Library plans events to celebrate
During the month of January the library will be celebrating Jane Austen with displays and a variety of programs, including movies, a Regency Period Costume Demonstration and a Bollywood Bance Demonstration.
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This summer’s weather has certainly made it harder to wander from home, and our bank accounts are lower than expected so international travel this summer may be a luxury few of us can truly afford. Instead, venture mentally from your porch swing or comfortable sofa into some fictional depictions of some real places for crime and detection.
In A Carrion Death by Michael Stanley, enjoy the exotic beauty of Botswana as Detective Kubu unravels a mystifying murder and uncovers a very tangled web of conspiracy. Continue »

Award winners are a great resource to turn to when you are looking for a sure-bet title to please your reading palate. Aside from some obvious sources like the National Book Awards and the Mystery Writers of America’s Edgar Awards—there is a group of librarians (RUSA) who choose the best genre fiction of the year—fantasy, historical, horror, mystery, romance, science fiction, suspense, and women’s fiction. Often this list intersects with other “best” lists, but what is always compelling about this group of titles is that often it is the under-appreciated writer that gets a nod. These writers often experiment with different ways of telling stories, in addition to producing books that readers will savor for a long time.
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Author, book reviewer and writing teacher Hallie Ephron will speak at Beebe Library, 345 Main St., Wakefield on Wednesday, February 11, at 7 p.m.
Ephron’s newest book is a gripping psychological novel, “Never Tell a Lie.” Publishers Weekly called it “stunning” and “a deliciously creepy tale of obsession.”
She is also the co-author of a series of mystery novels written with Donald Davidoff, a neuropsychologist at Harvard’s McLean Hospital. Under the shared pseudonym G.H. Ephron, they penned a series of five mysteries featuring fictional forensic neuropsychologist Peter Zak and investigator Annie Squires.
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Beebe Library display in memory of the late American writer John Updike.

Beebe Library suggests trying some new authors in the New Year

It is January — a new year, the first week and the first month of the New Year. In that spirit, this is a great time to try something new or read a new author. There is an abundance of good debuts from excellent writers available this year at the Beebe Library.

Due out this month is Erica Bauermeister’s The School of Essential Ingredients. This is a tasty novel that tells the story of a different character in each section. According to Booklist, “the effect is a series of pearl-like vignettes stretched out along a narrative string.” Both the unifying character (and clever plot device) is each character’s participation in a cooking class run by Lillian, a restaurateur who encourages her cooks to use their senses as well as the recipes.
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