New Adult Fiction

Sarah Jane is an new novel from James Sallis. "Sarah Jane Pullman is a good cop with a complicated past. From her small-town chicken-farming roots through her runaway adolescence, court-ordered Army stint, ill-advised marriage and years slinging scrambled eggs over greasy spoon griddles, Sarah Jane unfolds her life story, a parable about memory, atonement, and finding shape in chaos. Her life takes an unexpected turn when she is named the de facto sheriff of a rural town, investigating the mysterious disappearance of the sheriff whose shoes she’s filling—and the even more mysterious realities of the life he was hiding from his own colleagues and closest friends. This kaleidoscopic character study sparkles in every dark and bright detail—a virtuoso work by a master of both the noir and the tender aspects of human nature." (from Amazon.com)

Zora Neale Hurston's Hitting a Straight Lick with a Crooked Stick "is an outstanding collection of stories about love and migration, gender and class, racism and sexism that proudly reflect African American folk culture. Brought together for the first time in one volume, they include eight of Hurston’s “lost” Harlem stories, which were found in forgotten periodicals and archives. These stories challenge conceptions of Hurston as an author of rural fiction and include gems that flash with her biting, satiric humor, as well as more serious tales reflective of the cultural currents of Hurston’s world. All are timeless classics that enrich our understanding and appreciation of this exceptional writer’s voice and her contributions to America’s literary traditions." (from Amazon.com)

Blues in the Dark is a thriller from Raymond Benson. "Karissa Glover is a movie producer who moves into a decrepit but functional old mansion in the West Adams Heights area of Los Angeles, where black celebrities of yesteryear—Hattie McDaniel, Louise Beavers, and others—once resided. The former owner was a white actress, Blair Kendrick, who often starred as the "bad girl"—a femme fatale—in films noirof the 1940s. However, Blair’s career was cut short when she was tragically killed by the mob after allegedly witnessing the slaying of a corrupt studio head in 1949. As Karissa and her producing partner decide to develop a modern film noir about Blair Kendrick, malevolent forces from the past attempt to stop them—first with intimidation, and then with the thread of murder. Is this because Karissa has learned that Blair was involved in a then-taboo interracial relationship with jazz musician Hank Marley? What really happened on the night that death struck in a dimly lit studio mogul’s office? The consequences of Blair and Hank’s doomed love affair still resonate in the present day as Karissa attempts to unravel Blair’s secrets." (from Amazon.com)

The Chestnut Man is a thriller from Soren Sveistrup, creator of The Killing. "If you find one, he's already found you. A psychopath is terrorizing Copenhagen. His calling card is a “chestnut man”—a handmade doll made of matchsticks and two chestnuts—which he leaves at each bloody crime scene. Examining the dolls, forensics makes a shocking discovery—a fingerprint belonging to a young girl, a government minister’s daughter who had been kidnapped and murdered a year ago. A tragic coincidence—or something more twisted? To save innocent lives, a pair of detectives must put aside their differences to piece together the Chestnut Man’s gruesome clues. Because it’s clear that the madman is on a mission that is far from over. And no one is safe." (from Amazon.com)

Author Zach Fehst delivers a magical thriller with American Magic. "When an enigmatic message uploaded to the dark web turns out to contain an ancient secret giving regular people the power to do impossible things, like levitate cars or make themselves invisible, American government officials panic. They know the demo videos on YouTube and instructions for incantations could turn from fantastical amusement to dangerous weapon at the drop of the hat, and they scramble to keep the information out of the wrong hands. They tap Ben Zolstra, an ex-CIA field operative whose history with the Agency is conflicted at best, to lead the team that’s racing to contain the dangerous knowledge—and track down the mysterious figure behind the leak who threatens that even more dangerous spells will be released one by one until the world as we know it no longer exists. This sweeping, globe-spanning thriller explores the dark consequences of a question mankind has been asking for centuries: What if magic were real?" (from Amazon.com)

Tim Dorsey pens his 23rd Serge Storms novel with Naked Came the Florida Man. "Though another devastating hurricane is raking Florida, its awesome power can’t stop the Sunshine State’s most loyal son, Serge A. Storms, from his latest scenic road trip: a cemetery tour. With his best bro Colman riding shotgun, Serge hits the highway in his ’69 gold Plymouth Satellite, putting pedal to the metal on a grand tour of the past. Beginning in Key West, the sunshine boys’ odyssey includes a forgotten mass grave in Palm Beach county holding the remains of African Americans killed by the Great Hurricane of 1928, and the resting place of one world-famous television dolphin (RIP Flipper) from the 1960s. But one deadland—a haunted old sugar field—holds more than just the bones of those who’ve passed. For years, local children have whispered about a boogeyman hiding among the stalks. Could it be the same maniac known as Naked Florida man who’s been raising hell all over the place? There are few things Serge loves more than solving a good mystery and bestowing justice on miscreants who sully his beloved home’s good name. With his partner bong boy, Florida’s psycho superhero will find the truth in this hilariously violent delight—packed with history, lore, and plenty of motel antics." (from Amazon.com)

New YA Fiction For Everyone

The Librarian of Auschwitz by Antonio Iturbe (translated by Lilit Thwaites) is based on the experiences of real-life Auschwitz prisoner Dita Kraus. This incredible story tells how Dita risked her life to keep the magic of books alive during the Holocaust. At fourteen, Dita is one of the many Jews and other "undesirables" imprisoned by the Nazis at Auschwitz in Poland. First, she and her parents were removed from their home in Prague and moved to the ghetto. Then, they were moved northward to the Terezin settlement. Finally, they were brought to Poland and Dita is trying to adjust to the constant terror that makes up the life in the camp. When a Jewish leader, Fredy Hirsch, asks Dita to take charge of the eight precious books the prisoners have managed to sneak past the guards, she agrees and becomes the librarian of Auschwitz even though her life would be forfeit if the Nazis found her out.

If You're Gone is a novel by Brittany Goodwin. When her boyfriend, Brad, disappears, Lillian White's perfect plans for the summer are shattered. Brad didn't go home after his graduation ceremony. That also happens to be the night he told Lillian that he loves her for the the first time. Law enforcement insist that Brad is voluntarily missing and they are not pursuing his disappearance as related to foul play. Lillian believes otherwise and sets out to prove that he would not just walk away from his friends, family, and especially not from her. As she digs deeper, however, she comes to the realization that there is a lot that she doesn't know about the love of her life. Soon, she is questioning everything she thought she knew about Brad, their relationship, as well as her own faith.

In the novel, Before I Let Go by Marieke Nijkamp, Corey and Kyra don't fit in with the other kids in their small Alaska town, but they do fit together. They become inseparable, so when Corey's family has to move away, she makes Kyra promise to stay strong during the long, dark winter until Corey is able to come back and visit. Only, just days before Corey is to return, Kyra dies and Corey is devastated and more than a little confused. The entire community seems to speak in whispers about Kyra, call her a lost daughter and saying her death was meant to be. To add insult to injury, they push Corey away like she's a stranger. She knows something is wrong, but what can you do when the whole town is keeping secrets and you are determined to find out what happened to your best friend?

This is Not a Love Letter is a novel by Kim Purcell. Jessie thought that a one week break to get some perspective before graduation and before she and her boyfriend, Chris, had to make all the big, scary decisions about their future was a perfectly logical idea. Only, those decisions had them fighting for weeks. When Chris vanishes, the police think he has just run away, but Jessie isn't buying it. Chris is popular and good-looking, not to mention, he's about to head off to college with a full baseball scholarship. He disappeared while going for a run along the river--the same place where he was jumped by some boys from a rival school a few weeks earlier. Chis is one of the only black kids in their depressed paper mill town, and Jessie is afraid something unthinkable has happened. As Jessie searches for answers, she will face her fears, her guilt, and the frightening threats of an unknown evil.

Twelve Days until Christmas!

Need a little break from all of the "Holly Jolly" bustle while still keeping with the season?  Why not try one of these Christmas themed mysteries or suspenses?

Indigo Christmas by Jeanne M. Dams

Just before Christmas, when the husband of her sole remaining friend is accused of theft, arson, and murder, Hilda Johansson has to find new ways of investigating a crime that seems to make no sense.

Christmas at the Mysterious Bookshop editted by Otto Penzler

Every year since 1993, Penzler, founder of The Mysterious Bookshop in New York, has asked a different genre writer to produce a short story to be published and given away as a Christmas gift to customers. The only requirements: the story must be set around the Christmas season, and it must involve the bookshop in its action.

Twelve Slays of Christmas by Jacqueline Frost

Margaret Fenwick, president of the Mistletoe Historical Society, is murdered on the property right after a very public argument with Holly's father.  But Holly knows her father, and is determined to exonerate him.The jingle bells are ringing, the clock is ticking, and if Holly doesn't watch out, she'll end up on Santa's naughty list.

Two Books; One Title

This week, I'm featuring two books that share the same title and both are mysteries. That is where the similarities end, however, as each is by a different author, each takes place in a different time period, and each has a very different plot.

The first book is What the Dead Leave Behind: A Gilded Age Mystery by Rosemary Simpson. Set in New York City during the Great Blizzard of 1888, this story follows heiress Prudence MacKenzie; who waits impatiently in her Fifth Avenue home for her fiance's safe return. As morning breaks, more than two hundred people are found to have died in the icy winds and freezing snowdrifts. Unfortunately for Prudence, her fiance, Charles, is one of the deceased. He is found with head crushed by a heavy branch and he is holding an ace of spades playing card in his hand. Prudence knows that the playing card was a code that Charles shared with his friend, Geoffrey Hunter, a former Pinkerton agent and attorney from the South. Convinced that Charles was murdered, Prudence turns to Geoffrey for help to find the killer and to help protect her inheritance from her shady stepmother who seems to be more interested in the money than Prudence's well-being.

The second book is What the Dead Leave Behind: A McKenzie Novel by David Housewright. Former St. Paul, Minnesota police detective Rushmore McKenzie is the unlikeliest of millionaires. He does the occasional unlicensed private investigation, mostly doing favors for friends and those in need. When his stepdaughter, Erica, asked for just such a favor to help out a college friend, Mckenzie doesn't have the heart to refuse. Her friend's father, Malcolm Harris, was murdered a year ago in New Brighton, just outside of the twin cities and the case yielded no clues and has gone cold. When McKenzie starts nosing around in the case, he turns up another case that is tangentially related to Harris's and both cases lead back to a group of friends with whom the victim was close. His case is full of odd, suspicious coincidences and nothing more, until someone decides that McKenzie is getting too close and decides to make things very personal.

The Suspense is Killing Me!

     The titles for this week are new paperback fiction. Each one is contains a story full of mystery and suspense. They are perfect for reading while relaxing on the beach!

     “The Secrets of Lizzie Borden” is a novel by Brandy Purdy. This fictionalized account of the life of Lizzie Borden draws on the real events surrounding the murder of her father and step-mother. Lizzie and her sister Emma should have been fortunate young women. Their father was wealthy and could have easily afforded to give his daughters every modern convenience along with fashionable clothes, travel and a cultured life. However, the Fall River, Massachusetts businessman was haunted by his own childhood poverty and forced his daughters to live frugally, denying them modern conveniences like indoor plumbing and electric lighting. Suitors, too, were discouraged because Mr. Borden viewed all gentleman callers as fortune hunters. Lizzie is lonely and extremely unhappy, but she suppresses her frustrations while dreaming of the freedom and wealth she will have upon her father’s death. On a hot day in August 1892, Lizzie’s long simmering anger explodes.

     “Mermaid Moon” is a Sunset Cove Novel by Colleen Coble. Mallory Davis has stayed away from her home for the last fifteen years out of shame and confusion. When her dad mysteriously dies on his mail boat route, she has no choice but to return to Mermaid Point. Mallory comes to believe that her father was murdered and those suspicions are confirmed when Kevin O’Connor, game warden in Downeast Maine, comes to the same conclusion. Kevin is apprehensive about helping Mallory in her search for the truth; after all, she broke his heart and left without a word all those years ago. Mallory and her beloved daughter Haylie begin receiving death threats as they untangle the web surrounding the murder. Mallory must stay alive long enough to put all the pieces together. And maybe, just maybe, she can find herself again.

   “Angels Burning” is a psychological thriller by Tawni O’Dell. Dove Carnahan has lived all of her fifty years in same Pennsylvanian countryside. She is a trailblazer who, as the current police chief, is faced with investigating the most brutal crime in her career. A girl’s body has been found in a fiery sinkhole in an abandoned coal town. She is identified as a daughter of the Truly family—notorious antagonistic rednecks and petty criminals.  Chief Carnahan’s troubles are compounded when the man who was convicted of killing her mother years earlier is released from prison. He still proclaims his innocence and his accusations will force the Chief to examine the parallels between her own family’s trauma and that of the Trulys.

New Fiction Novels by Patron Favorites

We have recently added three new novels to our collection from authors that many of our patrons enjoy.

First is the latest book by American lawyer and novelist James Grippando.  Gone Again is the twelfth novel in the series featuring Jack Swyteck, Miami criminal defense attorney.

In this fast paced novel, Swyteck takes on his first death-row client since The Pardon (the first in the Jack Swyteck series, also available in our collection).







The next novel is Once a Rancher by popular romance novelist Linda Lael Miller.  The first book of her newest series, The Carsons of Mustang Creek, follows the eldest of three brothers.  Slater Carson is a documentary filmmaker by trade, but still a rancher at heart.  He shares the running of the family ranch with his two younger brothers, Drake and Mace.

Things change when former Seattle cop Grace Emery comes to town to manage the local resort spa with her ward in tow, Ryder - the rebellious son of her ex-husband.

Last is The Other Side of Silence, the eleventh novel in the Bernie Gunther series by Scottish author, Philip Kerr.

The year is 1956 and Bernie Gunther is hiding in plain sight under an assumed name with fake papers.  Posing as a concierge at the Grand Hotel, he is drawn into a nest of vipers when he is asked to assist author W. Somerset Maugham, who is being blackmailed.




These and many other titles can be found on our New Adult Fiction shelves.  Enjoy!

Halloween is here!

We've reached the end of October and what better way to enjoy it than a few stories to go with the season?

Here are a few suggestions :

Easy Reader

• A Ghost in the Toy Box by Fay Robinson
• The Haunted Hamburger and Other Ghostly Stories by David LaRochelle
• Pup and Hound Scare a Ghost by Susan Hood
• Spooky and the Ghost Cat by Natalie Savage Carlson
• Whooo's Haunting the Teeny Tiny Ghost? by Kay Winters

Juvenile

• The Berenstain Bears and the Galloping Ghost by Stan Berenstain
• Cowboy Ghost by Robert Newton Peck
• Jeffrey's Ghost and the Fifth-Grade Dragon by David Adler
• Never Hit a Ghost, With a Baseball Bat by Eth Clifford
• The Tightwad's Curse and Other Pleasantly Chilling Stories by Margret Rettich

Young Adult

• Anna Dressed in Blood by Kendare Blake
• The Ghosts of Kerfol by Deborah Noyes
• Lights Out by R.L. Stine
• Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs
• The Revenant by Sonia Gensler

Adult

• A Catered Halloween by Isis Crawford
• Death of a Neighborhood Witch by Laura Levine
• The Ghost and the Dead Deb by Alice Kimberly
• The Sin Eater by Sarah Rayne
• Vampires, Bones and Treacle Scones by Kaitlyn Dunnett

Two Beautiful & Atmospheric Movies on DVD

I've had some time off recently and I've been able to watch some of our newest movies--two of which stand out more than the others. Calvary from Fox Searchlight Pictures and The Calling from Sony Entertainment Networks. Both of these haunting films have the element of mystery to them, but they are very much character driven stories.

Calvary begins with Father James--played by Brendan Gleeson (Harry Potter Series)--listening to confession of the congregants of his small Irish town. Father James is a widower and former alcoholic who joined the priesthood after the death of his beloved wife. A man enters the confessional and tells Father James that in a week's time, he is going to kill the priest. The mysterious man gives the Father one week to get his affairs in order and tells him that the reason he is to die is because the would-be murderer was sexually abused by a priest when he was a boy. The murderer goes on to say that no one cares if a bad priest is killed, so he has chosen Father James precisely because he is a good man and priest. Even with this threat over his head, the priest must take care of his congregation as well as his emotionally fragile daughter who has come from London for a visit. Father James deduces who this man is, but the audience doesn't get to know until the next-to-last scene of the movie. Will the murderer go through with his plan? Will Father James flee or will he stay to take care of his flock? Some of the scenes and characters in this movie are hard to watch, but if you can stand a bit of cursing, some grit and gore (not too much), then you may just enjoy this darkly comedic tale of religion and faith and what it means to face your own Calvary.

The Calling stars Susan Sarandon as Hazel Micallef. She is a detective in a small Canadian town who has a drug and alcohol problem stemming from an accident that left her with severe back pain. The same accident took the life of her unborn baby, so, understandably, she is not the most religious or faithful person. When she goes to check on an elderly citizen, she finds the woman murdered in an unusual fashion. Soon, another murder takes place; this one looks like suicide, but there are a few similarities. Micallef's long suffering partner--played by Gil Bellows--and a rookie cop (Topher Grace), who has transferred from the city, are finding victims of a serial killer who is crossing Canada and whose modus operandi includes elements of a Christian mystical prayer that is supposed to raise the dead. The audience learns who the killer is about halfway through, but the reasons for the killings remains a mystery. This movie is beautifully rendered. The bleak landscape of the Canadian winter is an apropos backdrop for this atmospheric mystery/thriller.

If you are a fan of atmospheric mysteries, then you may enjoy both of these movies as much as I did.

New British (and Irish) Mysteries on DVD

Anyone who knows me can be sure that I am one of the first in line for any new British mystery series that we may get on DVD. Two of our newest are Jack Taylor Set 2 and Rosemary & Thyme: the Complete Collection.

     Jack Taylor is based upon a series of books by Irish author Ken Bruen. The second set includes the episodes: "The Dramatist," "Priest," and "Shot Down." Each one is a feature-length episode. The titular character is a former member of the Irish Guards who left the job before he was kicked out, taking only his Guard coat. The stories take place in Galway, Ireland and the setting offers a sufficiently bleak and gritty backdrop for these dramas. Taylor is a completely fallible ex-cop who, in the second series, is trying to give up on drinking and is taking care of his ailing mother. In "The Dramatist," Taylor is tasked with finding the murderer of a young woman who has fallen to her death from one of the buildings at the university. The Guard believe that she has suffered from a drug overdose, but one of her professors is convinced otherwise and asks Taylor for help. After his mother succumbs to another stroke in the middle of his investigation and dies, Taylor seems to lose his way once more and returns to drinking. Taylor's young assistant goes undercover at the university to find out more information about the girl and finds out that another young woman is missing as well. In "Priest," Taylor is asked to look into the beheading of a priest. He discovers that the victim had abused two boys several years earlier and now, it seems, that the victims have taken revenge on their abuser. Taylor must wade through some pretty dark secrets in the church to find the killer. All the while, Taylor is slipping back into his bad habits and his demons are rearing their familiar heads. In "Shot Down," Jack Taylor leaves his home in Galway for Dublin, hoping to abate his grief. Once there, he gets involved in a traveler's feud and he meets a young girl named Rosie. She witnessed her mother's murder, but has suppressed the memory. Taylor must help her remember what happened before the killer strikes again. All-in-all, I love this series. It is a little darker than most of the series that I watch, but it is worth it to see Iain Glen (Game of Thrones). I also think that it's nice to see stories from Ireland that aren't all leprechauns, shamrocks, and shenanigans.

     Rosemary & Thyme is a British cozy mystery that ran for twenty-two episodes from 2003-2006. It stars Felicity Kendal as Rosemary Boxer and Pam Ferris as Laura Thyme. Laura is a housewife and former policewoman whose husband leaves her for a younger woman after more than twenty years of marriage. Her only regret is having to leave the beautiful garden she tended at their home together. She meets Rosemary, a university lecturer in horticulture, who has just lost her job and has agreed to look into the dying gardens of an acquaintance. The two women team up to find out what is going on with the garden and to find out who has killed Laura's friend. The series takes place in some very beautiful gardens all over England and Europe. There always seems to be a mystery to solve along with the tilling of the soil. These are fun, light-hearted mysteries that will have you cheering for these two strong-willed and hard-working women. Throughout the series, you meet Laura's two children along with a string of characters and villains. These two don't always get it right on the first try, but by the end, they have solved the mystery and helped many a garden to bloom.

Download Audio Books to Your Personal Device or Computer.

Our library patrons can now download audio books to their personal devices and computers through OneClickdigital. The OneClickdigital app can be found for both Apple and Android devices.

Just click on the link and sign up for your account using your library card number for access to thousands of books, both new and classics - http://warrenms.oneclickdigital.com/

Need help getting started? There is as step-by-step tutorial at http://warrenms.oneclickdigital.com/#help

Once in, you can choose titles from twenty-seven different genres, listed below :

1. Arts and Entertainment
2. Biographies, Autobiographies and Memoirs
3. Business and Economics
4. Classics
5. Comics and Graphic Novels
6. Fantasy
7. General Fiction
8. General Non-Fiction
9. Historical Fiction
10. History
11. Humor
12. Juvenile Fiction
13. Language
14. Literary Fiction
15. Mystery
16. Poetry
17. Politics and Current Events
18. Religion
19. Romanace
20. Science
21. Sci-Fi
22. Self-Help
23. Short Stories
24. Sports
25. Suspense and Thrillers
26. Western
27. Women's Fiction

Gargoyle by Andrew Davidson

It is only fitting that my last blog entry for this blog, hosted by the Warren County-Vicksburg Public Library, be about a book that astounded me with it's lyrical beauty.   A friend of mine loaned me Gargoyle,  by Andrew Davidson, a few months ago and while I initially was interested in the story, I was distracted by other books and put it down.  I recently took a trip and discovered that the library has Gargoyle on CD, so I jumped at the chance to check it out and

finish it!  The story is simply stunning.  The book opens with the story of the narrator, who is visually beautiful by morally blank, as he is driving along a dark road and becomes distracted by what appears to be a group of arrows.  He crashes into a ravine and suffers horrible burns over most of his body.  He wakes in a hospital and suffers treatments until a somewhat unhinged gargoyle sculptress, Marianne Engel, appears at his bedside and insists they were lovers in medieval Germany.  She then spins the tale of their past life-intertwined with other tales of lovers--in a beautiful, twisting, tale of love and life.  He is eventually released into her care and they attempt to have a life together. The writing is beautiful and the story is intense as is the descriptions of burn victim treatments.  I believe you'll be as entranced as I was with this bookl, whether you check out the library's hardback copy or listen to the audio version.

A Cozy Library Mystery

     Author Miranda James continues her Cat in the Stacks Mysteries with the fifth book --The Silence of the Library. Charlie Harris, a kind and warm semi-retired librarian, and his large Maine Coon cat, Diesel spend their time working at the local college library as well as the public library of Athena, Mississippi. Unfortunately, Charlie always seems to get caught up in nefarious goings-on in this small Southern town. This time, Charlie is helping Teresa, the director of the public library, organize an event centered around children's detective stories for National Library Week. Fortunately for them, the centenary novelist Electra Barnes Cartwright--creator of the beloved Veronica Thane series--is a local resident. Charlie and Teresa convince Mrs. Cartwright to appear at their event. They don't realize, however, that inviting such a beloved writer to the event will bring out all manner of unstable individuals. When Carrie Taylor--a blogger and longtime fan of Mrs. Cartwright's work--agrees to bring some of her own memorabilia to be displayed in the library, she turns up dead. Why would anyone want to kill such a pleasant and innocuous woman? Could it be because she owned a rare version of the very first Veronica Thane book? Charlie is caught up in the matter, much to the chagrin of Deputy Kanesha Berry. On top of the murder, someone has broken into the hotel rooms of a couple of book collectors who have turned up for the event and Mrs. Cartwright's literary agent seems to have gone missing. Charlie and Diesel work their way through the clues and the list of suspects to give Kanesha a helping hand--whether she wants it or not! The ending will surprise many and the little twist is quite refreshing. I highly recommend this series for fans of cozy mysteries. If you would like to check out any of the other Cat in the Stacks Mysteries by Miranda James, they are:

1.  Murder Past Due
2.  Classified As Murder
3.  File M for Murder
4.  Out of Circulation
5.  The Silence of the Library

Take a Stroll Through the Pines

Blake Crouch has written an unnerving novel titled the Pines.  Wayward Pines, Idaho is a quintessential small town in America, or so it seems on the surface.  Secret Service Agent Ethan Burke visits the town in search of two missing federal agents but is sidelined by an auto accident when he arrives.  He wakes up at the edge of town with amnesia, a killer headache and soon realizes that this "little corner of paradise" is not what it seems.  Although the townspeople are friendly and act "normal," little cracks in their facades begin to appear.  Ethan has no ID or cell phone and is thwarted whenever he tries to contact his family or his Secret Service boss.  As Ethan continues to drag up more questions than answers, he realizes that he

may never leave this creepy town alive!  Blake Crouch was a fan of the television shows Twin Peaks, Northern Exposure and The X-Files and he wrote Pines in order to create something that made him feel the way Twin Peaks did-- a story about a small town in the middle of nowhere that is beautiful on the outside but with a pitch-black underbelly.  Blake Crouch was born in North Carolina in 1978 and earned his undergraduate degrees in English and Creative Writing from the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill and published his first two novels within five years of graduation.  He has since published eight novels, many novellas and short stories and three novels cowritten with J. A. Konrath, Fully Loaded, Run,  and Stirred.  He currently lives in Durango, Colorado.

"Death of a Policeman"

     This latest installment of the Hamish Macbeth series by author M.C. Beaton finds our intrepid police sergeant at odds with his superiors. Hamish Macbeth has managed to keep his little station at Lochdubh open so far, but if Chief Inspector Blair has his way, Macbeth and the station will go the way of the dodo. Blair insists that Macbeth does nothing important on his beat, but the people of the small communities surrounding his station rely on him to settle disputes, look in on those who have no one, and to generally put up with all manner of nonsense from the locals. Blair has decided to send policeman Cyril Sessions to spy on Macbeth and gather as much evidence as he can to shut down the Lochdubh station. However, Macbeth is onto Cyril's game almost from the moment he arrives and he is having none of Cyril's nonsense. The only trouble is that Cyril is murdered while following Macbeth in the countryside. At first, it looks like Cyril is killed by a criminal drug ring operating in the highlands. Even while trying to solve Cyril's murder, Macbeth must try to save his station, deal with his lovesick policeman Dick, and his own pitiful attempts at romance.

    The author, Beaton, excels at her descriptions of the Scottish Highlands as well as the myriad of colorful local characters she uses to populate her books. While the ending is a bit of an out-of-nowhere twist, the last part of the book does seem a little hurried. Some may say that this series is getting a little tired, but fans of the series will not be disappointed. I thoroughly enjoyed this book for what it is: a fun, cozy mystery and an easy read.

The Minor Adjustment Beauty Salon

The latest novel in Alexander McCall-Smith's "No.1 Ladies' Detective Agency" series is another fun, entertaining entry in this popular series.  The novels are cozies set in Botswana, and the star of the series is Precious Ramotswe, owner and lead detective at the agency.  In this installment, Mma Makutsi has to be away from the office for a few weeks due to personal reasons, and Mma Ramotswe feels the loss as she tries to solve cases without the helpful advice of her associate detective.  Meanwhile, her husband, Mr. J. L. B. Matekoni, has his own hands full with his errant mechanic apprentices and his own desires to become a "modern husband" for Mma Ramotswe.  Mma Ramotswe's main cases are trying to find the person making threats against Mma Soletti and her Minor Adjustment Beauty Salon and discovering if the boy set to inherit his Uncle's farm is who he says he is.  One of the best parts of these books is the character development.  The books' characters are charming and the reader truly gets a taste of what it means to live, today, in Botswana.  These books are one of my favorite mystery series, because the country of Botswana figures as prominently as the mysteries explored.  The series needs to be read in order, so start out with the "No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency" if you want to begin the series.  Alexander McCall Smith is Professor Emeritus of Medical Law at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland, who was born in Zimbabwe.  He has taught law at the University of Botswana and lives in Scotland.    

After Dead

This post is for all of my fellow reader friends out there who are also mourning the end of the "Sookie Stackhouse" series.  I just finished reading After Dead the new Charlaine Harris novel.  This book was written by Harris in response to the enormous amount of questions she received from her readers while she was writing the thirteenth and final novel in the series.  Readers wanted to know what happened to many characters who had appeared in other books but just couldn't be in the final book. So, in Charlaine Harris' own words, "in the

interest of satisfying the readers who've been following Sookie's adventures for years, I herewith present my coda to the books that have dominated my professional life for over a decade."  This book is organized alphabetically by the names of the characters and it is truly an interesting read!  I enjoyed finding out what had happened to many of my favorite characters and even though the book is short, it is a must read for every Sookie Stackhouse fan.  Charlaine Harris is a New York Times bestselling author for both her Sookie Stackhouse and Harper Connelly Prime Crime mystery series, and she has lived in the South her entire life.  Please visit Charlaine Harris on the web at www.charlaineharris.com or at facebook.com/CharlaineHarris.

If You Were Here

If You Were Here is the newest novel by author Alafair Burke, a former prosecutor who now teaches criminal law and lives in Manhattan.  She is the author of nine novels, including the Ellie Hatcher series and several stand alones.  This novel is set in Manhattan, and stars McKenna Jordan, a magazine journalist (and former prosecutor) who is chasing down a story.  Her friend has been missing for years but when she sees a subway video of a heroic

act, she swears the woman in the video is her long-lost, presumed dead, friend, Susan.  Susan was also a classmate of McKenna's husband, Patrick, at West Point.  NYPD concluded that Susan disappeared after a tiff with her dad about the end of her military career, but McKenna thinks that there is something more to the story.  Thus begins a story of twists and turns as McKenna uses her reporting skills to ferret out the truth of Susan's disappearance and the story she was embroiled in.  The action is quick, the mystery is a good one and all in all this is a very suspenseful read.  This novel is a standalone book and may be read without reading any other novels first.  If you are interested in discovering more about the author, check her out online at www.alafairburke.com

Light of the World

James Lee Burke's latest Dave Robicheaux novel, Light of the World, is fantastic in its melding of two storylines that Burke is familiar with.  The characters that we all love from the New Iberia stories (Dave Robicheaux, Clete Purcel, Molly Robicheaux, Alafair Robicheaux and Gretchen Horowitz) are vacationing in Montana (setting of his second series) at the home of Albert, one of Dave's rabble-rousing friends.  The story begins with Alafair almost getting pierced by an arrow during her morning run up the mountain behind Albert's house.  Through a string of events, Dave (Police Detective) wonders if the shooter could be serial killer Asa Surrette, who Alafair visited in prison, and who may have escaped a fiery crash while he was being transported from one prison to another. Clete (Ex-policeman and current

Private Investigator)  is also staying in a cabin on Albert's property when he receives a visit from his ex-hit-woman daughter, Gretchen, who decides to stay and enjoy a little rest and relaxation.  Clete is up to his old tricks when he becomes enamored with Felicity Louviere, an unhappily married woman who's daughter has been recently murdered.  The plotlines become twisted until all of the characters end up chasing the same man, who is behind all of the killing.  There are some very tense moments in this book, and the ending is definitely a surprise.  Dave is the perfect flawed hero but his sidekick Clete takes more of the stage in this book, as the reader watches his dangerous downward slide.  Could this be the end for "The Bobbsey Twins from Homicide?"  Gritty but fun, and full of lovely descriptions of the gorgeous Montana countryside, this book could be read alone.  However, I suggest beginning with the first in the series, because James Lee Burke's books build on the characters lives with each one.

 

Who Killed the Professor?

Compound Murder is the latest Dan Rhodes Mystery by Bill Crider; and I have to tell you it was such a pleasant and easy read, that I finished it in just a couple of hours. Small town Texas sheriff, Dan Rhodes, just wishes the local Dr. Pepper manufacturer would go back to using real cane sugar in their formula, so that he could enjoy his daily caffeine. While musing over his boycott of the beverage, and staring at the Mr. Pibb bottle in front of him, the phone rings. Police dispatcher, Hack, tells him that the local beauty shop has been burgled and the thief made off with the hair! When sheriff Rhodes arrives, he finds that someone has broken in through the bathroom window and stolen all of the wigs and hair extensions made of natural hair--a pretty expensive bounty. Just as he is telling the owner to leave everything as it is and to cancel all of his appointments for the morning, Hack calls Rhodes again and tells him to get over to the local community college; there's a dead body. Math professor Seepy Benton, a graduate of the Citizens' Sheriff's Academy, is trying to keep all of the students and faculty away from the crime scene, but he's having little luck. The sheriff helps herd the students and professors inside and takes a look at the body, but before he can get into any real police work, a car peels out of the parking lot and Rhodes give chase, leaving Seepy to guard the area. A high speed chase ensues that winds up with the suspect's car smashed into a tree with its trunk wide open and Rhodes' windshield cracked and sagging. Turns out, the driver is 19 year-old Ike Terrell, son of the local doomsday prepper, Able Terrell. Rhodes finds the missing hair in the open trunk of Ike's car. The Terrells are thought to be gun-toting, survivalists that have fenced themselves inside the family property. Ike is unwilling to talk, so Rhodes has no choice, but to book him. This is all just the first couple of chapters. Sheriff Rhodes also has to deal with copper thieves, wrestle a pot-bellied pig, calm trigger-happy deputies, all the while trying to find out who murdered English professor Earl Wellington. By all accounts, Wellington was not liked. He was a picky when it came to his students attendance and work and he lacked the social skills necessary to make friends. Rhodes' investigation is fraught with red herrings and the diversions of small-town America and peppered with the humor and frailty of the human condition. I can't reveal anymore without giving away the story, so you'll just have to give it a go!

New British Mysteries

I've just spent my weekend watching two of our newest British mystery series. First was Set 22 of the Midsomer Murders series. I love this series, but, as loyal watchers know, two seasons ago, the beloved Tom Barnaby was replaced by his cousin John Barnaby. I enjoy the second Barnaby, but no one can replace the wonderful performance of John Nettles as Tom. This newest series was very good and like the others, features the plethora of quirky small town personalities that have made this series so popular. There is no guts and gore here, so die-hard CSI fans may not like what they see, but if you can stand just a little blood, then this show may be for you. If you have never seen this series before, I would suggest starting at or near the beginning of the show, so that you can get a feel of how the dynamic between the senior detective and his plodding side-kick works. The library has just about all of the show starting with the "Killing at Badger's Drift".
The second show I watched was Series 6 of Inspector Lewis. For those of you who aren't familiar, this series is a spin-off of the Inspector Morse series based on the books by Colin Dexter. Lewis also features the wise lead detective and his long suffering sergeant, but instead of the Midsomer counties, these two muddle around the area of Oxford University. Unlike the sergeant in Midsomer, Sergeant James Hathaway is well educated and a bit brooding, but extremely wise for someone so young. Detective Inspector Lewis, himself, is a streetwise old-school copper who favors common sense and opera. From the way this series ended, I think it may be the last, or next-to-last for Inspector Lewis; which is quite sad, because I love the dynamic of these two characters and the wonderful characterization of the supporting cast. (It also helps that the young man who plays DS Hathaway is a cutie!)
We have several more different British series that our regular patrons adore, so if you want a good old murder mystery without the guts and gore, pick up one of these and give them a try.