Preview Shelf by Janice Clauser

Library News and Notable New Books

The Crawfordsville Library has just received its copy of the R.R. Donnelley & Sons’ latest annual Lakeside Press Classic. “Narratives of the San Francisco Earthquake and Fire of 1906”, edited by Roger Lotchin, is colorfully presented. Its historical introduction begins: “One of the best-kept secrets in the history of American cities is that most were put in a place that would make their residents face dramatic environmental challenges.” It offers maps, unique photos, personal stories, and special pieces of art; the timely articles provide compact history preserved for the serious reader.

Why did Gandhi hate iodine? Why did the Japanese kill Godzilla with missiles made of cadmium? How did radium nearly ruin Marie Curie's reputation? The book "The Disappearing Spoon" by Sam Kean tells of events involving the periodic table of the elements, as how lithium helped cure poet Robert Lowell of his madness. A surgeon reveals weight-loss secrets in "Feed Your Brain, Lose Your Belly" by Larry McCleary. "Wicked Bugs" by Amy Stewart is a little book of important tales about louses, stinging caterpillars, and chigger mites in history. Wayne Dyer's title "Getting in the Gap:" continues “Making Conscious Contact with God through Meditation”. Michael Willrich's "Pox" is the history of how America's progressive-era war on smallpox sparked one of the great civil liberties battles of the 20th century. In "Medical Muses: Hysteria in Nineteenth-Century Paris", Asti Hustvedt recalls three women of the 1870s called Blanche, Augustine, and Genevieve in the hysteria ward of a Paris hospital, who became celebrities when crowds gathered to observe their symptoms. There's advice about having a better quality of life despite breathlessness in "Positive Options for Living with COPD" by Teri Allen.

Now on to fiction. "The Buddha in the Attic" by Julie Otsuka is about a group of young women brought from Japan to San Francisco as "picture brides" a century ago. "Ella Finds Love Again" by Jerry Eicher shows a lovely Amish girl confused by her three choices for a husband. "Hatteras Girl" by Alice Wisler shows a young lady wanting to own a bed-and-breakfast on the Outer Banks in North Carolina who finds its owner's past a challenge to her purchase. "Heat Wave" by Jill Landis tells about a woman's life unraveling, and her search for the strength to live and love again. Kathy Reichs' "Flash and Bones" sends us to race week in Charlotte, North Carolina, where a body is found next to the Motor Speedway, testing the FBI. The theme of "Kill Me if you Can" by James Patterson is an innocent art student finding a huge cache of diamonds, then finding himself hunted by a murderer who "lost?" that valuable stuff.

Five new mysteries begin with P. D. James’ “Death Comes to Pemberley” drawing the characters of Jane Austen’s novel “Pride and Prejudice” into a tale of murder and mayhem. James Patterson’s “Private: #1 Suspect” is his second “Private” novel; a company’s director is accused of a horrible murder, and not even his own world-class investigators can prove he didn’t do it. “The Jaguar” by Jefferson Parker is a Charlie Hood novel that redefines the landscape of the cartel wars as an epic clash of good and evil. Elizabeth George’s “Believing the Lie” is an Inspector Lynley novel of 600 pages taking place in Cumbria, the Lake District of England. The inside cover has a good map to follow and the investigation of a death leads to a study of the victim’s clan, awash in secrets and lies. Faye Kellerman’s “Gun Games” is her 20th Decker/Lazarus story, and deals with a secret cabal of some of Los Angeles’ most wealthy and vicious teens.

Preview Shelf by Janice Clauser

Library News and Notable New Books

Michelle Homsher is a “winter term intern” at the Crawfordsville Library. A graduate of Southmont and a junior at Franklin College, she has been working in circulation and reference, now helps youth services, and will finish the project in tech services and the Carnegie Museum. Two years ago her first “winter” assignment at Franklin was a four-week course in comic books as part of her work for the English major. Michelle hopes to spend the next fall semester in Ireland. Go Grizzlies!

Specific settings of novels offer special advantages in many stories. Brad Meltzer's novel "The Inner Circle" centers on a young worker in the National Archives who, with a friend, finds a 200-year-old dictionary which once belonged to George Washington, and a puzzle leads them onward. "You Know When the Men are Gone" by Siobhan Fallon explores the insular and scary world of an American army base, Fort Hood, Texas, in the time of war. Suspense comes in New York City, fifty years in the future, when a detective and her partner- in-law overhear a scheme by officers that involves murder; J. D. Robb titles it "Treachery in Death". Julie Orringer calls her grand love story set against the backdrop of Budapest and Paris, involving three brothers whose lives are ravaged by war, "The Invisible Bridge". In Tom Franklin’s "Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter" two boys share a special bond in an atmospheric drama set in rural Mississippi in the late 1970s; later, they find themselves on opposite sides of a criminal investigation. Vintage clothing offers "a piece of someone's past" as well as fabric and thread in Isabel Wolff's "A Vintage Affair", set around a London shop of wearable art clothing making both setting and plot attractive and beguiling.

“Now You See Her" by Joy Fielding joins tension and heroics as a mother thinks she sees her long-lost daughter in Ireland when she’s there healing from divorce. In Karen Moning's "Shadowfever" two young children were given up for adoption and banished from Ireland; two decades later one is dead and the other has returned to hunt her sister's murderer, finding she descends from a gifted and cursed bloodline, and the plot turns fantasy. "Toys" by James Patterson shows a perfect couple thrown into opposite social scenes to survive (in fast-moving short chapters). Jennifer Chiaverini's latest Elm Creek Quilts novel is "The Union Quilters", a tale of love and sacrifice during the American Civil War. The women help the Cause in their ways, while the men suffer as they fight.

Three books about Mexico hit both the best and the saddest. "Fresh Mexico" by recipe editor/tester Marcela Valladolid includes 100 simple recipes for true Mexican flavor. ”El Narco” by Ioan Grillo takes the reader inside Mexico’s criminal insurgency. The new Carlos Fuentes novel, "Destiny and Desire", combines passion and magic in modern day Mexico where freewill fights with the wishes of the gods; two young best friends with unusual jobs meet different kinds of characters, creating a collision of ancient myths and 21st century mores. Off the coast of Argentina, "Aruba" is the newest travel guide in the library's Fodor's inFocus series. "Radio Shangri-La" by Lisa Napoli tells her adventure in Bhutan, which she calls the Happiest Kingdom on Earth. "Voyager" is Stephen Pyne's history of exploration as Magellan, Cortes, Columbus, Cook, Lewis and Clark, Byrd and Stanley kept active about our earth, and finally we're up to date as Voyager is moving to the edge of the solar winds. "Moby-Duck" by Donovan Hohn is a narrative of whimsy and curiosity as many bath toys, lost at sea, are sought, involving the causes of beachcombers, oceanographers, and environmentalists to trace and collect them. (Read more in CDPL catalog).

Preview Shelf by Janice Clauser

Library News and Notable New Books

Saturday at the Crawfordsville Library, 84 children and 78 adults enjoyed a two-hour program given by three-time 1,150-mile trans-Alaska Iditerod participant Karen Land and her 11-year old sled dog Borage (named after the herb). It was supposed to have been a 45-minute program but the enthusiastic audience kept wanting more and more time at their "icy adventure in the comfort of the library", sponsored by the Youth Services Department and the Friends of the Library.

Think of all the ways novels begin. "Ready Player One" by Ernest Cline takes us forward to the year 2044. That world is an ugly place where people escape grim surroundings by spending time in a virtual utopia living a fantasy life. Another adventure, Russell Banks' "Lost Memory of Skin" finds a prisoner shackled to a GPS monitoring device, and he chooses to reside under a Florida causeway with other convicted offenders.

Stuart Woods' mystery called "Son of Stone" finds Stone back in New York planning to navigate both its shadowy world and its chic high society. J. D. Robb's "New York to Dallas" is a new case for Eve Dallas where she’s the victim being sought. "The Cut" by George Pelecanos "marries art to truth" when an Iraq War veteran and investigator must help a high crime boss find who's stealing from him. "Turn of Mind" by Alice LaPlante is a literary thriller where the accused, entering the world of dementia, doesn't know if she's guilty or not.

In Diana Palmer's "Merciless" a confirmed bachelor, with an assistant to defend him against aggressive women, finds the assistant herself attractive. "A Wild Surge of Guilty Passion" by Ron Hansen presents the Jazz Age in New York, when a wife is looking for a man to murder her husband. "The Submission" by Amy Waldman celebrates the 10th anniversary of 9/11 by presenting an emergency that erupts when a group of jurors select an architect for its memorial, and learn the winner is Muslim. "There But For The" (yes, that's the title) by Ali Smith gives four points of view of a dinner guest who locks himself in a room, leading to the theme about how much others know about us when we're in a dilemma.

Sandra Brown's "Lethal" finds a mother and young daughter helping an ill neighbor, only to find out he's a murder suspect. In "King of the Badgers" by Philip Hensher an English town youngster goes missing, and investigators unearth information never known before about the place. "The Sacred Stone" by Medieval Murderers (that’s how the authors are labeled) is a historical mystery which starts in Greenland in 1067 when a band of hunters stumbles across an object fallen from the sky, to be fought over by everyone below for six hundred years. "The Body in the Thames" by Susanna Gregory is a Thomas Chaloner adventure set in London in the summer of 1664 featuring Westminster's mortuary, where the charnel house keeper collects his takings. Other new novels are Elizabeth Bert's "Once Upon a Time, There Was You" which focuses in on a man and woman, long divorced, who rediscover the power of love in the midst of an unthinkable crisis. "Gone" by Mo Hayder is a thriller investigating a brilliant and twisted carjacker involved in a disturbing game of hide and seek.

New manuals are "Microsoft Office 2010 Plain & Simple" by Katherine Murray, "HTML5 for Dummies" by Andrew Harris, "ASVAB for Dummies" by Rod Powers,
"Military Flight Aptitude Tests" 3rd edition from Learning Express, and "Top 100 Careers Without a Four-Year Degree" by Laurence Shatkin.

Preview Shelf by Janice Clauser

Library News and Notable New Books

A new book to borrow is Emma Rothschild’s "The Inner Life of Empires", an eighteenth-century history which showcases the lives of eleven siblings, four girls and seven boys. This global family watched as their own time created an empire, an enlightenment, and an economy. "Inside Scientology" by Janet Reitman gives the history of this religion. "Manana Forever?" is Jorge Castaneda's explanation of the puzzling paradoxes of his native Mexico, examining possibilities to expand its culture and make its political system more open and democratic. "The Power of Music" by Elena Mannes examines all the intricacies of music's place in our lives, especially the power of music to heal. "Fire and Rain" is David Browne's story of the Beatles, Simon & Garfunkel and James Taylor in the setting of the late 1960s and on into 1970. "What the Dog Saw" is Malcolm Gladwell's vehicle to find the intersection of science and society and to explain how we got where we are, in the "best of his writing" comments full of wit and wisdom.

John Vaillant’s “The Tiger” is the true story, documented by the Russians in 2007-2008 and later translated into English, about one man-eating tiger and the men who stalked it.

Three new manuals are "Choosing the Right College" an ISI Guide for 2012-2013, "2011 Step-by -Step Medical Coding" by Carol Buck, and the 2012 "Master the GED" by Ronald Kaprov.

"Homemade Soda" by Andrew Schloss shows how to make not only sodas but also slushes, brews for cola and root beers, sparkling teas and coffees, and other carbonated concoctions. In "Culinary Careers" Rick Smilow explains how to go about getting your dream job in food management. "The River Cottage Bread Handbook" by Daniel Stevens brings more than recipes to the table, for this book also gives you a way to learn baking techniques. "Raising Meat Goats" is Maggie Sayer's offering on managing, breeding, and marketing, and there's also "Living with Goats" by Margaret Hathaway which focuses on raising your own backyard herd. David Linden's "The Compass of Pleasure" describes how our brains translate fatty foods, exercise, vodka, and other items into good feelings. "Man with a Pan" is the culinary adventure of fathers who cook for their families; edited by John Donohue, twenty remarks come from men like Stephen King, Mario Batali, and Jim Harrison. Lysa TerKeurst's "Made to Crave" promotes satisfying our deepest desires with God, not food.

"Twelve Steps Toward Political Revelation" by Walter Mosley draws from his knowledge of addiction and recovery to aid problems of contemporary America through bold new ways of thinking about the world. "Heaven is for Real" is a little boy's astounding story of his trip to heaven and back, written by Todd Burpo about his not-yet four-year-old son. "Half a Life" is a memoir by Darin Strauss about the loss of a classmate who swerved in front of his car, dying in the collision, and about how "we're all pretty much able to deal even with the worst that life can fire at us, if we simply admit that it is very difficult." "The Longest War" by Peter Bergen, CNN's national security analyst, is a vital and essential account of the central conflict of our times, tracing the arc of the fight and projecting its likely future.

Preview Shelf by Janice Clauser

Library News and Notable New Books


At the Crawfordsville Library, beginning January 9th, and continuing Jan. 23rd, Feb. 6 and 20th, March 5th and 19th, and April 2nd on the lower level, a series of open meetings on Green Living will be directed by Linda Vernon-Goldman, with no charge involved. She’ll be discussing present-day issues and bringing books for sale.

Remember, too, the invitation to attend beginning knitting classes on Saturdays from 9 a.m. to noon beginning January 7th. Call the reference desk for particulars, at 362-2242, extension 2.

New fiction is James Patterson's "10th Anniversary" which is announced as follows: "Detective Lindsay Boxer finally gets married. But a missing newborn and a series of violent attacks push the women's murder club back to full throttle before the wedding gifts are unwrapped." "Caleb's Crossing" by Geraldine Brooks takes a shard of little-known history and brings it vividly to life. In 1665, a young man from Martha's Vineyard became the first Native American graduate of Harvard College, and Brooks creates a tale of passion and belief, magic and adventure. "King Arthur's Bones" by Medieval Murderers takes place in 1191 in Glastonbury Abbey where a leaden cross is discovered buried several feet below ground labeled "Here lies buried the renowned King Arthur". Could this be? It’s the central theme that offers a clever and inventive tale.

Molly Peacock's "The Paper Garden" is the biography of Mary Granville Pendarves Delany (1700-1788) who, after a long and active life, created a new art form called mixed-media collage; examples of which then became the cut-paper flower collection called Flora Delanica housed in the British Museum. David McCullough's "The Greater Journey" tells adventures of American artists, writers, doctors, politicians, and architects who set off for Paris in the years between 1830 and 1900 to excel in their work. "A Covert Affair" by Jennet Conant tells about chef Julia Child and her husband Paul Child in the Office of Strategic Services during World War II, recruited by the citizen spy service, slapped into uniform, and dispatched to wage political warfare in remote outposts in Ceylon, India, and China. Julia even went to the mountaintop idyll of Kandy, Admiral Lord Louis Mountbatten's headquarters.

Inside stories from America's best cold case investigators, sometimes successful after decades of work are retold in Jack Branson's "Delayed Justice". The memoir "Paper Dollhouse" comes from co-host of the TV show "The Doctors", Lisa Masterson. Ashley Judd's memoir is "All That Is Bitter and Sweet" about her success despite her left-behind childhood, learning forgiveness, interdependence, and activism. "Little Princes" is Conor Grennan's story of fulfilling his promise to save lost children of Nepal who had been taken by child traffickers to an orphanage that abandoned them far from home; he reunited them with their families.

"End Your Addiction Now" is Charles Gant's proven nutritional supplement program to set each of us free from addictions. "Food: The Good Girl's Drug" comes from Sunny Gold who is founder of an online overeating support site. “Strange New Worlds" by Ray Jayawardhana considers life beyond our solar system and the search for alien planets. "Never, Ever, Quit!" about surviving and thriving amidst adversity comes from Jane Hoeppner, widow of the late Indiana University football coach, and designed for anyone who is in need of encouragement.

Preview Shelf by Janice Clauser

Library News and Notable New Books

Here’s some new nonfiction. Condoleezza Rice has written her memoir about Washington entitled “No Higher Honor” revealing her “reverence for the ideals on which America was founded.” Nancy Goldstein writes about the first African American woman cartoonist in “Jackie Ormes” (1911-1985) whose characters Torchy Brown, Candy, Patty-Jo and Ginger, and “Torchy Togs” paper dolls in the funny papers were controversial, addressing pressing issues of her times. "Fire Monks" by Colleen Busch reconstructs exactly what happened at Tassajara Zen Monastery during the fire of 2008, showing how Zen prepared the monks to meet the fire with calmness. Gillian Rose's "Love's Work" is a thoughtful work written by an English philosopher near death, recalling her interesting life. "Gods, Gangsters & Honour" reports five decades in the music industry, filled with oversized egos, multi-million dollar pay-offs, scandalous behavior, and the realities behind the images the rock star gods like to portray, written by Steven Machat without fear to his reputation; many celebrities are involved. "Codependent No More Workbook" by Melody Beattie regards setting and enforcing healthy limits, learning empowering ways to give, experiencing genuine love and forgiveness, and letting go, becoming detached from others' harmful behaviors. Nigel Dunnett’s "Small Green Roofs" shows low-tech options for greener living especially using roof gardens of various kinds on buildings large and small. Written by Amy Aiello, and photographed by Kate Baldwin, "Terrarium Craft" helps us create 50 magical, miniature worlds that are beautiful and productive.

And for fiction, we offer a series continuation. In The Heaven on Earth novel by Ruth Reid called "The Promise of an Angel", a young woman believes she sees an angel helping her brother during an accident, and the plot centers around her struggle to convince her community to believe her.

Preview Shelf by Janice Clauser

Library News and Notable New Books

Here are some of the new Christmas books on the shelves. Debbie Macomber's "1225 Christmas Tree Lane" is a Cedar Cove novel where the holiday is marred by several little matters, but surprises bring about a happy ending. In James Patterson’s “The Christmas Wedding” a bride invites her children to visit without identifying the groom until “the day”. “Lost December” by Richard Evans is the author’s modern day version of the biblical story about the Prodigal Son. “Bring Me Home for Christmas” about “reuniting with the one person you just can’t forget” is a Virgin River novel by Robyn Carr. Sherryl Woods’ “An O’Brien Family Christmas” is a Chesapeake Shores story set in Dublin. In Heather Graham’s “An Angel for Christmas” two strangers arrive at a strained family’s Blue Ridge Mountain home; one can’t be trusted, the other might bring Christmas back into their hearts. Linda Miller’s “A Lawman’s Christmas” is a McKettricks of Texas romance developing the relationship possibilities between the young widow of the town marshal and his replacement.

"Toward the Gleam" by T.M. Doran takes us on a fantastic adventure with a man who uncovers a manuscript from a long-lost civilization; he sets out to uncover its meaning and origins, unleashing questions about the modern era. Janet Evanovich offers "Wicked Appetite" a title that refers to the Seven Deadly Sins; the site for this adventure is Salem, Massachusetts. Jason Wright's "The Seventeen Second Miracle" unfolds small kindnesses that sometimes have life-altering consequences. Historian, language expert, and song writer Josh Ritter’s first novel is "Bright's Passage" about a veteran of World War I returning to West Virginia to care for his son, lament his wife's passing, and cleanse himself of his war memories. "The Postmistress" by Sarah Blake jumps from mass devastation in Europe in 1940 to the intimate heartaches of Franklin, Massachusetts; it is a tale of two worlds, one shattered by violence, the other willfully naïve. "Wildflowers of Terezin" by Robert Elmer takes place in 1943 when Copenhagen is placed under martial law and Denmark's Jews face deportation to the Nazi prison camp in Czechoslovakia.

And now, we move on to nonfiction. James Reeves' "The Road to Somewhere" is a clever memoir about visiting different places in the United States and about what can be learned; he dedicated his book to his mother, who told him to “go out into the world and look around”. "Hell on Two Wheels" by Amy Snyder describes the famous bicycle Race Across America, yielding those who complete the 3,000 miles a simple medal without prize money but with surprising emotional and spiritual rewards. "The Great American Awakening" by Jim Demint tells about two years that changed America, from the presidential election of 2008 through the mid-term elections of 2010; Demint champions the American people who feel a powerful stirring in their hearts emphasize the freedom we have in America. "Troublemaker" by Christine O'Donnell is also a personal commentary: "Let's do what it takes to make America great again”.

Preview Shelf by Janice Clauser

Library News and Notable New Books

New at the Crawfordsville Library is “Saturday’s Daughter”, the autobiography of Audrey Lowery, who has lived here in town two separate times. As one of ten Richards children in a coal-mining family in Kentucky, she worked from the time she was 11 years old, enduring unbelievable hardships, yet meeting life’s many vicissitudes with hard work, honesty and love. At the age of 86, she maintains her indomitable spirit, while dealing with blindness and restricted movement. Her inspiring story has been edited by local writer Jean Williams and is well worth reading for amusement and amazement.

Diana Taylor's "Martha" is a researched portrayal of Martha of Bethany, sister of Mary and Lazarus, the Biblical character unveiling herself, her world, her trials, her triumphs, and her loves. A beautiful new, annotated edition of Jane Austen's "Pride and Prejudice" is edited by Patricia Spacks. A new historical novel "The Daughter's Walk" by Jane Kirkpatrick features a Norwegian American in 1896 who accepts a wager from the fashion industry to walk from Spokane to New York City within seven months for desperately needed money. In Rhys Bowen’s “Naughty in Nice”, A Royal Spyness mystery set in 1933, a Lady-in-Waiting is sent to Nice to recover a priceless snuffbox taken without permission. Next there’s "Dreams of Joy" by Lisa See, which stimulates both historical and literary interest by introducing a 19-year-old named Joy who is left reeling when family secrets are uncovered, sending her running away to Shanghai in early 1957, where she throws herself into the New Society of Red China,. Jojo Moyes' "The Last Letter from your Lover" takes us back to 1960 when an accident victim with amnesia finds a letter signed "B"; this plot is paired with another in 2003 bringing the story to an unexpected ending.

Fern Michaels' "Southern Comfort" begins by telling how an Atlanta homicide detective turned his back on the world the day his wife and children were murdered. "The Ideal Man" by Julie Garwood finds "love in the deadliest of circumstances" as a new doctor's life is turned upside down when she witnesses the shooting of an FBI agent. In Wilbur Smith's "Those In Peril" a rich heir's daughter is kidnapped from her yacht on the Indian Ocean, and the mother hires the oil company's security to help save this victim of twenty-first-century piracy. Two friends rent a beach house in Honduras, where, with a third, they've enjoyed swapping advice. This time one has died, and the other two have to adjust; the title is "The Summer We Came to Life" by Deborah Cloyed. "Silver Girl", by Elin Hilderbrand, tells of a Nantucket getaway as the wife of a man newly exposed as an investor-criminal escapes the world to seek guidance from an old friend. Barbara Delinsky's "Escape" finds a Manhattan lawyer taking off towards the mountains in New Hampshire to redesign her life.

Catherine Coulter's "Split Second" is an FBI thriller with an added domestic mystery to uncover from previous generations. A cold case investigator undertakes to earn the million-dollar award that is about to expire for returning an abduction victim in Janet Dailey's "Bannon Brothers: Trust". “To Have and To Hold” by Tracie Peterson is a Bridal Veil Island story where wealthy investors building a resort threaten the land of a family’s ancestral home; sabotage during construction brings a crisis.

As Douglas Preston’s “Cold Vengeance” begins, a Special Agent’s wife is murdered, and he stalks his wife’s betrayers from Scotland to New York City to the Louisiana bayous. ”Shock Wave” by John Sandford is a Virgil Flowers novel tackling contemporary arguments both for and against building a superstore in a Minnesota river town. Laurie King’s novel of suspense featuring Mary Russell and her husband Sherlock Holmes, “Pirate King”, sweeps readers into the world of silent films where pirates are real and shooting isn’t all done with cameras.

Preview Shelf by Janice Clauser

Library News and Notable New Books

New holiday-themed books begin with "Grace" by Shelley Gray, a Christmas Sisters of the Heart novel; at an inn, unexpected visitors appear, forcing the owners to shelter them for the holidays and uncover the truth behind several secrets. Lori Wilde's "The First Love Cookie Club" is based on a legend that says "On Christmas Eve, if you sleep with kismet cookies under your pillow, and dream of your one true love, he will be your destiny." This is the fourth in her Twilight, Texas series.

A piece of interesting-looking nonfiction is "Feathers" by Thor Hanson, alerting us to the "most efficient insulating material ever discovered." Feathers have decorated queens and Aztec priests, and they've kept penguins dry below the ice. The author reveals details about their natural background as they've been used to protect, attract, and adorn though history in many places from Africa to Antarctica. Their many fascinating uses transport us from modern-day science to mythical associations with the divine. Read all about feathers. Another is "An Unfinished Revolution" which begins with Karl Marx and Abraham Lincoln's exchange of letters at the end of the Civil War when they agreed on the need to end slavery; there’s much more to this subject. "The Fiddler in the Subway" (referring to Joshua Bell) is a group of true stories Gene Weingarten researched to the 'nth degree, making them riveting and entertaining.

Emily Brightwell's Victorian mystery of a murder most English is "Mrs. Jeffries Forges Ahead." Fannie Flagg's "I Still Dream about You" shows us Birmingham, Alabama, past, present, and future with equal parts southern charm, murder mystery, and the comedic wisdom that is her specialty. "Nick of Time" a Bug Man novel by Tim Downs tells about a lady forensic entomologist ready to marry a dog trainer, except that the groom has disappeared on a mission. Paul Christopher's "The Templar Conspiracy" begins when an Army Ranger uncovers the motive behind the Pope's murder; he attempts unlocking secrets of the Templars’ conspiracy. Adam Barrow contributes "Blind Spot" which is about an especially disturbing crime scene at an Oregon rest stop and a plot with a surprise ending.

Every crime scene tells a story. Some tales keep you awake at night. Others haunt your dreams. Tess Gerritsen's "The Silent Girl", a Rizzoli & Isles novel, will do both with a grisly display in Boston's Chinatown; a violent death and a chilling prequel. "Dead by Midnight" is Carolyn Hart's 21st Death on Demand mystery. Annie Darling, who owns a mystery bookstore, suspects an apparent suicide to be a murder case. Chevy Stevens' "Never Knowing" is a psychological thriller about a woman's search into her past, and the deadly truth she uncovers.

Wanda Brunstetter's "Betsy's Return" is Book Two of the Brides of LeHigh Canal series in which a new pastor comes to Walnutport, PA. "Plain Proposal" by Beth Wiseman, A Daughters of the Promise novel, visits Lancaster County, PA where a young man and a young woman struggle as they consider leaving their Amish community.