The Peculiar Crimes Unit is Back on a Case!

The Invisible Code
Peculiar Crimes Unit detectives, Arthur Bryant and John May, are back and are faced with the most confusing and bizarre case of their careers!

The Peculiar Crimes Unit is given London's most puzzling murders to solve, and the latest is no exception.  A woman dies in St. Bride's Church with no signs of struggle, however, the investigation is surprisingly handed over to the city police and not the Peculiar Crimes Unit.  Instead, Bryant and May are asked to investigate why the head of Home Office security's wife has been acting so strangely, claiming that an evil presence is haunting her for one thing.  A second death reveals a link between the cases and Bryant and May are set on the loose to track down the tricky killer.  



"Witty, charming, intelligent, wonderfully atmospheric and enthusiastically plotted." - The Times (UK)



Looking for more books in the Peculiar Crimes Unit Mystery series? Here they are!

Full Dark House (2004)
The Water Room (2004)
Seventy-Seven Clocks (2005)
Ten Second Staircase (2006)
White Corridor (2007)
The Victoria Vanishes (2008)
Bryant and May on the Loose (2009)
Bryant and May Off the Rails (2010)
The Memory of Blood (2011)

Murder and Moonshine

Looking for an easy to read, puzzling mystery with a little romance mixed in? Look no further than Murder and Moonshine!

Murder and Moonshine

Small town waitress, Daisy McGovern, hears plenty of gossip on the job, but quickly learns that some secrets are harder to keep than others, especially when a local recluse drops dead in the diner with a jelly-lid nearby that suggests a bad batch of moonshine may be to blame.  When ATF agent, Ethan Kinney, turns up in town to investigate, Daisy initially gives him the cold shoulder, as she's not sure who she can trust.  However, she ultimately ends up in a love triangle with Ethan and local bad boy, Rick Balsam.



Powerful New Novel By Carla Buckley

Deepest Secret
Carla Buckley's powerful third novel is full of suspense and rich characters, a story of an ordinary family dealing with unbelievable consequences.  Eva Lattimore will go to any length to protect her son, who has Xeroderma pigmentosum, a rare medical condition that means he must avoid any exposure to light.  She even covers up a fatal car accident because she doesn't know who would take care of her child if she weren't around.  The intense amount of guilt Eva feels affects her greatly and her life begins to unravel at the seams.   


"For fans of Jodi Picoult, Kim Edwards, and William Landay, The Deepest Secret is part intimate family drama, part gripping page-turner, exploring the profound power of the truths we’re scared to face about                                              our marriages, our children, and ourselves." - Publisher's Summary

New Sean Dillon Adventure for the New Year

The Death Trade
Jack Higgins latest action packed novel releases on New Years Eve! This time Sean Dillon and fellow hero, Sara Gideon, are up against the nuclear ambitions of Iran. It's sure to be an exciting ride..click here to place your hold to ring in the New Year with The Death Trade!

Listed below are the first 19 books in Higgin's Sean Dillon series:

Eye of the Storm (June 1992)
Thunder point (November 1993)
On Dangerous Ground (May 1994)
Angel of Death (March 1995)
Drink with the Devil (May 1996)
The President's Daughter (May 1997)
The White House Connection (May 1999)
Day of Reckoning (February 2000)
Edge of Danger (February 2001)
Midnight Runner (February 2002)
Bad Company (June 2003)
Dark Justice (August 2004)
Without Mercy (August 2005)
The Killing Ground (October 2007)
Rough Justice (August 2008)
A Darker Place (January 2009)
The Wolf at the Door (January 2010)
The Judas Gate (January 2011)
A Devil is Waiting (January 2012)

Trieste

Trieste
In Trieste,a moving World War II novel, Haya Tedeschi, an old Italian woman who has waited sixty-two years to be reunited with her son, recalls the gripping memories she has from when her town was under the occupation of Nazi Germany.  Intertwined with her tale are facts that she has collected during her horrific wait to be reunited with her child.  During the occupation of Nazi Germany in her small town in northeastern Italy, Haya's child was fathered by an SS officer and subsequently taken away by German authorities to be part of Himmler's clandestine Lenensborn project.  The book is written in a way that is meant to "immerse the reader deep into the wartime atrocities, and the result is an unbearable, unusual, and unforgettable tribute to a very dark period of history." - Library Journal Reviews

Trieste releases on January 14th, click here to place your hold today!

Book Review: Forget Me Not by Fern Michaels

Forget Me Not
Although she has a lot going for her, Lucy Brighton just can't get over her lonely childhood.  Her parents moved to Florida five years ago and she has not had much contact with them at all.  Then one day she gets a call - her parents have been killed in a car crash.  While in Florida settling their affairs, Lucy starts to realize that there are a lot of things she can't explain, including the safe in their bedroom that is harboring fake passports, cash and weapons.  Who were her parents? When Lucy finds out the answer, she realizes that nothing will ever be the same again.  Forget Me Not, is a family suspense fiction book that is sure to please! 

Wind Down the Year with Brown Dog

Brown Dog
In 1990, Jim Harrison's first beloved Brown Dog novella was published, and now fans can read a collection of all five previously published pieces in one volume, plus a new story, He Dog.  Brown Dog, who lives in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, is an extraordinary ordinary man who is of partly Native American descent and lives pretty much off the grid of contemporary society.  

Per Publishers Weekly, "often moving, frequently funny, these 500 pages offer the best way to get acquainted  (or reacquainted) with one of literature's great characters.

Best of the Best Book List

In the spirit of creating a year-end "Best of 2013" book list, The Daily Beast takes a different than usual approach.  Rather than just creating their own "best of" list, they also take 39 additional lists and tally up how many times a book was cited as being the year's best to give their readers a "ranked ultimate guide." Click here to read the full article and to view all the winners.

The Daily Beast gave us a ranked list of 10 fiction and 10 non-fiction books.  The ultimate winners are as follows:

Fiction: The Tenth of December: Stories by George Saunders


Tenth of December: Stories
George Saunders, an undisputed master of the short story creates his most honest, accessible, and moving collection yet.   The collection includes "Home," a story about a soldier's return home from war; "Victory Lap," about an abduction attempt; and the title story, in which a cancer patient on the verge of suicide ends up saving the life of a young misfit.





Non-Fiction: Book of Ages: The Life and Opinions of Jane Franklin by Jill Lepore

Book of Ages: The Life and Opinions of Jane Franklin
Book of Ages presents a portrait of Jane Franklin, Benjamin Franklin's youngest sister.  In addition, the novel presents a different account of the founding of the United States of America.






Have you read any of the top books of 2013? Send us your review!

Cozy Christmas Mystery

Looking to snuggle up with a cozy Christmas mystery for the holidays? Check out the selection available at the Community Library..we have a lot, including Mulled Murder, part of the Pennyfoot Hotel mystery series by Kate Kingsbury!

Mulled Murder

Things are a bit hectic at the Pennyfoot Hotel this holiday season - one of Cecily Sinclair Baxter's housemaids has left to get married, the bathrooms are flooding and the new janitor has anything but visions of sugar plums in his head.  But things really go south when one of Cecily's guests is found stabbed to death, and what's more, he was a private investigator - who was he looking into? Was it someone on the staff or one of the guests? What secret could drive someone to cold-blooded murder?


Looking for more books in the Pennyfoot Hotel series? There are 21 books in total!



Winter Wonder

Perusing your options for an active winter getaway? Interested in winter sporting events? Looking for tales of epic journeys that occurred in the freezing cold? Make sure you stop by the Community Library and check out the "Winter Wonder" display located on the main floor! Below is just one example of the books we have available for you:

Alone on the Ice

Alone on the Ice, by David Roberts, tells the story of Douglas Mawson, the lone survivor of the Australasian Antarctic Expedition of 1913, and the incredible obstacles he had to overcome to make it back to his base camp alive after his two colleagues are killed.  

Dean Koontz's 'Innocence' Released

Innocence: A Novel
Check out the latest from the #1 New York Times bestselling author Dean Koontz...reserve a copy of Innocence from the Community Library today!

“Laced with fantastical mysticism, it’s an allegory of nonviolence, acceptance and love in the face of adversity. . . . The narrative is intense, with an old-fashioned ominousness and artistically crafted descriptions. . . . An optimistic and unexpected conclusion [mirrors] his theme. Something different this way comes from Mr. Koontz’s imagination. Enjoy.”Kirkus Reviews

How well do YOU know NYC?

The New York Nobody Knows: Walking 6,000 Miles in the City
As a New York City native, William Helmreich felt that he knew the City pretty well; as a child he and his father would play a game they called "Last Stop." Last Stop entailed picking a subway line, riding it to its final stop and getting out and exploring the neighborhood.  As an adult, Helmreich, a true explorer at heart, felt that the only way to truly understand his beloved NYC would be to walk every single block of every single neighborhood in all five boroughs.  So he did.  Helmreich's epic journey was an astonishing 6,000 miles long on foot.  It took four years to complete.  The book he published after his life-changing adventure, The New York Nobody Knows, is his story.  Let us know your thoughts - does this epic memoir change the way you view the big City?

Per Kirkus Reviews, "The author exudes great love and admiration for his hometown on every page, and this collection of anecdotes brings New York to life with unprecedented humanity and detail.  This book is a pure joy; even the most dyed-in-the-wool New Yorker will learn something new about this vibrant city." 

Step Back in Time to the Roaring Twenties!

Dollface: A Novel of the Roaring Twenties
Vera Abramowitz is ready for a change - living with her mother who plans for her to work in the family's stockyard and meatpacking plant, Vera longs for a more glamorous and glitzy life.  Lucky for her, it's the Roaring Twenties and pretty girls can drink and dance all night in Chicago nightclubs.  After she makes her move to the big City, she quickly hooks up with not one, but two gangster boyfriends. Times sure are fun, until Vera realizes she may have gotten in over her head, especially after she becomes pregnant and finds out the true identity of her lovers.

Per Library Journal Reviews, "as Vera's life unfolds and the consequences of her choices become clear, the novel evolves with her - from a coming-of-age tale, to a love story, and, finally, a lesson on redemption and coming home."

New Coffeehouse Mystery: Billionaire Blend

Billionaire Blend: A Coffeehouse Mystery
Clare Cosi, co-owner of the Village Blend coffeehouse in Manhattan comes across another murder to solve when a car bomb detonates right outside her shop, killing Internet billionaire Eric Thorner's chauffeur, and leaving Clare and Eric feeling lucky to escape any harm.  To thank Claire for her aid, Eric buys the Village Blend a high end espresso machine and hires her to create a coffee blend so expensive and extravagant, that only the wealthy can afford it.

Per Publishers Weekly Reviews, "Coyle (the husband-and-wife team of Marc Cerasini and Alice Alfonsi) combines fascinating coffee lore, sumptuous culinary events, extravagant lifestyles, and romantic possibilities for a highly satisfying mystery."   

Check out the other books in the Coffeehouse Mystery series!

On What Grounds (September 2003)
Through the Grinder (October 2004)
Latte Trouble (August 2005)
Murder Most Frothy (August 2006)
Decaffeinated Corpse (July 2007)
French Pressed (April 2008)
Espresso Shot (September 2008)
Holiday Grind (November 2009)
Roast Mortem (August 2010)
Murder by Mocha (August 2011)
A Brew to Kill (August 2012)
Holiday Buzz (December 2012)

December Book Display: Holiday Crafts & Books

Looking for a holiday themed book to curl up with on this snowy day? Searching for the perfect cookie recipe? Want to decorate your house with beautiful, handmade crafts? Come check out our 'Holiday Crafts & Books' display on the main floor of the Community Library.  

From Christmas themed fiction novels and audiobooks to cookbooks and crafts, we have it all in one place! 





Oprah Announces Third Selection for Oprah's Book Club 2.0...

...and the powerful new novel is The Invention of Wings by Sue Monk Kidd!  Click here to read a sneak peek of the article that will appear in the January edition of O, The Oprah Magazine.  

Written by Sue Monk Kidd, the best-selling author of The Secret Life of Bees, The Invention of Wings was inspired by the true story of Sarah Grimké, a 19th century abolitionist and suffragist.  The story follows the unlikely friendship between wealthy Charleston debutante, Sarah, and her slave, Handful, who was given to Sarah as a birthday present when she turned eleven years old.  Although their suffering and pain are not the same, both girl long to be free, Sarah from Southern patriarchy and racism and Handful from the bonds of slavery.  According to Oprah, "Sue Monk Kidd has written a conversation changer.  It is impossible to read this book and not come away thinking differently about our status as women and about all the unsung heroines who played a role in getting us where we are."


The Invention of Wings is set to release on January 7th, click here to place your hold today! 

Third Book in the Love & Inheritance Series Set to Release Next Week

Are you a Downton Abbey fan? Love stories about the shared lives of masters and servants at the turn of the 20th century? Have you heard about the Love and Inheritance series, written by Fay Weldon, the award-winning writer for Upstairs Downstairs? Earlier this year, the first two installments were released, Habits of the House and Long Live the King, and now the final book, The New Countess, is set to release this month.  Place your hold today to go back in time with Lord Robert, Lady Isobel Dilberne, and their entire grand estate.  


Habits of the House
Long Live the King
The New Countess


Warm Up with a Steamy Love Story

Luckiest Lady in London
A starred Booklist review, the Luckiest Lady in London is the romantic tale of unlikely couple, Louisa Cantwell, an unknown nobody who is looking for a wealthy husband to provide not only for her, but also for her mother and four sisters, and Felix Rivendale, Marquess of Wrenworth and as he's known in London society, the "Ideal Gentleman." They are immensely attracted to each other when they first meet, however, Louisa, who doesn't have much in terms of a dowry, cannot get beyond her suspicions of why Felix is interested in her, not too mention the many society rules they are breaking by seeing each other.  When Felix proposes to Louisa, she feels that she has no choice but to accept.

"With scintillating wit and sophisticated sensuality, RITA Award-winning Thomas (Tempting the Bride, 2012) launches an entrancing new historical trilogy.  Handling characterization, pacing, and setting with perfect finesse, Thomas has created a romance that is pure magic." - Booklist Reviews

Looking Ahead to Next Year...


Tempting Fate
Married to a successful doctor, two beautiful daughters and a secure future...what more could Gabby want? She finds out when she goes out to a bar for girls night and finds herself attracted to a younger man, and better yet, he's into her too.  Matt makes forty-three year old Gabby feel young again, attractive, sparkly and full of life.  As the relationship evolves and eventually reaches the point of no return, Gabby must face the fact that she could lose everything...and ultimately find out what really matters most in her life.  

Tempting Fate by Jane Green releases next March.  Place your hold today to be tops on the wait list! 

Do it the French Way..Age with Style and Attitude!

French Women Don't Get Facelifts
Feeling old? Past your prime? Looking for a light, frivolous read to pass your time? 

You may want to check out French Women Don't Get Facelifts by Mireille Guilano.  Rather than resorting to plastic surgery, Guilano advises us that we need to maintain a positive attitude toward growing older, and to do so gracefully, we must eat healthy and exercise, continue to dress stylishly and buy the right cosmetics.  

Sound interesting? Click here to place your hold on this intriguing beauty manual today!  

Winners of the 2013 Goodreads Choice Awards!

Earlier this week, the winners of the 5th Annual Goodreads Choice Awards were announced! With almost 2 million votes cast this year, the Goodreads Choice Awards are the only major book awards decided by readers.  

Click here to read the article and view the winners in all 20 categories.  The top ten fiction books are listed below.  Congratulations to all the winners!    


And the Mountains Echoed
WINNER!
1.  And the Mountains Echoed by Khaled Hosseini
2.  The Storyteller by Jodi Picoult
3.  Me Before You by Jojo Moyes
4.  The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt
5.  The Husband's Secret by Liane Moriaty 
6.  Orphan Train by Christina Baker Klein
7.  The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion
8.  The House Girl by Tara Conklin
9.  A Tale for the Time Being by Ruth Ozeki
10.  Tenth of December by George Saunders  

Snowed In With a Good Book

Snowed In Book List
Check out the December book display downstairs in the Fiction section at your Community Library! The featured books are perfect for curling up with on a cold winter's night. 

Titles on display include The Light of Amsterdam, a story of three families searching for understanding during a holiday vacation to Amsterdam, A Week in Winter, about Chicky Starr and her decision to take a restful holiday in an isolated mansion overlooking the ocean, and Paper Angels, a story about Andy Sommerville dealing with his past after his personal angel, "Old Man," disappears after an injury.  

Click here for even more good books to read on a cold winter's night.  

Book Review: In the Memorial Room by Janet Frame

In the Memorial RoomPublished posthumously, In the Memorial Room is a satire that Janet Frame wrote in 1974 about the fandom surrounding the late (fictional) poet Margaret Rose Hurndell.  As Hurndell is intended to represent the actual New Zealand author Katherine Mansfield (1888-1923), Frame insisted the book be published after her death.  

The story follows Harry Gill, a writer who has been awarded the Watercress-Armstrong Fellowship, a living memorial to the late Margaret Rose Hurndell.  Gill travels to a small French village where his housing accommodations are located, but finds his new digs unacceptable to write or live in.  

Kirkus Reviews says that "Frame's sentences are marvels, winding like narrow alleys through hill towns: They open spectacular vistas.  Brilliant."  

New Stephanie Plum Novel: Takedown Twenty

Takedown Twenty
In Takedown Twentybounty hunter, Stephanie Plum, has her mind set on catching notorious mob boss, Salvatore "Uncle Sunny" Sunucchi. If she doesn't get to him first, he may take her out: with bullet holes in her car, henchmen on her tail and a giraffe running loose in the streets, Stephanie will have to up her game for the ultimate takedown!

Looking for more books in the Stephanie Plum series? Listed below are the first nineteen, all available at the Community Library.

One for the Money (1994)
Two for the Dough (1996)
Three to Get Deadly (1997)
Four to Score (1998)
High Five (1999)
Hot Six (2000)
Seven Up (2001)
Hard Eight (2002)
To the Nines (2003)
Ten Big Ones (2004)
Eleven on Top
Twelve Sharp
Lean Mean Thirteen
Fearless Fourteen
Finger Lickin' Fifteen
Sizzling Sixteen
Smokin' Seventeen
Explosive Eighteen
Notorious Nineteen

Book Review: Someone Else's Love Story


Someone Else's Love Story
New York Times bestselling author, Joshilyn Jackson, gives us an inspiring story of love, faith and redemption in Someone Else's Love Story.  Southern belle Shandi Pierce falls in love at "gunpoint" when William Ashe steps between Shandi's three-year-old son and a gunman during a convenience story robbery, and ends up getting shot. This heroic feat is enough to earn Shandi's undivided love and attention, and she starts caring for him on the day that Ashe is released from the hospital.

According to Kirkus Reviews, this is a "surprising novel, both graceful and tender. You won't be able to put it down."  

Let us know what you think!
   

Catch Up on Fascinating, Newly Released Biographies


Looking for Strangers
Looking for Strangers: The True Story of My Hidden Wartime Childhood is the story of American academic and poet, Dori Katz, and her attempt to recover her childhood memories of being sent to live with a Catholic family during the Holocaust.   


This is the Story of a Happy Marriage



In This is the Story of a Happy MarriageAnn Patchett paints a self-portrait about her life, the people, places, ideals and art to which she has been consistently committed and her path which led her to becoming a writer.  The book is a well-organized collection of essays that have been carefully selected and arranged and span a twenty year period of Patchett's career.  


Sam Wasson paints a picture of the iconic Bob Fosse, who is the renowned dancer, choreographer, screenwriter and director that revolutionized every facet of American entertainment with his style.  Fosse is a joy to read and Wasson has successfully written a richly detailed celebrity bio that is both inspiring and depressing. 

The Boy Detective

In The Boy Detective: A New York Childhood, Roger Rosenblatt reminisces about his 1950's childhood in Gramercy Park, and his fantasies of being a boy detective.