Staff Reads
All the devils are here
Penny, Louise, author
2020
The story finds Chief Inspector Armand Gamache of the Sûreté du Quebec investigating a sinister plot in the City of Light On their first night in Paris, the Gamaches gather as a family for a bistro dinner with Armand's godfather, the billionaire Stephen Horowitz. Walking home together after the meal, they watch in horror as Stephen is knocked down and critically injured in what Gamache knows is no accident, but a deliberate attempt on the elderly man's life. When a strange key is found in Stephen's possession it sends Armand, his wife Reine-Marie, and his former second-in-command at the Sûreté, Jean-Guy Beauvoir, from the top of the Tour d'Eiffel, to the bowels of the Paris Archives, from luxury hotels to odd, coded, works of art. It sends them deep into the secrets Armand's godfather has kept for decades. A gruesome discovery in Stephen's Paris apartment makes it clear the secrets are more rancid, the danger far greater and more imminent, than they realized. Soon the whole family is caught up in a web of lies and deceit.
The ballad of songbirds and snakes
Collins, Suzanne, author
2020
It is the morning of the reaping that will kick off the tenth annual Hunger Games. In the Capitol, eighteen-year-old Coriolanus Snow is preparing for his one shot at glory as a mentor in the Games. The once-mighty house of Snow has fallen on hard times, its fate hanging on the slender chance that Coriolanus will be able to outcharm, outwit, and outmaneuver his fellow students to mentor the winning tribute. The odds are against him. He's been given the humiliating assignment of mentoring the female tribute from District 12, the lowest of the low. Their fates are now completely intertwined - every choice Coriolanus makes could lead to favor or failure, triumph or ruin. Inside the arena, it will be a fight to the death. Outside the arena, Coriolanus starts to feel for his doomed tribute . . . and must weigh his need to follow the rules against his desire to survive no matter what it takes.
The Christie affair
Gramont, Nina de, author
2022
London, 1925: In a world of townhomes and tennis matches, socialites and shooting parties, Miss Nan O'Dea became Archie Christie's mistress, luring him away from his devoted and well-known wife, Agatha Christie. The question is, why? Why destroy another woman's marriage, why hatch a plot years in the making, and why murder? .
Dead man's hand
Butcher, James J., author
2022
On the streets of Boston, the world is divided into the ordinary Usuals, and the paranormal Unorthodox. After flunking out of the Auditor training program, Grimshaw Griswald tried to resign himself to life as a mediocre witch. But an opportunity to prove himself comes with a price when his former mentor, aka the most dangerous witch alive, is murdered - and Grimsby is the Auditors' number one suspect. To prove his innocence, all he has to do is find the real killer, avoid the Auditors on his trail, and most importantly, stay alive.
The Fifth Avenue story society : a novel
Hauck, Rachel, 1960- author
2020
An invitation to join The Fifth Avenue Story Society gives five New York strangers a chance to rewrite their own stories.
Go as a river
Read, Shelley, author
2023
Victoria Nash is just a teenager in the 1940s. Wilson Moon is a young drifter with a mysterious past. When Victoria encounters Wil, their unexpected connection ignites as much passion as danger and as many revelations as secrets. Victoria flees into the beautiful but harsh wilderness when tragedy strikes. Living in a small hut, she struggles to survive in the unforgiving conditions with no clear notion of what her future will be. What happens afterward is her quest to regain all that she has lost, even as the Gunnison River rises to submerge her homeland and the only life she has ever known.
Hunterland
Claire, Dana, author
2023
Liam Hunter has warded off hungry vampires, slayed monstrous beasts, and put agonized spirits to rest since he could hold a stake. When trouble comes through the Hunterland message board, alerting them that nurses are dying at high schools across Wisconsin in a string of fishy "suicides," the Hunter family hits the road to save the day. The trail leads to Falkville Falls, where Liam clashes with Olivia Davis, whose maddening family seems inexplicably embroiled in this haunting mess. Olivia has always mothered her little sister, Pepper. But when the Hunter family opens her eyes to the hidden underworld of real monsters prowling the dark, she realizes she can't protect Pepper from this newest threat by herself. Can the two families work together to uncover who or what is responsible before the next murder, or will this vicious death cycle have no end?
Klara and the sun
Ishiguro, Kazuo, 1954- author
2021
Set in the near future, in a distinct reality of its own but reminiscent of Never Let Me Go, Klara and the Sun is a thrilling feat of world-building and a mesmerizing novel about the human heart, anchored by a singularly unforgettable heroine who has a great deal to teach us about what it means to love.
The librarian of crooked lane
Archer, C. J., author.
2022
"Librarian Sylvia Ashe knows nothing about her past, having grown up without a father and a mother who refused to discuss him. When she stumbles upon a diary that suggests she's descended from magicians, she's skeptical. After all, magicians are special, and she's just an ordinary girl who loves books. She seeks the truth from a member of the most prominent family of magicians, but she quickly learns that finding the truth won't be easy, especially when he turns out to be as artless as her, and more compelling and dangerous than books. War hero Gabe is gifted with wealth, a loving family, and an incredible amount of luck that saw him survive four harrowing years of a brutal war without injury. But not all injuries are visible. Burying himself in his work as a consultant for Scotland Yard, Gabe is going through the motions as he investigates the theft of a magician-made painting. But his life changes when he unwittingly gets Sylvia dismissed from her job and places her in danger. After securing her new employment in a library housing the world's greatest collection of books about magic, Gabe and Sylvia's lives become entwined as they work together to find both the painting and the truth about Sylvia's past before powerful people can stop them. But sometimes the past is better left buried..."--Goodreads
Lightlark
Aster, Alex, author
2022
In order to break a curse on her kingdom, Isla Crown, the young ruler of Wilding, must compete in the Centennial, a deadly game that only the rulers of six realms are invited to play, and to survive she must lie, cheat, and betray--even as love threatens to undo everything.
Lost in darkness
Griep, Michelle, author
2021
"Enchanting Regency-era gothic romance intertwined with inspiration from Mary Shelley's Frankenstein. Travel writer Amelia Balfour's dream of touring Egypt is halted when she receives news of a revolutionary new surgery for her grotesquely disfigured brother. This could change everything, and it does. . .in the worst possible way. Surgeon Graham Lambert has suspicions about the doctor he's gone into practice with, but he can't stop him from operating on Amelia's brother. Will he be too late to prevent the man's death? Or to reveal his true feelings for Amelia before she sails to Cairo?"--Provided by publisher.
Man of shadow and mist
Griep, Michelle, author
2023
Vampires are alive and well in North Yorkshire, leastwise in the minds of the uneducated. Librarian Rosa Edwards intends to drive a stake through the heart of such superstitions. But gossip flies when the mysterious Sir James Morgan returns from Transylvania to take up residence in his shadowy manor. The townsfolk say he is cursed. James hates everything about England. The weather. The rumours. The scorn. Yet he must stay. His mother is dying of a disease for which he's desperately trying to find a cure--an illness that will eventually take his own life. When Rosa sets out to prove the dark gossip about James is wrong, she discovers more questions than answers. How can she accept what she can't explain--especially the powerful allure of the enigmatic man? James must battle a town steeped in fear as well as the unsettling attraction he feels for the no-nonsense librarian. Can love prevail in a town filled with fear and doubt?"-- back cover.
Mickey7
Ashton, Edward (Science fiction writer), author
2022
Mickey7 is an Expendable: a disposable employee. Whenever there's a mission that's too dangerous, the crew turns to Mickey. After one iteration dies, a new body is regenerated with most of his memories intact. Mickey7 understands the terms of his deal. When Mickey7 goes missing and is presumed dead, a new clone, Mickey8, reports for Expendable duties. Mickey7 must keep his double a secret from the rest of the colony - as the idea of duplicate Expendables is universally loathed, and if caught, they will likely be thrown into the recycler for protein.
The myth of normal : trauma, illness & healing in a toxic culture
Maté, Gabor, author
2022
From our most trusted and compassionate authority on stress, trauma, and mental well-being--a groundbreaking investigation into the causes of illness, a bracing critique of how our society breeds disease, and a pathway to health and healing. Gabor Maté's internationally bestselling books have changed the way we look at addiction and have been integral in shifting the conversations around ADHD, stress, disease, embodied trauma, and parenting. Now, in this revolutionary book, he eloquently dissects how in Western countries that pride themselves on their health care systems, chronic illness and general ill health are on the rise. So what is really "normal" when it comes to health?
Nightbane
Aster, Alex, author
2023
Isla Crown has secured the love of two powerful rulers and broken the curses that plagued the six realms for centuries, but few know the true origins of her powers. Now, in the wake of a crushing betrayal, Isla finds herself hungry for distraction, preferring to frequent Lightlark's seductive haunts instead of embracing her duties as the newly crowned leader of two separate realms. Worse, her fellow rulers haven't ceded victory quietly, and there are others in Isla's midst who don't believe her ascent to power was earned. As certain death races toward Lightlark and secrets from the past begin to unravel, Isla must weigh her responsibility to her people against the whims of the most dangerous traitor of all: her heart.
Phaedra : a novel
Shepperson, Laura, author
2023
Phaedra has been cast to the side all her life: daughter of an adulteress, sister of a monster, and now unwilling bride to the much-older, power-hungry Theseus. Then, supposedly pious Hippolytus assaults her. In the face of injustice, Phaedra refuses to remain quiet any longer. When Phaedra publicly accuses Hippolytus of rape, she sparks an overdue reckoning. The men of Athens gather to determine the truth. The women know truth is a slippery thing in the hands of men. There are two sides to every story, and theirs has gone unheard. Until now.
Snow & poison
De la Cruz, Melissa, 1971- author
2023
"Nicknamed Snow White, sixteen-year-old Lady Sophie, daughter of Duke Franz of Bavaria, debuts into high society and falls for the prince of Spain, whose betrothal to a higher-ranking girl and mercurial father prove dangerous for the duchy"-- Provided by publisher.
The song of Achilles
Miller, Madeline, author
2012
Patroclus, an awkward young prince, follows Achilles into war, little knowing that the years that follow will test everything they have learned, everything they hold dear. And that, before he is ready, he will be forced to surrender his friend to the hands of Fate. Set during the Trojan War.
Tender is the flesh : a novel
Bazterrica, Agustina María, 1974- author
2020
"The electrifying, award-winning, internationally bestselling novel about a dystopian world in which animals have been wiped out, humans are being harvested for food, and society has been divided into those who eat and those who are eaten."-- Provided by publisher.