My LINKcat AccountFall officially arrived a couple of days ago and right on cue, the weather turned autumnal. That high temperature on last Sunday that got rather close to 90 degrees might have been the last gasp of summer as temperatures the rest of this week will be staying in the mid-to-upper 70s. And shall we talk about the overnight lows? That five letter word that begins with “F” is yet to be in the forecast, but lows in the 40s are being predicted. The cold will certainly stunt if not stop the growing season. At this point, I will be happy to see it end. I have been overwhelmed by tomatoes and there are many still on the vines threatening to ripen and demand entrance into my house. I was out driving about and noticed that the turkey vultures seem to be flocking up. Mehintks they are starting to make migration plans. There was a flock of robins on my driveway the other morning, eating the berries that have fallen off a tree. These birds are definitely on the move. It’s been a while since of seen any individual robins around the neighborhood. This group might be migrants from further north as they make their way slowly south. The change of seasons is definitely upon us. While the leaves aren’t departing from the trees (much) yet and only a few trees are blushing with color, the fall book titles have been leaving the publisher’s warehouses and arriving on our shelves. Below are some of the more recent books that have arrived at the library. Enjoy!
New Non-Fiction
The Failed Promise: Reconstruction, Frederick Douglass, and the Impeachment of Andrew Johnson by Robert Levine. Drawing on letters, articles and the most important African American newspaper of the time, the author recreates the conflicts that brought Frederick Douglass and the wider Black community to reject President Andrew Johnson and call for a guilty verdict in his impeachment trial.
The Hero of Two Worlds: The Marquis De Lafayette in the Age of Revolution by Mike Duncan. The “New York Times” bestselling author looks at the life of the Marquis de Lafayette, who helped fight and finance the American Revolution as well as the French Revolution and the overthrow of the Bourbon Dynasty.
The Viking Heart: How Scandinavians Conquered the World by Arthur Herman. In this compelling historical narrative with cutting-edge archeological and DNA research, a New York Times bestselling historian and Pulitzer Prize finalist chronicles how the Vikings and their descendants have shaped history and America.
New Fiction
The Bookseller’s Secret: A Novel of Nancy Mitford and WWII by Michelle Gable. This dual-narrative set at the famed Heywood Hill Bookshop in London follows a struggling American writer’s search for a lost manuscript written by Nancy Mitford – a bookseller, spy, author and aristocrat – during World War II and the surprising link she discovers between the past and present.
The Women of Troy by Pat Barker. Held captive by the victorious Greeks, one time Trojan queen Briseis, formerly Achilles’s slave, forges alliances when she can with Priam’s aged wife, the defiant Hecuba and the disgraced soothsayer Calchas, all the while shrewdly seeking her path to revenge.
The Bitter Taste of Murder, No. 2 (A Tuscan Murder) by Camilla Trinchieri. When his Tuscan hometown of Gravigna is shaken by the poisoning of a vindictive wine critic, ex-NYPD detective Nico Doyle is recruited by Italian authorities to help solve this high-profile murder case.
Bloodless, No. 20 (Pendergast) by Douglas Preston & Lincoln Child. When completely exsanguinated bodies are found in Savannah, Georgia, FBI Agent Pendergast investigates amid growing panic and whispers of an infamous local vampire in the 20th novel in the series, following “Crooked River”.
The Darkness Knows by Arnaldur Indridason. When the frozen body of a businessman who disappeared 30 years earlier is found in the icy depths of the Langjökull glacier, former detective Konrad is called out of retirement to reopen this case that has weighed on his mind for decades.
Murder at the Lakeside Library, No. 1 (Lakeside Library Mysteries) by Holly Danvers. Widow Rain Wilmot, while preparing to reopen her mother’s informal library, discovers the body of a real estate buyer on the premises and, under the suspicious eyes of the community, pieces together the clues to solve this mystery before she meets the same fate.
The Madness of Crowds, No. 17 (Inspector Gamache) by Louise Penny. When a visiting professor spreads lies so that fact and fiction are so confused it’s near impossible to tell them apart, leading to murder, Chief Inspector Armand Gamache must investigate this case as well as this extraordinary popular delusion – and the madness of crowds.
Whiplash, No. 2 (The Champions) by Janet Dailey. Returning to the family ranch, Val Champion, whose dreams of a Hollywood acting career have become a nightmare, finds that she is no safer at home when she comes face-to-face with her first and only true love – rodeo man Casey Bozeman.
Viral by Robin Cook. With his wife in a coma after contracting a rare and highly lethal mosquito-borne viral disease, Brian vows to seek justice against the hospital and insurance company that won’t cover the costs by exposing the dark side of a ruthless industry and bring down the executives preying on the sick.