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Secret Lives, Secret Wives

posted by: February 20, 2014 - 7:00am

A Circle of WivesAlice LaPlante’s latest novel, A Circle of Wives, tells a story of lies, secrets and determination from the perspective of several different women. When Dr. Paul Taylor is discovered dead in his hotel room from an apparent heart attack, everything changes as it becomes clear his death was anything but natural.  Married to his wife Deborah for 35 years, Dr. Taylor was a kind-hearted and renowned plastic surgeon who specialized in facial reconstruction for children with birth and medical defects. But his death opens a veritable Pandora’s Box of polygamy and deception when it's revealed that Dr. Taylor had not one, but three wives throughout the state of California.

 

Detective Samantha Adams is 28 and assigned to her first murder case. She becomes embroiled in the lives of Dr. Taylor’s wives and, while the motive to kill is clear, the question remains as to which wife it could be. They are very different women: the society wife, the hippy accountant and the successful doctor. Two were unaware of their deceased husband’s lies and his “real” wife emerges as the puppet master behind the whole arrangement. Could this make her the most likely suspect?

 

While LaPlante’s novel initially seems to be a clear cut murder mystery, it quickly evolves into an entirely different story full of psychological suspense, obsession and passion.


 
 

The Price of Poor Choices

posted by: February 20, 2014 - 7:00am

The Deepest SecretA tight-knit community is turned upside down when tragedy strikes. Carla Buckley’s new novel, The Deepest Secret, shows how a once safe and unsuspecting community can transform when one minor bad decision goes unchecked and snowballs.

 

Everyone makes mistakes, and Buckley highlights the flaws of all of her characters, but it’s the mistake of one person in particular that propels the plot and changes the dynamic of a whole family. Eve is the mother of a son with a rare condition leaving him unable to come in contact with ultraviolet light. Her family has revolved around the rising and setting of the sun until an error in judgment becomes the center of her universe.

 

Buckley has a way of conveying guilt and a sense of ambiguity that leads the reader to hope that there is the potential for innocence. Buckley also brings other characters’ mistakes to light, leading the reader to rethink who may be at fault for the crime that shakes this community’s sense of security.

 

The shame that can be felt while reading this book could be compared to Fyodor Dostoyevsky’s Crime and Punishment, while the family dynamics and legal components are reminiscent of William Landay’s Defending Jacob. One minute, incidents seem certain, yet in the next they shift, keeping the reader guessing and eager until the very end.


 
 

Many Rivers to Cross

posted by: February 19, 2014 - 7:00am

The African Americans: Many Rivers to CrossThe African Americans: Many Rivers to Cross by Henry Louis Gates Jr. and Donald Yacovone is a fascinating companion book to the recent documentary series of the same name. Like the series, the book begins with the story of Juan Garrido, the first known African-born person to arrive in what is now the United States in 1513. The narrative carries through to the present, covering 500 years of African-American history. The book, which is organized in nine chapters that mark distinct periods in the African-American story, brings greater depth to the stories presented in the documentary. In both, Gates highlights the diversity and the resilience of African-Americans by sharing the stories of individuals whose experiences shed light on their time and place in this complex history.

 

This documentary series is a lifelong dream that Gates was finally able to bring to fruition. He explains,“Since my senior year in high school, when I watched Bill Cosby narrate a documentary about black history, I’ve longed to share those stories in great detail to the broadest audience possible, young and old, black and white, scholars and the general public. I believe that my colleagues and I have achieved this goal through The African Americans: Many Rivers to Cross.” The critics agree that it is a success. Both the series and book have been nominated for NAACP Image Awards.

 

The six-part miniseries, which aired on PBS last fall, was recently released on DVD. This touching and inspiring video clip gives viewers a taste of the storytelling found in this riveting look into 500 years of history.


 
 

No Asylum Here

posted by: February 19, 2014 - 7:00am

AsylumGo to a New Hampshire college for a summer prep program, only to find out your dorm was an old psychiatric hospital. Needless to say, you won’t be having a peaceful summer. In Madeleine Roux’s new book, Asylum, this is teenager Dan Crawford’s experience when he arrives for a program for gifted students. An outsider at his school, he sees this trip as a chance to be with like-minded students and finally have some friends. But his stay starts out as anything but ordinary when he finds a disturbing photograph in his dorm room upon check-in. Soon, he and two friends discover old patient records, medical instruments and more ominous photographs in the old warden’s office and in a series of hidden rooms, all of which hint at horrific treatment of patients and human experiments gone awry. To make matters worse, Dan begins having nightmares about the old place, receives strange emails and discovers some chilling connections between the history of the asylum and his and his friends’ present-day lives.

 

Staying away from anything too mind-bending or fantastical, Roux creates a good old-fashioned scarefest of a story, one where you’re holding your breath as the characters open up the next door or descend yet another flight of stairs. The suspenseful nature of the book and the well-developed characters will appeal to both readers of realistic fiction and horror/suspense. Similar to Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children, Roux’s tale adds to the unsettling ambiance of the story by incorporating photographs from real asylums. Roux has left plenty of loose ends and unanswered questions for another book, which is due out later this year.


 
 

Life of a Nebbish

posted by: February 18, 2014 - 7:00am

Cover art for Little FailureBestselling novelist Gary Shteyngart is a really funny guy. He is a master of social satire and self-deprecating humor, reminiscent of Woody Allen or Phillip Roth. In Little Failure: A Memoir, Shteyngart turns to his own life and skewers himself, his family and two countries with a razor sharp wit.
 

Shteyngart (What kind of name is that? Keep reading, he’ll tell you, and good luck not laughing out loud when he does.) was born in the former Soviet Union. The only child of Jewish parents who affectionately called their asthmatic son Soplyak, meaning “snotty,” or Failurchka, which needs no translation, the family immigrated to the United States when Shteyngart was 6. Life for poor Russian Jews was not easy under the Communists, but America is fraught with opportunities for humiliation too.
 

Reading Little Failure is, at times, like listening to a clever borscht belt comedian: badda bing, badda boom, with a zinger in every paragraph. Whether comparing his after-school time at Grandma Polya’s house in America to “being fed like some pre-foie-gras goose,” describing Black Sea vacations Soviet-style or recounting his time as an Oberlin College student, Shteyngart has an eye for the absurd. With his deft blend of humor and pathos, he can relate family history under Stalin and the complex relationship with his father or his family’s glee upon receiving a pseudo-check from Publisher’s Clearinghouse with equal panache. On the The New York Times best sellers list, Little Failure will appeal to readers with an intelligent funny bone.


 
 

A Year in the Life

posted by: February 18, 2014 - 7:00am

Cover art for The Year of Billy MillerBilly Miller is about to start second grade and is very worried. He hit his head in a fall over the summer and is worried he won't be smart enough for school. Reassuring him, his father tells him this will be The Year of Billy Miller. Follow Billy through his second grade year in this charming novel by Kevin Henkes. Broken into four parts, Billy’s school year is told through his relationships with his teacher, sister, father and mother. Realistically portraying the worries of a 7-year-old, The Year of Billy Miller touches on a little bit of everything.
 

Does his teacher like him? When Billy thinks he has offended his new teacher he worries and wonders how to fix it.  Can his little sister fill in for his best friend when a planned sleepover is cancelled? He really wants to stay up all night. Is he really too old to call his father “Papa?" That’s what the know-it-all Emma says. Will he be able to recite the poem for his mother in front of everybody?  Will his mother like it?
 

Henkes delivers a poignant, realistic portrayal of Billy that is relatable to any elementary school student. Fans of realistic fiction such as the Ramona Quimby series by Beverly Cleary will enjoy this novel. Kevin Henkes is an award-winning author of over 50 picture books as well as numerous novels for children. The Year of Billy Miller is a worthy continuation of his great body of work.


 
 

And Then There Were None

posted by: February 14, 2014 - 7:00am

Cover art for A Feathered River Across the SkyHow did it happen? How did humans, in about 30 years, entirely kill off a bird species that once numbered in the millions, if not billions? In A Feathered River Across the Sky: The Passenger Pigeon's Flight to Extinction, researcher Joel Greenberg covers the incredibly fast decline and disappearance of this iconic bird. One of the best-known examples of the end of a species, Greenberg delves deep into the various theories and causes of its extinction.

 

The mass slaughter of these birds in the years 1850-1880 has been well-documented, and Greenberg describes in great detail the methods (nets, guns, traps, etc.) that were used to capture or kill them. Due to the pigeons’ tendency to flock in the thousands or more, they made for easy targets no matter what method used. While the pigeons were initially found in large numbers from the Eastern seaboard west to the Rockies, their last huge flocks were found mostly in the area of the Great Lakes. Greenberg posits that the pigeons could live only as members of these large flocks; without the protection and community that this provided the birds, they were unable to survive.

 

After the decades of the late 1800s, only a few were found here and there over their once large range. Finally, in 1914, the last of the Passenger Pigeons, Martha, died at the Cincinnati Zoo. Greenberg’s book is an elegy marking the centennial of her death and that of her entire species. The national conservation movement, spearheaded by Teddy Roosevelt, John Muir and others, came too late to save the Passenger Pigeon, but changed the mentality of the limits of human encroachment on nature. Though even with the scholarship and understanding that Greenberg and others have provided, we are left asking ourselves: how did it happen?


 
 

Villainous Valentine’s Day

posted by: February 14, 2014 - 7:00am

Cover art for Killing CupidFrom sitcom writer to author of cozy mysteries, Laura Levine has had an eclectic writing career. Her newest novel, Killing Cupid, is a light mystery about a murder in a matchmaking company on Valentine’s Day.

 

When Jaine gets a call and is asked to write advertising copy for a Beverly Hills matchmaker, all she has to do is consider her meager bank account before quickly accepting the job. Upon starting at Dates of Joy, Jaine quickly discovers that Joyce is as much of con artist as matchmaker. Instead of marketing, Jaine is writing phony bios to go with the head shots of fake clients who happen to be models.
 

Joyce appears to be a charming woman to anyone seeking love in her matchmaking business, but after she cashes their check, they’re likely to never hear from her again. She cuts corners to save a penny and she isn’t above blackmail, so it’s no surprise that Jaine isn’t the only person who can’t stand her tyrant of a boss.  When Joyce turns up murdered by a poison chocolate, the list of suspects is long. Jaine finds herself among them and must discover who the real murderer is to clear her own name.  
 

Whether you're trying to get in the mood for this holiday or find a good distraction from the day, this cozy mystery can help. With Jaine’s quirkiness and the effortless storyline, this book could be a beach read, if only it were a little warmer.


 
 

Darcy Double Shot

posted by: February 13, 2014 - 7:00am

Cover art for Unleashing Mr. DarcyCover art for Undressing Mr. DarcyJane Austen fans look to Pride and Prejudice’s Mr. Darcy as the model of gentlemanly behavior.  And when Austen’s words were brought to life with Colin Firth’s portrayal in the classic BBC production the archetype was perfected. Two new contemporary romances tweak enduring P&P themes, introduce modern Mr. Darcys and deliver delightfully entertaining tales of love.

 

True, Manhattanite Elizabeth Scott is nearing her 30th birthday in the debut Unleashing Mr. Darcy by Teri Wilson. But unlike so many women her age, she has no interest in walking down the aisle. Rather, she wants to find success walking the ring as she reinvents herself as a top dog handler. In so doing, she hopes to put the scandal that cost her teaching job and her reputation solidly in the rear view mirror. Elizabeth attends her first dog show and is immediately distracted by the divine Donovan Darcy, who turns out to be the judge. Initially, the two are at odds, but gradually their mutual attraction grows. While meddling sisters and social prejudice interfere with this couple’s path to happily ever after, Austen devotees and dog lovers will relish their journey to ardent admiration and love.

 

Thirty-five-year-old American social-media master Vanessa Roberts is a thoroughly modern girl who enjoys all of her gadgets in Undressing Mr. Darcy by Karen Doorenbos. She has her own PR firm, good friends (including Chase) and her beloved Aunt Ella. Her life is hectic, but she is happy. But when Ella, asks her to work her public relations magic on Julian Chancellor, Vanessa’s high-speed life slows down. Chancellor, a reserved Englishman, chronicled his year spent living as a Regency gentleman in My Year as Mr. Darcy and now needs help with the book’s U.S. marketing. Vanessa reluctantly agrees to help, but soon sheds that reluctance upon spying Julian shedding his breeches. Could this old-fashioned chap really be The One? Or, did Vanessa’s fast-paced life lead her to overlook true love?  Austen lovers – prepare to be excessively diverted!


 
 

Chilled to the Bone

posted by: February 13, 2014 - 7:00am

Cover art for SnowblindWeather forecasters predict snow. A storm is coming and it's going to be fierce. Residents in the town of Coventry, Massachusetts are accustomed to tough winters and make plans to stay indoors, watching movies and playing games, drinking hot chocolate and making cookies. However, this storm promises to bring more than snow and ice and, once it passes, life will never again be the same in Coventry. Christopher Golden’s novel Snowblind will have readers terrified of what could be lurking outside their windows on a blustery, snowy night.
 

An elderly lady answers the doorbell never to be seen again alive, a woman follows her yapping dog outside only to freeze to death steps from her door and a father in search of his son disappears into the swirling snow. In total, 18 people are dead following the blizzard and, as the town mourns, no one listens to the young boy who insists there were ice monsters on the prowl that night. His description of blue-white creatures with long, sharp icicle fingers, hollow eyes and mouths filled with razor-sharp pointed teeth fall on deaf ears.
 

Now, 12 years later, another storm is predicted with features that strongly mirror “The Big One.” Not only are residents on edge, some have started seeing the ghosts of victims from the previous killer storm. The author paints a scenario that is easily relatable and then slams the reader with a horror story so frightening it will leave you chilled to the bone. Golden can easily take a seat beside Stephen King and Dean Koontz when it comes to keeping the suspense and terror building to the story’s astounding conclusion. This is horror at its best, and I have never enjoyed being scared so much.


 
 

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