February 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.

 

Exile, by Richard North Patterson
Plum Lovin', by Janet Evanovich
Sacred Games, by Vikram Chandra
Bad Blood, by Linda A. Fairstein
Breakpoint, by Richard A. Clarke
Traveler, by Ron McLarty
White Lies, by Jayne Ann Krentz
The Alexandria Link, by Steve Berry
A Deeper Sleep, by Dana Stabenow
Hide, by Lisa Gardner


This Month's Great Escapes
by Bill McCleary  


The Book of Fate, by Brad Meltzer

This book was briefly number one on the New York Times bestseller list—I’m scratching my head and wondering how it ever got there.  If I had to guess, I would say it must have been the brilliant jacket notes—which indicated the book was about the secretive Masons and a mysterious code invented by Thomas Jefferson.   The Masons are mentioned in the book and there is a simple Jefferson code but the novel’s a modern day political suspense book.  Wes Holloway works for former President Leland Manning.  Eight years ago, Wes was injured and Ron Boyle, the deputy chief of staff, was killed in a presidential assassination attempt.  Manning lost his re-election bid and spends his time giving paid speeches.  On a swing through Asia, Wes briefly spots Ron at a hotel.  But, Ron’s suppose to be dead.  Although the man looks a little different, Wes is convinced it’s Ron.  Which means something big happened eight years ago and there has been a huge coverup.  But, what was covered up?  As Wes investigates, he discovers that the CIA and the FBI are also on the case—but on who’s side?  If Wes doesn’t have enough to contend with, Nico Hadrian, the assassin, has escaped from his mental hospital and is headed Wes’s way.  Sounds like a great book—and it lured a lot of buyers—but this was just ok.


The Messenger, by Daniel Silva

A few books back I thought we might have seen the end of Gabriel Allon but, luckily for us, he is still around in this exciting series by Silva.  Gabriel, for those of you unfamiliar, is an art restorer by day and an Israeli spy after hours.  Our story begins in London, where a high-ranking al-Qaeda terrorist has been killed and his personal computer recovered by Israeli agents.  On the computer is data indicating that an attack on the Vatican is being planned.  Gabriel wants to prevent the attack but he also wants to go after two men.  The first is a hugely wealthy Saudi Arabian businessman, Zizi al- Bakari, who is funding the second man, Ahmed bin Shafiq, a very elusive, very deadly terrorist.  Zizi travels the world and is very visible—but also extremely well-protected.  Ahmed is so shadowy that few photos of him even exist.  Gabriel decides that in order to get Ahmed he needs to infiltrate Zizi’s organization.  And, so begins an elaborate and dangerous operation that will take Gabriel and his team to exotic points all over the globe as they stalk their two prey and try to foil the next terrorist act.  This series is vividly real and wildly entertaining and suspenseful. 


The Right Attitude to Rain, by Alexander McCall Smith

Mr. McCall Smith has the very popular No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency series going strong but you may not know that he also has another series that features Isabel Dalhousie.  Isabel, a vivacious philosopher, lives in Edinburgh and she edits the Review of Applied Ethics.   She is 42, divorced, childless, independently wealthy, and she has a quirky housekeeper named Grace.  Her closest relative is her niece, Cat, who owns an Edinburgh coffee shop.  With this installment, Isabel has houseguests from America, her favorite cousin Mimi and Mimi’s husband, Joe, who have arrived for an extended stay.  Once in Edinburgh, Mimi and Joe run into a very wealthy friend from Dallas, Tom Bruce, who is renting a large country estate with his much younger fiancée, Angie.  Tom invites his friends and Isabel for a weekend houseparty.  Since Isabel is allowed a guest, she chooses her good friend, Jamie.  Jamie, who is 28, used to date Cat until she rejected him.  Isabel has always had feelings for Jamie but is vexed by the age difference.  So, those are the main elements; the joy of this series is getting to inhabit Isabel’s head as she interacts—yes, plenty of philosophical pondering--with all the people that come in and out of her life.  The book has a nice surprise at the end.  This is the perfect book to curl up with on a winter day.


The Wrong Man, by John Katzenbach

Mr. Katzenbach is not that well-known—more’s the pity—but if you remember a fine movie of a few years ago called Hart’s War, it was based on one of his novels.  This, his tenth novel, is set in New England.  Ashley Freeman, a young, beautiful college art student, has too much to drink one night and she takes the wrong man, Michael O’Connell, home with her for a one night stand.  Michael, a roughly handsome guy, had sort of a dangerous appeal when she was tipsy but in the sober light of day Ashley realizes she has made a mistake and gives him the heave-ho.  Unfortunately, Michael has become obsessed with Ashley and doesn’t go away.  Instead, he starts to stalk her and make her life miserable.  When Ashley’s divorced parents and her mother’s partner intervene, Michael uses his considerable computer skills to nearly wreck their lives.  Clearly, Michael is not giving up and will stop at nothing to have Ashley.  So, what to do?  As recent local events have shown, getting a restraining order from the court—when a court will even give one—is pretty useless.  Going to the police?  They mostly step in once a crime has been committed, not before.   So, again, what to do?  What they decide to do will leave you holding your breath in spellbound suspense. 







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Revised Jan. 30, 2007

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