Adult Fiction

10 Books We’re Looking Forward to in May

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So many great books coming out in May, it’s hard to pick just ten!

Every month, librarians from around the country pick the top ten new books they’d most like to share with readers. The results are published on LibraryReads.org. One of the goals of LibraryReads is to highlight the important role public libraries play in building buzz for new books and new authors. Click through to read more about what new and upcoming books librarians consider buzzworthy this month. The top ten titles for May are:

  1. We Were Liars by E. Lockhart
  2. All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr
  3. The Bees by Laline Paull
  4. Delicious! by Ruth Reichl
  5. The Forgotten Seamstress by Liz Trenow
  6. Bird Box by Josh Malerman
  7. Bittersweet by Miranda Beverly-Whittemore
  8. Delancey: A Man, a Woman, a Restaurant, a Marriage by Molly Wizenberg
  9. Sixth Grave on the Edge by Darynda Jones
  10. The Blessings by Elise Juska

Linda Reads: Concealed In Death by J.D. Robb

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conceal inI hesitated to read this book because I was very disappointed in Ms. Robb’s last ‘In Death’ title, Thankless in Death.  There have been rumors that her last few books (as J.D. Robb and Nora Roberts) were ghost written and there are arguments galore debating that topic.   But Concealed In Death was a great story.   It’s true the style of writing is a little different from earlier In Death books.  Many comments have been made about the main characters of Eve and Roarke being different.  But there have been over 50 stories written about Eve and Roarke and readers should expect that they are getting older, settling down, and wouldn’t have the same dynamic as before.

The book does lack the depth, excitement, and suspense of other In Death books.  It’s a quieter suspense, more thoughtful and introspective, with a lot more focus on the victims.  I actually found that a nice change.  There were a few twists in the story that gave the book a jolt when needed.  All in all, it was a very enjoyable read.

Summary of story:

In a decrepit, long-empty New York building, Roarke begins the demolition process by swinging a sledgehammer into a wall. When the dust clears, there are two skeletons wrapped in plastic behind it. He summons his wife, Eve Dallas immediately—and by the time she’s done with the crime scene, there are twelve murders to be solved.

The place once housed a makeshift shelter for troubled teenagers, back in the mid-2040s, and Eve tracks down the people who ran it. Between their recollections and the work of the force’s new forensic anthropologist, Eve begins to put names and faces to the remains. They are all young girls. A tattooed tough girl who dealt in illegal drugs. The runaway daughter of a pair of well-to-do doctors. They all had their stories. And they all lost their chance for a better life.

Then Eve discovers a connection between the victims and someone she knows. And she grows even more determined to reveal the secrets of the place that was called The Sanctuary—and the evil concealed in one human heart.

Book Club Picks – Action/Adventure

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book clubIs your book club looking for a little excitement?  Here are some action/adventure books they may be interested in.

Suspect by Robert Crais – LAPD cop Scott James is not doing so well. Nine months ago, a shocking assault by unidentified men killed his partner, Stephanie, nearly killed him, and left him enraged, ashamed, and ready to explode. He is unfit for duty—until he meets his new partner.

Into That Forest by Louis Nowra – Two girls survive a terrible flood in the Tasmanian bush and are rescued by a pair of Tasmanian tigers who raise them in the wild. Their story of survival is remarkable, as they adapt to the life of the tiger, learning to hunt and to communicate without the use of human language. When they are discovered and returned to civilization, neither can adapt to being fully human after their extraordinary experience. Totally believable, their story will both shock and captivate readers as it explores the animal instincts that lie beneath our civilized veneer.

timeTime and Again by Jack Finney – When advertising artist Si Morley is recruited to join a covert government operation exploring the possibility of time travel, he jumps at the chance to leave his twentieth-century existence and step into New York City in January 1882. Aside from his thirst for experience, he has good reason to return to the past—his friend Kate has a curious, half-burned letter dated from that year, and he wants to trace the mystery.

The Pale Horseman by Bernard Cornwell – The last unvanquished piece of England, Wessex is eyed hungrily by the fearsome Viking conquerors. A dispossessed young nobleman, Uhtred is tied to the imperiled land by birth and marriage but was raised by the Danish invaders—and he questions where his allegiance must lie. But blood is his destiny, and when the overwhelming Viking horde attacks out of a wintry darkness, Uhtred must put aside all hatred and distrust and stand beside his embattled country’s staunch defender—the fugitive King Alfred.

First to Kill by Andrew Peterson – Ten years ago, a botched mission in Nicaragua ended covert ops specialist Nathan McBride’s CIA career. Now he utilizes his unique skill set in the private sector—until the night Frank Ortega, former director of the FBI, calls in a favor. A deep-cover federal agent has vanished, along with a ton of Semtex explosives, and Ortega needs them found—fast. Because for him, this mission is personal: the missing agent is his grandson. And Nathan McBride is the only man he trusts to save him.

The Broken Places by Ace Atkins – A year after becoming Tibbehah County sheriff, Quinn Colson is faced with a pardoned killer’s return to Jericho. Jamey Dixon now preaches redemption and forgiveness, but the family of the woman he was convicted of killing isn’t buying it. They warn Quinn that his sister’s relationship with Dixon could be fatal. Others don’t think the new preacher is a changed man, either—a couple of dangerous convicts who confided in Dixon about an armored car robbery believe he’s after the money they hid. So they do the only thing they can: break out and head straight to Jericho, leaving a trail of bodies in their wake.

The Body Departed by J.R. Rain – When a killer broke into James Blakely’s apartment and fired twelve bullets into his body, it was the end of James’s life—but just the beginning of his journey to redemption. Sentenced to burn in hell for a crime he cannot remember, James is given the choice to proceed immediately to the afterlife or haunt the world of the living in search of his killer. Electing to return to Earth as a ghost, he attempts to solve the mystery of his own murder, visits the living—starting with his daughter and ex-wife—and confronts the sins in his past that put him on the fast track to eternal damnation.

It’s Star Wars Day – May the Fourth be With You!

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May 4 is unofficially “Star Wars Day.” It’s the one day a year when Star Wars fans are encouraged to REALLY let their devotion to all things Star Wars out to play. Cheshire Library has got you covered, young Jedis – we have Star Wars items in just about every section of our collection. Here’s a very small taste of what you can find in our corner of the galaxy:

ADULT SCIENCE FICTION:

TEENS:

CHILDREN’S FICTION:

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EASY READERS:

NON-FICTION:

DVD:

 

Jenn Reads: Shinju by Laura Joh Rowland

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I’m a voracious reader, but my reading skills lately have been the pits. This cold winter weather getting anyone else down in the dumps?

I finally finished a book last night, from the stack of books that have yet to be finished. This particular one, Shinju, by Laura Joh Rowland, was supposed to be done for mystery book club two weeks ago. Ooops.

195979Shinju follows beginning investigating police office (of sorts, his official title is yoriki) Sano Ichiro in 17th century feudal Japan. Sano, a samurai/school teacher by trade, has been given this position by his supporter, a position he is initially unsuited for. He’s not bad at what he does- no, it’s that he’s a little too good at what he does, especially when things should be better left untouched, as his boss requests.

Sano is supposed to write a closing report on a shinju, or a double romantic suicide. Typically shinjus are when two people of different classes fall in love. Knowing their love will never survive and their families will not accept the relationship, the lovers commit suicide. This shinju looks like a suicide, but Sano is hesitant to close this case- and for good reason. Sano will risk everything: his job, his name, his parent’s reputation, and the lives of others, to solve this case.

The back cover of the book has a quote saying how “exotic” it is, and I suppose for some who are not familiar with the time period, it could be. My senior thesis for my history major in college was on a facet of Japanese history, so this particular era was familiar. For me, reading this book brought me back to my studies and I was thrilled to be immersed in 17th century Edo (now Tokyo). This is a world that is much different than ours, and much different than even 17th century Europe. Led by the Tokugawa regime, the government is a military dictatorship with strict rules. Religion, philosophy, and culture, for the new reader, may seem odd or strange. For several of our book clubbers, how Sano struggles throughout the book to justify his need for revenge and thirst to solve the mystery with his filial piety (extreme devotion to one’s elders, especially parents) and what is expected of him, was weird and unnecessary. But this is something a man of his time would have struggled with, and is realistic.

Many commented that the writing style was a bit elementary, but this is Rowland’s first published work, and will develop further in the series. Is this a masterpiece of mystery writing? No, but it was enjoyable for

what it was. More important to me than the mystery was the setting and time period, which I felt Rowland was spot on with.

Rating: 3 of out 5 stars. Enjoyable, but unnecessarily dense in some places where the plot line could have moved faster. Loved the time period and setting.

See you in the stacks,

Jenn