Five Book Friday!

Despite the diversity of people’s activities this time of year, there is no doubt that this is time for “bustling”.  If you’re looking for some time to de-stress, to hide from the hectic pace in the real world, or are interested in some sensational new books, dvd, and cds, then the Library is an ideal place for you to be!  Let’s take a look at some of the books that have shuffled on to our shelves this week and are looking forward to joining you on all your wintery or holiday escapades!

King of the Road: R.S. Belcher is a fascinating author who can turn the most seemingly mundane topics into something genuinely fascinating.  His Brotherhood of the Wheel series is a perfect example, where he turns truckers into the legatees of the Knights Templar.  In this second book in the series, a missing-person case leads to a string of roadside murders and mutilations that stretches back decades―and to a cult of murderous clowns who are far more than mere urban legends.  And as if that’s not trouble enough, trucker Jimmy Aussapile and his allies must also cope with a violent civil war within an outlaw biker gang long associated with the Brotherhood, as well as run-ins with a rival gang led by a fierce werewolf biker chick who fights tooth and claw to protect her pack.  This is a funny, moving, wholly unique series that is absolutely transportive.  Publisher’s Weekly agrees, saying in its starred review how Belcher’s “story wends expertly through a landscape filled with American folklore, ancient legends, and urban myths, culminating in a showdown that will have fans and newcomers alike eager for further installments of this fascinating series.”

River Bodies: Karen Katchur launches a new mystery series with this gripping story of long-buried secrets and the power they hold in one woman’s present.  A body has turned up in the small town of Portland, Pennsylvania. The crime is eerily similar to a twenty-year-old cold case: another victim, brutally murdered, found in the Delaware River. Lead detective Parker Reed is intent on connecting the two murders, but the locals are on lockdown, revealing nothing. The past meets the present when Becca Kingsley, who returns to Portland to be with her estranged but dying father, runs into Parker, her childhood love.  Coming home has brought something ominous to the surface for Becca and her community—memories long buried, secrets best kept hidden. Becca starts questioning all her past relationships, including one with a man who’s watched over her for years. For the first time, she wonders if he’s more predator than protector.  In a small town where darkness hides in plain sight, the truth could change Becca’s life—or end it.  This is a book, and a series, for people who love rich settings and a heavy sense of place.  It drew praise from Kirkus Reviews, who noted in its review that “Katchur is an engaging writer who ably navigates the dynamics of small-town life and the darkness that lurks beneath…Suspense with a tense family drama at its core.”

Hazards of Time Travel: Beloved author Joyce Carol Oates has come out with a powerful new book in which one young woman tests the limits of time travel and suffers the devastating costs.  When Adriane Strohl is named valedictorian of her high school class, she knows there’s a danger in standing and sticking out in her currently political climate.  Nevertheless, she gives her speech–and is immediately charged with with Treason and Questioning of Authority, the punishment for which is being sent back 80 years in the past to a place known as Wainscotia, Wisconsin.   Cast adrift in time in this idyllic Midwestern town she is set upon a course of “rehabilitation”—but cannot resist falling in love with a fellow exile and questioning the constrains of the Wainscotia world with results that are both devastating and liberating.  This is a quirky, unsettling book that looks at both our future and our past, with some wicked twists that will keep readers wondering.  Publisher’s Weekly agrees, noting in its review that “Oates weaves a feeling of constant menace and paranoia throughout as Adriane struggles to remember her old life and adjust to her new one. The conclusion is surprising and ambiguous, leaving readers to question their own perception of events, making for a memorable novel.”

18 Miles: The Epic Drama of Our Atmosphere and Its Weather:  We live at the bottom of an ocean of air ― 5,200 million million tons, to be exact. It sounds like a lot, but Earth’s atmosphere is smeared onto its surface in an alarmingly thin layer ― 99 percent contained within 18 miles. Yet, within this fragile margin lies a magnificent realm ― at once gorgeous, terrifying, capricious, and elusive. With his keen eye for identifying and uniting seemingly unrelated events, Chris Dewdney reveals to us the invisible rivers in the sky that affect how our weather works and the structure of clouds and storms and seasons, the rollercoaster of climate. Dewdney details the history of weather forecasting and introduces us to the eccentric and determined pioneers of science and observation whose efforts gave us the understanding of weather we have today.  Engaging, fascinatingly researched, and wonderfully informative, this is a book for science buffs and more casual learners alike.  Library Journal loved this book, giving it a starred review and saying “This terrific, accessible, and exciting read helps us to better understand the aspects of weather and the atmosphere all around us.”

Before We Were Strangers: Brenda Novak’s newest book is a brooding, dark, twisty mystery that also deals with family secrets and the painful choices that one woman must make in confronting them.  Five-year-old Sloane McBride couldn’t sleep that night. Her parents were arguing again, their harsh words heating the cool autumn air. And then there was that other sound—the ominous thump before all went quiet.  In the morning, her mother was gone.
The official story was that she left, a story that hadn’t sat any better at the time than it did when Sloane moved out at eighteen, anxious to leave her small Texas hometown in search of anywhere else. But not even a fresh start working as a model in New York could keep the nightmares at bay. Or her fears that the domineering father she grew up with wasn’t just difficult—he was deadly.  Now another traumatic loss forces Sloane to realize she owes it to her mother to find out the truth, even if it means returning to a small town full of secrets and lies, a jilted ex-boyfriend, and a father and brother who’d rather see her silenced. But as Sloane starts digging into the past, the question isn’t whether she can uncover what really happened that night…it’s what will remain of her family if she does?  Fellow Harlequin author Susan Wiggs wrote a blurb for this book, cheering it as a “Riveting drama and suspense from a master of the craft. I loved this twisty tale of friends, enemies, lovers, liars, and a family fractured by secrets. It’s the perfect read to cozy up to on a long winter night.”

 

Until next week, beloved patrons–happy reading!