Mastics-Moriches-Shirley Community Library Reader Advisory Blog: Deception at Lyme; or, The Peril of Persuasion

Attention Austen fans! The 6th entry in a mystery series featuring Pride and Prejudice's Mr. Darcy and his new bride Elizabeth has just been released. The Deception at Lyme; or, The Peril of Persuasion tells the story of a holiday gone terribly wrong. Fitzwilliam and Elizabeth Darcy investigate the murder of a woman whose body was found at the base of Lyme's famous sea wall, as well as the prospect that Fitzwilliam's naval-lieutenant cousin may have also been murdered. Each title in the series stands well alone, but newcomers may want to begin with the first book, Pride and Prescience; or, A Truth Universally Acknowledged.

Being Mortal by Atul Gawande

Genre: Adult Non-Fiction
Rating: 5 out of 5

"Being Mortal is about the limitations of what modern medicine can provide for people as their lives draw to a close. Gawande argues that the objective of medicine should not merely be treatment and survival; medical care should also ensure dignity in death and having control over one's final moments. He argues that instead of aggressively fighting the inescapable realities of aging, we should ask the hard questions of ourselves and our loved ones -- What makes life worth living? When should we try to extend our lives, and when should we choose a better quality of our remaining days over extending their quantity?

This book is difficult to read. Not because of the way Gawande writes -- his style is highly engaging, and he never lapses into excessively scientific jargon or overly simplistic explanations -- but because of the tough subject matter. Gawande draws on his own experiences as a doctor and peppers his book with honest and humane stories of his patients, friends, and family; the stories he tells make the book more accessible, and also more heartbreaking. (And that's not a bad thing.)

No one likes to think about their loved ones', or their own, impending mortality. But it's important to have these hard conversations, because as Gawande says, "endings matter." - Amanda

Deception at Lyme; or, The Peril of Persuasion

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