Adult Summer Reading

We've reached the last week of Summer Reading, 27 readers (5 of whom were new) read 95 books. Over the course of the summer, 160 readers read 1137 books.

Book Reviews for September 7:

Alone by Lisa Gardner: This is the first book I've read by Lisa Gardner. It was suspenseful andI was surprised that at the end there was still one more "twist" in the plot. I would read another by her.

Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert: Elizabeth's journey is inspiring throughout the story. The first and last sections are the most interesting, although the second section has characteristics in the character I could relate to as well as the interesting character of Richard.

House of Secrets by Richard Hawke: Suspense thriller based in where else? Washington. Lies, tapes, intrigue. Interesting plot twists. A little mundane as today's society seems to be inundated with all the real life narcisssm in our country's politicians.

All the Stars Came out that night by Kevin King: The novel proposes a mythical all-star baseball game between the best of the Major League stars, led by Dizzy Dean and the all time greats of the Negro Leagues, led by Satchel Paige. The time is 1934 and the place is Fenway Park. Interesting inclusion of historical characters, but wordy at times.

The God of the Hive by Laurie King: Imaginative novel featuring Sherlock Holmes as a married man. His wife, Mary Russell, is as intrepid adetective as Holmes, and together they are an unbeatable team. Interesting reading but plot gets hopelessly complicated at times.

Plan B by Anne Lamott: She's a modern day literary genius. Her choice of verbage delights me.

Captain by Jan LeHartog: WWII-glimpse of insight into the European war theater-the ocean fleets-the experience of 1 man-serving as commander of a rescue (?)-critical story-MUST READ for anyone considering a military career or position for/against.

The 21 Indispensable Qualities of a Leader by John Maxwell: Yet another John Maxwell bookthat doesn't leave the reader disappointed. After reading the book you are left with challenges for your own life.

Juliet By Fortier, Anne 2010-08 - Ballantine Books 9780345516107 Check Our Catalog BookPage Notable Title When Julie Jacobs leaves for Italy per the instructions of her late aunt's will, she never imagines that she'll be thrust into a centuries-old feud, not to mention one of the most legendary romances of all time. …More

Alone By Gardner, Lisa 2005-01 - Random House Large Print Publishing 9780375434389 Check Our Catalog Alone . . . Massachusetts State Trooper Bobby Dodge watches a tense hostage standoff unfold through the scope of his sniper rifle. Just across the street, in wealthy Back Bay, Boston, an armed man has barricaded himself with his wife and child. The man's finger tightens on the trigger and Dodge has only a split second to react . . . and forever pay the consequences. Alone . . . that's where the nightmare began for cool, beautiful, and dangerously sexy Catherine Rose Gagnon. Twenty-five years ago, she was buried underground during a month-long nightmare of abduction and abuse. Now her husband has just been killed. Her father-in-law, the powerful Judge Gagnon, blames Catherine for his son's death . . . and for the series of unexplained illnesses that have sent her own young son repeatedly to the hospital. Alone . . . a madman survived solitary confinement in a maximum security prison where he'd done hard time for the most sadistic of crimes. Now he walks the streets a free man, invisible, anonymous . . . and filled with an unquenchable rage for vengeance. What brings them together is a moment of violence--but what connects them is a passion far deeper and much more dangerous. For a killer is loose who's woven such an intricate web of evil that no one is above suspicion, no one is beyond harm, and no one will see death coming until it has them cornered, helpless, and alone. …More

The Lost City of Z: A Tale of Deadly Obsession in the Amazon By Grann, David 2009-02 - Doubleday Books 9780385513531 Check Our Catalog After stumbling upon a hidden trove of diaries, acclaimed "New Yorker" writer Grann set out to solve "the greatest exploration mystery of the 20th century: what happened to the British explorer Percy Fawcett and his quest for the Lost City of Z? …More

Eat, Pray, Love: One Woman's Search for Everything Across Italy, India and Indonesia By Gilbert, Elizabeth 2006-08 - Thorndike Press 9780786288137 Check Our Catalog A celebrated writer pens an irresistible, candid, and eloquent account of her pursuit of worldly pleasure, spiritual devotion, and what she really wanted out of life. …More

The Cabal By Hagberg, David 2010-07 - Forge 9780765320209 Check Our Catalog In the latest installment of the "New York Times-"bestselling Kirk McGarvey series, CIA operative Todd Van Buren--the legendary spy's son-in-law--is gunned down after meeting an investigative reporter, pulling grief-stricken McGarvey into the most bizarre and far-reaching case in his career. …More

Winter Garden By Hannah, Kristin 2010-02 - St. Martin's Press 9780312364120 Check Our Catalog Can a woman ever really know herself if she doesn't know her mother? From the author of "Firefly Lane" comes a powerful novel that illuminates the intricate mother-daughter bond and explores the enduring links between the present and the past. …More

Ghost at Work: A Bailey Ruth Mystery By Hart, Carolyn 2008-11 - Harperluxe 9780061668203 Check Our Catalog Bailey Ruth Raeburn has always been great at solving mysteries. Why should a little thing like her death change anything? In fact, being dead gives her more of an opportunity to be on top of events. Bailey Ruth is delighted that her unique position as a ghost makes it possible for her to lend a helping hand, sometimes seen and sometimes not. And if anybody needs a little help, it's Kathleen, the pastor's wife. There's a dead man on her porch, and once the body is discovered, the pastor is sure to become a suspect. Uncharitable people might call it meddling, but Bailey Ruth knows Kathleen needs her help! As a member of Heaven's Department of Good Intentions, Bailey Ruth goes back to earth to extricate Kathleen from a dire situation. If Bailey Ruth has to bend a few rules to help Kathleen save her family, Wiggins, her fussbudget supervisor, will make sure it all turns out right in the end. …More

House of Secrets By Hawke, Richard 2010-05 - Random House 9781400066087 Check Our Catalog From the rarefied halls of Washington to the briny boardwalks of Brighton Beach, Hawke pulls back the curtain in this pulse-pounding thriller to reveal what is taking place inside the hearts and minds of the powerful people we read about every day in the news. …More

Deeper Than the Dead By Hoag, Tami 2008-12 - Bantam 9780553807004 Check Our Catalog Hoag, "New York Times"-bestselling author and queen of the crime thriller ("New York Post"), delivers a bone-chilling story about a serial killer on a rampage and two children who may hold the keys to his identity. …More

Eight Days to Live By Johansen, Iris 2010-04 - St. Martin's Press 9780312368159 Check Our Catalog In #1 "New York Times"-bestselling author Johansen's latest thriller, Eve Duncan's adopted daughter Jane has been targeted by a mysterious cult, which has decided that she has only eight days to live. …More

The Dark-Hunters, Volume 2 By Kenyon, Sherrilyn Illustrator Campos, Claudia Adapted by Fialkov, Joshua Hale 2010-03 - St. Martin's Griffin 9780312554002 Check Our Catalog In the war against vampires, mankind has only one hope: Dark-Hunters. From the wild imagination of Kenyon comes the next humorous and suspenseful manga volume in her internationally bestselling Dark-Hunter series. …More

All the Stars Came Out That Night By King, Kevin 2007-03 - Plume Books 9780452287624 Check Our Catalog Kevin Kings debut novel, "All the Stars Came Out That Night," is a vivid portrait of Depression-era America written in a voice at once humorous and poetic. Set at Bostons Fenway Park on October 20, 1943, "All the Stars Came Out That Night" imagines a late-night baseball game bankrolled by Henry Ford, pitting Dizzy Deans all-white all-stars against Satchel Paiges black all-stars. Not a contest waged for money or trophies, the outcome of this game carries with it both the weight of a historic injusticethe barring of blacks from baseballand the promise of vindication and redemption. Steeped in baseball lore and featuring an array of iconic American figuresfrom Babe Ruth to Clarence Darrow"All the Stars Came Out That Night" far transcends the sport of baseball, creating a tale that is mythic, captivating, and above all, quintessentially American. …More

The God of the Hive By King, Laurie R. 2010-04 - Bantam Books 9780553805543 Check Our Catalog In the mesmerizing, powerful conclusion to the blockbuster hit "The Language of Bees," Mary Russell and Sherlock Holmes are each on the trail of exposing a ruthless villain. Will being apart help them solve a devilishly difficult mystery, or make them easier targets? …More

Plan B: Further Thoughts on Faith By Lamott, Anne 2005-03 - Riverhead Hardcover 9781573222990 Check Our Catalog With the trademark wisdom, humor, and honesty that made Anne Lamott's book on faith, Traveling Mercies, a runaway bestseller, Plan B: Further Thoughts on Faith is a spiritual antidote to anxiety and despair in increasingly fraught times. The world is a more dangerous place than it was when Lamott's Traveling Mercies was published five years ago. Terrorism and war have become the new normal; environmental devastation looms even closer. And there are personal demands on Lamott's faith as well: turning fifty; her mother's Alzheimer's; her son's adolescence; and the passing of friends and time. Fortunately for those of us who are anxious and scared about the state of the world, whose parents are also aging and dying, whose children are growing harder to recognize as they become teenagers, Plan B offers hope in the midst of despair. It shares with us Lamott's ability to comfort, and to make us laugh despite the grim realities. Anne Lamott is one of our most beloved writers, and Plan B is a book more necessary now than ever. It will prove to be further evidence that, as The Christian Science Monitor has written, "Everybody loves Anne Lamott." …More

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo By Larsson, Stieg Translator Murray, Steven T. Translator Keeland, Reg 2008-09 - Knopf Publishing Group 9780307269751 Check Our Catalog BookPage Notable Title An Indie Next Selection In this European publishing sensation, a crusading journalist joins forces with a 24-year-old pierced and tattooed genius hacker to investigate the whereabouts of a missing woman from one of the wealthiest families in Sweden. …More

The Captain By De Hartog, Jan 1988-10 - Nautical & Aviation Publishing Company of Ame 9780933852839 Check Our Catalog …More

Echoes of Tomorrow By Lykins, Jenny 1997-06 - Jove Books 9780515120790 Check Our Catalog From the acclaimed author of 'Lost Yesterday' comes the story of a woman who follows her true love 150 years into the past--and has to win his love all over again. A 'Time Passages' romance. …More

West Highland Tales By MacLean, Fitzroy 1998-03 - Canongate Books 9780862412784 Check Our Catalog Ranging from the thousand-year-old tale of "Deirdre of the Sorrows" to tales of brave warriors, treacherous love, and the mischievous or chilling influences of ghosts and spirits, this is an entertaining and evocative collection. All are testaments to the wonders of the human imagination. …More

Slow Dollar By Maron, Margaret 2002-08 - Mysterious Press 9780892967643 Check Our Catalog For Judge Knott, the case before her seems to be an ordinary misdemeanor--except that the personal property that's been destroyed is an inflatable carnival ride. When the carnival comes to her own town a few weeks later, Deborah soon discovers there's nothing ordinary about this rag-tag collection of rides and games. …More

Up Jumps the Devil: A Deborah Knott Mystery By Maron, Margaret 1996-09 - Mysterious Press 9780892965687 Check Our Catalog In the fourth entry in the acclaimed series, Judge Deborah Knott's table is set with a double helping of Southern-style homicide. As Thanksgiving Day approaches, Judge Knott looks forward to spending some quality time with her lover and family. But the sleepy North Carolina town she calls home witnesses two violent murders that weekend. To complicate things even further, one of the victims is an old moonshining associate of her father's, and now Dad is suspect #1! …More

The 21 Indispensable Qualities of a Leader: Becoming the Person Others Will Want to Follow By Maxwell, John C. 1999-01 - Nelson Books 9780785274407 Check Our Catalog In the tradition of his bestselling "The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership, " Maxwell provides a concise, accessible book that takes readers on a life-changing, 21-day journey to more effective leadership. …More

Cooked Goose By McKevett, G. A. 2005-08 - Kensington Publishing Corporation 9780758213693 Check Our Catalog A sexy, Southern-born private detective Savannah Reid is back, keeping the streets of exclusive San Carmelita, California, safe while indulging both her passion for food and her appetite for solving crime. …More

Killer Calories By McKevett, G. A. 2000-02 - Kensington Publishing Corporation 9781575665214 Check Our Catalog Sexy private detective Savannah Reid may be built for comfort and not for speed, but she likes herself just fine as she is. So the only way she's likely to set foot in a health spa is over a dead body -- someone else's -- along with a hefty fee to sweeten the deal. The irresistible combination of murder and money brings Savannah to Royal Palms to investigate the death of spa owner and former cult-flick actress Kat Valentina. The medical examiner called it a fatal -- but accidental -- mixture of booze and a hot tub, but Savannah's anonymous client thinks otherwise. Savannah quickly learns there's no shortage of likely suspects from ex-lovers and would-be lovers, to employees and prior co-stars with unsavory pasts. As for Savannah and her sweet tooth, this may prove to be a costly case. For if the strict regimen of exercise and nasty spa cuisine doesn't kill her, there's murderer close by who's prepared to finish the job.... In her third outing, sassy, savvy Savannah Reid serves mystery readers just what they're hungering for and will have them coming back for more! …More

Poisoned Tarts By McKevett, G. A. 2008-09 - Wheeler Publishing 9781597227919 Check Our Catalog McKevett continues her delicious detective series starring plus-sized P.I. Savannah Reid, with a tale of a Hollywood murder amid the young, rich, and deadly. …More

Time Raiders: The Seeker By McKenna, Lindsay 2009-08 - Silhouette Books 9780373618163 Check Our Catalog Delia Sebastian is a trained historian and psychic. Former army captain Jake Tyler is her swaggering ex-lover, who can read her most intimate thoughts--and desires. Together they will make the risky leap back to 44 BC to infiltrate the court of Julius Caesar by posing as Grecian mercenaries. But with assassins everywhere, will old passions reignite to undermine their cover...leaving them trapped in history forever? …More