata, a beautiful Iranian-American Jewish graduate student, he races against the clock to seek the dangerous document: Lourds seeks to save civilization while his enemies hope to destroy it. Continuing the New York Times bestselling series that includes The Atlantis Code and The Lucifer Code, The Temple Mount Code will appeal to readers interested in history and treasure hunting in the Holy Land and is perfect for fans of Dan Brown, Brad Meltzer, James Rollins, and Steve Berry.”–Provided by publisher.
Buchanan, Edna. A dark and lonely place. [MYSTERY]
A century ago, when Indians and alligators roamed frontier Miami, the legendary John Ashley was accused of murder and sentenced to hang. He went on the run with his sweetheart, Laura. Their crime spree lasted years longer and became far more deadly than the exploits of Bonnie and Clyde a decade later. This is their true story of prison breaks, bootlegging, bank robberies, and piracy on the high seas. Their saga of love, passion, and violence is juxtaposed with the story of their fictional descendants who share the same love and dangers a hundred years later. In today’s Miami, Homicide Sergeant John Ashley investigates a millionaire’s spectacular murder and instantly recognizes a stunning model linked to the case as the girl who has haunted his dreams since childhood. The homicide case goes bad, Ashley is falsely accused of murder, and the new lovers go on the run as history repeats itself. The question is, how powerful is the past?–From publisher description.
Coffey, Billy. Paper angels.
Andy Sommerville seems no different than others in his rural Virginia community, but what sets him apart is that his best friend is an angel.
Cohen, William S. Blink of an eye. [SUSPENSE]
Nuclear terrorism from former Secretary of Defense under President Bill Clinton.
Connelly, Michael. The drop. [MYSTERY]
LAPD detective Harry Bosch simultaneously investigates a killer who has been operating undetected for thirty years and a political conspiracy that has its origins in his police department. Harry has been given three years before he must retire from the LAPD, and he wants cases more fiercely than ever. In one morning, he gets two. DNA from a 1989 rape and murder matches a 29-year-old convicted rapist. Was he an eight-year-old killer or has something gone terribly wrong in the new Regional Crime Lab? The latter possibility could compromise all of the lab’s DNA cases currently in court. Then Bosch and his partner are called to a death scene fraught with internal politics. Councilman Irvin Irving’s son jumped or was pushed from a window at the Chateau Marmont. Irving, Bosch’s longtime nemesis, has demanded that Harry handle the investigation. Relentlessly pursuing both cases, Bosch makes two chilling discoveries: a killer operating unknown in the city for as many as three decades, and a political conspiracy that goes back into the dark history of the police department.
Cornwell, Patricia Daniels. Red mist. [MYSTERY]
Kay Scarpetta returns.
Crichton, Michael with Richard Preston. Micro. [SUSPENSE]
Biological thriller completed after Crichton died.
Doherty, P. C. The Templar magician. [MYSTERY]
Robert de Payens, grandson of Eleanor, one of the co-founders of the Temple, and Englishman Edward Sendal find themselves caught up in a murder mystery when Raymond, Count of Tripoli, is brutally assassinated.
Gabaldon, Diana. The Scottish prisoner. [HISTORICAL FICTION]
Lord John Grey–soldier, gentleman, and no mean hand with a blade–fights for his crown, his honor, and his own secrets. Set in the heart of the eighteenth century during the Seven Years’ War.
Garlock, Dorothy. Come a little closer. [ROMANCE]
It’s 1946, after the end of WWII, and Christina Tucker decides to take a nursing job in the small town of Longstock, Wisconsin, working with Dr. Samuel Barlow. Dr. Barlow is well-regarded by the people of Longview, except for one man: Morris Doyle. Morris believes that his younger brother Jimmy died as a result of Barlow’s shoddy care and he is determined to punish the doctor for what he’s done — even if it means hurting those the doctor loves most, including Christina Tucker.
Grafton, Sue. “V” is for vengeance. [MYSTERY]
California PI Kinsey Millhone investigates the death of Audrey Vance, a woman she helped arrest for shoplifting, and antagonizes just about everyone, including Audrey’s fiance, several loan sharks, a stone-cold killer, and a hapless burglar who knows more than is healthy for him.
Hall, James W. Dead last. [MYSTERY]
Thorn series
Harrison, Rashad. Our man in the dark. [SUSPENSE]
An historical noir novel about a worker in the civil rights movement who became an informant for the FBI during the months leading up to the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Haynes, Dana. Breaking point. [SUSPENSE]
Follow-up to Crashers.
Hill, Susan. The betrayal of trust: a Chief Superintendent Simon Serrailler mystery.
When a series of flash floods throughout Lafferton exposes the skeleton of a teenager who went missing 20 years earlier, Simon Serrailler investigates the girl’s tragic family story and uncovers bizarre complexities and dangers.
James, Erica, Promises, promises. [ROMANCE]
Love triangle
James, Peter, Dead man’s grip. [MYSTERY]
“Carly Chase is still traumatized ten days after being in a fatal traffic accident which kills a teenage student from Brighton University. Then she receives news that turns her entire world into a living nightmare. The drivers of the other two vehicles involved have been found tortured and murdered. Now Detective Superintendent Roy Grace of the Sussex Police force issues a stark and urgent warning to Carly: She could be next. The student had deadly connections. Connections that stretch across the Atlantic to America and an organized crime group. Someone has sworn revenge and won’t rest until the final person involved in that fateful accident is dead. The police advise Carly her only option is to go into hiding and change her identity. The terrified woman disagrees. She knows these people have ways of hunting you down anywhere. If the police are unable to stop them, she has to find a way to do it herself. But already the killer is one step ahead of her, watching, waiting, and ready”– Provided by publisher.
Jensen, Nancy, The sisters.
Growing up in hardscrabble Kentucky in the 1920s, with their mother dead and their stepfather an ever-present threat, Bertie Fischer and her older sister Mabel have no one but each other–with perhaps a sweetheart for Bertie waiting in the wings. But on the day that Bertie receives her eighth-grade diploma, good intentions go terribly wrong. A choice made in desperate haste sets off a chain of misunderstandings that will divide the sisters and reverberate through three generations of women.
Johansen, Iris. Bonnie. [SUSPENSE]
“When Eve Duncan gave birth to Bonnie, she experienced a love she never knew existed. Eve’s entire life came into focus and nothing was going to stand in the way of giving her daughter a wonderful life–the kind of life she herself never experienced. And then, the unthinkable happened. On an ordinary class trip to a local park, seven-year-old Bonnie vanished. Eve found herself in the throes of a nightmare that permeated her days and nights, and from which there was no escape. But a new Eve emerged: a woman who would use her remarkable talent as a forensic sculptor and her passion for helping others to find closure when the unthinkable happens to their child. A woman who would stop at nothing to find her own daughter’s killer and bring her body home. A woman with both justice and vengeance on her mind. Finally, in the trilogy that began with EVE and continued with QUINN, comes the story that fans have been dying to read. With the help of her beloved Joe Quinn and CIA Agent Catherine Ling, Eve Duncan gets closer and closer to answering the questions that have tormented her. But the deeper she digs, the more she realizes that Bonnie’s father, John Gallo, is a key player in solving this monstrous puzzle. And that Bonnie’s disappearance was not as random as everyone had always believed. Eve, Joe, Catherine, and John find themselves in a deadly dance where answers will be uncovered, and justice might finally be served– if they can all stay alive long enough to make it happen”– Provided by publisher.
Katsu, Alma. The taker. [SUSPENSE]
Vampire historical love story
Kelby, N. M. White truffles in winter. [HISTORICAL FICTION]
Auguste Escoffier, 1846-1935 — for foodies
King, Stephen, 11/22/63.
On November 22, 1963, three shots rang out in Dallas, President Kennedy died, and the world changed. What if you could change it back? The author’s new novel is about a man who travels back in time to prevent the JFK assassination. And he introduces readers to a character who has the power to change the course of history. Jake Epping is a thirty-five-year-old high school English teacher in Lisbon Falls, Maine, who makes extra money teaching adults in the GED program. He receives an essay from one of the students, a gruesome, harrowing first person story about the night fifty years ago when Harry Dunning’s father came home and killed his mother, his sister, and his brother with a hammer. Harry escaped with a smashed leg, as evidenced by his crooked walk. Not much later, Jake’s friend Al, who runs the local diner, divulges a secret: his storeroom is a portal to 1958. He enlists Jake on an insane, and insanely possible, mission to try to prevent the Kennedy assassination. So begins Jake’s new life as George Amberson and his new world of Elvis and JFK, of big American cars and sock hops, of a troubled loner named Lee Harvey Oswald and a beautiful high school librarian named Sadie Dunhill, who becomes the love of Jake’s life, a life that transgresses all the normal rules of time.
Kingsbury, Karen. Longing. [ROMANCE]
“After a long and lonely silence from Cody Coleman, Bailey Flanigan becomes closer to her one-time Hollywood co-star, Brandon Paul. Nights on the town in New York City and long talks on the balcony of Brandon’s Malibu Beach home make Bailey dizzy with new feelings. Meanwhile, Cody’s work coaching a small-town football team has brought him and his players national attention. In the midst of the celebration and success, Cody finds himself much closer to a woman who seems to better understand him and his new life. Even so, never does much time go by without Bailey and Cody experiencing deep feelings of longing for each other, longing both for the past and for answers before they can move forward. Will an unexpected loss be the turning point for Cody? Will Cody and Bailey find a way back together again for the first time in more than a year? And if they do, will their brief time together be enough to help them remember all they’ve been longing for?”– Provided by publisher. Bailey Flanigan series; bk. 3
Maguire, Gregory. Out of Oz: the final volume in the Wicked years.
Glinda, former Throne Minister, held under house arrest by General Cherrystone, obtains the infamous Grimmerie, supposedly a volume of magical lore, coveted by Oz. Meanwhile, Lir’s daughter Rain begins her quest to discover her true identity and unravel the layers of political and personal secrets that have caused strife and division in Oz.
Marshall, Bev. Right as rain. [HISTORICAL FICTION]
“Though the women are as different as water and wine. Icey is feisty, hot-tempered, and impulsive, while Tee Wee is more submissive and disciplined–both are driven by a passionate determination to give their children a better life. Through trying times, they are the pillars, fierce and resilient; yet they celebrate life with a love of food, music, and family that makes even the most traumatic moments endurable. The illicit love between Tee Wee’s daughter Crow and the white landowner’s son Browder; the heartbreaking death of one of Icey’s children, for which she will blame herself; the murder trial of Tee Wee’s youngest son which threatens to tear apart not just their family but the entire town–all these events are interwoven with occasions of joy, including Crow’s fulfillment of her lifelong dream and Tee Wee’s own hard-fought success.” –Publisher description.
Murakami, Haruki, 1Q84. [SCIENCE FICTION]
An ode to George Orwell’s “1984″ told in alternating male and female voices relates the stories of Aomame, an assassin for a secret organization who discovers that she has been transported to an alternate reality, and Tengo, a mathematics lecturer and novice writer.
Nadzam, Bonnie. Lamb.
Lamb traces the self-discovery of David Lamb, a narcissistic middle aged man with a tendency toward dishonesty, in the weeks following the disintegration of his marriage and the death of his father. Hoping to regain some faith in his own goodness, he turns his attention to Tommie, an awkward and unpopular eleven-year-old girl. Lamb is convinced that he can help her avoid a destiny of apathy and emptiness, and even comes to believe that his devotion to Tommie is in her best interest. But when Lamb decides to abduct a willing Tommie for a road trip from Chicago to the Rockies, planning to initiate her into the beauty of the mountain wilderness, they are both shaken in ways neither of them expects.
Patterson, James, Kill Alex Cross. [SUSPENSE]
Detective Alex Cross is thwarted at every turn while he attempts to investigate the abduction of the president’s son and daughter and also discovers a deadly contagion released in the capital’s water supply that foreshadows a larger, more devastating attack.
Perry, Jolene B. The next door boys. [ROMANCE]
While Leigh Tressman recovers from her recent cancer treatments, she follows her brother Jaron to BYU where she meets and falls in love with his roommate.
Picardi, John C. Oliver Pepper’s pickle.
Crushed by his wife’s infidelity, suffocated by his sister and her new-age boyfriend, and harassed by all the friends and strangers who think his salvation depends on a crazy self-help book, Oliver Pepper’s life is in comic disarray. Then, at an AA meeting, he meets Rosa, a sexy public school principal. Hoping to date her, he agrees to teach a riotous middle-school class. At Rosa’s school, Oliver meets two troubled boys. By helping them, he comes to terms with the traumatic death of his father and discovers a capacity for bringing unadulterated goodness–even beauty–into his world.
Pollock, Donald Ray, The devil all the time. [SUSPENSE]
This novel reads like a gothic Western as lawlessness roams the rural, god-fearing landscape of Ohio and West Virginia, inhabitated by the likes of Pollock’s deranged-yet-compelling cast of characters–a husband and wife who take vacations to murder hitchhikers, a faux preacher and his crippled accomplice on the lam for manslaughter, and an orphan with a penchant for exacting violent justice. Needless to say, this is a brutal novel, but Pollock exacts the kind of precision and control over his language that keeps the violence from ever feeling gratuitous. The three story lines eventually converge in a riveting moment that will leave readers floored and haunted.
Rankin, Ian. The impossible dead. [MYSTERY]
A major inquiry into a neighboring police force sees Malcolm Fox and his colleagues cast adrift, unsure of territory, protocol, or who they can trust. An entire station-house looks to have been compromised, but as Fox digs deeper he finds the trail leads him back in time to the suicide of a prominent politician and activist. There are secrets buried in the past, and reputations on the line. Sequel to The complaints.
Russell, Paul Elliott. The unreal life of Sergey Nabokov. [HISTORICAL FICTION]
Biograhical look at Vladimir Nabokov’s gay brother
Santiago, Esmeralda. Conquistadora. [HISTORICAL FICTION]
Plantation saga in Puerto Rico
Skibell, Joseph. A curable romantic. [HISTORICAL FICTION]
When Dr. Jakob Josef Sammelsohn arrives in Vienna in the 1890s, he happens to meet Sigmund Freud, has a series of affairs, is haunted by the ghost of his abandoned wife, and eventually ends up in the Warsaw Ghetto in 1940. His Candide-like adventures illuminate a Europe moving between a new scientific age and age-old superstitions and beliefs. NOTE = Includes interview with the author and discussion questions.
Steele, Pamela, Greasewood creek.
Examination of grief
Stefaniak, Mary Helen. Cailiffs of Baghdad, Georgia. [HISTORICAL FICTION]
In 1938, eleven-year-old Gladys Cailiff watches as her new teacher, Miss Grace Spivey, puts the entire town in an uproar. Miss Spivey has some unusual teaching methods, which include reading from her multi-volume set of The Thousand Nights and a Night. But when Miss Spivey revives an old festival and turns the town into a replica of Baghdad, the lives of Gladys and everyone around her are touched.
Thurlo, Aimee. Black thunder: an Ella Clah novel. [MYSTERY]
“A construction crew found the first body. The cops found three more, in a cluster that lay on both sides of the border of the Navajo Reservation. Because some of the bodies were buried outside the Rez, Navajo Police Special Investigator Ella Clah and her team must work a delicate joint investigation with the New Mexico police. Identifying the dead isn’t easy–some had been buried for years–and at first the cases look to be nothing but dead ends. Then one of the bodies turns out to be that of a missing man who was believed to have embezzled funds from his construction firm and suspicions focus on the man’s partner. With no obvious links between any of the corpses and the anniversary of their deaths fast approaching, Ella feels frustrated by the investigation’s lack of progress. Unless they can find what connects these victims, someone else may soon be killed. Ella’s ability to concentrate is battered by worries about her teenage daughter, who has been skipping school, and her mother, who is cooking up a storm, a sure sign that trouble is brewing in the household.”– Provided by publisher.
Urbach, Linda. Madame Bovary’s daughter. [HISTORICAL FICTION]
White, Karen S. The strangers on Montagu Street.
“Psychic realtor Melanie Middleton returns-only to be greeted by a house full of lost souls. Psychic realtor Melanie Middleton is still restoring her Charleston house and doesn’t expect to have a new houseguest, a teen girl named Nola. But the girl didn’t come alone, and the spirits that accompanied Nola don’t seem willing to leave… “– Provided by publisher.
Wiehl, Lis W. Waking hours. [SUSPENSE]
The East Salem trilogy; bk. 1/forensic horror
Winer, Andrew. The marriage artist.
Searching for the meaning behind his wife’s suicide with her (suspected) lover, art critic Daniel Lichtmann discovers a link to pre-World War II Vienna, forgotten artist Josef Pick, and a remarkable woman.
Woodhouse, Kimberley, Race against time. [SUSPENSE]
A teenage girl in Alaska witnesses a murder with FBI and top-secret military information connections that winds its way back to the racing dog kennel she runs with her mother.
Need Holiday Gift suggestions? Wrap Up Books!
Beebe librarians have created lists of suggestions for gift ideas for every reader (young and old) and for every taste.
If you need some help with your gift choices, our Librarians can provide Readers’ Advisory for that hard-to-please nephew or the father-in-law that reads everything. Bring us your “present” dilemmas, and we’ll help you Wrap Up your Holiday shopping.
Wrap up Books! Genres/Topics
CHILDREN
Assorted Choices: Picture Books, Early Readers, Chapter Books, Nonfiction & Magazines
More Picture Books
FICTION
Christmas Stories
Fantasy
Historical Epics
Historical Fiction
The Help Readalikes
Hunger Games Readalikes
Mysteries, Cozy
Mystery & Suspense
Philippa Gregory Readalikes
Romance
Science Fiction
Steig Larsson Readalikes
Twilight Readalikes
NONFICTION
Biography & History
Cookbooks
Craft Books
Fierce Fans: Authors, Musicians & Actors
Fitness Books
For Foodies
Gardening Books
Humor
Miscellaneous
True Crime
YOUNG ADULT
Hunger Games Readalikes
Teens
Twilight Readalikes
**Highly Recommended by readers
Black, Cara. Murder on the Ile Saint-Louis Aimee LeDuc series; bk.7
Block, Lawrence. A Drop of the Hard Stuff. Matthew Scudder series; bk.17
Brandman, Michael. Robert B. Parker’s Killing the Blues. Jesse Stone series; bk.10.
First title is series written by Brandman based on Parker’s character.
Childs, Lee. The Affair. Jack Reacher series; bk.16
Reacher’s first case.
**Cotterill, Colin. Killed at the Whim of a Hat. Jimm Juree series; bk.1 Thailand
—.Slash and Burn. ?Final Dr. Siri Paiboun series; bk.8 Laos
DeMille, Nelson. Plum Island. John Corey series; bk. 1
Gerritsen, Tess. Body Double. Rizzoli & Isles series; bk.4
Grafton, Sue. V is for Vengeance. Kinsey Millhone series; bk.22
**Hart, John. The Last Child.
**Kaaberbol, Lene & Agnete Fris. The Boy in the Suitcase.
Denmark thriller being compared to Steig Larsson
MacDonald, Patricia. Stranger in the House.
**Mina, Denise. Still Midnight. Alex Morrow series, bk.1
—. The End of the Wasp Season.; bk.2
Glasgow, Scotland
**Perry, Douglas. Girls of Murder City: Fame. Lust and the Beautiful Killers Who Inspired Chicago. Non-Fiction.
Stevens, Taylor. The Informationist.
Billed as a thriller–Steig Larsson wannabe falls short
**Willett, Sabin. The Deal.
Boston law firm suspense
Special thanks to Beth Radcliffe for her hard work on this list.
Allingham, Margery. (Albert Campion; bk.8)
Anderson, J.R.L. (Piet Deventer; bk.2)
Atkins, Ace. (Nick Travers)
- Crossroad Blues (1998)
- Leavin’ Trunk Blues (2000)
- Dark End of the Street (2002)
- Dirty South (2004)
Barnard, Robert.
Bowen, Rhys. (Constable Evans; bk.3)
Cash, Dixie. (Domestic Equalizers; bk.7)
Charles, Paul. (Detective Inspector Christy Kennedy)
- I Love the Sound of Breaking Glass (1997) Record Company
- The Hissing of the Silent Lonely Room (2001) bk.3 American musician
Crispin, Edward. (Gervase Fen)
Dill, Stuart. (Music Industry Thriller)
Duchin, Peter and John Morgan Wilson. (Philip Damon) Bandleader
- Blue Moon (2002)
- Good Morning, Heartache (2003)
Elias, Gerald. (Daniel Jacobus) Violin Teacher
- Devil’s Trill (2009)
- Danse Macabre (2010)
- Death and the Maiden (2011)
Friedman, Kinky.
Fulmer, David. (Valentin St. Cyr; bk.1)
Grabien, Deborah. (J.P. Kincaid)
- Rock and Roll Never Forgets (2008)
- When My Guitar gently Weeps (2009)
- London Calling (2010) Not in NOBLE
- Graceland (2011)
Grabien, Deborah. (English Ballad Mysteries)
- The Weaver and the Factory Maid (2003)
- The Famous Flower of Serving Men (2004)
- Matty groves (2005)
- Cruel Sister (2006)
- New Slain Knight (2007)
Hare, Cyril.
Hewson, David. (Daniel Forster)
Klein, Daniel. (Elvis Presley)
- Kill Me Tender (2000)
- Blue Suede Clues (2002)
- Viva Las Vengeance (2003)
- Such Vicious Minds (2004) Not in NOBLE
Holmes, Rupert.
- Swing (2005) Jazz Musician/1940 World’s Fair
Kellerman, Faye.
- Gun Games (2011) (Decker/Lazarus series; bk.20) Musical Prodigy
Leon, Donna. (Guido Brunetti Mysteries; bk.1)
- Death at La Fenice (1992) Opera
Peters, Ellis. (Inspector George Felse; bk.6)
Moody, Bill. (Evan Horne)
Ross, Kate. (Julian Kestral; bk.4)
Saulnier, Beth. (Alex Bernier mysteries; bk.5)
Slater, Harrison.
Stace, Wesley.
- Charles Jessold, Considered as a Murderer (2011)
Sublett, Jesse. (Martin Fender)
- The Rock Critic Murders (1989)
- Tough Baby (1990)
- Boiled in Concrete (1992) Not in NOBLE
Walpow, Nathan. (Joe Portugal mysteries; bk.3)
Wilson, Eric P. (Aramis Black mysteries; bk.2)
This list includes General Fiction & Romance titles–if you are looking for a mystery, try Holiday Mysteries.
Ahern, Cecelia. The Gift. (2009)
Alcott, Louisa May. A Quiet Little Woman (1999).
Alan, Theresa. Dangers of Mistletoe. (2006)
Alexander, Carly. Secret Life of Mrs. Claus. (2005)
Andrews, Mary Kay. Blue Christmas (2006).
Ashley, Phillipa. Dating Mr. December. (2010) Basis for TV movie: 12 Men of Christmas.
Bache, Ellyn. Holiday Miracles (2001) Hanukkah/Christmas.
Baldacci, David. Christmas Train (2002)
Barry, Dave. The Shepherd, the Angel, and Walter the Christmas Miracle Dog (2006)
Beck, Glenn. The Christmas Sweater. (2008)
Berg, Elizabeth. Ordinary Life: Stories (2002), “One Time at Christmas.”
—. Handmaid and the Carpenter (2006).
Binchy, Maeve. This Year Will Be Different And Other Stories: A Christmas Treasury (1996).
Bledsoe, Jerry. The Angel Doll: A Christmas Story (1996).
Brady, James. A Hamptons Christmas (2000).
Card, Orson Scott. A War of Gifts: An Ender Story (2007).
Carlson, Melody. The Christmas Dog. (2009)
—. Christmas at Harrington’s. (2010)
—-.The Christmas Shoppe (2011)
Chiaverini, Jennifer. Christmas Quilt: An Elm Creek Quilts Novel (2000).
New Year’s Quilt (2007)
A Quilter’s Holiday (2009)
Copage, Eric V. A Kwanzaa Fable. (1995)
Copeland, Lori. Unwrapping Christmas. (2007)
—. The Christmas Lamp. (2009)
Dickens, Charles. Christmas Books (1922) .
—. Christmas Carol (1842) .
—. Christmas Stories (1946).
Davies, Valentine. Miracle on 34th Street (1947).
Davis, Patricia K. A Midnight Carol: A Novel of How Dickens Saved Christmas (1999).
Duarte, Judy. Christmas on Nutcracker Court. (2011)
Evanovich, Janet. Visions of Sugar Plums: Stephanie Plum (2003).
Evans, Richard Paul. The Christmas Box (1993) .
Finding Noel (2006).
The Gift (2007)
Grace. (2008).
The Christmas List. (2009)
Flagg, Fannie. A Redbird Christmas. (2004)
Frank, Dorothea Benton. The Christmas Pearl (2007)
Friedman, Kinky. A Christmas Pig: A Fable (2006)
Gaarder, Jostein. Christmas Mystery (1996).
Gilbert, Daniel L. The Magi. (2007).
Goldsmith, Olivia. Marrying Mom (1996).
Grange, Amanda, et. al. A Darcy Christmas: A Holiday Tribute to Jane Austen. (2010) Anthology.
Gray, Shelley Shepard. Christmas in Sugarcreek. (2011) Amish series
Greeley, Andrew M. A Christmas Wedding. (2000)
—. Home for Christmas. (2009)
Grisham, John. Skipping Christmas (2001)
Gulley, Philip Christmas in Harmony (2002)
—.Christmas Scrapbook (2005)
Gunn, Robin Jones. Finding Father Christmas (2007)
Engaging Father Christmas (2008)
Haley, Alex. A Different Kind Of Christmas. (1988)
Hamill, Pete. The Gift (1973).
Hamner, Earl. The Homecoming: A Novel About Spencer’s Mountain. (1970)
Hannah, Kristin. Comfort and Joy (2005)
Hart, Carolyn G. Merry, Merry Ghost. (2009)
Hatcher, Robin Lee. A Carol for Christmas (2006)
Heimerdinger, Chris. A Return to Christmas (1996).
Henry, Patti Callahan. The Perfect Love Song. (2010)
Hijuelos, Oscar. Mr. Ives’ Christmas (1995) .
Hinton, Lynne. Christmas Cake: Hope Springs novel. (2009)
Hooper, Kay. The Delaney Christmas Carol. (2004)
Jacobs, Kate. Knit the Season. (2009)
Karon, Jan. Esther’s Gift (2002).
—.The Mitford snowmen (2001)
—.Shepherds Abiding (2003)
Keane, John B. Irish Stories For Christmas. (1994).
Keillor, Garrison. A Christmas Blizzard. (2009)
Keller, Cynthia. An Amish Christmas. (2010)
—. A Plain & Fancy Christmas. (2011)
Kingsbury, Karen. Gideon’s Gift (2002)
Knight, India. Comfort and Joy. (2011)
Knight, Michael. The Holiday Season (2007), Contains The holiday season and Love at the end of the year.
Kushner, Ellen. St. Nicholas and the Valley Beyond: A Christmas Carol (1994)
Lamb, Wally. Wishin’ and Hopin’: A Christmas Story. (2009)
Lindsey, Johanna. Home For the Holidays (2000)
—.The Holiday Present (2003), Contains The Present and Home for the Holidays.
Malone, Michael. The Last Noel (2002)
Martin, Kat. The Christmas Clock. (2009)
Medlicott, Joan A. A Covington Christmas (2005)
—. A Blue and Gray Christmas: A Covington novel. (2009)
Michaels, Fern. No Place Like Home (2002)
—. Family Blessings (2004).
—. Christmas at Timberwoods. (2011)
Mitchard, Jacquelyn. Christmas, Present (2003)
Morrell, David. The Spy Who Came for Christmas. (2008)
Naman, Christine Pisera. Christmas Lights. (2007)
O’Nan, Stuart. Last Night at the Lobster. (2007)
Patterson, James. Miracle on the 17th Green (1996).
—. Christmas Wedding. with Richard DiLallo. (2011)
Pearlman, Ann. The Christmas Cookie Club. (2009)
Perry, Anne. Christmas Journey (2003).
—. Christmas Visitor (2004).
—. Christmas Guest (2005).
—. Christmas Secret (2006).
—. Christmas Beginning (2007).
—. Christmas Grace. (2008)
—.A Christmas Promise (2009)
—.Christmas Odyssey. (2010)
—. A Christmas Homecoming. (2011)
Preston, Richard. Boat of Dreams: A Christmas Story (2003)
Read, Miss. Christmas Mouse (1973).
—.Christmas at Fairacre (2007).
Reissue: Village Christmas/The Christmas mouse /No holly for Miss Quinn.
Reid, Van. Daniel Plainway, or, The Holiday Haunting of the Moosepath League.
Rice, Luanne. Silver Bells. (2004)
Richards, Scott. Zanna’s Gift: A Life in Christmases (2004)
Roberts, Nora. Gabriel’s Angel (2005)
Roberts, Sheila. On Strike for Christmas (2007)
The Snow Globe. (2010)
The Nine Lives of Christmas. (2011)
Salamon, Julie. The Christmas Tree (1996).
Scarborough, Elizabeth Ann. Carol for Another Christmas (1996).
Sedaris, David. Holidays on Ice. (1997).
Shepherd, Jean. Christmas Story (2003 reissue).
Steel, Danielle.The House on Hope Street (2000)
—.Lone eagle(2001)
Taylor, Patrick. An Irish country Christmas. (2008)
Thayer, Nancy. Hot Flash Holidays (2005)
Thomas, Elizabeth Marshall. Certain Poor Shepherds: A Christmas Tale (1996)
Tunstrom, Goran. A Christmas Oratorio (1995) .
VanLiere, Donna. The Christmas Shoes (2001) .
—.The Christmas Blessing (2003).
—.The Christmas Hope (2005).
—.Angels of Morgan Hill (2006).
—.The Christmas Promise (2007).
—. The Christmas Secret. (2009)
Walsh, Dan. The Unfinished Gift. (2009)
White, Bailey. Nothing with Strings: NPR’s Beloved Holiday Stories (2008)
Wright,Jason F. Christmas Jars (2005) .
Romance
Balogh, Mary.
Under the Mistletoe. (2007). Contains A family Christmas, The Star of Bethlehem, The best gift, Playing house and No room at the inn.
Basso, Adrienne.
The Christmas Countess (2008)
—. Tis the Season to be Sinful. (2011)
Betts, Heidi. The Bite Before Christmas. (2011) Includes “All I vant for Christmas” & “A vampire in her stocking”.
Blair, Annette.
The Christmas Baby. (2004)
Blake, Toni. Holly Lane: A Destiny Novel. (2011)
Brockmann,Suzanne.
All Through the Night: A Troubleshooter Christmas (2007)
Brown, Carolyn. Honky Tonk Christmas. (2010)
Brown, Sandra.
Tidings of Great Joy. (1997)
Burrowes, Grace. Lady Sophie’s Christmas Wish. (2011)
Carr, Robyn. A Virgin River Christmas. (2008)
—. Bring Me Home for Christmas: Virgin River. (2011)
Chapman, Janet. A Highlander’s Christmas. (2009)
—. Highlander for the Holidays. (2011)
Christenberry, Judy, et al.
Colton Family Christmas (2002).
Crusie, Jennifer, et al. Santa, Baby (2007). Contains Hot toy by Jennifer Crusie, Christmas bonus by Lori Foster and Naughty under the mistletoe by Carly Phillips.
Dailey, Janet.
A Capital Holiday. (2001)
—. Scrooge Wore Spurs, (2002).
—. Happy Holidays, (2004).
—. Eve’s Christmas, (2006).
—. Mistletoe and Molly, (2007).
—. To Santa with Love. (2011)
Davidson,MaryJanice. Undead and Unreturnable. (2005)
Deveraux, Jude. Holly (2003).
Deveraux, Jude et al. Upon a Midnight Clear (1997).
Evanick,Marcia. A Berry Merry Christmas. (2004)
—. Mistletoe Bay, (2007).
Feehan, Christine. Twilight Before Christmas (2003).
Foster, Lori. Yule Be Mine (2009)
Goodger, Jane. A Christmas Scandal (2009)
—. A Christmas Waltz. (2010)
Graham, Heather. A Magical Christmas (1996).
—. Spirit of the Season (1999).
—. The Last Noel (2007).
—. Home in Time for Christmas. (2009)
—. An Angel for Christmas. (2011)
James, Eloisa. An Affair Before Christmas. (2007)
Kenny, Janette. A Cowboy Christmas (2009)
Kleypas, Lisa. A Wallflower’s Christmas. (2008)
—. Christmas Eve at Friday Harbor. (2010)
Laurens, Stephanie. Promise in a Kiss: A Cynster Christmas Novel. (2001)
Lejeune, Tamara. Christmas with the Duchess. (2010)
Macomber, Debbie. Buffalo Valley. (2001)
Snow Bride (2003)
When Christmas Comes (2004)
Home for the Holidays. (2005)
There’s Something About Christmas. (2005)
Christmas Letters. (2006)
Christmas Wishes. (2007)
Includes Christmas letters & Rainy day kisses.
Where Angels Go. (2007)
Cedar Cove Christmas (2008)
The Perfect Christmas (2009)
Angels at Christmas. (2009)
Call Me Mrs. Miracle. (2010)
Christmas in Cedar Cove. (2010)
1225 Christmas Tree Lane. (2011)
Trading Christmas (2011)
Markham, Wendy. The Best Gift. (2009)
Maxwell, Cathy. Seduction at Christmas (2008).
His Christmas Pleasure (2010)
Michaels, Fern, et al. Comfort and Joy (2007).
Miller, Linda Lael. McKettrick Christmas.
—. A Creed Country Christmas. (2009)
—. A Lawman’s Christmas: McKettricks of Texas. (2011)
Neels, Betty. The Fifth Day of Christmas (2001)
O’Rourke, Sally Smith. Christmas at Sea Pines Cottage. (2008)
Plumley, Lisa. A Holiday Affair. (2010)
Pozzessere, Heather Graham. An Angel’s Touch (1995).
Putney, Mary Jo. Christmas Revels (2002).
Raleigh, Debbie. Seduce Me by Christmas (2009)
Roberts, Nora. The Gift. (2004), contains Home for Christmas & All I Want for Christmas.
—.First Impressions. (2006)
Romain, Theresa. Season for Temptation. (2011)
Sinclair, Michele. The Christmas Knight. (2010)
Sparks, Kerrelyn. All I Want for Christmas is a Vampire. (2008)
Valdes-Rodriguez, Alisa. The Three Kings: A Christmas Dating Story. (2010)
A Victorian Christmas Cottage. (1999). Anthology with Catherine Palmer & Peggy Stoks among others.
A Victorian Christmas Quilt (1998). Anthology with Catherine Palmer & Peggy Stoks among others.
Wiggs, Susan. A Lakeshore Christmas. (2009)
Willig, Lauren. The Mischief of the Mistletoe: A Pink Carnation Christmas. (2010)
Woods, Sherryl. A Chesapeake Shores Christmas. 2010.
—. An O’Brien Family Christmas. (2011)
Click on the titles below to search the catalog
Ajvide Lindqvist, John, Harbor. [HORROR]
“From the author of the international and New York Times bestseller Let the Right One In (Let Me In) comes this stunning and terrifying book which
begins when a man’s six-year-old daughter vanishes. One ordinary winter afternoon on a snowy island, Anders and Cecilia take their six-year-old daughter Maja across the ice to visit the lighthouse in the middle of the frozen channel. While the couple explore the lighthouse, Maja disappears — either into thin air or under thin ice — leaving not even a footprint in the snow. Two years later, alone and more or less permanently drunk, Anders returns to the island to regroup. He slowly realizes that people are not telling him all they know; even his own mother, it seems, is keeping secrets. What is happening in Domaro, and what power does the sea have over the town’s inhabitants?”–Provided by publisher.
Baldacci, David. Zero day. [SUSPENSE]
Combat veteran John Puller, now working as an investigator for the Army’s Criminal Investigative Division, tries to solve the murder of an Army man and
his Pentagon contractor wife in their isolated rural home.
Barnes, Julian. The sense of an ending.
2011 Man Booker Prize. This intense novel follows a middle-aged man as he contends with a past he has never much thought about—until his closest childhood friends return with a vengeance, one of them from the grave, another maddeningly present.
Blackstock, Terri, Shadow in Serenity. [ROMANCE]
Carny Sullivan, suspicious about suave, handsome Logan Brisco and his charming ways, is drawn to him, despite her best intentions and her
determination to expose his plans for her quiet Texas town.
Carter, Mary. The Pub across the pond.
Thirty-year-old Carlene Rivers has grown tired of her mundane life in Cleveland, Ohio. Miraculously, her life is forever changed when she wins the
deed to a pub in Ireland. To the surprise of her friends and family, Carlene
actually flies out to Ballybeog, where she quickly falls in love with the quaint town and becomes smitten with the pub’s handsome owner, Ronan McBride.
Carver, Tania. The surrogate. [MYSTERY]
A shocking double-murder scene greets Detective Inspector Philip Brennan when he is called to a flat in Colchester. Two women are viciously cut open and laying spread-eagled, one tied to the bed, one on the floor. The woman on the bed has had her stomach cut into and her unborn child is missing. But this is the third time Phil and his team have seen such an atrocity. Two other pregnant women have been killed in this way and their babies taken from them. No-one can imagine what sort of person would want to commit such evil acts. When psychologist Marina Esposito is brought in, Phil has to put aside his feelings about their shared past and get on with the job. But can they find the killer before another woman is targeted?
Chiaverini, Jennifer. The wedding quilt: an Elm Creek quilts novel.
Coleman, Rebecca. The kingdom of childhood.
Dysfunctional childhood
Connolly, John, The infernals. [SUSPENSE]
A boy, his dog, and their struggle to escape the wrath of demons. Young Samuel Johnson foiled the invasion of Earth by the forces of evil; now they want to get their claws on Samuel and his faithful dachshund, Boswell.
Coulter, Catherine. Prince of Ravenscar: a Sherbrooke novel. [ROMANCE]
Nicholas Monroe, widowed “Prince of Ravenscar,” is feeling pressure from his family to remarry. But the mysterious death of his first wife, Lily, still
hangs over his head.
Crane, Caprice. With a little luck. [ROMANCE]
Facing her romantic prospects with skepticism after two disappointing relationships, successful DJ Berry Lambert, who believes bad things occur in threes, expects a rapid dissolution to her next love affair and is surprised by her attraction to an outspoken, commitment-minded rival.
Dorsey, Tim. When elves attack: a joyous Christmas greeting from the criminal nutbars of the sunshine state. [MYSTERY]
Nobody does Florida weirdness quite like this author. This novel is about thrill killer and Sunshine State historian Serge A. Storms, the most
endearing psychopath since Dexter Morgan. The author offers this zany
blockbuster extravaganza in which his wonderfully deranged serial killer
Floridaphile delivers his special brand of Christmas cheer. More outrageous than Santa Claus in a Speedo, this book serves up a Yuletide feast of “pure gonzo humor”. This book is much like Bad Santa and National Lampoon’s Family Vacation, and blended into the author’s trademark appetite for destruction, it becomes a hilarious crime fiction black comedy.
Drvenkar, Zoran, Sorry. [SUSPENSE]
Kris, Tamara, Wolf, and Frauke are four young friends with too much time on their hands and one big idea: an agency called Sorry. Unfair dismissals, the
wrongly accused, jilted lovers: everyone has a price and the Sorry team will
find out what that is. It’s as simple as that. The idea catches on like wildfire and the quartet are soon raking in the cash, doing the emotional dirty work for fat cats, businessmen, and the romantically challenged. But what they didn’t count on is that their latest client would be a killer.
Duarte, Judy. Christmas on Nutcracker Court. [ROMANCE]
In Fairbrook, a town tailor-made for Christmas, The Diamond Lils, a ladies group who meet weekly to play poker and socialize, decide to do some good
deeds and wealthy widow Lynette thinks that a little matchmaking between single mom Carly Westbrook and Grant Barrows is the perfect place to start.
DuLong, Terri. Sunrise on Cedar Key.
When her apartment and coffee shop are destroyed by fire, Grace must start over on Cedar Key for the second time in ten years in the fourth in a series.
Ellison, J. T. Where all the dead lie. [MYSTERY]
In her showdown with the murderous Pretender, a bullet taken at close range severed the connection between Taylor’s thoughts and speech. Effectively mute, there’s no telling if her voice will ever come back. Trapped in silence, she is surrounded by ghosts of the past, of friendships and trusts lost, of a lost faith in herself and her motives that night. When Memphis Highsmythe offers Taylor his home in the Scottish Highlands to recuperate, her fiance can’t refuse her excitement.
Enger, Thomas, Burned. [MYSTERY]
Norwegian journalist
Eugenides, Jeffrey. The marriage plot.
Madeleine Hanna breaks out of her straight-and-narrow mold when she falls in love with charismatic loner Leonard Bankhead, while at the same time an old friend of hers resurfaces, obsessed with the idea that Madeleine is his destiny.
Evans, Richard Paul. Lost December.
As heir to the Crisp Copy Center fortune, Luke has it made–until he burns through his entire inheritance in just one year of partying. Ashamed to
ask his famous father for help, he finds employment–and romance–as an entry-level clerk. Can his new love get him back on track?
Gavin, Rick. Ranchero.
Humorous road story
Gerritsen, Tess. Call after midnight. [SUSPENSE]
“A ringing phone in the middle of the night shakes newly-wed Sarah Fontaine awake. Expecting her husband’s call from London, she hears instead an unfamiliar voice. Nick O’Hara from the US State Department is calling with devastating news: Geoffrey Fontaine, Sarah’s husband of two months, died in a hotel fire … in Berlin. Convinced her husband is still alive, Sarah forces a confrontation with Nick that finds them criss-crossing Europe on a desperate search for Geoffrey that puts both their lives in terrible danger” — Cover verso. Reissue of 2006 paperback. Considered Classic Romantic Suspense.
Graham, Heather. An angel for Christmas. [ROMANCE]
Christmas has never brought out the best in the MacDougal family. Still, year after year, they gather together in the Blue Ridge Mountains to try to make the season merry and bright. But this year is an especially strained one, between Shayne’s impending divorce, Morwenna’s slavish devotion to work, and Bobbie’s reluctance to face what life has to offer. Then, in the midst of a snowy sibling shouting match, a mysterious stranger appears.
Gray, Shelley Shepard. Christmas in Sugarcreek. [ROMANCE]
Amish series
Grisham, John. The litigators. [SUSPENSE]
Law firm partners Oscar Finley and Wally Figg see a chance for huge financial gain when they learn of a pending class action lawsuit against the
makers of Krayoxx, a popular cholesterol-reducing drug suspected of causing heart attacks.
Guterson, David. Ed King.
Left on a doorstep after his illegal au pair mother exacts a brutal revenge on his father, Edward is raised by an adoring family and grows up to become a famous billionaire Internet tycoon who hurtles toward a fate that he is powerless to control.
Harris, Charlaine., ed.The Sookie Stackhouse companion.
A tour of Bon Temps, Louisiana, provides a definitive guide to the family, friends, enemies, adventures, and lovers of clairvoyant waitress Sookie Stackhouse, heroine of the bestselling novels and HBO series “True Blood.”
Healy, Erin M. The baker’s wife. [SUSPENSE]
After her husband Geoff, a pastor, loses his job after a scandal in their congregation, Audrey works with Geoff to resurrect a failing bakery, but their troubles grow when Audrey hits a motor scooter whose rider has disappeared.
Herron, Rachael. Wishes and stitches. [ROMANCE]
“Practicing medicine in a small town like Cypress Hollow has always been Naomi Fontaine’s dream, but she’s had a hard time becoming part of the community her late friend, knitting-guru Eliza Carpenter, raved about. Naomi just doesn’t fit in, no matter how hard she tries. When rugged Rig Keller moves to town to take over half of Naomi’s medical practice, he charms the townspeople effortlessly–and catches Naomi’s eye, too. After watching his brother’s heartbreak at losing his wife, Rig’s not interested in anything serious, but finds playing doctor with his new partner impossible to resist. Naomi, confused by how much she feels for Rig, wants to hide their relationship away. But keeping secrets is a dangerous game, and revealing hidden truths can lead to heartbreak. Rig must decide whether to risk his heart, and Naomi whether to open hers completely, before the two of them can be knit together by love”—Provided by publisher. Cypress Hollow Yarn series.
Hollinghurst, Alan. The stranger’s child.
Embraced by the family of his Cambridge schoolmate, Cecil Valance writes an inspiring poem in an autograph album that becomes a staple of every English classroom after he is killed during World War I.
Hopkins, Ellen. Triangles.
Regretting her limits as a stay-at-home mom when she enters midlife, Holly immerses herself in extramarital sex, while single mom Andrea considers pursuing Holly’s cast-off husband and Marissa witnesses the unraveling of her family.
Jacobson, Douglas W., The Katyn Order. [HISTORICAL FICTION]
WWII-Poland
Jin, Ha, Nanjing requiem. [HISTORICAL FICTION]
During the 1937 attack on Nanjing, American missionary and women’s college dean Minnie Vautrin decides to remain at her school during a violent
Japanese attack that renders the school a refugee center for ten thousand women and children.
Johansen, Iris. Bonnie. [SUSPENSE]
Finally, in the trilogy that began with Eve and continued with Quinn, comes the story that fans have been dying to read. With the help of her beloved Joe Quinn and CIA Agent Catherine Ling, Eve Duncan gets closer and closer to answering the questions that have tormented her. But the deeper she digs, the more she realizes that Bonnie’s father, John Gallo, is a key player in solving this monstrous puzzle. And that Bonnie’s disappearance was not as random as everyone had always believed. Eve, Joe, Catherine, and John find themselves in a deadly dance where answers will be uncovered, and justice might finally be served– if they can all stay alive long enough to make it happen”– Provided by publisher.
Keller, Cynthia. A plain & fancy Christmas.
“Raised in a Pennsylvania Amish community, young mother Rachel Yoder has led a simple life within her close-knit family. Widowed three years ago, she has moved back in with her parents, attempting to raise her daughter, Katie, without further emotional upheaval. Meanwhile, four hours and a whole world away in New York City, Ellie Lawrence is laser-focused on a high-powered public relations career, with too little time for her family, her friends, or even her boyfriend. Then one fateful day, these two very different women receive shocking news of a mistake made three decades earlier and long kept hidden: Shortly after their births, the two were accidentally switched in the hospital.”– Provided by publisher.
Kirkpatrick, Jane, Barcelona calling.
Annie Shaw’s goal is far from simple: become famous. But her second novel tanked, and her new editor wants her to re-write the ending of her latest work to ensure this one is more successful. In order to pursue fame and an elusive bestseller, she travels to Chicago, acquires a rambunctious dog, and
participates in antics better suited to a television reality show than real life. Can Annie’s best friends help her achieve her goals without destroying her future?
Lackey, Mercedes. Changes. [FANTASY]
In the third of a trilogy, Magpie, Lena, and Bear continue on their individual quests as they work to attain the status of full Heralds, Bards, and Healers of Valdemar.
Larsson, Asa, Until thy wrath be past. [MYSTERY]
It is the first thaw of spring and the body of a young woman surfaces in the River Thorne in the far north of Sweden. Rebecka Martinsson is working as a prosecutor in nearby Karuna. Her sleep has been disturbed by haunting visions of a shadowy, accusing figure. Could the body belong to the ghost in her dreams? And where is the dead girl’s boyfriend? Joining forces once again with Police Inspectors Anna-Maria Mella, Rebecka is drawn into an investigation that centres on old rumours of a German supply plane that mysteriously disappeared in 1943.
Lewis, Beverly, The mercy.
Rose Kauffman pines for prodigal Nick Franco, the Bishop’s foster son who left the Amish under a cloud of suspicion after his foster brother’s death. His rebellion led to the “silencing” of their beloved Bishop. But is Nick really the rebel he appears to be? Rose’s lingering feelings for her wayward friend refuse to fade, but she is frustrated that Nick won’t return and make things right with the People. Nick avowed his love for Rose–but will he ever be willing to sacrifice modern life for her? Rose Trilogy; bk.3
Lindsay, Jeffry P. Double Dexter. [SUSPENSE]
Forensic analyst and nighttime vigilante Dexter Morgan discovers that he is being followed by a killer who is copying his methods, an adversary whom Dexter seeks to outmaneuver using his trademark knack for extricating himself from trouble.
Lowell, Elizabeth, Chain lightning. [ROMANCE]
Reissue of a Classic Romance title.
Macomber, Debbie. Trading Christmas. [ROMANCE]
Contains “Trading Christmas” & “The Forgetful Bride.”
McDonald, Abby. The popularity rules.
Aspiring music journalist Kat reluctantly submits to a total makeover to become popular, but after she finally gains acceptance from the in-crowd, she begins to question if popularity is the only prize that counts.
Ondaatje, Michael, The cat’s table.
In the early 1950s, an eleven-year-old boy in Colombo boards a ship bound for England. At mealtimes he is seated at the cats table as far away from the
Captains Table as can be with a ragtag group of insignificant adults and two
other boys, Cassius and Ramadhin. As the narrative moves between the decks and holds of the ship and the boy’ adult years, it tells a spellbinding story by turns poignant and electrifying about the magical, often forbidden, discoveries of childhood and a lifelong journey that begins unexpectedly with a spectacular sea voyage.” adapted from inside cover.
Palahniuk, Chuck. Damned: life is short. Death is forever. [FANTASY]
As thirteen-year-old Madison tries to figure out how she died and ended up in Hell, she learns how to manipulate the corrupt system of demons and bodily fluids.
Patterson, James & Richard DiLallo. The Christmas wedding.
Since her husband died three years ago, Gaby’s four children have drifted apart and haven’t celebrated Christmas together since their father’s death.
When Gaby announces that she’s getting married–and that the groom will remain a secret until the wedding day–she may finally be able to bring them home for the holidays. But the wedding isn’t Gaby’s only surprise–she has one more gift for her children, and it could change all their lives forever.
Perry, Anne. A Christmas homecoming.
Traveling up the Yorkshire coast with her husband and his acting troupe, Caroline, the mother of Charlotte Pitt, anticipates their arrival at the famed fishing village landing sight of Count Dracula in Bram Stoker’s tale and develops an awareness about inviting and disallowing evil.
Roberts, Sheila. The nine lives of Christmas.
After firefighter Zach Stone saves Ambrose from a vicious dog, the cat tries to repay him by moving (uninvited) into his house and fixing his lonely
bachelor life. While Zach is buying cat food, he meets Merilee White, a winsome pet store clerk with a fondness for stray cats and big strong men who take them in. Her competition is Zach’s no-strings-attached lover, Blair, a haughty cat-hater who insists Zach evict the cat before Christmas.
Rosenberg, Joel C., The Tehran initiative. [SUSPENSE]
With the stakes high and few viable options left, the president of the United States orders CIA operative David Shirazi and his team to track down and sabotage Iran’s nuclear warheads before Iran or Israel can launch a devastating first strike.
Scott, A. D. A double death on the Black Isle. [MYSTERY]
Scottish journalists
Snow, Carol, What came first.
When single mother Laura decides to give her eight-year-old son a sibling by the same anonymous donor that fathered him, she begins a search that will change the lives of her, her son, and a handful of others whose stories become intertwined.
Sparks, Nicholas. The best of me.
This is the story of two small-town former high school sweethearts from opposite sides of the tracks. Now middle-aged, they have taken wildly divergent paths, but neither has lived the life they imagined, and neither can forget the passionate first love that forever altered their world. When they are both called back to their hometown for the funeral of the mentor who once gave them shelter, they will be forced to confront the choices each has made, and ask whether love can truly rewrite the past.
Steel, Danielle. Hotel Vendome.
After his wife leaves him for another man, Hugues Martin’s life revolves solely around two things–the celebrated five-star hotel he owns and manages in New York City and his daughter Heloise. But their little world is transformed forever when Heloise moves to France for hotel school and Hugues meets his match in Natalie Peterson, a woman who understands him and his love for the Vendome.
Svoboda, Terese. Bohemian girl.
Traded by her father to settle a bet, Harriet spends her childhood in slavery to a ragtag tribe of Pawnee whose leader is obsessed with creating earthen mounds laden with the bones of his human victims. Mere hours before she is to be burned at the stake to feed his crazed vision, Harriet escapes and ventures alone across an unknown and unforgiving landscape, constantly on the lookout for the father who abandoned her four years earlier.
Taylor, Patrick, A Dublin student doctor.
Irish Country series; bk.6
Toro, Guillermo del, Night eternal: book three of the strain trilogy. [SUSPENSE]
A ragtag network of humans–Eph, a brilliant scientist; Vasiliy Fet, an exterminator; and Gus, a former gangbanger–are determined to disrupt and destroy the vampire new world order.
Torres, Justin, We the animals.
Three brothers tear their way through childhood, smashing tomatoes all over each other, building kites from trash, hiding out when their parents do
battle, tiptoeing around the house as their mother sleeps off her graveyard
shift. Paps and Ma are from Brooklyn, he is Puerto Rican, she is white, and
their love is a serious, dangerous thing that makes and unmakes a family many times. Life in this family is fierce and absorbing, full of chaos and heartbreak and the euphoria of belonging completely to one another. From the intense familial unity felt by a child to the profound alienation he endures as he begins to see the world, this novel is a coming-of-age story. It is an exploration of the viscerally charged landscape of growing up, how deeply we are formed by our earliest bonds, and how we are ultimately propelled at escape velocity toward our futures. — Provided by publisher.
Tuck, Lily, I married you for happiness.
The tale unfolds over a single night as Nina sits at the bedside of her husband, Philip, whose sudden and unexpected death is the reason for her lonely vigil. Still too shocked to grieve, she lets herself remember the defining moments of their long union, beginning with their meeting in Paris. She is an artist, he a highly accomplished mathematician–a collision of two different worlds that merged to form an intricate and passionate love. As we move through select memories, real and imagined, the author reveals the most private intimacies, dark secrets, and overwhelming joys that defined Nina and Philip’s life together.
Whitehead, Colson, Zone one. [HORROR]
Mark Spitz and his squad of three “sweepers” move through Zone One of lower Manhattan, a walled-off enclave scheduled for resettlement in the aftermath of a zombie plague. The great masses of the undead have been violently dispatched by a Marine detachment. It falls to Spitz and his fellows to take care of the handful that remain, as well as a second-tier of the infected known as “stragglers”: zombies who have bypassed the cannibalistic urges of their more lethal fellows in favor of a hollow-eyed, eerily nostalgic repetition of some mundane act.
Wilson, F. Paul, The dark at the end. [SUSPENSE]
Repairman Jack finally makes his move to take out his arch-enemy, but must also safely retrieve Dawn Pickering’s child, while his former partner, Ernst Drexler, allies himself with Jack to prepare for the possibility of the final darkness. Bk.15 in series.
Woodrell, Daniel. The outlaw album: stories.
Author of Winter’s Bone.
Woodward, Gerard, Letters from an unknown woman.
“With her children evacuated and her husband at the front, Tory Pace is grudgingly sharing the family home with her irascible mother, working at the
local gelatin factory–to help the war effort–and generally doing just about as well as could be expected in difficult times. Her quiet life is thrown into turmoil, however, when her prisoner-of-war husband, Donald, makes an outrageous demand for sexual gratification. He wants a dirty letter”–Dust jacket flap.
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Abu-Jaber, Diana. Birds of paradise.
After a five year absence, an eighteen-year-old runaway returns to her family in Miami to deal with the guilty secret that caused her to flee.
Airgood, Ellen. South of superior.
Michigan women
Albert, Susan Wittig. The tale of Castle Cottage.
Beatrix and William’s impending nuptials are delayed when the remodeling of their future home, Castle Cottage, causes more problems than anticipated in the latest installment of a series that incorporates events from the life of Beatrix Potter and her beloved characters.
Allan, Christa. The edge of grace.
Family relationships/Christian Fiction
Allison, Will. Long drive home.
Impulsively veering his car into the path of a reckless driver, Glen Bauer inadvertently kills a young man and constructs an elaborate cover story, a situation that is complicated by police suspicions, agonizing guilt, and his seven-year-old daughter’s witness to the crash.
Archer, Jeffrey, Only time will tell.
The Clifton chronicles; v. 1. “From the popular author of Kane and Abel and A Prisoner of Birth comes the story of one family across generations, across oceans, from heartbreak to triumph. The epic tale of Harry Clifton’s life begins in 1920, with the words, “I was told that my father was killed in the war.” A dock worker in Bristol, Harry never knew his father, but he learns about life on the docks from his uncle who expects Harry to join him at the shipyard once he’s left school. But then his unexpected gift wins him a scholarship to an exclusive boys’ school, and his life will never be the same again. As he enters into adulthood, Harry finally learns how his father really died, but the awful truth only leads him to question who was his father? Is he the son of Arthur Clifton, a stevedore who spent his whole life on the docks, or the first-born son of a scion of West Country society, whose family owns a shipping line? This introductory novel in The Clifton Chronicles includes a cast of colorful characters and takes us from the ravages of the Great War to the outbreak of the Second World War, when Harry must decide whether to take up a place at Oxford or join the navy and go to war with Hitler’s Germany. From the docks of working-class England to the bustling streets of 1940 New York City, Only Time Will Tell takes readers on a journey through to future volumes, which will bring to life one hundred years of recent history to reveal a family story that neither the reader nor Harry Clifton himself could ever have imagined”– Provided by publisher.
Arnaldur Indriason, Operation Napoleon.
Military History in Iceland
Banks, Russell. Lost memory of skin. [WAKEFIELD AUTHOR]
This is a novel that illuminates the shadowed edges of contemporary American culture with startling and unforgettable results. Suspended in a strangely modern day version of limbo, the young man at the center of this morally complex new novel must create a life for himself in the wake of incarceration. Known in his new identity only as the Kid, and on probation after doing time for a liaison with an underage girl, he is shackled to a GPS monitoring device and forbidden to live within 2,500 feet of anywhere children might gather. With nowhere else to go, the Kid takes up residence under a south Florida causeway, in a makeshift encampment with other convicted sex offenders. Barely beyond childhood himself, the Kid, despite his crime, is in many ways an innocent, trapped by impulses and foolish choices he himself struggles to comprehend. Enter the Professor, a man who has built his own life on secrets and lies. A university sociologist of enormous size and intellect, he finds in the Kid the perfect subject for his research on homelessness and recidivism among convicted sex offenders. The two men forge a tentative partnership, the Kid remaining wary of the Professor’s motives even as he accepts the counsel and financial assistance of the older man. When the camp beneath the causeway is raided by the police, and later, when a hurricane all but destroys the settlement, the Professor tries to help the Kid in practical matters while trying to teach his young charge new ways of looking at, and understanding, what he has done. But when the Professor’s past resurfaces and threatens to destroy his carefully constructed world, the balance in the two men’s relationship shifts. Suddenly, the Kid must reconsider everything he has come to believe, and choose what course of action to take when faced with a new kind of moral decision. In this novel the author examines the indistinct boundaries between our intentions and actions. It probes the zeitgeist of a troubled society where zero tolerance has erased any hope of subtlety and compassion, a society where isolating the offender has perhaps created a new kind of victim.
Black, Lisa, Defensive wounds. [SUSPENSE]
Theresa MacLean series; bk. 4.
Bockoven, Georgia. The year everything changed.
In March 2000, attorney Lucy Hargreaves sends letters to four women. In the note, she says she represents Jessie Patrick Reed, who claims to be their biological father that none of them ever met or new existed. He is dying and would like to meet them in his home in Sacramento.
Bohjalian, Chris, The night strangers.
From the bestselling author of The Double Bind, Skeletons at the Feast, and Secrets of Eden, comes a riveting and dramatic ghost story. In a dusty corner of a basement in a rambling Victorian house in northern New Hampshire, a door has long been sealed shut with 39 six-inch-long carriage bolts. The home’s new owners are Chip and Emily Linton and their twin ten-year-old daughters. Together they hope to rebuild their lives there after Chip, an airline pilot, had to ditch his 70-seat regional jet in Lake Champlain after double engine failure. Unlike the Miracle on the Hudson, however, most of the passengers aboard Flight 1611 died on impact or were drowned. The body count? Thirty-nine, a coincidence not lost on Chip when he discovers the number of bolts in that basement door. Meanwhile, Emily finds herself wondering about the women in this sparsely populated White Mountain village, self-proclaimed herbalists, and their interest in her fifth-grade daughters. Are the women mad? Or is it her husband, in the wake of the tragedy, whose grip on sanity has become desperately tenuous? The result is a powerful ghost story with a palpable sense of place, an unerring sense of the demons that drive us, and characters we care about deeply. The difference this time? Some of those characters are dead.
Bradley, Jane, You believers. [SUSPENSE]
Missing persons
Brandman, Michael. Robert B. Parker’s Killing the blues. [MYSTERY]
With summer just weeks away, Chief of Police Jesse Stone is pretty tense–and not just because Paradise, MA, is gearing up for the tourists. Stone finds himself dealing with car thefts, then murder, then someone who’s come to town to remind him of his not-so-happy past as an L.A. cop. Fans mourning Parker’s death will be happy to see that Brandman, who has written and produced numerous TV movies based on Parker’s novels, has picked up where the best-selling author left off.
Briscoe, Joanna. You.
Dora Bannan hopes for a new life when she moves her husband and their three children to the wild moorland. She finds a job teaching music at a progressive school, where she also enrolls the children. When the school’s elegant art teacher offers Dora a seductive alternative to her domestic routine, Dora finds that real change is far from easy. Sensual, unnerving, and gripping, Briscoe examines the lives we think we want, the choices we can’t unmake, and the loves and losses we never forget.
Brown, Sandra, Lethal. [SUSPENSE]
After Honor Gillette is visited by Lee Coburn, a suspected murderer seeking a valuable object that Honor’s late husband left behind, they find themselves running from the FBI and untangling a web of corruption and depravity.
Bruen, Ken. Headstone. [MYSTERY]
Galway private investigator Jack Taylor confronts an evil coterie named Headstone, who have committed a series of random, insane, violent crimes in Galway, Ireland.
Burke, James Lee, Feast day of fools. [MYSTERY]
Interviewing an alcoholic Native American who witnessed a murder along the Texas-Mexico border, Sheriff Hack Holland and his deputy, Sam Tibbs, recognize the work of serial killer Preacher Jack Collins in an investigation that is assisted by the enigmatic Anton Ling.
Cameron, W. Bruce. Emory’s gift.
In 1974, when thirteen-year-old Charlie Hall’s mother dies and his father retreats into silent grief, Charlie finds himself drifting, nearly friendless, through a northern Idaho junior high school but when a grizzly bear saves his life, Charlie forms an unusual friendship that changes his life.
Carlson, Melody. The Christmas shoppe.
Christian Fiction
Castle, Richard. Heat rises. [MYSTERY]
“In the third book of the New York Times bestselling Nikki Heat series, following HEAT WAVE and NAKED HEAT, Richard Castle’s new thrilling mystery continues the story of NYPD Homicide Detective, Nikki Heat. Tough, sexy, professional, Nikki Heat carries a passion for justice as she leads one of New York City’s top homicide squads. In what’s sure to be another smash sensation by blockbuster author Richard Castle, readers will once again follow Nikki Heat and hotshot reporter Jameson Rook as they trade barbs and innuendos all while on the trail of a murderer!– Provided by publisher.
Child, Lee. The affair: a Reacher novel. [SUSPENSE]
Carter Crossing, Mississippi. 1997. A lonely railroad track. A crime scene. A coverup. A young woman is dead, and solid evidence points to a soldier at a nearby military base. But that soldier has powerful friends in Washington. Reacher is ordered undercover–to find out everything he can, to control the local police, and then to vanish.
Cline, Ernest. Ready player one. [SCIENCE FICTION]
“An exuberantly realized, exciting, and sweet-natured cyber-quest. Cline’s imaginative and rollicking coming-of-age geek saga has a smash-hit vibe.”–Booklist, starred review. “Ready Player One takes place in the not-so-distant future–the world has turned into a very bleak place, but luckily there is OASIS, a virtual reality world that is a vast online utopia. People can plug into OASIS to play, go to school, earn money, and even meet other people (or at least they can meet their avatars), and for protagonist Wade Watts it certainly beats passing the time in his grim, poverty-stricken real life. Along with millions of other world-wide citizens, Wade dreams of finding three keys left behind by James Halliday, the now-deceased creator of OASIS and the richest man to have ever lived. The keys are rumored to be hidden inside OASIS, and whoever finds them will inherit Halliday’s fortune. But Halliday has not made it easy. And there are real dangers in this virtual world. Stuffed to the gills with action, puzzles, nerdy romance, and 80s nostalgia, this high energy cyber-quest will make geeks everywhere feel like they were separated at birth from author Ernest Cline.”–Chris Schluep, Amazon Best Book of the Month.
Coelho, Paulo. Aleph. [FANTASY]
Aleph marks a return to the author’s beginnings. In a frank and surprising personal story, one of the world’s most beloved authors embarks on a remarkable and transformative journey of self discovery. Facing a grave crisis of faith, and seeking a path of spiritual renewal and growth, he decides to start over: to travel, to experiment, to reconnect with people and the world. On this journey through Europe, Africa, and Asia, he will again meet Hilal, the woman he loved 500 years before, an encounter that will initiate a mystical voyage through time and space, through past and present, in search of himself. Aleph is an encounter with our fears and our sins; a search for love and forgiveness, and the courage to confront the inevitable challenges of life.
Coes, Ben. Coup d’Etat. [SUSPENSE]
“Wanting only a peaceful, obscure life, Dewey Andreas has gone to rural Australia, far from turbulent forces that he once fought against. But powerful men, seeking revenge, have been scouring the earth looking for Dewey. And now, they’ve finally found him – forcing Dewey to abandon his home and to fight for his life against a very well armed, well trained group of assassins. Meanwhile, a radical cleric has been elected president of Pakistan and, upon taking power, sets off a rapidly escalating conflict with India. As the situation spins quickly out of control, it becomes clear that India is only days from resorting to a nuclear response, one that will have unimaginably disasterous results for the world at large. With only days to head this off, the President sends in his best people, including Jessica Tanzer, to do whatever it takes to restore the fragile peace to the region. Tanzer has only one viable option – to set up and execute a coup d’etat in Pakistan – and only one man in mind to lead the team that will try to pull off this almost unimaginable task in the nerve-wrackingly short time frame, Dewey Andreas. If, that is, Jessica can even get to Dewey and if Dewey can get out of Australia alive..”– Provided by publisher.
Collins, Jackie. Goddess of vengeance. [SUSPENSE]
Running a high-profile casino and hotel complex that ruthless billionaire Armand Jordan is plotting to take from her, Lucky engages in a power struggle against him, while Bobby becomes inadvertently involved in best friend Frankie’s drug problems.
Connolly, John, The burning soul: a thriller. “Randall Haight has a secret: He is a convicted murderer, a man with the blood of a young girl on his hands. He has built a new life for himself in the small Maine town of Pastor’s Bay, but someone has discovered the truth about him. He is being tormented by anonymously sent reminders of his crime. He wants private detective Charlie Parker to make them go away. But another girl has gone missing, this time from Pastor’s Bay itself, and her family has its own secrets to protect. Now, in a town built on blood and shadowed by old ghosts, Parker must unravel a twisted history of violence and deceit involving the police and the FBI, a doomed mobster and his enemies, and Randall Haight himself. Because Randall is telling lies. . . . “–Publisher’s description.
De los Santos, Marisa. Falling together.
Female friendship reunion
Delaney, Edward J., Broken Irish.
“Set in the late 1990′s in Boston, a time when even the local Catholic Church is party to a scandal that threatens to unravel, this novel moves with the pace of a thriller, but delves more deeply into its lives. This engrossing novel about corruption and redemption gives sympathetic voice to the voiceless and offers an unflinching look at the workings of a community in the throes of change” — p. [4] of cover.
Delsol, Wendy. The McCloud Home for Wayward Girls.
The McCloud Home for Wayward Girls was once a haven for unwed mothers. Now it is a bed-and-breakfast that Ruby runs with her daugher Jill. When Jill’s fourteen-year-old daughter searches for the identity of her father, she sets in motion events that will test the bonds of the family. And then Jill agrees to host the wake of the town matriarch. But the convergence of people and memories reveals a shocking family secret.
Dill, Stuart. Murder on music row: a music industry thriller.
Nashville suspense
Doornebos, Karen. Definitely not Mr. Darcy. [SMART FUNNY WOMEN]
Chloe Parker, a thirty-nine-year-old divorced mother and lifelong member of the Jane Austen Society, auditions for a Jane Austen-inspired reality dating show set in 1812 and competes with eight women to snare Mr. Wrightman, the heir to a gorgeous estate, along with a $100,000 prize.
Enright, Anne, The forgotten waltz.
During a snowstorm, Gina Moynihan reminisces the string of events that brought her the love of her life, Sean Vallely, and recalls their affair.
Feehan, Christine. Dark predator: a Carpathian novel. [ROMANCE]
Hunter of the undead and master executioner Zacarias De La Cruz returns to Peru where he finds betrayal, vengeance, and the consequences of his family’s bloody legacy.
Frazier, Charles, Nightwoods.
Charles Frazier’s, the author of National Book Award winning Cold Mountain, new novel envisions a late 1950s North Carolina through the eyes of Luce, a single woman who must care for the quiet twins of her murdered sister, Lily.
Ghosh, Amitav. River of smoke. [HISTORICAL FICTION]
In this sequel to Sea of Poppies: “The Ibis, loaded to its gunwales with a cargo of indentured servants, is in the grip of a cyclone in the Bay of Bengal; among the dozens flailing for survival are Neel, the pampered raja who has been convicted of embezzlement; Paulette, the French orphan masquerading as a deck hand; and Deeti, the widowed poppy grower fleeing her homeland with her lover, Kalua. The storm also threatens the clipper ship Anahita, groaning with the largest consignment of opium ever to leave India for Canton. And the Redruth, a nursery ship, carries “Fitcher” Penrose, a horticulturist determined to track down the priceless treasures of China that are hidden in plain sight: plants that have the power to heal, or beautify, or intoxicate. All will converge in Canton’s Fanqui-Town, or Foreign Enclave: a tumultuous world unto itself where civilizations clash and sometimes fuse. It is a powder keg awaiting a spark to ignite the Opium Wars. Spectacular coincidences, startling reversals of fortune, and tender love stories abound. But this is much more than an irresistible page-turner. The blind quest for money, the primacy of the drug trade, the concealment of base impulses behind the rhetoric of freedom: in River of Smoke the nineteenth and twenty-first centuries meet, and the result is a consuming historical novel with powerful contemporary resonance. Critics praised Sea of Poppies for its vibrant storytelling, antic humor, and rich narrative scope; now Amitav Ghosh continues the epic that has charmed and compelled readers all over the globe”– Provided by publisher.
Graham, Lorna. The ghost of Greenwich Village.
A young woman moves to Manhattan seeking romance and excitement, only to find that her apartment is haunted by the ghost of a cantankerous Beat Generation writer in need of a rather huge favor.
Grozdinski, Nikolai. Wunderkind.
Russian Piano Prodigy
Halpern, Adena. Pinch me. [SMART FUNNY WOMEN]
“‘Never marry a man unless he’s short, bald, fat, stupid, and treats you badly.’ That is the advice that twenty-nine-year-old Lily Burns has heard her entire life from her grandmother Dolly and her mother, Selma. Despite this, when she meets Gogo, the handsome, successful pediatrician who treats her like a queen, she has no choice but to let her heart take over. When she agrees to marry him, Dolly and Selma are inconsolable. They decide it’s time to tell her the truth: their family is cursed. If she marries for love, there will be unimaginable consequences.”–P. [4] of cover.
Harbach, Chad. The art of fielding.
“At Westish College, a small school on the shore of Lake Michigan, baseball star Henry Skrimshander seems destined for big-league stardom. But when a routine throw goes disastrously off course, the fates of five people are upended.”–from publisher’s description.
Hoffman, Alice. The dovekeepers. [HISTORICAL]
A tale inspired by the tragic first-century massacre of hundreds of Jewish people at Masada presents the stories of a hated daughter, a baker’s wife, a girl disguised as a warrior, and a medicine woman who keep doves and secrets while Roman soldiers draw near.
Holmes, Gina. Dry as rain.
Christian Fiction Marriage
Howard, Linda, Prey. [SUSPENSE]
Montana wilderness guide Angie Powell wants nothing to do with ex-soldier Dare Callahan, especially as she blames him for her failing business. But she has to put her feelings to one side when they are suddenly thrust together to stop an animal with a thirst for blood–of a human variety.
Jordan, Hillary, When she woke. [SCIENCE FICTION]
In the future, abortion has become a crime as a series of events threatens the existence of the United States. One woman wakes up to discover that her skin color has been changed to red as punishment for having the procedure done. Now she must embark on a dangerous journey in order to find refuge from a hostile and threatening society.
Kagen, Lesley. Good graces.
Sisters in Wisconsin
King, Laurie R. Pirate king: a novel of suspense featuring Mary Russell and Sherlock Holmes.
Kleier, Michele and Sabrina. Hot property.
NY Real Estate
Knight, India, Comfort and joy. [SMART FUNNY WOMEN]
Family reunions
Lamb, Cathy. The first day of the rest of my life.
Terrified of her traumatic past becoming public, renowned life coach Madeline O’Shea, who has inspired thousands of women, discovers that the worst thing that can happen is the one thing she desperately needs.
Lawrence, Mark, Prince of thorns. [FANTASY]
After witnessing the murder of his mother and brother and leading a band of bloodthirsty thugs, Prince Honorous Jorg Ancrath returns to his father’s castle and his birthright, but faces treachery and dark magic once he arrives. Broken empire trilogy; bk. 1.
Lawrenson, Deborah. The lantern. [ROMANCE]
Drawn to an older man, Eve embarks on a whirlwind romance that soon offers a new life and a new home–Les Genevriers, an old house in a charming hamlet amid the fragrant lavender fields of Provence. Their relationship becomes strained, however, as Dom grows quiet and distant and Eve feels a haunting presence. The more reluctant Dom is to tell her about his past, the more Eve is drawn to it–and to the mysterious disappearance of his beautiful ex-wife.
LaZebnik, Claire Scovell. Families and other nonreturnable gifts. [SMART FUNNY WOMEN]
Boston families
Liss, David, The twelfth enchantment. [HISTORICAL FICTION]
Lucy Derrick, a young Regency woman of good breeding and poor finances, is warned by a beautiful stricken man not to marry Mr. Olson, the local mill owner. Soon it becomes clear that there is more at stake than her own happiness–and that she is caught between two forces, one ancient and one modern.
Macomber, Debbie. 1225 Christmas Tree Lane.
“The people of Cedar Cove know how to celebrate Christmas. Like Grace and Olivia and everyone else, Beth Morehouse expects this Christmas to be one of her best. Her small Christmas tree farm is prospering, her daughters and her dogs are happy and well, and her new relationship with local vet Ted Reynolds is showing plenty of romantic promise. But– someone recently left a basket filled with puppies on her doorstep, puppies she’s determined to place in good homes. That’s complication number one. And number two is that her daughters Bailey and Sophie have invited their dad, Beth’s long-divorced husband, Kent, to Cedar Cove for Christmas. The girls have visions of a mom-and-dad reunion dancing in their heads. As always in life–and in Cedar Cove–there are surprises, too. More than one family’s going to have a puppy under the tree. More than one scheme will go awry. And more than one romance will have a happy ending!” — from author’s web site.
Magson, Adrian. Tracers: a Harry Tate novel. [SUSPENSE]
Baghdad terrorism; bk.2
Margolis, Sue. A catered affair. [ROMANCE]
Tallulah’s grandmother, Nana Ida, wants her granddaughter to have a big Jewish wedding although Tallulah and her fiance would prefer a small wedding. After months of planning the groom doesn’t doesn’t show up. So Nana Ida gets busy with matchmaking and Tallulah discovers that happiness doesn’t always come in the form of the perfect doctor and that real love doesn’t require a catered affair.
Marrow, Nicole “Coco” & Laura Hayden. Angel.
Debut effort about angels by Ice T’s model wife.
Mason, Bobbie Ann. The girl in the blue beret. [HISTORICAL FICTION]
An American World War II pilot shot down in Occupied Europe returns to his crash site decades later and finds himself drawn back in time to the brave people who helped him escape from the Nazis.
Mayor, Archer. Tag man. [MYSTERY]
“Across Brattleboro, Vermont, rich people (some with dark secrets) are waking up in their high security, alarm-equipped homes to find a Post-it note
stuck to their bedside tables reading, “You’re it.” There is little sign of disturbance anywhere, nothing stolen (that anyone admits,) and only a bit of expensive food eaten as a signature. The Press loves the story and dubs the burglar the Tag Man. But who is he? And what’s he actually doing? In fact, he’s quickly running for his life, for what he discovers in one of these houses appears to be proof of a heinous string of murders. But is it? Joe Gunther, struggling to recover from a devastating personal loss, leads his VBI team to untangle the many conflicting pieces of evidence, while the burglar himself struggles for survival in the no-man’s-land between the police and the villains. With no one knowing what to believe, or who to trust, with Tag Man running for his life in a way he never imagined possible, as no one knows who’s watching as they sleep, or who truly did what, the Tag Man is critically acclaimed author Archer Mayor at his very finest”– Provided by publisher.
McCrumb, Sharyn, The ballad of Tom Dooley: a ballad novel. [HISTORICAL FICTION]
A story inspired by a true crime made famous by the Kingston Trio’s folk song recording re-imagines the events surrounding the murder of North Carolina mountain girl Laura Foster and the hanging of her lover, Tom Dula, in a meticulously researched account that reveals additional information that may prove Dula’s innocence.
McDermid, Val. Trick of the dark. [MYSTERY]
‘Death is a hollow drum whose beat has measured out my adult life.’ So writes Jay Macallan Stewart in her latest volume of memoirs. But nobody has ever asked whether that has been by accident or design. Nobody, that is, until Jay turns her sights on newly-wed and freshly-widowed Magda Newsam. For Magda’s mother Corinna is an Oxford don who knows enough of Jay’s history to be very afraid indeed. Determined to protect her daughter, Corinna turns to clinical psychologist Charlie Flint. But it’s not the best time for Charlie. Her career is in ruins. Pilloried by the press, under investigation by her peers, she’s barred from the profiling work she loves. What Corinna’s asking may be her last chance at redemption. But as Charlie digs into the past and its trail of bodies she starts to realise the price of truth may be more than she wants to pay.
Meyer, Deon. Trackers. [MYSTERY]
Lemmer, a highly skilled bodyguard with a violent, criminal past, has settled into a quiet life in Loxton, South Africa, where the rural tranquility has helped to calm his explosive temper. When a wealthy farmer asks for his help in smuggling a pair of rare black rhinos out of Zimbabwe (where they are murdered for their horns), he has a hard time saying no. Before he knows it, Lemmer is on a small airplane, zipping across the border, an airsickness bag in his hand and a military-grade shotgun at his feet. Soon, he will regret the trip very much.
Mileti, Meredith. Aftertaste: a novel in five courses.
“In Aftertaste, Meredith Mileti dishes up a smart, gripping novel rich with the right ingredients – an honest telling of love, anger, forgiveness and the binding power of food.
Miller, Linda Lael. A lawman’s Christmas: a McKettricks of Texas novel. [ROMANCE]
The sudden death of the town marshal leaves Blue River, Texas, without a lawman, and Dara Rose Nolan without a husband or income, until Clay McKettrick comes to town. When they say “I do” to a marriage of convenience, the temporary lawman’s wish is to make Dara Rose his permanent wife.
Mills, Kyle, Robert Ludlum’s The Ares decision. [SUSPENSE]
Covert-One series
Mina, Denise. The end of the wasp season. [MYSTERY]
When a notorious millionaire banker hangs himself, his death attracts no sympathy. But the legacy of a lifetime of selfishness is widespread, and the carnage most acute among those he ought to be protecting: his family. Meanwhile, in a wealthy suburb of Glasgow, a young woman is found savagely murdered. The community is stunned by what appears to be a vicious, random attack. When Detective Inspector Alex Morrow, heavily pregnant with twins, is called in to investigate, she soon discovers that a tangled web of lies lurks behind the murder. It’s a web that will spiral through Alex’s own home, the local community, and ultimately right back to a swinging rope, hundreds of miles away.
Mitchard, Jacquelyn. Second nature: a love story.
Morgenstern, Erin. The night circus. [FANTASY]
Waging a fierce competition for which they have trained since childhood, circus magicians Celia and Marco unexpectedly fall in love with each other and share a fantastical romance that manifests in fateful ways. MA writer’s debut.
Morris, Mary McGarry. Light from a distant star.
Child witness to a murder
Neggers, Carla. Saint’s gate. [SUSPENSE]
When Emma Sharpe is summoned to a convent on the Maine coast, it’s partly for her art crimes work with the FBI, partly because of her past with the religious order. At issue is a mysterious painting depicting scenes of Irish lore and Viking legends, and her family’s connection to the work. But when the nun who contacted her is murdered, it seems legend is becoming deadly reality.
Neville, Stuart, Stolen souls. [MYSTERY]
Ireland
Novack, Sandra. Everyone but you: stories.
Patterson, James, Kill me if you can. [SUSPENSE]
A poor art student in New York City discovers a duffel bag full of diamonds in the chaos during an attack at Grand Central Station and is pursued by the Ghost, an assassin who had murdered the bag’s owner.
Penny, Louise. A trick of the light. [MYSTERY]
Investigating a murder at a solo artist’s Quebec village home, Chief Inspector Gamache and his team encounter deceptive nuances in the art world that distort every clue they find with tales of duality and broken hearts. Bk.7 in the series.
Rendell, Ruth, The vault: an Inspector Wexford novel. [MYSTERY]
Former Chief Inspector Wexford returns from retirement to solve a most unlikely case: the mystery of who killed the three people whose corpses were last seen at the bottom of a coal hole in A Sight for Sore Eyes (1999). In the decade since Franklin Merton left St. John’s Wood in 1998, Orcadia Cottage has changed hands twice by the time Martin Rokeby, who wants to make room for an amphora his wife Anne found in Florence, pulls up a manhole cover in his backyard and shines a light down a dark shaft to reveal not only the three victims from the author’s earlier tale but a fourth, much more recently dead than the others but equally beyond identification. Det. Supt. Thomas Ede, of Cricklewood, is getting nowhere with the case, so he invites Reg Wexford, who’s retired to Hampstead Heath, to join him as an unpaid consultant. Accompanying Ede and his sergeant, Lucy Blanch, on interviews, he ventures several guesses as to the identities of the dead: Merton’s vanished second wife, Harriet? The young man seen driving an Edsel and heard calling himself Keith Hill? His uncle, from whom he may have taken his name and much more? Orcadia neighbor Mildred Jones’s cleaner Vladlena, who memorably burned the shirt of her then husband Colin? He watches as he is proved right or wrong, but does not simply watch, for trauma and tragedy are about to visit Wexford’s own family in equally unnerving ways.
Richman, Alyson. The lost wife. [HISTORICAL FICTION]
During the last moments of calm in prewar Prague, Lenka, a young art student, and Josef, who is studying medicine, fall in love. With the promise of a better future, they marry–only to have their dreams shattered by the imminent Nazi invasion. Like so many others, they are torn apart by the currents of war.
Riggs, Ransom. Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children. [MYSTERY]
Orphange
Robb, J. D. New York to Dallas. [SUSPENSE]
When a monster named Isaac McQueen–taken down by Eve back in her uniform days–escapes from Rikers, he has two things in mind. One is to pick up where he left off, abducting young victims and leaving them scarred in both mind and body. The other is to get revenge on the woman who stopped him all those years ago.
Rozan, S. J. Ghost hero. [MYSTERY]
Lydia Chin/Bill Smith; bk.11
Ryder, Brandi Lynn. In malice, quite close.
Years after staging her kidnapping and death to run away with the heir to a renowned art collection, Karen finds her carefully constructed world falling apart when their daughter discovers the truth and brings about Karen’s reunion with her sister.
Sandford, John, Shock wave. [SUSPENSE]
Virgil Flowers
Savage, Michael, Abuse of power. [SUSPENSE]
Forced into freelance work after a radical watchdog group’s smear campaign, former prominent war correspondent Jack Hatfield ignores FBI warnings to stay away when he stumbles on a large-scale terrorist plot.
Schappell, Elissa. Blueprints for building better girls: fiction.
“From the acclaimed author of Use Me, eight provocative and darkly funny linked stories that explore the commonly shared, but rarely spoken of experiences that build girls into women and women into wives and mothers, mapping America’s shifting cultural landscape from the late 1970s to the present day”– Provided by publisher.
Schwartz, John Burnham. Northwest corner.
California family relationships
Shors, John, Cross currents.
Brothers in Thailand
Smith, Haywood, Wife-in-law.
Steel, Danielle. Happy birthday.
“Valerie Wyatt is at the top of her game–she has parlayed her talent for entertaining and home decorating into a multimedia empire, and her name is synonymous with class and exquisite taste. And yet, though she has achieved enviable professional success, her ambition and hard work have given her little room for a personal life. She is divorced, and though she has a strong relationship with her daughter, she finds herself alone as her 60th birthday approaches. Valerie’s daughter, April, is also a dynamo in her chosen field. A top-notch chef, she owns her own restaurant–a cozy place that dishes up both comfort food and rare delicacies. The restaurant is a smashing success, and April devotes herself to it body and soul. Like her mother, she values professional success more than romance, and she cannot find any room for a man in her life as her 30th birthday grows nearer. The closest she has come to a relationship in years is an ill-advised one night stand. Jack Adams is a famous former NFL player, who is now an immensely successful sportscaster. He is also an incorrigible womanizer, who makes a habit of bedding models who are half his age. Nearing age 50 he begins to wonder if his wild ways still suit him, or if it’s finally time to grow up. These three driven professionals share the same birthday. And this year, the day that they share will prove to be one that changes their lives forever. Their birthday will set into motion a dramatic series of events–danger, adventure, laughter, heartbreak, and joy…and, ultimately, the most fulfilling “birthday gift” of all”– Provided by publisher.
Stern, Steve, The frozen rabbi. [FANTASY]
How does a nineteenth-century rabbi from a small Polish town end up in a freezer in a suburban Memphis home at the end of the twentieth century? And what happens when a teenage boy thaws him out and miraculously brings him back to life?
Strobel, Alison. Composing Amelia.
Can a brand-new marriage withstand the weight of generations-old baggage? Newlyweds Amelia and Marcus Sheffield are recent college grads, trying to stay afloat in LA while searching for their dream jobs. Marcus hopes to become a mega -church pastor. Amelia has an esteemed music degree, and longs to play piano professionally. The Sheffields are clearly city people. But when a small town church offers Marcus a job, the couple’s dedication to their dreams and each other is tested.
Thompson, Janice A. Hello, Hollywood! [ROMANCE]
Athena Pappas is the head writer on one of the most popular sitcoms in television history. But when Vegas comedian Stephen Cosse is brought in to beef up the show’s suddenly sagging ratings, she starts to worry about her job. Sparks fly as the competition–and attraction–between the two writers heats up. Athena has never had a problem scripting the romances of her characters. So why is her own love life so hard to script? Backstage pass; bk. 2
Toyne, Simon. Sanctus. [SUSPENSE]
When a man performs a dangerous, symbolic act on the mountain known as the Citadel, a Vatican-like city-state that towers above the city of Ruin in contemporary Turkey, a deadly chain of events is set in motion that could destroy the certainties of modern life.
Toynton, Evelyn, The Oriental wife.
Immigrants NYC
Tucker, Lisa. The Winters in bloom. [SUSPENSE]
“Together for over a decade, Kyra and David Winter are happier than they ever thought they could be. They have a comfortable home, stable careers, and a young son, Michael, whom they love more than anything. Yet because of their complicated histories, Kyra and David have always feared that this domestic bliss couldn’t last – that the life they created was destined to be disrupted. And on one perfectly average summer day, it is: Michael disappears from his own backyard. The only question is whose past has finally caught up with them: David feels sure that Michael was taken by his troubled ex-wife, while Kyra believes the kidnapper must be someone from her estranged family, someone she betrayed years ago”–Publisher’s description.
Wallace, Nicolle. It’s classified. [SUSPENSE]
President Charlotte Kramer, the nation’s first female president, returns for her second term after re-election and Tara Meyers is now Vice President of the United States. For Tara, making the transition from the New York Attorney General’s office to working on the national level by President Kramer’s side creates issues that blur the line between personal and professional. After botching a live television interview that gets everyone in D.C. clamoring for her resignation, she attempts to redeem herself by wading headlong into a sensational terror investigation. Unfortunately, Tara’s leading role in the case puts her in the cross-hairs of an edgy public with questions about the White House’s role in the plot–and what the administration did or didn’t do to keep the country clear from danger.
Ward, Jesmyn. Salvage the bones.
Enduring a hardscrabble existence as the children of alcoholic and absent parents, four siblings from a coastal Mississippi town prepare their meager stores for the arrival of Hurricane Katrina while struggling with such challenges as a teen pregnancy and a dying litter of prize pups.
Watson, S. J. Before I go to sleep.
An amnesiac attempts to reconstruct her past by keeping a journal and discovers the dangerous inconsistencies in the stories of her husband and her secret doctor.
Wilson, Kevin, The family Fang.
Performance artists Caleb and Camille Fang dedicated themselves to making great art. But when an artist’s work lies in subverting normality, it can be difficult to raise well-adjusted children. Just ask Buster and Annie Fang. For as long as they can remember, they starred (unwillingly) in their parents’ madcap pieces. But now that they are grown up, the chaos of their childhood has made it difficult to cope with life outside the fishbowl of their parents’ strange world. When the lives they’ve built come crashing down, brother and sister have nowhere to go but home, where they discover that Caleb and Camille are planning one last performance– their magnum opus– whether the kids agree to participate or not. Soon, ambition breeds conflict, bringing the Fangs to face the difficult decision about what’s ultimately more important: their family or their art. The novel displays a keen sense of the complex performances that unfold in the relationships of people who love one another.
Windle, Jeanette. Freedom’s stand. [SUSPENSE]
Christian Fiction
Woods, Sherryl. An O’Brien family Christmas. [ROMANCE]
While celebrating the holidays in Dublin, Ireland, the O’Briens are in an uproar over matriarch Nell’s rekindled romance with an old flame, while playboy Matthew O’Brien must convince Laila Riley, an older woman burned by love, to take a chance on him.
Woods, Stuart. Son of Stone: a Stone Barrington novel. [SUSPENSE]
After an eventful trip to Bel-Air and a reunion with his sophisticated (and very wealthy) former love, Arrington Calder, Stone Barrington is back in New York, and he’s looking to stay closer to home and cash in on his partnership at Woodman & Weld. But Arrington has other plans for Stone…including introducing him to the child he fathered many years ago”– Provided by publisher.
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