1/28: New at the library this week

Books:

Runner / Thomas Perry
For more than a decade, Jane pursued her unusual profession: “I’m a guide . . . I show people how to go from places where somebody is trying to kill them to other places where nobody is.” Then she promised her husband she would never work again, and settled in to live a happy, quiet life as Jane McKinnon, the wife of a surgeon in Amherst, New York. But when a bomb goes off in the middle of a hospital fundraiser, Jane finds herself face to face with the cause of the explosion: a young pregnant girl who has been tracked across the country by a team of hired hunters. That night, regardless of what she wants or the vow she’s made to her husband, Jane must come back to transform one more victim into a runner. And her quest for safety sets in motion a mission that will be a rescue operation—or a chance for revenge. (Jane Whitefield Series, #6)

The tales of beedle the bard / J.K. Rowling
The Tales of Beedle the Bard, a Wizarding classic, first came to Muggle readers’ attention in the book known as Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. Now, thanks to Hermione Granger’s new translation from the ancient runes, we present this stunning edition with an introduction, notes, and illustrations by J. K. Rowling, and extensive commentary by Albus Dumbledore. Never before have Muggles been privy to these richly imaginative tales: “The Wizard and the Hopping Pot,” “The Fountain of Fair Fortune,” “The Warlock’s Hairy Heart,” “Babbitty Rabbitty and Her Cackling Stump,” and of course, “The Tale of the Three Brothers.” But not only are they the equal of fairy tales we now know and love, reading them gives new insight into the world of Harry Potter. (Age Range: 9 to 12;  Series: Harry Potter Series)

A lump of coal / Lemony Snicket ; Brett Helquist
This is a story about a lump of coal who can think, talk, and move itself around.

Is there a more charming holiday tale to behold? Probably, but Lemony Snicket has not written one. (Age Range: 4 to 8)

4/5: New at the library this week

Audiobooks:

The final warning / James Patterson (CD)
This time, the US government wants to keep the Flock under observation, offering a safe haven and schooling in return. But after their incredible adventures in books 1-3, Max and Flock have grown to love freedom- -after all, haven’t grown-ups always found a way to ruin their lives? After escaping the control of the feds, they are surprised to find themselves allied with a group of environmental scientists who just might be trustworthy. Besides, what enemy could find them in one of the remotest locations on earth–Antarctica–on an expedition studying the effects of global warming up close?
(Age Range: Young Adult; Maximum Ride Series, #4)

A cat named Brat / Lydia Adamson (cassette)
New York actress and cat-sitting sleuth Alice Nestleton sets out to solve the murder of a nightlife journalist.
(Alice Nestleton Series, #20)

2/16: New at the library this week

Books:

Undertow / Sydney Bauer — Christina Haynes is the teenage daughter of a popular US Senator, and when she drowns moments after a conversation at sea with her best friend’s mother, Boston Lawyer David Cavanaugh faces his toughest case to date.

Boom! : voices of the sixties : personal reflections on the ’60s and today / Tom Brokaw — The author takes us on a tour of the turbulent 1960s, blending his personal reflections with firsthand accounts from the people that lived through it. (read an sample chapter)

The sea of monsters / Rick Riordan — Percy Jackson’s seventh-grade year has been surprisingly quiet. Not a single monster has set foot on his New York prep-school campus. But when an innocent game of dodgeball among Percy and his classmates turns into a death match against an ugly gang of cannibal giants, things get . . . well, ugly. And the unexpected arrival of Percy’s friend Annabeth brings more bad news: the magical borders that protect Camp Half-Blood have been poisoned by a mysterious enemy, and unless a cure is found, the only safe haven for demigods will be destroyed. (Percy Jackson and the Olympians Series, #2; Age Range: 9 to 12)

1/26: New at the library this week

Books:

• Hand of evil / Judith A. Jance — With his hand trapped in the door of a speeding car, a man struggles to remain upright as he’s dragged along a deserted stretch of San Juan Road in Phoenix’s South Mountain Preserve. It’s the perfect place to drive a man to his grave — literally. Starting with a crime so gruesome even prowling coyotes keep their distance from the remains, a killer begins crisscrossing the Southwest on a spree of grisly murders. (Ali Reynolds Series, #3; read an sample chapter)
• Taste of home baking book — Discover more than 725 recipes for irresistible baked goods-from cookies, bars, brownies, cakes, cheesecakes, pies, bread puddings, and meringues to yeast breads, quick breads, coffee cakes, muffins, biscuits, and more-and bask in the warm, complex aroma of a fresh-baked loaf of bread, the luscious whiff of cinnamon rolls, or the sweet, fruity fragrance of pies. Best of all, they are all made with easy-to-find ingredients. Every recipe has been tasted and reviewed by the professional home economists of the Taste of Home test kitchens. More than 675 full-color photographs illustrate mixing and baking methods and showcase the delectable baked results!
• World without end / Ken Follett — takes place in the same town of Kingsbridge, two centuries after the townspeople finished building the exquisite Gothic cathedral that was at the heart of The Pillars of the Earth. The cathedral and the priory are again at the center of a web of love and hate, greed and pride, ambition and revenge, but this sequel stands on its own. This time the men and women of an extraordinary cast of characters find themselves at a crossroad of new ideas-about medicine, commerce, architecture, and justice. In a world where proponents of the old ways fiercely battle those with progressive minds, the intrigue and tension quickly reach a boiling point against the devastating backdrop of the greatest natural disaster ever to strike the human race-the Black Death. (read an sample chapter)
• Violet goes to the country / Melanie Cecka; Jan Karon — Violet and her owner, Alice, are off to the country for a visit. Violet is as excited as can be, but she keeps getting in the way of Alice’s uncle Leo (who is “not much of a cat person”). (Age Range: 4 to 8)
• Payback / Jasmine Cresswell — For twenty-five years multimillionaire businessman Ron Raven played the loving husband and father— to two very different households. But when Ron disappears, his deception is revealed. Now it’s time for…PAYBACK. (Ravens Trilogy, #3; read an exerpt)
• Missing / Jasmine Cresswell — For twenty-five years, multimillionaire businessman Ron Raven fooled everyone, successfully playing the loving husband and father to two very different households. But when Ron suddenly disappears, the truth about his deception is revealed. Now two families are left alone with their questions, while the one man who holds the answers is . . . MISSING. (Ravens Trilogy, #2; read an sample chapter)
• Suspect / Jasmine Cresswell — For twenty-five years, multimillionaire businessman Ron Raven had been fooling everyone, successfully playing the loving husband and father to two very different households. But when Ron suddenly disappears, the truth about his deception is revealed. Now faced with the ultimate betrayal, his families are left questioning who can be trusted . . . and who remains SUSPECT. (Ravens Trilogy, #1; read an sample chapter)
• Double cross / James Patterson — A spate of elaborate murders in Washington D.C. has the whole East Coast on edge. It is like nothing Alex Cross and his new girlfriend, Detective Brianna Stone, have ever seen. With each murder, the case becomes increasingly complex. There’s only one thing Alex knows: this killer adores an audience. (Alex Cross Series, #13)
• The New Year’s quilt / Jennifer Chiaverini — As Sylvia, a late-in-life newlywed, has discovered, love can enter our lives at any age. Yet before she can truly delight in her present happiness, she must face the sorrow hidden in her past — her own role in the tragic circumstances that left her estranged from her sister, Claudia, until it was too late to make amends. Vowing not to repeat the mistake with her new daughter-in-law, Amy, who opposed Sylvia’s marriage to her father, Andrew, Sylvia must convince Amy that family is more precious than pride. (read an exerpt)
• Home to Holly Springs / Jan Karon — This novel takes Father Tim on a journey to his hometown of Holly Springs, Mississippi. A host of fascinating encounters with people along the way ensure that the trip is colorful, though as Father Tim arrives in response to a mysterious summons, he may discover that home is where the heart is but also where secrets are hidden.
• Escape / Carolyn Jessop ; Laura Palmer — When she was eighteen years old, Carolyn Jessop was coerced into an arranged marriage with a total stranger: a man thirty-two years her senior. Merril Jessop already had three wives. But arranged plural marriages were an integral part of Carolyn’s heritage: She was born into and raised in the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (FLDS), the radical offshoot of the Mormon Church that had settled in small communities along the Arizona-Utah border. Over the next fifteen years, Carolyn had eight children and withstood her husband’s psychological abuse and the watchful eyes of his other wives who were locked in a constant battle for supremacy. (read an exerpt)
• A week from Sunday / Dorothy Garlock — Adrianna Moore’s recently passed father has left his entire estate to his lawyer, who tells her that to regain her inheritance, she must marry him “a week from Sunday.” Driving desperately to a new life, Adrianna collides with Quinn Baxter’s truck, falls for him, and must deal with Quinn’s scheming housekeeper as well as the spurned lawyer, who continues to track Adrianna in order to force her to marry him. (read an sample chapter)
• On Tall Pine Lake / Dorothy Garlock — Nona Cinrad has been making it throught “by the hardest.” Each day is a struggle–to go on after her parents’ sudden death, to win her rightful inheritance from her untrustworthy half-brother, and to raise her high-spirited younger sister. Hired to manage a fishing camp deep in the Arkansas woods, the strong-willed redhead is eager to settle down…until she clashes with two men. One is a mysterious, well-dressed stranger who seems to know her. The other is the camp’s new owner, Simon Wright. (read an sample chapter)
• The abduction / Mark Gimenez — Ben Brice lives alone in the New Mexico wilderness where he battles memories of Vietnam with oceans of Jim Beam. Miles away in Texas, his estranged son, John, an internet geek-turned-billionaire, half watches his daughter Gracie’s soccer game while conducting business on his cell phone. When her mother Elizabeth arrives, the coach reports that her uncle has already collected Gracie. But Gracie has no uncle – she was kidnapped.