Author: semanur

New Books Tuesday @ RRPL

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Check out this selection of new releases for your enjoyment coming this week!

MY FRIENDS

Jarrod has felt distanced from his daughter Liv since the death of Jarrod’s partner Charlie, but when Liv finds boyfriend Zel murdered, Jarrod rushes to her aid and they comb for clues across the Coachella Valley while a killer’s on the loose.

SOUTH OF NOWHERE

When a levee collapses in Northern California, Colter Shaw and his disaster response specialist sister, Dorion, race to locate a missing family and uncover whether sabotage, not nature, threatens the town’s survival.

MY NAME IS EMILIA DEL VALLE

In 1800s San Francisco, young writer Emilia, daughter of an Irish nun and a Chilean aristocrat, journeys to South America with talented reporter Eric to uncover the truth about her father—and herself.

THE TENANT

Blake Porter, desperate to keep his life afloat after losing his job, rents a room to the seemingly perfect Whitney, but as strange occurrences escalate and secrets unravel, he realizes too late that she’s woven a deadly trap within his own home.

ONE GOLDEN SUMMER

Charlie was 19 when Alice took his photo near her Nan’s cottage in Barry’s Bay, but now he’s a grown-up flirt who makes Alice feel seventeen again—warm nights on the lake with Charlie are a balm for Alice’s soul, but she begins to worry for her heart.

THE RIVER IS WAITING

Corby Ledbetter, grappling with addiction, prison life, and the tragedy that shattered his family, finds unexpected kindness and connection behind bars, as he seeks redemption and hopes for forgiveness from those he’s hurt the most.

THE CHILDREN OF EVE

When private investigator Charlie Parker is hired to find Wyatt Riggins, who vanished after a cryptic message, he uncovers a sinister web involving the abduction of four children linked to relentless killers, a cartel boss, and the chilling truth about the enigmatic Children of Eve.

THE MISSING HALF

Nicole Monroe, still haunted by her sister Kasey’s unexplained disappearance seven years ago, teams up with Jenna Connor, whose sister vanished under similar circumstances, as they unravel buried secrets and risk everything to uncover the truth about their missing loved ones.

PARENTS WEEKEND

Five families gather for Parents Weekend at a small college in Northern California, but their kids—Libby, Blane, Mark, Felix, and Stella—never show up for dinner, and FBI Special Agent Sarah Keller must discover if the sins of their parents have caused them peril.

~Semanur

New Books Tuesday @ RRPL

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There are many exciting new book releases coming and you don’t want to miss it…

THE MAID’S SECRET

Head maid Molly Gray’s discovery of a priceless artifact sparks a media frenzy, a daring heist, and revelations from her grandmother’s hidden diary, intertwining a present-day mystery with a long-lost tale of forbidden love and family secrets.

THE GRIFFIN SISTERS’ GREATEST HITS

From #1 New York Times bestselling author Jennifer Weiner comes The Griffin Sisters’ Greatest Hits, a deeply moving novel set against the glitz and chaos of early 2000s pop stardom. Equal parts heartfelt family saga and behind-the-scenes look at fame, this is a story about sisters, secrets, and the power of second chances.

HAPPY LAND

When Nikki visits her estranged grandmother in North Carolina, she uncovers a hidden legacy tied to a forgotten kingdom of freed people, unraveling her family’s secrets and her own identity while fighting to protect their endangered heritage.

FLIRTING LESSONS

When shy, newly single Avery enlists flirty heartbreaker Taylor for flirting lessons, their playful arrangement ignites undeniable chemistry, forcing both women to confront their feelings and risk everything for the chance at something real.

THE CAT WHO SAVED THE LIBRARY

The long-awaited sequel to the #1 international bestseller The Cat Who Saved Books—an uplifting tale from Japan about a talking cat, a book-loving girl and the power of books to make a difference in the world.

THE BOOK THAT HELD HER HEART

As an infinite library teeters on destruction, Livira must mend fragile bonds with Evar and reunite scattered allies across time and space to confront an unresolvable conflict threatening the very fabric of existence.

COLD ETERNITY

Cold Eternity is the newest action-packed space horror from S.A. Barnes perfect for fans of Severance, where desperation for eternal life leads to a fate worse than death… Halley is on the run from an interplanetary political scandal that has put a huge target on her back. She heads for what seems like the perfect place to lay low: a gigantic space barge storing the cryogenically frozen bodies of Earth’s most fortunate citizens from more than a century ago…

~Semanur

New Books Tuesday @ RRPL

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There are tons of new releases that come to our shelves every week. Here are some books we picked out for you!

THE WRITER

When the husband of bestselling true-crime author Denise Morrow is found dead in their luxury apartment, NYPD Detective Declan Shaw must unravel whether she is a target, a victim, or the mastermind behind a chilling plot.

BEACH VIBES

Beth’s idyllic life running her Malibu beach shop unravels when she discovers her brother’s infidelity and must make a moral decision threatening her newfound happiness and forcing her to choose between love and loyalty.

THE SUMMER GUESTS

In Purity, Maine, former spy Maggie Bird and her Martini Club of ex-CIA operatives are drawn into the search for a missing teen with ties to their past, as they confront an innocent friend’s wrongful suspicion, a buried corpse, and dark secrets that threaten to unravel everything they’ve worked to protect.

THE PARIS EXPRESS

Set on a fateful 1895 train journey to Paris, a diverse group of passengers-including politicians, a medical student, an inventor, and an anarchist-navigate personal ambitions and hidden motives, culminating in a disaster that forever changes their lives.

THE STORY SHE LEFT BEHIND

In 1952, illustrator Clara Harrington travels to London with her daughter Wynnie to investigate a discovery linked to her vanished mother, a famed author, uncovering long-buried truths amid the chaos of the Great Smog and a remote Lake District retreat.

EVERYTHING IS TUBERCULOSIS

An award-winning bestselling author explores of tuberculosis’s historical and social impact, highlighting global healthcare inequities, personal stories like a young patient in Sierra Leone and the urgent need for action against this preventable yet deadly disease.

THE LOVE WE FOUND

Ten years after Gabe’s disappearance, Lucy follows a clue to Rome, uncovering secrets about his past while meeting Dax Amstrong, whose connection challenges her to confront her lingering grief, the truth about her son’s father, and the possibility of moving forward.

A MAP TO PARADISE

Blacklisted actress Melanie Cole and her maid, Eva, form an unlikely alliance to uncover the mystery surrounding their agoraphobic neighbor’s disappearance, leading them to a surprising discovery about themselves and their shared past.

THE BUFFALO HUNTER

In 1912, a Lutheran pastor documents the chilling confessions of Good Stab, a Blackfeet vampire seeking justice for a historical massacre, intertwining themes of revenge, survival and haunting truths on the Blackfeet reservation.

~Semanur

New Books Tuesday @ RRPL

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These are the books we are adding to our collection this week…

BATTLE MOUNTAIN

Nate Romanowski seeks vengeance after a devastating attack, while Joe Pickett teams up with a rookie game warden setting both on separate paths destined to collide at Battle Mountain, in the latest addition to the series following Three-Inch Teeth.

CLOSE YOUR EYES AND COUNT TO 10

A single mother joins a deadly island game set up by a charismatic daredevil and extreme adventurer, but a monstrous storm and an unseen menace transform the social media stunt into a ruthless fight for survival.

FAMOUS LAST WORDS

Returning to work, new mom Camilla’s life is upended when she learns her husband is the gunman in a London hostage crisis, leaving her to decipher his cryptic goodbye note and make a critical choice.

BACK AFTER THIS

Podcast producer Cecily Foster reluctantly agrees to host a show documenting her dating life under the guidance of an influencer coach and must reconcile her growing feelings for a kind photographer with her coach’s conflicting advice.

SHOW DON’T TELL

Stories of complex, realistic characters confronting transformative moments, including a divorced woman reconnecting with friends, an artist challenging gender norms, and a reunion with a beloved character from the novel Prep, all woven with humor, insight, and an intimate portrayal of personal growth.

THE STRANGE CASE OF JANE O.

After giving birth, Jane experiences amnesia, hallucinations, and premonitions, leading to her sudden disappearance and a subsequent episode of dissociative fugue; her psychiatrist investigates the links between her struggles and a traumatic past, he grapples with questions of memory and reality, while a ghostly figure warns of impending disaster.

I’LL HAVE WHAT SHE’S HAVING

In hilarious and tender essays, #1 New York Times bestselling author Chelsea Handler shares her unforgettable story of becoming the woman she always wanted to be.

There’s a woman I want to become, Chelsea Handler thought as a child. She’ll be strong and confident. She’ll light up a room and spread that light to make others feel better. She’ll make a living being herself. She’ll be a survivor.

NOT WHO WE EXPECTED

Rock star Billy Diamond enlists crime experts Ellie Carr and Rachael Davies to find his missing daughter, Devon, whose boyfriend Carlos was found dead near the Nevada ranch retreat they were attending; Devon is thriving at the ranch but follows leader Galen slavishly, and Rachael wonders why Billy knows her late sister, Isis, whose son she’s raising.

THE BLANKET CATS

In a quirky Tokyo pet shop, seven struggling customers take home “blanket cats” for three days, hoping these temporary companions will help them escape their realities, including a couple facing infertility and a woman on the run, but the cats challenge their expectations and perceptions of happiness.

~Semanur

New Books Tuesday @ RRPL

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There are many exciting new book releases coming and you don’t want to miss it…

THE OLIGARCH’S DAUGHTER

Paul Brightman, a former Wall Street star hiding in a New England town with a bounty on his head, is forced to flee into the New Hampshire wilderness as he unravels a conspiracy involving Russian operatives and government agencies after falling in love with Tatyana, the daughter of a powerful oligarch.

ORDER OF SWANS

Kaley Adams travels to friend Jobi’s island home, but she awakens on the plane in the birthplace of fairytales, and when the king asks Kaley to find the prince, she must rely on fairytale knowledge and her handsome guide to survive this new world.

THE CRASH

Eight months pregnant and abandoned by her baby’s father, Tegan embarks on a desperate journey to her brother’s house during a storm, only to crash and find herself at the mercy of a remote couple with potentially sinister intentions.

BEEN WRONG SO LONG IT FEELS LIKE RIGHT

Detective King Oliver fulfills his grandmother’s dying wish to reunite with his estranged father while also protecting a missing woman and her daughter from a powerful billionaire, in the third novel of the series following Every Man a King.

GOOD DIRT

Ebby Freeman’s life unravels when her brother is killed and a centuries-old family heirloom is shattered but years later, while fleeing a public breakup, she uncovers how that lost, shattered jar may hold secrets to her future.

ABDUCTION OF A SLAVE

In ancient Egypt, Tetisheri, Cleopatra’s trusted agent, is sent to Cyrenaica to investigate a communication breakdown involving her uncle, a master trader. As she navigates a landscape filled with spies and hidden agendas, Tetisheri uncovers a web of intrigue linked to impending war and a local murder mystery.

JOHNNY CARELESS

Burnout from a heartbreaking NYPD case leads Jeep Mullane back to Long Island’s North Shore to head a small department, and when wealthy childhood friend Johnny Chambliss is found dead, Jeep must face Johnny’s wealthy family, enigmatic ex-wife, and decades-old secrets to untangle the mystery.

PENITENCE

When a shocking murder occurs in the home of Angie and David Sheehan, their lives are shattered; and, desperate to defend their family, they turn to small-town lawyer Martine Dumont for help.

~Semanur

New Books Tuesday @ RRPL

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Take a look at some of the exciting new releases coming to our shelves in this week…

THE TEXAS MURDERS

Texas Ranger Rory Yates, a quick-draw champion, teams up with Tigua Tribal police archer Ava Cruz to investigate the disappearance of a native woman, pursuing a suspect in a long-cold case across Texas’s harshest landscapes.

PRESUMED GUILTY

Rusty is a retired judge asked by his fiancée, Bea, to defend her adult son Aaron, who is accused of murdering his girlfriend Mae, and Rusty agrees to help but questions whether the system can provide true justice for those who are presumed guilty.

THE BIG EMPTY

When Elvis Cole finds himself shadowed by a gang of vicious criminals, a missing-persons cold case becomes far more sinister, and soon he must call his ex-Marine friend Joe Pike for help.

BEAUTIFUL UGLY

A year after his wife Abby mysteriously disappeared, author Grady Green, still consumed by grief, retreats to a remote Scottish island only to encounter a woman who looks exactly like the wife he lost.

WITCHCRAFT FOR WAYWARD GIRLS

Four teenage girls trapped in a secretive maternity home for unwed mothers in 1960 St. Augustine, Florida, find an unexpected source of power through witchcraft.

GRAVE DANGER

Jack Swyteck must defend a woman accused of kidnapping her niece while uncovering deadly secrets about the parents as political forces and international law complicate the case in the latest addition to the series following Goodbye Girl. Simultaneous.

MORE OR LESS MADDY

Maddy Banks, an NYU student recently diagnosed with bipolar disorder after experiencing a wild and terrifying mania, rejects the stability of a “normal” life for a career in stand-up comedy, in a novel from a Harvard-trained neuroscientist and New York Times bestselling author.

SAVE OUR SOULS

In this true story, on December 10, 1887, the Walker family’s shark fishing boat was split in two by a storm, and they awoke in the morning on an island inhabited by a ragged man named Hans who seemed helpful but had a dark secret.

CROSS MY HEART

A year after her heart transplant, Rosie becomes convinced that her donor was Daphne, the late wife of author Morgan Thorne, and believes she’s destined to be with him until disturbing rumors about Daphne’s death make her question everything.

~Semanur

New Books Tuesday @ RRPL

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There are many exciting new book releases coming and you don’t want to miss it…

LAWBREAKER

Tony Garza has been Odalie Everett’s nemesis since the day they met. Once a New Jersey crime boss, Tony now owns an art gallery in New York, where he spends most of his time delegating his shadier business to subordinates. Odalie is a professional singer whose lifelong dream is to perform at the Met. She never expected to run into the heartbreaker from her past when she rents a small house near Tony’s Manhattan apartment while taking voice lessons.

DEFINITELY BETTER NOW

A touching and deeply funny debut about starting over sober only to discover life’s biggest messes are still waiting right where you left them.

The very last person anyone should worry about is Emma. Yes, hi, she’s an alcoholic. But she’s officially been sober for one entire year. That’s twelve months of better health. Fifty-two whole weeks of focusing on nothing but her nine-to-five office job, group meetings, and avoiding the kind of bad decisions that previously left her awash in shame and regret. It’s also been 365 days of not dating. And with her new dating profile, Emma, 26, of New York is ready to put herself back out there.

NORTH IS THE NIGHT

In the Finnish wilderness, more than wolves roam the dark forests. For Siiri and Aina, summer’s fading light is a harbinger of unwelcome change. Land-hungry Swedes venture north, threatening the peace; a zealous Christian priest denounces the old ways; and young women have begun to disappear.

BLACK GIRLS BREATHING

As a Black woman, Jasmine Marie knows the impact that intergenerational trauma and systemic racism have had—and continue to have—on her community. Those experiences, along with her own journey through chronic stress, are why she created black girls breathing®, a movement dedicated to helping Black women understand the power of the mind‑body connection and its impact on their holistic health, one breath at a time.

FODOR’S ESSENTIAL SPAIN 2025

Whether you want to explore the Alhambra, marvel at La Sagrada Familia, or enjoy tapas, wine, and flamenco, the local Fodor’s travel experts in Spain are here to help! Fodor’s Essential Spain guidebook is packed with maps, carefully curated recommendations, and everything else you need to simplify your trip-planning process and make the most of your time.

INVISIBLE HELIX 

Detective Galileo, Keigo Higashino’s best loved character from The Devotion of Suspect X, returns in a case where hidden history, an impossible crime, are linked by nearly invisible threads in surprising ways. The body of a young man is found floating in Tokyo Bay. But his death was no accident – Ryota Uetsuji was shot.

~Semanur

Semanur’s Top Ten of 2024

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I’m so excited to share my favorite books of 2024!✨ This collection of stories inspired, entertained, and stayed with me throughout the year.

Check it out, and let me know which ones you’ve read—or what’s on your must-read list for next year! 📖❤️ Let’s keep the love for great books going strong. ✨

📚📚📚

LIKE MOTHER, LIKE MOTHER

Populated by unforgettable, complex characters, a novel about three generations of strong-willed women shaped by the secrets buried in their family’s past is a portrait of family, marriage, ambition, power, the stories we inherit and the lies we tell to become the people we believe we’re meant to be.

HOUSE OF GLASS

Best Interest Attorney, Stella Hudson, takes on the case of an 8-year-old girl who witnessed the death of her nanny amid her parents’ ugly divorce and realizes that everyone is a suspect.

HOLIDAY COUNTRY

Spending the summer in Turkey with her family, Ada begins to imagine a different future for her mother after a mysterious man from her past returns and must come to terms with her own attraction to him.

THERE ARE RIVERS IN THE SKY

Sweeping across centuries, and stretching from Mesopotamia to London, this stunning novel follows a trio of characters living in the shadows of one of the greatest epic poems of all time. Nineveh and its Remains as they become entwined by a single drop of water.

THE MISSING THREAD

Reconceiving our understanding of the ancient world by emphasizing women’s roles within it, from Cleopatra to Boudica, Sappho to Fulvia, and countless others, an award-winning classicist documents how women of antiquity are undeniably woven through the fabric of history, and in this monumental work, finally take center stage.

BECOMING MADAM SECRETARY

Describes how Frances Perkins met a young lawyer named Franklin Delano Roosevelt in turn-of-the-century New York and, despite initially not getting along, the pair formed a historic partnership that led them both to the White House.

WE SOLVE MURDERS

Investigator Steve Wheeler comes out of retirement when his daughter-in-law, Amy, needs help finding out who left a dead body on a remote island with a huge bag of money.

JAMES

Describes the events of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn through the eyes of the enslaved Jim, who decides to hide on nearby Jackson Island after learning he is to be sold to a man in New Orleans.

THE SUMMER WE STARTED OVER

Returning to Nantucket to help her younger sister with the grand opening of her gift shop, Eddie Grant must face all she left behind: her father’s increased eccentricities; her sister’s resentment of her leaving; and a past love connection, discovering a long-buried family secret that will change them all forever.

STUDIES AT THE SCHOOL BY THE SEA

Even though literature teacher Maggie Adair loves her life at the prestigious Downey House boarding school on the gloriously sunny, windy English coast, lately she’s been feeling restless, lured by the promise of a different life back in her Scottish hometown.

~SEMANUR

New Books Tuesday @ RRPL

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Check out this selection of new releases for your enjoyment coming this week!

LOCKED IN

On the day after Christmas, head of Department Q, Detective Carl Mørck, finds himself handcuffed in a police car headed for Copenhagen’s Vestre prison. After fifteen years, a violent case from his past has caught up with him. Charges of drug trafficking and murder threaten to destroy his life and career. But he is being framed. Someone has a million-dollar bounty on his head to make sure he doesn’t talk, putting him in grave danger among the prison’s incarcerated criminals and corrupt officers. The question that remains is, Why?

BELLEVUE

Twenty-three-year-old Michael “Mitt” Fuller starts his surgical residency with great anticipation at the nearly three-hundred-year-old, iconic Bellevue Hospital, following in the footsteps of four previous, celebrated Fuller generations. The pressure is on for this newly minted doctor, and to his advantage he’s always had a secret sixth sense, a sensitivity to the nonphysical.

GOLDEN HOUR

Teddy Fay is ready to embark on the European press tour of Peter Barrington’s latest film Storm’s Eye, when he receives an unexpected visit from Lance Cabot, director of the CIA. Several CIA agents have been turning up dead. The commonality? They were all part of a mission Teddy was involved in: Golden Hour. Lance wants Teddy to use his trip as a cover to investigate who is behind these killings.

TRIAL BY AMBUSH

Delves into the sensationalized true story of Barbara Graham, a neglected woman wrongfully portrayed as a femme fatale during a media frenzy surrounding a 1953 robbery-murder case, exposing the sexism, misinformation, and critical evidence overlooked by the prosecution that shaped her tragic narrative.

THE GREATEST LIE OF ALL

Fledgling actress Amelia Grant is at rock bottom when offered the opportunity of a lifetime: to star in a biopic about the world-renowned romance author Gloria Diamond, who used her own tragic love story as inspiration for her bestselling books. To prepare for the role, she’ll spend a week with Gloria at her secluded Washington estate. It’s a chance to get out of LA, away from her cheating ex-boyfriend, and to make her recently deceased mother proud.

DEFENSE PROTOCOL

For decades, Taiwan has been a thorn in the side of the Chinese government. An independent nation to the rest of the world, it is considered a rogue province by the PRC. Previous governments have tried to conquer the island using economic force and diplomatic pressure, but new Chinese President Li Jian Jun is done fooling around. He’s devised a secret military operation to take the island.

THE SILENT WATCHER

Far from the neon glare of the Vegas Strip, attorney Piper Danes walks away from a hotshot law firm to work as a guardian ad litem (GAL). Piper was once a vulnerable youth herself, and a GAL gave her hope when she needed it most. Now she’s committed to paying it forward.

SECRET THREE FATES

American heiress Ruby Vaughn still hasn’t entirely forgiven her octogenarian employer and housemate Mr. Owen for bringing the occult into their lives during her recent trip to Cornwall. He claims their journey to Manhurst Castle in the Scottish Borders is simply to appraise and acquire illuminated manuscripts for their rare books shop, however when Ruby discovers there are no manuscripts and receives news of a séance to be held that very night, she begins to grow suspicious about the true reason why they have come.

MY DARLING BOY

In a close-knit English village, Chrissy and Alice were once best friends. So were their sons, Leo and Robbie. Until the night Leo killed Robbie with a single, devastating punch. Now Leo has gone to prison, Chrissy has lost her pub, and Alice has been pouring her anger into a twisted project . . .

~Semanur

New Books Tuesday @ RRPL

semanurLeave a comment

Here are some of the new books coming to our shelves this week for you to add to your book list!

THE HOUSE OF CROSS

In Washington, DC, as the president-elect prepares for her inauguration, Detective Alex Cross is thrust into a high-stakes investigation when multiple Supreme Court candidates are murdered; tasked with delving into the mind of a cunning killer, Cross must confront the most dangerous aspects of his work for the sake of his family, city, and nation.

CHRISTMAS IN BETHEL

The New York Times bestselling author of The Christmas Box returns with another quiet tale of parental love, the sacrifices they are willing to make for their children and the true meaning of Christmas.

CITY OF NIGHT BIRDS

After a career-halting accident, prima ballerina Natalia Leonova returns to St. Petersburg to confront her past and to decide whether to rejoin the stage amidst the cutthroat world of Russian ballet.

AMBER ALERT

An explosive portrait of Dirty South revenge, triple-dealing, and crimes of passion as a suburban mom’s high-end criminal past comes back to haunt her, endangering her children and propelling her into a high-stakes game she remembers all too well.

THE ICON & THE IDEALIST

Examines the intense rivalry between Margaret Sanger and Mary Ware Dennett in the early 20th century, revealing how their conflicting visions for reproductive rights and birth control access significantly influenced American women’s lives and shaped the broader movement for reproductive freedom.

BETTY CROCKER FOUND RECIPES

From Betty Crocker, the brand beloved by generations of Americans, a carefully curated treasure trove of more than 100 favorite vintage recipes found in the Betty Crocker archives, dusted off and so delicious you’ll love them on today’s table.

DEATH TAKES THE LEAD

APRIL 1891: Prudence MacKenzie is delighted to attend a riveting rehearsal of Waif of the Highlands with her dear friend, Lydia Truitt, whose cousin, Septimus Ward, stars in the play. But the drama continues after the curtain falls, as the women overhear a ferocious argument between Septimus and the play’s famous playwright-director, Barrett Hughes.

~Semanur