New mysteries

            Even though we’ve seen signs of spring, there are still plenty of indoor evenings for reading the new mysteries you can find on the shelves at the Peter White Public Library. 

            For those of you who can’t get enough of “Downton Abbey”, Scandalous Behavior by Stuart Woods takes Stone Barrington, New York City cop-turned-Manhattan law firm millionaire, to England. Dame Felicity Devonshire, the director of MI6, gives him a tour of Windward Hall, the Hampshire estate Felicity tells Stone he should buy from its terminally ill owner, Sir Charles Bourne. The same day that Stone pays £10 million for Windward Hall, he purchases a new wardrobe, a Bentley, and a Porsche in London. The murder of a Hampshire neighbor, Sir Richard Curtis, provides a minor distraction. All goes smoothly for Stone, until his son, Paul, becomes a target of a religious cult, the Chosen Few.  Stone learns that not everything is as it seems and sometimes the people closest to you are the ones who hold the darkest of secrets.

            One of my favorite detective series features Bess Crawford, English battlefield nurse, who serves in France during the 1^st World War.  In A Pattern of Lies, written by Charles Todd, an American mother/son partnership, Bess meets Major Mark Ashton, a former patient.  When she's stranded in Canterbury waiting for a train to her home, he invites her for a visit. Her pleasure at the unexpected meeting is soon marred by his revelation that his family has been the subject of a sustained whispering campaign. Two years earlier, the family business, a gunpowder factory, exploded, causing more than 100 deaths. Though the official investigation ruled out sabotage, rumor has it that Mark's father, Philip, was responsible. Even Philip's arrest doesn't end their persecution. Bess is determined to find the one surviving witness who can clear her friend's name. But there's a problem: the witness is currently in combat, fighting at the front. Can Bess find him before someone else does and perhaps silences him and her forever?

            Mystery writers often cloak their stories with historical happenings.  Spies and code breakers not only appear in recent movies and PBS specials but also in Mrs. Roosevelt’s Confidante: A Maggie Hope Mystery by Susan Ella MacNeal. Maggie Hope, the American-born British spy, travels to Washington, D.C., in the company of Winston Churchill, posing as his typist, for a meeting with F.D.R. just after the bombing of Pearl Harbor. When Eleanor Roosevelt's temporary secretary, Blanche Balfour, fails to show up for work, Maggie winds up accompanying the First Lady to Blanche's apartment, where they discover her body and a note implicating Eleanor Roosevelt herself as the reason for her (apparent) suicide. Not only does Maggie try to prevent a scandal that has implications for the presidency and the war, she also assists in the First Lady's efforts to help Wendell Cotton, a poor African-American sentenced to die by an all-white Virginia jury. While Maggie is the star, MacNeal gives ample space to the political maneuverings of Roosevelt and Churchill.

            Marquette is not the only area where the recent development of a mine has been controversial.  A Midsummer’s Equation: a Detective Galileo novel, the latest in a Japanese mystery series by Keigo Higashino featuring brilliant physicist Manabu Yukawa, takes the physicist to the dying Japanese resort town of Hari Cove, where Yukawa (aka Detective Galileo) offers his expertise at hearings on an offshore drilling proposal that promises to boost the nation's economy by providing access to rare metals. Locals who fear the effects of the resulting environmental damage, which also threatens the area's fishing industry, are against the plan. As the corporation behind the mining operation holds meetings to win over opponents, Masatsugu Tsukahara, a fellow guest at the hotel where Yukawa is lodging, is found at the base of a seaside cliff, apparently dead from an accidental fall. An autopsy reveals that Tsukahara actually died from carbon monoxide poisoning, and the mystery deepens when Yukawa learns that the dead man was a former homicide detective and “Detective Galileo” must uncover the hidden relationship behind the tragic events that led to this murder.

            While we’re reading reports on the 2015’s deer hunting season, Joseph Heywood has written Buckular Dystrophy, the 10th installment of the beloved Woods Cop mystery series featuring Grady Service. The traditional firearm deer season in Michigan lasts two weeks, a time in which the most hunters are afield during the year and the time when most things happen. Game wardens cannot count on having any life but work during this period, and in this case Grady Service, who takes longtime violator and archrival Limpy Allerdyce on as his partner for deer season, runs into the most bizarre string of big cases involving deer that he has ever encountered. “Buckular Dystrophy” is the term coined by Conservation Officers to describe the condition whereby people cannot help killing deer, not for sport or food, but for other reasons - an addiction of sorts, and unlike other addictions, one not medically organized, but just as real.

            The Steel Kiss: a Lincoln Rhyme novel by Jeffrey Deaver would have been a great selection for this season’s “Murder is where you find it—Mysteries with murders in unusual places, times and ways” theme for the Once Upon a Crime Book Group. NYPD Major Cases detective Amelia Sachs is hot on the trail of a killer. She's chasing him through a department store in Brooklyn when an escalator malfunctions. The stairs give way, with one man horribly mangled by the gears. Sachs is forced to let her quarry escape as she jumps in to try to help save the victim. She and famed forensic detective Lincoln Rhyme soon learn, however, that the incident may not have been an accident at all, but the first in a series of intentional attacks. They find themselves up against one of their most formidable opponents ever: a brilliant killer who turns common products into murder weapons. As the body count threatens to grow, Sachs and Rhyme must race against the clock to unmask his identity--and discover his mission--before more people die.
--Caroline Jordan, retired librarian

New adult fiction

Here’s a few new adult fiction books to consume, including several by NY Times bestselling authors, two of which are large print editions; if I were you, I’d keep a light on.

Well known author, J.D. Robb, Brotherhood in Death (Large Print), is a NY Times bestselling author. Another great “who dun it” novel. Two cousins, once as close as brothers, find themselves at odds over their late grandfather’s brownstone home. When Dennis finds out his cousin was meeting with a real estate agent, without consulting him, he decides to confront him and the agent. When he gets there he hears voices and goes in that direction. He sees his cousin bleeding and tied up and then… You will have to read it to find out. This book is also available in regular print.

Blue, by Danielle Steel, another NY Times bestselling author (Large Print), has produced a very emotionally gripping story of dark secrets, second chances and the power of love and courage to overcome life’s greatest challenges. On the anniversary of that fateful accident, she meets Blue, a 13 year old boy, abandoned by his family. Will he trust her? What was it that she learns that he’s been hiding for so long?

Orphan X, by NY Times bestselling author, Gregg Hurwitz, is a thriller beyond thrillers. A young boy, pulled from a foster home by the U.S. government, was raised and trained to be a part of a covert operation designed to create the perfect assassins. Evan broke with the program, leaving his past behind, or did he? Someone is on his tail, getting closer and closer. Get your pot of hot coffee brewing, a box of cookies, and find a comfy spot on the couch. This is going to be a long night since there is no way you would be able to drift off to sleep before finishing it.

Ariel Lawhon, author of Flight of Dreams, take readers on the doomed last flight of the Hindenburg. It is loaded with mystery, romance, big dreams, murder and betrayal. All the things that make a good story, a great historical fiction that will leave you wondering what really happened to the Hindenburg?

For a bit of romance and mystery all in one book, come on over and grab the novel by Karen Robards, The Last Time I saw Her. She is also the NY Times bestselling author of Her Last Whisper. As would be expected she merges the two worlds of mystery and romance like no one else. It will have you on the edge of your set, for sure. Charlie Stone’s ghostly lover is facing death yet again. A mysterious stranger turned up and Charlie finds out that he could easily pass for Michael’s twin. In order to free Michael, she must risk her life, and contend with a  swarm of psychopaths at the state prison.

NY Times Best selling author, Vince Flynn, writes a truly awesome thriller, The Survivor. There is lots of intrigue, CIA, stolen classified documents, all in an elaborately masterminded betrayal of his country. There’s a deadly race to the finish as both the Pakistanis and the Americans search desperately for accomplices and for those confidential documents that are slowly being leaked to the world. So, hold on to your seat as you  venture through this outstanding thriller.

If you’ve been keeping track, Devil’s Bridge is Linda Fairstein’s 17^th novel about Alexandra Cooper. In this novel, detective Mike Chapman, has to find out why or how Cooper disappeared. She’s made many enemies during more than a decade of putting criminals behind bars. Will Mike’s and Coop’s new intimacy cause problems for Mike as he tries to solve this mystery? The Manhattan waterfront is the back drop for this exciting novel.

--Nicki Malave, Network Coordinator

Middle grade page-turning fiction

Are your kids having trouble getting interested in their required reading?  Good news!  We’ve got some brand-new middle grade fiction books on the shelves at Peter White Public Library.  You’ll be catching them with a flashlight after lights out with these page-turners.  Stop by the youth services department on the library’s lower level and check one out today!

Soar, by Joan Bauer:  Jeremiah is a baseball super fan.  When he’s told he can’t play baseball, he decides to do the next best thing and become a coach.  Jeremiah moves to a new town and finds everyone about ready to give up on baseball. It’s up to him and his winning spirit to everyone back in the game.

Pax by Sara Pennypacker:  Pax was only a kit when recued by “his boy” Peter.  Now there’s another threat to them all, and Peter has to live with his grandpa—without Pax.  Before Peter makes it through one night without him, he sets off to get reunite with his friend.

Sweet Home Alaska, by Carole Estby Dagg:  This exciting story, based on actual events, introduces us to an interesting chapter in history, when FDR set up a New Deal colony in Alaska during the Great Depression.  It’s 1934, and times are tough for their family. To make a fresh start, Terpsichore’s father signs up for President Roosevelt’s Palmer Colony project.  Their new home is not what they expect—it’s a town under construction in the wilderness, where everyone lives in tents and shares an outhouse.  Terpsichore is not going to let first impressions stop this grand adventure and hatches a grand plan to make the rest of the family fall in love with their new life. 

The Honest Truth, by Dan Gemeinhart:  In all the ways that matter, Mark is a normal kid. He's got a dog named Beau and a best friend, Jessie. He likes to take photos and write haiku poems in his notebook. He dreams of climbing a mountain one day.  But in one important way, Mark is not like other kids at all.  Mark is sick--the kind of sick that means hospitals and treatments. The kind of sick some people never get better from.  So Mark runs away with his camera, his notebook, his dog, and a plan to reach the top of Mount Rainier--even if it's the last thing he ever does.

The Door by the Staircase by Katherine Marsh:  Twelve-year-old Mary Hayes can't stand her orphanage for another night. But when an attempted escape doesn't go well, Mary fears she'll be stuck there forever.   The next day, a mysterious woman appears at the orphanage requesting to adopt Mary, and the matron's all too happy see Mary go. Soon, she’s living a dream – hearty meals and a warm, soft bed!  But when Mary begins to explore the nearby town, she learns a terrifying secret about her adopter’s true identity. If Mary's not careful, her dream life might just turn into a nightmare.

Mabel Jones and the Forbidden City, by Will Mabbitt:  When Mabel's baby sister is plucked from her crib by an evil witch, Mabel has no choice but to follow both to the jungles of the Forbidden City.   Joining a brand-new cast of characters—and a few familiar faces from The Unlikely Adventures of Mabel Jones—Mabel races an arrogant fox, slays a ferocious millipede, and battles the diabolical witch. Is she prepared to make the ultimate sacrifice to save her sister?

To Catch a Cheat, by Varian Johnson:  When a video frames Jackson Greene and his friends for a crime they didn't commit, Gang Greene battles the blackmailers in this sequel to The Great Greene Heist.   Jackson is retired from conning, so Principal Kelsey is off his back and his friends have new projects of their own. Then Jackson receives a link to a faked security video implicates Jackson and his friends with a threat to pass it to the principal--unless Jackson submits to their demand. Jackson devises a plan and along the way they learn sometimes it takes a thief to catch a cheat.

Story Thieves: The Stolen Chapters, by James Riley:  Owen Conners would never jump into a mystery. There are too many clues and twists.  So how did he end up in one?  How did Kiel Gnomenfoot, boy magician, lose all of his magic? Where’s Bethany, their half-fictional friend? And who’s the annoying guy wearing the question mark mask and Sherlock Holmes hat, taunting Owen and Kiel that Bethany is in grave danger? 

-- Heather Steltenpohl, Development Director

Rock 'n' roll stories

So far, 2016 has been a sad year for fans of rock ‘n’ roll music. The shelves that house library call number 780.92—musician biographies—have seen a surge of borrowing activity of late with the recent deaths of prominent rock musicians including David Bowie, Glenn Frey of the Eagles, Lemmy of Mötörhead, and two founding members of the Jefferson Airplane. Reading the stories behind the music is a good way to gain a greater appreciation of an artist’s life and music. Recently-published memoirs are also taking the library by storm, including the sublime autobiographies of three female post-punk rockers. Biographies of lesser-known, but historically essential, musicians make for some enlightening reading this winter. Turn up the stereo to maximize the rocking reading experience!

Girl in a Band:  a Memoir, by Kim Gordon

780.92 GORDON

In addition to playing bass guitar and singing lead vocals in popular experimental post-punk rock group Sonic Youth, Kim Gordon is a writer, producer, fashion designer, and actress. Arguably the coolest female rock icon of the 80s and 90s, Gordon sang gritty, surreal songs while playing on stage between noisy guitar feedback played by longtime partner Thurston Moore and Lee Ranaldo. Always decked-out in retro thrift-store chic, Gordon exuded confidence, never pretense. (Check out their MTV hit “Kool Thing” from 1990, where Gordon duets with Chuck D of Public Enemy!) Gordon opens the book on a bitter, heartbroken note, as she describes her awkward experience of the band’s last-ever show in 2011, a month after publicizing the couple’s impending divorce. She goes on to detail her life growing up in Southern California, her art school studies, and her eventual immersion in the “no-wave” music scene in New York City. Her descriptions of the recording of each Sonic Youth album are rather brief, but interesting enough for readers who have been fans for decades, or for people discovering the band’s music for the first time.

Hunger Makes Me a Modern Girl:  a Memoir, by Carrie Brownstein

780.92 BROWNSTE

Carrie Brownstein, prior to achieving fame with her comedy television series Portlandia, fronted “riot grrrl” indie rock band Sleater-Kinney from 1994 to 2006. Her 2015 memoir details her life playing guitar and singing in the band, describing the band’s leftwing politics and punk ethics. A particular description explains her meeting with a major label early on in the band’s career, showing up late and with a bad attitude, not wanting “to be accepted and loved by the mainstream.” Brownstein relates her struggles with depression and a difficult early life in a family that ended in divorce when she was 14, her mother suffering severe anorexia. Readers who only know Brownstein from her witty sketches parodying alternative-lifestyle Mecca Portland, OR, along with comedian Fred Armisen on Portlandia, will likely be taken aback at the depth and intelligence and struggle detailed in her memoir.

Clothes, Clothes, Clothes:  Music, Music, Music:  Boys, Boys, Boys:  a Memoir, by Viv Albertine

780.92 ALBERTIN

Viv Albertine got her start as guitarist in the UK feminist punk band The Slits, who helped define the late 70s/early 80s music scene as they toured with the Clash and the Buzzcocks.  The band’s sound featured fragmented semi-in-tune guitars, reggae influence, and plenty of attitude in a rock and roll underground scene dominated by men. Albertine, who went on to direct BBC television and later feature films, describes moment after moment in her life where men try to tell her she could not do something because she is a woman. The second half of the book details a less exciting life after the band including a failed marriage, cancer, and depression. The timing is great, though, as readers get to discover new musical territory they may not know about. The golden ages of punk rock, post-punk, and indie rock are long gone, but with the era of YouTube and Spotify have granted easy access to the archives of the glories of forgotten music history. The biographies mentioned in this article can help illuminate the reader to the stories behind the music.

Different Every Time:  the Authorised Biography of Robert Wyatt, by Marcus O’Dair

780.92 WYATT

Melancholy songs and a fragile vocal style are the characteristics of English musician Robert Wyatt. Japanese composer Ryuichi Sakamoto referred to Wyatt as “the saddest voice in the world.” A legend in the obscure music enthusiast/1970s record collector realm, Wyatt rose to the forefront of the late-60s counterculture music scene as drummer of the psychedelic/jazz/progressive rock outfit Soft Machine. He was later fired from the band due to his alcohol abuse. In 1973, while inebriated at a party, Wyatt fell from a fourth-story window and ended up paraplegic. Wyatt seems to consider being fired from Soft Machine the worse tragedy in his life. The book contains an exhaustive bibliography of the eccentric Wyatt’s lengthy career from Soft Machine through numerous collaborations with artists such as Brian Eno and Björk. When readers check out this biography and look up Wyatt’s beautiful cover version of Chic’s “At Last I am Free,” they will hear why he is such a cult favorite.

Sam Phillips:  the Man Who Invented Rock 'n' Roll, and How His Tiny Label, Sun Records of Memphis, Revolutionized the World, by Peter Guralnick

781.66 PHILLIPS

Sam Phillips was the man who discovered rock ‘n’ roll and introduced the music to the world. Phillips’ name is virtually synonymous with hit records in the mid- to late-1950s. Phillips is the man who launched the careers of Elvis Presley, Howlin’ Wolf, Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis, and Carl Perkins with his Sun Records studio in Memphis. Peter Guralnick interviewed Phillips over the course of twenty-five years before Phillips’ death in 2003. Philips thought of himself not as a crusader, but as an explorer. According to Guralnick, ”’I didn’t set out to revolutionize the world,’ Phillips said one time. Instead what he wanted to do was to test the proposition that there was something ‘very profound’ in the lives of ordinary people, black and white, irrespective of social acceptance.’ ‘I knew the physical separation of the races—but I knew the integration of their souls.’” As he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Johnny Cash made sure to give thanks to Sam Phillips, of course.

--Jeremy Morelock, Reference Department