Staff Picks Adult Fiction

The Darkdeep

by Allyson Braithwaite Condie

Four main characters, 2 male and 2 female, discover an abandoned houseboat and within it a mysterious well that they name the Darkdeep. By diving into the well, they are able to bring figments of their imagination to life. These figments last only seconds at first but then longer and longer creating problems. This book contains lots of adventure and constant excitement.

Recommended by: Becky McCormack, Youth Services Assistant Manager   

Posted in: Adult Fiction

The Good Liar

by Nicholas Searle

Now a motion picture playing in the theaters, and a book you can’t put down.  An older gentleman whose appearance deceives the wealthy women he seeks to con, finds his next target online, a widow who appears to be vulnerable, but who actually has a secret of her own.  You will find The Good Liar full of surprises!

Recommended by: Deborah Keuper, Reference Librarian   

Posted in: Adult Fiction

Christmas shopaholic : a novel

by Sophie Kinsella

A lighthearted book that will make you laugh based upon the Shopaholic series by Sophie Kinsella, where Becky Brandon (nee Bloomwood), a lovable character,  finds herself in a variety of hilarious but difficult situations.  Becky adores shopping, and what better time for it than Christmas.  When her parents decide to move, her vegetarian sister and husband come to town, and Becky finds herself hosting Christmas, what could possibly go wrong?  Becky’s husband Luke started Brandon Communications, the largest financial PR firm in London, and Becky has recently started working with her lifelong friend Suze, in a gift shop in Suze’s stately home.

You will find Christmas Shopaholic full of holiday cheer and unexpected gifts.

Recommended by:  Deborah Keuper, Reference Librarian

Posted in: Adult Fiction

Becoming Superman

by Michael Straczynski

A writer’s journey from poverty to Hollywood with stops along the way at murder, madness, mayhem, movie stars, cults, slums, sociopaths, and war crimes.

I’m a few pages from finishing this but a very inspiring memoir from the author that wrote Marvel’s Thor and Babylon 5. This guy had an absolutely horrendous life and still managed to become a marvelous writer. One of the first memoirs I have read and truly enjoyed, cheering him on all the way.

Recommended by: Carol Maresh, Cataloger II

Posted in: Adult Fiction

Gods of Jade and Shadow

by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

Set in Mexico during the Jazz Age, this story combines elements of fairy tales, a hero’s journey, and Mayan folklore into an unforgettable read. Cassiopeia Tun lives in the home of her wealthy grandfather, scrubbing floors and polishing boots to make up for her mother’s marriage to a poet-nobody. In his grand house, grandfather keeps an old wooden chest at the end of the bed and forbids anyone to open it. One sweltering afternoon, when the family travels to partake in the cool waters of a healing spring, Cassiopeia decides that she’s had enough. She unlocks the forbidden chest and unknowingly releases the Mayan God of Death, Hun Kame, who was deposed and decapitated by his brother. Together, the pair must travel the world to recover what was stolen and reinstate Hun Kame to his throne in the underworld. If you love mythology, mystery, and magic this book is for you!

Recommended by: Kara DeCarlo, School Liaison 

Posted in: Adult Fiction

The Woman in the Window

by A.J. Flinn

Dr. Anna Fox lives alone—a recluse in her New York City home, unable to venture outside. She spends her day consulting online with patients, drinking way too much wine, watching old movies, recalling happier times . . . and spying on her neighbors.  Then the Russells move into the house across the way: a father, a mother, their teenage son. The perfect family. But when Anna, gazing out her window one night, sees something she shouldn’t, her world begins to crumble.  What is real? What is imagined? Who is in danger? Who is in control? In this gripping thriller, no one—and nothing—is what it seems.

Recommended by: Emily Meszaros, Reference Librarian

Posted in: Adult Fiction

Where the Crawdads Sing

by Delia Owens

Kya Clark is a young woman who has lived essentially her entire life alone in the wild marshes of Barkley Cove, a small coastal community in North Carolina. The residents of the area call her “Marsh Girl” and treat her like an outcast, showing no kindness toward her. Kya watched her mother walk out the door of their cabin one day because she could no longer stand the beatings by her abusive husband. Kya’s father and siblings abandon her as well, and it is she who must fend for herself in the marshes and wilderness. Over the years, Kya befriends Tate who shares Kya’s love of the wildlife and teaches her how to read. When Tate leaves for college, Kya meets Chase, the town’s popular quarterback, who betrays her and breaks her heart. Now someone has killed Chase and Kya becomes the prime suspect who must convince the entire town she is innocent.

The author weaves the beautiful nature of the North Carolina marshes with love, mystery and compassion throughout her debut novel.

Recommended by: Mary Adamowski, Assistant Library Director

Posted in: Adult Fiction

An Anonymous Girl

by Greer Hendricks & Sarah Pekkanen

Jessica Farris, looking for a quick way to make some easy money, sneaks into a psychological study on ethics and morality conducted by Dr. Lydia Shields.

Told in the alternating voices of Dr. Shields and Jessica, the story unfolds as Jessica unwittingly becomes Dr. Shields pawn as she tries to catch her husband in a tangle of lies and infidelity.

Dr. Shields’ stranglehold on Jessica intensifies as she realizes that the doctor is obsessed with truthfulness and good morals, and she will stop at nothing until she has them. This psychological thriller will leave you questioning who you can trust in your own life!

Check out The Wife Between Us, another thriller co-written by Hendricks and Pekkanen.

Recommended by: Mary Adamowski, Assistant Library Director

Posted in: Adult Fiction

How to Invent Everything: A Survival Guide for the Stranded Time Traveler

by Ryan North

The bad news: your time machine has broken down, stranding you in the early days of humanity.

The good news: this easy-to-read reference guide will show you how to invent all the comforts of civilization, from the wheel and farming to world-wide navigation and water-powered computers.

Ryan North clearly and briefly explains the discoveries and inventions that got humans to where they are now, so that you, the stranded time traveler, can recreate them instead of waiting around for someone else to invent the printing press or the electric dynamo.

Recommended by: Peter Tew, Reference Librarian

Posted in: Adult Fiction

The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo

by Taylor Jenkins Reid

An exciting and must read book about the glamorous and infamous Hollywood star, Evelyn Hugo, who chooses Monique, a struggling unknown journalist to write her final interview. Monique knows that publishing this book under her name is a career opportunity of a lifetime, and it is a mystery as to why she was chosen by Evelyn who has become reclusive. The end is shocking and unexpected.  According to the author, this fictional book parallels the life of Elizabeth Taylor, who also had seven husbands.

Recommended by: Deborah Oedzes, Reference Librarian

Posted in: Adult Fiction