New Items ~ September 2018

FICTION

All we ever wanted by Emily Giffin.  A scandal sends members of two Nashville families into chaos.

Baby teeth by Zoje Stage.  Here’s a “bad seed” novel about a mom desperate to find help for her mute young daughter whose disturbing behavior grows increasingly dangerous.

Clock dance by Anne Tyler.  This is a window into Willa Drake’s life over 50 years and how she adjusts to some of life’s surprises.

Cottage by the sea by Debbie Macomber.  A lonely woman finds love in a charming seaside town.

The Eastern.  Book Two: Later on by Deborah Gould.  In the second book of a trilogy, five families settle on the Eastern River in Pittston, Maine and build a strong and lasting neighborhood.

In a lonely place by Dorothy Hughes.  A classic California noir with a feminist twist, this prescient 1947 novel exposed misogyny in post-World War II American society making it far ahead of its time.

Kill the farm boy by Delilah Dawson.  This is Tolkien’s Fellowship of the Ring on laughing gas.  It’s a rollicking fantasy adventure that upends numerous genre tropes in audacious style.

The last time I lied by Riley Sager.  A painter is in danger when she returns to the summer camp where some of her childhood friends disappeared.

 The late bloomers’ club by Louise Miller.  A delightful novel about two headstrong sisters, a small town’s efforts to do right by the community, and the power of a lost dog to summon true love.

Lying in wait by Liz Nugent.  Laurence Fitzsimons has a mother who’s determined to control everything and everyone around her – even if she has to kill to do it.

Mary B by Katherine Chen.  The overlooked middle sister in Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice casts off her prim exterior and takes center stage in this fresh retelling of the classic novel.

The mere wife by Maria Headley.  A modern retelling of the literary classic Beowulf, set in American suburbia as two mothers – a housewife and a battle-hardened veteran – fight to protect those they love.

The other lady vanishes by Amanda Quick.  This sweeps readers back to 1930s Hollywood and California, where the most dazzling of illusions can’t hide the darkest secrets.

Paradox by Catherine Coulter.  Agents Sherlock and Savich look for an escaped psychopath.

A people’s history of the vampire uprising by Raymond Villareal.  In this wildly original novel – part social-political satire, part international mystery – a new virus turns people into something a bit more than human, upending society as we know it.

The Pharaoh Key by Douglas Preston.  Secrets of a mysterious ancient tablet may point the way to untold treasure – or unspeakable danger.

The prisoner in the castle by Susan MacNeal.   A series of baffling murders among a group of imprisoned agents threatens the outcome of World War II in this new Maggie Hope mystery.

The Romanov Empress by C.W. Gortner.  An historical novel about the beloved Empress Maria, the Danish girl who became the mother of the last Russian tsar.

Star of the north by David John.  A thriller about a woman trying to rescue her twin sister from captivity in North Korea, and the North Korean citizens with whom she forms an unlikely alliance.

Tailspin by Sandra Brown.  A pilot navigates treacherous situations when he attempts to deliver a mysterious black box to a doctor in Georgia.

An unwanted guest by Shari Lapena.  A Catskills lodge loses electricity during a blizzard and its guests start mysteriously dropping dead.

Who is Vera Kelly?  by Rosalie Knecht.  Meet an original, wry and whip-smart female spy for the 21st century.

NONFICTION

Another good dog by Cara Achterberg.  A warm and entertaining memoir about what happens when you foster 50 dogs in less than two years – and how the dogs save you as much as you save them.

The contest by Michael Schumacher.  The 1968 election and the war for America’s soul.  A dramatic, deeply informed account of one of the most consequential elections and periods in American history.

Godspeed by Casey Legler.  This electric coming of age memoir charts Legler’s broken childhood – from swimming in the Olympics at 16 while facing crippling loneliness, to her descent into drug addiction, and a desperate penchant for self-destruction that almost took her life – all while grappling with undiagnosed autism.  It’s a raw story of teenage addiction that is beautifully told.

Indianapolis by Lynn Vincent.  The true story of the worst sea disaster in US Naval history and the 50 year fight to exonerate an innocent man.

Light of the stars by Adam Frank.  An intriguing account of the ongoing search for alien civilizations whose failure to appear may be a warning for humans to get their act together.

My life in the Maine Woods by Annette Jackson.  The author recounts her experiences with her game warden husband during the 1930s.

On the Ganges by George Black.  Encounters with saints and sinners on India’s mythic river.  Journey along one of the world’s greatest rivers and catch a glimpse into the lives and cultures of the people who live along its banks.

A Senator’s eye by Angus King.  From the formality of the Capitol Rotunda to a glorious sunrise off the coast of Maine, this is a fascinating collection of informal photos taken by King along with his personal insights and captions.

Slow by Brooke McAlary. Here are plans for simple living in a frantic world.  Free yourself from the frantic and embrace the joy of slow.

The stone crusher by Jeremy Dronfield.  The true story of a father and son’s fight for survival in Auschwitz.  A personal and universal account of brutality at its worst and of family devotion at its best.

The strange case of Dr. Couney by Dawn Raffle.  The extraordinary tale of how a mysterious immigrant “doctor” became the revolutionary innovator of saving premature babies by placing them in incubators in World Fair side shows, on Coney Island, and Atlantic City.

The widower’s notebook by Jonathan Santlofer.  Written with humor and great warmth, this is a portrait of a marriage, an account of the complexities of finding oneself single again after losing your spouse, and a story of the enduring power of familial love.

Notes from Booklist, Publishers Weekly, Kirkus, Library Journal, and New York Times Book Review.