August 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.

 

Case of Lies, by Perri O'Shaughnessy
Cross Bones, by Kathy Reichs
High Plains Tango, by Robert James Weller
Miracle, by Danielle Steel
The Traveler, by John Twelve Hawks
Always Time to Die, by Elizabeth Lowell
Looking for Peyton Place, by Barbara Delinsky
Lifeguard, by James Patterson
Harry Potter & the Half-blood Prince, by J. K. Rowling
Until I Find You, by John Irving
No Country for Old Men, by Cormac McCarthy
Origin in Death, by J. D. Robb

This Month's Great Escapes
by Bill McCleary



The Wedding, by Nicholas Sparks

Wilson Lewis is a successful lawyer in the small North Carolina town of New Bern.  When he forgets his twenty-ninth wedding anniversary, his indifference causes his wife, Jane, to pull away from him and think seriously about whether she wants to remain married to him.  For most of their married life Wilson has put his career ahead of his family and he and Jane have gradually drifted apart—especially after the children grew up and left home.  After the botched anniversary, Jane goes to visit their son in New York by herself—and almost decides not to return.  Wilson realizes two things—that he still very much loves his wife and he’s about to lose her.  Determined to change, he decides to spend the next year leading up to their big thirtieth anniversary winning Jane back.  Will he be successful?  This was a nice, romantic read with a surprise ending. 


No Place Like Home, by Mary Higgins Clark

When Lizzie Barton was ten years old and living in suburban New Jersey, she accidentally shot and killed her mother while she was trying to protect her from a beating from her second husband, Lizzie’s stepfather.  Lizzie was acquitted in her mother’s death but due to her name, she had to endure endless taunts comparing her to Lizzie Borden and the house where her mother died became known as 'Little Lizzie’s Place.'  Fortunately, Lizzie is adopted by some distant relatives living in California and they give her a new name, Celia.  Fast-forward twenty-four years.  Celia has been married and widowed, has a young boy by that marriage, and is now happily married again to handsome lawyer Alex Nolan and living in Manhattan.  When Alex and Celia decide they want to raise their son away from the city, Alex decides to surprise Celia by buying her a beautiful home in New Jersey—which just happens to be her childhood home of horrific memories.  Celia has hidden her past from Alex but it looks like it will all come back to haunt her—especially when several murders occur in the town right after the Nolan family moves in.  And, who is the prime suspect but Celia?   This was another winner from the always reliable Clark.


The Innocent, by Harlan Coben

Looking back on our lives, I imagine that all of us could pick out an important event where we would have liked to have done something different than what we did.  For Matt Hunter, it was getting involved in a fight at a college frat party.  He thought he was doing the right thing in stepping in to help a friend, but the student he was trying to restrain ended up dead and Matt ended up serving a six year prison term.  In an instant, Matt’s future changed forever.  Instead of becoming a lawyer, Matt has become a legal assistant after his release from prison.  Although prison has changed him, Matt has managed to get his life together and he is happily married.  He and his wife, Olivia, are expecting their first child and are planning to move from an apartment to their first home.  Things are going well—until everything suddenly turns bad.  Matt receives a short video on his cell phone that shows his wife with another man.  A nun with ties to Matt is found murdered.  And, a man who has been trailing Matt is also found dead.  With Matt’s criminal background, he’s a convenient suspect.  The police would like nothing better than to pick Matt up and pin the crimes on him.  But, Matt’s learned a few things in prison and he isn’t going to go quietly—he’s got a number of mysteries to solve first.  This was by far the best of Coben’s recent novels.  It’s filled with terrific twists and turns and will leave you scratching your head—but wonderfully entertained--until the very end. 


The Broker, by John Grisham

The broker is Washington super lawyer super deal maker Joel Backman, who has been languishing in federal prison for six years.  Joel tried to broker a deal to sell a top secret software program but the deal blew up in his face and he ended up in the slammer.  There’s just been a presidential election and the outgoing president pardons Joel as one of his final acts in office.  He’s not doing it out of the goodness of his heart.  The CIA director wants Joel pardoned so he can use him as bait to discover which country was trying to obtain the top secret software.  The director wants to watch Joel to see who tries to kill him and, supposedly,  that will give him his answer.  Having Joel die is icing on the cake for him.   The director flies Joel to Italy and pretends to put him in a witness protection program—but secretly leaks his location.  Joel, meanwhile, has some ideas of his own about getting even—and staying alive.  This novel was just ok.  Usually I love Grisham’s books but this one never really got going for me.  Too much of it read like he was being paid by the word and the ending was rather abrupt and unsatisfying.  However, you will learn to speak Italian!


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Revised July 27, 2005

Comments to Bill McCleary