My LINKcat AccountIt is only a week until Christmas Eve and, knowing how organized and forethoughtful you are, I know you have all your shopping done for this great gift-giving holiday. This means not only do you have time to read some of the new books listed below, but you have time to celebrate some of the special days that lead up to the first of the big December holidays. For instance, I bet you didn’t know that today is National Maple Syrup Day. You can celebrate by pouring pure maple syrup on just about anything. Tomorrow, the 18th is Bake Cookies Day – which is probably a good idea if you have family coming over for the holidays. The 19th is Look for an Evergreen Day. This is the day to get your fresh tree if you didn’t already get it on the second Sunday in December – the unofficial “Christmas Tree Sunday”. The 19th is Oatmeal Muffin Day – possibly a nod to preparing your arteries for all the rich food that will shortly be coming its way. The 20th is Go Caroling Day – which doesn’t seem to need an explanation. The 20th is Forefather’s Day and commemorates the landing of the pilgrims at Plymouth Rock in 1620. Humbug Day is the on the 21st – a day to allow everyone to vent their frustration with the upcoming holidays. The of course on the 23rd we have Festivus – that holiday for “the rest of us” so get out your aluminum pole and prepare for the feats of strength and the airing of the grievances. We all know that the 24th is the big Eve day, but did you also know it is National Chocolate Day and National Egg Nog Day. So have some chocolate with your nog and settle in and read one of the many new books listed below. Enjoy!
New Non-Fiction
The witch of Lime Street : seÌance, seduction, and Houdini in the spirit world / by David Jaher. Describes the showdown between Harry Houdini, escape artist and unmasker of charlatans, and the wife of a Boston surgeon who impressed many people, including Arthur Conan Doyle and an investigative committee, with her supposed supernatural powers as a medium.
The last of the president's men / by Bob Woodward. The #1 best-selling, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of All the President's Men and Obama's Wars presents a new work of narrative nonfiction.
Thing explainer : complicated stuff in simple words / by Randall Munroe. The New York times best-selling author of “What If” and the creator of the webcomic xkcd uses line drawings and common words to provide simple explanations of how things work, including microwaves, bridges, tectonic plates, helicopters, and much more.
New Fiction
The promise : an Elvis Cole and Joe Pike novel / by Robert Crais. Investigating the disappearance of an explosives expert who was hired by the Defense Department, Elvis Cole teams up with LAPD K9 Officer Scott James to track a fugitive only to be confronted by shadowy arms dealers and corrupt officials. By the award-winning author of “Suspect”.
A Christmas escape : a novel / by Anne Perry. Seeking comfort in his loneliness in a small Mediterranean hotel during the holiday season, widower James Latterly is introduced to the island's beauty by an orphaned teen before a violent quarrel and a shocking claim culminate in a murder that Charles realizes has been committed by a fellow guest. By a New York Times best-selling author.
Crimson shore / by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child. The #1 Wall Street Journal and New York Times best-selling team behind Relic presents a thriller in which Special Agent Pendergast takes on a private case in Exmouth, Massachusetts—an ancient village on the coast north of Salem—to investigate the theft of a valuable wine cellar.
The crossing : a novel / by Michael Connolly. Coming out of retirement to help his defense attorney half-brother prove that a client has been framed for murder, Detective Harry Bosch secretly teams up with former partner Lucia Soto to investigate possible corruption inside the LAPD. By the best-selling author of The Burning Room.
Dark corners : a novel / by Ruth Rendell. The author of The Girl Next Door offers a story of blackmail, murders both accidental and opportunistic and of one life’s fateful unraveling.
The golem of Paris / by Jonathan and Jesse Kellerman. Haunted by family revelations and the memory of a woman named Mai, LAPD detective Jacob Lev stumbles across an unsolved murder case that takes him to Paris and brings the disparate halves of his life into startling collision. By the Edgar Award-winning authors of The Golem of Hollywood.
Numero zero / by Umberto Eco. Follows the employees of a mudslinging newspaper in 1992 as they try to identify a dead body that appears in a back alley in Milan. By the best-selling author of The Name of the Rose.
Cross justice / by James Patterson. When his cousin is accused of a heinous crime, Alex Cross returns to his North Carolina hometown, where he discovers evidence of widespread corruption and a shattering family secret. By the Edgar Award-winning author of Hope to Die.
The guilty / by David Baldacci. The #1 best-selling author of The Target presents a new thriller starring elite government assassin Will Robie.
The pharaoh's secret : a novel from the NUMA files / by Clive Cussler and Graham Brown. When a ruthless power broker schemes to build a glorious new Egyptian empire, Kurt, Joe and their NUMA team companions race to discover the truth about a devastating underworld plant extract rumored to kill living people and restore life to the dead. By a #1 New York Times best-selling author.