Serving Boone, Blowing Rock, Banner Elk, and other towns of the North Carolina High Country
Founded 05-05-05
March 13, 2008 issue
Complied by Corinne Saunders
Loads of new novels by award-winning and New York Times bestselling authors will hit the shelves at the Watauga Public Library in March. With Easter approaching, several authors offer timely, fresh perspectives on religion, but whether you’re in the mood for lighthearted or serious reading, fiction or thrilling mysteries, your local library has the book for you.
Another Thing to Fall
by Laura Lippman
Tess stumbles onto the set of Mann of Steel, a big-budget TV mini-series being filmed in her neighborhood, and finds herself hired as a bodyguard for the show’s 20-year-old hard-partying star Selene Waites. The set has been plagued by vandalism, claims the show’s writer, and he fears for Selene’s safety. Tess gets more than she bargains for as she discovers that a previous stalker of Selene hanged himself and one of the crew members is murdered. She must act as bodyguard and detective to put the pieces together; more than the production is on the line.
Black Widow
by Randy Wayne White
Ford receives a phone call from his goddaughter Shanay, but not to relay wedding details as he expected. Someone filmed the wild bachelorette party she and her bridesmaids had and now threatens to put the footage online unless Shanay pays a certain fee. Ford agrees to make the transaction, but the black widow takes the money and releases the tape anyway, causing one bridesmaid to attempt suicide. Ford and his friend are out for revenge, but it’s only the beginning of the havoc the black widow will cause.
Blind Fall
by Christopher Rice
John Houck, a former Marine sergeant, returns to the United States from Iraq hoping to make amends with his commanding officer Capt. Mike Bowers, who was severely injured because of John’s carelessness. But John discovers Mike murdered in his bed in Owensville, Calif. and discovers something else. John didn’t know Mike was gay, but he hesitantly joins Mike’s live-in boyfriend to find the killer.
Buckingham Palace Gardens
by Anne Perry
The 25th novel to feature Victorian sleuth Thomas Pitt finds him assigned to the Special Branch. The year is 1893, and the discovery of a prostitute’s mutilated corpse in a Buckingham Palace cupboard after a party presided over by the Prince of Wales may mean political disaster. Pitt discovers the prince and his close friends have been planning the construction of a railway that would run from South Africa to Egypt. He puts his wife’s maid on the palace staff to assist him in this difficult case.
Carrot Cake Murder
by Joanne Fluke
This Hannah Swenson Mystery includes 12 dessert recipes. Hannah Swensen, owner of The Cookie Jar bakery in Lake Eden, Minn., is looking forward to warm, lazy days, but she must instead track down a killer. At her business partner Lisa’s family reunion. Lisa's long-lost Uncle Gus makes an appearance after 25 years of no contact, and he becomes as big a hit as Hannah’s carrot cake—his favorite dessert. But the next morning, Hannah finds Uncle Gus’ corpse next to two slices of her carrot cake and must sort through an extensive list of suspects to solve the case.
Charley’s Web
by Joy Fielding
The life of Charley Webb, a successful columnist for the Palm Beach Post, takes an unexpected turn when she receives a letter from Jill Rohmer, a young woman serving time on death row for murdering three children. Jill wants Charley to write her biography and thus share the many truths about the case that didn’t surface during her trial. As Charley accepts and begins the work, though, she starts receiving angry letters that turn into threats against her children. The friends, family and neighbors she is used to keeping out of her life may be her only hope for rescuing her son and daughter.
Compulsion
by Jonathan Kellerman
A serial killer’s victims are linked only by his use of luxury vehicles and the apparent lack of motive. LAPD detective Milo Sturgis and psychologist Dr. Alex Delaware follow the trail of crime from the center of L.A. to its outskirts and then to an old case in New York City. The team must follow a baffling and gruesome trail as they seek a murderer who repeatedly defies identification.
Where Are You Now?
by Mary Higgins Clark
Ten years ago, 21-year-old Charles MacKenzie Jr. (“Mack”) went missing, and ever since, he has only contacted his mother once a year with a phone call on Mother’s Day. He always assures his mother he is fine, but answers no questions. Mack’s sister Carolyn is now a 26-year-old law school graduate and interrupts his ritual call to inform him she plans to track him down. Her search for her brother, however, leads her into unexpected danger and trecherous truths.
Zapped
by Carol Higgins Clark
This novel, number 11 of the Regan Reilly Mysteries, is a fictional mystery with a setting inspired by real-life events: the New York City blackout of 2003. Regan and Jack Reilly return home from a summer weekend looking forward to a quiet evening, but the opposite occurs. With a thief poised in the front closet, the city is blacked out, and the Reillys must spring into action before it is too late.
Christ the Lord: The Road to Cana
by Anne Rice
In this sequel to Christ the Lord: Out of Egypt, Yeshua (Jesus) begins his three-year ministry with the water-to-wine miracle at the wedding at Cana. Rice chronicles Yeshua’s journey, remaining true to the Gospels, but imagining the complexities that are left out: the “lost” young adulthood of Jesus, the sacrifices that his calling required him to make and the isolation he felt as a result.
God’s Problem
by Bart Ehrman
In God's Problem: How the Bible Fails to Answer Our Most Important Question—Why We Suffer, UNC-Chapel Hill religion professor Ehrmanchronicles his contradictory Biblical findings of why humans experience pain and suffering. He develops his own functional solution to suffering and evil in the world: first, to make this life as pleasing to ourselves as we can and then to make it pleasing to others.
I Don’t Believe in Atheists
by Chris Hedges
Hedges identifies two “radical and dangerous sides” to the religious debate in America: religious fundamentalists and new atheists who attack all religious beliefs to advance global capitalism and intolerance. He critiques the radical mindset of both sides and identifies the pillars of the new atheist belief system, arguing that the stringent rules and rigid traditions are as strict as those of any religious practice. They have created idols in their own image, he argues—a sin for those on either side of the spectrum.
The Third Jesus
by Deepak Chopra
In The Third Jesus: The Christ We Cannot Ignore, Chopra states that there is not one Jesus, but three. There is the historical Jesus, who lived more than 2,000 years ago and whose teachings are the foundation of Christian theology. There is Jesus the Son of God, who embodies an institutional religion. Finally, he argues, there is the third Jesus: the cosmic Christ, the spiritual guide whose teaching encompasses everyone and not just the church built on his name. This Jesus is a worldwide teacher who speaks to the individual who wants to find God as a personal experience, to attain grace, or God-consciousness, or enlightenment.
The Ancient
by R.A. Salvatore
Searching for his long-lost father, Bransen Garibond is tricked into traveling across the Gulf of Corona to the wild lands of Vanguard where he is pressured into service in a war against the ruthless Samhaist, Ancient Badden. Below Ancient Badden’s magical ice castle, several societies are caught up in their own conflicts and are oblivious to his plans to destroy them. Bransen becomes the link between the wars, and the lives of all those who live on the lake will depend on his success.
Change of Heart
by Jodi Picoult
Freelance carpenter Shay Bourne was sentenced to death for killing a little girl named Elizabeth Nealon and her cop stepfather. Eleven years after the murders, Elizabeth’s sister Claire needs a heart transplant, and who but Shay volunteers. Meanwhile, strange events have been occurring on death row, such as a pet bird dying and being brought back to life. This novel examines the rights of prisoners, aspects of religion and relationships—especially what it means to have heart.
Deluge
by Anne McCaffrey
This third mission for twins Ronan and Muriel follows them as they set out to rescue an old friend who was wrongfully imprisoned. They end up incarcerated as well, tortured with other youngsters at Gwinnet’s Camp Neverland. Only their special skills and friends like the telepathic cat Zuzu help them to survive a volcanic eruption and tsunami and finally complete their mission.
A Prisoner of Birth
by Jeffrey Archer
This modern version of Dumas’ classic The Count of Monte Cristo features four friends from Cambridge University known as the Musketeers. They conspire to frame Danny Cartwright, an illiterate London East Ender, for the murder of Danny's oldest friend and prospective brother-in-law, Bernie Wilson. The trial ends with a 22-year sentence for Danny in a maximum-security Belmarsh prison, where his cellmate Sir Nicholas Moncrieff, the book's Abbé Faria figure, teaches him to read and write. Danny escapes by impersonating Moncrieff and then sets out for revenge.
Human Smoke
by Nicholson Baker
Award-winning writer Baker delivers a fresh perspective on war in Human Smoke: The Beginnings of World War II, the End of Civilization. He juxtaposes events from 1892 to December 31, 1941—Britain’s terror campaign of bombing German cities prior to the London bombardment—and draws from various historical voices, from Churchill and FDR to pacifists like Quaker Clarence Pickett, and others in between for a new look at a war with a far-reaching impact. He demonstrates that the events of the past have been repeated over and over in history, and shows the dangers of allowing these patterns of war to occur again in the future.
Losing It and Gaining My Life Back One Pound at a Time
by Valerie Bertinelli
This autobiography goes backstage into the life of a sitcom and movie star turned tabloid headliner and wife of rock guitarist Eddie Van Halen who became a weight loss inspiration to millions. Experience the struggles, joys and normalities of the life of a Jenny Craig spokesperson who has lived life in and out of the spotlight, but has much in common with women everywhere.
Welcome to Your Brain
by Sandra Aamodt and Sam Wang
Need brain mysteries explained? Welcome to Your Brain: Why You Lose Your Car Keys but Never Forget How to Drive and Other Puzzles of Everyday Life will do that and more. Written by neuroscientists, this novel tackles everything brain related, from dreams to memories to emotion regulation to how humans process sensory and cognitive information. The authors also dispel common brain-related myths, such as humans only use 10 percent of their brains (we use almost all of it). Learn how to preserve your brainpower as you age and other useful, interesting tidbits from the experts.
Deep Dish
by Mary Kay Andrews
Set in Andrews’ native Deep South, the story starts when a scandal results in 30-year-old Gina Foxton’s cooking show being canceled. When the Cooking Channel begins looking for a new show to add, producers set their sights on Vittles, hosted by Kill It and Grill It Tate Moody. The competition between Gina and Tate extends from real life to the reality show they find themselves on. The close quarters and competition turn into a recipe for the two chefs to fall in love.
The Road to Wealth
by Suze Orman
This work is not a cover-to-cover read, but a guide to everyday money matters. Orman straightforwardly covers topics from managing debt and owning a home to making investments and preparing to pass it all along. The easy-to-follow reference guide explains common finance concerns, such as how to calculate the mortgage payment you can best afford, determine what Medicare will pay toward nursing care, decide between retirement plan options and more.