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Week of July 27, 2015

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Week of July 27, 2015

Releases for the week of July 27th include THE SHORT AND TRAGIC LIFE OF ROBERT PEACE by Jeff Hobbs, a heartfelt and riveting biography of the short life of a talented young African-American man who escapes the slums of Newark for Yale University only to succumb to the dangers of the streets --- and of one’s own nature --- when he returns home; THE LONG WAY HOME, the 10th installment in Louise Penny's mystery series starring Armand Gamache, now the former Chief Inspector of Homicide with the Sûreté du Québec; and NO SAFE HOUSE, the follow-up to Linwood Barclay's NO TIME FOR GOODBYE, in which a family’s troubled past is about to return in more ways than one --- and this time, they may not be able to escape.

Bad News Cowboy: A Copper Ridge Novel by Maisey Yates - Fiction

July 28, 2015


Kate Garrett keeps life simple --- working hard, riding her beloved horses, playing cards with her brothers. Lately, though, she feels a bit restless, especially when family friend Jack Monaghan is around. Sexy and shameless, Jack is the kind of trouble you don't tangle with unless you want your heart broken. Still, Kate could always use his help in learning how to lasso someone a little less high risk.

Blood Aces: The Wild Ride of Benny Binion, the Texas Gangster Who Created Vegas Poker by Doug J. Swanson - True Crime

July 28, 2015


Benny Binion was an American cowboy, a casino owner, a gangster, a killer, and founder of the World Series of Poker. He had a crucial role in shaping modern Las Vegas as we now know it. He ran a good business, killed his enemies and owned the cops. Through the use of once-secret government documents, Doug J. Swanson shows how Binion destroyed his rivals and outsmarted his adversaries, even J. Edgar Hoover.

The Counterfeit Heiress: A Lady Emily Mystery by Tasha Alexander - Historical Mystery

March 6, 2018


Lady Emily becomes embroiled in the murder investigation of one of the guests of a grand masquerade ball, a sometime actress trying to pass herself off as the mysterious heiress and world traveler Estella Lamar. Each small discovery, however, leads to more questions. Was the intended victim Miss Lamar or the imposter? And who would want either of them dead? Emily and Colin’s investigation takes them from London to Paris, where, along with their friend Cécile, they must scour the darkest corners of the city in search of the truth.

Dear Daughter by Elizabeth Little - Thriller

July 28, 2015


Former “It Girl” Janie Jenkins is acerbic, whip smart, and fresh out of prison. Ten years ago, at the height of her glamour and fame, she was incarcerated for the murder of her mother, a philanthropist best known for her string of rich husbands. Now, released on a technicality, Janie chops off her trademark hair, determined to chase down the one lead she has about her mother’s killer. The only problem? Janie doesn’t know if she’s the killer she’s looking for.

The Deep by Nick Cutter - Horror

July 28, 2015


A strange plague called the ’Gets is decimating humanity on a global scale. It causes people to forget, and then their bodies forget how to function involuntarily. But now, far below the surface of the Pacific Ocean, a heretofore unknown substance hailed as “ambrosia” has been discovered --- possibly a universal healer. It’s up to a brave few to descend through the lightless fathoms in hopes of unraveling the mysteries lurking at those crushing depths…and perhaps to encounter an evil blacker than anything one could possibly imagine.

Fool’s Assassin: Book One of the Fitz and the Fool Trilogy by Robin Hobb - Fantasy

July 28, 2015


FitzChivalry --- royal bastard and former king's assassin --- has left his life of intrigue at Buckkeep far behind. As far as the rest of the world knows, FitzChivalry Farseer is dead. Masquerading as Tom Badgerlock, Fitz is now married and leading the quiet life of a country squire with his beloved Molly. The only problem is the disappearance of his beloved childhood friend, the Fool. But for a former royal assassin, a quiet life is hard to maintain when old allegiances keep trying to pull him back and new enemies come calling.

The Forgotten by Heather Graham - Paranormal Romantic Suspense

July 28, 2015


A woman named Maria Gomez is murdered in Miami, apparently by her husband, Miguel --- who'd been presumed dead, slain by a crime boss. Now, FBI agent Brett Cody and a dolphin research worker, Lara, who becomes intertwined in the investigation, find themselves working with the Krewe of Hunters, an elite FBI unit of paranormal investigators. An elderly crime boss who's losing his memory seems to be key to solving this case, but there's no motive. Unless Brett and Lara can uncover one in the Miami underworld. And that means they have to protect themselves. And each other.

The Golden Hour: A Judd Ryker Novel by Todd Moss - Thriller

July 28, 2015


When Judd Ryker is appointed director of the new State Department Crisis Reaction Unit, he figures he has a mandate to help the United States respond more quickly to foreign crises, but he hasn’t reckoned with the intense State, Defense, Pentagon, White House and CIA infighting and turf battles he would face. Then comes the coup in Mali, which is his chance to prove that his theory of the Golden Hour actually works --- but in the real world, those hours move incredibly quickly, and include things he’d never even imagined.

The Golem of Hollywood by Jonathan Kellerman and Jesse Kellerman - Supernatural Mystery

July 28, 2015


Newly reassigned to a Special Projects squad he didn’t even know existed, Detective Jacob Lev is sent to a murder scene far up in the hills of Hollywood Division. There is no body, only an unidentified head lying on the floor of a house. Seared into a kitchen counter nearby is a single word: the Hebrew for justice. All that Detective Lev has believed to be true will be upended --- and not only his world, but the world itself, will be changed.

The Last Summer at Chelsea Beach by Pam Jenoff - Historical Fiction

January 23, 2024


Young Adelia Monteforte begins the summer of 1941 aboard a crowded ship bound for America, utterly alone yet free of Fascist Italy. Whisked away to the seaside by her well-meaning aunt and uncle, she basks in the noisy affection of the boisterous Irish Catholic boys next door. And although she adores all four of the Connally brothers, it's the eldest, Charlie, she pines for. But all hopes for a future together are throttled by the creep of war and a tragedy that hits much closer to home. Grief-stricken, Addie flees --- first to Washington and then to war-torn London, where she finds a position at a prestigious newspaper, as well as a chance for a new beginning. But the past always nips at her heels. And in a final, fateful choice, Addie will discover that the only way home may be a path she never suspected.

The Long Way Home: A Chief Inspector Gamache Novel by Louise Penny - Mystery

July 28, 2015


Happily retired in the village of Three Pines, Armand Gamache, former Chief Inspector of Homicide with the Sûreté du Québec, has found a peace he’d only imagined possible. While he doesn’t talk about his wounds and his balm, his neighbor Clara Morrow tells him about hers. Peter, her artist husband, has failed to come home, and she wants Gamache’s help to find him. Having finally found sanctuary, Gamache feels a near revulsion at the thought of leaving Three Pines. But he does.

Never Die Alone: A Rick Bentz/Reuben Montoya Novel by Lisa Jackson - Thriller

July 28, 2015


On the cusp of their 21st birthday, he strikes. His victims are always twins, their ritualistic murders planned in exquisite detail. A possibly innocent man is in prison, and Brianna Hayward needs to convince the New Orleans police. Detective Rick Bentz had doubts about the conviction when he worked the case in L.A. Now, twin sisters from All Saints College have vanished on the eve of their 21st birthday. As Bentz and his partner, Reuben Montoya, desperately follow the trail, a killer prepares to unite his next victims in death forever.

No One Needs to Know by Kevin O'Brien - Thriller

July 28, 2015


In July 1970, actress Elaina Styles was slain in her rented Seattle mansion along with her husband and their son’s nanny. When the baby’s remains were found buried in a shallow grave close to a hippie commune, police moved in --- only to find all its members already dead in a grisly mass suicide. Now, decades later, a film about the murders is shooting at the mansion. As on-set caterer Laurie Trotter digs deep into what happened all those years ago, a legacy of brutal vengeance reaches its terrifying climax.

No Safe House by Linwood Barclay - Thriller

July 28, 2015


Seven years ago, Terry Archer and his family experienced a horrific ordeal that nearly cost them their lives. Today, the echoes of that fateful night are still audible. When his daughter, Grace, foolishly follows her delinquent boyfriend into a strange house, the Archers must do more than stay together. They must stay alive. Because now they all have been unwillingly drawn into the shadowy depths of their seemingly idyllic hometown.

The Ones We Trust by Kimberly Belle - Fiction

July 28, 2015


When former DC journalist Abigail Wolff attempts to rehabilitate her career, she finds herself at the heart of a US army cover-up involving the death of a soldier in Afghanistan. The more evidence she stumbles upon in the case, the fewer people it seems she can trust, including her own father, a retired army general. And she certainly never expected to fall in love with the slain soldier's brother, Gabe, a bitter man struggling to hold his family together. The investigation eventually leads her to an impossible choice, one of unrelenting sacrifice to protect those she loves. 

The Return of George Washington: Uniting the States, 1783-1789 by Edward J. Larson - History

July 28, 2015


Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Edward J. Larson recovers an important --- yet almost always overlooked --- chapter of George Washington’s life, revealing how Washington saved the United States by coming out of retirement to lead the Constitutional Convention and serve as our first president. Larson uncovers Washington’s vital role in shaping the Convention --- and shows how it was only with his support and willingness to serve as President that the states were brought together and ratified the Constitution, thereby saving the country.

The Short and Tragic Life of Robert Peace: A Brilliant Young Man Who Left Newark for the Ivy League by Jeff Hobbs - Biography

July 28, 2015


When author Jeff Hobbs arrived at Yale University, he became fast friends with the man who would be his college roommate for four years, Robert Peace. Robert’s life was rough from the beginning in the crime-ridden streets of Newark in the 1980s. But Robert was a brilliant student, and it was supposed to get easier when he was accepted to Yale. But it didn’t get easier. Robert carried with him the difficult dual nature of his existence, “fronting” in Yale and at home.

Sometimes the Wolf by Urban Waite - Thriller

July 28, 2015


After struggling with money troubles, Sheriff Patrick Drake ended up convicted of one of the biggest crimes in local history. Now, 12 years later, Patrick is on parole under the watchful eye of his son Bobby, who is a deputy sheriff. No matter how much distance he has tried to put between himself, his father, his grandfather and the past, small town minds can have very long memories. But trouble isn’t done with the Drakes --- and a terrifying threat boils up from Patrick’s old life. And this time, no one will be spared.

The Story Hour by Thrity Umrigar - Fiction

July 28, 2015


Lakshmi Patil is lost in the sadness of her life. Dr. Maggie Bose is adrift and in danger of ruining her marriage. Brought together by Lakshmi’s suicide attempt, both women begin to see life from a new perspective, and realize their lives are more than what they perceive and can be more than what they thought. They begin their relationship as patient and doctor, and end up in a weird quasi-friendship from which neither can walk away.

Summer of the Dead by Julia Keller - Mystery

July 28, 2015


It’s high summer in Acker's Gap, West Virginia, but no one is enjoying the rugged natural landscape. Not while a killer stalks the small town and its hard-luck inhabitants. County prosecutor Bell Elkins and Sheriff Nick Fogelsong are stymied by a murderer who seems to come and go like smoke on the mountain. At the same time, Bell must deal with the return from prison of her sister, Shirley --- who, like Bell, carries the indelible scars of a savage past.

Top Secret: A Clandestine Operations Novel by W. E. B. Griffin and William E. Butterworth IV - Historical Thriller/Adventure

July 28, 2015


In the first weeks after World War II, a squeaky-clean new second lieutenant named James D. Cronley Jr. is spotted and recruited for a new enterprise that eventually will be transformed into something called the CIA. One war may have ended, but another one has already begun, against an enemy that is bigger, smarter and more vicious: the Soviet Union.

Visions: A Cainsville Novel by Kelley Armstrong - Supernatural Thriller/Fantasy

July 28, 2015


Olivia Taylor-Jones, daughter of notorious serial killers, has just taken refuge in the secluded town of Cainsville when she finds a dead woman --- dressed to look like Olivia --- in her car. When the body vanishes, she convinces herself it’s just another omen. But then she learns a troubled young woman with connections to Cainsville went missing just days ago --- the same woman Olivia found dead in her car. With the help of her recent and unlikely ally, Gabriel Walsh, Olivia sets out to uncover the truth, but her efforts place her in the crosshairs of old and powerful forces.

A Wedding on Primrose Street by Sheila Roberts - Romance

July 28, 2015


Roberta Gilbert, owner of Primrose Haus, has been hosting events at her charming Victorian for 30 years. She's an expert on weddings, but not on mother-daughter relations. When her daughter, Daphne, comes home and decides to help with the business, the receptions become truly memorable --- and not in a good way. Then there's the added complication of Roberta's gardener, who seems more interested in Daphne than he is in planting primroses.

The Wolf in Winter: A Charlie Parker Thriller by John Connolly - Thriller

July 28, 2015


The community of Prosperous, Maine has always thrived when others have suffered. Its inhabitants are wealthy, its children’s future secure. And at the heart of Prosperous lie the ruins of an ancient church, transported stone by stone from England centuries earlier by the founders of the town. But the death of a homeless man and the disappearance of his daughter draw the haunted, lethal private investigator Charlie Parker to Prosperous.

The Wonder of All Things by Jason Mott - Fantasy

July 28, 2015


It starts as an ordinary day in an ordinary town, at an ordinary air show. But when one of the planes crashes, killing and injuring dozens, a 13-year-old named Ava is discovered healing her best friend, Wash. Her secret gift is now known to the entire world, and Ava is thrust into the spotlight. But at what cost does this gift come, and how much will Ava have to sacrifice to save the one she loves most?