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Week of April 2, 2012

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Week of April 2, 2012

THE LANGUAGE OF FLOWERS by Vanessa Diffenbaugh beautifully weaves past and present, creating a vivid portrait of an unforgettable woman whose gift for flowers helps her change the lives of others even as she struggles to overcome her own troubled past.

Acting on behalf of a dead girl found in the suite of nasty Hollywood actor Jumbo Nelson, Spenser finds himself on the wrong side of some very powerful and unpleasant players in Robert B. Parker's SIXKILL.

Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter by Seth Grahame-Smith - Historical Fiction/Horror

 

Seth Grahame-Smith follows up his bestselling PRIDE AND PREJUDICE AND ZOMBIES with another piece of speculative fiction that blends horror with literary classics. In this case, we are presented with an alternate history of President Abraham Lincoln and the secret life he led as a hunter of vampires.

The Autobiography of Mrs. Tom Thumb by Melanie Benjamin - Historical Fiction

 

Melanie Benjamin, author of ALICE I HAVE BEEN, shines a dazzling spotlight on another fascinating female figure whose story has never fully been told: a woman who became a 19th-century icon and inspiration --- and whose most daunting limitation became her greatest strength.

Bad Dog (A Love Story) by Martin Kihn - Memoir

 

The fur flies in this charming memoir, as author Martin Kihn discovers that his dog’s behavior isn’t the only thing troubling his marriage. In order to save both his pet and his wife, he must first save himself.

Best Staged Plans by Claire Cook - Fiction

 

Sandy Sullivan is a professional home stager in the Boston suburbs, so getting rid of her own house, remaking it for the market, and downsizing should be a breeze. But nothing is ever as easy as it seems.

The Captain: The Journey of Derek Jeter by Ian O'Connor - Baseball, Biography, Sports

 

Ian O'Connor draws on extensive reporting and unique access to Derek Jeter that has spanned some 15 years to reveal how a biracial kid from Michigan became New York's most beloved sports figure and the enduring symbol of the steroid-free athlete.

Chasing Fire by Nora Roberts - Romantic Suspense

 

Rowan Tripp has smoke jumping in her blood. Her father is a Missoula, Montana legend, and she's been fighting fires since her 18th birthday. This year's rookie crop of jumpers is one of the strongest ever --- and hotshot Gulliver Curry is one of the best. But when a dark presence lashes out at Rowan, she knows she shouldn’t complicate things with Gull.

The Delta Solution by Patrick Robinson - Thriller

 

THE DELTA SOLUTION, the third thriller in Patrick Robinson’s Mack Bedford series, is an action-packed novel dealing with the Somali pirates operating off the southerly reaches of the lawless East African republic on the Indian Ocean.

The Dovekeepers by Alice Hoffman - Historical Fiction

 

In 70 CE, 900 Jews held out for months against armies of Romans on a mountain in the Judean desert, Masada. Two women and five children are believed to have survived. Based on this, Alice Hoffman weaves a tale of four extraordinary women, each of whom has come to Masada by a different path.

The Forgotten Waltz by Anne Enright -

 

Gina Moynihan remembers her affair with "the love of her life," Seán Vallely, while awaiting the arrival of Seán's fragile, 12-year-old daughter, Evie --- the complication, and gravity, of this second life.

The Language of Flowers by Vanessa Diffenbaugh - Fiction

A mesmerizing, moving and elegantly written debut novel, THE LANGUAGE OF FLOWERS beautifully weaves past and present, creating a vivid portrait of an unforgettable woman whose gift for flowers helps her change the lives of others even as she struggles to overcome her own troubled past.

The Long Goodbye: A Memoir by Meghan O'Rourke - Memoir

 

What does it mean to mourn today, in a culture that has largely set aside rituals that acknowledge grief? After her mother died of cancer at the age of 55, Meghan O’Rourke found that nothing had prepared her for the intensity of her sorrow.

The Love of My Youth by Mary Gordon - Fiction

As teenagers, Miranda and Adam began a love affair that endured through college only to end in a painful betrayal. When a mutual friend brings them together in present-day Rome, they haven't seen each other in more than three decades. The two embark on daily walks, reconnecting in the heart of this beautiful city, which still holds passionate memories.

Now You See Her James Patterson and Michael Ledwidge - Thriller

 

A successful lawyer and loving mother, Nina Bloom would do anything to protect the life she's built in New York --- including lying to everyone, even her daughter, about her past. But when an innocent man is framed for murder, she knows that she can't let him pay for the real killer's crimes.

Sixkill: A Spenser Novel by Robert B. Parker - Mystery

 

As always, Spenser will stick with an investigation and do the right thing even after he's been fired and warned off the case, no matter what the legal consequences or danger to himself. Acting on behalf of a dead girl found in the suite of nasty Hollywood actor Jumbo Nelson, Spenser finds himself on the wrong side of some very powerful and unpleasant players.

Slip & Fall by Nick Santora - Thriller

 

Faced with a struggling practice, a pregnant wife, and a sister in trouble, Robert Principe realizes the white-collar world isn't as easy as he thought. He needs money. Fast. Desperate, he approaches his wiseguy cousin Jackie with an insurance scheme. The scheme works well --- too well.

Swim Back to Me: Stories by Ann Packer - Fiction/Short Stories

 

In this emotional collection, characters are shattered and remade by loss. A wife struggles to make sense of her husband’s disappearance; a mother mourns her teenage son through his favorite music; and a woman reflects on the year her family collapsed.

The Wilder Life: My Adventures in the Lost World of Little House on the Prairie by Wendy McClure - Memoir

 

Wendy McClure is determined to immerse herself in the world of LITTLE HOUSE ON THE PRAIRIE author Laura Ingalls Wilder. She retraces the pioneer journey of the Ingalls family --- and whether she's churning butter or sitting in a replica log cabin, McClure comes to understand how Wilder's life and work have shaped our ideas about girlhood and the American West.