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…

RANDOM IN DEATH

When a 16-year-old girl is murdered during a show at a New York club, Lieutenant Eve Dallas, with the lab results showing a toxic mix of substances and infectious agents in the victim’s body, must find a madman consumed by hatred who’s just another face in the crowd.

HARBOR LIGHTS

Eight short stories and a never-before-published novella, from the best-selling author of Cadillac Jukebox include the tale of a father and son who watch evil forces disguised as federal agents try to ruin their family.

THE FRIENDSHIP CLUB

After a series of terrible dates, Marni McGuire, the host of a popular TV cooking show, forms an unbreakable bond with her best friend Ellen as well as a young intern on the show and her pregnant daughter Bella as they navigate the challenges and celebrate the joys of life.

DEAD MAN’S HAND

Brad Taylor and Pike Logan face off against Putin’s agents and a group of rogue Ukrainian partisans plotting to assassinate a Swedish deputy minister in the latest novel, in the series following The Devil’s Ransom.

DIVA

Describes the scandalous love affaire between the legendary opera singer, Maria Callas, and the fabulously rich Greek shipping magnate Aristotle Onassis, whose relationship ended suddenly with the shocking news that he was to marry Jacqueline Kennedy.

NO ONE CAN KNOW

Returning to the house where her parents were murdered, mother-to-be Emma Palmer who has never told anyone what she saw the night her parents died, even when she became the prime suspect, is reunited with her estranged sisters who will do anything to keep the past buried.

ONE IN A MILLION

When Frank Culhane, the wealthy patriarch of one of Texas’s most prestigious families, is murdered, Detective Sam Rafferty, a city outsider, is propelled into a tangle of simmering rivalries and forbidden attractions as Frank’s second wife and his scorned first wife hold the future of his ranching dynasty in their hands.

THE MISSING WITNESS

Framed for the murder of an FBI agent after testifying against David Chen and his illegal businesses, Kara Quinn goes on the run, determined to clear her name without putting her partner, Matt Costa, in danger.

EASTER BASKET MURDER

A collection of Easter-themed mysteries set in coastal Maine features sleuths from three best-selling cozy mystery series: Lucy Stone, Hayley Powell and Julia Snowden, who investigate a deadly art theft and a body that mysteriously vanishes after being discovered.

~Semanur

Book Review: Mister Lullaby

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Harrod’s Reach is home to a train tunnel filled with spooky stories. After a fatal train accident in the tunnel, all the kids and adults know- stay away from the tunnel. Bad things happen to those who enter the tunnel, as Gideon Dupree knows all too well. His brother, Sully, ran into the tunnel…and never woke up. Years later, Sully is still in a coma and Gideon is coming home from a tour abroad. His childhood friend, Beth Gardner is now the deputy sheriff of their small town, with a son of her own and a wariness surrounding the tunnel and its lore.

When the tunnel once again begins to beckon to the townspeople, strange figures and phenomena begin to occur. One of the town’s oddballs, “Simple” Simon, is discovered by Beth outside the tunnel. His limited language skills are far outweighed by the vivid drawings in his sketchbook, clutched tightly in his hands and carefully labeled LaLaLand.

This book had an intricately built world which made for a page-turning read. There are multiple first person narrators, but each main character has their own well-developed voice. The uneasiness and horror elements are not too gruesome but are definitely enough to keep you up at night. Likened to Stephen King, J.H. Markert tells a haunting tale that will stick with you long after you finish reading. A return to Harrod’s Reach would be welcome!

Put the print copy on hold here or put the audiobook on hold here.

Happy reading!

-Melinda

New Books Tuesday @ RRPL

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

HOLMES, MARPLE & POE

Brendan Holmes, Margaret Marple and Auguste Poe open a private investigating company together and their daring methodology and news-making solved cases would make their last-namesakes proud and attract the attention of an NYPD detective.

THE HEIRESS

After North Carolina’s richest—and most notorious—heiress dies, her adopted son, Camden, rejects his inheritance until 10 years later, when his uncle’s death pulls him and his wife back into the family fold at Ashby House where he realizes the bonds of family stretch far beyond the grave.

DEEP FREEZE

After surviving a bus accident, veteran Joh Reiff awakens in the hospital alive and suspicious that the doctors aren’t telling him something, in the first novel of a new series by the author of the “Breakthrough” series.

COLD VICTORY

Two women in 1947 Helsinki, one American and one Russian, have their loyalties and friendship put to the test when their husbands drunkenly challenge each other to a secret cross-country ski race at an embassy party pitting freedom against communism.

THE NIGHT ISLAND

When a mysterious informant disappears, Talia March, searching for a list of people like her and her friends, is forced to team up with Luke Rand, a hunted and haunted man chasing the same list, when they are both targeted by a killer.

GOODBYE GIRL

A Miami criminal defense lawyer helps a Grammy-winning popstar who signed an onerous contract as a teen that leaves her ex-husband with all her royalties, in the eighteenth novel of the series following Twenty.

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.

~Semanur

Happy Birthday, Grand Canyon!

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Before it was designated as a National Park, the Grand Canyon was a National Monument by President Theodore Roosevelt on January 11, 1908. Multiple times, Senate bills were introduced to establish the area as a National Park before finally being signed by President Woodrow Wilson in 1919. The Grand Canyon became the 15th National Park in the United States.  

While the Grand Canyon is certainly one major draw to the region, there is no lack of beauty in the American Southwest. The Grand Canyon is certainly a showstopper, and there’s also Zion and Bryce Canyon National Parks across the border in Utah, Joshua Tree National Park further west in California, Sedona’s red rocks, the deep gorge of Black Canyon of the Gunnison…I could keep going but we’d be here all day! Instead, here are a few books to explore these incredible facets of our planet, whether you’re planning a trip or doing some armchair travel: 

Grand Canyon Country: Its Majesty and Its Lore by Seymour L. Fishbein 

The Grand Canyon: Between River and Rim by Peter McBride 

Brave the Wild River: The Untold Story of Two Women who Mapped the Botany of the Grand Canyon by Melissa L. Sevigny 

The Wilderness Warrior: Theodore Roosevelt and the Crusade for America by Douglas Brinkley 

Native American Archaeology in the Parks: A Guide to Heritage Sites in Our National Parks and Monuments by Kenneth L. Feder 

Lazy B: Growing up on a Cattle Ranch in the American Southwest by Sandra Day O’Connor 

Zion & Bryce by Moon Handbooks 

Arizona and New Mexico: 25 Scenic Side Trips by Rick Quinn 

-Linnea

From Page to Screen: Winter 2024

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2024 is sure to bring another round of book to film adaptations, and we’re kicking off the year with a few flicks guaranteed to be blockbusters. Some of the films were set to open in Fall 2023 but were delayed due to the SAG-AFTRA strike.

Whether you’re a member of “The Book Was Better” club or enjoy the film version, there is something for everyone. If you want to compare and contrast or just love a good spoiler, pick up the book to read before you start watching!

January

Fool Me Once by Harlan Coben

Former special ops pilot Maya, home from the war, sees an unthinkable image captured by her nanny cam while she is at work: her two-year-old daughter playing with Maya’s husband, Joe, To find the answer, Maya must finally come to terms with deep secrets and deceit in her own past before she can face the unbelievable truth about her husband, and herself.  

Coming to Netflix on January 1.

The Expatriates by Janice Y.K. Lee

Three very different American women livie in the same small expat community in Hong Kong. Mercy, a young Korean American and recent Columbia graduate, is adrift, undone by a terrible incident in her recent past. Hilary, a wealthy housewife, is haunted by her struggle to have a child, something she believes could save her foundering marriage. Meanwhile, Margaret, once a happily married mother of three, questions her maternal identity in the wake of a shattering loss. Their lives collide in ways that have irreversible consequences for them all.  

Coming to Amazon Prime on January 26.

February

It Ends With Us by Colleen Hoover

Sometimes it is the one who loves you who hurts you the most. Lily hasn’t always had it easy, but that’s never stopped her from working hard for the life she wants. So when she feels a spark with a gorgeous neurosurgeon named Ryle Kincaid, everything in Lily’s life suddenly seems almost too good to be true. Ryle is assertive, stubborn, maybe even a little arrogant. He’s also sensitive, brilliant, and has a total soft spot for Lily. And the way he looks in scrubs certainly doesn’t hurt. Lily can’t get him out of her head.

Coming to theaters on February 9.

March

Dune by Frank Herbert

Set on the desert planet Arrakis, Dune is the story of Paul Atreides–who would become known as Muad’Dib–and of a great family’s ambition to bring to fruition mankind’s most ancient and unattainable dream.

Dune Part Two is coming to theaters on March 1.

Mickey7 by Edward Ashton

Dying isn’t any fun…but at least it’s a living. Mickey7 is an Expendable: a disposable employee on a human expedition sent to colonize the ice world Niflheim. Whenever there’s a mission that’s too dangerous-even suicidal-the crew turns to Mickey. After one iteration dies, a new body is regenerated with most of his memories intact.

Coming to theaters on March 29.

Happy reading!

-Melinda

Book Review: The Sunshine Girls

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Clara and Abbie are mourning the loss of their mother, Betty Kay, when a mysterious and famous figure shows up at the funeral claiming to be one of their mother’s best friends. But they’ve never heard of her.

In 1960s rural Iowa, Betty Kay decides to leave the family farm and enrolls in nursing school. When she meets the other students, she sees girls like her- Iowa-born and used to farm life. Until she meets her roommate, Kitty. Kitty is a tough Southern belle who’s got secrets, sass, and sewing skills to last for days. The two steer clear of each other until tragedy comes for Betty Kay, leaving her in a predicament that could derail her future.

Clara and Abbie thought they knew most their mother’s story, but it’s clear that there are chapters missing. The two sisters grieve in their own ways, with Clara wishing she could make amends and Abbie missing her daily check-ins with her mom.

With the Vietnam war as the backdrop, Betty Kay’s sections lend a historical fiction feel to the book, complete with a smidgeon of romance. Told in dual timelines, Betty Kay’s story is told throughout the book as the sisters and the reader discover secrets from Betty Kay’s past. Ultimately the book demonstrates the power of deep female friendship and sisterhood. If you’re a historical fiction fan, consider picking this one up and sharing it with a friend.

Request a print copy here or an eAudiobook copy here.

Happy reading!

-Melinda

New Year, Fresh Start

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As we enter the New Year, we look towards the future, setting goals and making plans. But sometimes it’s hard to leave the past year behind us. If you’re looking for inspiration to move forward, here are a few books about fresh starts and forging your own path: 

Maame by Jessica George 

The Midnight Library by Matt Haig 

A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman 

Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman 

Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail by Cheryl Strayed 

Educated by Tara Westover 

The People We Keep by Allison Larkin 

Life After Life by Kate Atkinson 

-Linnea

Book Review: The September House

MelindaLeave a comment

Margaret and Hal think they’ve struck the gold mine when they purchase a stately old Victorian home. But come September, things start going awry. Blood drips down the walls, items get misplaced, and ghostly former inhabitants known as “the pranksters” roam the halls. And they all ominously point to the basement door with a warning- “He’s down there.”

Margaret spends all her time managing the house and its quirks, but Hal has had enough. So when another September rolls around, Hal decides to take matters into his own hands…and disappears without a trace. When their daughter Katherine calls, Margaret begrudgingly shares the news that Hal is missing. Panicked, Katherine immediately plans a visit. In September. Just as the house is waking up for its annual haunting. What could go wrong?

I listened to this horror novel and was mesmerized by the characters, plot, and setting. The pranksters are explained in vivid detail, which gives them an especially spooky feel, and Margaret and Katherine’s antics are those of a classic mother-daughter pair. The house itself is a central character to the story as it creaks and groans with its dark secrets. If you want to be swept away by a scary story, this book is for you.

Request it here.

Happy reading!

-Melinda

Winter Solstice Reads

LinneaLeave a comment

Today is the winter solstice, also known as the shortest day of the year. But after today, each day will have a little more daylight! The sun will come back for us.

These short winter days are perfect for reading and I’ve curated a list of winter books to curl up with. From horror to romance to cozy, your ideal pick is waiting.

The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey 

Beartown by Fredrik Backman 

Winter by Ali Smith 

Winter Solstice by Rosamunde Pilcher 

A Winter in New York by Josie Silver 

A Girl in Winter by Philip Larkin 

A Quiet Life by Ethan Joella 

The Shining by Stephen King 

The Winter People by Jennifer McMahon 

-Linnea

Sara’s Top 10 of 2023

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2023 was a good year for reading! For some reason it was an entry into the Horror genre for me. I didn’t realize that horror books are very different than horror movies- they are usually less gory, but can be a lot scarier! If you want to give one a try, look at My Heart is a Chainsaw by Stephen Graham Jones (which comes before Don’t Fear the Reaper which was excellent), or if you really want to be creeped out, read A Head Full of Ghosts by Paul Tremblay.

I also enjoyed a little magic and fantasy with the adventurous tale of Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros, The Women Could Fly by Megan Giddings, a possible future story, My Murder by Katie Williams, and the charming Spells for Forgetting by Adrienne Young.

Finally, I enjoyed some fantastic stories that seemed like real life in Honor by Thrity Umrigar, Night of the Living Rez by Morgan Talty and the crazy, stream of consciousness No One is Talking About This by Patricia Lockwood. Happy Reading everyone!