READ @ MPL

This is the first book in this series featuring Catherine LeVendeur, a very unlikely detective. She serves as a nun at the Convent of the Paraclete. Sharan Newman, the author, writes a thoroughly researched novel about 12th century religion, politics and everyday life. Along with that she weaves in a complicated mystery and the love story of Abelard and Heloise. Catherine's story is not for someone looking for a light read. This book weighs heavily with historical facts which may turn out to be overwhelming if the reader is not prepared. Having said that, as someone who has an interest in medieval Europe, I enjoyed reading this well written historical mystery.

Check the catalog for availability.

Submitted by Paula N. @ MPL Central

I found this stunning collection of neo-noir short stories to be tasteless, brutal and entirely mesmerizing! I wish this book was twice as long! From the opening story, Double Down, that involves a double-dealing and double-crossing private eye, to Customer Service, a story involving a hit-man with scruples, this hard hitting collection of "not so nice" short stories is sure to please fans of hard-boiled mysteries.
If you liked "Pulp Fiction," chances are you'd also enjoy this book.

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Submitted by Dan@Central

Chinatown Beat by Henry Chang (c2006)

Police detective Jack Yu is an American-born Chinese assigned to the Chinatown streets of his youth where the local residents have no trust in the mostly non-Chinese NYPD. When a crime takes place the locals go mum and it falls on Yu to piece together any clues he can gather. In Chinatown Beat, which is Chang's first installment of the Detective Jack Yu Investigation series, Yu is investigating both a serial rapist targeting juvenile Asian girls and the murder of a Chinese mob boss. Chang delivers the story in compact chapters with noirish undertones, while deftly intertwining the point of view between different key characters. The writing is such that one can easily visualize the action taking place in a pleasing movie-like fashion. It all makes for an excellent debut novel. Check catalog for availability.

- submitted by Tom @ MPL Central

Eugene "Huge" Smalls, an eccentric but brilliant 12 year old boy who admires the detective stories of Raymond Chandler and Dashiell Hammett, takes on a "case" of his own after his grandmother's nursing home is vandalized and he vows to find the guilty party. As Huge meanders through the 1980's landscape of suburban New Jersey, he misinterprets, misconstrues and misbehaves until the case is solved. Though the plot is sketchy at best, I liked Huge in the same way I liked Holden Caulfield in The Catcher in the Rye. Huge reeks of confused adolescence as only a grown adult can understand. Unlike other teen detectives like Encyclopedia Brown or The Hardy Boys, Huge is a foul-mouthed, brash kid that I may have grown up with! Or maybe he was me. Either way, this is middle school for adults. Check catalog availability.

Submitted by Dan@Central

Set in Milwaukee during the summer of 1959 and narrated by ten year old Sally O'Malley, Whistling in the Dark is a sentimental tale of family, trust and commitment.
Sally and her sister Troo spend their summer playing red light, green light with their friends on Vliet Street and visiting Sampson at the Milwaukee Zoo until a murderer starts preying upon the little girls in the neighborhood. The murders almost become second fiddle to the insights and imagination of the ten year old storyteller. The Milwaukee locale and references to landmarks like the Uptown Theater and Washington Park add to the nostalgic feel of this warm story.

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Submitted by Dan@Central

Mark Mills new novel is a thriller set on Malta during World War II. Its summer, 1942 and the Maltese are being constantly bombed by Axis air raids. Malta is the last thing standing in the Germans way between Europe and North Africa. (During the war, Malta was the property of the British Empire.)

Max Chadwick is a British officer in charge of distributing "approved" war information on the island's citizens. He faces quite the predicament when it comes out that a British soldier is murdering the local women and Max sets out to pursue the killer himself. This is suggested for readers who like WWII thrillers or historical fiction like that of Ken Follett. Check catalog for availability.

- Submitted by Jacki @ MPL Central

S. J. Parris, a pseudonym for Stephanie Merritt, shares an historical thriller set in the 16th century. An Italian monk is excommunicated for believing that the earth revolves around the sun. He escapes to Oxford where he is enlisted as a spy for Elizabeth I and tries to unravel some horrific murders. Heresy is believed to be the first of a trilogy, so there is more to look forward to. Check catalog for availability.

- Submitted by Jacki @ MPL Central

Rendered a latest test subject in a covert government experiment, abandoned six-year-old Amy is rescued by an FBI agent who hides them in the Oregon hills, from which she emerges a century later to save the human race from a terrifying virus. Suggested for fans of Stephen King's The Stand , Cormac McCarthy's The Road and The Andromeda Strain by Michael Crichton.

Check catalog for availability.

This is being billed as the book of the summer--don't miss it. Also, reportedly, the first of a trilogy. Submitted by Jacki @ MPL Central.

In 1920, Lancashire England, a woman lies murdered in a house with a red door. At the same time in London, a man suffering from a mysterious physical breakdown, is taken to a private clinic and suddenly disappears. Set in a time when England was recovering from the terrible grief that followed the Great War, these two seemingly unrelated events intersect.

The Red Door is the twelfth book in the series featuring Inspector Ian Rutledge, the shell shocked trench war veteran, who goes through his post-war life accompanied by the almost constant taunting voice of the dead Corporal Hamish MacLeod. Suffering from what today would be diagnosed as Post Traumatic Stress Disorder; Inspector Rutledge must solve both cases while struggling to regain his position in Scotland Yard and his sanity. The Red Door is a mystery rich in the social details of England between the wars. Perfect summer beach and pool reading.

Submitted by Sandy @ MPL Central

Thirty-two year old realtor, Annie O'Sullivan is busy on the day she is abducted. She has a house to sell, a mother to argue with and a boyfriend to appease. This is a debut that I couldn't put down. Two narratives are interwoven through the novel; one is the story of the year Annie spends in a remote mountain cabin, the captive of a psychopath. The other discloses what happens after her escape, told through psychiatrist sessions, as she fights to put her life back together during the ongoing investigation to find her abductor. Check catalog for availability.

Submitted by Jacki @ MPL Central

Serge is back. And this time he takes on spring break in Gator a-go-go, Tim Dorsey's newest novel. Serge and Coleman once again take a hilarious and violent tour of the Sunshine State while Serge makes a documentary of where spring break all began. Along the way a mysterious Miami gang leaves a trail of dead bodies, and soon Serge and Coleman have a group of students in tow as they make their way through Florida's most hallowed spring break sites. Throw in protected witnesses, pawned class rings, the best way to keep beer cool on a beach, a kid's pool in a pick up truck, oh and City and Country, and the chaos only just begins as Serge tries to protect the students and dispense his Florida history to anyone who will listen.

Dorsey's 12th novel featuring Florida historian and serial killer Serge A. Storms is the perfect summer read, blending elements of earlier books such as Florida Roadkill, with some of the newer installments such as Hurricane Punch. The new book is classic Dorsey, combing elements of violence and offbeat humor into a fast paced crime novel. Anyone familiar with Dorsey's previous works will find Gator a-go-go a hilariously fun read.

Submitted by Eric @ MPL Central

In 13th century England France Alais embarks on a dangerous journey to collect secret documents for her stepmother Queen Eleanor of England the Duchess of Aquitaine. Immediately in the prologue we read about Alais's frightening capture. The chapters following reveal how she arrived to that awful situation. Author Judith Koll Healey weaves a thrilling story rich with medieval details that kept me racing toward the conclusion to discover Alais's ultimate fate. Check the catalog for availability.

Every moment of twelve-year-old Steven Lamb's life has been shaped by the uncle he never met, murdered as a child twenty years before. Steven knows - just knows - that if he can find Uncle Billy's body buried on the moor, his distant and fragmented family will finally be able to love him. When three years of secret digging turn up nothing but sheep bones, Steven takes a desperate step: he writes to the serial killer who murdered Billy. The ensuing game of cat-and-mouse between the incarcerated but unreformed killer and the desperate, clever child is riveting. But it's Steven's pervasive sadness, his adolescent struggle with the dank unfairness of his life, which sets this book apart from other thrillers. Thick with suspense and melancholy, Blacklands will grip you from the first few atmospheric words to the final sentence - one of the best final sentences I've read in a long time. Blacklands is the winner of the 2010 Crime Writers' Association Golden Dagger award.

Submitted by Audrey @ Central

Bryant and May Off the Rails is Christopher Fowler's eighth and latest offering in his Bryant & May series where he again recounts the misadventures of the Peculiar Crimes Unit of the London Metropolitan Police. An escaped killer is on the loose, and to make matters worse, he escaped from the PCU shortly after they apprehended him at the end of the previous novel in the series, Bryant & May on the Loose (2009). The octogenarian detectives and their department of cast-offs and misfits has one week to recapture the murderer known as Mr. Fox, or suffer the closure of their department. With their jobs, professional pride, and maybe even their lives at stake, they trace their suspect through a subterranean world of forgotten tunnels, crypts, and abandoned Underground stations beneath London.

To fully appreciate the history of the partnership between the curmudgeonly Arthur Bryant and the unflappably urbane John May, start with Full Dark House (2003), which describes the origin of the Peculiar Crimes Unit. Formed in 1940, during the dark early months of World War II, the PCU was charged with the responsibility for quickly and definitively solving crimes that were sensitive or that authorities feared might lead to panic or poor morale on the home front and so undermine the war effort. Having a special unit to close these cases would, it was felt, prevent this from happening. While following along as the PCU investigates and solves some ingenious and baffling crimes, readers are treated to a history of London arcana as well as the ceaseless and hilarious bantering between Bryant and May. The rest of the novels in the series are: The Water Room (2004), Seventy-Seven Clocks (2005), Ten Second Staircase (2006), White Corridor (2007), and The Victoria Vanishes (2008).

Submitted by Chris G @ Bay View & Tippecanoe

Blood Count is a dark, brain-twisting tale of mystery and murder in the Artie Cohen series. Set in the frigid cold of Harlem in December 2008, detective Artie Cohen is awakened by a late-night call from his ex girlfriend, Lily Hanes, begging for his help. Lily, who has been working on the Barack Obama campaign, has been living at the Louis Armstrong Apartments, one of Harlem's great buildings--and has discovered her Russian neighbor, Marianna Simonova, has died. Lily fears she's at fault and needs Artie's Russian connections. While Harlem is in ecstatic celebration of Obama's election, one by one the tenants of the Armstrong die. Artie, out of his element, a white detective in a black world, is drawn into a world of race, greed, ideological conflict, and love--with an ending one could never predict.

Submitted by Richard @ MPL Central

1966 looks very different in a world in which the Plantagenet kings have remained in perpetual power, and the discovery of the Laws of Magic obviated the need for the study of the physical sciences. Crime, however, looks about the same.

When a high-profile Master wizard is murdered in a physically and magically sealed room, it's deduction, not thaumaturgy, that can reveal the culprit. Enter Lord Darcy, a man with no magical abilities but a stunning analytical mind. Fans of Sherlock Holmes or Nero Wolfe will recognize this brusque yet brilliant character with unimpeachable integrity.

What begins as a classic locked-room mystery evolves with brilliant turns of plot, well-drawn characters, and a touch of magic that only serves to highlight the magnitude of Darcy's scientific genius. Highly recommended for all lovers of puzzles, and guaranteed to keep you guessing until the last moment.

Too Many Magicians can also be found in the compilation Lord Darcy.

Submitted by Audrey @ Central

In a word, the novel Savages is, well, savage. It takes place in Southern California and Mexico jumping from the perspectives of people in the drug trade. The main characters are two twentysomething marijuana producers who are forced to team up with a Mexican drug cartel after the cartel kidnaps their female friend. Fighting to get their friend released, the men resort to methods that push readers into a fierce, adrenaline-filled world.

Winslow's laconic style takes some time to get used to, but after you do you fly through the book eager to see what's next. Savages provides a fascinating look at American culture using language sure to make you feel more cool and hip than you did when you started the novel. The ending isn't completely satisfying; although the thrill ride the book takes you on to get you there makes it easy to forgive.

Submitted by Amy @ MPL Central

Tim Dorsey's new novel, Electric Barracuda, takes serial killer and state historian Serge A. Storms and his sidekick Coleman on another trek through Florida, this time on his Fugitive Tour. What better way to take a vacation in Florida than to pretend to be a fugitive and hide out in all the most remote places the state has to offer? After all, Florida is where everyone on the run hides, including Al Capone. But is it really all pretend and does Serge know who is on his tail? And how does his great grandfather's old gang figure into the whole mess? Once again Serge's travels create more questions, but all is answered and before the surprising end. Dorsey's newest book reveals new twists and surprises for long time readers, including a major one that could lead to interesting plots in future novels. This was a refreshing read and the surprises made it one of my favorites of the series.

Mr. Dorsey will be in Milwaukee at the Mystery One Bookstore on Saturday, March 5, 2011 at 2 p.m. A frequent guest, Mr. Dorsey braves the Wisconsin cold weather to bring us some Florida fun. If you're not already a Serge fan come in and you'll become one.

Submitted by Eric @ MPL Central

Ellen Hart writes a series of Jane Lawless mysteries. Jane is a restaurateur in Minneapolis who had wanted to be a private investigator until her brother almost dies in a case she was working on. In this latest book, Jane's ex-husband, Chester, returns to the city and is between fortunes (broke). Chester's new business is selling artifacts that may have come from the Baghdad Museum. Chester finds a buyer, but that person is murdered before the deal happens. Chester is now the main suspect. He needs Jane to find the killer, which she is reluctant to do. There are a couple of more murders, a street preacher, and the kidnapping of someone who is very close to Jane. We also find out how Jane financed her restaurants; a secret that Jane thought would never surface. This book had a lot of twists and turns that kept me guessing and entertained. I will now have to go back and read the series from the beginning. Check catalog for availability.

Submitted by Connie @ MPL Central

Open and Shut is a legal thriller narrated by lawyer Andy Carpenter, a rather charming fellow with a lovely golden retriever named Tara. He takes on the appeal of a death row inmate at his father's urging. Then Andy's father has a heart attack, dies, and ends up leaving him 22 million dollars (Andy had no idea he had the money) and an old photograph. The story of trying to save Willie, the death row inmate, is told in the present tense with the readers discovering what's happening right along with Andy. Engaging characters make this work. Carpenter has a terrific sense of humor and is a sports buff. His private eye (former cop) girlfriend, Lauren, adds a lot to the book. The reader will want to race through it to find out what happens, reacting along with Andy to discoveries. Carpenter's courtroom histrionics give one pause, but seem to work for him. Highly entertaining. After finishing this one, I read all the books in the series - at the moment, there are seven others; First Degree, Bury the Lead, Sudden Death, Dead Center, Play Dead, New Tricks, and Dog Tags. Hopefully, there will be even more to come.

Submitted by Kathy R @ Zablocki

Blue Lightning is the fourth and final book in the Shetland Island Quartet series. Cleeves has an incredible gift for making the reader feel he is right there with Inspector Jimmy Perez, his lady friend Fran, and the rest of Cleeves' cast of characters on the remote, bird lovers' paradise found in Fair Isle, one of the Shetland Islands off the coast of Scotland. A band of extreme, dedicated birders, some already acquaintances, some meeting each other for the first time, gather for what is only supposed to be a few days to check off a few birds on their birding bucket list. Then people start dying, and the weather falls dark and treacherous, keeping Inspector Perez, Fran, and the birders all on the remote island in the finale of the Shetland Island Quartet series.

Cleeves is an amazing mystery writer and I strongly encourage you to check out this series and Cleeves' earlier works. Other titles in the Shetland Island Quartet are Raven Black, White Nights, and Red Bones.

Submitted by Becky @ Zablocki

First in a series by Woods, featuring a female lead, Holly Barker, Orchid Beach is loaded with action. Ms. Barker, who left the army after a sexual harassment complaint against a superior, takes a job as police chief at Orchid Beach. The police chief she was to replace is found shot not long after she arrives. For a while, he's in a coma. His best friend is found murdered. Holly inherits the friend's dog, Daisy (a Doberman who can retrieve a can of beer from a refrigerator), as a protector, and a police department full of resentment toward her for coming in from the outside. There's something fishy going on at an exclusive resort in Orchid Beach. Holly investigates. The FBI gets involved. Lots of action makes up for a lack of character development in this first book of the series. Readers will find out a lot more about Holly in future installments. The Holly Barker series are fun to read and include: Orchid Blues, Blood Orchid, and Hothouse Orchid.

Submitted by Kathy R @ Zablocki

Phil Hunt, a full time horse rancher and part-time drug mule, finds himself up the proverbial creek without a paddle after losing both a shipment of cocaine and a Vietnamese drug courier whose belly is loaded with $90,000 worth of heroin. Since making good decisions isn't one of Phil's assets, he decides to stand and fight against the angry drug dealers instead of fleeing with his wife Nora. Or maybe Phil was really fighting the good fight all along? Or is Phil one of those rare individuals where his brawn outweighs his brains?

You'll have to read this volatile novel to find out what happens to Phil, but be forewarned, this is a bloody, perverse novel that features a professional killer with an affinity for knives, a deputy sheriff with a past, graphic scenes of horse mutilation, and body appendage amputations. In short, this novel packs the punch of a Mike Tyson left hook. It's the literary equivalent of sticking a well-meaning drug mule into a blender with a ruthless drug cartel, a merciless killer- for- hire, a concerned wife, a whole lot of blood and a few automatic weapons and pouring out violence juice. Cormac McCarthy beware, this is a country for young writers.

Submitted by Dan@Central

Known as the "Queen of Suspense" Mary Higgins Clark never fails to tell a good story. This is one of her older books, but is nonetheless just as entertaining, if not more, as her newer ones.

Remember Me's general plot is centered on Menley Nichols who is suffering post-traumatic stress disorder from the death of her son a year ago. Her husband, her, and their new baby travel to Cape Cod to help the family relax. Menley's symptoms seem to other to be getting worse, she is hearing her dead son call to her and people hear her crying when she is not. She denies the allegations and blames them on the mystery of the house. The mystery of the house involves a sea captain, his wife, and her assumed lover; this subplot helps weave an interesting history of Cape Cod into the book. There is also a mystery of a drowned newlywed and if her death was accidental or caused by her husband. The plots are artfully interwoven and all come back to a woman with Alzheimer's. Though there are a lot of plots and plot twists, the book is engaging and easy to follow. Even if it does not leave you guessing whodunit, it will leave you guessing as to why and how!

Submitted by Meredith, Wisconsin Talking Book Library

Pretty much every day the temperature hits 50, I have to fight the urge to go running into my garden. Never mind that it's mostly still covered in snow; I want to plant things! I want spring peas and tender greens and bright flowers!

Then I go outside for about ten seconds, realize I'm freezing, and wonder what I have on the bookshelf.

When it's still too cold to garden but too warm to stop thinking about it, I like to compromise with a gardening mystery. These are fun, absorbing, and sure to give you ideas for your own garden or flower arrangements.

Mums' the Word by Kate Collins

Abby Knight runs a small town flower shop, and a discount competitor is just killing her business. But when catches a glimpse of a murderer, somebody is out to kill her. The first in the Flower Shop Mysteries series.

The Darling Dahlias and the Cucumber Tree by Susan Wittig Albert

The ladies of the Darling Dahlias Gardening Club welcome you to Darling, Alabama, in the 1930s. When a beautiful woman with a bad reputation is found dead, the Club discovers they are top-notch sleuths as well as gardeners.

Mulch by Ann Ripley

Louise Eldridge, housewife and amateur organic gardener, unearths a body in the garden of her new home in a wealthy D.C. suburb. The first in the A Gardening Mystery series.

You may also like Janis Harrison's Gardening Mysteries series and John Sherwood's Celia Grant mysteries.

Submitted by Audrey @ Central

Kathy is a clone, raised along with a generation of cloned children to "donate" her vital organs. Although she goes through the same experiences as any child growing to adulthood - making and losing friends, going to school, falling in love - her hazy understanding of her destiny endows each moment with a deeper significance. Most deadly and disabling diseases among the naturally-born population have been eliminated as a result of the clone program, but does that justify taking Kathy's life? Does Kathy have a soul?

Despite the alternate-present setting and the element of human cloning, this book is not science fiction. The world is merely a vehicle to address the ethical struggles central to the characters' lives: how we treat those different from us; whether and when we believe that the end justifies the means or that the rights of an individual can be trumped by the needs of the many; whether we accept our fate or grapple with it; and the value of what we do with the time we are given.

As beautifully written as The Remains of the Day, Never Let Me Go will not disappoint lovers of Ishiguro's prose or of literary fiction. Fans of science fiction like Neal Shusterman's Unwind or lyrical suspense like James Lee Burke's Dave Robicheaux series will also want to pick this up. Check catalog for availability.

Six hundred and thirty four pages may seem intimidating to a reader. But not if the author is C. J. Sansom. Mixing history, mystery and human nature Sansom has masterfully crafted the Matthew Shardlake series.

It's the reign of Henry VIII and England is in turmoil. A French armada is gathering in the Channel readying for battle. Henry is amassing an army to face the threat. But wars cost money and Henry's coffers are nearly empty. The buying and selling of wardships has become very lucrative for the King. Many are willing to pay large sums to become the guardian of an underage orphan. Especially if that orphan is heir to a large estate. Matthew Shardlake is a lawyer, despised by many. He is also a hunchback, feared by the superstitious. He has undertaken work for the Crown on several occasions and has sworn to refuse any more royal requests. Catherine Parr, the latest queen on the throne, calls in a favor and engages Matthew to investigate a case of wardship. A former servant of the Queen's has reported that young Hugh Curtys is being abused by his guardian. Catherine would like Matthew to investigate the situation for her.

The facts lead Matthew to an estate near Portsmouth. Something is amiss with Hugh Curtys's relationship with his guardian's family but Matthew can't put his finger on just what it is.The clues draw him closer to Portsmouth where Henry means to take on the French armada. His greatest warships the Mary Rose and the Great Harry are readying their guns and taking on archers and foot soldiers unfamiliar with sea battles. Matthew hurries to find the answer to his puzzle and flee the area before the carnage begins.

Sansom draws the reader into a Tudor world rich in detail. The unexpected twists and turns take the reader by surprise as plots and subplots twine together flawlessly to reach a satisfying conclusion. It is well worth 634 pages to meet Matthew Shardlake. Check catalog for availability.

Submitted by Jan @ Capitol

How dare Henning Mankell try to end the Kurt Wallander mystery series! Over the years I have grown to know Kurt as a very close friend, thanks to the exceptional writing of Henning Mankell. We've gone through many a mystery together and I guess I just hoped it would never end.

In The Troubled Man, the latest, and supposedly last, in the series, Mankell leaves it up to the reader to determine exactly who the troubled man is. I agree with many that Henning Mankell is Sweden's master crime writer, but this novel also demonstrates his skill in articulating the inchoate qualities of growing older. The reader is with Kurt as he cleverly solves the disappearance of his daughter's in-laws and gets to know his new granddaughter. Alas, I cannot describe more as it would spoil Mankells' deft revelation of events. Let me just say this one is remarkable. It's like a single potato chip. If you read one, you'll find that you'll have to read them all--preferably in order.

Submitted by Tricia @ Capitol

Liam Connor, a brilliant scientist and winner of the Nobel prize, has a secret. During WWII, he witnessed the ravages of the most deadly bioweapon ever created. Has he unraveled its mysteries? Might he even have a sample of the doomsday fungus? Some very powerful people have their suspicions, and are willing to go to any lengths to find out. When they find Liam, his family and another prominent scientist must follow the clues Liam left them to stop the destruction of the human race.

Murder, political intrigue, and spine-tingling suspense make this a finely-wrought mystery, peopled with passionate and intriguing characters. It's by far one of the best thrillers so far this year. In addition, the author himself is a prominent scientist at Cornell; he provides an authentic look into the possible future (and past) of biotechnology. Both adults and teens will enjoy this book, as long as they are comfortable with some violent scenes. A must-read for lovers of thrillers, modern speculative and science fiction, and even WWII and warfare history. Check catalog for availability.

Submitted by Audrey @ Central

The Edgar Allan Poe Awards (popularly called the Edgars), named after Edgar Allan Poe, are presented every year by the Mystery Writers of America. They honor the best in mystery fiction, non-fiction, television, film, and theatre published or produced in the previous year. Here are some highlights; but click here for the complete list of nominees and winners.

This year's best novel is The Lock Artist by Steve Hamilton. After surviving an act of violence as a child, Michael stops talking and grows up with the ability to open any lock or safe, a talent he sells to any buyer in the crime world, until a botched heist forces him to go home to face the secret that has kept him so quiet.

Rogue Island by Bruce DeSilva won the best first novel award. When journalist Liam Mulligan realizes that someone is systematically burning down his childhood neighborhood in Providence, Rhode Island, he ignores his bosses and his budding relationship to figure out the firebug's identity.

Best paperback original was awarded to Long Time Coming by Robert Goddard. Astonished to learn that the uncle he believed was killed in the Blitz has been in prison for nearly four decades, Stephen Swan finds himself in the middle of a conspiracy involving forged Picassos and the disinherited family an Antwerp diamond dealer.

Scoreboard, Baby: A Story of College Football, Crime and Complicity by Ken Armstrong and Nick Perry is this years winner in the best fact crime category. Go behind the scenes of the 2000 Huskies' Cinderella story to discover a timeless morality tale about the price of obsession, the creep of fanaticism, and the ways in which a community can lose even when its team wins.

Best Critical Biography was awarded to Charlie Chan: The Untold Story of the Honorable Detective and his Rendezvouz with American History by Yunte Huang. A biography of cinematic hero Charlie Chan, based on the real-life Chinese immigrant detective, Chang Apana, whose bravado inspired mystery writer Earl Derr Biggers to depict his fictional sleuth as a wisecracking and wise investigator rather than a stereotype.

Submitted by Jacki @ MPL Central

Scotland Yard Detective Ian Rutledge is a fascinating character. Created by a mother and son writing team, the Inspector Rutledge series is a twist on the flawed detective genre. Set in post WWI England Todd delves the psyche of the war exhausted population. Rutledge, himself, is no exception. He has returned from the battlefield with the ghost of a dead soldier in his head. Hamish MacLeod was executed on the battlefield by Rutledge for refusing a direct order. Hamish has now become Rutledge's constant companion and the embodiment of his tortured soul.

In a small Sussex village war veterans are being brutally murdered. Each has been garroted, with small ID discs left in their mouths. Is this the work of a fellow emotionally scarred veteran? Or is the motive to be found further in the past? The mystery is intricately wrought. But the solution to the crime seems secondary to the wrenching stories of the veterans and their difficulty in returning to their old lives; lives that no longer exist. The details and emotions that Todd evokes paints a picture of imperfect men trying to justify their pasts and understand their futures. Check catalog for availability.

Submitted by Jan @ Capitol

Every time I turned a page while reading Every Shallow Cut, I felt fearful of slicing my fingers on the edges of the pages. The fear of a paper cut just compounded the tension and unease I felt while gnashing and slashing my way through this short novel.

An unknown writer narrator loses his house because his books don't sell, loses his wife to "a friend," and is forced to pawn all of his belongings besides his car and his dog to pay his debts. He also manages to get jumped while leaving the pawn shop. He naturally buys a gun with his meager funds and embarks on an emotionally grueling trek across the country to where his brother owns a home. To his brother who hates him. To his brother who hates his dog. This generic guy has name brand problems.

Along the way, our anonymous narrator revisits old lovers, old friends, old houses and old feelings of inadequacy and contempt. His one remaining old friend drugs our narrator because he's having a nervous breakdown after contemplating shooting the agent who never promotes his books.

If you are looking for light, summer beach reading, skip this book and find something else. If you are looking for 175 pages of a brilliant character study of a man being stripped of everything he loves, except his dog (thank goodness!), then I strongly recommend this downer of a book. Through the emotional carnage being spewed across the pages, the brutality actually breeds some humor after awhile. It was like laughing at a gore fest movie like The Evil Dead. After being pummeled page after page, the sting of the emotional slicing and dicing gets swathed in soft bandages and left to heal in a vague ending of HOPE?

Submitted by Dan@Central

Looking for another smart, bold female protagonist like Lisbeth Salander of the Millennium Trilogy? The Informationist by Taylor Stevens is the book for you.

Vanessa "Michael" Munroe is an expert at gathering information. It helps that she speaks 22 languages and is good at blending in no matter what the country or situation. Munroe is so good that a Texas oil billionaire offers her a small fortune to find out what happened to his daughter who disappeared in Africa four years ago. Munroe reluctantly takes the job and returns to Central Africa where she grew up. Born to missionary parents, she joined a crew of mercenaries when she was 14 and earned the respect of the jungle's most dangerous men. Munroe ran away to the U.S. a decade ago and now this case forces her to deal with her past and unravel the mystery of what happened to the missing woman.

The Informationist starts out a bit slow with a lot of groundwork to get out of the way, although all is forgiven when the action starts. Stevens doesn't let up and builds to a thrilling climax and satisfying ending. This is a great book for anyone who enjoys international thrillers and strong female characters. And there are more books to come. The second book, titled The Innocent, will be published in December and Stevens is working on a third.

Not only has Taylor Stevens written a great story, she has her own interesting back story. Read more about it in this Vogue magazine article.

Submitted by Amy @ MPL Central

I admit, I tried getting into the Sookie Stackhouse mysteries by Charlaine Harris and could not. But, then my sister told me about another series Harris wrote called the Aurora Teagarden mysteries and I have been hooked every since!

Written before she started the popular Sookie Stackhouse stories and without the fantastical elements, this series centers on Aurora Teagarden, a librarian living outside of Atlanta who also happens to be an amateur crime buff. The first novel, Real Murders, centers on a group of amateur crime buffs she belongs to and a murder they witness. As the series goes on the bodies pile up.

One thing that I find refreshing about the series is that it makes no qualms that the characters are peculiar and recognizes that being a true crime aficionado is a strange pastime. There is even one character, a police officer, who finds it very odd that Aurora is somehow always involved with any murder that happens in their small town.

Along with the mystery, throw in a meddling mother, small town southern living, irksome library staff and plenty of love interests for Aurora and the series is a quick read and quite enjoyable. They do not need to be read in order, though they do follow a chronology. The books also do a nice job of fleshing out the characters and offer a light read without a lot of sex, violence and strong language. Real Murders is followed by A Bone to Pick, Three Bedrooms, One Corpse, The Julius House, Dead Over Heels, A Fool and His Honey, Last Scene Alive and Poppy Done to Death.

Submitted by Meredith, Wisconsin Talking Book Library

The Fletcher family believes they've found the perfect home in the remote English village of Heptonclough. A beautiful house, the scenery of the moors, and friendly neighbors make Alice and Gareth Fletcher glad they decided to make the move to this tiny village. Their 10 year-old son Tom, however, isn't convinced, especially after he notices a shadowed figure following him. Tom, six-year-old Joe, and two-year-old Millie, have all seen the figure hiding behind gravestones and calling out to them in their mother's voice. It doesn't take long for even the adults to begin to realize something is very wrong in Heptonclough. When little Millie's life is continually placed in jeopardy by an unknown person and Joe goes missing, psychiatrist Dr. Evi Oliver and the new vicar Rev. Harry Laylock begin to find disturbing links between the previous deaths of three little girls and current events in the village. Blood Harvest is S.J. Bolton's third thriller, and much like her first novel Sacrifice, there is a masterful mix of psychological and supernatural elements. Mystery fans should also check out Bolton's newest novel, Now You See Me, for an intricately plotted puzzler involving a Jack the Ripper copycat.

Submitted by Kristina @MPL Central

I can honestly say this quirky novel is my first fictional literary experience regarding escaped Nazi POW's hanging out in Detroit!

The joy of reading Elmore Leonard, in my opinion, is the snappy dialogue between absurd characters that frame each chapter into "scenes" that move the story along. Each "scene," when compounded into a collective narrative, tells the story in a jagged, jutty style that is sure to answer any unclear plot developments in the very next chapter, usually through some remarkable dialogue between freaky characters.

Speaking of freaky characters, this book has some memorable doozies! Besides the above mentioned Nazi POW's, we are also treated to a drunken, washed up Nazi spy and her cross-dressing houseboy with a "Buster Brown" haircut, a naturalized Nazi butcher who is the splitting image of Heinrich Himmler, a U.S. Marshal with amazing self control and a racist obstetrician!

Oh, I almost forgot about Honey. Honey is the main character of the book. Honey is a woman comfortable in her own skin. She's also comfortable shedding her clothes, sometimes with a Nazi POW and sometimes with a U.S. Marshal. She was also married to the Himmler lookalike! She's hilarious. She's an individual. I really liked Honey and found myself rooting for her throughout the story.

I'm not going to say what this book is about, but it takes place in Detroit circa 1945 and involves eradicating a Nazi spy ring made up of total goofs.

Ya just can't go wrong with any Elmore Leonard book.
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Submitted by Dan @ Central

Help! Hit men are on the loose in northern Wisconsin!

The rugged landscape of fictional Kennesha County is a great setting for a rugged Wisconsin woman, who also happens to be a deputy sheriff, to survive while being hunted like a deer in November.

Deputy Brynn McKenzie, who reminded me of Marge from the movie Fargo, responds to a 911 call to a remote cottage on Lake Mondac and finds a Milwaukee social worker and his wife, a high powered attorney, executed.

She also finds the killers are still there!

I had images of Deliverance, Rambo and No Country for Old Men while cheering for Brynn as she apes a Wisconsinite female version of Grizzly Adams being chased by killers who seem awfully adept at woodsmanship even though they reside in Milwaukee and Chicago respectively.

I may joke about the stereotypical characters, but this is a fine, taut thriller that, though predictable, is pure put your "brain in a bucket" summer reading.

Just don't take this book to the cabin up north on vacation!

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Submitted by Dan@Central

New Orleans. Ghosts. Murder. Romance. Historic Mansion in the French Quarter. Heather Graham uses all of these elements in her book Phantom Evil. Jackson Crowe heads a secret government unit which deals with the paranormal. The members in this unit all have psychic talents and are called in to investigate the death of a Senator's wife. Senator Holloway does not believe that his wife committed suicide. He thinks that his wife was killed by the ghosts in this haunted mansion once inhabited by a serial killer. Suicide, ghosts, or someone or something more sinister?

Perfect for a summer night when you can stay up late, read the whole book, and sleep in the next morning. I have the next book in the series on hold; I'll just have to wait for the right night to read it.

Submitted by Connie @ Central

It isn't often that I come across a literary character and think of him as a new friend, but such is the case with Guido Brunetti. Vice-Commissario of police, fun-loving husband and father, a true gentleman, and personal Venetian tourguide for every reader of Donna Leon's series.

Death At La Fenice, the first mystery in the Brunetti series, introduces Venice the way a true Venetian knows it, without once mentioning a gondola. Walk with Brunetti down the cobbled streets, through fog so dense you can feel it creep under your collar, into some of his favorite cafes and shops, and past treasured buildings, like Teatro La Fenice.

It is in this theater that Maestro Helmut Wellauer, a world-renowned composer, dies during the intermission of La Traviata. From cyanide poisoning. Was it his grieving young widow? The star of his opera or her lover? An old flame? Commissario Brunetti conducts his investigation with patience, an inner humor, and chivalry. Whether he's questioning a suspect, reporting to his amusingly predictable and predictably cranky boss Patta, or just going over the day's events with his wife Paola, you'll enjoy being a fly on the wall, eavesdropping on all these conversations.

Leon has a way of writing that just makes the city and characters come alive. I've never been to Venice, but I swear I could hear the footsteps in the narrow streets, taste the warm coffee on a cold, rainy day, and feel the love Brunetti has for his family.

It's a tough economy and travel is expensive. But library books are free!! So check out Death At La Fenice and feel like you're in Italy, at least for a little while. Viaggia felice!

Submitted by Ali @ Central

Help support Milwaukee Public Library Villard Square Branch! You can help support the new MPL Villard Square Branch by clicking on the link below. Your support through the Milwaukee Public Library Foundation will help to provide enhancements to the new library that will encourage and influence library patrons, particularly young people to see the library as a welcoming place for positive activity. If donating online, simply include "Villard" under the special instructions. Thank you!

Double your gift - Milwaukee Public Library Foundation
has received funds to match dollar for dollar donations supporting
the new library up to a total of $100,000.

Donate Now!

After devouring The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, The Girl Who Played with Fire, and The Girl who Kicked the Hornet's Nest, I wondered if anyone could even come close to Stieg Larsson in whetting the appetite he pushed on me for dark, edgy, foreign thrillers. Well, it seems Jo Nesbo managed to do the trick with The Snowman. Set in Norway, Nesbo's book is about a serial killer who has a thing about women who cheat on their husbands. As the title of the book suggests, the killer usually does his deed when the first snowfall occurs each year, and to let people know he's been around he builds a large snowman that he adorns with some particular item belonging to the victim. While at times the procedural work by the police seemed to border on the ridiculous and mundane (which I'm told may have fallen victim to poor translation), the killer's imagination for performing his dastardly deeds never did. While I'm usually unaffected by what I read, this book gave me a nightmare after the first chapter! (But none after that!) Keep a warm blanket nearby while you read!

Submitted by Mary S. @ Bay View

212, after the infamous NY area code, is the third of the Ellie Hatcher series, following Dead Connection and Angel's Tip. In 212, two simultaneous cases are being investigated; in one, call girls from escort services are turning up dead and tortured prior to death, in the other case, an internet site set up specifically for campus gossip and backbiting among students gets play. Megan, a student, sees her name with posts on the site and believes she is being stalked. She tells her parents who go to the police, but they blow it off since nothing has actually happened. The next day, Megan is murdered. Then, people who had a connection to Megan (and work for an escort service) are murdered. Is Megan working for the escort service? And who is her roommate, Heather? Is she involved too?

Submitted by Jacki @ Central

Set in prohibition era Louisiana and Texas, A World of Thieves is not highbrow literature. In fact, it covers most clichés of the gangster genre and apes scenes straight from other works printed in the pulp mags of the period. But what A World of Thieves lacks for in imagination, it more than makes up for in enthusiasm and just plain FUN. Fun, I mean, if pistol whipping, bad gangster dialogue ("Hands off, buster!") and every character in the book having absolutely no redeeming qualities, is the type of book that floats your boat. My boat was really riding a wave crest as if filled with Styrofoam. It was positively buoyant.
If you are hip to stolen cars and shotgun blasts; delicious dames and devious deception all wrapped inside a warmed West Texas tortilla and fried over a fire of burning bootleg alcohol and the men who made it, then this book is for you.
I can't remember rooting for an 18 year old serial robber, murderer and all around charming guy more than I rooted for main character Sonny LaSalle (wasn't there a Sonny in the Godfather? Hmmm....) as he robs, swindles and drinks his way across the southwest with a pistol tucked into the back of his pants.
This whole book is like a screenplay to an Untouchables episode transplanted to Western Texas. And that is OK with me. I like the Untouchables too.

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Submitted by Dan @ Central

When I heard the premise of Stephen King's latest novel 11/22/63 I was immediately intrigued. The novel explores the possibility of someone going back in time and preventing the assassination of John F. Kennedy. The front cover of the book carries this through by reproducing a Dallas newspaper that tells about the assassination and a back cover that celebrates the fact that the assassination attempt had failed. While not a big fan of horror or science fiction, I have always had a soft spot for time travel fiction and so, undaunted by the 849 pages of this massive tome, I started right in.

And what a wonderful book it turned out to be! The crack in the space and time continuum that allowed Jake Epping to go back and forth in time placed him in September of 1958 and also allowed him to return to 2011. King does not shy from the ethical and philosophical questions of his premise. Does one have a license to kill someone based on less than sure evidence? What if one's presence in the past alters the future in other unknowable ways? What if a different outcome to JFK's assassination didn't produce the safer and happier world one had hoped for? Does one have the right to change the future of someone else to bring about an event that might help a whole country or even the world?

Jake had time to build a life and relationships between 1958 and 1963. He attempts to use his time in the past to find out more about Lee Harvey Oswald and to effect other positive changes, but for some of that time he worked as a high school teacher in Texas and became close to his fellow teachers and students. In the end, the decisions he makes based on those relationships mattered more to me than the resolution of the assassination attempt. Midway through I was torn between turning the pages even faster and not wanting the book to end. By the last 100 pages I couldn't put the book down. Kudos to Stephen King for a wonderful and thoughtful adventure!

Submitted by Pat D @ Central

For fans of mysteries and thrillers - or those who just want to give the genre a try - Chevy Stevens is an intriguing new author with a remarkable talent for suspense.

In Steven's debut novel, Still Missing, Annie O'Sullivan is a real estate agent whose primary concerns that day are what she is going to cook for dinner and if she will get the upcoming promotion at work. Then, that evening, after a particularly slow open house, Annie is abducted, stolen away to a remote cabin by a man who knows an alarming amount about her. She is repeatedly told by her abductor, whom she refers to as "The Freak," that she has been redeemed and now has a chance to live the good life - according to his strict rules. She is forced into the Freak's image of the perfect marriage, in which she is tirelessly obedient and passive, and punished when she fails in her role. Annie - who is telling the story of her abduction back home after her return - is clearly changed and traumatized, but the true extent of the horror of her abduction becomes shockingly clear as she reveals more and more details about the experience, and learns more about why and how it happened.

Stevens has matched the intensity and thrills in her newest novel, Never Knowing, with the story of Sara Gallagher. Adopted as a child by parents who later had biological children, Sara always felt like an outsider, even in her own family. Now, engaged to be married and a mother herself, Sara finally gives in to the desire to find out more about her biological parents. But when Sara finds her birth mother, the fear she sees in her face is enough to tell her that all is not right. Before long, the truth comes out: Sara's biological father is the Campsite Killer, a serial killer who had been terrorizing campers for years, and her mother was his only surviving victim. Worse still, when the Campsite Killer learns of her identity, he decides he wants a relationship with her, striking in Sara a fear that slowly begins to take over her life.

In both books, the story is told as a series of meetings between the main character and her psychiatrist. The psychiatrist never speaks, so you hear the story unfold entirely from Annie and Sara's perspectives. This style of narration makes for a more intriguing story, because you get the character's hindsight view of what happened, but without her knowing how it will end, giving a very interesting point of view. The psychiatrist, Nadine, is the same in both books; Stevens has already said that her next book, Always Watching, will come from Nadine's perspective.

I highly recommend both of these books for their style, gripping pace, and intriguing takes on the question: are some things really better left unknown? But I warn you, once you start, you're not going to want to put either down until you've read every last page.

Submitted by Megan @ King

Serge Storm is back in When Elves Attack: A Joyous Christmas Greeting from the Criminal Festive Nutbars of the Sunshine State, another installment of Tim Dorsey's comical series about a well meaning serial killer. Serge and his sidekick Coleman are hauling out the holly in Tampa and the holidays have Serge rethinking his life. Should he try settling down? Maybe across the street from his old friend Jim Davenport? Sure, that way he can see what a true suburban holiday entails. While watching his neighbor he notes some seedy characters lurking around and decides to take a closer look at what's going on. Enter elf suits, some good old-fashioned Christmas spirit and Serge and Coleman are ready to take down any dangers to holiday comfort and joy. As Serge says, "The most exciting holidays are the ones where not everybody is going to make it."

Submitted by Jacki @ MPL Central

This is the best yet in this series of futuristic cop tales. When Lt. Eve Dallas' partner, Detective Peabody, accidently overhears two dirty cops talking about an unlawful killing, the hunt begins. Watching Eve Dallas and Peabody work to make a case against a largely corrupt squad of cops is fascinating. Pitting Eve Dallas against the former police commissioner's daughter, Rene Oberman is a delicious matchup. Oberman is as bad as Dallas is good and both have their squads behind them. Lots of action and adrenaline rushes throughout. A truly satisfying story for any fan of police tales, enhanced by a terrific cast of characters, including several great villains along with the regulars in the series. Check catalog for availability.

Submitted by Katherine @ Zablocki

Anyone who has visited Blade Ridge will tell you it's an unsettling place. Tucked deep in the rural Kentucky mountainside it has a long history of accidental deaths. Wyatt French, an eccentric alcoholic who built and lived in a lighthouse at the edge of Blade Ridge, commits suicide and leaves puzzling instructions for local deputy sheriff Kevin Kimble and recently retired community reporter Roy Darmus to investigate deaths that have occured in the mountains, including his own. Their investigation uncovers a strange connection between the number of deaths and near deaths at Blade Ridge and murders throughout town. Digging further they find their pasts are also tied to the mysteries at Blade Ridge and come to understand why the lighthouse must shine into the dark Blade Ridge woods at all times.

Mystery lovers who haven't read Michael Koryta are missing out on one of the most exciting and original writers of the genre. In addition to his serial crime novels, the Lincoln Perry series, Koryta has several stand alone genre-bending novels that masterfully mix supernatural, horror and crime elements and has earned the praise of Stephen King, Dean Koontz, and many others.

Check out Michael Koryta's The Ridge or one of his many other titles at your Milwaukee Public Library.

Submitted by Kristina @MPL Central

Pet Lovers Alert! - A new Dixie Hemingway mystery is here. And it's a good one. Dixie, a pet sitter who used to be a cop, always manages to get involved with her client's personal lives. A beautiful baby, Opal, and an orange shorthair cat named Cheddar are the ones pulling at Dixie's heartstrings. Opal's mother has information that will put some very wealthy people in jail for a very long time. When Dixie gets kidnapped being mistaken for Opal's mother, she becomes totally involved in the situation. Cheddar plays an important part in the action. Plenty of intriguing characters, descriptions of life and nature in the Florida Keys, along with a compelling story with several unique twists and turns makes Cat Sitter Among the Pigeons an exhilarating read.

Submitted by Katherine @ Zablocki

Police Sergeant Hamish Macbeth, much pined-for sworn bachelor of the Scottish Highlands, may at last have met his match. The trouble starts when a local beauty from a neighboring town is sent a deadly valentine and Hamish and his new constable, Josie McSween, are thrown together to solve the case. Though the entire town of Lochdubh is smitten with the pretty, bright-eyed and bouncy Josie, Hamish himself is less than enthusiastic with her attempts at romance and completely unimpressed with her detective abilities (or lack thereof). Somehow, Hamish must solve the case of the murdered beauty queen - who also had her share of unwelcome admirers - while trying his best to avoid the attentions of an inept partner and wannabe Valentine.

M. C. Beaton's cozy Scottish mysteries are a treat to curl up with on a chilly February night. This is the 26th book in the Hamish Macbeth series, but it is not necessary to have read the others to jump into the series as just enough background information is given in the first quick chapters to get caught up. It is easy to quickly become attached to the colorful, eccentric characters of Lochdubh who add humor and atmosphere to each mystery. Beaton's unobtrusive use of regional dialect further helps transport the reader to this tiny town in the blustery Highlands - which has more than its share of crime and intrigue. You can pick up this series with any of the 28 books, but if you're looking for a Valentine's Day mystery with a touch of Scottish charm, Death of a Valentine is a good one to start with.

Submitted by Jessie @ Zablocki

Plugged takes readers on one crazy adventure after another with a seemingly endless pool of bad guys and hoodlums. The title itself has a bizarre double meaning - plugs as in hair replacements and plugged as in shot with a gun. Irishman Daniel McEvoy quickly gets drawn into dangerous and deadly trouble that wreaks havoc on his simple life as a bouncer in a small exotic dance club. With snappy dialogue, the poor guy narrates the entire debacle along with the strange and thickly accented voice in his head. (Readers instantly wonder if Daniel is going insane). It quickly goes down hill for him from there with a kidnapped doctor, a cocky attorney, a dead dancer, a stupid and ridiculous club owner, a dirty police officer, illegal drugs, the local mob, a psychotic neighbor, and the usual dense thugs. One mystery overlaps another and keeps you guessing to the very end.

Submitted by Valerie @ MPL Central

Earl Derr Biggers.
Besides having one of the grooviest names in mystery writing, Earl Derr Biggers also created one of the most controversial and slickest sleuths in literature (and film for that matter). When Charlie Chan made his literary debut in the Saturday Evening Post serialization of The House without a Key (1925), the catalyst for corny aphorisms was hatched onto an appreciative mystery reading public. At times complex and other times laughable, this novel avoids all the trappings of pulp Noir. Chan is described as an extremely overweight man with baby cheeks and a soft, dainty step. The anti-Fu Manchu. Though murder is a sloppy business, Chan's investigation is crisp and clean.

Charlie Chan Carries On (1930) is the fifth of the six original Chan novels and is more of the same as the other four. But they are all fun. If you need a break from high brow murder stories, give ol' Charlie Chan a try.

Submitted by Dan@Central

The Good Father asks the question, who is to blame when a child is a murderer? The father, Dr. Paul Allen, is a prosperous, well know doctor. His life is changed when his son from a previous marriage is charged with assassinating the lead democratic candidate at a rally. The rest of the book is the father trying to figure out what really happened. Why was his son in California when he was supposed to be at college? Was his son the lone gunman? Was this part of a larger conspiracy theory? If his son did commit this murder, why? Was it because his father remarried and moved across the country with the boy shuffling between two households never seeming to fit in? Was it the fault of the father? The mother? Mental illness?

The book easily shuffles between narratives of the father researching both his son's case, as well as other well-known presidential assassins; memories of his son's younger years; and more recent stories of what happened to his son since he dropped out of college to travel across the United States. Paul uses his research, his memories and his son's journal to determine what really happened, even though his son does not want him to.

The book is an intriguing read, though I typically like my books to wrap up nicely, sometimes it is also good for a book to end with some mystery.

Submitted by Meredith W. @ Wisconsin Talking Book & Braille Library

Mark Allen Smith's The Inquisitor, is a peculiar and absorbing novel. Geiger, the main character, is a professional torturer that gains sympathy when he has to care for a young boy. Even with the boy in his life, he doesn't give up torturing. Marilyn Stasio in her New York Times column says, "The curious result is something like an X-rated Disney movie -- extremely graphic scenes of physical violence and mental suffering embedded in a rather sweet adventure story about a damaged man who heals himself by saving a child from a similar fate."

Submitted by Jacki @ Central

The Edgar Allan Poe Awards (popularly called the Edgars), named after Edgar Allan Poe, are presented every year by the Mystery Writers of America. They honor the best in mystery fiction, non-fiction, television, film, and theatre published or produced in the previous year. The winner in the Best Novel category is Mo Hayder, for the fifth book in her Jack Caffery series, Gone. The full list of nominees and winners is here.

Submitted by Jacki @ Central

Agatha is at it again with As the Pig Turns. When a petty police officer is brutally murdered, Agatha becomes a suspect of the police and at the same time a target of the real killers. While Agatha and her crew try to solve his murder, several more gruesome deaths occur. They uncover a sophisticated theft ring, fledgling meth labs and untrustworthy coppers.

Agatha Raisin is a bossy, irritating, self-centered, vain yet lovable British woman in her fifties. She had retired to the Cotswolds but started her own detection agency since murders seem to follow her. Watching her get in and out of scrapes is half the fun of reading these mysteries. This is the 22nd book in the series, and it does not disappoint. I love reading these British cozy mysteries because of the cast of characters; the vicar's wife, the kindly Mrs. Bloxby, quirky house guests, ex-boyfriends, an ex-husband and the local police force. Agatha has a softer side which is revealed in each new adventure. I highly recommend trying one of her stories. They are definitely fast reads!

Amy @ Atkinson

Fatal Fixer-upper (A Do-It-Yourself Mystery #1) by Jennie Bentley
Out of the blue, Avery Baker, a New York textile designer, receives a letter from her Aunt Inga inviting her to come visit. Aunt Inga states in the letter that she would like to get her affairs in order and it's time for secrets to be told, for the truth to come out, and wrongs to be put right. A great whodunit cozy mystery that includes home-renovation and design tips.

Spackled and Spooked (A Do-It-Yourself Mystery #2) by Jennie Bentley
Avery's boyfriend and business partner, Derek Ellis, wants to flip a house where a murder occurred. After they purchase the house from the sole survivor of the murder victims Avery and Derek wonder if the property is really possessed? Footsteps and screams are heard, blood is found on the stove, an earring under the fridge... and a human bone in the crawl space.

Check the catalog for availability for the other books in the series.

Nichole @ Villard Square

Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn

On the morning of his fifth wedding anniversary, Nick's wife Amy suddenly disappears. The police immediately suspect Nick. Amy's friends reveal that she was afraid of him, that she kept secrets from him. He swears it isn't true. A police examination of his computer shows strange searches. He says they aren't his. And then there are the persistent calls on his mobile phone. So what really did happen to Nick's beautiful wife?

The Yard by Alex Grecian tells the story of England's new "Murder Squad," an elite group of detectives formed to investigate murders. These 12 detectives are solving murder cases in the wake of Jack the Ripper when morale is low and case loads are high. Walter Day, the squad's newest hire, is assigned to work on the worst case of all- the murder of one of their own. Together with their new forensic pathologist Dr. Kingsley, and the relentless Constable Hammersmith, the squad attempts to track another serial murderer who may have been closer than they ever realized. This novel presents a vivid, gritty view of Victorian London and leads the reader through several twists and subplots told from the viewpoint of unforgettable characters.

Maria @ Central

If you're a fan of the Jack Reacher series by Lee Child, then you're sure to enjoy Sailor by Tom Epperson. The sailor referenced in the title may or may not refer to an actual sailor, but it sure does refer to a Jack Reacheresque former Special Forces type who wreaks havoc upon a criminal organization named "The System." After destorying a few mafia hit men, he also saves a girl and her son who are on the lam from a rogue US Marshall. Did I forget the stolen diamonds and the one eyed killer dog?

This book isn't reinventing the thriller wheel, but it is fun, if not predictable. For good shoot-em-up entertainment, you can't go wrong with the Sailor!

Dan @ Central

Cold Granite by Stuart MacBride is not for the queasy or faint of heart. The first of MacBride's DS "Lazarus" MacRae mysteries (of which there are now seven), this introduction gives us gruesome and gritty crime peppered with dark humor. While the mystery is driven by a series of grisly child murders, the real star of the book is the colorful and fully-realized cast of characters. DS MacRae himself is a compellingly flawed detective, still physically limited by the brutal stabbing he suffered just one year ago, not to mention the tension of working alongside his ex-girlfriend the coroner. His supporting cast, from the strong and sensible WPC Jackie Watson, to greasy sensationalist journalist Colin Miller, to DI Insch with his insatiable sweet tooth and an amateur acting career, manage to be both entertaining and relatable.

When the story turns to danger and violence, with thrilling sequences of physical fights and dangerous foot chases, your attachment to these characters heightens the tension, making for serious page-turning prose. While the gruesome nature of the book makes for poor meal time reading, the dry and dark humor throws the more disturbing passages into relief. While the book is quite enjoyable, it does fall apart a little in the final act, but this doesn't mar the overall reading experience.

Tim @ Central

Celebrity in Death is another winner by J. D. Robb. During a dinner celebrating the movie adaptation of a book about one of Lieutenant Eve Dallas' cases -- with Eve, Roarke and Peabody in attendance -- the actress playing Peabody is found dead. The victim, a very unlikeable woman whom everyone involved with the production seems to hate, gives Lt. Dallas a plethora of suspects. Murder, sex and blackmail provide grist for this cleverly plotted tale full of intriguing twists and turns. Terrific addition to this futuristic series.

Kathy @ Zablocki

Elaine's restaurant--favorite hang-out of Stone and friends--has closed and Stone plays a monor part in Unnatural Acts which deals primarily with the development of Herbie Fisher as a main player. Action is almost non-stop as Herbie deals with the sociopathic son of a very wealthy client of Woodman and Weld. Meanwhile, Stone's friend, Lt. Dino Bacchetti, is scoring with a beautiful serial killer instead of arresting her. A truly unnatural act does provide the closing element in this tale of money, drugs, sex and life in the big city among the very wealthy.

Kathy @ Zablocki

When Alaskan billionaire Finn Grant's plane crashes, state trooper Liam Campbell suspects foul play. There is no shortage of suspects but only Liam's wife has threatened Grant's life publically. Liam hires private investigator Kate Shugak to shift through Grant's complicated personal and business dealings to discover the truth. The beauty, harshness and individuality of Alaska make a great backdrop for Restless in the Grave, Stabenow's latest enthralling mystery featuring Aleut private investigator Kate Shugak and Alaska State Trooper Liam Campbell.

Fran @ Bay View

In this fourth installment of the Heather Wells Mystery Series, Heather is busier than ever. The students in Fischer Hall, where Heather works, are home on summer break, but now the residence hall is full of thirteen and fourteen year old girls filming pop singing sensation Tania Trace's Rock Camp. Tania's producer winds up dead and it becomes clear that Tania was the intended victim. When Heather's fiancé Cooper gets hired to be Tania's bodyguard, how can Heather not get involved?

Kim @ East

Leaving Atlanta, Tayari Jones's debut novel, is a story about three young, African American children coming of age during a terrifying time. Its 1979, and the city of Atlanta is panicked by the repeated abduction and murder of almost two dozen black children. The story is told from the perspective of Tasha, a socially conscious, middle-class girl, Rodney, the quiet, "weird" boy in class, and Octavia, the confident, poor, social outcast. Using first, second, and third person narratives, the children describe growing up a world of fear, mystery, and confusion as they try to grapple with the disappearances of their classmates along with typical growing pains. Each of the narratives is distinct, vivid, and evocative. The innocence of these children and what they experience will break your heart.

Maria @ Central

After getting away with a hit and run accident in which a woman was killed, Helen P quits drinking and joins AA. Wanting to comply with its 9th step (making amends), but afraid to admit her guilt, she befriends the grieving husband without revealing her identity to him. The two fall in love, but now a blackmailer is threatening her. How far will she go to protect her secrets? Check catalog for availability.

Mary @ Forest Home

If you enjoy good 1950's short story literary schlock, you just can't beat Redheads Die Quickly by Gil Brewer. I mean these very short stories, usually no more than ten pages, are the epitome of pulp and have the consistency of mashed grapefruit or papaya. The pages drip blood from dismemberments, flash purple and orange from bruised moll's faces and sting from a left hook to the midriff. These stories are HARSH. These stories are BRUTAL. These stories are an absolute HOOT!

The title story features a punch-drunk redhead, another has a jealous lover willing to blow up his own boat to kill his rival and yet another stars an axe wielding spurned lover around a campsite. All of the stories in this collection were originally published in pulp detective magazines in the 1950's. Reading these stories is like stepping into a forgotten world of fedora's and fists, high pants and twists and maybe an occasional "babe" in a two piece bikini that you just know won't have a happy demise.

Though the term "pulp fiction" refers to the cheap paper the stories were printed on back in the day, in this collection the "pulp" could stand for the bruised faces and smashed bodies that appear regularly. These stories will bash your brains to a pulp with their blunt language and scuzzy characters. Getting beat up has never been this much fun!

Dan @ Central

The thirty-sixth of Robert B. Parker's Spenser series is Rough Weather. Parker had forty titles published in the series before he passed away in 2010 and the series continues, now written by Ace Atkins.

I haven't read any of the other novels and was curious if I'd be able to follow along without knowing the history of the characters and previous events. I think I did OK, although I am a bit confused about Spenser's relationships with some of his contacts and associates. Rough Weather starts with private detective Spenser (his first name is never revealed) at a wedding ceremony on a private island that ends with the groom, priest, and several others dead; and the bride kidnapped. It is not yet clear why the mother of the bride invited Spenser to the wedding, oh, but did I mention the hurricane? Now the investigation begins -- Spenser questions lawyers, police, other detectives, ex-husbands, body guards, professors, old associates and more.

Valerie @ MPL Central

Lacey Kincaid has worked hard to build Odd Jobs, her very own business in New York. Now she even has enough income to hire more staff. Life is happily busy for her until she gets notice of the death of one of her uncles. She has no plans to return home to claim the inheritance her parents left her when they died. However, if she doesn't go home, her other uncle who is an abusive alcoholic will claim everything instead. Lacey's difficult past is slowly revealed. Her ex-boyfriend returns to help and give her the support she needs. Uncovering her past and reuniting with family turns out to be very dangerous, because someone doesn't want Lacey to receive what's rightfully hers. Who will stop at nothing to get what should belong to Lacey? As you can imagine there are plenty of suspects from which to choose, each looking guiltier than the others as the mystery unfolds in this novel Cross My Heart.

Valerie @ MPL Central

Many people are familiar with Charles Dickens but few have heard of his friend and contemporary Wilkie Collins. Wilkie Collins was the master of mystery and is credited with writing one of the first detective novels, The Woman in White. This mystery, told in the epistolary format, revolves around Walter Hartright, a young art teacher who is hired to teach the beautiful Laura Fairlie and her half-sister Marian Halcombe. Upon heading to his new position, Hartright meets a mysterious woman in white who he later learns has escaped from an asylum. As the novel progresses, Hartright and Marian uncover a sinister plot by Laura's fiancé Sir Percival Glyde to steal her money. Little do they know that the woman in white holds the key to outsmarting Glyde and saving Laura from a similar fate. This book is a must read for fans of gothic fiction and mystery.

Maria @ Central

For more information about Wilkie Collins, check out this previous entry by Dan @ Central!

A young Lemony Snicket is asking all the wrong questions. Where is he going? Stained by the Sea, a seaside town that no longer boarders any water. Who is he with? S. Theodora Markson, the woman Snicket will be assisting for his apprenticeship. What is he doing? Helping S. Theodora Markson return the Bominating Beast statue to the rightful owner. What is a Bominating Beast and who is the rightful owner? That is what you and Snicket must find out. What does the S. in S. Theodora Markson stand for? Silly reader, that's another wrong question.

These are just a few of the questions - right and wrong - that will be answered in the first installment of All the Wrong Questions. The series features Snicket as a boy who leaves his parents (or were they really decoys?) to become an apprentice with an agency we can't talk about. With a mystery that is as complicated as it is wacky, this novel will leave you asking even more questions and anxious for the sequel. Check catalog for availability.

Lizzy, Central Library Children's Room

You may have noticed we're big fans of Wilkie Collins here at the library (check out Maria's and Dan's reviews). There's nothing quite like a gripping gothic ghost story on a windy winter night. I'm not ashamed to admit the haunting black and white cover image was what first drew my attention to Australian writer John Harwood's second novel, The Séance, but it was the promise of an eerie old English manor house, long lost relatives, family madness, and unsolved disappearances that held my interest. Much like Wilkie's tales, The Séance pulls you into the Victorian-era with an unraveling mystery told through multiple narrators. The suspense is gripping and you quickly learn that nothing is as it seems. This is a don't miss for all Wilkie Collins lovers.

Kristina @MPL Central

"Every murderer is probably somebody's old friend." As spoken by Hercule Poirot in The Mysterious Affair at Styles (1920) by Agatha Christie


A bloodcurdling scream! A gasp! A ghostly hand gently tapping upon your chamber door! Heart beating, and thumping and drumming away, faster and faster until... silence. Nevermore. As reality sinks in and your friendly living room comes to life, you remember why you love reading creaky old mystery stories. So, with that in mind, let's look back on some golden old head-scratching mystery stories and the great writers who created them!



Many people call Edgar Allan Poe the "father of the mystery story." I won't argue that. Poe was awesome. Poe was gruesome. Poe was romantic. Poe could also pen a mighty poem. But oh man, could Poe write a mystery! Let's start with his famous Murders in the Rue Morgue (1841) which introduced the first fictional detective Auguste C. Dupin, who would also appear in The Mystery of Marie Roget (1842) and The Purloined Letter (1845).



Next, lets stroll down a bleak, foggy cobblestoned London lane until we encounter The Moonstone (1868) by the kooky Wilkie Collins. Collins was a prolific writer who dabbled in many genres (and much controversy -- poor Queen Elizabeth!) but was certainly centered in Gothic mystery and intrigue. The Woman in White (1860) is about as Gothic as you can get and still be in this century!



After drying your boots and raincoat, it's time to pull out your pipe and pop open a Sherlock Holmes story. A Study in Scarlet (1887) introduced the singularly British detective and his very proper sidekick Dr. Watson. Created by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Sherlock Holmes has gone on to be a pop culture icon and you may still hear folks say "Elementary, my dear Watson," while finding a solution to an everyday problem. Forget all the film versions and read a Sherlock Holmes short story instead -- I think they're better.


Although Anna Katherine Green was technically the first woman to pen a detective novel with The Leavenworth Case (1878), let's skip forward to the woman mystery writer: Agatha Christie. Christie wrote more than 80 novels and changed the way generations of avid mystery readers think about murder. Christie introduced the world to the impeccably dressed Hercule Poirot in The Mysterious Affair at Styles (1920). Poirot is still incredibly popular today. Christie also introduced a new type of detective to readers when she created Miss Jane Marple. Miss Marple showed many a murderer that elderly spinsters are a force to be reckoned with!


I would be remiss in my endeavor if I left out Dorothy L. Sayers. She introduced Lord Peter Wimsey to the masses. Wimsey was a "gentleman detective" who solved murders as a hobby. Though Sayers was most active in the 1920's, I think her works went on to influence 1930's and 40's B-movies with detectives like the Falcon (first published in 1940 by Michael Arlen) and The Saint (created by Leslie Charteris in 1930), who solved crimes with panache!



They were smart, tough, gentle and very sophisticated! As a literary footnote, Dorothy Sayers was one of the first authors to have her worked published in paperback form by London publisher Allen Lane. His first paperbacks, called "Penguins, "were issued in 1935 and helped bring novels to a larger audience.



Stay tuned for the next installment of the unofficial history of the mystery! Next time, we'll start with Ellery Queen and graduate up dishonest gumshoes slapping and kicking their way to pulp fiction history!

"It will be found, in fact, that the ingenious are always fanciful, and the truly imaginative never otherwise than analytic." Spoken by Auguste C. Dupin From The Murders in the Rue Morgue (1841) by Edgar Allan Poe.

Dan @ Central

Watch out, San Francisco, private investigators Sabina Carpenter and John Quincannon are on the case. With 1890 San Francisco as a backdrop, the two investigators in The Bughouse Affair pursue separate cases. Carpenter is hot on the trail of a pickpocket or "dip" while Quincannon is after a home invader.

The two investigators travel from one side of the city to the other in pursuit of the law breakers and eventually the two seemingly unrelated cases become intertwined. The authors use many of the famous landmarks of San Francisco as part of the story. The Barbary Coast, Fisherman's Wharf, and the still infamous Tenderloin all play significant parts in the solving of the crimes.

A mysterious English gentleman claiming to be Sherlock Holmes manages to insert himself into the investigations creating some amount of mayhem and comic relief. It is clear that John Quincannon would like more than a business relationship with his widowed partner, while Sabina Carpenter appears to only want a business relationship. Will she have dinner with John?

Roxanne @ Central

Edgar Woolrich is a ninth-grade geometry teacher, obsessed with Japanese puzzle boxes. When he wishes to bid online for a particular box, rare and very special, he plans the timing of his bid as if he were "plotting irrational numbers on an infinite grid." He sees endless variables and lines of intersection. Helen Patrice is a veterinarian, "very much aware that she was what was commonly referred to as a functional alcoholic." For her, the critical distinction of that term is that she is functional, although lately she has been finding that her hangovers border on a sort of mental illness that is like simultaneously having schizophrenia and mononucleosis, or as she puts it, schizonucleosis. Edgar and Helen's paths are about to cross in a most unexpected way, and once they do, the twists and turns are fast, furious and unnerving. This novel of suspense is a true page-turner. Check the catalog for availability.

Anna W @ Central

Hear Blue Balliett talk about her books. Check out one of her great titles from the library before the program. A book signing follows the event with books available to purchase from co-host Boswell Book Company.
Doors open at 6 p.m.; seating is first-come, first-served.

Meet the author of the Hyde Park series (Chasing Vermeer, The Wright 3, The Calder Game), The Danger Box and her new title Hold Fast.

Eleven year old Early Pearl, her four year old brother Jubie and their parents, Dash and Sum, shared a small apartment in Chicago and had big dreams of owning their own home. Though life was not always perfect, the small space was home. When Early's father, Dash, goes mysteriously missing, life for the remaining three Pearls quickly unravels. Early, Jubie, and Sum are forced from their home and into the shelter system. While they struggle with poverty and homelessness, Early tries to uncover the mystery of her missing father and a connection to the book he left behind, The First Book of Rhythms by Langston Hughes. The clues combine math and rhythm and it seems that Early, who shares her father's love of language, is the only one who can uncover the truth of his disappearance. Blue Balliett blends her unique style of mystery, serious social issues, and wonderfully rich language in this beautifully poignant middle grade novel. Check catalog for availability.

Karli @ Central

The clip-clop, clip-clopping of boot heels scraping the old cobblestone road approach nearer and nearer as you diligently wait for your bus. The fog swirls and dances around your eyes conjuring specters and phantoms from the gloomy yellow of the street light above. The clip-clop is right behind you! You twirl while raising your arms to defend yourself--from what? There is only fog and shadow. As your heart rate slows and your fear makes you feel foolish, you wonder why your side is leaking sticky syrup? As you lose focus and realize you're dying, a pair of shiny eyes appears over your slumping body, bright with murder and revenge. You wonder why...

During late 1920's and into the 1930's, a shift came about in the fictional world of detective stories. With the stock market crash of 1929 and the subsequent Great Depression, the exploits of rich, dapper detectives from merry old England were less in vogue. Paperback novels and pulp magazines had recently been introduced and they offered a great format for the sleazy detective writings to come.
One of the first great detectives from this changing landscape in America was Ellery Queen. First appearing in the 1929 novel The Roman Hat Mystery, Ellery Queen was the brainchild and pseudonym of two American cousins, Manfred B. Lee and Frederick Dannay. They went on to write 33 novels together that spawned movies, television shows and radio broadcasts.

"The two women exchanged the kind of glance women use when no knife is handy." - Ellery Queen
Speaking of literary collaborations, I think this is a great time to mention the Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew mystery stories. The Hardy Boys first appeared in 1927 with The Tower Treasure. Nancy Drew's first story appeared 3 years later in 1930 with The Secret of the Old Clock. Both series were created by Edward Stratemeyer, a publisher of children's books. They were hugely successful upon release and continue to be popular today. The Hardy Boys were written by various ghostwriters over the years under the pseudonym of Franklin W. Dixon. Nancy Drew got the same ghostwriter treatment under the pseudonym of Carolyn Keene. Though often cheesy and unbelievable, these stories brought detective fiction to children hungry for excitement and adventure.

"The sooner, the better!' - Franklin W. Dixon (The Hardy Boys)
In 1925, Earl Derr Biggers introduced Asian sleuth Charlie Chan in the novel House Without a Key. Chan would only be featured in five more novels through 1932, but would have huge success as a film, radio and television icon for decades to follow.

"Every man must wear out at least one pair of fool's shoes." - Earl Derr Biggers
A decidedly more literary alternative to Charlie Chan would be Erle Stanley Gardner's famous crime solving lawyer Perry Mason. After publishing a few pulp short stories in pulpy Black Mask magazine, Gardner featured Mason in the novel The Case of the Velvet Claws in 1933. Perry Mason went on to be featured in over 80 novels and numerous radio, film and television shows.

"I like what I like and not what I'm supposed to like because of mass rating. And I very much dislike the things I don't like." - Erle Stanley Gardner
The pulp magazines of the 1920's and 30's featured brutal, soulless detectives and femme fatales who slapped, kicked and murdered their way through the sleazy stories in which they appeared. Perhaps the best and most popular of the pulp detective writers was Dashiell Hammett. He basically mastered what was deemed "hard-boiled" fiction. His use of language was vivid, yet sparse, and his characters were often cynical and corrupt. An actual Pinkerton Detective before becoming a full time writer, Hammett created some of the most memorable characters in detective fiction, including Nick and Nora Charles (The Thin Man), Sam Spade (The Maltese Falcon), and the famous "nameless detective", The Continental Op. Hammett worked in Hollywood as a screenwriter and carried on a long affair with playwright Lillian Hellman until his death in 1961. Hammett is still a personal favorite of mine because of his lurid tales featuring gumshoes and private eyes that live and die by their own vague moral codes. Recommended!

"You got to look on the bright side, even if there ain't one" - Dashiell Hammett
Raymond Chandler, a true heavyweight in the detective fiction genre, had his first story published in Black Mask in 1933 after losing his job as an oil company worker because of the Great Depression. Along with Dashiell Hammett, Chandler is often considered to be a founding father of hardboiled crime fiction. When Chandler introduced detective Phillip Marlowe in his debut novel The Big Sleep (1939), he left his stamp on all crime fiction to follow. Humphrey Bogart went on to film stardom playing Phillip Marlowe in the excellent but convoluted film version of The Big Sleep. Chandler also wrote the stunning novel Farewell, My Lovely and equally moving The Long Goodbye. Chandler also enjoyed success in Hollywood after penning the screenplay with Billy Wilder to the famous Noir classic Double Indemnity (from the excellent James M. Cain novel of the same name) Chandler also wrote the screenplays to The Blue Dahlia and co-wrote Hitchcock's Strangers on a Train.

"The coffee shop smell was strong enough to build a garage on." - Raymond Chandler

"Chandler wrote like a slumming angel and invested the sun-blinded streets of Los Angeles with a romantic presence." - Ross Macdonald

So put on your slippers, fluff up your favorite pillow and settle in for a night of murderous mayhem while enjoying some classic detective stories. They'll chill your bones and warm your mind!

Dan @ Central

The Gods of Gotham takes us to New York City in 1845; a place rife with political tension, an influx of immigrants, and the newly formed New York City police force. After the second fateful fire of his life, Timothy Wilde reluctantly becomes a police officer or "copper-star," and is assigned to the Sixth Ward, a neighborhood comprised of the city's ill-treated Irish population.

On his first patrol Wilde collides with a young girl drenched in blood. What follows is a grizzly discovery that threatens to throw the city into turmoil. Who is the madman responsible for the most heinous crimes the city has seen? The truth Wilde unravels will change the face of the city.

Kristina @ Central

Speaking From Among the Bones by Alan Bradley is the fifth installment of the Flavia de Luce series. If you haven't yet met the precocious eleven year old Flavia, she's brilliant, with expert knowledge of chemistry--especially poisons. As Easter approaches, the English Hamlet of Bishop's Lacey prepares to celebrate the five-hundredth anniversary of St. Tancred's death by opening his crypt.

Flavia is there when they find the dead body of the church organist. She investigates in another wickedly funny mystery by a master storyteller!

Amy @ Atkinson

Ever wonder what the library staff are reading? Here's a snapshot of what's currently being read by workers at Central:

Laura P is reading The Summer Queen by Joan D. Vinge

Hilary E is reading Swimming Studies by Leanne Shapton

Christine O is reading The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

John S is reading Deity, Mantra, and Wisdom: Development Stage Meditation in Tibetan Buddhist Tantra by Jigme Lingpa, Patrul Rinpoche, and Getse Mahapandita

Allie S is reading Visa for Avalon by Bryher

Leslie F is reading An Echo in the Bone by Diana Gabaldon and listening to The Orphan Master's Son by Adam Johnson

Gail B is reading Disturbance by Jan Burke

Tom O is reading Dear Life: Stories by Alice Munro

Tom F is reading I Dreamed I Was a Very Clean Tramp: An Autobiography by Richard Hell

Mary M is reading Amazing Things Will Happen: A Real-World Guide on Achieving Success and Happiness by C.C. Chapman

Victoria S is reading The College Solution: A Guide for Everyone Looking for the Right School at the Right Price by Lynn O'Shaughnessy

Kelly K is reading Wonder by R.J. Palacio

Manuel C is reading Blue-Blooded Vamp by Jaye Wells

Jim B is reading The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Joanne B is reading Gone to Soldiers by Marge Piercy

Emily K is reading Undaunted Courage: Meriwether Lewis, Thomas Jefferson, and the Opening of the American West by Stephen E. Ambrose

Pam H is reading Dance of the Gods by Nora Roberts

Roxanne S is reading The Immortal Rules by Julie Kagawa

Chris M is reading Big Girl Panties by Stephanie Evanovich (a forthcoming title, July 2013)

Kathy B is reading Anjum's Eat Right for Your Body Type: The Super-Healthy Detox Diet Inspired by Ayurveda by Anjum Anand

Watch for future lists of what the staff at the branch locations are reading!