My LINKcat AccountWell. We started the Summer Reading Program a little early this year and look what happened! Summer in all its heat and humidity decided to show up – with a vengeance. This past holiday weekend certainly got windows opened and air conditioners installed or central air conditioners turned on. Having it suddenly be in the 90s with humidity is somewhat akin to that first snow fall of winter. No matter how much warning you get and how prepared you are, the reality of the weather takes some getting used to. One of the nice thing about libraries is they are warm places to be in the winter and cool places to be in the summer. Another nice thing is that the book publishing cycle cranks out lots of books in winter when one’s activities tend to be curtailed by the cold and snow and then they crank out a lot of books in the summer when everyone is purportedly lying around on the beach or kicking back at the cottage or just hiding from the sweltering heat in a cool dark place. Some of those summer books are listed below. Enjoy! (And just so you know -- and I will take responsibility—I took all the ice scrapers, snow shovels, and other winter-related paraphernalia out of my car over the weekend. If that triggers snow and freezing weather, I apologize.)
New Non-Fiction
“This is Me: Loving the Person You Are Today” by Chrissy Metz. A prescriptive book of inspirational and spiritual life lessons from the Golden Globe-nominated star of NBC's This Is Us examines the role of authenticity and sincerity in her successes, encouraging readers to claim their rightful places in a world that constantly undermines individuals.
“American Values: Lessons I Learned from My Family” by Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. The son and namesake of Robert Fitzgerald Kennedy shares poignant memories from his turbulent childhood and the lessons he has learned from family mentors, including JFK and his father, that shaped his firm democratic belief system.
“A Higher Loyalty: Truth, Lies, and Leadership” by James Comey. The former FBI director shares previously undisclosed experiences from some of the highest-stakes situations of his career throughout the past two decades, from Mafia prosecutions and the Martha Stewart scandal to the Bush administration's electronic surveillance and the Clinton e-mail investigation, exploring the qualities of ethical leadership and how it drives sound decisions.
New Fiction
“The 17th Suspect, No. 17 (Women’s Murder Club)” by James Patterson. A series of shootings in San Francisco and a tip from a reluctant confidential informant lead Sergeant Lindsay Boxer to uncover disturbing activities within the police department itself, a situation that is further complicated by Lindsay's worsening medical problems.
“After Anna” by Lisa Scottoline. Marrying a wonderful woman after years of loneliness and single fatherhood, John finds his newfound happiness turned upside-down by the arrival of his beautiful sociopath teen daughter, whose campaign to destroy their family and untimely murder force John to prove his innocence in the face of malevolent discoveries.
“All the Beautiful Lies’ by Peter Swanson. Devastated when his father commits suicide days before his college graduation, Harry returns to his home in Maine, where he is baffled by the increasingly sensual attentions of a mysterious woman and his own alluring stepmother, who he comes to realize are hiding dangerous secrets. By the award-winning author of “The Girl With a Clock for A Heart”.
“The Cutting Edge” by Jeffery Deaver. Returning to New York City from their honeymoon to learn that a serial killer has been targeting couples in the process of buying engagement rings, Lincoln Rhyme and Amelia Sachs discover that their target has a larger agenda than originally realized and that there is something unusual about the ring that Rhyme gave Sachs.
“The Elizas” by Sara Shepard. Unable to get anyone to believe that she was pushed before she was rescued from the bottom of a hotel pool, a rising author struggling with suicidal depression and memory loss begins to question her sanity as elements from her debut novel begin to mix up with events in her real life. By the best-selling author of “Pretty Little Liars”.
“The Fallen, No. 4 (Memory Man)” by David Baldacci. Visiting a friend's family home in an economically troubled western Pennsylvania community, Amos Decker, a detective with an uncanny eidetic memory, spots suspicious lights and discovers two dead bodies with no clear indication of how either victim died before corrupt local authorities and other mysterious roadblocks challenge his investigation.
“The First Family” by Daniel & Michael Palmer. When the president's teen-chess-prodigy son abruptly stops playing and begins to succumb to a virtually unprecedented gene mutation, Dr. Lee Blackwood tracks down the cases of two other patients, who he discovers were also gifted and who have been murdered under circumstances linked to the nation's highest levels of security.
“I’ve Got My Eyes on You” by Mary Higgins Clark. When an 18-year-old woman is found murdered at the bottom of her family's pool, her older sister, a guidance counselor, rules out the chief suspects and teams up with the Prosecutor's Office to uncover the truth, unaware that doing so is putting her own life at risk. By the best-selling author of “As Time Goes By”.
“The Knowledge, No. 24 (Richard Jury)” by Martha Grimes. Investigating a double homicide involving a brazen heist at a rarefied art gallery and casino, Scotland Yard Detective Superintendent Richard Jury teams up with a motley assortment of Baker Street Irregulars to solve a case with ties to astrophysics, the Tanzanian gem mines and a long-planned act of revenge. By the award-winning author of “Vertigo 42”.
“Macbeth (Hogarth Shakespeare)” by Jo Nesbo. A modern retelling of Macbeth by the award-winning author of the Harry Hole series is set in a run-down industrial town in the 1970s and follows the efforts of a popular but increasingly corrupt police officer and his calculating casino owner girlfriend to work with a powerful local drug dealer to murder a professional rival and set up his best friend.