New Fiction to Fit Your Fancy

Stateless is a novel by Elizabeth Wein. A murder mystery set in 1937 Europe with intrigue, glamour, secrets, and betrayal. When Stella North is chosen to represent Britain in Europe’s first air race for young people, she knows all too well how high the stakes are. As the only participating female pilot, it’ll be a constant challenge to prove she’s a worthy competitor. But promoting peace in Europe feels empty to Stella when civil war is raging in Spain and the Nazis are gaining power—and when, right from the start, someone resorts to cutthroat sabotage to get ahead of the competition. The world is looking for inspiration in what’s meant to be a friendly sporting event. But each of the racers is hiding a turbulent and violent past, and any one of them might be capable of murder…including Stella herself. (from Goodreads.com)

Jesse Q. Sutanto brings readers a new cozy mystery titled Vera Wong's Unsolicited Advice for Murderers. Put the kettle on, there’s a mystery brewing…Tea-shop owner. Matchmaker. Detective?Sixty-year-old self-proclaimed tea expert Vera Wong enjoys nothing more than sipping a good cup of Wulong and doing some healthy ‘detective’ work on the internet (AKA checking up on her son to see if he’s dating anybody yet). But when Vera wakes up one morning to find a dead man in the middle of her tea shop, it’s going to take more than a strong Longjing to fix things. Knowing she’ll do a better job than the police possibly could – because nobody sniffs out a wrongdoing quite like a suspicious Chinese mother with time on her hands – Vera decides it’s down to her to catch the killer. Nobody spills the tea like this amateur sleuth. (from Goodreads.com)

The latest from Kirsten Weiss is called Going, Going, Dead. At an auction, competition can be deadly...When Maddie attends an estate auction of artifacts from America’s spiritualist era, it’s just another day in the life of a paranormal museum owner…. Until she discovers the body of the murdered auctioneer. Her mother is convinced the murderer is after a mysterious statuette that once belonged to the town’s Ladies Aid Society. With the holidays approaching, Maddie and friends dive into the mad world of obsessive collectors to find the missing statuette… and a killer. Maddie tracks her suspects through a secluded gothic estate, in the wineries of Central California, and along the streets of small-town San Benedetto. But this clever criminal is determined to win at all costs. Will the killer use Maddie’s friends as the ultimate weapon against her?

The House at the End of the World is the latest from bestselling suspense author Dean Koontz. In retreat from a devastating loss and crushing injustice, Katie lives alone in a fortress-like stone house on Jacob’s Ladder island. Once a rising star in the art world, she finds refuge in her painting. The neighboring island of Ringrock houses a secret: a government research facility. And now two agents have arrived on Jacob’s Ladder in search of someone—or something—they refuse to identify. Although an air of menace hangs over these men, an infinitely greater threat has arrived, one so strange even the island animals are in a state of high alarm. Katie soon finds herself in an epic and terrifying battle with a mysterious enemy. But Katie’s not alone after all: a brave young girl appears out of the violent squall. As Katie and her companion struggle across a dark and eerie landscape, against them is an omnipresent terror that could bring about the end of the world.

Give Yourself Chills

Dean Koontz thrills with his novel Devoted. Woody Bookman hasn’t spoken a word in his eleven years of life. Not when his father died in a freak accident. Not when his mother, Megan, tells him she loves him. For Megan, keeping her boy safe and happy is what matters. But Woody believes a monstrous evil was behind his father’s death and now threatens him and his mother. And he’s not alone in his thoughts. An ally unknown to him is listening. A uniquely gifted dog with a heart as golden as his breed, Kipp is devoted beyond reason to people. When he hears the boy who communicates like he does, without speaking, Kipp knows he needs to find him before it’s too late. Woody’s fearful suspicions are taking shape. A man driven by a malicious evil has set a depraved plan into motion. And he’s coming after Woody and his mother. The reasons are primal. His powers are growing. And he’s not alone. Only a force greater than evil can stop what’s coming next. (from Amazon.com)

Silvia Moreno-Garcia offers an atmospheric horror novel with Mexican Gothic. After receiving a frantic letter from her newly-wed cousin begging for someone to save her from a mysterious doom, Noemí Taboada heads to High Place, a distant house in the Mexican countryside. She’s not sure what she will find—her cousin’s husband, a handsome Englishman, is a stranger, and Noemí knows little about the region. Noemí is also an unlikely rescuer: She’s a glamorous debutante, and her chic gowns and perfect red lipstick are more suited for cocktail parties than amateur sleuthing. But she’s also tough and smart, with an indomitable will, and she is not afraid: Not of her cousin’s new husband, who is both menacing and alluring; not of his father, the ancient patriarch who seems to be fascinated by Noemí; and not even of the house itself, which begins to invade Noemi’s dreams with visions of blood and doom. Her only ally in this inhospitable abode is the family’s youngest son. Shy and gentle, he seems to want to help Noemí, but might also be hiding dark knowledge of his family’s past. For there are many secrets behind the walls of High Place. The family’s once colossal wealth and faded mining empire kept them from prying eyes, but as Noemí digs deeper she unearths stories of violence and madness. And Noemí, mesmerized by the terrifying yet seductive world of High Place, may soon find it impossible to ever leave this enigmatic house behind. (from Amazon.com)

Malorie is Josh Malerman's sequel to his stellar Bird Box. Twelve years after Malorie and her children rowed up the river to safety, a blindfold is still the only thing that stands between sanity and madness. One glimpse of the creatures that stalk the world will drive a person to unspeakable violence. There remains no explanation. No solution. All Malorie can do is survive - and impart her fierce will to do so on her children. Don’t get lazy, she tells them. Don’t take off your blindfold. And don't look. But then comes what feels like impossible news. And with it, the first time Malorie has allowed herself to hope. Someone very dear to her, someone she believed dead, may be alive. Malorie has already lost so much: her sister, a house full of people who meant everything, and any chance at an ordinary life. But getting her life back means returning to a world full of unknowable horrors - and risking the lives of her children again. Because the creatures are not the only thing Malorie fears: There are the people who claim to have caught and experimented on the creatures. Murmurings of monstrous inventions and dangerous new ideas. And rumors that the creatures themselves have changed into something even more frightening. Malorie has a harrowing choice to make: to live by the rules of survival that have served her so well, or to venture into the darkness and reach for hope once more. (from Amazon.com)

Plain Bad Heroines is a novel by Emily M. Danforth. Our story begins in 1902, at the Brookhants School for Girls. Flo and Clara, two impressionable students, are obsessed with each other and with a daring young writer named Mary MacLane, the author of a scandalous bestselling memoir. To show their devotion to Mary, the girls establish their own private club and call it the Plain Bad Heroine Society. They meet in secret in a nearby apple orchard, the setting of their wildest happiness and, ultimately, of their macabre deaths. This is where their bodies are later discovered with a copy of Mary’s book splayed beside them, the victims of a swarm of stinging, angry yellow jackets. Less than five years later, the Brookhants School for Girls closes its doors forever—but not before three more people mysteriously die on the property, each in a most troubling way. Over a century later, the now abandoned and crumbling Brookhants is back in the news when wunderkind writer Merritt Emmons publishes a breakout book celebrating the queer, feminist history surrounding the “haunted and cursed” Gilded Age institution. Her bestselling book inspires a controversial horror film adaptation starring celebrity actor and lesbian it girl Harper Harper playing the ill-fated heroine Flo, opposite B-list actress and former child star Audrey Wells as Clara. But as Brookhants opens its gates once again, and our three modern heroines arrive on set to begin filming, past and present become grimly entangled—or perhaps just grimly exploited—and soon it’s impossible to tell where the curse leaves off and Hollywood begins. (from Amazon.com)

New Fantasy Fiction

Hugo Award Winning author Matt Wallace brings you book one of his new trilogy with Savage Legion. The empire calls them Savages. They are brutal, efficient, and expendable. The greatest weapons ever developed. The empire culls them from the streets of their cities—making sure to take the ones that no one will miss. They are thrown by the thousands at the empire’s enemies. If they live, then they fight again. If they die...well, there are more to be culled. Evie is not a Savage. She is a warrior with a solitary mission: find the man she once loved, who holds the key to exposing the secret of the Savage Legion and ending the mass conscription of the empire’s poor and unfortunate. In order to locate her love, she must become one of the Savage—to be marked in blood, to fight in their wars, and to find her purpose. She is willing to die a Savage, but not before she exposes who she really is and what the Savage Legion can really do. 

Evan Winter continues his fantasy saga with The Fires of Vengeance. Tsiora is the rightful queen of the Omehi, but she was ousted by an insidious faction and her sister is being propped up as the “true” queen. In order to reclaim her throne, she must join forces with a young warrior named Tau. The threat from the indigenous people of Xidda is growing ever closer and the queen needs time to gather her forces and launch an attack on the capital city. Tau comes up with a risky plan that will give the queen the time she needs, but Tsiora needs to do more than reclaim the throne. She needs to unite her people so that the Omehi will have a chance to survive the onslaught to come. 

Elsewhere is the latest novel by Dean Koontz. Jeffy Coltrane has worked hard to maintain a normal life for himself and his eleven-year-old daughter Amity in Suavidad Beach. Seven years ago, his wife, Michelle, left them and their quiet life. One day, a local eccentric known as Spooky Ed turns up on their doorstep. He entrusts Jeffy with hiding a mysterious and dangerous object—what Ed calls “the key to everything”—and instructs Jeffy to never use the device. After a visit from a group of ominous looking men, Jeffy and Amity accidentally activate the key and discover a wondrous truth. The device allows the user to jump between parallel planes. These places are both familiar and bizarre, wonderful and terrifying. Could the device help them find Michelle? Jeffy and Amity don’t have much time to try, however. There is a sinister man who would use the device for profound evil. The father and daughter mush outwit the dark man or the place they call home will never be safe again. 

Black Sun is a novel by Rebecca Roanhorse. There is a legend that says that a god will return when the earth and sky converge under a black sun. In the holy city of Tova, the winter solstice is usually a time for great celebrations and a chance for renewal. This year the solstice coincides with a solar eclipse, a rare celestial event proscribed by the Sun Priest as an unbalancing of the world. A ship launches from a distant city bound for Tova and is set to arrive on the solstice. The captain, Xiala, is a Teek whose song can calm the waters around her as well as warp a man’s mind. For this reason, she is an outcast. Her ship has only one passenger, Serapio—a young man, blind, scarred, and enshrouded in destiny. Though he is described as “harmless,” Xiala knows those are the ones who end up being villains. This epic adventure explores the allure of power and the struggle of those who live counter to society throughout history. 

The latest from Alice Hoffman in the Owens saga is called Magic Lessons. Where does the story of the Owens bloodline begin? Maria Owens is abandoned in a snowy field in rural England as a baby. Under the tutelage of Hannah Owens, Maria learns about the “Nameless Art.” Hannah quickly realizes that Maria has a true gift, and she teaches the young girl all she knows. The most important lesson that Maria learns: Always love someone who will love you back. When she is betrayed by the man who once declared his love for her, Maria follows him to Salem, Massachusetts. It is here that she invokes the curse that will haunt her family for generations. It is here that she also learns the rules of magic and the most important lesson of life: Love is the only thing that matters. 

Susanna Clarke delivers a mind-bending alternate reality in her new book Piranesi. Piranesi’s house is no ordinary building: the rooms are infinite, the corridors endless, and its walls are lined with thousands upon thousands of statues, each one different from all the others. There is also an ocean imprisoned in the labyrinth of halls and its waves thunder up staircases and floods rooms in an instant. Piranesi is not afraid because he has learned the patterns of the tides and the patterns of the labyrinth itself. It is he pleasure to explore the house. There is another person in the house, a man called The Other. He visits Piranesi twice a week and asks for help with research into A Great and Secret Knowledge. As Piranesi explores, he sees more evidence of another person and a terrible truth begins to unfold and reveals the world beyond to him. 

Masters of Horror

 With Halloween just a few days away, I wanted to highlight some of the Masters of Horror Writing that we have here at the library. These are authors that everyone should know.

 

"The name Edgar Allan Poe brings to mind images of murderers and madmen, premature burials, and mysterious women who return from the dead. His works have been in print since 1827 and include such literary classics as The Tell-Tale Heart, The Raven, and The Fall of the House of Usher. This versatile writer’s oeuvre includes short stories, poetry, a novel, a textbook, a book of scientific theory, and hundreds of essays and book reviews. He is widely acknowledged as the inventor of the modern detective story and an innovator in the science fiction genre, but he made his living as America’s first great literary critic and theoretician. Poe’s reputation today rests primarily on his tales of terror as well as on his haunting lyric poetry. Just as the bizarre characters in Poe’s stories have captured the public imagination so too has Poe himself. He is seen as a morbid, mysterious figure lurking in the shadows of moonlit cemeteries or crumbling castles. This is the Poe of legend. But much of what we know about Poe is wrong, the product of a biography written by one of his enemies in an attempt to defame the author’s name. The real Poe was born to traveling actors in Boston on January 19, 1809. Edgar was the second of three children. His other brother William Henry Leonard Poe would also become a poet before his early death, and Poe’s sister Rosalie Poe would grow up to teach penmanship at a Richmond girls’ school. Within three years of Poe’s birth both of his parents had died, and he was taken in by the wealthy tobacco merchant John Allan and his wife Frances Valentine Allan in Richmond, Virginia while Poe’s siblings went to live with other families. Mr. Allan would rear Poe to be a businessman and a Virginia gentleman, but Poe had dreams of being a writer in emulation of his childhood hero the British poet Lord Byron. Early poetic verses found written in a young Poe’s handwriting on the backs of Allan’s ledger sheets reveal how little interest Poe had in the tobacco business." (from Goodreads.com)

"Howard Phillips Lovecraft, of Providence, Rhode Island, was an American author of horror, fantasy and science fiction. Lovecraft's major inspiration and invention was cosmic horror: life is incomprehensible to human minds and the universe is fundamentally alien. Those who genuinely reason, like his protagonists, gamble with sanity. Lovecraft has developed a cult following for his Cthulhu Mythos, a series of loosely interconnected fictions featuring a pantheon of human-nullifying entities, as well as the Necronomicon, a fictional grimoire of magical rites and forbidden lore. His works were deeply pessimistic and cynical, challenging the values of the Enlightenment, Romanticism and Christianity. Lovecraft's protagonists usually achieve the mirror-opposite of traditional gnosis and mysticism by momentarily glimpsing the horror of ultimate reality." (from Goodreads.com)

"Stephen King attended the grammar school in Durham and Lisbon Falls High School, graduating in 1966. From his sophomore year at the University of Maine at Orono, he wrote a weekly column for the school newspaper, THE MAINE CAMPUS. He was also active in student politics, serving as a member of the Student Senate. He came to support the anti-war movement on the Orono campus, arriving at his stance from a conservative view that the war in Vietnam was unconstitutional. He graduated in 1970, with a B.A. in English and qualified to teach on the high school level. A draft board examination immediately post-graduation found him 4-F on grounds of high blood pressure, limited vision, flat feet, and punctured eardrums. He met Tabitha Spruce in the stacks of the Fogler Library at the University, where they both worked as students; they married in January of 1971. As Stephen was unable to find placement as a teacher immediately, the Kings lived on his earnings as a laborer at an industrial laundry, and her student loan and savings, with an occasional boost from a short story sale to men's magazines. Stephen made his first professional short story sale ("The Glass Floor") to Startling Mystery Stories in 1967. Throughout the early years of his marriage, he continued to sell stories to men's magazines. Many were gathered into the Night Shift collection or appeared in other anthologies. In the fall of 1971, Stephen began teaching English at Hampden Academy, the public high school in Hampden, Maine. Writing in the evenings and on the weekends, he continued to produce short stories and to work on novels." (from Goodreads.com)

"Dean Koontz is acknowledged as "America's most popular suspense novelist" (Rolling Stone) and as one of today's most celebrated and successful writers, Dean Ray Koontz has earned the devotion of millions of readers around the world and the praise of critics everywhere for tales of character, mystery, and adventure that strike to the core of what it means to be human. Dean, the author of many #1 New York Times bestsellers, lives in Southern California with his wife, Gerda, their golden retriever, Elsa, and the enduring spirit of their goldens, Trixie and Anna." (from Goodreads.com)