My LINKcat AccountThey say April showers bring May flowers; however, so far this month (admittedly we are only 4 days into the month) those showers have little to show for their efforts. Perhaps it is because some of those showers have come in a more solid form of precipitation. The trees are definitely getting lacier in profile as their leaves and flowers are getting set to burst forth. The sun is definitely getting stronger and the dawn chorus is definitely starting earlier (a cardinal in my neighborhood is starting to sing while it is still dark our), is louder, and has more voices. We have rolled past a number of days of note including the start of Daylight Savings Time, St. Patrick’s Day, the Vernal Equinox, and April Fool’s Day which also happens (this year) to be Election Day. “With so many things in our rear view mirror, what possibly can lay ahead?”, I hear you ask. National Library Week is my reply. The week of April 6th through is just around the corner. We are celebrating with a “Spirit Week” in which you and yours as well as library staff are asked to show their library spirt by dressing to meet the day’s theme as follows: Monday, April 7: Hat Day; Tuesday, April 8: Cozy Day (your favorite cozy mystery title or character or, in a pinch, you could wear a tea cozy): Wednesday, April 9: Book Day (dress as your favorite book or book character); Thursday, April 10: Favorite Color Day; Friday, April 11: Mismatch Day; Saturday, April 12: DAPL (wear your library gear or anything tangentially related to your library) Day. This is supposed to be fun, so don’t over think it and be sure to attend our National Library Week Open House on Saturday, April 12th from 10a.m. to noon. Below are some of the new books which recently arrived at the library. Enjoy!
New Non-Fiction
“Who is Government?: The Untold Story of Public Service” by Michael Lewis. Explores the lives of dedicated government workers, from an IRS agent to a coal mine safety expert, showcasing how their behind-the scenes work addresses societal problems, challenges stereotypes, and reveals the critical, often unnoticed contributions of public servants.
“Healing the Modern Brain: Nine Tenets to Build Mental Fitness and Revitalize Your Mind” by Drew Ramsey. A doctor presents a holistic approach to mental fitness, combining science and clinical practice to help nurture mental health and heal conditions like depression and anxiety amidst the challenges of modern life.
“A History of the World in Six Plagues: How Contagion, Class, and Captivity Shaped Us, from Cholera to COVID 19” by Edna Bonhomme. An account of humankind’s battles with epidemic disease, and their outsized role in deepening inequality along racial, ethnic, class and gender lines.
“There is No Place for Us: Working and Homeless in America” by Brian Goldstone. The working homeless, trapped by skyrocketing rents and stagnant wages in gentrifying cities, are examined through the lens of five families in Atlanta, showing the human cost of homelessness for people with fulltime jobs, revealing the extent and causes of a crisis where housing is treated as a privilege.
“Black Tunnel White Magic: A Murder, a Detective’s Obsession, and ‘90s Los Angeles at the Brink” by Matthew Mcgough & Rick Jackson. In June 1990, Ronald Baker, a straight-A UCLA student, was found repeatedly stabbed to death in a tunnel near Spahn Ranch, where Charles Manson and his followers once lived. In straightforward, matter-of-fact prose, Rick Jackson, the now-retired police detective who helped inspire Michael Connelly’s beloved Harry Bosch, along with co-writer, Matthew McGough, take us through the events as he and his partner experienced them, piecing together the truth with each emerging clue.
New Fiction
“Lethal Prey” by John Sandford. Twenty years after her sister Doris’s murder, when Lara
Grandfelt offers $5 million for information leading to an arrest and a truecrime blogger finds the murder weapon, detectives Lucas Davenport and Virgil Flowers must discover the killer who’s lurking in plain.
“Saltwater” by Katy Hays. Thirty years after Sarah Lingate’s mysterious death on Capri, her daughter Helen returns with the family for their annual retreat, only to uncover a buried necklace, renewed suspicions, and dangerous secrets, as betrayal and paranoia threaten to rupture the family and claim more lives.
“The Writer” by James Patterson & J.D. Barker. When the husband of bestselling truecrime author Denise Morrow is found dead in their luxury apartment, NYPD Detective Declan Shaw must unravel whether she is a target, a victim, or the mastermind behind a chilling crime.
“Death in the Dressing Room, No.22 (A Fethering Mystery)” by Simon Brett. When her neighbor discovers the leading actor of a new play dead in his dressing room, retiree Carole Seddon is drawn into a thrilling investigation in the latest addition to the long-running series following Death and the Decorator.
“Passing Through a Prairie Country” by Dennis Staples. At Hidden Atlantis Lake Resort and Casino, Ojibwe Marion Lafournier barely escapes dark force “the sandman” with help from cousins Alana and Cherie, and Alana and Marion must defeat the wraith using her seven-fire sight and his ability to navigate the spirit world.