February 12, 2009 Issue
Mysteries, Thrillers and Family Dramas at the Library in February
A talking cat who solves crimes, twin brothers and close sisters whose relationships are tested to the limit, a chronicle of the life of Gospel writer Luke, a descent into hell and a couple of savvy investigative lawyers are just some of the new selections coming to the Watauga County Public Library in February. For more information, call 828-264-8784.
Fiction
Heart and Soul by Maeve Binchy
Dr. Clara Casey agrees to establish an underfunded clinic in Ireland and to stick with it for a year despite the turmoil in her personal life. At the end of the year and after forging close relationships with the clinic staff and patients, Casey faces the difficult decision to stay or to leave.
While My Sister Sleeps by Barbara Delinsky
When her sister Robin, a world-class runner, has a massive heart attack, Molly has to make the tough decisions. Her parents have folded under the devastating news that Robin may never regain consciousness, and her brother has retreated completely. Molly soon makes discoveries that destroy some of her most cherished beliefs about the sister she thought she knew.
Irish Tweed by Andrew M. Greeley
In the 12th Nuala Anne McGrail novel, the heroine and her daughter take up karate to fight off schoolyard bullies who are harassing the family, their shy nanny has a new beau and Nuala’s husband Dermot pores over a memoir of a famine refugee whose family died of a mysterious fever, looking for clues into the illness’ real cause. Interspersed with the present-day action is the poignant story of an Irish girl who came to America after her family died in the famine of 1875.
True Colors by Kristin Hannah
Three close sisters see their once-solid world broken apart by jealousy, betrayal and passion. Their loyalties are tested and their secrets revealed, and a terrible crime shatters both their family and their beloved town.
Luke’s Story (The Jesus Chronicles) by Timothy LaHaye & Jerry Jenkins
Luke, the Greek slave who rose to become a university-educated physician, never met Jesus. He was initially skeptical when he heard stories about Him, but was converted when he witnessed Saul’s redemption and the miraculous healing of one of his patients by prayer. Luke made the life-changing choice to write a Gospel based on years of interviewing believers and listening to stories from the Lord’s mother Mary.
What I Did for Love by Susan Elizabeth Phillips
Georgie York, once the costar of America’s favorite television sitcom, has been publicly abandoned by her famous husband and her film career has tanked. Georgie and her former co-star Bram, whom she hates, wake up from a bender to discover that they’re married. In this entertaining romp, the love-hate couple decides to make the best of the situation.
The Best of Everything by Kimberla Lawson Roby
The sixth book in the Rev. Curtis Black series focuses on Black’s daughter Alicia, her marriage to the assistant pastor at her father’s church and the threat her out-of-control shopping poses to the relationship.
Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese
This epic blends a family drama and medical practices with political upheaval. Twin brothers whose mother dies in childbirth and whose father disappears come of age in an Ethiopian hospital compound, become doctors and then separate when they both fall in love with the same woman. The saga takes the characters from Africa to America, focuses on doctors and patients, and explores the themes of exile and home.
Up to No Good by Carl Weber
When womanizing church trustee James Black actually falls in love, his marriage proposal quickly generates a ripple effect. His daughter intends to dismantle his new relationship. His son always swore he would not grow up to become a player like his father, but when he catches his fiancée cheating, he decides to follow in his father’s womanizing footsteps. James knows he has to find a way to bring peace to his children’s lives, but he must face some hard truths about himself and change his ways.
Thriller/Suspense/Mystery
Aunt Dimity Slays the Dragon by Nancy Atherton
In the fourteenth Aunt Dimity mystery, Lori Shepherd has her hands full when a Renaissance faire comes to town. A sinister figure is stalking the madrigal singer. A jealous rival has sabotaged the Dragon Knight’s weapons. And an evil assassin is trying to murder Good King Wilfred. With Aunt Dimity’s otherworldly guidance, Lori risks her neck to keep the medieval revelry from ending in tragedy.
Bones of Betrayal: A Body Farm Novel by Jefferson Bass
When forensic anthropologist Dr. Bill Brockton determines that a renowned physicist who worked on the Manhattan Project died from a dose of radioactivity, he races against time and peril to uncover the secrets behind the death. Along the way, he learns about Oak Ridge’s wartime past, going deep into the shadows of the nuclear race where things were not quite as they seemed.
Death of a Witch: A Hamish Macbeth Mystery by M.C. Beaton
In the 24th mystery to feature Hamish Macbeth, the police constable returns to his home village where a runaway bride with a shady past is selling bogus remedies for sexual dysfunction. The annoyed Macbeth is trying to prove charges against her when she’s murdered. That crime and the murders of other women that quickly follow put Macbeth’s crime-solving skills to the test.
Kiss by Ted Dekker & Erin Healy
When a tragic auto accident leaves Shauna McAllister’s brother brain-damaged and erases her recent memories, she discovers she has a paranormal ability to steal memories from others, a capability that will either get her killed or unveil hidden sides of the people she thought she could trust.
Lethal Legacy by Linda Fairstein
A New York assistant district attorney’s investigation of a murder draws her into the privileged world of major benefactors of the New York Public Library and passionate rare book collectors. As she follows clues related to a priceless edition of Alice in Wonderland, she eventually comes face to face with the killer who values money more than life.
Above the Law by Tim Green
When a U.S. Senator kills an illegal immigrant in what appears to be a hunting accident, the dead man’s wife hires Dallas attorney Casey Jordan to find out the truth.
A Darker Place by Jack Higgins
A famous Russian writer fed up with the Putin government decides he wants to disappear into the West. To ensure his safety, he makes elaborate plans with members of the British prime minister’s “private army.” The defection looks like a real coup for the West, but the defector is really a Russian spy who agreed to the assignment to secure his sister’s release from prison.
Blood and Bone by William Lashner
Kyle Byrne, the illegitimate son of a prominent Philadelphia lawyer, had to sneak into his father’s funeral when he was fourteen years old. Twelve years later, Kyle is unemployed and his house is in foreclosure. He spends his days playing video games and his nights drinking in bars. But when his father’s former law partner is brutally murdered, the cops see Kyle as a possible suspect and start asking uncomfortable questions about his father’s death. Kyle enters into a search for answers that lays bare the deceptions and losses in his own life.
A Darker Domain by Val McDermid
In this psychological thriller, Cold Case Review Team Detective Inspector Karen Pirie is investigating two missing persons’ cases from the 1980s, a man who disappeared during a miners’ strike and a kidnapped child whose ransom payoff went wrong. Pirie’s investigations take her into a dark domain of secrets, betrayal, violence and the intersection of desire and greed.
Cat Playing Cupid: A Joe Grey Mystery by Shirley Rousseau
The 14th mystery to feature talking feline sleuth Joe Grey finds the cat swinging into investigative mode when a female skeleton wearing a bracelet engraved with a cat is uncovered at the ruins of an old estate and another skeleton turns up that belongs to an accountant who went missing before his wedding almost 10 years ago.
The Second Opinion by Michael Palmer
Dr. Thea Sperelakis, an idealist who’s been working for Doctors Without Borders in the Congo, rushes back to Boston after learning her physician father is close to death, the victim of a hit and run. When Thea manages to communicate haltingly with her father, she suspects he’s stumbled on a medical fraud that’s made him a target.
Night and Day: A Jesse Stone Novel by Robert B. Parker
In the eighth Jesse Stone novel, the police chief investigates a female principal who inspected girl students’ undergarments in the locker room, a Peeping Tom called the Night Hawk whose activities escalate from watching to home invasions and the activities of a group of adults calling themselves the Paradise Free Swingers.
Run for Your Life: A Michael Bennett Novel by James Patterson & Michael Ledwidge
A calculating killer called The Teacher is killing powerful and arrogant rich people in New York City. Detective Mike Bennett is assigned the case and discovers that he has just hours to save New York from the greatest disaster in its history.
Promises in Death by J.D. Robb
When a female police officer who has recently transferred to New York from Atlanta is killed within sight of her apartment, Lt. Eve Dallas begins asking questions, her husband analyzes computer data on the dead woman’s life and the two discover a connection between the case and their own painful, shadowy pasts.
Critical Mass by Whitley Streiber
In this thriller about nuclear terrorism, a CIA contract employee races to foil an Islamic master terrorist known as the Madhi, but his efforts aren’t enough to prevent the destruction of Las Vegas. The U.S. president ponders whether to launch devastating counterattacks aimed at much of the Muslim world.
Fantasy and Science Fiction
Terminal Freeze by Lincoln Child
Two hundred miles north of the Arctic Circle, scientists studying effects of global warming discover an enormous ancient animal encased in ice. Despite warnings from the Native Americans in a nearby village and the scientists’ concerns, the media conglomerate sponsoring the expedition insists on thawing the animal and exhibiting it on television. But the beast may be an ancient killing machine, and it may not be dead.
Escape from Hell by Larry Niven & Jerry Pournelle
In the sequel to 1976’s Hugo and Nebula-nominated Inferno, dead science fiction writer Allen Carpenter returns to the nine circles of Dante’s Hell on a quest to liberate as many tortured souls as possible. A diverse cast of notorious historic figures, including Pontius Pilate and Anna Nicole Smith, accompany Carpenter on his journey.
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