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Reviews

Reviews

by Lisa Unger - Fiction, Suspense, Thriller

Claudia Bishop’s perfect life fell apart when the aftermath of a brutal assault left her with a crumbling marriage, a newborn daughter, and a constant sense of anxiety about the world around her. Now, looking for a fresh start with a home restoration project and a growing blog, Claudia takes on a crumbling old house --- one that unbeknownst to her has an ugly history and may hide long-buried secrets. For Zoey Drake, the defining moment of her childhood was the horrific home invasion murder of her parents. Years later, she has embraced the rage that fuels her and is ready to face the demons from the past. These two women are on a collision course, because Zoey’s past nightmare and Claudia’s dreams for her future take place in the very same house.

by John Stubbs - Biography, History, Nonfiction

One of Europe’s most important literary figures, Jonathan Swift was also an inspired humorist, a beloved companion, and a conscientious Anglican minister --- as well as a hoaxer and a teller of tales. John Stubbs’ biography captures the dirt and beauty of a world that Swift both scorned and sought to amend. It follows Swift through his many battles, for and against authority, and in his many contradictions, as a priest who sought to uphold the dogma of his church; as a man who was quite prepared to defy convention, not least in his unshakable attachment to an unmarried woman, his “Stella”; and as a writer whose vision showed that no single creed holds all the answers.

written by Anders Rydell, translated by Henning Koch - History, Nonfiction

Through extensive new research that included records saved by the Monuments Men themselves, Anders Rydell tells the untold story of Nazi book theft, as he himself joins the effort to return the stolen books. When the Nazi soldiers ransacked Europe’s libraries and bookshops, the books they stole were not burned. Instead, the Nazis began to compile a library of their own that they could use to wage an intellectual war on literature and history. But when the war was over, most of the books were never returned. Instead many found their way into the public library system, where they remain to this day. Now, Rydell finds himself entrusted with one of these stolen volumes, setting out to return it to its rightful owner.

by Steve Berry - Fiction, Suspense, Thriller

The Knights of the Golden Circle was the largest and most dangerous clandestine organization in American history. It amassed billions in stolen gold and silver, all buried in hidden caches across the country. Treasure hunters searched for over a century, but little of that immense wealth was ever found --- until now. When the news about the found treasure gets out, two factions of what remains of the Knights rush to seize their fair share. Thrust into this battle is former Justice Department agent Cotton Malone, who has his own ancestral connection to the Knights --- one that is far more complicated than he ever could have imagined.

by Anne Perry - Fiction, Historical Fiction, Historical Mystery, Mystery

The body of Sir John Halberd, the Queen’s confidant, has been found in the shallow water of the Serpentine in Hyde Park, bearing the evidence of a fatal blow to the head. At Her Majesty’s request, Sir John had been surreptitiously investigating Alan Kendrick, a horse-racing enthusiast who seems to have had an undue amount of influence on her son, the Prince of Wales. Now Thomas Pitt must navigate the corridors of power with the utmost discretion and stealth, for it seems certain that Sir John’s killer is a member of the upper classes. Aided by his wife, Charlotte, and her social contacts, Pitt seeks out the hidden motives behind the polite façade of those to the manner born --- and uncovers a threat to the throne that could topple the monarchy.

by Carol Goodman - Fiction, Psychological Suspense, Psychological Thriller, Suspense, Thriller

When Jess and Clare Martin move from Williamsburg, Brooklyn, to their former college town in the Hudson River valley, they are hoping for rejuvenation --- of their marriage, their savings, and Jess' writing career. They take a caretaker's job at Riven House, a crumbling estate and the home of their old college writing professor. But there is a haunting pall that hangs over Riven House like a funeral veil. Soon, Clare begins to hear babies crying at night and see strange figures in fog at the edge of their property. Diving into the history of the area, she realizes that Riven House has a dark and anguished past. And whatever this thing is --- this menacing force that destroys the inhabitants of the estate --- it seems to be after Clare next.

by Greg Iles - Fiction, Suspense, Thriller

In this concluding volume to Greg Iles’ Natchez Burning trilogy, Penn Cage sees his family and his world collapsing around him. The woman he loves is gone, his principles have been irrevocably compromised, and his father, once a paragon of the community that Penn leads as mayor, is about to be tried for the murder of a former lover. Despite Penn's experience as a prosecutor in major murder trials, his father has frozen him out of the trial preparations --- preferring to risk dying in prison to revealing the truth of the crime to his son. The trial sets a terrible clock in motion, and unless Penn can pierce the veil of the past and exonerate his father, his family will be destroyed.

by Lyndsay Faye - Fiction, Historical Fiction, Historical Mystery, Mystery, Short Stories

Lyndsay Faye was introduced to the Sherlock Holmes mysteries when she was 10 years old and her dad suggested she read Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s short story “The Adventure of the Speckled Band.” She immediately became enamored with tales of Holmes and his esteemed biographer, Dr. John Watson. Later, she began spinning these quintessential characters into her own works of fiction. Faye’s best Holmes tales, including two new works, are brought together in THE WHOLE ART OF DETECTION, which spans Holmes’ career --- from self-taught young upstart to publicly lauded detective --- both before and after his faked death over a Swiss waterfall in 1894.

by Patricia Cornwell - Nonfiction, True Crime

Vain and charismatic Walter Sickert made a name for himself as a painter in Victorian London. But the ghoulish nature of his art --- as well as extensive evidence --- points to another name: Jack the Ripper. Patricia Cornwell has collected never-before-seen archival material --- including a rare mortuary photo, personal correspondence and a will with a mysterious autopsy clause --- and applied cutting-edge forensic science to open an old crime to new scrutiny. Incorporating material from PORTRAIT OF A KILLER, this new edition has been revised and expanded to include eight new chapters, detailed maps and hundreds of images that bring the sinister case to life.

by James Grippando - Fiction, Suspense, Thriller

In MOST DANGEROUS PLACE, Jack Swyteck takes on a new client tied to his past. It begins at the airport, where Jack is waiting to meet his old high school buddy, Keith Ingraham, a high-powered banker based in Hong Kong, coming to Miami for his young daughter’s surgery. But their long-awaited reunion is abruptly derailed when the police arrest Keith’s wife, Isabelle, in the terminal, accusing her of conspiring to kill the man who raped her in college. Jack quickly agrees to represent Isa, but soon discovers that to see justice done, he must separate truth from lies --- an undertaking that proves more complicated than the seasoned attorney expects.