Book Trailer: Liar, Temptress, Soldier, Spy

In Liar Temptress, Soldier, Spy, author Karen Abbott illuminates one of the most fascinating yet little known aspects of the Civil War: the stories of four courageous women—a socialite, a farm girl, an abolitionist, and a widow—who were spies. Using a wealth of primary source material and interviews with the spies’ descendants, Abbott seamlessly weaves the adventures of these four heroines throughout the tumultuous years of the war.

Book Trailer:

The New York Times Best Sellers - September 14, 2014

Seven books made their debut on the New York Times Best Seller List this week (click here for the full list of combined print and e-book fiction.) Click the book cover below to reserve your copy today:

The Long Way Home by Louise Penny: Enjoying a peaceful retirement, former Quebec homicide detective Armand Gamache reluctantly agrees to help a neighbor search for her missing estranged husband and teams up with two former colleagues on a search that reveals the workings of a damaged mind.

The Homecoming by Robyn Carr: When Seth, whose professional football career ended before it could start, returns to Thunder Point, he struggles to convince his childhood neighbor and best friend Iris to forgive him for breaking her heart.

Private Down Under by James Patterson and Michael White: The employees of the Sydney, Australia office of the investigation company Private are celebrating their branch's incorporation when a bloody young man staggers into the office and the agency's caseload suddenly fills up, in the latest novel of the series following Private Berlin.

The Hot Zone by Jayne Castle: Trying to move on from her tragic past, Sedona Snow—while managing a small hotel and tavern, filled with rowdy ghost hunters, on Rainshadow Island with her faithful sidekick, Lyle—catches the attention of a new Guild boss in town who has special plans for her.

The Broken Eye by Brent Weeks: Kip, Teia and Karris fight to survive a secret war between the nobles, rebels and an ancient order of stealthy assassins in the latest addition to the New York Times best-selling series following The Blinding Knife.

Close to Home by Lisa Jackson: Single mother Sarah McAdams' attempt to raise her two teen daughters in her childhood home turns terrifying when the dilapidated mansion is rumored to be haunted and teenage girls begin disappearing around town.

No Limits by Lori Foster: Yvette Sweeny faces unexpected danger when her grandfather's will compells her to return to her hometown, and to share a house and business with Cannon Colter, the mixed martial arts fighter who saved her life three years earlier.

Best Thriller Award Shortlist Announced

The Crime Writers' Association announced their shortlist picks for the Ian Fleming Steel Dagger Award for Best Thriller 2014 (click here to see the official announcement.) Criteria for this award are very broad - novels can be set in any time period and include, but are not limited to, spy fiction, action and/or adventure stories. This year's picks are:

Apple Tree Yard by Louise Doughty:

Sitting in a courtroom after being charged with murder, a geneticist and happily married mother of two reflects on her affair with a secret lover who claimed a connection to the British government and who seduced her with an irresistible combination of sexual power, justice and revenge.

An Officer and a Spy by Robert Harris:

A tale inspired by the infamous Dreyfus Affair finds Georges Picquart, the recently promoted head of Paris' late-nineteenth-century counterespionage agency, leading the effort to convict Dreyfus only to succumb to gradual doubts that a high-level spy remains at large in the military.

I Am Pilgrim by Terry Hayes:

A debut thriller that traces a collision between two geniuses, including a tortured hero and a determined terrorist, in the aftermath of a murder that a world-class secret agent discovers has been conducted according to his own forensic techniques to hide the victim's identity.

Natchez Burning by Greg Iles:

When his father, a beloved family doctor and pillar of their Natchez, Mississippi community, is accused of murdering a nurse, Penn Cage, to save his father who refuses to speak up in his own defense, makes a shocking discovery that forces him to decide just how far he will go to protect those he loves.

The winner of this award will be named on October 24th.

Author Louise Eldrich Wins 2014 Lifetime Achievement Award

Congratulations to Louise Erdrich who won the PEN/Saul Bellow Award for Achievement in American Fiction!

This award is given biannually to "a distinguished living American author of fiction whose body of work in English possesses qualities of excellence, ambition, and scale of achievement over a sustained career which place him or her in the highest rank of American literature." (according to PEN/Saul Bellow website. Click here to read more.)

With over 40 novels, short stories, poems and children's books to her name, Louise Erdrich focuses her award winning writing on "the delicate politics of the American Indian Reservation System and explored the relationships between its residents and the adjacent communities." (BookTradeInfo.com)

Here are a few of Ms. Erdrich's novels available at the Community Library:

A Patron Recommends . . .

. . .the legal thriller Defending Jacob by William Landay.  Andy Barber has been an assistant district attorney in his suburban Massachusetts county for more than twenty years. When a shocking crime shatters their New England town, Andy is blindsided by what happens next: his fourteen-year-old son is charged with the murder of a fellow student. As the crisis reveals how little a father knows about his son, Andy will face a trial of his own-- between loyalty and justice, between truth and allegation, between a past he's tried to bury and a future he cannot conceive.

"This brilliant novel. . .is equal parts legal thriller and dysfunctional family saga, culminating in a shocking ending. Skillful plotting and finely drawn characters result in a haunting story reminiscent of Scott Turow's Presumed Innocent."  (Library Journal Reviews)

"Landay . . reaches a new level of excellence in this riveting, knock-your-socks-off legal thriller. With its masterfully crafted characterizations and dialogue, emotional depth, and frightening implications, the novel rivals the best of Scott Turow and John Grisham. Don't miss it." (Booklist Starred Review)

Book-to-Movie Alert: Warner Brothers Studios purchased the screen rights to this book back in 2012 (read article here) however there is no further information about the movie deal and IMDB.com lists the movie as "In Development."