Staff Picks For National Library Week: Laura and Luke

It's almost time for National Library Week!  We always ask for staff picks of favorite books, so we will be posting some of those over the next week.  Here are the first choices:

Laura

Twice by Mitch Albom -Mitch is my all-time favorite author. I read and own every book he's ever written. This one is a little different; it's a romance with a magical twist. The protagonist has the ability to whisper TWICE and redo his last mistake. He can't revisit the same thing more than once and has no control over whether or when someone dies. The ending made me hold the book tight and cry—so heartwarming!

 

Dear Debbie by Freida McFadden -I find Freida very hit or miss, but her books are always short, easy reads. This one knocked it out of the park. Debbie authors a column much like Dear Abby, but Debbie is far away from Abby! In real life, she is terrifying! Don't miss this one, it makes up for the blah ones.

 

Creep, Freak, and The Butcher -  All three by Jennifer Hillier in her Serial Killer Files. Each is a stand-alone book about a different serial killer and their effect on their families and everyone in their orbit. Each one is a page-turning thriller and I loved them all!

Luke

How to Become the Dark Lord and Die Trying by Django Wexler is a fantasy book that's a bit raunchy, filled with wise cracks and sarcasm.

Nevermore: Dopesick, Naturalist, Murder in Constantinople

 Reported by Rita

Dopesick: Dealers, Doctors, and the Drug Company that Addicted America by Beth Macy

Beth Macy takes us into the epicenter of America's twenty-plus year struggle with opioid addiction. From distressed small communities in Central Appalachia to wealthy suburbs; from disparate cities to once-idyllic farm towns; it's a heartbreaking trajectory that illustrates how this national crisis has persisted for so long and become so firmly entrenched.

I found this book to be easy to read and well researched. It was very thorough and informative - well done.      - KM     5 stars 

 

Naturalist: A Graphic Adaptation by Jim Ottaviani (Adapter), Edward O. Wilson, C.M. Butzer (Illustrator)

A vibrant graphic adaptation of the classic science memoir. Regarded as one of the world’s preeminent biologists, Edward O. Wilson spent his boyhood exploring the forests and swamps of south Alabama and the Florida panhandle, collecting snakes, butterflies, and ants—the latter to become his lifelong specialty. His memoir Naturalist, called “one of the finest scientific memoirs ever written” by the Los Angeles Times, is an inspiring account of Wilson’s growth as a scientist and the evolution of the fields he helped define. This graphic edition, adapted by New York Times bestselling comics writer Jim Ottaviani and illustrated by C.M. Butzer, brings Wilson’s childhood and celebrated career to life through dynamic full-color illustrations and Wilson’s own lyric writing.

I thought this was a great expose of Wilson's life. Very fascinating.      - AH     5 stars

 

Murder in Constantinople by A.E. Goldin

A gripping, immersive historical murder mystery in which a wayward boy from London's East End is pulled into the hunt for a serial killer on the eve of the Crimean War. London, 1854- twenty-one-year-old Ben Canaan attracts trouble wherever he goes. His father wants him to be a good Jewish son, working for the family business on Whitechapel Road, but Ben and his friends, the 'Good-for-Nothings', just want adventure.

This was a good read - a really interesting story.      - GP       5 stars

  

Other Books Mentioned:

Marce Catlett: The Force of a Story: A Port William Novel by Wendell Berry

Jordan's Stormy Banks (Body Farm, #7.5) by Jefferson Bass

The Devil's Bones (Body Farm, #3) by Jefferson Bass

Trauma Room Two by Philip Allen Green

Skylark by Paula McLain

Wings: The Story of a Band on the Run by Paul McCartney, Ted Widmer (Editor)

 

New Books:

Keeper of Lost Children by Sadeqa Johnson

The Company of Owls by Polly Atkin

The True True Story of Raja the Gullible by Rabih Alameddine

The Last Gifts of the Universe by Riley August

How the Heather Looks: A Joyous Journey to the British Sources of Children’s Books by Joan Bodger

 

Reviewed by Jeanne

Many, many years ago, a fellow librarian encouraged me to read How the Heather Looks if I had any interest in children’s literature.  The library had a copy, so I promptly checked it out.  In the late 1950s, author Bodger and her husband took their young son Ian and toddler daughter Lucy to England in search of the sites in the books they loved.  Remember, this is pre-internet; no googling places or making reservations online.  Instead, they rented a car and set out, poring over maps, and hoping to find places to stay as they go along. 

What they do have is a deep love and knowledge of books.  Winnie the Pooh and Wind in the Willows, of course, but also Puck of Pook’s Hill, Swallows and Amazons, and several others that I recognized but couldn’t quite remember, such as Johnny Crow’s Garden.  Of course, there are also references to British history, to King Arthur, Robin Hood, and a host of other familiar characters.

They prepared as best they could, by researching the areas they wanted to visit in part by finding where the authors lived on the premise that the artists and illustrators would have used the places that inspired the authors. The hope that the locals would be able to fill in the information proved wildly optimistic: in a town where he lived and worked, no one seems to know Randolph Caldecott.  That’s not to say the people they meet are inhospitable; most are quite kind, even if they think these Americans are quite daft.

While they may not find exactly what they are looking for and sometimes pass places they later discover would have been sites they loved, they go with such hopes, joy, and innocence that I was utterly charmed.  Most of all, these are people who love books. Their enthusiasm has made me want to go pick up books I hadn’t read in years and even to seek books I’ve never read.

Even with set-backs like rainy weather or missed turns, they never lose their enthusiasm. They even have some amazing instances of good luck as when they write to A.A. Milne’s widow and are invited for a visit.

For me, this is an absolute charmer of a book, a love letter to both literature and to England. I have to admit that when I read it long, long ago, I dimly remember being disappointed at all the things they set out to find and didn’t.  This time around, I was more attuned to the things they did find, especially some that they weren’t actually looking for.  Sometimes it IS more about the journey than the destination.

And now I have the urge to re-read Wind in the Willows.

The Body in the Kelp by Katherine Hall Page

 

Reviewed by Jeanne

Faith Fairchild, her minister husband Tom, and toddler Ben are spending the summer on Sanpere, an island in Maine.  Faith finds herself enjoying her time at the beach, especially as there are two enthusiastic teenage babysitters who adore following Ben around.  Faith’s friend Pix, who encouraged the visit, has introduced her around so she’s gathered a circle of acquaintances.  There’s also very fresh seafood, including clams and lobster which caterer Faith finds most appealing.

Less appealing is finding a body on the beach, even more so when it turns out that it’s someone Faith knows.

This was my first Faith Fairchild mystery but it certainly won’t be my last!  Page writes with verve, going from marvelous descriptions of place to Faith’s somewhat cynical sense of humor.  She also keeps the action moving with disagreements about a surprising inheritance and the lure of hidden treasure, possible mythical but one can always dream. For me, the book is a delight; I enjoy the humor and the descriptions of Sanpere are so vivid that I can almost smell the sea. Looking at some of the title descriptions, this is one of the series that recognizes the passage of time: by The Body in the Web (2024) Ben is off to college.  (Body in the Kelp came out in 1991.)

Faith is neither foolhardy nor overly cautious.  She has an appealing no-nonsense attitude that bodes well for the long haul as a sleuth. The style reminds me of two of my favorite authors, Jill Churchill and Lea Wait, so I am thrilled to have a new author to add to my list. Since there are 26 books in the series, I will no doubt be entertained for quite some time!

Nevermore: Secret Societies, Devil’s Bones, Six Feet Deep Dish

 

Nevermore: Secret Societies, Devil’s Bones, Six Feet Deep Dish

 

Reported by Rita

 

 

The Little Book of Secret Societies: 50 of the World's Most Notorious Organizations and How to Join Them by Joel Levy

History is riddled with mysteries surrounding secret societies. Nearly all civilizations have at some point been the home to these shadowy groups. Meeting behind closed doors and saying nothing of what goes on inside, suspicion shrouds their every move. Should we be afraid of the Freemasons? How powerful were the Illuminati? When people say that world affairs are shaped by these subversive organizations, should we really believe them?

From college fraternities like the Skull and Bones, to religious movements like the Templars, Joel Levy examines 50 of the most infamous secret societies from throughout history. Balancing the historical claims with more skeptical viewpoints, here is all the evidence you need to decide for yourself exactly how suspicious you should be.

 

This was a quick, fun read - really interesting.      - KM      4 stars

 

The Devil's Bones (Body Farm Series #3) by Jefferson Bass

A burned car sits on a Knoxville, Tennessee hilltop, a woman's lifeless, charred body seated inside. Forensic anthropologist Bill Brockton's job is to discover the truth hidden in the fire-desecrated corpse. Was the woman's death accidental . . . or was she incinerated to cover up her murder? But his research into the effect of flame on flesh and bone is about to collide with reality like a lit match meeting spilled gasoline. The arrival of a mysterious package--a set of suspiciously unnatural cremated remains--is pulling Brockton toward a nightmare too inhuman to imagine. And an old nemesis is waiting in the shadows to put him to the ultimate test, one that could reduce Brockton's life to smoldering ruins. 

I really enjoyed it. Having lived in Knoxville, it was fun to recognize the areas described in the book.      - CD      5 stars

 

Six Feet Deep Dish by Mindy Quigley

When, right before opening her new gourmet deep-dish pizzeria in Geneva Bay, Wisconsin, Delilah O'Leary is dumped by her fiancée and her aunt is accused of murder, she must save her pie-in-the-sky ambitions before they can even get off the ground.

 

This was a fun and cute mystery. I will probably read more in the series.     - MH        4 stars

 

Others Books Mentioned:

 

 

Best Wishes, Warmest Regards: The Story of Schitt's Creek by Daniel Levy, Eugene Levy, Catherine O'Hara (Contributor)

Girl in the Blue Coat by Monica Hesse

Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston

Patient Zero: A Curious History of the World's Worst Diseases by Lydia Kang

The Lower River by Paul Theroux

One Thousand White Women: The Journals of May Dodd (One Thousand White Women, #1) by Jim Fergus

Chemistry and Other Stories by Ron Rash

Anam Cara: A Book of Celtic Wisdom by John O'Donohue

 

 

New Books:

 

Let's Call Her Barbie by Renee Rosen

The Mysterious Death of Junetta Plum by Valerie Wilson Wesley

Wolf Hour by Jo Nesbo

Before It's Gone: Stories from the Front Lines of Climate Change in Small-Town America by Jonathan Vigliotti

The Great Shadow: A History of How Sickness Shapes What We Do, Think, Believe, and Buy by Susan Wise Bauer

Declaring Independence: Why 1776 Matters by Edward J. Larson

Death Scene by Carol J. Perry

 

Reviewed by Jeanne

Salem is all agog at the filming of a new movie, set partly in Salem and utilizing some of the City’s iconic sites, such as the Witch House for some of its scenes.  The stars are the current hot Hollywood couple, Diana Diamond and Lamar Faraday, though the gossip is that off-screen they loathe each other despite the on-screen chemistry. Lee Barrett, programming director at WICH-TV, is getting many, many orders from her boss about coverage and program tie-ins for the station which has Lee juggling even more tasks than usual.

Things don’t lighten up, either.  Diana Diamond turns up dead, in the latest of a series of mishaps for the film, leaving a lot of uncertainty about people and projects.  Lee’s husband, Detective Pete Mondello, is investigating but it turns out that Diana had a lot of enemies on set.  He may need more than a little help from Lee, her Tarot-reading friend River, and even Lee’s Aunt Ibby to solve this mystery.

This is the fourteenth book in the series but Perry always does a stellar job of introducing her characters and getting readers up to date.  I love that she does so in a very straightforward manner instead of trying to coyly slide facts in.  I love the characters (for the most part; I tolerate Pete) and I like that Perry doesn’t indulge in a lot of personal drama among her cast.  I’m looking for a mystery and not a soap opera.  I also greatly appreciate how Perry keeps the story moving, even when Lee isn’t actively investigating. There’s always something interesting going on to keep me turning pages.

The Salem setting is a big draw as well.  Books that give me a good sense of place get gold stars in my book, and I like the touches of the supernatural that crop up.  O’Ryan, Lee’s “gentleman cat,” is much more than he seems and Lee herself will see visions in reflective surfaces, though interpreting these visions is another problem altogether.

There’s also the appeal of a “behind the scenes” look at a TV studio, eschewing the glitz and glamor to presenting professionals hard at work.

While I felt the culprit in this entry was pretty easy to spot, I still enjoyed the visit with Lee and company. I also really liked the one bit of a twist at the end, which I think some readers would call most implausible but the groundwork had been well laid. While this may not be the best in the series, I consider it a keeper on my crowded bookshelves.

Can you tell this is one of my favorite series?

There’s one more book in this Witch City series before Perry moves on to the Wicked Salem series featuring Aunt Ibby and her friends.  Here’s hoping that Lee and River will also drop by! (And yes, I already have it on pre-order.)

New Fiction in April!

 

Baldacci, David  Hope Rises

Bannalec, Jean-Luc The Secrets of the Abbey

Chiaverini, Jennifer The Patchwork Players (Elm Creek Quilts)

Chu, John  The Subtle Art of Folding Space

Dailey, Janet  Kill for a Million

Graves, Sarah  Death by Chocolate Ladyfingers

Hannon, Irene Harbor Pointe

Harper, Jane Last One Out

Harris, C.S.  When the Wolves Are Silent (Sebastian St. Cyr)

Hepworth, Sally  Mad Mabel

Horowitz, Anthony A Deadly Episode (Hawthorne and Horowitz)

Hunter, Denise  More Than Friends

Jones, Sandie Killing Me Softly

Klune, TJ  We Burned So Bright

Mack, Catherine  This Weekend Doesn’t End Well for Anyone (Vacation Mysteries)

Michaels, Fern  The Final Storm

Novak, Brenda  Meet Me in Italy

Patterson, Susan & James The Mother-Daughter Book Club

Perrin, Kristen How to Cheat Your Own Death

Perrotta, Tom  Ghost Town

Perry, Devney  Rites of the Starling  (Shield of Sparrows)

Preston, Douglas  Paradox (Cash & Colcord)

Quinn, Spencer  Cat on a Hot Tin Woof (Chet and Bernie)

Richardson, Kim Michele  The Mountains We Call Home: The Book Woman’s Legacy

Rose, Karen Family Lies (San Diego Case Files)

Sandford, John Revenge Prey

Semple, Maria  Go Gentle

Shaffer, Meg  The Book Witch

Smiley, Jane Lidie: The Further Travels and Adventures of Lidie Newton: A Novel

Straub, Emma  American Fantasy

Steel, Danielle  A Woman’s Place

Sutanto, Jesse  Ms. Mebel Goes Back to the Chopping Block