Debut Released Today: The Family Fang

What is it like to be raised by two push-the-envelope performance artists? The Family Fang, Kevin Wilson's debut novel, explores this question from the point of view of the now-adult children Annie and Buster Fang. Flashbacks to their childhood show their eccentric parents Caleb and Camille pulling stunts that ruin their family vacation, among other things. Reserve this new book, which received a starred review in Kirkus, by calling your community library at 399-1511 x240 or clicking the "request" button in the catalog.

New love story: The Last Letter from Your Lover

Kirkus describes the newly-released book The Last Letter from Your Lover as "a prize-winning, cross-generational love story of missed connections and delayed gratification [that] hits a seam of pure romantic gold." 1950s trophy wife Jennifer Stirling realizes she is locked in a loveless marriage after gradually recovering from memory loss caused by the traffic accident that opens the story. Jennifer hesitates to leave her husband for journalist Anthony O'Hare, however, as many obstacles stand between the would-be lovers. Forty years later, a journalist leafing through their old, yellowed correspondence slowly pieces together the couple's star-crossed tale. A natural next read for fans of stories like The Secret History of the Pink Carnation or The Love of My Youth.

Debut Released Today: Before I Go To Sleep by S.J. Watson

The critically-acclaimed Before I Go To Sleep tells the story of a woman with an unusual form of amnesia. Every morning when Christine wakes up, she doesn't remember anything, not even who the man in bed next to her is. Her husband Ben is used to her confusion and tries to help her adjust to the shock each day by anticipating her questions and showing her photos of the two of them. Meanwhile, unknown even to her, Christine has been cheating on Ben with her therapist Dr. Nash. With no way to know who she can trust, it is only through her journal that Christine can gradually come to terms with her unusual condition. From the starred Kirkus review: "Watson's pitch-perfect writing propels the story to a frenzied climax that will haunt readers long after they've closed the cover on this remarkable book."

New Release: Now You See Me by S.J. Bolton

In this critically-acclaimed mystery, a modern-day Jack the Ripper copycat killer is on the loose. However, when evidence is found implicating one of the case's investigators, not even the police know who to trust. Kirkus, which gave a starred review to Now You See Me, had this to say about the book: "Bolton provides excruciating tension and much else. Romantics can drool over Jonesbury's turquoise eyes; amateur psychologists can mull Lacey's one-nighters; and Ripperologists can ponder theories of Jack's real identity, one of which helps tie up the plot."

New Release: A Gentleman of Fortune

For all those readers out there who like a good mystery as much as they like reading about England during the Regency period, A Gentleman of Fortune, Or, The Suspicions of Miss Dido Kent might be just the book for you. Like a younger version of Agatha Christie's Miss Marple, Miss Kent is a society lady with abundant curiousity and a knack for solving mysteries. When Mrs. Lansdale dies and leaves her nephew a large fortune, many speculate that he might have hurried her passing. Together with her love interest Mr. Lomax, Miss Kent investigates by paying visits, eavesdropping, and using her keen intellect to piece everything together. This new book received a starred review in Kirkus, which said "The clever puzzle and pitch-perfect Regency prose will charm readers."

New Nonfiction Release: Born in Africa

Martin Meredith's Born in Africa: The Quest for the Origins of Human Life is a fascinating look at humanity's ancient ancestors and the often controversial implications of scientists' discoveries in this field. The newly-published book received a starred review in Kirkus, which describes it as an "appealing account of human evolution." For other nonfictional works about humans and their animal cousins, you can also try Almost Chimpanzee: Searching for What Makes Us Human by Jon Cohen.

Debut Released Today: Guilt by Association

Marcia Clark, lead prosecutor in the high-profile OJ Simpson trial, turns her hand to writing in this debut novel that earned a starred review in Kirkus. In Guilt by Association, a tough-as-nails female prosecutor refuses to believe that the fifteen-year-old daughter of a wealthy physician was raped by the obvious suspect, a poor Latino gang member. Before the story's done, many surprises await. You can reserve this book from your community library by clicking "request" on the record and entering your barcode & password/PIN.