March New Popular Books

The following new books have been added this month to the Popular Reading Collection located next to the circulation desk.   These books and any other titles currently checked out can be placed on hold.
See a staff member at the circulation desk for assistance.

 

The Age of Shiva, by Manil Suri
Duma Key, by Stephen King
The Secret Between Us, by Barbara Delinsky
The Eye of Jade, by Diane Wei Liang
Stranger in Paradise, by Robert Parker
7th Heaven, by James Patterson
The Ghost War, by Alex Berenson
Hell's Bay, by James W. Hall
The Killing Ground, by Jack Higgins
Lady Killer, by Lisa Scottoline



This Month's Great Escapes
by Bill McCleary  



Dead Heat, by Dick Francis

It’s so nice that Mr. Francis is writing novels again—this time with the help of his son, Felix.  Max Moreton is a young, single, semi-famous chef who owns and runs an upscale restaurant in Newmarket.  Newmarket has a famous racecourse and on the eve of an important horse race—the 2,000 Guineas Stakes--Max is hired to cater a dinner at the racecourse for several hundred people.  Unfortunately, almost all the people at the dinner come down with food poisoning—including Max.  Although Max is sick as a dog all night, he drags himself to the racecourse the next day to cater another small party at a private box—only to narrowly escape being killed in a bomb explosion.  Is the food poisoning related to the bombing?  To make matters worse, Max is being sued by one of the food poisoning victims—a young female musician.  When several more life-threatening events occur, Max—with the unexpected help of the young musician—decides he needs to get out of the kitchen and do some sleuthing in the horseracing world.  This was an exciting, fresh read and the culinary angle was interesting and different. 


The 47th Samurai, by Stephen Hunter

It’s late February 1945 on the small, remote island of Iwo Jima.  Captain Hideki Yano, with a small contingent of soldiers, is holed up in a mountain cave, tasked with defending his part of the island.  Yano has gone into battle with modern weapons but, as an officer, he also has a sword, too.  Yano knows the war is soon to be lost but he is Japanese and will do his part right up to the end.  U. S. Marine Sergeant Earl Swagger has survived four island landings and now he heads up the assault on the cave.  By himself, he is able to get into the cave and kill the Japanese defenders one by one until only Yano is left.  Then, Yano is dead, too, and only Earl has survived.  Fastforward to the present.  Bob Lee Swagger, Earl’s son, after an adventurous career, is living a peaceful life in rural Idaho when he receives a visit from Philip Yano, the son of Hideki.  Traveling from his home in Japan, Philip has come in search of the sword that his father had carried into battle all those years ago.  Bob doesn’t know what happened to the sword—Earl wasn’t one for war souvenirs--but he promises Philip that he will try to find it—and find it he does.  Would that he had not found it, though, for this is no ordinary sword and when it resurfaces it causes havoc for the Yano family—and draws Bob to Japan and into an epic battle of his own.  This is possibly the perfect suspense novel.  Perfect story that skillfully interweaves the plotlines.  Perfect characters wonderfully introduced with just the right amount of good and bad, all of them well-drawn and interesting.  Perfect pacing that carefully builds the suspense.  Perfect settings in Japan, brilliantly described.  Perfect action sequences, thrillingly staged.  Perfect dialogue that is authentic with a nice mix of sly humor.  I could go on but you get the picture—perfect in every way. 


The Choice, by Nicholas Sparks

Gabby Holland Parker, a young mother of two little girls, is gravely ill in the local hospital of Beaufort, North Carolina.  Her husband, Travis, is facing a difficult choice in regard to Gabby’s treatment.  Travis is torn as to what to do, partly because he feels responsible for Gabby being in the hospital in the first place.  But, before he makes his choice, we go back in time to when Travis and Gabby first meet as new next door neighbors.  We get to know each of them as they start as friends and then fall in love.  The years pass and things are good--then the tragedy.  And the choice.  Sparks does a good job of portraying small town life and he usually writes a nice love story but this one seemed a little flat and didn’t have—dare I say—quite the sparks it needed to really engage me.


Whitewash, by Alex Kava

Sabrina Galloway is a scientist working at EchoEnergy in Tallahassee, Florida.  EchoEnergy is a new, cutting edge company with an innovative process to turn animal and vegetable garbage into oil.  The company is hoping to win a lucrative government contract that will help it expand.  So far, so good but then strange things start happening.  First, Sabrina’s boss disappears.  Then, Sabrina narrowly escapes death when her car is run off the road.  As Sabrina starts to investigate, one of her fellow scientists at the company is murdered and Sabrina is set up to take the fall.  On the run while she tries to clear her name, she must enlist the aid of her estranged brother—who appears to be involved in some shady dealings of his own.  I’ve found Kava’s books to be rather hit or miss—some I’ve liked, some I haven’t.  Unfortunately, this was a miss for me—mainly due to several plot lines that weren’t developed very well and just seemed to be thrown in, loose ends that weren’t tied up, and too many characters too sketchily drawn. 






Back to the Library Home Page
Revised Feb. 29, 2008

Comments to Bill McCleary