Adult Fiction
Salem’s Lot
By Stephen King
(Adult Fiction)
Needing inspiration for his next novel, Ben Mears returns to Salem’s Lot, the only town in which he’s really felt at home, even though his time there was short. Unfortunately, Ben is not the only new arrival, and he must soon build a team with a rag-gag group of people in order to fight an ancient evil that is hungry for blood, and that wants to build an empire of its own.
The Aviator’s Wife
By Melanie Benjamin
(Adult Fiction)
This fictionalized account of the life of Anne Morrow follows her childhood of privilege, where she was considered the “steady” child, always in the shadow of her parents and siblings. That is until the day that Charles Lindbergh asked her to marry him. Lucky Lindy was the darling of the entire world, having flown solo across the Atlantic. Anne initially saw his as her hero and herself as his helpmate for life. The Lindberghs were America’s “first couple” but their lives were scarred by their infant son’s kidnapping and murder, and Anne’s discovery that her hero was deeply flawed. The book paints a fascinating picture of fame, tragedy, and self-discovery.
Rebecca
By Daphne du Maurier
(Adult Fiction)
This novel of suspense and romance starts out with one of the most beautiful opening lines in literature: “Last night I dreamt I went to Manderley again.” And thus begins the tale of a young, shy girl swept up into a whirlwind marriage to an older man, haunted by the memory of his first wife Rebecca. Rebecca was everything our heroine is not – seductive, witty, charming and adept at running Manderley, her husband’s estate. Her death has left behind a trail of mourners who constantly compare the two wives and find the newest wanting. Self-doubt arises and events are set in motion taking the reader toward the thrilling climax. Published in 1938, this book remains a classic.
Calico Joe
By John Grisham
(Adult Fiction)
An early season sub for their regular first baseman, Chicago Cubs “rookie phenom”, Joe Castle, launches homerun after homerun; and by mid-season his batting average remains over.500. How good can he be? Surely Cooperstown is in his future. 11-year-old Paul Tracey, although a New York fan, worships Joe, as do millions other fans charmed by Joe’s humble demeanor and good-guy approach to the game. Then Joe hits a homerun off New York’s pitcher Warren Tracey – a surly, chip-on-his-shoulder journeyman – who also happens to be Paul’s father. Tracey is one of those pitchers that take homeruns hit off them personally – so Calico Joe will be made to pay – eventually. A story of fathers and sons, redemption, and missed opportunities; definitely a departure for Grisham but a good story for a fan of his, or a fan of the game.
Hit By Pitch: Ray Chapman, Carl Mays, and the Fatal Fastball
By Molly Lawless
(Adult Graphic Novel)
On August 16, 1920, Yankees pitcher Carl Mays threw a fastball that struck Cleveland Indians shortstop Ray Chapman in the head. Chapman died the next morning. Hit by Pitch is a nonfiction graphic novel about these men, their lives and legacies, and the event that linked them forever. Born the same year (1891), both in Kentucky, they had similar beginnings but opposing personalities. This wonderfully drawn work brings the two men and their era back to life.
An Inquiry into Love and Death
By Simone St. James
(Adult Fiction)
If you like your mysteries with a ghostly thread, this book is for you! There are some genuinely spine-tingling moments in this novel about Jillian, who is tasked with leaving her Oxford studies and taking care of her late uncle’s affairs. She barely knew her uncle Toby, who was a ghost hunter and estranged from the family. His sudden death requires Jillian to go to a picturesque seaside village to pick up his belongings. Was Toby looking into the angry spirit of Walking John that roams the local woods? Could his death be somehow linked? Jillian is a modern girl in the era just after World War I, but perhaps a ghost is more than she bargained for.
Out of Warranty
By Haywood Smith
(Adult Fiction)
Cassie’s husband has passed away unexpectedly, and she is bravely carrying on. She’s existing, but not living. Seeking yet another doctor for her multiple health problems, Cassie encounters the curmudgeonly and divorced Jack, who looks to be in worse shape than Cassie. Their initially adversarial relationship slowly grows into friendship as they share their health ailments, financial woes, and fears about the future. This novel is filled with humor and hope, and offers two of the most engaging characters ever.
Ireland: a Novel
By Frank Delaney
(Adult Fiction)
One wintry evening in 1951, an itinerant storyteller -- a Seanchai, the very last practitioner of a fabled tradition extending back hundreds of years -- arrives unannounced at a house in the Irish countryside. In exchange for a bed and a warm meal, he invites his hosts and some of their neighbors to join him by the fireside, and begins to tell formative stories of Ireland's history. One of his listeners, a nine-year-old boy, grows so entranced by the story-telling that, when the old man leaves abruptly under mysterious circumstances, the boy devotes himself to finding him again. Ronan's search for the Storyteller becomes both a journey of self-discovery and an immersion into the sometimes-conflicting histories of his native land. As the long-unspoken secrets of his own family begin to reveal themselves, he becomes increasingly single-minded in pursuit of the old man, who he fears may already be dead. But Ronan's personal path also leads him deeper and deeper into the history and mythology of Ireland itself, in all its drama, intrigue, and heroism.
Crazy Little Thing
By Tracy Brogan
(Adult Fiction)
What a great “Chick-Lit” read! This novel features recent divorcee Sadie, who retreats with her two kids to the home of her “kooky but loveable” aunt on the shores of a peaceful lake in a quiet, small town. Sadie was expecting a summer of splashing in the water, trying to forget her cheating ex, and hardening her heart against all men. That’s all she wanted; but life had other plans, including a sexy new neighbor who’s doing some house-sitting.
Goldberg Variations
By Susan Isaacs
(Adult Fiction)
Gloria Garrison (formerly Goldberg) has a problem. She runs a vast beauty empire in the western part of the U. S. but has nobody to take it over. At 80 years old, she realizes that she is estranged from anyone who might be interested in the firm, including her three grandchildren in their twenties. Gloria calls the three together for a weekend at her Santa Fe home and asks which of them is most deserving to inherit the business. The weekend is full of surprises! Slyly written, witty and moving, the novel drills down to the heart of this family.
The Good House
By Ann Leary
(Adult Fiction)
Hildy Good is a lifelong resident of an historic community on the rocky coast of Boston's North Shore; thus, Hildy knows pretty much everything about everyone. A successful real-estate broker, her days are full. But her nights have become lonely ever since her daughters, convinced their mother was drinking too much, staged an intervention and sent her off to rehab. Now she's in recovery - more or less. Alone and feeling unjustly persecuted, Hildy needs a friend. She finds one in Rebecca McCallister, a beautiful young mother and wealthy newcomer. Rebecca feels out-of-step in her new surroundings and is grateful for the friendship. Hildy and Rebecca escape their worries with some harmless gossip, and a bottle of wine by the fire - just one of their secrets. But not everyone takes to Rebecca, who is herself the subject of town gossip. When Frank Getchell, an eccentric local who shares a complicated history with Hildy, tries to warn her away from Rebecca, Hildy attempts to protect her friend from a potential scandal. Soon, however, Hildy is busy trying to cover her own tracks. When a cluster of secrets become dangerously entwined, the reckless behavior of one threatens to expose the other, and this darkly comic novel takes a chilling turn. .
The Greatcoat
By Helen Dunmore
(Adult Fiction)
This is a ghost story and a love story. It’s a story of longing and desire and dashed dreams. Isabel and her new husband move to the country during an English winter following WWII. Philip is a doctor and is often away, leaving Isabel alone and miserable. Then one day, she discovers an old RAF coat in their rooms, and her life takes a dramatic turn.
The Last Runaway
By Tracy Chevalier
(Adult Fiction)
In 1850, Honor Bright, seamstress, quilter and “Friend” ( Quaker) - sails to America after her heart is broken in her home town of Dorset, England. Making the ocean crossing with her sister Grace, who is to be married to a fellow Friend near Oberlin, Ohio, Honor anticipates a new life in Ohio that will be much the same as her old life in England – quiet, peacefully domestic, orderly. But the crossing is horrendous; Grace dies soon after arrival in America of yellow fever; and Honor is alone and fending for herself in a strange new land, among a restless and striving population. Honor seeks to make a home with fellow Friends in Oberlin, but the arrangement causes muttering, and Honor’s strange English ways do not endear her. Even her quilting methods seem strange to the resident Buckeyes! Meanwhile in Oberlin, runaway slaves making their way to Canada are passing through the area, and Honor is drawn to help. A simple story that Chevalier develops effectively into something more, through the details of quilting, farming, and life in 1850’s Ohio.
Summer Breeze
By Nancy Thayer
(Adult Fiction)
This novel is an exploration of friendships and love over a summer on New England’s Dragonfly Lake. There’s the young couple pretending to be coping with the husband’s high-powered job. There’s a young woman staying at the lake hoping to give herself over to the artist within. And finally, there’s Bella who has come home to help out the family when her mother is injured. This book is filled with warmth and wisdom, and characters so real that you feel their joys and sorrows.
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