Staff Picks Adult Fiction

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September 2020

For Whom the Book Tolls: An Antique Bookshop Mystery, #1

by Laura Gail Black

Trouble seems to follow Jenna Quinn. Fleeing some unsavory doings in her hometown, Jenna thinks going to visit her Uncle might do her some good. Soon after she arrives, Jenna finds him dead at the bottom of the stairs and now Jenna who is his primary beneficiary has now become the prime suspect.
Recommended by: April Balasa, Patron Services Clerk

Posted in: Adult Fiction


Booked for Death: a Book Lover’s B&B Mystery

by Victoria Gilbert

Widow and former schoolteacher Charlotte Reed inherits the Chapters Bed and Breakfast from her great aunt Isabella. This reader’s paradise is nestled in the historic waterfront town of Beaufort, North Carolina. But soon the peaceful B&B becomes the scene of a grisly murder and with the victim’s daughter pointing the finger at Charlotte, she is more than ready to find the real killer before it’s too late.
Recommended by: April Balasa, Patron Services Clerk 

Posted in: Adult Fiction


August 2020

Conventionally Yours

by Annabeth Albert

Love isn’t the only thing on the line when two “big name fans” go head-to-head at a convention. When Conrad the charismatic popular guy who seems to have it all but is really just trying to keep his life from falling apart ends up going on a cross country trip to the biggest convention ever with his worst enemy, the smart endlessly driven Alden who should be the poster boy for perfection, their rivalry takes an unexpected backseat. But with both of them having their own reasons for wanting to win the gaming tournament at Odyssey Con will the bond they have been building through out this road trip be broken once the Con is over? Will they lose their one chance at something truly magical?
Recommended by: April Balasa, Patron Services Clerk

Posted in: Adult Fiction


Erotic Stories for Punjabi Widows

by Balli Kaur Jaswal

Nikki’s life is not working out the way her family would have liked.  Instead of marrying a good Punjabi man and starting a family, Nikki is a college dropout living in a flat above a pub where she is employed. So when an ad for a teacher for an English Creative Writing class at the Punjabi temple in the town of Southall, Nikki jumped at the opportunity to have a respectable job to tell her family about, even though it was only 2 nights a week. Nikki was in for a big surprise when her first class was comprised of several Punjabi widows who didn’t want to write stories, they wanted to learn to write in English.  The class grew interested in the storytelling aspect and soon each widow was sharing an erotic story with the class. If that’s not enough to grab your attention, mix in a mysterious death and possible murder, a rocky romance, a conservative group called The Brotherhood, and a lot of laughs.  I highly recommend this title, particularly the audiobook version.  Available as a physical copy, on Overdrive, and on Hoopla.

Recommended by: Brandi Smits, Youth Services Manager

Posted in: Adult Fiction


July 2020

Eight Perfect Murders

by Peter Swanson

Malcolm Kershaw is a quiet bookstore owner, widowed, and with few friends. But his quiet life is interrupted when a young woman with the FBI wants to ask him questions about an article he wrote years ago titled ‘Eight Perfect Murders.’ Someone is using this list of perfect crime books to commit murder and it just so happens that Malcolm knows the victims. Our narrator, Malcolm, does give up new information about his own personal, quiet life as the story progresses. And as he gives us those clues about his life, some good twists and turns follow which had me wondering ….who in his small group of acquaintances could be a murderer?  Although the pace of the book was slow at first, it does pick up. I was glad I stuck with it to the finish because the ending was very thrilling and I have added ‘eight’ authors to my ‘to be read’ list.  If you like Ruth Ware, I would recommend trying Peter Swanson.

Recommended by: Michelle Przekwas,  Adult Services Shelver

Posted in: Adult Fiction


To Kill a Mocking Girl: A Bookbinding Mystery

by Harper Kincaid

Quinn Caine is back in her quiet town of Vienna, Virginia starting her new career as a bookbinder in her families bookshop. And with her trusty German Shepard RBG with her what could go wrong? It’s not long before the body of Quinn’s high school nemesis turns up and fingers start pointing at Quinn. Quinn knows she didn’t do it and now it’s up to her and her nun in training cousin to find out who the killer really is.
Recommended by: April Balasa, Patron Services Clerk

Posted in: Adult Fiction


June 2020

Ninth House

by Leigh Bardugo

Alex Stern has a secret skill.  She can see ghosts.  For a while when she was a kid, she didn’t realize others couldn’t see the gray-tinted people roaming around.  It got her in trouble and made her an outcast.  Now her special skills are a perfect fit to join the Lethe, a group of people set to monitor the rituals of the secret society houses of Yale.  The disappearance of her mentor, a suspicious murder, and a well-known ghost pull her deep into a world of magic, horror, and secrets.  Bardugo is well-known for her YA novels in the Grisha universe, but this is her first novel for adults.  Ninth House is a hefty first book in a series, but worth the read.

Recommended by: Brandi Smits, Youth Services Manager

Posted in: Adult Fiction


The Engineer’s Wife: a Novel

by Tracey Enerson Wood

Emily Warren marries Washington Roebling in the 1860s and her life becomes not what she planned. When Wash was put in charge of building the Brooklyn Bridge, the next 15 years of her life is consumed by that task. With the equipment available at the time and the depth the towers had to go into the ground, many of the workers suffered from what is now known as “the bends”, Wash became debilitated. Emily took over as the go between Wash and the site engineers. She became the acting chief engineer and project manager She studied engineering books and made suggestions to overcome obstacles. Many people did not trust a bridge “made” by a woman, so P.T. Barnum had his circus cross the bridge including Jumbo the elephant. Throughout her life, Emily stood up for her husband and herself. She later became involved in the women’s right to vote movement. This book has romance, intrigue, death, and suspense all wrapped up as tightly as the cables that hold the bridge.

Recommended by: Joan Stoiber, Youth Services Librarian I

Posted in: Adult Fiction


Memories of Glass

by Melanie Dobson

During WW II in Holland, friends Josie van Rees and Eliese Linden work with others to rescue hundreds of Jewish children from going to concentration camps with their families. The daring actions and courage displayed makes this book a page-turner. Alternating with present day America and Uganda, Ava Drake begins to suspect that her great-grandfather, William Kingston, had other activities in Holland during the war that were more than glass making. Working with Landon, a man she met in Uganda when she went to represent the Kingston Foundation, they try to uncover a family secret that some in the family will kill to keep hidden. An amazing story with an ending that is as heartwarming as it is heartbreaking. Available on Hoopla.

Recommended by: Joan Stoiber, Youth Reference Librarian I

Posted in: Adult Fiction


Three Wishes

by Liane Moriarty

Fans of Big Little Lies, The Husband’s Secret, or Nine Strangers may want to read this first novel written by the author. A funny, madcap, and sometimes sad story about three sisters, who are triplets, and their lives and loves right before their 34th birthday. This book will have you laughing and crying, so it is a perfect summer read. Also available on Hoopla and OverDrive.

Recommended by: Joan Stoiber, Youth Reference Librarian I

Posted in: Adult Fiction


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