Skip to main content

Reviews

Reviews

by Leslie Archer - Fiction, Suspense, Thriller

Renowned archaeologist Richard Mathis is half a world away on the island of Crete when he learns that his daughter, Bella, has gone missing. Within 20 minutes, he’s on his way back to the States. Two days later, he’s dead. Richard’s young assistant, Angela Chase, is devastated by the loss of the man who had become both mentor and friend, and she’s determined to find the missing girl, who seems to have made dangerous connections --- and whose lonely childhood so resembles Angela’s own. Born Laurel Springfield, Angela now spends her days digging up the origins of a lost civilization while struggling to keep her own past buried. But will the search for Bella expose Angela’s carefully disguised identity --- and will she find Bella before she’s lost forever?

by Joyce Carol Oates - Dystopian, Fiction, Science Fiction

“Time travel” --- and its hazards --- are made literal in Joyce Carol Oates’ novel, in which a recklessly idealistic girl dares to test the perimeters of her tightly controlled (future) world and is punished by being sent back in time to a region of North America --- “Wainscotia, Wisconsin”--- that existed 80 years before. Cast adrift in time in this idyllic Midwestern town, she is set upon a course of “rehabilitation” --- but cannot resist falling in love with a fellow exile and questioning the constraints of the Wainscotia world with results that are both devastating and liberating. 

by Michelle Obama - Memoir, Nonfiction

As First Lady of the United States of America --- the first African American to serve in that role --- Michelle Obama established herself as a powerful advocate for women and girls in the U.S. and around the world, dramatically changing the ways that families pursue healthier and more active lives, and standing with her husband as he led America through some of its most harrowing moments. In her memoir, Michelle invites readers into her world, chronicling the experiences that have shaped her --- from her childhood on the South Side of Chicago to her years as an executive balancing the demands of motherhood and work, to her time spent at the world’s most famous address.

by B. A. Shapiro - Fiction, Historical Fiction, Historical Thriller, Suspense, Thriller

Accused of helping her fiancé steal her family’s fortune and her father’s art collection, Paulien Mertens has fled to France. To protect herself from the law and the wrath of those who lost everything, she has created a new identity. Paulien, aka Vivienne, takes a position working for an American art collector modeled after real-life eccentric museum founder Albert Barnes and quickly becomes caught up in the 1920s Paris of artists and expats, including post-Impressionist painter Henri Matisse and writer Gertrude Stein. From there, she sets out to recover her father’s art collection, prove her innocence and exact revenge on her ex-fiancé.

by Mitch Albom - Fiction

The accident that killed Eddie in THE FIVE PEOPLE YOU MEET IN HEAVEN left an indelible mark on Annie, the young girl whose life he saved. Injured, scarred and unable to remember why, Annie’s life is forever changed by a guilt-ravaged mother who whisks her away from the world she knew. When, as a young woman, she reconnects with Paulo, her childhood love, she believes she has finally found happiness. As the novel opens, Annie is marrying Paulo. But when her wedding night ends in an unimaginable accident, Annie finds herself on her own heavenly journey --- and an inevitable reunion with Eddie, one of the five people who will show her how her life mattered in ways she could not have fathomed.

by Fiona Neill - Fiction

Best friends Rosie and Lisa's families had always been inseparable. But that summer, Lisa had an affair with Rosie's husband, Nick. None of them would forget that week on the wild Norfolk seacoast. Relationships were torn apart, friendships shattered and childish innocence destroyed. Now, after years of silence, a letter arrives that begs for help --- a letter that exposes dark secrets. Then Rosie’s daughter Daisy's fragile hold on reality begins to unravel. Teenage son Max blames himself for everything that happened that long hot summer, and Nick must confront his own version of events. As long-repressed memories bubble to the surface, the past has never seemed more present and the truth murkier.

by Fred Knowles - Humor, Memoir, Nonfiction, Self-Help

When you lose a sibling just as you're losing the passion for your life's work, how do you fill the void? You join a dysfunctional band of amateur writers and create a sitcom, of course. Join Fred as he tells his improbable story of his transition from corporate life to sitcom producer. This "commuter" book takes a light-hearted approach to dealing with two of life's most challenging events --- death of a loved one and a career change. Chock full of lessons (so called "learnings"), this book may very well be the funniest self-help book ever written.

by Walter Mosley - Fiction

At 12 years old, Cornelius, the son of an Italian-American woman and an older black man from Mississippi named Herman, secretly takes over his father’s job at a silent film theater in New York’s East Village. Five years later, following his father’s death and his mother’s disappearance, Cornelius sets about reinventing himself --- as Professor John Woman, a man who will spread Herman’s teachings into the classrooms of his unorthodox southwestern university and beyond. But there are other individuals who are attempting to influence the narrative of John Woman and who might know something about the facts of his hidden past.

by Lisa Scottoline - Fiction, Suspense, Thriller

When three men announce that they are suing the Rosato & DiNunzio law firm for reverse sex discrimination --- claiming that they were not hired because they were men --- Mary DiNunzio and Bennie Rosato are outraged. To make matters worse, their one male employee, John Foxman, intends to resign, claiming that there is some truth to this case. The plaintiffs’ lawyer is Nick Machiavelli, who already has lost to Mary once and is now back with a vengeance --- determined not only to win, but to destroy the firm. It soon becomes clear that Machiavelli will do anything in his power to achieve his end…even after the case turns deadly.

by Erin Duffy - Fiction, Women's Fiction

Alex Garrett has always dreamed of conquering the high-powered world of Wall Street. And though she's prepared to fight her way into an elitist boys' club, she quickly realizes she's in over her head. No matter. She's determined to make it in bond sales at Cromwell Pierce, one of the Street's most esteemed brokerage firms.