New Titles on The New York Times Best Seller List

Here is a sneak peak at the newest titles that will be on tomorrow's The New York Times Best Seller List for hardcover fiction. (To see the full list for 11/9/14, click here.)


Gray Mountain by John Grisham: (Legal Stories)

Losing her job at New York City's largest law firm in the weeks after the collapse of Lehman Brothers, Samantha becomes an unpaid legal intern in a small Appalachian community where she stumbles upon dangerous secrets in the world of coal mining, Violence is always just around the corner, and within weeks Samantha finds herself engulfed in litigation that turns deadly.

Wait for Signs by Craig Johnson: (Mystery, Short Stories)

A single-volume anthology of 12 short stories featuring Sheriff Walt Longmire - the character that is the basis for the hit A&E drama series, Longmire - collects the author's Christmas Eve annuals, including "Ministerial Aide" and "Messenger," as well as an original story, "Petunia, Bandit Queen of the Bighorns."

Shopaholic to the Stars by Sophie Kinsella: (Humorous Fiction)

Kinsella returns to her shopaholic series with Becky relocating to L.A. to join her husband who is handling PR for famous actress Sage Seymour. Becky can't wait to start living the A-list lifestyle as a personal stylist and unexpectedly is offered the chance to dress Sage's archrival. Though things become a bit more complicated, Becky has everything she's ever wanted. Or does she?

Beautiful You by Chuck Palahniuk: (Humorous Fiction/Erotic Stories)

Invited by notorious playboy C. Linus Maxwell to a Paris hotel, Manhattan legal associate Penny Harrigan discovers that she is a test subject for the final development of sex toys for women that will render men obsolete and make Maxwell the most powerful person in the world.

Desert God by Wilbur Smith: (Historical Fiction/Adventure Story)

Smith returns to Ancient Egypt in this breathtaking epic that conjures the magic, mystery, romance, and bloody intrigue of a fascinating lost world. Taita the fusspot slave, spiritual wiseman and advisor to the Pharaoh, is caught in a maelstrom of passion and danger in his efforts to destroy the Hyksos army by forming a dubious alliance with Crete.

Legal Historical Fiction

The Advocate by Randy Singer: At the trial of Christ, Theophilus, brilliant young assessore raised in the Roman aristocracy, stands behind Pontius Pilate and whispers, “Offer to release Barabbas.” The strategy backfires, and Theophilus never forgets the sight of an innocent man unjustly suffering the worst of all possible deaths, Roman crucifixion. Three decades later, Theophilus has proven himself in the legal ranks of the Roman Empire. Now he must face another evil Caesar, defending the man Paul in Neros deranged court. Can Theophilus mount a defense that will keep another innocent man from execution?

"Veteran lawyer-author Singer (The Last Plea Bargain) uses the idea advanced elsewhere that the Bible books Luke and Acts were written as legal briefs to defend the Apostle Paul against the Roman emperor Nero. . .Cross James Michener's great historical fiction with a John Grisham legal thriller, and you've got this epic classic." (Publishers Weekly Reviews)

Don't Miss These New Legal Thrillers

The Garden of Burning Sand by Corban Addison: 

When a girl with Down syndrome is sexually assaulted in a Lusaka slum, human rights lawyer Zoe Fleming and Zambian police officer Joseph Zabuta conduct an investigation that reveals a link between the victim and a powerful local family.

Cried for No One by Hubert Crouch: 

Alexis Stone, a stunningly beautiful University of Texas co-ed with a troubled past, is found dead in her apartment after a night of hard partying, the victim of a suspected drug overdose. Her body is buried at the Caring Oaks Cemetery in her hometown of Fort Worth, Texas, and later found beneath an inverted crucifix on the altar of a rural church desecrated by satanic markings. Alexis' distraught parents want revenge for what happened to their only daughter and turn to flamboyant Fort Worth trial lawyer, Cal Connors, to get it

Indefensible by Lee Goodman: 

When a birdwatcher stumbles on a crime in the woods, federal prosecutor Nick Davis uncovers a high-stakes plot involving small-time drug dealers, petty thieves, domestic abuse perpetrators, child pornographers and the highest offices of the legal system.

Book Club Recommendations

Recently a patron asked us what we'd recommend for a book club read. In general, the answer to this is that any book, from the top of the latest books sellers lists to the classics, that inspires conversation will do. 

There are many resources (including this blog!) to help you find a book that suits your interests. Here are a few titles recently recommended by Book Group Buzz, a blog created by Booklist Online with book group tips, reading lists, and talk of literary news:

Let Him Go by Larry Watson: Dalton, North Dakota. It’s September 1951: years since George and Margaret Blackledge lost their son James when he was thrown from a horse; months since his widow Lorna took off with their only grandson and married Donnie Weboy. Margaret is steadfast, resolved to find and retrieve her grandson Jimmy, the one person in this world keeping James’s memory alive, while George, a retired sheriff, is none too eager to stir up trouble. Unable to sway his wife from her mission, George takes to the road with Margaret by his side, traveling through the Dakota badlands to Gladstone, Montana. When Margaret tries to convince Lorna to return home to North Dakota and bring little Jimmy with her, the Blackledges find themselves entangled with the entire Weboy clan, who are determined not to give up the boy without a fight.

Lord Valentine's Castle by Robert Silverberg: He is a man with no past— a wanderer without memory of his origins. He calls himself Valentine. As a member of a motley group of entertainers, he travels across the magical planet of Majipoor, always hoping he will meet someone who can give him back what he has lost. And then, he begins to dream--and to receive messages in those dreams. Messages that tell him that he is far more than a common vagabond—he is a lord, a king turned out of his castle. Now his travels have a purpose—to return to his home, discover what enemy took his memory, and claim the destiny that awaits him…

The Death of Bees by Lisa O'Donnell: Marnie and her little sister, Nelly, are on their own now. Only they know what happened to their parents, Izzy and Gene, and they aren't telling. While life in Glasgow's Maryhill housing estate isn't grand, the girls do have each other. Besides, it's only a year until Marnie will be considered an adult and can legally take care of them both. As the New Year comes and goes, Lennie, the old man next door, realizes that his young neighbors are alone and need his help. Or does he need theirs? Lennie takes them in—feeds them, clothes them, protects them—and something like a family forms. But soon enough, the sisters' friends, their teachers, and the authorities start asking tougher questions. As one lie leads to another, dark secrets about the girls' family surface, creating complications that threaten to tear them apart.

For more recommendations, stop by the reference desk on the first floor and speak with a reference librarian.

A Stunning Debut Novel: The House Girl by Tara Conklin

Law associate Lena Sparrow's life and destiny is forever altered when she is assigned to find the perfect poster child for a class-action suit on behalf of the descendants of American slaves.  Sparrow searches for a descendant of Josephine Bell, who was a house girl said to have been the actual artist of a series of beautiful paintings credited to her white mistress.  As Sparrow reveals information about Josephine's past, she discovers upsetting truths about her own parents and a disturbing lie that formed that basis for her own past.  The House Girl goes back and forth between centuries and characters and remains consistently compelling throughout the tale.


"Conklin's debut is a seamless juxtaposition of past and present, of the lives of two women, and of the redemptive nature of art and the search for truth and justice. Guaranteed to keep readers up long past their bedtimes." - Library Journal Reviews

New John Grisham Releasing Today!

John Grisham takes you back to where it all began . . .

Sycamore Row takes the reader back to Ford County, MS and lawyer, Jake Brigance, the hero of A Time to Kill.  This time around, an elderly man, Seth Hubbard, has hung himself and left most of his estate to his Lettie Lang, his African-American caretaker.  As Hubbard's assets exceed $20 million, his children lawyer up when they learn about their disinheritance and Brigance has a battle on his hands, as he's representing Hubbard's interests.

"All the author's strengths are in evidence—his capturing the rhythms of small-town life in Clanton, Miss., his skill at making legal minutiae comprehensible, and his gift at getting readers to care about his characters." - Publishers Weekly Reviews

John Grisham read-alikes

Looking for books like John Grisham's The Confession, or his many other legal thrillers?  Try:

• Grudge Match by Jay Brandon - Questioning the legal system when DNA evidence clears a police officer of a crime for which he was imprisoned eight years earlier, San Antonio district attorney Chris Sinclair wonders who is telling the truth after two additional murders occur.  Also try Running with the Dead by the same author.
• Lincoln Lawyer by Michael Connelly - Representing some unsavory characters in his work as a defense lawyer, Mickey Haller takes on his first high-paying and possibly innocent client in years, but finds the case complicated by events that suggest a particularly evil perpetrator.  This book has a film adaptation, available on DVD and on blu-ray at your Community Library.
• Bodily Harm by Robert Dugoni - Attorney David Sloane is back seeking vengeance for the death of a young boy, in a thriller by the best-selling author of Wrongful Death.
• Letter of the Law by Tim Green - After defense attorney Casey Jordan gets her client, a brilliant but arrogant professor, acquitted of the murder of a law student, she discovers that her client is guilty and is forced to make a choice between justice and the law.
• Moment of Truth by Lisa Scottoline - Mary is a lawyer with an unusual problem. Her new client, Jack Newlin, is an innocent man claiming to be guilty. Now she finds herself risking her own life to discover why a man would frame himself for his wife's murder.
• Reversible Errors by Scott Turow - Corporate lawyer Arthur Raven defends the reopened case of a death-row inmate who may be innocent, while prosecuting attorneys Muriel Wynn and Larry Starczek fight for a conviction they still believe is deserved.

What Lawyers Read

If you're a fan of books that explore legal and political issues, why not take a few book recommendations from people who work in the field - lawyers? This recent article in the American Bar Association Journal lists thirty lawyer's recommendations. Compiled here are ten of the best of these picks available from your Community Library; click the thumbnail for a complete description or to reserve a copy! Whether you're in the law field or not, please also leave your own law-themed book suggestions as comments.

December Book Display: Legal Thrillers

On the hunt for some exciting legal thrillers? Go beyond John Grisham with the books featured in the library's December Readers' Advisory display, at the foot of the stairs in the fiction section. Selections include works by established favorites like Steve Martini and William Bernhardt to relative newcomers like Joshua Ferris and David Hosp (click here for a complete list). And if you've read all these already, try searching the subject term "legal stories" to browse 800+ similar books in the Mastics-Moriches-Shirley Community Library's catalog. What are your recommendations?