RASD Readers Advisory

Pulitzer Prize Winners and Nominees

2011-09-28T11:26:00.026-04:00

The Privileges by Jonathan Dee

Dee updates the classic American tale of the self made zillionaire by eliminating his usual fall from grace and focusing instead on the downside of a privileged upbringing for his offspring.

Power couple Cynthia and Adam Morey navigate the economic realities of contemporary Manhattan so well that they can support a privileged lifestyle for themselves and their offspring. The children, Jonas and April, are cut off from meaningful encounters with others by their parents’ wealth and obsession with discarding their own pasts, and so go on naive quests for authenticity and responsiveness. The book is open ended, so we are not entirely sure of the children’s fate. In the end, it’s left to the reader to suss out the author’s intention.

Dee has written literary fiction innovative enough to be the runner-up for the 2011 Pulitzer Prize but accessible enough to spark lively discussions in neighborhood book clubs. The book is short, written in simple language, and touches on subjects of current interest: the social responsibility of the ultra rich, the wisdom of permissive child rearing, and the effects of fractured family ties, among others. Principals and secondary characters comment perceptively on the action, generating questions for debate. Whatever the reader’s positions are on current social conditions, he will find a topic dear to his heart to discuss.

For Read-alikes, try Eleanor Lipman’s My Latest Grievance for its family focus, brevity, and dialog, Ha Jin’s A Free Life for a contemporary test of the American Dream from the opposite end of the economic spectrum, Jonathan Lethem’s Chronic City for a wide ranging portrait of contemporary Manhattan reminiscent of Tom Wolfe’s Bonfire of the Vanities, and Jonathan Franzen’s The Corrections and Freedom for the pitfalls of modern family life among the American middle class.

                                                                                                                   Jackie Malone, North Bellmore Public Library

A Visit from the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan

Jennifer Egan portrays the interlacing lives of men and women whose lives converge and collide all through the book. Bennie Salazar, a punk rocker in his teenage years, is facing middle age as a divorced and disheartened record producer. His cool, competent assistant, Sasha, keeps everything under control—except for her unconquerable compulsion to steal. Those are the main characters in Egan’s latest novel, A Visit from the Goon Squad, which is full of characters from the San Francisco music scene. If you like unique, unforgettable individuals, this is the book for you.

Read-alikes

Ten Thousand Saints by Eleanor Henderson (1st time novelist)
The Children’s Book by S. Byatt
White Noise by Don DeLillo
If Nobody Speaks of Remarkable Things Jon McGregor
Tales of the City series by Armistead Maupin
When I Stop Talking You’ll Know I’m Dead by Jerry Weintraub – memoir of the self-made, Brooklyn-born, Bronx-raised impresario, Hollywood producer, legendary deal maker, and friend of politicians and stars.

                                                                                     Kathleen Carter, Retired, Mastics-Moriches-Shirley Community Library

Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides

Jeffrey Eugenides won the 2003 Pulitzer Prize for this lively, sometimes humorous and often endearing story Calliope Stephanides, a second generation Greek American growing up in Detroit. Due to a genetic anomaly, Calliope (now called Cal) was born a hermaphrodite; raised as a girl but now lives as a man.

The story begins with her grandparents in the small Asia Minor village of Smyrna in 1922 and continues with their emigration to Detroit and raising a family. Actual events like Prohibition, WWII and the Detroit race riots are intertwined with Calliope and her family’s struggle for normalcy and a piece of the American dream. We then follow Calliope through her awkward teenage years with conflicting emotions and physical developments that concern both her and her parents, prompting a visit to a specialist. When a peek into her medical file reveals shocking news, Cal decides to embark on a journey of self discovery, leaving her family behind. Only upon his return home does he discover a family secret that ties everything together.

Although a bit wordy sometimes, Middlesex is a thoroughly engrossing read; try the audiobook for a spirited narration by Kristoffer Tabori.

Read-alikes:
Annabel by Kathleen Winters (gender identity fiction)
The Danish Girl by David Ebershoff (gender identity fiction)
Crossing California by Adam Lancer (multi-generational families influenced by world events)

                                                                                                                       Cathi Nashak, Deer Park Library

The Sportswriter by Richard Ford

The Sportswriter is the first volume in the Frank Bascombe trilogy, continued by the Pulitzer Prize-winning Independence Day and The Lay of the Land.

The Sportswriter is basically a story about a man alienated from life and family, although you might not know it from his words and actions. Frank Bascombe is a sportswriter who tries to write heartwarming stories about sports and athletes in an attempt to basically avoid dealing with real life problems and issues. Bascombe has an almost childlike, hero-worship view of athletes. He is a man who claims not to be searching for anything, but really seems to want stability and a family back in his life.

Frank is divorced from his wife and two surviving children. His oldest son died from Reye’s syndrome. He resides in the New Jersey suburb of Haddam with his African boarder. His ex-wife, referred to only as X, seems to have adjusted to divorce better than him. Frank spends his time having an affair with Vicki, an attractive nurse, and attending meetings of the Divorced Men’s Club.

Two events conspire to shake Frank’s optimistic view of life up a bit. Frank and Vicki first go to Detroit to interview a disabled football player, who seems to shake Frank’s rosy view of athletes. Then, Walter, a new member of the Divorced Men’s Club confides in Frank a dark secret.

The Sportswriter is primarily an examination of attitudes toward life, dealing with issues such as love and marriage, divorce and death.

Read-alike authors could include such names as Russell Banks, Walker Percy, Richard Russo, Anne Tyler, John Updike, and Richard Yates.

                                                                                                                          Bruce Silverstein, Patchogue-Medford Library

Tinkers by Paul Harding

George Washington Crosby’s deathbed thoughts, and his unusual family history, form the center of this imaginative debut novel (Pulitzer Prize 2010). Crosby was a form of tinker, a clock repairman, but his father Howard, whose story is also told in a parallel narrative, was a true tinker, a peddler who wandered about eastern Maine with his mule and wagon. Howard abandoned his family when George was twelve, an event that shaped the sons life and personality in countless ways. Harding uses diary entries, excerpts from clock repair manuals, and stream-of-consciousness reflections to tell these stories. His lyrical, nearly poetic, language has been much praised, as is the novels craftsmanship.

Harding, a former drummer for the rock band Cold Water Flat, received an MFA from the Iowa Writer’s Workshop. “Tinkers,” loosely based on the life of his own grandfather, began as a story he submitted for admission. The author is now a teacher of creative writing, working on several other books, also about the Crosby family. The success of “Tinkers” is a true Cinderella tale: countless rejection letters preceded publication by a small literary press, the Pulitzer and a Guggenheim Foundation grant.

“Olive Kitteridge” and “The Thousand Autumns of Jacob De Zoet”, novels that also focus upon reminiscing in old age, would be read-alikes. The classic Faulkner “As I Lay Dying “ has a similar feeling of intertwining voices exploring a life. “Birds without Wings” and “Cutting for Stone” present father-son relationships as well. “Bird Sisters” and “Gilead”, too, would appeal to those who enjoy “Tinkers”: life is a wonderfully mysterious creation as framed in all these novels!

                                                                                                                      Suzanne McGuire, Commack Public Library

The Surrendered by Chang-Rae Lee

The Surrendered is about the lives of people who have been damaged by war, by “shocking acts of violence and love.” Lee gives us dense visual details. Not for the faint-hearted; the characters’ misfortunes are relentless.

To read The Surrendered is an exhausting journey, both emotionally and physically. As the novel opens, June appears as a starved and motherless 11-year old, fleeing from the Korean War at a time when "the whole country is orphaned." Having already lost three siblings, June has to leave her little brother bleeding to death on a railway track in order to survive. She is close to death herself when she is taken in by an orphanage. There she meets Hector Brennan, a former GI who has been in a state of shock since witnessing the hideous torture of a Korean soldier, and Sylvie, a missionary's wife who helps to run the children's home - and whose own parents suffered violent ends at the hands of Japanese soldiers in occupied Manchuria in 1934.

It is Lee’s aim to examine how war has damaged the lives of his characters, marking them dysfunctional in varying degrees. Sylvie turns to drugs, Hector to drink, and June loses herself in dogged work.

At the end of the book, June is dying of stomach cancer, an ironic twist to the starving girl at the beginning of the story. It is beautifully written, with fine character development. The author displays an intimate knowledge of his characters’ inner lives and an understanding of the echoing fallout of war – the interplay of fate and free will.

Read-alikes:
The Lotus Eaters, T. Soli
The Cellist of Sarajevo, S. Galloway
Atonement, I. McEwan

                                                                                                                 Grace O’Connor, West Islip Public Library

The Road by Cormac McCarthy

The Road is the depiction of an apocalyptic world and the struggle of a father and son to endure the devastation. A landscape of ashen remains, a lack of shelter and food, and a relentless effort to continue traveling down a road that bears nothing but peril and destruction is explicitly described by McCarthy in stark yet, at times, exquisitely poetic terms. There is no “plot” to this novel—it is the portrayal of a desperate journey and a brutal tale of survival. The format the narrative is written in reflects the fruitlessness of the characters’ efforts—many sentences are just fragments; the book is a single, long narrative devoid of the use of chapter, and punctuation is often disregarded—this novel is written in a style so severe that it both creates and embodies the harsh mood of the story itself.

This novel is not a light read. It is not a book for the faint-of-heart. It is not a book for everyone. The subject matter is frightening and full of the stuff that occupies nightmares. McCarthy provides vivid descriptions of carnage, cannibalism, and a barren landscape where life as we know it has ceased to exist. It is a portrait of the unthinkable, yet a depiction of what we know, in our most fearful moments, to be very possible. Even given the chilling scenario, there is a tenderness that is conveyed throughout the story in the relationship between the father and son. The lengths that a parent will go to in order to protect a child are evident throughout the course of one horrific situation after another.

An easy read in its simplistic writing style, yet a difficult read in the subject matter tackled, The Road makes an excellent book discussion selection. Its provocative themes and situations lend themselves to lively dialogue, if not vigorous debate. Thematic read-alikes would include The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood, the Left Behind series by Tim LaHaye, and the classic novel On the Beach by Nevil Shute.

                                                                                                Deborah Formosa, Northport-East Northport Public Library

After This by Alice McDermott

Spanning from just after World War II through four decades, the reader is immersed in the lives of the Keane family. A chance meeting inside a cafe in New York City is where Mary and John's story begins. Both Irish and Catholic they marry and have two sons and two daughters. The family resides in an unnamed, middle class suburb on Long Island. The reader follows the family through their lives against the social and political backgrounds of the different decades. Family, relationships and the possibilities in life are the heart of this book.

Structurally the book is divided into two sections. The first focused on the family as a whole. The second focused on each individual family member and read more like a series of short stories. Some characters are more developed than others, while foreshadowing, repetition and symbolism are heavily used. Overall, After Alice is mostly a character piece that doesn't have a true plot. McDermott's eloquent and beautifully written prose help to make this an engaging read.

Readers who enjoy literary fiction and family sagas would enjoy After This.

Read-alikes
The Condition Jennifer Haigh
Run Ann Patchett
Compass Rose John Casey

                                                                                                          Donna Brown, Northport East Northport Public Library

Tales of the South Pacific by James A. Michener

Michener served in the Pacific during World War II in aviation maintenance and was inspired by the breathtaking beauty of the Pacific Islands as well as the isolation of the distant place. To the Twenty First Century reader these tales seem extremely politically incorrect with nicknames such as “Japs” and “yellow bastards” casually bandied about. But rather it is a snapshot of an exotic distant arena during wartime. The GIs are depicted with warts and all and the reader finds all of them unforgettable.

We suffer Lieutenant Cable’s intoxication with Liat an island girl and even empathize with Liat’s mother, Bloody Mary, and her ambition for her daughter to marry an American soldier. We applaud Dr. Benoway, the base psychiatrist with his unconventional therapy techniques, such as including his wife in some of the therapy sessions. We suffer with Nellie Forbush who falls in love with a handsome French landowner, Emile de Becque, and agrees to marry him until she is introduced to his black children. The children are a product of a past union with a Polynesian woman and poor Nellie, Arkansas born, is stunned by this revelation. She must deal with the mores and crippling prejudice with which she has been raised and dismiss them if she hopes to marry Emile. Michener also deals with timeless concerns as the importance of letters from home to a lonely GI suffering palpable homesickness; prejudice at it basest, French officials governing the islands actually made it illegal for the natives to sell grass skirts because the trade was too lucrative and would give the natives financial independence from their European governors. When “South Pacific” was presented as a Broadway musical it was heralded as ground-breaking in its revolutionary content but “Tales” had reproached these destructive attitudes years before. “Tales” was a worthy recipient of the first Pulitzer Prize in 1948 for literature.

                                                                                                               Peg McCarthy, Smithtown Public Library, Retired

A Beautiful Mind by Sylvia Nasar

This Pulitzer Prize finalist for biography is based on the life of mathematician John Nash. The book follows the life of Nash from his first entrance into academia, through the onset of his schizophrenic break and his arrival on the other side of said break. This volume not only takes us through the life of Nash but through the period in which he lived; characterizing the world of academia during the middle 20th century as an exclusive and often times anti-Semitic atmosphere. The book also describes the emergence of the new Ivory League, institutions such as MIT and NYU, which won their prestige in part by accepting Harvard and Princeton’s bias cast-offs.

Nasar writes a beautiful biography that any non-fiction reader would enjoy, especially so if they have a mathematic background, however, such background is not required.

In addition to being a Pulitzer finalist, this book was also a 1998 New York Times Notable Book and the Winner of the National Book Critics Circle Award for Biography.

Sylvia Nasar is a professor of business at Columbia University and is a trained economist who has worked for many top news organizations including The New York Times, Fortune and US News.
Read-alikes:
Grand Pursuit: The Story of Economic Genius by Sylvia Nasar
A Fractured Mind: My Life with Multiple Personality Disorder by Rober B. Oxnam
The Man Who Loved Only Numbers by Paul Hoffman
The Soloist by Steve Lopez

                                                                                                                            Pamela Wells, Lindenhurst Public Library

A Thousand Acres by Jane Smiley

In a contemporary retelling of Shakespeare’s King Lear, it is 1979 and Ginny’s father, Larry Cook has just decided to retire, leaving the farm to Ginny and middle daughter Rose. Youngest daughter Caroline is booted out of the deal when she wants time to think about it.

What follows, is the family’s downfall. Larry becomes a mean drunk, bored without the farm; Ginny’s and Rose’s marriages begin to disintegrate; and the revelation of Larry’s sexual abuse of his two eldest daughters helps to set off the train wreck of their lives.

Read-alikes:
A Mother and Two Daughters by Gail Godwin
The Murderer's Daughters by Randy Meyers
Friday's Daughter by Patricia Sprinkle
Sister by Ansay A. Manette

                                                                                                                            Lori Ludlow, Babylon Public Library

Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout

Olive Kitteridge is a large, brassy woman who shows up throughout this series of short stories whether as a main character, a secondary character or as a mention through someone else’s eyes as they’ve crossed paths with her. As the stories move from one to the next, we get a picture of Olive first as a young mother, then as a middle-aged woman and finally as a senior in her seventies trying to reconnect with her son and deal with an ailing husband.

These short stories move quickly and capture moments in small town Maine with characters that are both likeable and easy to relate to. Although Olive can come off as a tyrant at times, the reader develops an attachment to her and her not so subtle nuances. This book can be picked up at leisure reading one or multiple stories in a sitting without feeling like you’re going to lose your place. Lovers of short stories and human nature shoul find this book quite enjoyable.

Read-alikes:
Belong to me, Marisa de los Santos
Blackbird House, Alice Hoffman
Maine, Courtney J. Sullivan

                                                                                                                       Azuree Agnello, West Babylon Public Library

True Crime

2011-06-30T16:41:00.098-04:00

Unholy Business: a true tale of faith, greed & forgery in the Holy Land by Nina Burleigh. In 2002, an ancient limestone box that was said to be the ossuary that held the bones of Jesus’ brother, James was touted as the first material evidence of the existence of Jesus Christ. In Unholy Business, Nina Burleigh tells the full story behind one of the greatest hoaxes of all times. Israeli authorities called it the “fraud of the century.”

Set in Israel with its 30,000 digs crammed with biblical-era artifacts and full of colorful characters, the book reveals biblical forgery, fakery, and archaeological adventure – a bizarre tale of big money and headline grabbing discoveries.

Read-alikes:
Mirage: Napoleon’s Scientists and the Unveiling of Egypt, Nina Burleigh
Newton and the Counterfeiter, Thomas Levenson
Michelangelo and the Pope’s Ceiling, Ross King

                                                                                                             Grace O'Connor, West Islip Public Library

The Man Who Loved Books Too Much by Allison Hoover Bartlett

The theft of books, or “bibliomania,” is even more widespread than art theft. Author Allison Hoover Bartlett stumbles into the world of rare books when she’s asked to return a valuable, and rather long-overdue, book to the library. Intrigued by the botanical tome, Bartlett begins research that puts her in contact with libraries, book collectors, and rare book dealers. She learns what motivates people to go to extreme, even criminal lengths, to obtain those books.

The Man Who Loved Books Too Much provides an engaging read for book lovers and mystery readers alike. Written in a first person narrative and easy-to-read style, the story meticulously follows the pursuit of an elusive book thief. What Bartlett finds in terms of motivation is not only surprising, but also raises questions about morality, societal pressure, complicity, and philosophy. The book spends time exploring the mindset of a book collector, and the book lover obsessively driven by his passion to a life of crime. Both men are motivated by their passion, and both justify their pursuits. The Man Who . . . will appeal to a reader that enjoys solid character development; a reader that is interested in the history of rare books; or a reader that is in the mood for a good true crime story. Anecdotal and suspenseful, The Man Who . . . delves into the psychology of why people love books (and you’ll be surprised at how many reasons there are), and the criminal measures that they will go to in order to own them.

The Man Who Loved Books Too Much will pique your interest in the whole culture of books and book lovers. If you’d like to read further about this subject, try reading A Gentle Madness by Nicholas Basbanes; Among the Gently Mad also by Basbanes; or A Pound of Paper by John Baxter.

                                                                                               Deborah Formosa, Northport-East Northport Public Library

The Whistleblower by Kathryn Bolkovac with Cari Lynn
Sex Trafficking, Military Contractors, and One Woman’s Fight for Justice

This is the true life story of a Lincoln, Nebraska police officer turned International Human Rights Investigator. Looking for a change, Bolkovac, enticed by the high Dynocorp salaries, made the decision to apply for a job oversees. She soon discovered Dynocorp was inundated with unqualified candidates and that landing a job would be easy. Bolkovac traveled to Bosnia and began a journey that would soon lead her to discover a cover up of massive proportions.

Bolkovac discovers her employer, Dynocorp, is covering up the involvement of its own employees and contractors in the Bosnian sex trade industry. Their involvement ranges from the taking bribes to look the other way to the actually purchasing and resale of the young women. When Bolkovac discovers the wrong doing and reports it she was fired under false pretenses.

Bolkovac is a very courageous woman and there is no doubt she helped many foreign women who were victims of sex trafficking. However, this book is so structurally flawed, that it renders the text boring and practically unreadable. The tale is told in a strictly linear fashion that reads like a police deposition and lacks any kind of story-like quality. There is a lot of extraneous information inserted into the text that adds nothing to the story, while the most interesting side story, Bolkovac’s relationship with Jan, is totally glazed over (but I imagine it was very romantic). Perhaps the movie being made of this tale will be better.

Read-alikes (or alternatives to try)
The Natashas: inside the new global sex trade by Victor Malarek
Sex trafficking: inside the business of modern slavery by Siddharth Kara
The Franklin scandal: a story of powerbrokers, child abuse and betrayal by Nick Bryant

                                                                                             Pamela Wells, Lindenhurst Public Library

Columbine by Dave Cullen

Dave Cullen’s Columbine allows the reader an insider’s look at the horrific tragedy at Columbine High School. The reader is walked through the months, weeks, days and minutes leading up the infamous event. Details from thousands of interviews, police and FBI documents, the journals of the perpetrators, police evidence and Cullen’s own prior reporting are included. The author focuses on clarifying two major misconceptions that surround the event. The first being that the killings took place in revenge for the bullying of the boys, and the second being that it was intended to be a school shooting. He consistently debunks these myths throughout the book with cold, hard evidence. The boys had many friends and no more than the typical issues at school and although both boys were heavily armed, the real destruction was supposed to be caused by bombs.

Cullen thoroughly investigates the lives of Eric and Dylan before the event, showing how their family and friends missed the warning signals of the troubled youth. The killer’s beliefs and psychopathic tendencies are thoroughly examined, as well as their upbringing. The book also focuses on the victims in the aftermath of the incident. This allows the reader to see the whole picture, rather than the reports in the media over the years that focused on the event and the killers. Cullen takes a long, hard look at all the facts, while maintaining sensitivity to all involved.

Overall, an in-depth expose of what happened at Columbine and an explanation of why the killers, Dylan Klebold and Eric Harris, did what they did. The tone is somber and the reader is sometimes confused as the author alternates between the event and the aftermath. Columbine may not appeal to everyone, the reading is dense and the content can be difficult, sometimes violent. It is a thoughtful, well researched, compelling and emotional read. It dispels many myths that have been portrayed in the media over the years. Some reviewers compared Columbine to In Cold Blood and Helter Skelter, and I would say I have to agree.

Read-Alikes:
Under the Bridge Rebecca Godfrey
No Easy Answers Brooks Brown
Devil’s Knot Mara Leveritt
Judgment Ridge Dick Lehr

                                                                                Donna Brown, Northport-East Northport Public Library

The Savage City by T. J. English

The Savage City is a story of New York City at war with itself. Through the inter-connected stories of three men -- a corrupt New York City cop, a Black Panther radical, and an innocent man wrongly accused of a shocking crime -- author T.J. English tells the story of how New York City descended into a virtual civil war during the decade from 1963 to 1973.

During this decade a basically corrupt and racist police force was finally confronted by a fed-up black underclass that refused to submit to any more mistreatment and brutality. The wrongful arrest and railroaded conviction of young, black George Whitmore for the “Career Girl Murders” in 1963 was just one of the precipitating factors thrown into this swirling maelstrom that at times led to a literal revolution in the streets.

This book is a searing story of a city teetering on the edge. The Savage City’s narrative rings true, because English relied on primary sources, including official transcripts of court cases and interviews with the main subjects of the book to tell his story. The Savage City is a book well worth reading for true crime fans and those who want to learn about a crucial decade in the history of New York City.

The only complaint is that the author’s prose occasionally seems to revert to “noir” speak, wherein he tries to sound like a Mike Hammer wannabe. This is often quite jarring to the reader.

Thomas Joseph “T.J” English is an award-winning freelance journalist and crime reporter. For a number of years he also drove a taxicab. He is the author of numerous bestselling true crime books, including The Westies and Havana Nocturne. He has also written a number of scripts for such television shows as NYPD Blue and Homicide.

Read-alikes would include several other true crime exposes of police corruption such as Serpico by Peter Maas, Buddy Boys by Mike McAlary, and NYPD Confidential by Leonard Levitt. You can also recommend to readers of police fiction by authors such as William Caunitz, Dan Mahoney, Joseph Wambaugh, and Ed Dee.

                                                                                                         Bruce Silverstein, Patchogue-Medford Library

Tiger, Tiger: a Memoir by Margaux Fragoso

Margaux Fragoso’s account of the fifteen years she spent as the victim of a serial child abuser and pedophile may well be the most difficult book you will ever encounter! Written to aid in her own therapy, and as a caution so that others will more readily recognize abusers in action, the story is almost too much to bear. Fragoso’s candor, her unrelenting examination of motive and behavior, both of others and herself, as well as her forceful writing style all combine to make this a gripping, profoundly troubling read.

Fragoso was 7 years old when her 51 year old abuser began to spin his web. An only child, her mother was mentally ill, not infrequently hospitalized, and her father withdrew via work and an active bar social life. The abuser was a master manipulator, providing all a lonely child could desire: a home to visit, with animals and gardens, creative play, and most importantly, flattering, one-on-one attention. He taught her to regard themselves as a couple in love, and their relationship did not end until he took his own life.

Read-alikes would include The Source of All Things: A Memoir by Tracy Ross, abused by her step-father. Kathryn Harrison’s The Kiss recounts an incestuous relationship. Katie.com: My Story, is Katherine Tarbox’s description of a sexual predator met through the Internet. David Pelzer’s writings, including A Child Called It, give a shocking picture of childhood abuse, and the brave spirit child victims need to survive.

                                                                                              Suzanne McGuire, Commack Public Library

December 8, 1980: The Day John Lennon Died by Keith Elliot Greenberg

This day in the life of John Lennon was unfortunately his last. It was a busy day for John and Yoko – they were giving interviews, doing a photo shoot with neighbor Annie Leibovitz and recording in a studio. On their return to The Dakota, John was gunned down by a crazy fan, Mark David Chapman. Greenberg gives the reader background information on John, the Beatles and Chapman but the focus is December 8 and the events leading up to that day. A poignant book on John’s death, this should be recommended to avid Beatle fans and New Yorkers. A visit to Strawberry Fields in Central Park should follow.

                                                                                                  Karen Jaffe, Comsewogue Public Library

To Have or to Harm by Linden Gross

To Have or to Harm reveals the fear stalking victims can feel, the book shows how these obsessions can begin, and how they can escalate into more deadly encounters. A final chapter offers ideas on how to protect oneself against stalkers.

The pace of the book is slow and drawn out. At times there are too many repetitive mentioning of the most known or celebrated cases. The style of the book can work as a supplement to more updated information than standing on its own. I found the style to be very dry and not compelling except for some cases. The author admitted that they did not follow up on some cases presented which was a point of contention when you had been brought into the drama and then left to wonder what had been the resulting outcome had been.

The book appeared to derive most of the material for viewpoint of expressing dissatisfaction at the lack of assistance from the police departments and the judiciary system. The author tried to propose various solutions and suggestions to establish better protective proponents. However, the resulting conclusion was that one needs to be aware of the potential risks one faces when dealing with a potential or established stalker. Each individual can react in a multitude of diverse actions that leaves the reader frustrated by the lack of definitive solutions that can alter the final outcome of any actions.

The last chapter was the most informative pertaining to dealing with a potential stalker. However, most of the advice came from security expert Gavin De Becker and therefore I would recommend reading his book.

I recommend this book only as a supplement, after reading the books by Robert L. Snow and Gavin De Becker, in the interest of historical background information.

Read-alikes
The Gift of Fear: survival signals that protect us from violence* by Gavin De Becker
Courting disaster: intimate stalking, culture, and criminal justice by Jennifer Dunn
Surviving Stalking by Michele Pathe
How to stop a stalker by Mike Proctor
Stopping a Stalker : A cop’s guide to making the system work for you* by Robert L. Snow
(*Personally recommended)

                                                                                                               Anne Jones, East Hampton Public Library

In With the Devil: The Fallen Hero, the Serial Killer and a Dangerous Bargain for Redemption by James Keene with Hillel Levin

Jim Keene was a high school football hero, good looking and personable. He did not continue with college football because he had become a wealthy drug dealer. He and Big Jim, his dad, were very close although it appears his father was unaware of the source of his income. Jim had bankrolled some of his father’s failed endeavors with his ill-gotten gains. In 1997, this son of a policeman, was convicted as a drug dealer. He was sentenced to 10-years-to-life. After serving a few months, he was given the option of a quick release if he could get a suspected serial killer, Larry Hall, to confess his crimes. Jim’s drug dealing made millions and this prosecutor who had pursued him for ten years trying to shut down his drug operation had, in the process, gained a grudging respect for Jim’s courage and wiliness. Beaumont, the prosecutor, suspected that there were many more bodies still unaccounted for. In alternating chapters, we follow Jim in prison and Larry Hall in prison and before prison. This method was a bit distracting as the reader is often switched to the other interview in the midst of crucial happenings. In jail, Jim meets high-ranking members of the mafia and other assorted characters in his attempt to get close to Larry Hall. Life is no picnic and the pitfalls are many. Unbelievable errors were made in the tracking of the killer through many states and many murders. No real clearing house for information about unsolved homicides or missing persons exists. It is limited to the information voluntarily submitted by local police departments. My interest came primarily from our local serial murders. It would seem that the consensus believes that serial killers are white males in the same age range . Time will tell.

Other than the above mentioned chapter changes, I did enjoy the book.

James Keene was born and raised in Illinois. He now lives in Kankakee, Chicago and Los Angeles producing, writing and consulting for other film and book projects. Sean Penn and Brad Pitt have indicated an interest in a movie.

Read-alikes could include Truman Capote’s In Cold Blood and No Angel by Jay Dobyns.

                                                                                                   Marie T. Horney, Cold Spring Harbor Library

Boardwalk Empire: The Birth, High Times, and Corruption of Atlantic City by Nelson Johnson

Johnson's work of nonfiction served as the inspiration for HBO's 2010 series of the same name. All the big names are in this story: Al Capone, Arnold Rothstein, Lucy Luciano and Nucky Johnson. This well-researched and highly enjoyable look at the beginnings of Atlantic city reads like a novel. The reader is given a peek at how things get done in city development amd how to give the customer what he wants, even if it is illegal.

Read-alikes:
Atlantic City: One hundred twenty-five years of ocean madness
by Vicki G. Levi and Lee Eisenberg
Boardwalk of Dreams: Atlantic City and the Fate of Urban America by Bryant Simon
Chance of a Lifetime: Nucky Johnson, Skinny D'Amato and how Atlantic City became the Naughty Queen of resorts by Grace Anselmo D'Amato
The Northside: African Americans and the Creation of Atlantic City by Nelson Johnson.

                                                                                   Kathleen Carter, Mastics-Moriches-Shirley Community Library

A Death in Belmont by Sebastian Junger

As a young boy Sebastian heard about day laborer, Al DeMarco that the Jungers hired to work on building a studio for them who later claimed to be the Boston Strangler. This family lore led Junger to investigate a murder of an elderly neighbor, Bessie Goldberg, which happened while Al was in their employ but whose murder was blamed on another part time worker, Roy Smith, who happened to clean the Goldbergs house the day Bessie was brutally raped and murdered. Junger investigates the trial and ultimate conviction of Roy Smith, a black man, and leads the reader on an intriguing and sometimes frustrating journey of Smith’s guilt or innocence. At first the reader thinks this book will show that Smith is innocent and was wrongly convicted by an all white male jury but then Junger presents evidence that makes one wonder if Smith could have actually been the murderer. Al DeMarco never confesses to Bessie’s murder and does claim “credit” for 13 other murders while incarcerated. The story is an enlightening treatise on the legend of the Boston Strangler but also on the investigation of Bessie Goldberg’s death.

Other than the above mentioned chapter changes, I did enjoy the book. James Keene was born and raised in Illinois. He now lives in Kankakee, Chicago and Los Angeles producing, writing and consulting for other film and book projects. Sean Penn and Brad Pitt have indicated an interest in a movie.

Read-alikes could include Truman Capote’s In Cold Blood and No Angel by Jay Dobyns.

                                                                                                               Peggy McCarthy, Retired
The Devil in the White City by Erik Larson

Erik Larson, author of Isaac’s Storm and Thunderstruck, weaves the richly detailed account of the 1893 Columbian Exposition with the grisly tale of one of America’s first serial killers.

The brilliant and charismatic architect, Daniel H. Burnham, had a vision of a World’s Fair with all the latest innovations, technology and wonders for all to see. With a lot of convincing to do and time running out, he employs the best architects and designers he can find to make the 400th anniversary celebration of Columbus’s arrival the most spectacular event ever seen. Burnham and these men transform Chicago’s muddy Jackson Park into the “White City,” powered by Westinghouse and filled with pioneering feats of engineering (the first Ferris Wheel), consumer goods (Cracker Jacks and Shredded Wheat) and entertainers (Buffalo Bill and “Little Egypt”). The six month-long fair drew over twenty million visitors.

Meanwhile, another intelligent and captivating man, Dr. H.H. Holmes (born Herman Webster Mudgett), also selects Chicago’s Lake Michigan area for his business ventures. In the Englewood section just west of the Exposition, Dr. Holmes establishes his “castle,” complete with a restaurant and drugstore on the first floor and dozens of small, airless rooms on the second floor. What the fairgoers and the city don’t know is that Dr. Holmes has a dark side; his charm swindles money out of both men and women, then he kills them in a variety of gruesome ways. Although Holmes flees after the fair, he is finally tracked down and convicted of nine murders (though he confessed to more) and executed in 1896.

Larson’s exhaustive research and detail can be daunting, but he is also a master at making his works read like fiction. Stick with it and maybe complement it with the DVDs – “H.H. Holmes: America’s First Serial Killer” and “Make No Little Plans: Daniel Burnham and the American City.”

Read-alikes
In addition to other Larson titles, try:
The Professor and the Madman: a Tale of Murder, Insanity, and the Making of the Oxford English Dictionary by Simon Winchester
Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil by John Berendt

                                                                                                                     Cathi Nashak, Deer Park Public Library

Dead Reckoning by Caitlin Rother

In 2004, Tom and Jackie Hawks were murdered aboard their yacht, the Well Deserved in southern California. Alive, they were bound together and tied to an anchor which was thrown overboard. In 2009, husband and wife, Skylar and Jennifer Deleon were convicted of the murders. Skylar was sentenced to death and Jennifer is serving two life sentences with no chance of parole.

Dead Reckoning is the play-by-play plotline of how this tragic event came to be. The Hawks’ were not randomly selected and killed for kicks. Their murders were solely about money. They had done nothing wrong; had not harmed the Deleons in any way. In fact, they had never met the Deleon’s until they decided to sell their boat.

Skylar’s plan began when he saw an ad for the Hawks’ boat. If they had a $400,000 yacht, they were probably loaded. He decided that during a test run of the yacht, he would physically force the Hawks to sign all their property and bank accounts over to him, then kill them.

Beginning in the middle of the story, the author lets us in on Skylar’s execution plan, then the book jumps back and forth detailing Skylar Deleon’s life from his childhood to the murders. We learn of his father’s abuse, the neglect by his mother and step-mother, his short TV career, his shorter stint in the Marines, where he received an “other than honorable discharge” when he went on an Unauthorized Leave after 15 days, his parole for burglary, and of his predilection for wearing make up and wanting to be a female.

Jennifer Henderson, Deleon’s wife, does not get the detailed treatment that Skylar does. She comes from a Christian family. She’s a cosmetologist. There is no evidence of untoward behavior on her part at school, with friends, or family.

A thoroughly researched and documented case that took the author 5 years to write, Dead Reckoning gives the reader all the information that TV shows Dateline, 48 Hours, and 20/20 couldn’t.

About the Author:
Caitlin Rother is a Pulitzer Prize nominee for her work at the San Diego Union-Times. She spent 19 years as an investigative reporter for daily newspapers and now teaches writing at the University of California, San Diego, where she lives.

Read-alikes:

Fatal Vision by Joe McGinniss
Anything by Ann Rule
Vanished at Sea: the true story of a child TV actor and a double murder, by Tina Dirmann (written in 2008, two years before Rother’s book)
Poisoned Love, Twisted Triangle, & Body Parts by Caitlin Rother

                                                                                                               Lori Ludlow, Babylon Public Library

Bringing Adam Home: The Abduction That Changed America
   by Les Sandiford with Joe Matthews

Bringing Adam Home is the account of what happened after Adam Walsh was kidnapped and how the Hollywood, Florida Police Department completely mishandled the case.

Beginning with Adam’s abduction from Sears, this book starts with how the police were first informed and how they handled the case. Told from Detective Joe Matthew’s point of view, this frustrating tale is one misstep after another as the lead detective focuses on people who had nothing to do with the kidnapping and refuses to listen to Matthews’ ideas on how to help. After being sent back to his precinct, Matthews kept in touch with the Walsh’s and tried to help where he could. Eventually he became friends with the family and assisted with cases on America’s Most Wanted, the show John Walsh began to help other families get closure. Finally, after 25 years of frustration and unanswered questions, the Walsh family came to the decision to ask Matthews to give it one more try. After two years of following the evidence, Matthews was finally able to give the Walsh family the closure they were due.

A frustrating tale of police failure, Bringing Adam Home is a dry read that only becomes truly engrossing in the last 100 pages when Matthews is finally able to review the entire case file and fill in the gaps. Although Adam’s body was never found, his parents believe that Matthews proved that the man who confessed to the crime truly did it and have accepted the outcome. Good for conspiracy theorists, true crime buffs and those who remember the Adam Walsh kidnapping, Bringing Adam Home is a tale of one family doing more than they should have needed to do in order to bring their son’s murderer to justice and in doing so, changed the way a nation deals with missing and exploited children.

Read-alikes:
The Ghosts of Hopewell: Setting the Record Straight in the Lindbergh Kidnapping, Jim Fisher
Lost and Found (Jaycee Dugard) John Glatt
In Plain Sight: The Startling Truth Behind the Elizabeth Smart Investigation, Tom Smart
JonBenét: Inside the Ramsey Murder Investigation, Steve Thomas

                                                                                        Azurée Agnello, West Babylon Public Library

Den of Thieves by James B. Stewart

Wall Street Journal alumnus Stewart covers the biggest insider trading scandal of the 80’s and the downfall of the perpetrators in a true crime story which reads like a novel. First, Stewart introduces the web of colorful characters who made a mockery of securities regulations by trading confidential information for personal gain. Then, he tells the thriller-paced tale of the government’s successful prosecution of the thieves. In the process, he satisfies the reader’s curiosity about a much-misunderstood crime.

Read-alikes include the author’s Tangled Webs, Connie Bruck’s The Predator’s Ball, and Kurt Eichenwald’s Serpent on the Rock. The movie The Social Network has similar appeal.

                                                                                  Jackie Malone, North Bellmore Public Library

International Political Fiction

2011-03-14T11:12:00.049-04:00

The Faithful Spy by John Berenson
The political fiction genre has a new and unique CIA operative, John Wells, who not only infiltrates Al Qaeda for almost a decade but becomes a devout Muslim during his years in Pakistan. He returns to New York under the orders of a high ranking mysterious Al Qaeda military leader who doesn’t quite trust Wells and keeps John unenlightened regarding his “mission ” until the time is right.

While John was in Pakistan he never communicated with his superiors for fear of blowing his cover and undermining all the trust he earned among his Al Qaeda brothers. Thus when Wells finally reports to the CIA the top brass don’t trust him either. Welles must convince the CIA he has not “gone over” and yet must remain a convincing Al Qaeda warrior.

The Faithful Spy is a nail biting thriller with a diabolically brilliant antagonist who is more than a match for our brave and solitary hero. It is John Berenson’s first novel, for which he won the Edgar Award in 2006. Berenson is a reporter for the New York Times and has covered topics from the occupation of Iraq to the flooding of New Orleans. His fluency in the Middle East is apparent in his storytelling. The thoroughness of this narrative makes it plausible and chilling in its probability.

Read-alikes:
Any of Nelson DeMille’s John Corey stories
Ian Fleming’s James Bond novels

                                                                               Peg McCarthy, Librarian

Executive Intent by Dale Brown

The book begins with a too long multiple page description of various missiles and their capabilities.

We are then introduced to several members of the space station in orbit and ground crew responsible for the protection of naval ships at sea. Although one does not get a feeling for the characters.

The book starts with tensions at sea between American and Chinese fighter pilots before it segues into how the United States has designed and launched one of the most powerful weapons in history called “Thor’s Hammer” that can strike anywhere in the world in seconds. In order to protect themselves from this design other countries such as China and Russia attempt to gain control of the world’s seas.

Meanwhile, terrorists decide to hijack Pakistani missiles and use them against Indian cities. The President of the United States, Joseph Gardner, decides to retaliate by firing Thor’s Hammer which results in a a large number of casualties. This incites Pakistan to provide China with access to their Middle Eastern ports.

Another plot involves Somali pirates attacking a Chinese ship and the Chinese retaliation of attacking Somalia and setting up missile bases that can target American ships at sea.

An additional plot emerges as both Chinese and Russian spacecraft surround the American space-station threatening the U.S. Navy with missiles unless the Americans are willing to negotiate territories and boundaries.

The intricate descriptions of the missiles were cumbersome at the beginning and proved unhelpful in understanding the differences in strategic warfare if one was unfamiliar with basic weaponry. I found little interest in this book and was unable to care about the characters. The multiple plots were excessive and became confusing at times when the plot design appeared to change from current to futuristic setting.

I would recommend this book only to individuals who already have read prior books by Dale Brown or have a definite interest in technology/military adventure.

Read-alikes:
Baldacci, David Deliver Us from Evil
Bova, Ben Able One
Brown, Dale Strike Force
Clancy, Tom Battle Ready
Rollins, David Hard Rain

                                                                                                               Anne Jones, East Hampton Library

Boomsday by Christopher Buckley

It’s the end of the world as we know it! At least is seems to be with Boomsday arriving. Boomsday is the day when all baby boomers start to retire. With the economy and social security in crisis, America is in despair. A 29- year old public relations person, Cassandra Devine, decides she knows exactly what America’s twenty-somethings can do to prevent this catastrophe from occurring. She decides to blog about it. In her blogs she asks “generation whatever” to protest and take action. Ms. Devine came up with a wonderful idea; why not have baby boomers “transition” themselves at age 65. By transitioning Cassandra means for them to commit suicide. From then on Cassandra Devine becomes the face of martyr and heroism to twenty-somethings. The Characters in Boomsday are pretty funny to say the least. They are full of so many issues you have to ask yourself “how much worse can their judgments get?” The answer to that is pretty funny. The ending even makes you say “huh?”.

Similar books by this author- Thank You for Smoking, Little Green Men, No Way to Treat a First Lady, Florence of Arabia, and The White House Mess

                                                        Lissetty Thomas, Brentwood Public Library

Sammy's House by Kristin Gore

Samantha Joyce, also known as Sammy, is a health care advisor and aide to Ohio Senator Robert Gary. Despite her character quirks, her friends and her age, she does her job quite well. This is a fun look at the young side of life in the capital. The political wheeling and dealing share time with the dating and bar scene. Although the book is quite funny at times, it does offer a sobering look at the workings of Congress. Fans of Jennifer Weiner, Lauren Weisberger, Emma McLaughlin and Candace Bushnell will enjoy.

                                                                                                  Karen Jaffe, Comsewogue Public Library

Last Snow by Eric Lustbader

ATF agent Jack McClure is the special advisor to President Edward Carson, so when the President asks him to investigate the mysterious death of a senator on a diplomatic mission, Jack is off to the Ukraine . He becomes involved with the beautiful Annika, a Russian counterintelligence agent, and with dangerous and unscrupulous apparatchiks and oligarchs. In a previous adventure, (First Daughter, 2008) McClure had saved the life of Carson’s daughter, Alli, and she insists on accompanying him, adding more confusion and complexity to the mission. The story is fast-paced, colorful, and violent.

Lustbader was hired by the Robert Ludlum estate to continue the Bourne books, so readers of that series will likely enjoy” Last Snow”. Other read-alikes include authors Tom Clancy, Philip Margolin, and David Baldacci.

                                                                     Suzanne McGuire, Commack Public Library

Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel

Winner of the Man Booker prize for contemporary British fiction in 2009, historian, novelist and author Hilary Mantel delves into the reign of Henry VIII particularly his long stand-off with the church. The point of view is that of Thomas Cromwell, who directed England’s civil and religious affairs in those tumultuous years. Cromwell has been called the architect of the English Reformation inasmuch as he showed Henry he could get his marriage annulled by breaking with the Catholic Church and leading an independent Church of England.

Best read as a novel, not history. Reviewers noted its capacious structure, the brilliance of its language, the wry, off-beat, elegiac tone of its narration and its sheer inventiveness. Some of these things are true and some are lies . . . but they are all good stories.

At times an ambitious read, but a rewarding one as well.

Read-alikes:

The Lacuna, Barbara Kingsolver
The Glass Room, Simon Mawer
The Little Stranger, Sarah Waters
Brooklyn, Colm Toibin
The Children’s Book, A. S. Byatt

                                                                             Grace O'Connor, West Islip Public Library

American Savior by Roland Merullo

American Savior is the story of a presidential campaign. A campaign in which Jesus Christ, having become dismayed at the state of spirituality in America and convinced that his own teachings have been distorted, decides to run for President of the United States. He first re-appears in a small city in western Massachusetts performing various miracles. He recruits a ragtag group of campaign workers, primarily the religiously-conflicted family of television reporter Russ Thomas, to manage his campaign. While Jesus’ campaign first encounters many doubters, he soon comes to be the front runner and is well on his way to becoming the next president. Especially interesting are the non-conventional ways in which Jesus addresses the hot-button issues of our day, issues which many on both sides of the political class are convinced they know how he would think.

The book seems to ask the question of how America, a “Christian nation” would recognize and treat the return of its savior. The author seems to want to ask if those who profess to believe in him truly understand his actual message. Of course many others might say that the author is presenting his own conception of how Jesus should be viewed.

Read-Alikes might include campaign novels such as Primary Colors by Anonymous, Sleeping Dogs by Ed Gorman, and Dog Days by Ana Marie Cox. Also recommend to readers who have enjoyed books such as The Stars My Destination by Alfred Bester, The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch by Philip Dick, and More Than Human by Theodore Sturgeon.

                                                                           Bruce Silverstein, Patchogue-Medford

Skull Mantra by Eliot Pattison

Shan Tan Yun, a Han Chinese sent to the Tibetan gulag for reeducation, undertakes the investigation of a political murder in hopes of saving his fellow prisoners, Tibetan monks, from blame. A tribute to human resilience featuring interesting leads, colorful secondary characters, clever dialog, and lyrical descriptions of a haunting landscape , Skull Mantra is also a fascinating read for anyone interested in the recent history of Tibet.

Read-alikes include Tony Hillerman’s A Thief of Time, Nicholas Shakespeare’s The Dancer Upstairs, and John Burdett’s The Godfather of Kathmandu.

                                                                          Jackie Malone, North Bellmore Public Library

The Bell Ringers by Harry Porter

By any measure, this political thriller would appeal to someone who enjoys a suspenseful read with numerous twists and turns, a multitude of fully-developed characters, and a strong dose of mystery. But the range of appeal can be broadened to anyone who may have a concern about the societal trends developing in response to recent global events. The Bell Ringers is completely fictional in its portrayal of a dystopian-like society of the future, but it is hard to refrain from drawing comparisons and inferences to present-day reality. Greedy corporations, a corrupt government, or over-reaching technology can easily be a headline in today’s news, and that’s what makes it easy to relate to the believable plot of The Bell Ringers.

While living in exile in Colombia, a former advisor to England’s Prime Minister is murdered in the bombing of a street side cafe. Colleagues and friends gather for his funeral in England and shortly thereafter a former lover learns that she is the sole beneficiary of his estate. Kate Lockhart is perplexed by the designation, as she and David Eyam had been estranged for years. While settling his affairs, Lockhart not only witnesses the murder of several of Eyam’s associates, but she also stumbles upon overwhelming evidence that Eyam was engaged in underground activity with a group called “The Bell Ringers.” Whether it could be attributed it to a complacent society or a serious concern over terrorist threats, a true breach of the country’s water supply or a manufactured peril, the surveillance of Britain’s population had been allowed to develop into an oppressive operation known as DEEP TRUTH—a sinister totalitarian conspiracy that threatens the democratic process—and Eyam, for one, was no longer able to subscribe to his leader’s mission. That is when his troubles began.

Many reviewers have compared The Bell Ringers to Orwell’s classic novel 1984. The works are similar in that both portray a society gone awry; both depict the evils of a totalitarian government demanding total devotion from its citizens. The frightening difference between the two novels, as pointed out by a Washington Post reviewer, is that Orwell’s novel was written as a futuristic prediction of what “could happen;” Porter’s novel is a depiction of what he perceives as “already starting to happen.” Read the Afterword provided by Porter if The Bell Ringers does not alarm you enough.

Enjoy the conspiratorial and suspenseful aspects of The Bell Ringers? Readalikes include The Ghost by Robert Harris, Acrobat by Lira Gonzalo, and Overton Window by Glenn Beck.

                                                                         Deborah Formosa, Northport-East Northport Public Library

First Daughter by Eric Van Lustbader

In this political thriller, the soon-to-be President’s daughter, Alli is kidnapped and everyone wants to keep it quiet. Luckily, Alli used to be friends with the daughter of an ATF agent named Jack McClure making him the perfect choice to find the First Daughter since the Secret Service and out-going President have their own hidden agenda. As Jack uses his investigative skills to locate the First Daughter, an undercurrent of devout government members, including the current President, are hunting down those who think church and state should be separate entities and trampling civil rights in the name of God.

First Daughter is a jumbled mess of past, present and future sometimes bordering on the absurd (the ghost of Jack’s daughter Emma begins appearing to him, Jack’s dyslexia allows his to see things in colors and shapes making him able to solve things that no one else can). All of the characters are in constant conflict with each other, with religious fundamentalists and with anyone else who doesn’t toe the company line. Jack’s past comes into play as he searches for Alli, including his obsession in trying to discover what was behind the death of Emma, and characters that seem trustworthy turn out to be just as flawed as everyone else. Fast-paced with short chapters, this would be a good read for anyone looking for more action than plot. Although the underlying theme of church and state makes for an interesting debate, it’s handled poorly making the reader more frustrated than anything else.

Read-alikes:
Tom Clancy
Vince Flynn
Robert Ludlum
Daniel Silva

                                                                                    Azuree Agnello, West Babylon Public Library

Eighteen Acres by Nicolle Wallace

In Eighteen Acres, the reader follows a year in the lives of three powerful, career-minded women; Charlotte, the United States’ 45th president; Melanie, her chief-of-staff; and Dale, a White House correspondent who is also sleeping with the president’s husband.

Charlotte and Melanie are in each others’ lives 24/7 and have become close friends. They journey to Afghanistan to visit the troops and spend weekends at Camp David. Dale has been steadily moving up the career ladder at her network and is hoping to land the gig on the president’s campaign trail. The president knows about her husband’s affair with Dale, but feels it’s the result of her neglect and doesn’t begrudge him.

When Charlotte and her vice president go to Afghanistan, with only a select few of the press, they come under attack. The press helicopter crashes and Dale is hospitalized. Naturally, the affair becomes national and international headlines.

Each chapter of the book follows one of the three women. The questions that arise after the crash concern whether Melanie will continue working after 15 years in the White House, whether Charlotte will try for another four years in the White House, even after the scandal, and whether Dale can resume her career and hold onto Peter (the First Man).

This political fiction is more women’s fiction with a political setting. It is a quick read with lots going on. The White House and DC are hubs of activity where no one is spared. No one has much of a life outside their careers and, as women, that is something they all battle with.

The female characters are well drawn; however, the male characters hardly have a presence.

Written by a woman, for women, including references to Marc Jacobs bags and a $2,000 Dior purse, this book is just this side of “chick lit”, making it an enjoyable, easy read.

Read-alikes:
• Protect and Defend, by Richard North Patterson
• Eleanor vs. Ike, by Robin Gerber
• Sunday Brunch Diaries, by Norma Jarrett
• Girls of Riyadh, by Rajaa Alsanea

                                                                               Lori Ludlow, Babylon Public Library

Julian Comstock: A Story of 22nd Century America by Robert Charles Wilson

A portrait of an imagined 22nd America, Julian Comstock reflects the political and social turmoil in today’s world. The most poignant political themes in the novel are the separation of Church and State, religious freedom, the US‘s dependency on oil and the increasing monetary gap between the middle and the upper classes. Additional themes include America’s consumer driven society tainted by the desire for excess and the dangers of viral mutation from antibiotics.

This novel takes place after the age of oil, in feudal caste society. The presidency is no longer determined by election but is inherited or appointed. The whole of North America is the new USA and the USA is still at war with European’s, who are labeled “the Dutch,” over Canada’s northern territories. After the end of oil, an indentured class is created, these citizen’s sell the only thing they own, their own bodies in order to survive.

Julian Comstock, a member of privileged class, sets off to find America and himself. Julian is accompanied by two companions, Sam and Adam, who are of the working or indentured classes. The three involuntarily get drafted into the army and are sent off to fight the Dutch. The three eventually return as hero’s to New York, now the US’s capital. Soon the group is threatened by there political ties to the president and Julian is faced with overwhelming opposition from the powerful Church/Feudal run government.

As well as a political novel, Julian Comstock is a coming of age story. I would recommend this book to both adults and older teens, especially lovers of Science Fiction.

Read-alikes
Paul Park
Alison Sinclair
Eric Nylund
Pat Murphy

                                                                                   Pamela L. Wells, Lindenhurst Public Library

Graphic Novels

2010-11-04T16:20:00.018-04:00

Storm Front Volume One: The Gathering Storm by Jim Butcher, Mark Powers and Ardian Syaf
A graphic novel based on Butcher’s series of the same name. The main character is Harry Dresden - Chicago private investigator and wizard. The book is Mickey Spillane meets an alternative universe of demons, vampires and wizards. Fast-paced and funny Butcher delivers a story that both entertains and scares.

Read-alikes
Jasper Fforde’s “Thursday Next” series
The Iron Hunt by Marjorie Liu
Darkness Calls by Marjorie Liu
The rest of “The Dresden Files” series
Terry Pratchett’s series in graphic form

                                                                                                        Kathleen Carter, Freelance Librarian

Isadora Duncan: A Graphic Biography by Sabrina Jones

Isadora Duncan (1877-1927) became one of the most colorful and transforming artists in the world. She was born in California into an artistic family and by the time she was eighteen, she was on her way to world wide reknown.. In her travels from Chicago, New York, Europe and eventually to St. Petersburg, her bare feet, Grecian style costume and free style dance movements were the talk of artists and patrons all over. She had a very colorful lifestyle which matched her temperament and together with her artistic achievements created a very colorful celebrity status. Sabrina Jones has written and graphically illustrated this biography in a black and white format which captures the reader’s full attention and strikinglyportrays all the fullness of Isadora Duncan’s life. Written for teenagers, this graphic style biography will appeal to all ages.

Read-alikes
Helen Keller: Courageous Advocate by Scott A. Welvaert
Anne Frank: The Anne Frank House Aughorized Graphic Biography by Sid Jacobson
Isadora Duncan, My Life by Isadora Duncan

                                                                                                                  Andrea Huff, Deer Park Public Library

In Odd We Trust by Dean Koontz

Written by Queenie Chan and Dean Koontz. Illustrations by Queenie Chan

In Odd We Trust is a graphic novel version of the adventures of Odd Thomas. http://www.deankoontz.com/odd-thomas-series

This graphic novel is considered a prequel to the Odd Thomas series. The character of Odd Thomas is developed well in the novel, but I am afraid that is the only positive thing I can say about the writing. The story, slated as being a suspenseful tale, falls miles away from suspenseful, winding up in the predictable realm. The prose lacks sophistication and depth. The story is over simplified and reads more like a tween novel then and adult or even teen novel.

The illustrations are done well. They are interesting and clear and the characters look distinct from one another. The illustrations, however, lack complimentary exposition that I have seen in other graphic novels. Again, this is a flaw in the prose structure; additional exposition would of added depth to the story.

Read-alikes
Amulet by Kazu Kibuishi
Gear school by Adam Gallardo and others
Artemis Fowl by Eoin Colfer & Andrew Donkin
Oddly Normal by Otis Frampton
Stormbreaker by Antony Johnston, Anthony Horowitz & others

                                                                                                     Pamela Wells, Lindenhurst Public Library

Cancer Vixen by Marisa Acocella Marchetto

Cancer Vixen is a memoir written in the graphic novel genre. The author, Marisa Acocella Marchetto, is a cartoonist who writes for Glamour and the New Yorker. Breast cancer is not a subject that one thinks of in a humorous vein but as a cartoonist, Marchetto is accustomed to telling her story with humor and she accomplishes this difficult task successfully.

Though basically drawn in comic strip style, Marchetto occasionally leaves the panel structure and does a full-page cartoon or includes receipts or surgical reports. Marchetto uses color and fashion, both aspects of her profession, to enrich her story which is told from diagnosis to surgery to radiation and chemotherapy and ends on a note of hope.

Read-alikes:
For Graphic Novel memoirs
Cancer Made Me a Shallower Person by Miriam Engelberg
Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi
Lisa's Story by Tom Batiuk

For Breast Cancer memoirs
Cancer Is a Bitch: or, I'd Rather Be Having a Midlife Crisis by Gail Konop Baker

Unusual cancer books
Crazy Sexy Cancer Tips by Kris Carr
                                                                                                           Michelle Epstein, East Northport Library

A.D.: New Orleans after the Deluge by Josh Neufeld

The physical and emotional tragedy of Hurricane Katrina is vividly portrayed in Josh Neufeld’s latest graphic novel. Seven survivor’s personal accounts are transformed into effectively powerful illustrations that give the reader a very real sense of devastation.

Denise, Brobson, Abbas, Darnell, Kwame, Leo and Michelle all have established lives in New Orleans. With Katrina’s category 5 winds looming, they must decide whether to leave or stay. Using actual conversations and simple yet effective line drawings, Neufeld shares his subjects’ resignations, fears, pain and finally, reclamations of their lives.

If you haven’t tried a graphic novel, I strongly suggest that you do. You may be pleasantly surprised that the combination of comic strip form and dialogue can still evoke as strong a reaction as the purely written word. Recommended.

Read-alikes
In the Shadow of No Towers by Art Spiegelman
Zeitoun by Dave Eggers

                                                                                               Catherine Nashak, Deer Park Public Library

Blue Pills: A Love Story by Frederik Peeters

Born in Geneva, Switzerland in 1974 Frederik Peeters decided to write a graphic novel at age 25. He quit his job as a graphic designer and took a menial job to support himself. His first attempt, Blue Pills is an autobiographical story based on his relationship with his live in girlfriend Cati and when first published it sold over 20,000 copies an extraordinary achievement for a debut graphic novel. It won prizes at Europe’s most prestigious comic book festivals and was translated and published in England in 2008.

It begins as an everyday love story about a boy meeting a girl at a party. There is a mutual attraction then shared home cooked meals and bottles of wine. Then Cati tells Fred she is HIV positive and the story becomes more complex. Fred’s reaction to the news is depicted by his blank face looking out from the frame. They overcome this viral obstacle and move in together and enjoy a relatively normal sex life until one night the condom breaks. The anxiety ridden Cati and Fred go running to the doctor who reassures them that Fred has as much chance of contracting HIV as they do of encountering a white rhino on their way out. In the next frame Cati and Fred are leaving with a giant white rhino looming between them.

At first I thought “oh I don’t know if I’ll be able to get through this,” the introductory pages are very abstract and “Van Goish” in temperment but as the story unfolds you realize that the graphic novel is a brilliant medium for the subject of HIV and how it effects relationships and the shame that comes with the virus. As “Kirkus Reviews” states: “This material would be sufficiently riveting if it were all prose, but the drawings of Peeters are whet elevate the book to another level...” Peeters’ girlfriend, Cati, does have HIV and so does her son from a previous relationship. Frederik and Cati now have a little girl together who was born by Caesarean section to minimize the odds of the baby contracting the disease during birth.

                                                                                                Peggy McCarthy, Smithtown Public Library (Retired)

Too Cool to be Forgotten by Alex Robinson

Andy Wicks is a middle-aged man who undergoes hypnosis to stop smoking and finds himself back in high school in 1985. Since he made the decision to take his first cigarette at a party when he was 15, he figures this time-warp experience will give him the opportunity to change his future by refusing that first cigarette. Instead of fulfilling the common fantasy of "how things would go if you had to chance to do it all again," Andy finds the real meaning of his life a week later when he has an important encounter with his ailing father.

Too Cool to be Forgotten will give readers a perspective on mortality, family relationships, compassion and love as they reflect on their own youthful neglected opportunities.

Read-alikes:
Crush by Jason Hall
Box Office Poison by Alex Robinson
Starman: Sins of the Father by James Robinson

                                                                                                     Grace O'Connor, West Islip Public Library

Embroideries by Marjane Satrapi

Three generations of Iranian women spend the afternoon discussing love, sex and men each revealing a secret from their past. Their stories are funny and sad and they illustrate lives that are similar yet so different to ours. This is a slight volume when compared to the author’s Persepolis yet it is still thought provoking and funny.

Readers interested in Iranian or Muslim life will enjoy this as well as Lipstick Jihad by Azadeh Moaveni and A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini. Readers who enjoy female bonding might also like Angry Women eating Bon Bons by Lorna Landvik.

                                                                                                      Karen Jaffe, Comsewogue Public Library

American Widow by Alissa Torres, illustrated by Sungyoon Choi

A heart-wrenching memoir, American Widow is the account of a first-time-mother-to-be who is tragically widowed when she loses her husband in the terror attack on the World Trade Center on September 11. The graphic novel format seems almost custom-made to convey the subject matter at hand. The illustration style, starkly drawn and almost completely devoid of color, emphatically portrays the hardship and challenges that Alissa Torres must endure as she tries to come to grips with her loss. Using the literary technique of flashback, Torres gives a glimpse into the lives of Alissa and Luis both before and after they met and married. We learn that after being laid off from his job, Luis is offered a position at Cantor Fitzgerald—only to fatefully begin working on September 10, 2001. Lingering over a single frame—taking a moment to absorb the atmosphere created by both illustration and narrative—serves to immerse the reader in Alissa’s experience. As we follow Alissa through her subsequent year, we witness all of the unfathomable trials and tribulations, conflicting bureaucratic assistance, and disparate public opinion that contribute to her profound personal turmoil.

American Widow can have appeal to a wide range of readers—those that enjoy a non-fiction read, those that enjoy a memoir, those that can identify with the struggles associated with an untimely loss, or those with an interest in recent historical events.

Read-alike:

Maus I & Maus II by Art Spiegelman—a Pulitzer Prize winning work by the son of a Holocaust survivor.

                                                                                             Deborah Formosa, Northport-East Northport Public Library

Bone: Out from Boneville by Jeff Smith
This is the first volume in Jeff Smith’s 1,300+ page Bone series of graphic novels. The series was originally begun in 1991, serialized in 55 parts, and published in black and white. The Scholastic edition cited includes some minor revisions and is published in full color.

Three cousins, Fone Bone, Phony Bone and Smiley Bone are tossed out of Boneville and left to wander in the desert until they accidentally become separated. They each manage to stumble into a hidden, agrarian-centered valley populated by an eccentric cast of humans and some strange creatures, including such denizens as Gran’ma Ben, Ted the Bug, a great red dragon, and a couple of quiche-loving “rat creatures.”

Out from Boneville introduces the major characters in the series and chronicles the three cousins’ quest to be reunited. Each of the cousins has their own distinctive personality, each of which Smith mines to great comic effect. The first volume in the series is full of much wit and humor and is a classic epic quest adventure that will appeal to adults and young adults alike. Subsequent volumes are said to be darker and more philosophical in nature.

Out from Boneville reminds me of a good cartoon, such as SpongeBob Squarepants. It appeals to kids for the crazy characters and slapstick humor, but is just as appealing to adults for the philosophical sub-text and sly jokes that only they would understand. The Bone series can be recommended to all fans of epic fantasy and books such as The Hobbit.
Jeff Smith started his own publishing company, Cartoon Books, to publish the Bone series, and has received many Eisner and Harvey awards for his work.
Read-alikes, via Novelist Plus’ Recommended Reads list – Fantasy Graphic Novels, Ages 9-12 include:
Neil Gaiman, Coraline
Mark Andrew Smith, The New Brighton Archeological Society
Vermonia: Quest for the Silver Tiger
Kazu Kibuishi, Amulet Book 1: The Stonekeeper
Otis Frampton, Oddly Normal
                                                                                                           Bruce Silverstein, Patchogue-Medford Library

Mainstream Fiction

2010-05-17T17:07:00.000-04:00

Divine Justice by David Baldacci

The Camel Club is an eclectic group of investigators, a genius afflicted with OCD; a retired investigator; a cemetery care taker with a dark past and a librarian!

The last (so far) of four episodes of the “Camel Club” Divine Justice is a spellbinding political thriller in which “Oliver Stone” who is also known as, John Carr, an ex- government assassin, with a very special set of skills, is now the hunted. Macklin Hayes, master spy and now government official, is gunning for Oliver and will stop at nothing until Oliver is dead. Oliver goes underground and as if his life weren’t complicated enough, stumbles upon another dangerous situation in a small coal mining town in Virginia. Meanwhile his friends the Camel Club are desperately trying to find and rescue him.

Read-Alikes:

Ian Fleming’s James Bond series

Peggy McCarthy, Smithtown Public Library (Retired)

First Family by David Baldacci

Sean King and Michelle Maxwell, former Secret Service agents, and now private investigators, have been called to the White House by the First Lady. The First Lady’s niece, Willa Dutton, has been kidnapped following her 12th birthday party at the White House. In addition, Willa’s mother Pam Dutton has been murdered, her brother and sister have been drugged and her father Tuck Dutton, the First Lady’s brother, has been assaulted and left unconscious. Sean & Michelle are puzzled by the lack of a ransom demand and the many twists and turns they encounter in their investigation of this national security nightmare.

Read-Alikes:
William Bernhardt, Stephen Cannell, Joseph Finder, James Grippando, Brad Meltzer, Kyle Mills, Sidney Sheldon, Robert Tanenbaum.

Rosalie Toja, Brentwood Public Library

Lunch in Paris by Elizabeth Bard

Lunch in Paris follows the first date of an American journalist and French computer engineer, through their courtship to their marriage, using food. Bard is living in London when she meets Gwendal at a conference. She makes up an excuse to visit Paris and has lunch with him. Then after months of spending every weekend traveling from England to Paris, she finally moves to France.

Bard's is a story of her trials and tribulations while living in Paris. Without a job and with Gwendal at work, Bard is on her own, navigating the streets, the shops, the language, and the culture of her new home. With nothing to do and no prospects, she turns to cooking: she learns how to shop wisely at the street markets, how to make a dish with only what's available in her home, and how to enjoy the process-not an easy task for an up-to-the-minute, go-getter, New Yorker. She also tries to teach Gwendal how to market himself, believe in himself, and strive for more.

Lunch in Paris is simply a less sophisticated version of Under the Tuscan Sun, but a great read for what it is intended to be. A fun, light look at an American in Paris.

Lori Ludlow, Babylon Public Library

The Postmistress by Sarah Blake

The Postmistress follows the lives of three very different women during the early years of World War II. Two reside in the small Cape Cod town of Franklin, and one is a radio reporter in London during the Blitz. The book is set during a time, 1940, when most people in America thought that the war was a distant conflict that would never affect them directly. Iris James is the Postmaster of Franklin, and her decision to withhold one life-altering letter has momentous consequences for pregnant Emma Fitch, who is awaiting word from her physician husband, off in London as a volunteer to ease his conscience. Iris, as it turns out, is not the only one to withhold vital information. Frankie Bard is a female American radio reporter whose dramatic and colorful radio reports help humanize the war for those on the home front. Frankie is the bridge between both fronts, and it is her trip home that brings the story to a tragic climax.

The best sections of the book are those dealing with everyday life in London during the Blitz, and Frankie’s journey through Europe on a train full of refugees. The scenes with Iris and Emma on the home front are less successful.

Overall, The Postmistress is an enjoyable read, but it feels somewhat contrived and melodramatic. While Frankie’s story is the most dramatic and interesting, even it has the quality of I’ve-heard-this-all-before. The book will appeal to those who enjoy historical fiction and books about World War II.

Read-Alikes could include:
Charlotte Gray by Sebastian Faulks
Resistance by Owen Sheers
Suite Francaise by Irene Nemirovsky
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer
The Night Watch by Sarah Waters

Also recommend this book to readers and book clubs, who like what Entertainment Weekly calls the “word-of-mouth smashes.” These books include Guernsey, Audrey Niffenegger’s The Time Traveler’s Wife, Sara Gruen’s Water for Elephants, and Kathryn Stockett’s The Help.

Bruce Silverstein, Patchogue-Medford Library

The Shadow of Your Smile by Mary Higgins Clark

Faced with declining health, eighty-two year old Olivia Morrow, the last of her family, must decide: expose a long-held family secret or have the secret die with her. Catherine, her deceased cousin who was a nun, is being considered for beatification by the Catholic Church – the final step before sainthood. During her lifetime, Catherine had founded seven hospitals for children. Now the cure of a four-year old boy dying of brain cancer is being attributed to her. The secret concerns Dr. Monica Farrell a thirty-one year old pediatrician. She has been asked to testify before the beatification proceedings and they have been advised that Catherine had a child. Added to the mix – Dr. Monica’s deceased father’s search for his biological parents, the dirty deeds going on within the Gannon Foundation led by the suspicious Gannon brothers and the doctors on the board, and Monica’s hospital duties treating children, some on the brink of death. Add a cute doctor and a stalking one-time old friend. Twists and turns lead to murder and the revelation of the family secret.

Read-Alikes would include the many books by Mary Higgins Clark and Carol Higgins Clark., The Ninth Judgment (Women’s Murder Club Series) by James Patterson, Killer Dreams by Iris Johansen.

Readership: “As with all other MHC books, there is no bad language, no descriptions of heavy sex or violence, although bodies do turn up – proof that a good thriller doesn’t have to commit assault and battery on the senses.” Review from Silly Sister (Amazon) - opens it up to YAs. Definitely women and some male readers.

Marie T. Horney, Cold Spring Harbor Library

South of Broad by Pat Conroy

Leo King, columnist for Charleston's daily newspaper, relates the tales of his senior year in high school (1969) and the unlikely friendships he made that will last his lifetime. Fast forward to the present (1986) and he continues the stories of these friendships that endured. Dysfunctional families, racism, mentally ill characters, suicides, homicides, pedophiles along with humor and beautiful writing move the story along. There is a huge list of characters but the star is the beautiful city of Charleston.

Recommended for lovers of Southern fiction, fans of Conroy, and readers who like family sagas and coming of age stories.

Karen Jaffe, Comsewogue Public Library

Juliet, Naked by Nick Hornby

Womanizer Tucker helps doormat Annie shed loser Duncan and in the process finds his own way. Farcical situations, pointed dialog, likeable characters, and a positive attitude make for an enjoyable read. You might also enjoy some of the following:

Flabbergasted by Ray Blackston
The Family Man by Elinor Lipman
The Right Attitude to Rain and The Careful Use of Compliments, Isabel Dalhousie Mysteries #3 and 4, by Alexander McCall Smith
Sleeping Arrangements by Madeleine Wickham
Gran Torino with Clint Eastwood.

Jacqueline Malone, North Bellmore Public Library

The Wife’s Tale by Lori Lansens

On the eve of their twenty-fifth wedding anniversary, Mary Gooch waits for her truck-driving husband to come home. As the time gets later, she is struck by a fear that has been in the back of her mind for years – he’s left her.. As it turns out…. He has. Having no other idea about his possible whereabouts, Mary leaves for the suburbs of Los Angeles where her mother-in-law lives. Not a simple journey for this morbidly obese middle-aged woman who hasn’t been out of her small Canadian town for years. In the process of searching for Gooch, Mary finds herself.

Read-Alikes
The Traveler by Ron McLarty
She’s Come Undone by Wally Lamb

Other Books by Author – both set in same Canadian town
The Girls
Rush Home Road

Kathleen Carter, Mastics-Moriches-Shirley Community Library

House Rules by Jodi Picoult

Emma and her sons Jacob and Theo live in bucolic Vermont, have dinner together every night and lead a peaceful existence unless, that is, Jacob sees something orange, or the free sample lady isn’t at the grocery store when they go shopping or he misses the daily episode of Crime Busters on TV. You see, Jacob isn’t like other teenagers because he has Asperger’s Syndrome. Although
Jacob is high functioning, he still needs a routine in order to get through each day and Emma has spent her life making sure that Jacob has everything he needs – special diet, accommodations at school and a very nice life skills tutor named Jess. When Jess is murdered, Jacob becomes the prime suspect.

House Rules is told from multiple points of view and although the beginning is a bit slow, it picks up slightly after the murder occurs. There are a lot of red herrings, but what actually happened is fairly predictable and the ending doesn’t completely satisfy. There’s also quite a bit going on between the murder, a romance between Emma and Jacob’s lawyer, an absentee ex-husband who decides to show up two-thirds of the way through the book, informational background on Asperger’s Syndrome and Theo’s extracurricular activities. House Rules could have used a bit more editing to make the story more fluid, but Picoult’s fans will most likely devour it anyway.

Read-Alikes:
By the Light of the Moon by Dean Koontz
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon
God of War by Marisa Silver
Marcelo in the Real World by Francisco X. Stork

Azuree Agnello, West Babylon Public Library

Fever Dream by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child

Special Agent Pendergast of the Louisiana FBI division works with his longtime ally Lt. D’Agosta from the New York Police Department to solve the murder of Pendergast’s wife from twelve years prior. Unbeknownst to him his wife, Helen, was killed by a lion on safari and discovers it was actually planned. Pendergast and D’Agosta with the assistance from D’Agosta’s girlfriend, Captain Haywood of the NYPD, begin their own hunt starting in Africa and ending in the Louisiana bayous. Along the way they encounter assassination attempts, thievery, madness and Helen’s hidden obsession with naturalist painter John James Audubon and a lost painting known as the Black Frame.

The best selections are the interactions of Special Agent Pendergast interrogations using Sherlock Holmes deductive techniques and rule-bending agendas. The secondary plot-line involving Pendergast’s ward Constance Greene was weak could easily have been left out keeping the pace moving forward.

The threads of the clues get tied together but not without a slight disbelief in the ease of connections; however, the intelligent dialogue, rapid pace and appropriate use of humor makes this an enjoyable read.

Read-Alikes would be: David Baldacci, The Sean King and Michelle Maxwell Series, Catherine Coulter, The FBI Series featuring Dillon Savich and Lacey Sherlock, Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes Series and Jack Du Brul, The Philip Mercer Series

Anne Jones, East Hampton Public Public Library

The Three Weissmanns of Westport by Cathleen Schine

Jane Austen’s comedy of manners, Sense and Sensibility, is echoed in this tale of financially strapped sisters and their mother with the thoroughly modern elements of divorce, alimony, Oprah, career reversals, and a surprise ending.

This is the story of Betty about to be divorced after 50 years of marriage to Josie and her two daughters, Annie and Miranda. When Josie initiates divorce proceedings, Betty moves from their Manhattan apartment into her cousin Lou’s rundown beach cottage. Her two daughters leave New York City for their own reasons and all come to live in the Westport beach cottage. Here the women learn to survive and though there is sadness there are also satisfactions.

For readers who enjoyed this novel there is the original Sense and Sensibility, and some of the many Jane Austen adaptations and emulations including The Third Sister by Julia Barrett; Jane Austen in Boca, and Jane Austen in Scarsdale by Paula Marantz Cohen. Ms Schine has also written other comedies of manners, the most recent being The New Yorkers.

Michelle Epstein, East Northport Library

Major Pettigrew’s Last Stand by Helen Simonson

Widowed and lonely in the traditional British village of Edgecombe St. Mary, this former military man and retired school teacher fills his days with golf at this club, housekeeping chores, tending his special flowers, and volunteering at his church. Then his brother dies, and the Major’s introspective grieving allows him to see the charms of the lovely, widowed, Mrs. Ali, a shopkeeper of Pakistani descent: will Major Pettigrew rise above his upper class upbringing and its prejudices to secure his future happiness?

The cast of characters is well drawn and engaging. The tone of the story is gentle, and heartwarming, yet it does have the “bite” of humor and near-satire. Read-alikes would include E.F. Benson’s books about Mapp and Lucia, P.G. Wodehouse, and Alexander McCall Smith.

Suzanne McGuire, Commack Public Library

Brooklyn by Colm Toibin

It’s early 1950s and arrangements are made for Eilise, a young Irish woman, to immigrate to America for an employment opportunity. The arrangements are made by her older sister and a visiting American priest. Eilise wonders why her sister does not accept the offer, and why her mother would want her to leave home, but she quietly acquiesces and prepares for her journey.

Brooklyn is a tenderly-written account of a young woman’s struggle to adapt to the new way of life that has been thrust upon her. Every detail of her acclimation is thoroughly described, not least of which is her arduous voyage across the ocean. Toibin captures the thoughts of a young woman as she struggles to make sense of her new life. In so doing, the appeal of this novel lies in its ability to create a mood and to engross the reader in a place and time. It is not the type of novel that one reads quickly to “find out what happens,” but it is a novel that one will savor as the story unfolds. As the story progresses, one begins to wonder if Eilise is simply avoiding confrontation as she accepts one accommodation after another in her life. She even falls in love with a young Italian man for what appears to be no other reason than his persistence in pursuing her. Plans always seem to be made for Eilise not by Eilise. And then, just as Eilise seems to have settled into a whole new life, tragedy strikes. The unexpected death of her sister Rose obligates Eilise to return home to Ireland. An extended stay has Eilise visiting old friends and old haunts, and her experiences in Brooklyn seem like they were all just a hazy dream.

A quiet, yet profound read, Brooklyn depicts the post-World War era in America and abroad—a time when the expectations in life were being broadened and redefined. For that reason, this novel has appeal to those that enjoy historical fiction. Toibin’s novel would also appeal to those that enjoy reading about the immigration experience, familial relations, and life-changing opportunities. Readalikes would include Love and Summer by William Trevor, Galway Bay by Mary Pat Kelly, and Moira’s Crossing by Christina Shea.

Deborah Formosa, Northport-East Northport Public Library

Love and Summer by William Trevor

Trevor’s fourteenth novel begins with a funeral in a small country town in Ireland in the late ‘50s. The funeral and fate joins two bystanders, a young photographer, Florian Kilderry, in need of directions and a shy young farmer’s wife, Ellie Dillahan, who provides them.

After a second encounter, Ellie is unable to banish the photographer from her mind. Florian is infatuated with her gentle innocence and they spend the entire summer in a slow dance of chaste meetings and shared tenderness which ultimately is not enough.

A supporting cast of well-drawn locals enhances the pace and setting: Orpen Wren, a slightly derelict wanderer, and Kitty Connulty, the unhappy moralist determined to make sure everyone toes the sexual line. Set in the town of Rathmoye which is itself a part of the cast, Trevor turns the nondescript and the habitual into the vivid and particular.

Thomas Mallon wrote in the New York Times, “a delicate sort of drama… a thrilling work of art.”

Love and Summer will appeal to the thoughtful reader with patience for a sincerely told story of a small, self-contained world turned upside down, briefly, by love.

Read-Alikes:
The Story of Lucy Gault by William Trevor
A Change of Climate by Hilary Mantel
Family Album by Penelope Lively
Wild Decembers by Edna O’Brien
On Chesil Beach by Ian McEwan

Grace O’Connor, West Islip Public Library

Brava Valentine by Adriana Trigiani

Adriana Trigiani is once again successful with this funny, poignant and romantic follow up to Very Valentine. As the second installment in a planned trilogy, Brava Valentine brings back the dysfunctional Roncalli family as they endure life and death, love and heartbreak.

Valentine Roncalli has taken over the custom women’s shoe business from her grandmother, who is now remarried and living in Italy. Her strained relationship with her brother Alfred is tested when he is named chief financial officer of the company. Mix in a reunion with the sexy Gianluca and a long-hidden family secret and you have the recipe for a page turner that leaves the reader eagerly awaiting Ciao, Valentine, due out in 2011.

Fans of stories of strong women in Italian-American families may like Summer Blowout by Claire Cook, Love and Meatballs by Susan Volland, and The Trouble with Mary by Millie Criswell.

Cathi Nashak, Deer Park Public Library

Noah’s Compass by Anne Tyler

Liam Pennywell, at age 60, has just gotten laid off from his teaching job at a private school in Baltimore. He has survived two marriages and is emotionally detached from his three grown daughters. After moving to a smaller place, he is attacked on his first night there and wakes up in the hospital the next morning having no memory of this. Trying to put his life together, Liam becomes more involved with his family and with a younger woman who finds him irresistible. Follow Liam’s journey to explore his life.

Similar Titles: A Friend of the Family by Lauren Grodstein; Aloft, by Chang-rae Lee and other novels by Anne Tyler.

Andrea Huff, Deer Park Public Library

Half Broken Horses by Jeannette Walls

Half Broken Horses is the “true-life novel” version of Jeannette Walls grandmother’s life, Lily Casey Smith. Lily is the mother of Rosemary Smith Walls, the subject of Jeannette Walls earlier memoir, The Glass Castle. Lily Casey Smith is portrayed as a progressive woman, who was never conquered by anything life threw at her. The novel follows Lily from age 10 to Jeannette Walls’ birth. Lily leads an exciting life, traveling 500 miles on horse back at age 15 to take up teaching in Red Lake, Arizona with a pearl handled handgun in her bag. From this moment teaching is forever entwined with her life, taking her to various locations throughout the Southwest. Teaching allows her to meet her husband, Jim, who is the father of her two children, Rosemary and Little Jim. Lily survives a surprising amount of tragedy and strife throughout her life and the tough as nails gal manages to survive it all. This is a wonderful quick-reading novel, which will never fail to surprise its reader.

Read-Alikes:

Foreskin's Lament: A Memoir by Shalom Auslander
Blue Skies, No Fences: A Memoir of Childhood and Family by Lynne V. Cheney
The Prodigal Daughter: Reclaiming An Unfinished Childhood by Margaret Gibson
Farmworker's Daughter: Growing Up Mexican in America by Rose Castillo Guilbault
The Florist's Daughter by Patricia Hampl

Pamela L. Wells, Lindenhurst Memorial Library

2010-03-03T15:17:00.001-05:00

Period Fiction - After 1800

2010-03-03T12:28:00.003-05:00

Girl in a Blue Dress by Gaynor Arnold

This fictional account of Charles Dickens’ (Alfred) marriage is told from his wife Catherine’s (Dorothea’s) point of view. The story opens on the day of Alfred’s funeral in 1870, where Dorothea is mourning alone in her small apartment while the rest of her family and the world mourn together. She has not been invited to the funeral. Ten years ago Alfred banished her from their home of 20 years, citing that they no longer had anything in common and telling the press that she was an unfit wife and mother. Since then, Dorothea hasn’t seen 9 of her 10 children or anyone else. Her sister, who had moved in with the family to help Dorothea, stayed on with Alfred after Dorothea left. With no family or friends, Dorothea has spent the last decade in self-exile, too humiliated to go outside.

Fortunately, with Alfred’s death comes a sense of freedom for Dodo and she looks back on her marriage, noting that he wasn’t solely responsible for their torn union. She knows that she always loved Alfred and still does, no matter what he’d done. It was impossible for her not to love him. But without him, her children come around, her friends come to visit, and she takes her first steps outside.

The climax of the story comes when Dorothea visits Alfred’s mistress of 10 years. And by the end of their tense visit, though Dorothea does not necessarily forgive the young woman, she does understand her and her reason for being with Alfred, whether he was married or not.

By the end of the story, which takes place in a few short days, Dorothea seems at peace with herself and with life. “I have been angry, and jealous, and sorry for myself. But such emotions only feed on themselves…I am no longer interested in winning or losing.”

An interesting look at the marriage of, possibly, the most famous English writer of all time. The sense of place is well set, noting the language and descriptions used. The reader knows the characters well, indeed, can see Alfred putting on a show for all, making faces for the children, dancing around a room. The pace is also well set, with many small disturbances (good and bad) before the climax and finally, the peaceful ending.

Read-alikes:

Mr. Emerson’s Wife by Amy Belding Brown
In the face of death by Chelsea Yarbro
The Little Balloonist by Linda Donn

Lori Ludlow, Babylon Public Library

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Barrows and Annie Shaffer

The effects of World War II and its aftermath were especially felt by England and the outlying islands. This book of letters, which are written after the war about events that occurred during the war, gives a vivid picture of both the German occupation of the Channel Islands and what life in England and the Guernsey was like after the war. Because the letters are from several different Guernsey Islanders there are twenty disparate voices and characters and to enjoy this novel one must be able to cope with a narrative that may seem disjointed because of the various correspondents.

Patrons who enjoyed this book might like 84 Charring Cross Road, by Helen Hanff, also an epistolary novel set in England after WW II and the following novels about life in England during and after WW II: La’s Orchestra Saves the World, by Alexander McCall Smith, The Postmistress, by Sarah Blake, The Shell Seekers and Coming Home, by Rosamunde Pilcher and A Presumption of Death by Jill Paton Walsh.

Michelle Epstein, East Northport Library

Remarkable Creatures by Tracy Chevalier

Certainly not the least of the “Remarkable Creatures” in the new Tracy Chevalier novel are the two women around whom the tale revolves. Mary Annil, a poor Englishwoman who discovered, in1811, the first complete fossil skeleton of an ancient aquatic beast we now call ichthyosaur and Elizabeth Philpot, an older woman from London. They meet when circumstances force Elizabeth and two of her sisters to leave London as their brother is about to marry and settle in the family home. They decide on coastal Lyme Regis and Elizabeth encounters Mary in a walk along the beach. Mary shares her extensive fossil knowledge with Elizabeth who adds her knowledge and education to the findings. Their friendship is tested by the appearance of an eligible male in the person of Colonel Birch and the questioning of the validity of their findings in a time when women were excluded from the scientific discussions based on their work.

Mary and Elizabeth were actual people and the happenings occurred. Mary’s large findings exist in museums in London and Paris. Elizabeth’s collection is on display in Oxford. The novel would appeal to women and YA and to some men with an interest in fossils and their history. Mary was the inspiration for the tongue twister “She sells sea shells…” and she had received the respect of the international scientific community.

Read-alikes could include other works by Chevalier: Girl with a Pearl Earring –The Birth of Venus by Sarah Dunant – Girl in Hyacinth Blue by Susan Vreeland – The Book of Fires by Jane Borodale

Marie T. Horney, Cold Spring Harbor Library

The Leopard by Giuseppe di Lampedusa

Published posthumously in 1957, The Leopard is known as Italy’s Gone with the Wind. Lampedusa begins with a pivotal moment in Italian history. Garibaldi’s Red Shirts have landed in Sicily. This brings about the end of the Bourbon monarchy and the union of Sicily with the newly formed kingdom of Italy; it is a time of sweeping social change as the feudal society crumbles.

It is believed that Lampedusa based Prince Salina, the Leopard, on his paternal great grandfather but the Leopard, Don Fabrizio, expresses the author’s philosophy of life. Prince Salina is torn by his inner contradictions, between reason and impulse. He understands that the centuries-old way of life of aristocrats is changing. He explains why he can’t become a senator in the new Italian republic. “I belong to an unfortunate generation, swung between the old world and the new, and I find myself ill at ease in both.”

The rich descriptions of life in Sicily among aristocrats, the clergy, the new politicians, the military and the peasants in the last half of the nineteenth century adds great interest to the historical underpinnings of what E. M. Forster called “a novel which happens to take place in history.”

Read-alikes:
On Persephone’s Island: A Sicilian Journal by Mary Taylor Simeti
The Charterhouse of Parma by Stendhal
The Wine-Dark Sea by Leonardo Sciascio

Grace O’Connor, West Islip Public Library

The Secret River by Kate Grenville

The Secret River is a historical novel illustrating the founding of Australia from its beginnings as a prison colony. Based loosely on the actual life of one of the author’s ancestors, the book is a gripping family saga and a tragic story of class and cross-cultural conflict. Well-drawn characters and a plot that builds toward an inevitable, if tragic climax are highlights of the story.

The Secret River tells the story of William Thornhill, a Thames River boatman sentenced to death for the crime of theft from his employer. He is spared this fate and instead exiled to the penal colony of New South Wales in 1806. Thornhill works to rebuild his life as a simple boatman, and eventually wins his parole. On one trip ferrying goods to the remote Hawkesbury River he spots an open piece of land that he hopes to call his own. Thornhill persuades his wife, Sal, to resettle their family there, with the promise that they would return to London in five years. Thornhill realizes that this is a promise he will not be able to keep, and as he struggles to provide for his growing family, he and Sal drift apart. Thornhill’s family also comes into contact with the local population, the Aborigines, who seem both menacing and innocent at the same time. Thornhill and his fellow settlers have difficulty interacting and communicating with the Aborigines, who lead leisurely lives as hunter-gatherers, and who seem to be able to appear and disappear at will. The clash of civilizations which begins as an uneasy co-existence soon turns violent due to circumstances that seem beyond anyone’s control , and Thornhill finds himself an unwilling participant in the confrontation.

Read-alikes

Charles Dickens fans might enjoy Grenville’s portrait of early 19th century London. Other novels that readers of The Secret River might find enjoyable are Peter Carey, The Secret History of the Kelly Gang; George Hagen, The Laments; Matthew Kneale, English Passengers, and Jim Fergus, One-Thousand White Women.

Those who have read non-fiction works such as Robert Hughes, The Fatal Shore and Thomas Keneally, A Commonwealth of Thieves, may enjoy this fictional re-telling of the founding of Australia.

Bruce Silverstein, Patchogue-Medford Library

Mudbound by Hillary Jordan

Two families, in six voices, tell the story of prejudice, hatred and hope in rural Mississippi in 1946. The McAllans buy a cotton farm aptly named Mudbound. The Jacksons are their Black tenant farmers. Life is hard, there are a lot of rules, and everyone knows their place. The war is over and both families have a returning son. When these men form a bond, inevitable trouble begins. This is a powerful story with an incredible sense of time and place, a classic tragedy, well told.

Read-Alikes include The Help by Kathryn Stockett, The Girl Who Fell From
the Sky by Heidi Durrow and The Painted House by John Grisham. Readers
might also enjoy Jodi Picoult's books.

Karen Jaffe, Comsewogue Public Library

The Book of Night Women by Marlon James

The Book of Night Women is the tale of a young slave coming of age in Jamaica at the turn of the 19th Century. The book is written as a slave narrative and chronicles the life of Lilith and the inhumane abuses that her and her fellow slaves were force to endure.

Lilith, at the verge of womanhood, finds herself exposed to the ugly truth of rape, murder and torture that plantation life as a slave has in store for her. After narrowly escaping rape at the hands of a fellow slave, Lilith is sheltered by the house slaves at the plantation, eventually being permanently assigned to the house by the plantation’s “master”. After a dire accident during a cocktail party, Lilith finds herself mercilessly whipped by her owners. This indignation fuels Lilith’s rage at the white slave owners which have control over her. Lilith joins a group of female slave who call themselves “The Night Women,” who are all connected through their common parentage -- they are all the children of an abusive white slave driver. This group eventually orchestrates a slave revolt across several of Jamaica’s plantations -- a coup d’etat that has tragic results.

Read-alikes

Beloved by Toni Morrison
Amistad by David Pesci
The Dark Sun Rises by Denise J. Williamson
The Bondwoman’s Narrative by Hannah Crafts
The Known World by Edward P. Jones

Pamela Wells, Lindenhurst Memorial Library

Mary: a novel by Janis Cooke Newman

Existing diaries and letters give us only a glimpse of the haplessly misunderstood Mary Todd Lincoln. Janis Cooke Newman’s novel brings Mary to life and gives readers another side of her intricate personality. The book begins with Mary recounting her life while still in Bellevue Place Sanitarium and we follow her story from her privileged Kentucky upbringing, through her courtship and marriage to Abraham Lincoln, his presidency and the many heartbreaking losses throughout her life.

Newman skillfully weaves compassion and understanding by bringing us into Mary’s emotions and reasons for her actions. Her well-documented extravagance is seen as a coping mechanism; her silver tea sets, exotic fabrics and expensive jewelry is her fortress against further sorrow. Her compulsion for popular spiritualism and séances also try to heal a great despair.

Mary also has a lifetime of trouble trying to win the affection of her son, Robert. In his eyes, his mother is an embarrassment whom he has to control. His success in committing his mother to the sanitarium a few years after the assassination gives him that control but also portrays him very unsympathetically at first. However, Mary’s excessive use of the “popular” remedies of laudanum and chloral hydrate causes her to behave so irrationally with paranoia that commitment was inevitable. Her ten month stay ends at the end of the novel; she is released into the care of her sister, Elizabeth.

Told from Mary’s point of view, the author keeps us riveted by alternating stories from her past and present as she writes her memoir. Though lengthy (over 700 pages), Newman’s compelling treatment of the “Great Emancipator’s” widow reads seamlessly and quickly. Highly recommended.

Read-alikes:
Fiction:
The Emancipator’s Wife by Barbara Hambly
Mr. Lincoln’s Wars: A Novel in Thirteen Stories by Adam Braver

Non-Fiction:
Behind the Scenes, Or, Thirty Years a Slave and Four Years in the White House
by Elizabeth Keckley
Mary Todd Lincoln: A Biography by Jean H. Baker

Cathi Nashak, Deer Park Public Library

Woodsburner by John Pipkin

Henry David Thoreau is well-known for his respite at Walden Pond, and his musings about nature and a simplified life. But did you know that one year prior to his stay at Walden Pond, Thoreau started a forest fire that destroyed 300 acres of wilderness? It is this little-known event that John Pipkin uses as the premise for his debut novel. Surprisingly, Thoreau is not the focal point of this work. Pipkin introduces us to three other characters—meticulously conveying their passions, their misgivings, and their own private infernos. Their situations and personal histories are exquisitely detailed, providing insight into the psychological as well as the physical landscape that they inhabit. As disparate as their situations may be, Pipkin weaves a convincing tale that eventually overlaps their experiences, revealing how their lives are forever changed because of yet another character in this story—the fire.

A work to be savored by fans of historical fiction, Woodsburner is written in a dense, literary style that is descriptive and detailed. It is a character-driven work of fiction that provides a storyline to be pondered. Chapters alternate between characters, which allows a reader to put the book down and pick it up again at logical points. Because the novel poses a multitude of philosophical propositions in addition to its rich subject matter, Woodsburner would make an excellent choice for a book discussion group.

Read-alikes: Brian Hall’s Fall of Frost—a fictionalized account of a meeting between Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev and American poet Robert Frost; The Master by Colm Toibin—a psychological study of novelist Henry James; American Wife by Curtis Sittenfeld—which is loosely based on events in the life of former First Lady Laura Bush.

Deborah Formosa, Northport-East Northport Public Library

Child 44 by Tom Rob. Smith

Child 44 opens in the midst of the Ukrainian peasant famine during the winter of 1933 when people were fighting over the last food source, scrawny feral cats. This genocide was based on an actual famine when an estimated 10 million peasants died of starvation during that winter. We are reintroduced to one of the survivors of this famine, Leo Demidov, a decorated war hero and now a rising state security officer. Leo is disturbed by the recent number of unsolved child murders but the State forbids him to investigate the case since the State declares everything is perfect under the present system. Leo risks his career and his life when he mutinously defies the State and delves into the case attempting to prove that it is a serial killer committing the atrocities. Rob Smith paints a grim portrait of the waning years of the Soviet Union during the Stalinist regime while telling a nail biting, gripping tale.

Read-alikes

Gorky Park by Martin Cruz Smith
Darkness at Noon by Arthur Koestler

Peggy McCarthy, Smithtown Public Library

Beside a Burning Sea by John Shors

Beside a Burning Sea is the fictional tale of the sinking of the U.S. medical ship Benevolence during World War II and the nine survivors who make it to a nearby island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.

As the survivors spend their days on the island hoping to be rescued by their countrymen before they are discovered by the enemy, a husband and wife rekindle their romance; an enemy finds love, a soldier bonds with a young boy searching for his father and decisions are made about life and war.

John Shors writes with elegance by infusing his chapters with Japanese poetry and lush descriptions. The narrative moves from day to day and changes perspective making it a quick read. Although the ending is a little far-fetched, this is a good book group selection as there is much to discuss - war, love, acceptance and betrayal.

Read-alikes

The English Patient by Michael Ondaatje
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer
Snow Falling on Cedars by David Guterson
Tales of the South Pacific by James Michener

Azurée Agnello, West Babylon Public Library

Some Danger Involved by Will Thomas

Thomas Llewelyn, desperate for work, is amazed when Detective Cyrus Barker not only takes him on as an apprentice but also adds him to his comfortable household of amusing eccentrics. Llewelyn soon finds that the “Some danger involved in performance of duties” in Barker’s job notice is something of an understatement, as Barker uses him as a cat’s paw in investigations which take them to the heart of colorful but violence-prone ethnic enclaves in Victorian London. In this first in a series, Barker is hired by the Jewish community to determine whether the gruesome murder of a young rabbinical student signals a coming pogrom. Llewelyn records the adventure in a spare, dialog-driven style laced with gentle humor.

Read-alikes

Anne Perry’s William Monk series
Jacqueline Winspear’s Maisie Dobbs
Rex Stout’s Nero Wolfe stories
Cara Black’s Aimee Leduc series
David Liss’ Benjamin Weaver series

Jackie Malone, North Bellmore Public Library

The Collector of Worlds: a novel of Sir Richard Frqncis Burton by Ilya Troyanov

Originally published in German, in 2006, this was a bestseller and the recipient of the fiction prize at the Leipzig Book Fair, for good reason. One reviewer called it a "tour de force" for its intelligent and imaginative recreation of the life of a uniquely fascinating historical figure: Sir Richard F. Burton (1821-1890). Burton was a career British colonial officer, an explorer and spy, and a superbly talented linguist. By some accounts, he mastered 29 European, African and Asian languages. As re-imagined in this tale, we follow Burton's travels in India, to Arabia, imcluding the hajj to Mecca (forbidden to a non-Muslim), and through Africa in search of the source of the Nile. Multiple narrators and voices carry the story so this work demands careful, and curious, readers. The book is noteworthy, too, for its lyrical writing style which captures so perfectly the sense of places visited and religious world views encountered.

In this sub-genre of biographical fiction contemporary read-alikes would include Genghis: Birth of an Empire by Conn Iggulden, The Last Empress by Anchee Min, and Steven Pressfield's The Virtues of War: a Novel of Alexander the Great. Anne Rice's recent re-tellings of the life of Christ might also appeal. Classic novels by Lew Wallace, such as Ben-Hur, and the fabulous books of Irving Stone, including The Agony and the Ecstasy, about Michelangelo, and Lust for Life about Van Gogh, are worthy of recommendation. Those interested in exploration would like Measuring the World by Daniel Kehlmann, a work about both the famous Prussian aristocrat and explorer Alexander von Humboldt and the mathematician Carl F. Gauss. If a reader is interested in Burton himself, Mary S. Lovell has written A Rage to Live: a Biography of Richard and Isabel Burton, and Christopher Ondaatje has a recent work called Sindh Revisited: A Journey in the Footsteps of Captain Sir Richard F. Burton 1842-1849 The India Years.

Suzanne McGuire, Commack Public Library

Maisie Dobbs by Jacqueline Winspear

Maisie Dobbs is the first book in a remarkable series. She is a psychologist/detective in post World War I London. The case she investigates in this book starts with a husband suspecting his wife of infidelity but evolves into investigating the mysterious deaths or disappearances of maimed or shell shocked veterans.

How she took up this profession is an interesting back story by itself- she started life as a 14 year old maid, the motherless daughter of a street vendor, in an Edwardian mansion. Maisie’s desire for education intrigues her employers and they make it possible to study while working a full schedule. The Great War began changing English society however, and it changed Maisie as well. She leaves school to train as a nurse and is wounded while serving in France. The losses and damage from this war are a thread through this entire series. After the War she returns to Girton College in Cambridge, and in 1929 sets up on her own as an investigator.

The book involves a strong heroine, sometimes too self contained with plenty of conflicts of her own. Her change in position is sometimes helped or hindered by those closest to her, including her father and Maurice, her mentor in psychology studies. The setting in London in the 1920s is so well done you feel as if you are part of the scene. The book is very readable and easy to follow, the characters are well developed and memorable.

This book will appeal to readers of historical mysteries for its setting, but also those intrigued by independent heroines.

Read-alikes are other books in this series:

Birds of a Feather
Pardonable Lies
Among the Mad

Or by other authors

A Duty to the Dead: A Bess Crawford Mystery by Charles Dodd

The Daisy Dalrymple series by Carola Dunn is more cozy than mystery but the setting is similiar and the losses from World War I are an unsettling underlying thread in these books as well.

Elizabeth Reade, Mastic Moriches Shirley Community Library

Period Fiction - Before 1800

2009-12-23T11:41:00.003-05:00

Beneath a Marble Sky by John Shors

Set in seventeenth-century Hindustan, Beneath a Marble Sky is the fictional telling of the building of the Taj Mahal told from the point of view of the Emperor’s daughter. Through Princess Jahanara’s eyes the reader sees the struggle for political control between her two brothers - one a religious fanatic who will stop at nothing to get what he wants, the other a scholar striving for peace; watches her fall in love with the architect in charge of building her mother’s monument and gets a taste of what it was like to live in Hindustan in the 1600s. Part romance, part historical novel and laced with political intrigue and deceit, Beneath a Marble Sky is a fast-paced book for a reader who is looking for a story with substance.

Azuree Agnello, West Babylon Public Library

The Coffee Trader by David Liss

Finance in the Amsterdam of 1659 bears an astonishing resemblance to finance in New York in 2009. Willingness to take the risks and sacrificing ethics to do so in order to make a fortune seemed common place. Miguel Lienzo, one of the city’s traders, lost a fortune in the sugar market and he’s fighting to gain it back. With the help of a secret friend, he discovers a new commodity, coffee, which has not yet truly been discovered in Europe. He and his friend plot to make a “killing” in this new market. Scheming, plotting, secrecy, good guys and villains are all involved in this plan. It is hard to know who is what he seems and there are surprises before all is resolved at the end.

Readers with an understanding of financial markets or interested in stories about Enron scandals or Bernie Madoff will love this. Readers with interest in the plight of Jews in the Middle Ages will also find this of interest.

Karen Jaffe, Comsewogue Public Library

Cut to the Quick by Kate Ross

The first in a series of four books introduces Julian Kestrel. This London “dandy” meets a young man at his club and saves him from losing money at the gaming table and his wits from over indulgence in alcohol. Julian realizes that Hugh is a novice at both. Imagine his surprise when he is invited to the young man’s palatial country home to meet his bride and in laws to be - all in keeping with Julian’s new role as Hugh’s groomsman. The visit continues the surprises – family secrets and relationships – the reason behind the forced engagement - the body of a young woman murdered and left in Julian’s bed. Now he must prove he is not the murderer nor is his valet. Twists and turns and more surprises on the road to the solution.

Read-alikes:

A Broken Vessel, Whom the Gods Love and The Devil in the Music – remaining books in this series
Thomas Potts series by Sara Fraser (Reluctant Constable, etal)
Dead End by Joan Lock
Except the Dying by Maureen Jennings
The Bone Garden by Tess Gerritsen

Marie T. Horney, Cold Spring Harbor Library

The Enchantress of Florence by Salman Rushdie

Rushdie takes us to the Muslim East and the Christian West to the court of Emperor Akbar the Great in India and to Renaissance Florence and Niccolò Machiavelli, Vespucci and Botticelli. The journey begins with a young Italian traveler who calls himself Mogor dell’Amore, the Mughal of Love.

Mogor arrives at the court and tells Akbar a fantastic story about a mysterious woman of great beauty, with powers of enchantment and sorcery, and her impossible journey to the far-off city of Florence. It has been called a fable, a fairy-tale and a romance. It is poetic in places and very funny in others. Ultimately, it is a novel of history and fantasy; of the Enchantress of Florence, goddess of inspiration, princess of Persia and mistress of Turkish Ottoman rulers and of the imperial court of India. A complex, but rewarding read.

Read-alikes:
All around the world by Pam Kilby
All around Asia by Kimberly Burton

Grace O’Connor, West Islip Public Library

Figures in Silk by Vanora Bennett

This story takes place during the Wars of the Roses in England (1470's). Fourteen-year old Isabel is married off and widowed within weeks. She is then left to work for her cold mother-in-law, Alice Claver, who is part-owner of the House of Claver silk works. Isabel works her way up the ranks in the business earning Alice's respect.

Alice's dream has always been to produce silk, rather than purchasing it from Italy, and when Isabel finds a way to do this, they become partners with a few select, trustworthy friends also in the business. It takes years to secretly bring the weaving looms and Italian silk makers into the country and train the English. Finally, two weeks before the unveiling of the new products from the House of Claver, business enemies find and burn the warehouse down, killing almost all the employees, including Alice and other friends.

Within the novel is a love story between Isabel and soon-to-be King Richard (whom she only knows as Dickon), and how her complete trust in him slowly fades as she learns more and more about how he has come to power (kidnapping and killing family members).
In the end, though Isabel has decided to sell her business and retire to the country, when she finds one of her business associates still alive a year after the fire, she is suffused with the desire to start a new business with him. They can cut out the middleman (Italy) and trade with the Orient. "Just think of the profits.if it worked."

The story is told in 3rd person, but we're in Isabel's head, then Lord Hastings, then Dickon's, then her sister, Jane's. I also didn't get a sense of place. I felt like the story could have taken place any time (aside from the few beheadings).

Read-alikes:
A Dangerous Love by Beatrice Small.
Blood Royal by Vanora Bennett
Hand of Isis by Jo Graham
King's Mistress by Emma Campion
Secret Alchemy by Emma Darwin
Sunne in Splendor by Sharon Penman

The author, from the U.K., began writing as a journalist covering conflict reporting in Cambodia, Africa, and the Soviet Union (before it wasn't the Soviet Union.) She now lives in North London with her husband and two children. She writes novels and non-fiction and her work has appeared in various magazines, including the Times, the Los Angeles Times, and the Evening Standard.

Lori Ludlow, Babylon Public Library

Conn Iggulden, the Conqueror trilogy, consisting of :

Gengis: Birth of an Empire
Genghis: Lords of the Bow
Genghis: Bones of the Hills

Conn Iggulden's Conqueror series is a masterful, fictional retelling of the life of Genghis Khan from his birth on the Mongolian steppes as Temujin through his life as Khan of the Mongols. Genghis Khan went from being an outcast left to die on the Mongolian frontier to having his grandson become emperor of China. Genghis was a military and political genius, but he was also a cruel and capricious conqueror who slaughtered many innocents and destroyed many civilizations. The Mongol horsemen and archers under his control were the greatest fighting force the world had ever seen, and most of his enemies could do little to stop him. At it's height the Mongol empire stretched over most of Asia, extending almost to India and into present day Eastern Europe.

Iggulden does not claim that this series is completely accurate history. He admits in the afterword to each book that he has often bent known historical facts and even invented characters to suit his narrative purpose, although the overall narrative remains true to the historical record.

Iggulden’s version of the life of Genghis is a great adventure story in the classic mode. Genghis emerges as a fully drawn character, and Iggulden does not shy from revealing his many faults. Regardless of the background knowledge of Genghis Khan a reader brings to this series, there is no doubt he will enjoy the fast-paced adventure and fascinating historical details. Readers who enjoy historical adventure and military fiction will certainly enjoy this series. There is a considerable amount of graphic violence and battle scenes, but very little sexual content.

The audio book versions of the series are well worth seeking out, especially the deep menacing baritone of Stefan Rudnicki in volume one, Birth of an Empire.

Read-alikes would include the Emperor series, based on the life of Julius Caesar, also by Conn Iggulden. The Troy trilogy by David Gemmell and the Cato series by Simon Scarrow would also be good matches.

Other authors whose books might appeal include Sam Barone, Bernard Cornwell, William Dietrich, and Steven Pressfield.

While reading this trilogy, I was continually reminded of the Klingons as portrayed in Star Trek: The Next Generation, so this might prove popular to fans of the Star Trek novelizations.

About the Author:

Conn Iggulden is a well-known author of historical fiction. In addition to his Genghis Khan trilogy, he is also the author of the Emperor series, a quartet of novels based on the life of Julius Caesar. He is co-author, with his brother Hal, of the recent bestseller, The Dangerous Book for Boys. He is said to be at work on a novel about the life of Kublai Khan.

Bruce Silverstein , Patchogue-Medford Library

Grave Goods by Ariana Franklin

This third Mistress of the Art of Death novel is set in 1176. Ariana Franklin’s chilling, mesmerizing novels contain rich historical detail along with the suspense of a forensic thriller.

King Henry II sends Adelia Aguilar to Glastonbury to inspect two skeletal remains that are rumored to be Arthur and Guinevere. It will serve King Henry's purpose to have King Arthur declared dead. With the once and future king gone, King Henry will be able to quell a rebellion in Wales for good. Details of medieval life, richly drawn characters and a continuing cast from the previous novels in this series make this novel a compelling read.

Read-alikes:
Hangman Blind by Cassandra Clark
Brother Cadfel mysteries by Ellis Peters

Michelle Epstein, East Northport Library

The Heretic's Daughter by Kathleen Kent

The Heretic's Daughter is Sarah Carrier Chapman, and this novel chronicles a 17th century New England family and town as seen through her eyes. Despite laborious efforts, people are dying of small pox, children are being abducted by Indians, and fire is destroying property. As fear festers, the people are desperate to find someone to blame for their various hardships. Kent’s novel provides a detailed and disturbing depiction of what such fear can do to a community. Everyday life is thoroughly illustrated, providing a setting, a mood, and maybe even an explanation as to how a society’s collective thinking can go so terribly wrong.

The Heretic’s Daughter is also the story of a family. Young Sarah Carrier cannot get close to her mother, and her father has a mysterious past that is only alluded to by others. Only after her mother’s arrest and conviction as a witch, and her subsequent imprisonment along with her siblings, does Sarah begin to recognize and appreciate her parents’ integrity.

This slowly-paced, meticulous read will be appreciated by those who like to fully immerse themselves in a time, a place, and a mood. The Heretic’s Daughter would be a good read for anyone who enjoys reading a novel about early American settlers, the strength of family bonds, or how fear can manifest itself in society. The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane by Katherine Howe, The Fruit of Her Hands by Michelle Cameron, and a classic read, The Crucible by Arthur Miller, would be some other titles that one may want to try.

Deborah Formosa, Northport-East Northport Public Library

The Red Tent by Anita Diamant

Anita Diamant has ably taken biblical tales and events and joined them with characters of her own creation in re-creating the life of Dinah, daughter of Leah and Jacob. The tale is told from Dinah’s perspective and begins from her birth and childhood in Mesopotamia through her years in Canaan and ends with her death in Egypt. When Dinah reaches puberty and enters the Red Tent, the place where women gathered during their birthing, menses and illness, her mother and aunts initiate her into the religious and sexual practices of the tribe. Diamant describes Dinah’s doomed relationship with Shalem, son of King Hamor, and his brutal death at the hands of her brothers. Following the events at Canaan, a pregnant Dinah travels to Egypt where she becomes a noted midwife and finds another love, Benia, a talented carpenter. Diamant has written a thoroughly enjoyable portrait of a fascinating woman and the life she might have lived.

Rosalie Toja, Brentwood Public Library

A Vision of Light: A Margaret of Ashbury Novel by Judith Merkle Riley

This book is set in England during the 14th century- a time of social and political changes because this is also the time of the Black Death. Margaret is a simple, or not so simple, country girl who survives a horrible marriage at 13, and the plague. After she has lost everything in her life, she has a vision, a vision of Light. Margaret starts hearing a Voice and discovers that she also has a gift for healing. She says “it’s a small gift because I am a small person”. Margaret’s travels, her second marriage and adventures are chronicled by Brother Gregory, the runaway son of a Baron. The book ends with her involvement with his family. There are two other books in the series.

The story is fast paced as the narratives shifts between Margaret’s voice and Brother Gregory’s voice. The background is intricate and the author is able to make everyday life in a distant period understandable to the reader. The book was first published in 1989, republished in 2005.

Judith Merkle Riley was born in Livermore, California in 1942. She holds a Ph.D. from Berkley and teaches Political Science at Claremont McKenna College in Claremont California. She has written six historical novels. Her website is: http://www.judith.com .

Elizabeth Reade, Mastics Moriches Shirley Library

The Widow’s War by Sally Gunning

The setting is Brewster, Massachusetts in 1761. Lyddie Berry is the wife of Edward Berry, a whaling man. When the inevitable happens and Edward is lost at sea, Lyddie finds herself left with the typical “widow’s third.” Her property and legal rights must now be entrusted to her less than honest son-in-law.

Lyddie’s fierce independent nature moves her to challenge both her son-in-law and the common law treatment of widowed women. But in order to preserve her independence and control her own life, Lyddie may have to sacrifice her family, her reputation and things and people she holds dear.

It took Gunning three years of extensive research to complete the novel and while she uses period English dialect, it doesn’t detract from this fast paced and highly readable work.
If you like books with strong independent women, try The Widow of the South by Robert Hicks and The Winthrop Woman by Anya Seton.

Cathi Nashak, Deer Park Public Library

Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel

This novel is a brilliant re-imagining of eight years in Henry VIII’s reign, the years when he unsuccessfully sought, from the Vatican, an annulment of his marriage to Catherine of Aragon, installed himself as head of the Church of England, and married the unfortunate Anne Boleyn, all in his quest for a male heir. It is a portrait of a world and time of great historical fascination, as seen through the eyes of the King’s political advisor, Thomas Cromwell. The chairman of the Man Booker Prize committee that awarded Mantel this year’s honor attested that: “Our decision was based on the sheer bigness of the book, the boldness of its narrative and scene-setting, the gleam that there is in its detail.” Readers will agree.

Wolf Hall is reminiscent of “Pillars of the Earth” and “World Without End”, works in which Ken Follett vividly and accurately re-creates the life of an earlier century. “Dark Fire” and “Sovereign”, by the accomplished C.J. Sansom, are fictional accounts of Cromwell and his king. Read-alikes would also include some of the contemporary novels featuring Henry VIII’s wives and times, such as those of Karen Harper, Alison Weir, Susan Wiggs and Philippa Gregory. Older treatments of this fascinating age by Jean Plaidy and Norah Lofts will have their fans, too.

Suzanne McGuire, Commack Public Library

World Without End by Ken Follett

Three years in the writing, World Without End is Follett's epic continuation of the story of Kingsbridge and the monks, royals, merchants and peasants that are its constituents. In its prequel Pillars of the Earth, two centuries earlier, Tom the mason becomes the master architect of the building of a great cathedral. In World Without End Mervin, his descendant, is a carpenter who masterminds the building of an indestructible stone bridge that will save the wool trading fair and consequently the town from failure. The politicians of the time are deceitful and most of the royals are self-serving, not unlike todays counterparts. This sweeping tale is entertaining yet educational and brings the Middle Ages to life with exhilaration and passion. Even if you hate history you will love this book.

Peggy McCarthy, Smithtown-Commack Library

Paranormal Fiction/Romance

2009-12-22T16:43:00.002-05:00

Sizzle and Burn by Jayne Ann Krentz

Raine Tallentyre has made a distinctly uneasy peace with her psychic powers, using them to help solve violent crimes. She has long despised the Arcane Society, a community designed to protect those who possess paranormal talents, believing that they murdered her father and destroyed her aunt’s life. When she meets handsome, charismatic Zachary Jones, and is drawn into a frightening murder investigation, she must reconsider all her previous assumptions as she begins to fall deeply in love with a man even more psychically gifted than she.

Read-alike authors include Christine Feehan and Sherrilyn Kenyon. In addition to the other books in the “Arcane Society” series, the author’s other titles, written under the pseudonyms Amanda Quick and Jayne Castle, would obviously appeal.

Jayne Ann Krentz is a very popular, and prolific, author: each year she publishes three new titles in her genres of contemporary romance, paranormal or futuristic romance, and historical romance.

Suzanne McGuire, Commack Public Library

Garden Spells by Sarah Addison Allen

Sisters Claire and Sydney have been estranged for the last 10 years, since Sydney left small-town Bascom, NC to live a wild life like her mother before her. However, her abusive relationship worsens, and Sydney must retreat back home where she and her 5-year old daughter will be safe.

Claire warily welcomes Sydney and her daughter into her home, turning her organized and regimented life upside down. And new neighbor Tyler's infatuation for Claire does nothing to settle her. Long ago Claire had
closed her heart after being abandoned by both her mother and Sydney. But now, she is falling in love with her sister and niece and possibly her neighbor. Can she let them in and chance the hurt? Or will she continue
to hold them off?

Read-alikes:
Casting Spells by Barbara Bretton
Madapple by Christina Meldrum
My Best Friend's Girl by Dorothy Koomson
Sugar Queen by Sarah Addison Allen
Time of Angels by Patricia Schonstein

Lori Ludlow, Babylon Public Library

The Séance by John Harwood

In true gothic fashion, Harwood weaves an intricate suspense thriller complete with stormy nights, dark forests and a “haunted” mansion. Constance Langton has inherited Wraxford Hall, but is warned to “sell the Hall unseen; burn it to the ground and plough the earth with salt, if you will, but never live there (p.48).”

Told in five different narratives spanning over twenty years, The Séance relates the ominous story of Wraxford Hall and the mysterious disappearances of its former inhabitants. Magnus Wraxford, a charming mesmerist, brings his clairvoyant but fragile wife, Eleanor, to live in the Hall. However, she soon begins to feel that her husband isn’t what he seems. She fears for her life and the life of their infant daughter and they both disappear after the suspicious death of a houseguest. Convinced that his wife had murdered their guest and their child, Magnus leaves behind a letter stating this before he also disappears without a trace.

Wanting to uncover the mystery surrounding her inherited estate, Constance delves into dark corridors and unsavory characters, risking her own life in the process. Reminiscent of The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins, The Séance is more than just a ghost story; it is a descent into true evil.

Read-alikes
The Woman in Black: A Ghost Story by Susan Hill

Catherine Nashak, Deer Park Public Library

Casting Spells by Barbara Bretton

A striking female tourist drowns mysteriously in an icy lake in remote Sugar Maple, Vermont.

Authorities send a Boston Homicide cop, Luke MacKenzie, to investigate. Luke soon realizes this is no ordinary town. What he does not know is Sugar Maple was originally a haven for witches who fled the Salem witchcraft trials three centuries earlier and is now home to witches, vampires, fairies and trolls plus Chloe Hobbs, the half-human owner of Sticks & Strings, a knitting shop. Chloe must find Mr. Right to preserve the spell that sustains the town’s unusual residents. Their romance and the continuation of the picture-perfect life in Sugar Maple hang in the balance.

Read-alikes:

Angels by Gwendolyn Morris
Shifter by Angela Knight, et al
Pooka the Paranormal by Larry Carter
A Guide to Magic, Witchcraft and the Paranormal by Sax Rohmer (non-fiction)

Marie T. Horney, Cold Spring Harbor Library

18 Seconds by George Shuman

Sherry Moore, blinded in an accident when she was very young, has the ability to see the last eighteen seconds of a deceased person’s life if she touches him. With the help of a detective with the local police force, Sherry visits crime scenes, funerals, etc. to help solve the mysteries surrounding suspicious deaths.

Although an interesting premise, Shuman’s first novel lacks focus due to multiple story lines being thrown at the reader. Had Shuman focused on one or two of these aspects then brought the others into his novels as the series continued 18 Seconds would have been more fluid and readers would then be less confused.

18 Seconds was a quick read once getting past all of the distractions; however, it’s not a good recommendation for someone just starting out with the paranormal fiction genre and looking for something similar to the TV shows The Medium or Ghost Whisperer. This book is probably best for someone already a fan of the genre who is willing to overlook the first time writer’s stumbling to give the series a chance to improve.

Read-alikes:

Nuala McGrail Series by Andrew M. Greeley
Noah Bishop Series by Kay Hooper
Abby Cooper, Phychic Eye Mysteries by Victoria Laurie

Azurée Agnello, West Babylon Public Library

The Iron Hunt by Marjorie Liu

Maxine Kiss is the last of her line of demon hunters. The Hunters protect the rest of mankind from demons that reside on the other side of the Veil, which separates them from humanity. Maxine inherited her own personal demons from her mother, the previous Hunter. Once the demons believe that the daughter is strong enough to carry them, they leave the mother and transfer to the daughter. Unfortunately this usually serves to kill the mother. Maxine feels responsible for her mother’s death, but she also knows that the same fate awaits her someday. “The boys” as Maxine refers to them, reside on her skin as tattoo body art during the day and make her invulnerable. At night however, they come alive as living creatures, which serves to make Maxine vulnerable to some nasty enemies, even though the “boys” still watch her back. In the past the Hunters have always lived in isolation. However, in The Iron Hunt, Maxine, lives in a Seattle homeless shelter with Grant, a former priest who seems to have the ability to perceive demons and heal people. Maxine wants the love and support of Grant and her other friends.

One day the police come to the shelter asking for her. This surprises Maxine as she never reveals her true name or identity. It turns out her name was found by the police written on a scrap of newspaper in the possession of a dead detective. In trying to clear herself, Maxine soon discovers that her “boys” are not the only demons in the world, and that the Veil is in serious danger of breaking down completely, leading to lots of trouble. Maxine finds that she has to look in the darkest depths of her heart to find the way to defeat the new demons and restore the Veil.

The book starts off slowly, but it does pick up the pace as it goes on, and is by and large an interesting read. There are a lot of unanswered questions about Maxine, Grant, and the origins of the Hunters, so further volumes in the series seem likely. The book contains some romance elements and a few sexual situations.

This book would probably appeal more toward fans of urban and dark fantasy than “traditional” paranormal romance. Readers of the latter genre who like harder edged stuff would probably go for The Iron Hunt though.

Suggested Read-alikes could include:

Guilty Pleasures (Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter series) by Laurell Hamilton
Urban Shaman (Walker Papers series) by C. E. Murphy
Magic Bites (Kate Daniels series) by Ilona Andrews
Moon Called (Mary Thompson series) by Patricia Briggs
Dead Witch Walking (Rachel Morgan series) by Kim Harrison
Greywalker by Kat Richardson

Bruce Silverstein, Patchogue-Medford Library

In the Tenth House by Laura Dietz

Set in 1890’s Victorian London, In the Tenth House is an intriguing glimpse into the opposing realms of science and clairvoyance. At the Victoria Rail Station, Dr. Ambrose Gennett has a chance encounter with a woman who utters phrases that sound like prophesy. Her cryptic message and urgent departure stir the Doctor’s curiosity. He is attracted to her in a sensual and most unusual way. He embarks on a fanatical pursuit to find her, redeem her, and ultimately discredit her purported psychic abilities. His obsessive quest is further fueled by the realization that his own mother, sister, and aunt have been absorbed into the unsavory realm of séances and superstition. Threatening both his personal and professional life, Gennett’s endeavors lead the reader through a maze of intriguing characters and suspenseful situations. The budding of Freudian concepts, the role of asylums, the disparity of social class, and the role that spiritualism plays in the lives of both believers and non-believers is core to this engrossing novel.

Florid and extremely descriptive, In the Tenth House is not an effortless read. The author’s background in Victorian literature is readily apparent and dutifully employed. While the passages may be verbally complex, they are equally engaging. Characters are painstakingly flushed out, and the story’s plot twines to a surprising conclusion. Laura Dietz’s debut work will appeal to any reader that enjoys an historical novel that delves into the dark side of society with intrigue, romance, and precisely-articulated characters and situations.

If you enjoy In the Tenth House, you may want to try reading The Medium by Noelle Sickels, Affinity by Sarah Waters, or A Death in Vienna by Frank Tallis.

Deborah Formosa, Northport-East Northport Public Library

Moon Called by Patricia Briggs

Mercy Thompson lives in a world of humans, but she is very aware of the supernatural creatures that also exist- the Fae, Vampires and Werewolves. She is part of this world because she is part Native American- a coyote shapeshifter. Mercy was raised in a werewolf enclave and tries hard to stay out of the clashes and power struggles in the supernatural community. This becomes difficult after her neighbor Adam, the head werewolf for the area, gets attacked and she rescues him.

The book follows Mercy’s adventures in trying to solve the mystery of why Adam was attacked and rescuing his human daughter Jesse. It can be read as a stand alone book, but it is part of a series following Mercy’s adventures.

The book is fast paced and action packed. It is possible to fall completely into this world and shows romantic suspense at its best. The character of Mercy is the most developed but secondary characters are well drawn and plausible.

Read-alike authors: Kim Harrison, Maria Snyder, Kelley Armstrong

Elizabeth Reade, Mastic Moriches Shirley Community Library

Undead and Unwed by Mary Janice Davidson

Undead and Unwed is the first in a series of books about queen vampire Betsy (Elizabeth) Taylor. Betsy, an unemployed secretary wakes up in the morgue after being hit by a car. She discovers she is a vampire when she notices her unusual desire for blood and her inability to keep down any solid food. Betsy refuses to give up her old life because of her untimely death, much to the chagrin of the other vampires in town. Now Betsy finds herself in the middle of a war between two rival vampire factions and is forced to defend herself from an untimely elimination.

Mary Janice Davidson is as normal as a person gets. She was born in a small town in the Midwest, her family moved around a lot. She started writing when she was 13 and publisher her first book when she was 29. She has been said to talk exactly like the characters in her books. In addition to the Undead Series, which she dubs Paranormal Chick Lit, she is the author of the Mermaid Series, The Wyndham Werewolf Series, The Gorgeous Series, The Royal Series and several YA and Sci-Fi titles. Undead and Unwelcome, the 8th book in the Undead Series is due out this June. There is also an Undead movie in the works.

Read-alikes

Charlaine Harris: Dead until Dark, Sookie Stackhouse Series
Kim Harrison: Dead Witch Walking
Julie Kenner: Carpe Demon and California Demon
Kate MacAlister: Dark on Series, Guardian Series
Michelle Rowen: Bitten and Smitten

Pamela Wells, Lindenhurst Public Library

Lost Recipe for Happiness by Barbara O’Neal

Elena Alvarez is hired as an executive chef for an Aspen restaurant that has lost its appeal. She works hard even though she is in constant pain as a result of an accident that killed two siblings, a cousin and her husband-to-be. Both the ravages of the accident and the ghosts of the family members that died are constant reminders of that fateful day.

This novel chronicles both the creation of a new restaurant and Elena’s emotional healing process. The demanding physical work of a restaurateur is realistically portrayed as is the process of coming up with menus, music, and décor before the doors even open. Though the ghosts of her family play an integral part of the story, this book is not paranormal in the way that a book about witches or vampires is but does have a bit of magic to it.

An appropriate read-alike with both magic and food is The School of Essential Ingredients.

Michelle Epstein, East Northport Library

Young Adult Reads for Adults

2009-12-19T14:26:00.003-05:00

A Great and Terrible Beauty by Libba Bray

It’s 1895, and after the suicide of her mother, 16 year old Gemma Doyle is shipped off from the life she knows in India to Spence, a proper boarding school in England. Lonely, guilt-ridden, and prone to visions of the future that have an uncomfortable habit of coming true, Gemma’s reception there is a chilly one. To make things worse, she has been followed by a mysterious young Indian man, a man sent to watch her. Why? What is her destiny? Gemma’s visions intensify while at school, where she is led to a nearby cave and discovers a diary of a woman who had similar experiences. She soon learns of an age old Order of Sorceresses who can open doors between worlds and of a tragedy two decades prior that is beginning to cast its shadow over her. Meanwhile the girls of Spence are preparing for their season, when they will be trotted out before wealthy bachelors in hopes of securing a good marriage. Bray depicts a caste system, in which girls are taught to abandon individuality in favor of their man’s wishes, as a deeper and darker horror than most things that go bump in the night.

Read-alikes:

Whispers from the Past by Rosaline Noonan
Don’t Die Dragonfly by Linda Joy Singleton
Silver is for Secrets by Laurie Faria Stolars
Tersias the Oracle by G. F. Taylor
Full Circle and Night’s Child by Cate Tiernan
Rhea Pollock, Brentwood Public Library

Upstate by Kalisha Buckhanon

January 25, 1990, “Baby, the first thing I need to know from you is do you believe I killed my father?” This is the how Ms. Buckhanon’s story begins it is written as a series of letters between two teenagers in love. Antonio is writing to his girlfriend Natasha from jail, he has been accused of killing his father and is waiting for his trial. The question is, will Natsha’s love for Antonio last while he serves his prison sentence?

The setting is Harlem in the 1990’s and the writing is urban and gritty. The reader gets a good feel of what life is like for these characters in their two different worlds. Time passes and book covers a span of ten years five of which Antonio spends Upstate. You watch as these two characters grow up and mature. Upstate is a heart-wrenching tale of love and loyalty.

Neely McCahey, Rogers Memorial Library

The Wish List by Eoin Colfer

Following a terribly bungled robbery, two young people and a pit ball find themselves in the hereafter. Well, actually it’s really a girl and a boy/dog blend that was the result of the intense explosion that immediately preceded their deaths. There’s no question where the boy/dog is going – straight to hell, but the girl poses a logistical problem. Her “trail” is equal parts blue and red which means she doesn’t have enough good or bad deeds to her credit to decide her fate: heaven or hell. Seeing that there is good in the girl, the Almighty sends her back down for one final chance to do a good deed. The Devil sends Belch/Raptor back to earth to stop her plan as he sees her potential as a smart creature that has been capable of bad acts in the past and might fit in wonderfully in Hell. And so the battle begins, but this one is full of dark humor, Irish wit, sorrow, regrets, and suspense.

Kathleen Carter, Mastics-Moriches-Shirley Community Library

Twins by Marcy Dermansky

Twins is a novel about Chloe and Sue, 13 year old identical twins who struggle to maintain separate identities. In the novel, they are at odds because while Chloe is trying to express her individuality, Sue does everything she can to encourage their “identicalness”. Their problems are also exacerbated by their absentee parents who are high powered lawyers and offer little or no guidance to the twins at this crucial time in their development. Sue finally ends up running away and her parents decide not to bring her back home. Being apart allows the twins to develop into their own unique personalities and in the end brings them closer.

Vicki Lever, Babylon Public Library

The Truth About Forever by Sarah Dessen

Macy is at a crossroads, her life is on hold and she’s happy with that. The less she has to feel or think, the better. She does what’s expected of her – good grades, good job, good daughter and no drama. However, this life also means no emotion, but for Macy that’s a good thing. It all started when Macy’s dad died one morning while out jogging. Macy was supposed to go running with him, but just didn’t want to get out of bed. By the time she changed her mind and caught up with her dad, it was too late. Now Macy has shut herself off because it’s easier than dealing with her feelings of guilt.

Everything changes, though, when she meets Delia and the staff that make up Wish Catering. Delia is the opposite of Macy – full of life, completely unorganized and goes with the flow, imperfections and all. The staff are all around Macy’s age and have issues of their own – Christy has burn scars on her face, Monica barely speaks, and Wes, cute and artistic Wes, has been in trouble with the law - but somehow none of that matters. Macy finds solace in the chaos and comfort in people who understand that life isn’t perfect. With the help of Wish Catering, and Wes in particular, Macy starts to realize that life isn’t something that can be controlled. As she begins to change, the walls she’s built around herself slowly topple and she sees that life is meant to be lived, not feared. She works through her grief with the help of Wes and not only is she able to face life again but she also opens herself up to love again.

Azurée Agnello, West Babylon Public Library

Looking for Alaska by John Green

Chronically low on the popularity food chain Miles Halter leaves for Culver Creek Preparatory School pursuing “The Great Perhaps.” Miles’self-deprecating humor endears him to us and we are delighted when he arrives at his new boarding school meets and bonds with his heavy drinking, prank-filled, brilliant roommate Chip “The Colonel” Martin. Miles then meets Alaska Young, as troubled as she is gorgeous, and Miles is immediately infatuated. The chapters chronicle “…Days Before” a pivotal event and how Miles and his friends deal with this event in chapters entitled “…Days After.”

Looking for Alaska is an entertaining, yet touching coming of age novel and winner of the Printz Award for 2005.

Read-alikes:
Hope Was Here by Joan Bauer
Absolutely Normal Chaos by Sharon Creech
The View From Saturday by E. L. Konigsburg
Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli

Peg McCarthy, Smithtown Library

Magic or Madness by Justine Larbalestier

Reason Cansino spent her whole life running away with her mother, Sarafina. They were trying to escape from their magic genes. When Sarafina goes insane, Reason is forced to live with her grandmother Esmeralda, the person from whom they were fleeing. Here she discovers what her mother was trying to hide. Fast paced, set in Australia and New York City, this first book of a trilogy makes you anxious to get the second one. Fans of the Harry Potter series and the Chronicles of Narnia would enjoy. Also readers of John Bellaires.

Karen Jaffe, Comsewogue Public Library

Somebody’s Daughter by Marie Myung-Ok Lee

It’s a long way from Eden’s Prairie, Minnesota to Enduring Pine Village, Korea. Nineteen-year old Sarah Thorson drops out of college and goes in search of her Korean heritage. She was told by her adoptive family that her Korean parents were killed in an accident. While enrolled in the Motherland Program at Chosun University, she uncovers the real tragedy – her mother, penniless and abandoned, left her on the steps of the Seoul firehouse shortly after her birth.

In alternating chapters, we learn about the life of her birth mother, Kyung-Sook, before and after the birth of her daughter Lee Soon-Min (Sarah). Sarah’s search for her identity and the circumstances of Kyung-Sook’s life are told with exquisite and wrenching details of Korean mores and customs.

The multicultural theme of Somebody’s Daughter will appeal to adults and older teens with Korean history and cross-racial adoption background brought to life by its thoroughly engaging characters.

Read-alikes:
Marie G. Lee:
Finding my voice
Saying goodbye
F is for fabuloso
If it hadn’t been for Yoon Jun
Chinhominey’s Secret by Nancy Kim
A Step from Heaven by An Na

Grace O’Connor, West Islip Public Library

Day of Tears: A novel in Dialogue by Julius Lester

This novel is based upon an actual historical event, the largest slave aucftion in United States history. Held in Savannah, Georgia over two days, this auction netted slave owner Pierce Butler a little over $300,000, and destroyed the lives of some 436 individuals who were wrenched from their families, and handled like animals.

Lester centers his story upon Emma, a young house slave who cares lovingly for Butler’s two daughters who have been left behind by their mother, abolitionist Fanny Kemble. In a stunning betrayal of his promise to Emma’s parents, with whom he’d grown up on the plantation, Butler also sells Emma on that infamous day. The story is told through monologues and dialogues, with shifting time frames. It is lyrical, and powerful: Lester gives a vivid picture of this period in the history of black Americans. His book received the prestigious “Coretta Scott King Award,” an award which also celebrates the author’s long career as an activist for civil rights.

Read-alikes
Steal Away by Jennifer Armstrong
Ajeemah and his Son by James Barry
To Be a Slave by Julius Lester
Beloved by Toni Morrison

Suzanne McGuire, Commack Public Library

Saving Francesca by Melina Marchetta

Francesca is Francesca Spinelli, who is at the beginning of her second term in Year 11 at St. Sebastian’s a school in Sydney, Australia. This is Francesca’s first year at St. Sebastian’s and it’s also St. Sebastian’s first year as a coed school. The boys and some of the staff at Sebastian’s are not happy about girls invading their turf. She hates the school and feels she was forced to come here by her strong willed mother, Mia, after her schooling at St. Stella’s ended. Her mother Mia didn’t allow her to follow her friends to Pius Senior College, because she didn’t want her to have limitations placed on her by these friends. Francesca finds this ironic, since she considers her mother the “Queen of the Limitation Placers” in her life.

Back in years 6 and 7, “Frankie” was an extrovert, until her Stella friends rescued her into non-threatening conformity. Now, not only is she miserable, and grappling to make new friendships; she looses Mia, whom she could always count on. Mia has taken to her bed in a deep depression. Told in the first person in a stream of consciousness style, the reader journeys with Francesca as she tries to understand herself and her family, and as she struggles to survive.

Read-alikes:
Starry Nights by Judith Clarke
After Summer by Nick Earls
Schooling by Heather McGowan
The Alphabet Sisters by Monica McIneney
The Year of Secret Assignments by Jaclyn Moriarty
Prep by Curtis Sittenfeld

Joanne Genovese, Smithtown Library

Prep by Curtis Sittenfeld

Curtis Sittenfeld ensconces the reader deep in the world of the Ault School and the churning mind of Lee Fiora. Lee, an A student through elementary school, becomes entranced by a booklet and applies to this boarding school. She is accepted as a scholarship student and leaves her home in the Midwest to go to a very different world in Massachusetts, a world of “class, race, and gender in a hothouse of adolescent angst and ambition.” Lee becomes a shrewd observer of—and, ultimately, a participant in—the rituals and mores of her fellow students, male and female.

Marie T. Horney, Cold Spring Harbor Library

Kipling’s Choice by Geert Spillebeen

The year is 1915, and World War I is in full swing in France. John Kipling, the only son of the famous writer Rudyard Kipling, has just turned 18 and is in his first battle. Unfortunately, it turns out to be his last, as he is mortally wounded and left for dead as the battle rages on around him. The book takes place in flashbacks, seen from the point of view of the wounded young lieutenant, who recounts the events of his life as his blood seeps out onto the ground around him. The stark contrast between the past and the present offers a heartfelt message about the pointlessness of war, the clear lack of glory in dying for a cause you know little about, and the irony of a loving father pushing his son into war and death. The book is written in spare, powerful language that has suffered little in its translation from the original Dutch. The book is written for an audience of readers in grades 7-10, but I would not hesitate to recommend this book to adults, both because of the writing style, and the message of the book. It is a quick but powerful read.

Read-alikes:
A Death in the Family by James Agee
Death be Not Proud by John Gunther
A Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway
Johnny Got His Gun by Dalton Trumbo

Kathleen L. Schiebel, South Country Public Library

Farm Tea by Will Weaver

You’re fourteen years old and the Coach wants you for the summer baseball team. But your hot-headed father has just gone to jail for flattening an entire used car lot with his Caterpillar tractor. Now the burden of running the family farm has fallen entirely on you. There goes your summer. There goes your dream. But your mother senses your disappointment and convinces you to convert a portion of the farm into a baseball diamond. She suggests the creation of a “farm team”—comprised entirely of those who respond to a flyer that is posted throughout town. Neighbors, tourists, and even migrants turn up at the farm to try out. And there is room for everyone on this team, including the family dog.

The protagonist, Billy Baggs, faces difficulties that are universal and ageless. For this reason, Farm Team can be suggested as a good read for adults and young adults alike. Weaver writes in an appealing style that is credible and witty. The reader may be able to predict the story’s concluding contest between the farm team and the home team, but the reader will be delighted in the journey to that ultimate confrontation.

Read-alikes:
Scooter by Mick Foley
Shoeless Joe by W. P. Kinsella
Waiting for Teddy Williams by Howard Frank Mosher
Slider by Patrick Robinson
Striking Out by Will Weaver
Hardball by Will Weaver

Deborah Formosa, Northport-East Northport Public Library

Sorcery and Cecelia, or, The Enchanted Chocolate Pot: Being the Correspondence of Two Young Ladies of Quality Regarding Various Magical Scandals in London and the Country by Patricia C. Wrede and Caroline Stevermer

Poor Oliver has been turned into a tree and isn't telling anyone where he is. Kate is puzzled at why some spilled hot chocolate burned a hole right through her dress. These are just some of the happenings detailed in the letters that two cousins, one in London and one in the country, send to each other. Between buying gloves for a new party dress, attending balls and waltzing at country house parties, the girls are having a lot of fun until events take a sinister turn when they find that they are dealing with evil wizards.

Read-alikes:
Heyer, Georgette. Regency novels
Wicked
A College of Magics
A Scholar of Magics

Michelle Epstein, East Northport Library

Travel Fiction

2009-12-19T13:33:00.002-05:00

Away by Amy Bloom

Lillian Leyb is a survivor. After the death of her family in a pogrom, she leaves Russia and makes a new life for herself in New York. From a cousin, she learns her daughter survived the pogrom and is with a family in Siberia. Away is the story of her trip across the US, Yukon, and Alaska in search of her daughter. This is a tough, realistic, graphic journey filled with hope and love. It is not a simple journey. Beautifully written, well developed characters, humor as well as sadness, this is highly recommended. Away should be read by those who enjoy immigrant stories, Jewish themes and strong women leads.

Karen Jaffe, Comsewogue Public Library

Wanderlust by Chris Dyer

Kate Bogart writes a travel column entitled WYWH (Wish You Were Here) for a New York newspaper. Wanderlust is told entirely in the form of emails both sent and received by Kate as she travels. The book is a delight – chick-lit at its best. It’s the wonderful hodgepodge of characters that makes this book both fun and funny. There’s Kate herself, witty and independent, her ex-husband who’s an extreme adventurer, her new love former war zone reporter Miles Maxwell, and Kate’s best friend Violet sentenced to take care of Kate’s cat, Truman Capote for eternity it seems. Finally there’s Kate’s gambling mom who goes by the username Gambling Rose. Wanderlust is the ideal travel companion!

Kathleen Carter, Mastics-Moriches-Shirley Community Library

Elvis Takes a Back Seat by Leanna Elllis

Forty year old Claudia McIntosh has suffered many losses over the past few years, all of which have left her bitter and depressed. She lost her father years ago, her mother just three years ago, and most painfully, her husband to cancer eighteen months ago. Her husband identified strongly with Elvis Presley and owned lots of Elvis memorabilia, including a vintage Cadillac and a bust of mysterious origins. Her husband’s best friend Ben tells her that the bust of Elvis appeared while they had been in college on a trip to Memphis. After finding a cryptic note from her husband asking her to return the bust to Faithland, Claudia sets out with her Aunt Rae, Ben’s fifteen year daughter Ivy, and the bust of Elvis for Memphis.

The book starts out with a mixture of stark reality & funny incidents- the Elvis bust is so large, it won’t fit in the trunk, so it has to ride (seat belt and all) in the back seat. After they get to Memphis, the mood is much darker & problems surface- Ivy turns out to have big problems of her own, Claudia discovers that she was adopted, and Ben’s long gone wife- Ivy’s mother is dead in Memphis. Not all the problems get resolved neatly either, but Claudia rediscovers her faith in God, and harbors some hope for the future at the end.

This book was labeled “Christian fiction”, but except for general beliefs in God, religion plays little in the narrative. The message seems to be that people need something bigger than themselves to help them along in life, and that those with faith and hope are better people for it. There is even a mysterious incident with the Elvis bust where you are left to wonder what really happened. The book was interesting, and I also discovered a few things about Elvis Presley that I did not know. I would recommend this book to readers who request Inspirational fiction or bereavement books.

Leanna Ellis has written category romance fiction under the name Leanna Wilson since 1995. She says she “hit a wall” a few years ago and just found other stories in her head. This is her first book published that is not category romance. She is married, has two small children and lives in Texas.

Read-alike authors are: Beth Webb Hart and Karen Kingsbury.

Elizabeth Reade, Mastics-Moriches-Shirley Community Library

One Thousand White Women, The Journal of May Dodd by Jim Fergus

This book is a work of fiction. An actual historical event occurred in 1854 at a peace conference at Fort Laramie where a prominent northern Cheyenne chief requested of the U.S. army authorities the gift of 1000 white women as brides for his young warriors. Because theirs is a matrilineal society in which all children born belong to their mother’s tribe, this seemed to the Cheyenne to be the perfect means of assimilation into the white mans world since as early as 1854 the Native Americans clearly recognized held no place for them…The Cheyenne’s request was not well received by the white authorities and the peace conference collapsed. Other historical events are rendered, but in an entirely fictional manner. At the same time the real names of certain actual historical figures are used, but the characters themselves are fictional creations.

The ‘Brides for Indians’ program recruited ‘volunteers’ supplemented an anticipated shortage of volunteers by recruiting women out of jails, penitentiaries debtors’ prisons, and mental institutions offering full pardons or unconditional release to those who chose to sign on for the program. When the Cheyenne negotiated the program, they meant exactly that number and in return would deliver exactly 1000 horses, as per the agreement. Any discrepancy in these figures would be sufficient cause to send the Indians back on the warpath.

The story begins as a diary written by May Dodd, whose life at home was not tranquil or inspiring. For her, as well as the other women who made the journey west, leaving ‘home’ was preferred to their present situations.

Rhea Pollock, Brentwood Public Library

A Sudden Country by Karen Fisher

This historical novel follows two complex characters whose lives collide on the Oregon Trail in 1847. James MacLaren, a former Hudson’s Bay trader, and Lucy Mitchell, a reluctant immigrant and recently remarried widow, come together in a clash of cultures, passion and obsession, as each is forced to confront both who they are and who they may yet become.

This first novel is well-researched and written. It contains enough action and excitement to keep the reader turning the pages, and a good dollop of romance and passion without being the least bit sappy. Vivid geographical description and historical details make this book feel very alive and immediate. I look forward to what this author produces next. Recommended for both men and women from young adults on up.

Read-alikes:

One thousand white women by Jim Fergus; Snow Mountain Passage by James Houston; Cold Mountain by Charles Frazier

Kathleen L. Scheibel, Brookhaven Free Library

Everything is Illuminated by Jonathan Safran Foer

In Everything is Illuminated, the novel’s author travels to the Ukraine in search of the woman that saved his family during the Holocaust. The author’s journey is narrated through the eyes of Alex, the Ukrainian man who is hired to assist Jonathan in his search. The novel is broken down into two separate story lines. The first part is the history of Jonathan’s family, written by Jonathan himself. The second is the travel log of Alex, who recounts his, Jonathan, and Alex’s grandfather’s journey through the Ukraine. This complex novel is both amusing and disturbing, with twists and turns that may leave the most astute reader questioning full comprehension.

Read -alikes:
My Darling Elia by Eugenie Melnyk
Gotz and Meyer by David Albahari
Suite Francaise by Irene Nemirovsky

Pamela L. Wells, Lindenhurst Memorial Library

Playing for Pizza by John Grisham

Rick Dockery seriously messes up the end of an AFC championship game for the Cleveland Browns by throwing three intercepted passes. For his pains he suffers a concussion and irate fans are looking to give him even more injuries. For his protection, and because no one else will have him, his agent finds him a quarterback position on an Italian football team, the Parma Panthers.

The Parma Panthers play for love (and great meals). Only quarterback Rick is paid and given a car and an apartment. In a story of redemption, Rick learns to be more of a team player, figures out how to play to his strengths, and gets his team into the Italian Superbowl. This occurs with Italian food, wine and cities as a backdrop.

This is a delightful departure from Grisham's legal thrillers. It would be of interest to football fans and lovers of travel fiction.

Football fans might also enjoy Bump and Run by Mike Lupica or many of Susan Elizabeth Phillips books. A Read-Alike for Americans in Italy could be The Food of Love by Anthony Capella.

Michelle Epstein, East Northport Library

The Camel Bookmobile by Masha Hamilton

A librarian travels to a remote village in Northeastern Kenya to bring books by camel to the nomadic bush people. Their reaction to Fiona “Fi” and her escort and the camel-toted library ranges from avid curiosity and excitement, to caution and suspicion. The reader understands her struggle to communicate and behave appropriately within the cultural mores of the bush people. The books are few and the villages are many and the organizers of this resource set a heavy fine for not returning books, the camel bookmobile will stop coming. There is great shame wrought on the village of Mididima when “Scar Boy,” does not return his books and the book mobile ceases to come. Fi decides to visit Mididima to retrieve the books. An unlikely love affair, a vivid sense of place and Fi’s effort to bring literacy to the “bush” is touching in its sincerity and make this an unforgettable journey.

Read-alikes
Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe
Out of Africa (memoir) by Isak Dinesen
Green City in the Sun by Barbara Wood

Peg McCarthy, Smithtown Public Library, Commack

Dine and Die on the Danube Express by Peter King

Not much detecting in this first-person detective mystery. Pages are filled with detailed descriptions of the scenery that the train passes through and the food and wine that is prepared and consumed for the riders, but there is no detail as to who has been murdered or why. After the initial shock at the death of a Hungarian actress, the travelers move on to other topics. They don’t seem to be upset that there’s a dead body on the train or that the murderer is also still on the train.

In this eighth and final book in the series, the Gourmet Detective is aboard the Danube Express for its 25th anniversary run. He is to relax and enjoy the ride, while he reviews the food, wine, and service for a competitor. When Hungarian actress Magda Malescu is found dead in her compartment, our amateur detective is invited to help solve the crime (apparently, he once lent a hand to Scotland Yard). However, it turns out that Malescu hasn’t been murdered at all—it was a celebrity stunt. But a little later, another rider is poisoned—but lives. Still, no one on the train seemed worried about this and Karl Kramer, the security chief is determined to keep these incidents quiet, lest the papers start writing about the safety issues aboard the Danube. Then, Malescu’s understudy is indeed murdered—she doesn’t come back from the dead. Towards the end of the story, yet another woman is poisoned.

In between the murders and near-murders are lovely descriptions of the countryside, the castles, the meals, and the wines. Also, the gourmet detective (who remains nameless throughout) enjoys a little fling with fellow rider Irena between the murders. There are too many characters to keep straight and none are well developed.

Neither Kramer nor the Gourmet Detective figures out who the murderer is. The detective’s mode of investigating is simply chatting with other riders in the hopes that someone will confess. They only find out the truth when the killer comes to them.

Read-alikes:
Nero Wolfe Mysteries by Rex Stout: Fer-de-Lance
Auguste Didier Mysteries by Amy Myers: Murder Makes an Entrée
Eugenia Potter series by Virginia Rich: Cooking School Murders
Goldy Bear series by Diane Mott Davidson: Dying for Chocolate

Lori Ludlow, Babylon Public Library

The Memory of Running by Ron McLarty

Smithson “Smithy” Ides has just lost both his parents in a car accident. He is a 43 yr. old, overweight, hard-drinking, chain-smoking misfit working in a dead-end factory job. On the day of his parents’ funeral, he finds a letter addressed to his father concerning the death of his long lost and deeply troubled sister, Bethany. Drunk and full of grief and despite a house full of mourners, Smithy goes to the garage for another drink and cigarette where he notices his old Raleigh bicycle. Though all its tires are flat, Smithy takes it out and right then decides to bicycle from his home in Maine to California to claim his sister’s remains, penniless and still wearing his ill-fitting funeral suit.

This novel is about Smithy’s odyssey across the country, the characters he meets, and the situations he encounters which give him the last chance to become the person he always wanted to be.

Rosalie Toja, Brentwood Public Library

Breakfast with Buddha by Roland Merullo

Otto Ringling is a middle-aged editor living a comfortable life in an affluent New York suburb. When his parents are killed in a car accident, Otto and his sister plan a road trip out west to settle the estate. The plan is dramatically altered on the day of departure when Otto’s sister opts out of the trip and sends her guru, flowing robe and all, instead. Otto reluctantly sets out on a journey across the country accompanied by his sister’s friend, the monk. How these two men coexist and influence each other over the course of their trip is the basis for this humorous and enlightening novel. Restaurant fare, bowling, miniature golf, and other mundane travel situations set the backdrop for the simple, yet profound, life lessons which gradually transform our travelers. Who is enlightening who becomes the focal point of the story—and helps to make this novel a hilarious, and often poignant, read.

If you enjoy reading about the ambience of locations throughout the American Midwest; take pleasure from scrumptiously-detailed descriptions of various restaurant cuisines; and can appreciate an on-going, jocular philosophical debate on the meaning of life, Breakfast with Buddha will make for a most delightful read.

Additional titles about a spiritual journey include: Roland Merullo’s Golfing with God; Alice Walker’s Now is the Time to Open Your Heart; Paulo Coelho’s The Alchemist; and Elizabeth Gilbert’s Eat, Pray, Love. An extensive list of philosophical works is included in an Author’s Note at the end of the book.

Deborah Formosa, Northport-East Northport Public Library

The Buenos Aires Broken Hearts Club by Jessica Morrison

Twenty eight year old Cassie Moore’s perfect life in Seattle falls apart when she loses her job and her fiancé in the same day. Cassie had always been diligent, doing the expected, plotting her Life Plan on a sequence of (revised) spreadsheets. Distressed, she impulsively books a ticket to South America, and takes a six-month lease on an apartment in Buenos Aires. Cassie’s gracious landlady welcomes her into her family circle, she studies Spanish, makes friends at the local bar, starts a blog and falls in love.

This is really affirmative “chick-lit”, with terrific local atmosphere and color. It will appeal to many who will also enjoy the author’s kind and wise perspective on life.

Suzanne McGuire, Commack Public Library

Annie Freeman’s Fabulous Traveling Funeral by Kris Radish

Five women follow the wishes of a dear friend who recently passed away by going on an all-expenses-paid traveling funeral to places that were special to the deceased Annie. The women drop everything to learn about Annie’s past and in doing so also learn how to slow down in order to enjoy life and to come to grips with their friend’s death.

Complete with late night chat sessions and enough tears to fill an ocean, Annie Freeman’s Fabulous Traveling Funeral is a little far fetched and annoying with all of its girl power preaching. It was not uncommon for one of the main characters to utter, “It’s because we’re women, that’s why we can get through this…” at least once each chapter. Although the concept was interesting, who wouldn’t want to go on a free trip celebrating their friend’s life, the things that happen to them become hard to take after the third, fourth, tenth time.

Read-alikes:
Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood by Rebecca Wells
The Friday Night Knitting Club by Kate Jacobs
Fried Green Tomatoes by Fannie Flagg

Azuree Agnello, West Babylon Public Library

The End of the Alphabet by C. S. Richardson

Alphabet-obsessed Ambrose Zephyr is a happy, sensible, unassuming man. He is married to Zapporah “Zipper” Ashkenazi, who not only complements him alphabetically, but emotionally as well. They have a wonderful devotion to each other even though they seem unexceptional. Then the doctor tells Ambrose he has one month to live.

Instead of doing what would be sensible, Ambrose and Zipper embark on a whirlwind journey, visiting places they have always loved or wanted to visit. Beginning with Amsterdam, Berlin, Chartres and so on, they come to realize the meaning of true love and devotion, and the painful and seemingly unfair turns life can take. In a mere 119 pages, Richardson captures the essence of life and love without sounding cloying. It is a truly masterful use of the art of fable and storytelling. Similar themes of life and love can be found in Erich Segal’s Love Story.

Catherine Nashak, Deer Park Public Library

When Mountains Walked by Kate Wheeler

The title of short story writer Wheeler’s debut novel, When Mountains Walked refers to earthquakes and the opening lines, the Rosario was the deepest canyon in the world…and at the bottom …Piedras are spoken by Maggie Goodwin about the location of the village in Peru where she and her physician husband, Carson, have opened a free clinic. Maggie’s marriage is jeopardized by Carson’s stubborn self-importance when he battles the local gold mine owners who are poisoning the water supply and her attraction to Vicente, a former rebel leader, now hiding from the Peruvian military.

The author’s descriptions of the Peruvian countryside, the poverty of the villages as well as the harsh beauty of the land itself, are set against themes of a woman’s role in society and the realities of life in Third World cultures. Wheeler shows what it means for people to be dislocated, what it means to be a stranger while capturing the experiences of the indigenous peoples.

Read-alikes:
Soldiers of Fortune by Richard Harding Davis
The Hotel in the Jungle by Albert J. Gluerard
Border Dance by T. L. Toma
A Chance to See Egypt by Sandra Scofield
Bay of Souls, Damascus Gate, Flag for Sunrise by Robert Stone

Grace O’Connor, West Islip Public Library

Suspense

2009-12-19T13:00:00.002-05:00

Compulsion by Keith Ablow

Compulsion is Keith Ablow’s third novel in his series of suspense thrillers featuring psychiatrist Dr. Frank Clevenger. The setting of the novel is the city of Boston and the Island of Nantucket. In Compulsion, narrator Dr. Clevenger is called in to evaluate a 16 year old patient Billy, who is accused of murdering his baby sister by filling her nostrils and mouth with window caulking. Years earlier Billy had been adopted from Russia where he had been physically and mentally abused. Everyone (including his family and the police) are quick to pin this murder on Billy, since he has had problems in the past with uncontrolled anger and killing small animals. However, Billy denies that he murdered his sister and Dr. Clevenger believes him. The novel is slow moving, with many twists and turns: there is another attempted murder, (which is also pinned on Billy); Dr. Clevenger becomes romantically involved with Billy’s mother and Clevenger gets “worked over” by an unknown assailant. In the end, Clevenger reveals the murderer and starts the process of trying to heal the murdered child’s family.

Read-alikes: Jonathan Kellerman, Stephen White, Jeffrey Deaver.

Vicki Lever, Babylon Public Library

Amnesia by David Best

At the age of twelve, Marti Segerson witnesses her sister’s murder. The killer, Vernon Odessa, was never brought to justice for the crime, so Marti spends the next twenty years preparing to find and confront Odessa and to avenge her sister’s death.

Amnesia begins with Marti procuring a job as a psychiatrist at the mental hospital where Odessa is incarcerated. The staff is secretive, the administrators are elusive, and the patients are engaged in mind games. Marti takes so many risks snooping around the hospital that it seems certain her true purpose will be uncovered. There are mysteriously-similar scars on patients’ necks; there are secret tunnels beneath the hospital; evidence of questionable memory testing procedures are apparent; some staff and patients suffer from memory loss; and Odessa is thirsting to kill again.

Amnesia is a truly suspenseful read. It is the kind of book that can be read in one sitting. There are so many twists and turns that the reader feels compelled to read on to find out how it will all work out in the end.

If you like reading suspenseful novels that involve amnesia try Lost by Michael Robotham, Flashback by Jenny Siler, or Left for Dead by Kevin O’Brien. For a suspenseful novel involving hospital administrators try The Society by Michael Palmer. And if asylums are your preference, try Bed of Nails by Michael Slade.

Deborah Formosa, Northport-East Northport Public Library

The Innocent by Harlan Coben

Matt Hunter’s life has already been blown away once. At the age of 20, he got into a fight outside a party and accidentally killed someone. That momentary lapse of reason cost him 4 yrs. in prison. But when he got out, he set about rebuilding his life. He carved himself a job as a paralegal and married a beautiful woman. The break in the road seems to have only made him a stronger person. However, when he receives a strange video message on his mobile phone and he realizes that a very bad man is following him, his new existence is suddenly in jeopardy. Why is this ex-con following him and who really is this woman he has married? Suddenly Matt can’t trust anybody, least of all those he loves.

Rosalie Toja, Brentwood Public Library

The Lincoln Lawyer by Michael Connelly

Mickey Haller, Los Angeles defense attorney, regularly defends lowlifes but is haunted by how he mishandled the case of possibly innocent Jesus Menendez. (Twice divorced but on good terms with both ex-wives: one of them manages his office and the other is an ambitious assistant DA with whom he shares amorous interludes.) Mickey conducts most of his business from the rear of a Lincoln town car (hence the title). The Lincoln is driven by a client still paying off his debt for Mickey’s defense. The possibility of the “big” case moneywise comes in the person of a young real estate agent with an imperious mother willing to spend any amount to prove her beloved son’s innocence. Mickey and his investigator, Raul Levin, find the “beloved” Louis Roulet may not be what he seems. The plot spirals when Levin is murdered, a connection to the Menendez case arises, and the continuing defense becomes a question of morality as well as a test of Haller’s survival. “After Connelly spends the book’s first half involving the reader in Mickey’s complex world, he thrusts his hero in the middle of two high-stakes duels, against the state and his own client, for heart-stopping twists and topflight storytelling.” (Publishers Weekly).

Read-alikes:
L.A. Confidential by James Ellroy
Inadmissible Evidence by Philip Friedman
The Client by John Grisham
The Associate by Philip Margolin
The Attorney by Steve Martini
Courting Trouble by Lisa Scottoline.

Marie T. Horney, Cold Spring Harbor Library

Point Blank: An FBI Thriller by Catherine Coulter

This is Coulter’s 10th book in her FBI suspense series featuring the dynamic married duo of Lacey Sherlock and Dillon Savich, a husband and wife law enforcement team. Point Blank weaves both revenge and murder into a fast paced book that juggles between two different storylines. At the start of the story, readers are introduced to Ruth Warnecki, also an FBI Agent and a colleague of the series main characters Sherlock and Savich. Ruth is caving and looking for buried treasure but as it turns out is in the wrong place at the wrong time. The story then cuts to Sherlock and Savich on a stakeout gone amuck. Coulter moves back and forth between the two FBI cases each chapter. Sharing with the reader not one but two tales of suspense and murder. The stories are between the search for a music student's killer and the hunt for a violent elderly man calling himself Moses who kidnaps and murders an amateur comedian. The cases tie together only by the FBI agents solving them and the theme of criminally insane grumpy old men -without giving too much away! Coulter creates a nice mixture of suspense and thrills while also appealing to readers looking for sympathetic characters and happy endings.

Neely McCahey, Rogers Memorial Library

Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier

Du Maurier’s 1938 novel is the story of a naive working-class woman whom the recently widowed Maxim de Winter meets in Monte Carlo, quickly marries and takes back to his palatial family mansion, Manderly, located in the south of England. There the second Mrs. de Winter discovers that she must compete with the memory of the former mistress of the house, Rebecca, whose qualities are in dramatic contrast to those of the unsophisticated newcomer. From the minute she arrives at Manderly, Maxim’s bride feels a unpleasant presence in the house and it’s not just that macabre housekeeper Mrs. Danvers!

Eventually the bride comes to learn that she need not be jealous of Rebecca; it turns out that Max hated his first wife. Not only did he hate her; he confesses to her that he actually killed Rebecca and sank her body and her boat in the inlet not far from Manderly. Du Maurier goes convincingly from the supernatural to the harsh reality of a deed done in anger. The setting is so crucial to the story that the book begins and ends with Manderly.

Read-alikes:
Wilkie Collins
Catherine Cookson
Victoria Holt
Susan Howatch

Kathleen Carter, Mastics-Moriches-Shirley Library

Transfer of Power by Vince Flynn

Through scrupulous planning, Arab terrorists seize control of the White House taking more than 100 hostages. The President is safely hidden, incommunicado, in a bunker in the basement. With the weak willed, power hungry Vice President taking charge, there is an inevitable clash of wills between polilticians and the military. Special agent, Mitch Rapp, a modern day, American James Bond, saves the day in this political thriller filled with intrigue and spy gizmos. Those loving action and politics will enjoy this, the first in a series about Mitch Rapp.

Read-alikes: Fans of Tom Clancy and David Balducci will have fun.

Karen Jaffe, Comsewogue Public Library

Vanish by Tess Gerritsen

Boston medical examiner, Dr. Maura Isles hears a noise in the morgue’s cold room, she hears another noise, begins to check the body bags and finds a “corpse” who opens her eyes. As if that isn’t enough of a shock, shortly after being rushed to the hospital, while still in ICU the woman murders a security guard and takes six hostages. One of the hostages is Detective Jane Rizzoli, a pregnant policewoman. While Dr. Isles and Gabriel Dean, Jane’s FBI agent husband begin to dig for solutions to the crisis, Federal agents take over the case. Apparently this is no ordinary hostage crisis. Who is the mystery woman and why are the feds interested in her?

This is a tense, fast paced, action packed medical suspense thriller. Tess Gerritsen is a retired physician and brings an insider's medical knowledge to her novels. Reviewers have praised her medical detains as vivid and authentic and her suspense as fast paced and unrelenting.

Read-alikes:
Medical Suspense: Michael Palmer, Peter Clement, Robin Cook and Eileen Dreyer
Iris Johansen - Eve Duncan forensics thrillers

Joanne Genovese, Smithtown Public Library

Final Target by Iris Johansen

The U.S. president’s seven-year-old daughter, Cassie, is trapped in a nightmare world after escaping a violent kidnapping attempt in France. The little girl is placed in the care of Dr. Jessica Riley, who brought her own sister, Melissa, back from a catatonic state and now hopes to do the same for Cassie. Melissa, a student at Harvard, is impelled by her dreams to visit Jessica at their home in Virginia where she becomes involved with her sister’s newest patient. The little girl and the Riley household are sheltered from the press by a small army of Secret Service agents, but they can’t keep Cassie’s savior, the mysterious Michael Travis, away. The president acknowledges his help but sees him as a threat because he’s an internatinal thief and his true motivation is unclear. The president requests that Travis be kept away from the child. Against the president’s orders, Jessica decides to involve Travis in her treatment; when he needs to go to Amsterdam for a secret business deal, he takes all three gals with him in a well-orchestrated escape from the Secret Service. This leads to a bloody pursuit by Travis’ associates, the kidnappers, and the Secret Service. Johansen has cleverly merged elements from one of her old romances, The Wind Dancer (1991), with this newest thriller, resulting in a winning page-turner that will please old and new fans alike.

Read-alikes:
Catherine Coulter
Tami Hoag
Linda Howard
Barbara Michaels
Sandra Brown
Joy Fielding
Kay Hooper
Mary Stewart
Phyllis Whitney.

Rhea Pollock, Brentwood Public Library

Funeral Music by Morag Joss

After world renowned cellist Sara Selkirk discovers the body of museum director Matthew Sawyer, she collaborates with Inspector Andrew Poole who is in charge of the case. Poole who is unhappily married is also an amateur cellist to whom she is giving lessons! Solving the murder and her romantic interest in Poole help her to recover from a breakdown she suffered after the death of her lover. The supporting cast of characters is a bloody-awful lot although they seem perfectly normal.

Although Joss’ debut was hailed by P.D. James and compared by some critics to Ruth Rendell, it is fair to classify it as suspense-lite. The duplicitous characters and the violence behind their public persona provoke anticipation beyond the usual murder mystery plotting. The psychological details behind their actions propel it into a suspenseful read.

Read-alikes:
P.D. James
Ruth Rendell

Grace O’Connor, West Islip Public Library

Intensity by Dean Koontz

Aptly named, Intensity by Dean Koontz is one of the most riveting suspenseful reads I have experienced. Chyna Shepherd joins her friend for a country getaway but it soon turns into a terrifying struggle to survive. After they have retired for the night, Chyna hears muffled noises down the hall and sensing danger she climbs under her bed. Soon a dark figure enters her bedroom and stands over the bed; Chyna holds her breath remaining deathly still; then he leaves. Hours later Chyna emerges and finds her friend has been brutally murdered in her bed. The suspense builds as Chyna attempts to find her friend’s killer and ultimately finds herself fleeing for her life.

Peggy McCarthy, Smithtown Public Library

Dearly Devoted Dexter by Jeffry Lindsay

Dearly Devoted Dexter is the second in a series (Darkly Dreaming Dexter, 2004) that features Dexter Morgan, a charming monster who only kills bad people. Dexter works for the Miami police department as a blood spatter expert, and channels his “dark passenger” by targeting other serial murderers. Dexter is smart, funny, and likes children, yet is perplexed by human emotions: he knows he is not normal! It was Dexter’s foster father, a police detective, who recognized Dexter’s psychotic propensities and taught him the vigilante method that has made him something of a service to his community. The story is well-written and fast paced, with a vivid depiction of Miami’s scenery, and contemporary life.

Read-alikes:
N.M. Kelby’s Whale Season, which is about a second generation Cuban-American doctor who thinks he’s Jesus and is a serial killer.

Triggerfish Twist, Hammerhead Ranch Motel, and Florida Road Kill, all by Tim Dorsey, are reminiscent of Elmore Leonard and feature Serge Storms, a goofy serial killer.

Suzanne McGuire, Commack Public Library

Every Breath You Take by Judith McNaught

Mitchell Wyatt, is a fabulously good-looking, incredibly wealthy, Oxford-educated, in touch with his feelings yet super macho, jet-setting, international business tycoon. Let’s get real here, how many guys are really like this?

Mitchell, a bastard son of the high-society Wyatt family, was sent away to boarding school in Europe by his father to get rid of him, with his schooling and material needs taken care of by a “mysterious American.” Mitchell never knew he was a member of the Wyatt clan, until his half-brother William shows up one day in London to reveal the truth. When their father falls out of a window and William disappears, Mitchell is the prime suspect. Unaware of the suspicion cast upon him, Mitchell goes to the Caribbean for a little relaxation. While there he meets the beautiful redhead, Kate Donovan, who is grieving the recent loss of her father.

The story is fairly predictable. The emphasis is more on the romance aspect than on suspense, and it’s fairly easy to guess who the real bad guy is. I wouldn’t call this book a page-turner, but the pacing moves along fast enough so you are not bored with the icky romance parts. The characters — cops, lawyers, and scheming family members -- were fairly stereotypical even for this genre. Conclusion -- dopey, but harmless fun.

Read-alikes:
Jude Deveraux
Elizabeth Lowell
P.J. Tracey
Sandra Brown
Jayne Ann Krentz

Bruce Silverstein, Patchogue-Medford Library

Fatal by Michael Palmer

Good vs. evil in an action-packed medical thriller by bestselling author Michael Palmer. Dr. Matt Rutledge is convinced that the coal-mining company in his West Virginia hometown of Belinda is responsible for the gross skin abnormalities and dementia he’s seen in some Belinda residents. But pathologist Nikki Solari isn’t so sure. Things only begin to make sense when the doctors meet Ellen Kroft, who suspects a new supervaccine, soon to be approved for the public, is at fault.

Read-alikes:
Final Diagnosis by Gary Birken
Positive Match by Tony Chiu,
Lie Still by David Farris
The Surgeon by Tess Gerritsen
The Stain by Harry Lee Kraus
Fertile Ground by Rochelle Krich
Gargoyles by Alan Nayes
The Society by Michael Palmer
Some Cuts Never Heal by Timothy Shear
The Center by David Shobin.

Kathleen Scheibel, South Country Library

Blue Dahlia by Nora Roberts

First in a new trilogy called "In the Garden" Blue Dahlia is the story of a nursery business and the three women who work to make it successful. Roz Harper, owner of "In the Garden," Stella Rothchild, and Hayley, a distant relative of Roz, form a warm sisterhood as they work and live together in the Harper mansion. Like Roberts's many other trilogies, each novel focuses on one woman. In this first book, Stella's husband dies suddenly leaving her alone with her two young sons. She moves from Michigan to the outskirts of Memphis to a haunted estate owned by Roz. Stella is hired to manage the business and begins to clash with Logan Kitridge, the nursery's sexy landscape designer. There is witty banter and sexual tension between Stella and Logan. An element of paranormal suspense is added by a ghost, the "Harper Bride" who does not approve of the developing romance.

Read-alikes:
For readers who liked the ghostly elements of the story try the Three Island Sisters mystery series by Nora Roberts and the other gothic tales like The Scarletti Curse by Christine Feehan and Mistress of Mellyn by Victoria Holt.

Michelle Epstein, East Northport Public Library

Presumed Innocent by Scott Turow

This is the first book by Scott Turow. The main character is a public prosecutor named Rozat (Rusty) Sabich in fictional Kindle County in the Midwest. Rusty is second in command to the District Attorney, Raymond Horgan, who is running a losing campaign for re-election. His opponent is a former prosecutor, who will use any weapon in this fight, including an accusation of murder to win. When another prosecutor named Carolyn Polhemus is murdered, Rusty Sabich is accused of the crime on circumstantial evidence. The police are called off the murder investigation when Rusty is indicted.

This is a complicated plot, but it is not hard to follow while you are actually reading the book. The book starts off slowly, giving backgrounds on the various characters, but picks up the pace as soon as the setting becomes the courtroom. Fictional Kindle County is a stand in for Chicago and Cook County, and the author describes the ethnic neighborhoods (Rusty’s father was Serbian), the suburbs, the police stations and downtown sections with authenticity. The office politics and the city politics are exaggerated but believable.

Read-alikes include: John Grisham, Lisa Scottoline, Richard North Patterson, and Michael Connelly.

Elizabeth Reade, Mastic Moriches Shirley Community Library

Sports

2009-12-19T11:13:00.002-05:00

Lapchick by Gus Alfieri

Gus Alfieri has written a book that pays homage to Joe Lapchick, a great man in the world of basketball. Joe Lapchick grew up with basketball when the game itself was growing up in the early 1900’s. Readers learn about Dr. Naismith, the fellow who developed the game for boys who could not afford the equipment of other sports. In the beginning, the basket was actually a peach basket hung at 10 ft. It wasn't until 1912 that the baskets were opened. Alfieri tells all about the early years of the new game with many interesting facts including many of it’s characters. Joe Lapchick was one of the early players when players played for many teams sometimes playing more than one game a day. Lapchick became one of the original Celtics and coached the NY Knicks and the St. John’s University basketball team. He helped to integrate the NBA and was known as a kind and decent man who loved basketball and whose players loved him.

Rosalie Toja, Brentwood Public Library

Breaking Back: How I Lost Everything and Won Back My Life by James Blake

Breaking Back chronicles the meteoric rise of a regular-kind-of guy from Fairfield, Connecticut, who plays a mean game of tennis. As a child James Blake battled a severe case of scoliosis, so the fact that he could play tennis at all was something of a miracle. But scoliosis was only the first in a series of obstacles that would challenge Blake even more seriously later in life.

Blake fractures his neck during a routine practice rally and it puts his career on hold—it may even end his career completely. Breaking Back is an introspective memoir that describes how James Blake formulates a personal philosophy that helps him through incredible difficulties: a serious injury; the loss of his father; a bout with shingles; and a virus-induced paralysis.

Written in the first person and in an easy-to-read style, Breaking Back outlines Blake’s sources of inspiration and anxiety, as well as the personal life lessons that help him through his trials.

This memoir is an inspirational, uplifting read that may serve as an inspiration to aspiring athletes or to anyone who may be facing difficult times. James Blake is a living example of what perseverance and a one-step-at-time approach can accomplish.

Other memoirs about tennis players include Days of Grace by Arthur Ashe and Venus and Serena by Venus and Serena Williams. Stories with a theme of overcoming adversity in the world of sports would include It’s Not About the Bike by Lance Armstrong and Landing It by Scott Hamilton.

Deborah Formosa, Northport-East Northport Library

Messier: Hockey’s Dragon Slayer by Rick Carpiniello

Simply a book of quotes and stories from Mark Messier’s admiration society. Not a biography of Messier, but more a collection of snapshots of his career with Edmonton, his first stint with the Rangers, and with Vancouver. The book includes praise and accolades from other players, coaches, and anyone else in the hockey field. The writer does not delve into Messier, the man. He doesn’t even dig; he doesn’t even spade. We just have to take him at his word that Messier is an all-around good guy. The book is strictly about Messier, the hockey player.

Any reader who has followed Messier’s career will not find new discoveries. But, if you’re looking for past plays, scores, goals, passes, etc. during specific, important games, this is the book for you.

Lori Ludlow, Babylon Public Library

Fanatic: 10 Things All Sports Fans Should Do Before They Die by Jim Gorant

Sports Illustrated writer, Jim Gorant, chose the ten sporting events he felt were the most iconic and spent just over a year of his life attending them all. Who goes to these events and why? Each draws their audiences for different reasons. Why do people become fanatics? Is this a good thing? Gorant has a gift for description and he sees the humor in everything. Fanatic is a combination of a travelogue and an examination of human nature. It also is a great vehicle for discussion; not many people will agree with his top ten choices.

Karen Jaffe, Comsewogue Public Library

All Fishermen are Liars by Linda Greenlaw

It may be a stretch to include this book by and about commercial fishermen in the sports genre, but the author, Linda Greenlaw, has so much fun with the subject of fishing and the tall tales that accompany fishermen everywhere, it seemed a sure bet to be included in a conversation about sports. All Fishermen are Liars takes place at the Dry Dock Bar in Portland, Maine, where Ms. Greenlaw ponders how to converse with her bet friend and lunch partner, Alden Leeman, about his health and his need to retire from the fishing business. Interspersed with Ms. Greenlaw’s thoughts and memories are a series of stories recalled by friends and fishermen who wander in and out of the bar over the course of a long afternoon and evening. Some of the stories are near fantastic in their white-knuckled intensity and drama, but there is at least a kernel of truth contained in each one. Ms. Greenlaw says, “all the stories I assume really happened.” Included among the stories is one tragic tale of a party boat that sank in a storm off the coast of Montauk in the early 1950’s. The stories are suspenseful and written in a confident, conversational style.

Audience: men and women, fishermen, sailors, lovers of the Maine coast, fans of short nonfiction and adventure stories.

Read-alikes:
The Lobster Chronicles; The Hungry Ocean; and Slipknot by Linda Greenlaw.
The Sea’s Bitter Harvest: Thirteen Deadlly Days on the North Atlantic by Douglas A. Campbell
Lobster Gangs of Maine by James M. Acheson
Working on the Edge: Surviving in the World’s Most Dangerous Profession:
King Crab Fishing on Alaska’s High Seas by Spike Walker

Kathleen L. Scheibel, Brookhaven Free Library

Soul Surfer: A True Story of Faith, Family and Fighting to Get Back on the Board by Bethany Hamilton

Bethany considered herself a normal girl with a passion for surfing and her church. On Halloween morning, she went to the local beach to surf with friends and although the waves weren’t great, she was enjoying herself - that is, until a fourteen-foot tiger shark decided to attack. Bethany loses her left arm in the attack and wonders whether she’ll ever become the professional surfer she’s been training her whole life to be.

Thirteen-year-old Bethany tells her story with honesty and candidness; however, she speaks of her faith and God throughout the book almost to the point of exhaustion occasionally making the reader feel like they’re getting a bible lesson as opposed to reading a biography. The book is marketed as young adult with short chapters, easy-to-read text and pictures of Bethany and her family both pre and post attack. Anyone looking for an inspirational story will most likely enjoy this biography and how Bethany decided not to let one freak accident ruin the life she had barely begun.

Read-alikes:
Alive: The Story of the Andes Survivors by Piers Paul Read
Between a Rock and a Hard Place by Aron Ralston
Up and Running: The Jami Goldman Story by Jami Goldman

Azuree Agnello, West Babylon Public Library

Fever Pitch by Nick Hornby

Award-winning memoir of a young man’s obsession with English football and its impact on his life. When Nick Hornby was eleven, his parents separated, leaving him in the company of his mother and his sister. Football was the only activity that his father suggested that was even remotely interesting to him. Through the years his love of Arsenal, a football team with an inconsistent playing record, opened the doors to friendships with other boys as well as giving father and son something to share and discuss. In 2005 Fever Pitch was made into a movie with Drew Barrymore and Jimmy Fallon , but the sport was changed to baseball and the team to the Boston Red Sox. A 1997 British movie by the same name starring Colin Firth kept the original sport and the team name.

Read-alikes
Wait Until Next Year by Doris Kearns
The Tender Bar by J.R. Moehringer

Kathleen Carter, Mastics-Moriches-Shirley Community Library

Yukon Wild: The Adventures of Four Women Who Paddled 2,000 Miles Through America's Last Frontier by Beth Johnson

In the summer of 1981, Beth Johnson decided she wanted to paddle the Yukon, a 2,000 mile river which spans the continent of Alaska. A year later she, three other women and three canoes began a summer trek down the fifth longest river in North America. This book is the story of their year-long preparations and a day-by-day account of their journey through the Alaskan wilderness. Along with being an exciting adventure tale, it is an interesting and important report for anyone wanting to meet their next challenge in the great outdoors.

Read-alikes
Moving Waters; Adventures on Northern Rivers by Sam Cook
Adventure Kayaking: Inland Waters of the Western United States by Don Skillman
Return by Water; Surf Stories and Adventures by Kimball Taylor

Rhea Pollock, Brentwood Public Library

Iditarod Dreams by DeeDee Jonrowe

The Iditarod is an Alaskan dogsled race that lasts more than 10 days and covers 1150 miles. DeeDee Jonrowe describes her year preparing for the race and what a sledder’s life is like. Jonrowe and her coauthor cover pup raising, dog training, and the 1993 and 1994 Iditarod races and the politics behind them. There is also mention of the Alpinrod race in Europe.

The writing is choppy and somewhat pedestrian and does not capture the spirit of adventure and danger and beauty of the National Historic Trail where the race takes place.

Read-Alikes might include other personal accounts of the Iditarod: Father of the Iditarod: The Joe Redington Story by Lew Freedman, and No End in Sight: My Life as a Blind Iditarod Racer by Rachael Scdoris and Rick Steber. Accounts of other extreme races like the Tour de France, French Revolutions: Cycling the Tour de France by Tim Moore, might also be of interest.

Michelle Epstein, East Northport Library

October Men: Reggie Jackson, George Steinbrenner, Billy Martin and the Yankees’ Miraculous Finish in 1978 by Roger Kahn

The 1978 season was a turning point for a team that had been struggling with cohesiveness. Renowned sportswriter Roger Kahn captures what went on behind the scenes of New York Yankees one-game playoff against the Boston Red Sox. With great detail, Kahn lets us in on the conflicts fans rarely see: battling egos, alcohol abuse, and racism to name a few. Fueled by this turmoil, the determined Yankees pulled it together and played one of the greatest games in baseball history.

Similar titles:

The Bronx Zoo: The Astonishing Inside Story of the 1978 World Champion
New York Yankees by Sparky Lyle
The Greatest Game: The Yankees, the Red Sox, and the Playoff of '78 by Richard Bradley
The Boys of Summer by Roger Kahn

Catherine Nashak, Deer Park Public Library

Nazi Games: The Olympics of 1936 by David Clay Large

The author is a professor of history at Montana State, and has published several books in his specialty, modern German history. In this work his focus is the Third Reich’s use of the Olympic games as a blockbuster propaganda vehicle: Hitler recognized the opportunity and used it to maximum effect to show the world the strength of his young Nazi state, German athleticism, and, he hoped, Aryan cultural supremacy. He spent huge amounts of money on Berlin’s infrastructure, on refurbishing the sports complex, and on state-subsidized athletic training. World opinion was, largely, gratifying, a boost to the Nazi regime. Another important theme is the proposed international boycott, ultimately derailed by the American Olympic Committee headed by Avery Brundage. This has relevance for our present time as many in the world‘s human right’s community are arguing against participation in the 2008 Beijing Summer Games.

Readers will appreciate the author’s writing style, his breadth of research, and his scholarship. Nazi Games is well worth the reading.

Suzanne McGuire, Commack Public Library

Two Ton: One fight, one night Tony Galento v. Joe Louis by Joseph Monninger

My father was an avid boxing fan and one of the boxers he spoke of with great enthusiasm was Tony Galento, better known as “Two Ton Tony”. Kirkus Reviews synopsizes the story: “A championship match-up between Italian-American boxer Tony Galento and legend Joe Louis is the focus here, but also the lens through which this brisk and entertaining history looks at the state of the nation in the 1930’s” The chapters alternate between the retelling of the great fight in which an unlikely opponent standing 5’ 8” almost as wide as he was tall, put Louis first into the ropes and then onto the canvas and the stories of each of these great pugilists and the times in which they lived. The era was the Great Depression when immigrants and their descendents to earn some money tried their fists in the ring. There were boxers like Louis who had natural born talent and trained religiously and there were those who fought with ox-like strength and ferocity and very little technique. Tony Galento was in the latter category who, from years of delivering ice up the stairs of the New York City tenements hence the moniker “Two Ton,” had the strength of Atlas and a deadly left hook. Unfortunately, when he finally got his shot at the heavyweight title against reigning champion Joe Louis, Tony was past his prime, overweight, out of shape but was a game opponent and had box office appeal. There’s a Seabiscuit spirit to this narrative in which the fans root for the underdog who gives them hope in the dark days of the Depression.

It is an amusing, jolting, bittersweet tale of a clownish boxer “Two Ton,” who was beloved by his fans, the Ali of his day, who instead of “Stinging like a bee,” was quoted before each of his bouts “I’ll moida da bum.” Through Monninger’s brutal imagery his story also delivers a cautionary tale of the deadliness of the sport of boxing. A great read.

Read-alikes:

A Flame of Poor Fire: Jack Dempsey and the Roaring Twenties by Roger Kahn
Raging Bull by Jake LaMotta and Joseph Carter
Seabiscuit by Laura Hillenbrand
Somebody Down Here Likes Me, Too by Rocky Graziano and Ralph Corsel

Peggy McCarthy, Smithtown Public Library

Mostly True: A Memoir of Food, Family and Baseball by Molly O’Neill

For Molly, her family was brought and stayed together through food and baseball. Molly’s family history is infused with baseball’s history. Her great grandfather played on one of the first organized baseball traveling teams, her grandfather played barnstorming ball and her father played in the minor leagues. Molly’s father eventually marries the tallest woman in Columbus, Ohio, with the hope of spawning baseball players. He achieves his goal. All of Molly’s brothers play baseball throughout their childhood, although it seems her youngest brother, Yankee baseball player Paul O’Neill, was never pushed as hard by his father to be “The Greatest.” Molly’s story takes us full circle, beginning with cooking for her brothers in her mother’s kitchen, through the baseball trials and triumphs of her brothers and ultimately ending in almost the same fashion in which it began, in the kitchen.

Pamela Wells, Lindenhurst Public Library

Being Sugar Ray: The life of Sugar Ray Robinson, Americas greatest boxer and the first celebrity athlete by Kenneth Shropshire

A biography usually begins at birth and proceeds to the final resting place. This biography digresses and while noting the important dates in the life of the subject, it interweaves sportspeople of a later date and of a different climate showing the money discrepancy and a totally different acceptance factor. Robinson’s combination of talent, charisma and style enabled him to attain an iconic status unrealized by previous sports superstars. This combination provided Robinson with a position at the time that would pave the way for future “superstars.” From poverty through one of the few avenues of escape available—boxing-- he parlayed his talent, flair in dress, his businesses in the Harlem community and a winning smile – his “cool” - into celebrity. Students looking for information regarding blacks in sports and their rise in numbers and acceptance will find a wealth of details in this book.

Read-alikes:
Quiet Strength by Tony Dungy (the first black coach to win a Super Bowl) with Nathan Whitaker
Opening Day: The story of Jackie Robinson’s first season by Jonathan Eig
The Greatest: My own story by Muhammad Ali with Richard Durham

Marie T. Horney, Cold Spring Harbor Library

Ty and the Babe: Baseball’s Fiercest Rivals: A Surprising Friendship and the 1941 Has-Beens Golf Championship by Tom Stanton.

This is a story of the tumultuous relationship between Ty Cobb and Babe Ruth which spanned the early decades of the twentieth century to 1941 when they faced-off for a series of charity golf matches. Cobb and Ruth were emblematic of the Golden Era of our national pastime from the deadball days which Cobb dominated to the lively ball or home-run years of Ruth.

In addition to the history and evolution of the sport of baseball and the rowdy personalities of these two icons, the reader will find vivid details of the times in the boisterous and tumultuous cities of New York, Boston and Detroit.

Audience: All ages, male and female.

Read-alikes:
The Year Babe Ruth Hit 104 Home Runs by Bill Jenkinson
Connie Mack and the Early Years of Baseball by Norman Macht
Deadball Stars of the American League, David Jones, Editor
Deadball Stars of the National League by Tom Simon
Snow in August by Pete Hamill

Grace O’Connor, West Islip Public Library

Pyle’s Amazing Foot Race by Geoff Williams

The decade of the 1920s in America was the age of endurance fads. From dance marathons to flagpole sitting contests, America was obsessed with the idea of who could perform an activity faster, longer, and more creatively than the next guy. Enter one C.C. Pyle, who conceived the idea of a cross-country foot race from Los Angeles to New York. First prize would be $25,000 to the man who could run the equivalent of 30 to 50 miles a day for over two months straight. Labeled the Bunion Derby by detractors in the press, 275 contestants, who had each paid $125 for the chance to win the grand prize started the race on March 4, 1928, and quickly found that the contest was not as well planned out as they had expected.

In an era before good running shoes and sports nutrition, the catalog of horrors the runners had to endure boggles the mind – broken legs and other destroyed body parts, searing heat and dust and storms, inadequate food and sleeping conditions, and many dangerous encounters with cars. Author Geoff Williams tells a colorful tale of a cross-country road trip, a large part of it on the old Route 66, focusing on the personalities and motivations of some of the more interesting personalities in the pack. Williams is able keep the story upbeat even as the toll of mishaps mounts, and it wouldn’t be a stretch to see this story as a future movie.

In spite of the suffering he inflicted on his runners, the colorful C.C. Pyle comes across as less a con man than a man with lax accounting standards. He just never seemed to remember that he had to pay back all the money he had borrowed or that running 50 miles a day could take a toll on your health.

On May 26, 1928, 50 runners managed to make it to New York City, where they had to run an additional 20 miles around the track at Madison Square Garden, before they could receive their due.

Read-alike authors could include:
Mike Lupica, Bump and Run and Full Court Press
Rick Reilly, Missing Links and Shanks for Nothing
Harlan Coben’s Myron Bolitar series
Bill Crider, Winning Can Be Murder

Bruce Silverstein, Patchogue-Medford Library

Short Stories

2009-12-17T17:38:00.002-05:00

Beautiful As the Moon, Radiant As the Stars. Jewish Women in Yiddish Stories: An Anthology. Sandra Bark, Editor.
Most of the twenty-two stories in this wonderful anthology are set in pre-Holocaust Europe and Russia, also a time of great political, social and economic change. These changes are depicted through the experiences of the Jewish women whose lives are described in these tales: some stories are about coming of age and the first stirrings of sexuality, and many concern youthful rebelliousness before parental authority. The Yiddish writers included here are largely unknown, and they are nearly all women with the exception of the masters Sholom Aleichem and Isaac B. Singer. This is a unique collection which will be treasured by lovers of fine writing, but it’s special importance stems from the way these stories so beautifully evoke this vanished time and place in Jewish culture. The collection opens with a poem whose last line is: “Somewhere I’ve left my heart aside”, and this sense of longing, and regret, permeates most of the stories, leaving us grateful for these written memories.

Suzanne McGuire, Commack Public Library

Rick Bass
Best known for his explorations of the relationship between man and nature, Bass is considered to be one of the foremost writers concerned with the treatment of the environment. While he frequently writes in essay and journal form (sometimes termed "creative nonfiction," in which he combines observations of the natural world with personal reflections), Bass is also recognized as an accomplished fiction writer. His fictional characters are noted for their realistic portrayals and for their placement in peculiar situations, in which they often exhibit a deep connection to their environments. Bass's tenacious preservationist ideals and his introspective writing style have garnered much attention, and he is widely regarded as an innovative contributor to contemporary American literature. His works would be recommended for any young adult or adult reader concerned with outdoors life and the environment, whether they enjoy those things themselves or want to experience them vicariously. Probably not recommended to those who fiercely oppose hunting.

Kathleen L. Scheibel, South Country Public Library

London Transports by Maeve Binchy
London Transports is a collection of 22 short stories, set in London. Each title is actually a stop on the London train line. Characters are introduced immediately and each short plot is developed in a unique style. Readers will find themselves getting into the minds of the characters as they experience everyday life. The stories are both cheerful and sad. Endings are astonishing and without logic. Some of the issues covered are: A compulsive shopper’s expeditions and family in “Bond Street;” finding a new apartment in Queensway, having an affair with a married man in Lancaster Gate, a dress designer’s live-in boyfriend’s blunder in Warren Street, conflicts in a family in Easton, abortion in Shepherd's Bush, wife swapping in Seven Sisters, and showing an assistant manager how to get ahead in King's Cross. Even though the endings are not conventional, readers will enjoy these light and fun to read stories.

Terry Gearty

A Blind Man Can See How Much I Love You by Amy Bloom
Amy Bloom’s collection of short stories revolves around characters that are faced with tragic circumstances. In two of her stories women are dying of cancer, two more involve the death of a child and another depicts a man coping with the last stages of Parkinson’s disease. In these stories we see how the characters learn to cope with their situations as well as how they relate to their families and friends. Amy Bloom’s writing is very genuine . The characters in her short stories are ordinary people who are faced with extraordinary circumstances. And, although she writes of the effects of tragedy on humanity, she does end many of her stories with a glimmer of hope.

Vicki Lever, Babylon Public Library

Italo Calvino – a sampling!

Numbers in the Dark – a case of crowd mentality
The Man Who Shouted Teresa
A General in the Library– the “dangers” of knowledge
Beheading the Heads – a dire, but interesting political commentary
Glaciation – troublesome ice cubes
Memoirs of Casanova – a tell-all
Difficult Loves
The Adventure of a Reader – the parallel between reading and making love
Cosmicomics
The Distance of the Moon – a trip to the moon using a rowboat and a ladder
All at One Point – the entire universe in one spot

Read-alikes:
Isaac Babel
Alberto Moravia
Cesare Pavese
Domenico Rea

Grace O’Connor, West Islip Public Library

Raymond Carver
Raymond Carver’s first collection of short stories, Put Yourself in My Shoes, appeared in 1974 and was followed by Will You Please be Quiet, Please? in 1976 which established his reputation and introduced his central themes. Most prevalent among these is the issue of love and its bearing on marriage and individual identity. Much of what he wrote was based on his own experiences in the Pacific Northwest. “…everything we write is, in some way, auutobiographical,” he said in an interview. Carver depicted the quiet desperation of white and blue collar workers, salesmen, waitresses, showing their sense of betrayal and inability to express their deepest thoughts. Things are often left unspoken and conflicts unresolved, with the meaning of the story only revealed through implications. His prose may be muted, but the atmosphere is tense, evoking the mood of Pinter or Kafka. Rejecting the more experimental fiction of the 60s and 70s, Carver became a leading figure among writers known for their gritty depictions of everyday life, like Richard Ford, Tobias Wolff, Ann Beattie, and Jayne Anne Philips. In Why Don’t You Dance? from Where I’m Calling From (1989), a man whose marriage has failed, sells his furniture in a yard sale. A young couple shows some interest and they dance together in the driveway at the man’s suggestion. The surfaces of Carver’s stories seem calm and banal, but especially his portrayals of marital problems are full of emotional tension, hidden memories, wounds, longing, hate, anxiety and melancholy.

Arlene Leventhal, Half Hollow Hills Community Library

Twisted by Jeffrey Deaver
Deaver's collection of short stories is a treat to his fans. The stories live up to the title, Twisted, in many ways. There are many bends, surprises and plot twists as well as a rich assortment of characters ranging from murderers, thieves, adulterers, con artists and other questionable sorts. The best thing about each story is that the reader doesn't really know what the story is about until the very end. What is expected to happen, doesn't. The ending comes as a complete surprise and the reader will wonder why he hadn't seen it coming. Deaver's amazing range and plot twists have earned him "master of ticking bomb suspense.”

Rosalie Toja, Brentwood Public Library

Welding With Children by Tim Gautreaux
There is a strong sense of place in Tim Gautreaux's stories in Welding With Children. The characters' names, the cadence of the conversation, even the heat, tell of rural Louisiana. His often humorous stories are about ordinary people doing ordinary things and frequently involve elemental moral dilemmas. The title story in this collection is about a grandfather who realizes that he has not done a good job raising his daughters and the sins of the father are being visited on his daughters' children. Misuse of Light is about a camera repairman who uncovers a different ending to a sad story that is decades old. Good for the Soul, reminds us of what grace is. This story is about a priest who has had one brandy too many and then makes a sick call that is the beginning of a chain of events both funny and poignant. Gautreaux lives up to his belief that "no story is interesting unless it deals with matters of values."

People who enjoy Southern writing, especially Lee Smith and Clyde Edgerton, will also enjoy Tim Gautreaux.

Michelle Epstein, East Northport Library

John B. Keane
John B. Keane was born in Listowel, County Kerry, Ireland in 1928. He grew up in a family of 10 children, adored Kerry, which is a proud and independent county that juts into the Atlantic on the southwest coast of Ireland. His parents were actively involved in the Irish struggle for independence from Britain and he remained a lifelong supporter of Fine Gael, the party founded by Michael Collins. John B., as he was known, wrote novels that met with popular success but it was his stage writing that struck a nerve in Irish society. “What made him a genuine folk dramatist was his refusal to take on face value the notion that Irish country people were simple, devout creatures,” wrote critic Finan O’Toole in The Irish Times. “He imagined their world as an almost medieval one, in which the forces of darkness and of light, the devils and the angels, were at war.”

Mr. Keane wrote his first play when he was 30. It was rejected by the Abbey, Ireland’s National Theater, but received an All-Ireland Drama Prize in 1959. He was a prolific playwright, producing seven plays over the next four years. Mr.Keane wrote 18 plays and 32 works of prose and poetry. The 1986 novel, The Bodhran Makers, is regarded as among his best work—“I was writing about people I knew. . .They’re all gone now, but they made me their spokesperson and I felt a responsibility to tell their story, to preserve a wonderful tradition in written form.” Mr. Keane is survived by his wife and three sons, a daughter, and a large extended family. He was one of the most respected literary figures of the 20th century in Ireland and the president and prime minister both offered tributes when is death was announced in 2002.

Perhaps speaking to a nephew, Feargal Keane, a reporter for the BBC, best sums up his advice on writing: ”Don’t mind the big fellows. They can look out for themselves. Listen out for the small man. He will tell you the truth.”

Marie T. Horney, Cold Spring Harbor Library

Interpreter of Maladies by Jhumpa Lahiri

A lyrical collection of stories focusing on arranged marriages, assimilation from Indian to American culture sometimes integral sometimes incidental to the stories, universal themes all combine to make this a work of distinction. In A Temporary Matter, the reader feels the heartache of a young couple who are struggling with the loss of their baby and their crumbling marriage; we hope through the eyes of a child for the safety of Mr. Pirzada’s family who are left behind in Dacca, as she watches the 6:30 news in When Mr. Pirzada Came to Dinner (pg31); and the disappointment of Mr. Kapasi who had dreams of being an interpreter for diplomats who now moonlights as a doctor’s interpreter of maladies when not serving as a tour guide.

This collection won the Pulitzer Prize for Literature in 2000 and was an unlikely choice as a debut work and also a short story collection. It is a magnificent work of literature, she paints a picture and captures the lives of South Asian immigrants, displaced persons, young and old. Interpreter also won the PEN/Hemingway Award and was honored as debut of the year by The New Yorker .

Read-alikes:
The Unknown Errors of Our Lives by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni
Where the Grass is Long: Stories by Neela Vasevani

Peggy McCarthy, Smithtown Public Library

Here’s Your Hat, What’s Your Hurry by Elizabeth McCracken
A wonderful collection of stories focusing on offbeat, yet sympathetic characters. McCracken creates amazing, fully realized people in only a few short pages in this collection of nine stories. The title story features Aunt Helen Beck, who makes her living moving from relative to relative, before one of her many “nephews” realizes that she’s not even part of the family. Aunt Helen Beck comes alive because she is like the aunt all of us have, the one whose visits we dread, yet who is somehow endearing and unforgettable.

The story It’s Bad Luck to Die, tells the tale of an awkward 6-foot young woman, who only becomes comfortable with her self and her body after she marries and becomes the test canvas for Tiny, the town’s tattoo artist and a man 30 years her senior.

What we know of the Lost Aztec Children, offers a little boy who has always seen his mother as a plain old everyday mom, but realizes, after the family takes in one of her old circus buddies, that the outside world will always see her as the “Armless Wonder.” She has no arms, and performs most tasks using her feet. The boy cannot see how other people can see his mother or her friend as anything less than human.

Quite a few of the stories feature unconventional characters. McCracken has remarked that the inspiration for some of the stories came from perusing the Guinness Book of World Records and photos of circus freak shows. Many stories feature the interaction between “freaks” and otherwise outwardly “normal” people. The reader is often left to ponder the old adage, that the people inside the asylum are the sane ones, while those outside are the real crazies. McCracken’s “freaks” are usually the most truly human and caring of all.

Read-alikes include writers who often feature characters who are quite quirky. I would include Eric Kraft, John Irving, Anita Brookner, Anne Tyler, Van Reid, and Dan Chaon.

Bruce Silverstein, Patchogue-Medford Public Library

Friend of My Youth: Stories by Alice Munro
With a strong sense of place and time, Canadian author and storyteller Alice Munro paints pictures of the people living in rural Ontario. Without mincing words, she allows the reader to imagine in great detail the setting and personalities of the characters. The reader feels they are there, watching scenes of the character’s life through a window. These stories will be enjoyed by women who enjoy old-fashioned storytelling and reminisces of a past events and people.

Karen Jaffe, Comsewogue Public Library

The Whore’s Child and Other Stories by Richard Russo
Richard Russo’s collection of short stories draws the reader in to the emotional worlds of several characters. The titular character, Sister Ursula, who as a youngster was designated the whore’s child by the cruel residents of the nunnery she was abandoned at, is not, as would be expected, the main character of the story. In fact, the main character of The Whore’s Child is Sister Ursula’s neighbor, an English professor, whose fiction writing class she is taking as an unregistered student. The personas of the main character and Sister Ursula are revealed through the perceptions of the main character. This remains true for the other stories in this collection, where the main characters uncover revelations about themselves through experiencing other characters’ lives. This is evident in the short story Joy Ride, where a twelve-year-old boy learns about himself and his mother in the course of a road trip they share. Russo’s stories are not eventful in terms of actions, but the subtle unfolding of reflective characters move the stories forward. The stories appear to be unrelated by characters, but their themes of personal epiphany and development are consistent, whether the main character is an English Professor or a twelve-year-old boy.

Read-alikes:
The Short Stories of:
Raymond Carver
D.H. Lawrence
Flannery O’Connor

Ilana Beckerman, West Babylon Public Library

After Rain by William Trevor
There is a reason why William Trevor is considered one of the finest short story writers of modern times, and that’s his ability to meticulously represent the human condition in a few short pages, or even a few short words. Trevor’s writing style has awarded him a reputation that is admired by readers and writers alike. In his collection After Rain, Trevor skillfully demonstrates his ability to detail the dilemma that is the human condition. The disappointment of failed expectation and the consequence of chance are integral elements in Trevor’s depiction of the lives of everyday people in everyday situations. Protagonists in this collection experience the tragic results of their life choices. In Widows two sisters react to the deaths of their spouses in very different ways; in Lost Ground a young man feels the need to become a preacher after a visit from a mysterious woman; and in The Piano Tuner’s Wives a woman is consumed by the memory of her husband’s first wife. The title story, After Rain, explores the various emotions that accompany the end of both a love affair and a family tradition. Trevor’s use of language and metaphor, his ability to capture the obvious as well as nuance, is so masterful that one not only reads his works, but experiences them as well.

Deborah Formosa, Northport-East Northport Public

Science Fiction

2009-12-17T17:04:00.002-05:00

Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams

This book is the first of four satirical novels that comprise Douglas Adams' "trilogy" of Hitchhiker stories. Arthur Dent is the hapless rescuee of Ford Prefect who is traveling the galaxy in search of data forhis travel guide. The stories are a satirical commentary of twentieth century life on earth.

People of the Wind by Poul Anderson
A story of an intergalactic war raging on a distant planet, with Terrans (earthlings) fighting against the native population of bird-like creatures called Ythrians. Terrans want to annex the planet but the natives resist. A strange malady befalls the Terrans and the Ythrians show how peaceful they can be by assisting in rescuing troops from death. There is a romance going on between several of the main characters and its denouement provides a surprise twist to the interplay between the cultures.

Ghost by Piers Anthony
Captain Shetland is an experience leader in futuristic expeditions through space and time, yet none of his previous journeys have prepared him for the supernatural, omnipotent presence he encounters in Ghost. Piers Anthony assembles a colorful crew of time travelers who learn some unexpected lessons about both the laws of the universe and the laws of human nature during their mission to locate a new energy source for Planet Earth.

Primary Inversion by Catherine Asar
This science fiction adventure novel is the first of a series set in the distant future. Sauscony Valdoria, a bioengineered fighter pilot and heir to the Skolian Empire, meets and falls in love with Jaibriol,heir to the throne of the enemy Trader Empire. The book combines cutting-edge science, adventure, and romance.

Mars by Ben Bova
Jamie Waterman, half Navaho Indian, is selected to be on the first manned expedition to Mars. He finds himself in the middle of one controversy after another as he and the others on his flight team attempt to discover life on Mars.

Miles Vorkosigan (Series) by Lois McMaster Bujold
Bujold is the multi-award-winning author of many sub-genres of science fiction and fantasy: "hard" science, adventure, military, mystery,political intrigue, and romance. Above all she is the master of characterization,as is shown by her series hero, Miles Vorkosigan. Crippled by short stature and brittle bones on a planet obsessed with physical prowess, Miles uses his brilliance, charm, and sheer forward momentum to win himself a military career, a starfleet, and a position a heartbeat away from the Imperium.

Sphere by Michael Crichton
In the middle of the South Pacific, a thousand feet below the surface of the water, a huge spaceship is discovered resting on the ocean floor.A select group of academics and military personnel are chosen to investigate this sunken aircraft that's half a mile long and made of materials unknown on earth. Could it be a spaceship from a past, advanced civilization and what is the incredible silver sphere? Learn the answers to these questions and more in this quick read science fiction adventure.

The Good Old Stuff: Adventure SF in the Grand Tradition by Gardner Dozois, ed.
Dozois has compiled an anthology of 16 classic science fiction adventure stories from the 1940s to the 70s, the time period he believes when most science fiction was just plain "fun." the stories are a who's who of the formative authors from science fiction's early period. They range from stories of human vs. alien to the grandest of space operas,but the entire volume offers an entertaining read from many of science fiction's greatest masters.

The Fourth Rome by David Drake and Janet Morris
ARC (Anti-Revision Command) Rders whose mission is to guard history as we know it are engaged in a time-travel adventure and combat in post-Soviet Russian and the first-century roman frontier. Fast-paced, gritty dialogue,"language" and lots of high-technology.

Design for Great Day by Alan Dean Foster and Eric Frank Russell
The setting is the future. The people of Earth are the enforcers of an intergalactic code of behavior subscribed to by a commonwealth of planets. An earthling (highly evolved in the moral sphere) and his extra-terrestrial allies use pressure more subtle than war and a thousand times more effective to maintain free trade and prosperity in the universe.

Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman
The hero, Richard Mayhew, is drawn into an alternate reality by a chance encounter with an injured young lady. The story is well written and would appeal not only to fans of science fiction literature but also to readers unfamiliar with the genre. It could also be recommended to young adults because there is no sex or adult language and minimum violence.The author is an award winning novelist.

Wolfwalker by Tara Harper
Wolfwalker (a person who communicates with wolves through mental telepathy) captures your attention from the moment you begin reading. It's an exciting romp during an unknown time, when people ride dnus, battlecreatures called worlags, and fight off raiders who will sell them into slavery. There is unending suspense, tenderness, and humor throughout the book.

The Turing Option by Harry Harrison and Marvin Minsky
The year is 2023 and Brian Delaney has made a significant breakthrough in the field of Artificial Intelligence. But during a demonstration of his research, Brian is shot in the head and left for dead. Using the technology that he developed, Brian's severely damaged brain is repaired. Now he must reconstruct his stolen research and memory before the competition can strike again.

Stranger in a Strange Land by Robert Heinlein
Heinlein is credited with shaping science fiction into a true literary genre. The 60's cult classic Stranger in a Strange Land revolves around a human child born and reared on Mars mainly by non- humans, who is brought to earth as a young man. While retaining powers of hypnotism and magic from his earlier life, he is tutored in American ways by an older mentor through whom Heinlein criticizes American sexual, political, and other cultural mores.

Ringworld series and Oath of Fealty by Larry Niven
Niven is the recipient of several awards including the Hugo and Nebula.His science fiction speculates on the technologies of the future and is usually optimistic. The author places heavy emphasis on science. His Ringworld series follows this pattern and has proved quite popular. Oath of Fealty,written with Jerry Pournelle, is a tale of a high-rise structured city with many problems threatening the promised utopia. A quick read with a minimum of unbelievable technology.

Night Sky Mine by Melissa Scott
This book was more of an enjoyable read than anticipated. Her novel about humanity's future in the virtual reality world is fascinating. Her writing is ingenious, with a plot that has many twists in it. This is the story of Ista Kelly, a foundling, the only survivor of a pirate raid onan asteroid mine. She is an apprentice hypothecary, whose job it is to tame, neuter, and put to work living computer programs known as hammals.In a world where identity is everything, Ista travels back to the mine where she was made an orphan. She is accompanied by Justin Rangsey and Sein Tarasov of the elite Police patrol, who are trying to find out why the mine was abandoned. They discover there is a demogorgon, one that is so powerful that it can destroy all of the invisible world and its' flora and fauna. Eventually it will cause a second crash in cyberspace. Piracy and conspiracy in the NMS Co Corporation is unveiled in this detailed science fiction thriller. A must read for science fiction fans.

Looking for the Mahdi by N. Lee Wood

A futuristic spy/thriller set in the Middle East. Kay Bee Sulaiman,a former field reporter, goes undercover disguised as a man to deliver John Halton to his new position as bodyguard to the sheikh. She gets entwined in a web of murder and intrigue, where the only one she could trust is not human.

Romantic Suspense

2009-12-17T16:48:00.004-05:00

The House in Amalfi by Elizabeth Adler

The sparkling sea, the warmth of a Mediterranean afternoon--Elizabeth Adler is skillful at portraying the landscape, villages and homes of many European locales along with a soupcon of romantic suspense. Lamour Harrington is still mourning the loss of her husband when she discovers that he was not all that he seemed. She leaves Chicago for Italy and attempts to recapture the joys of her childhood spent on Amalfi. While in the house at sea's edge she once shared with her father, Lamour attempts to solve the mystery of his death many years ago. This is romantic suspense light.

Read-alikes:
Katherine Stone for romantic suspense fans
Peter Mayle for fiction in a Mediterranean locale.

Michelle Epstein, Northport Library

Savannah Blues by Mary Kay Andrews
Set in the loveliest of southern cities, Savannah Blues is about divorce, revenge, good food and great antiques. After a bitter divorce from the elegant, unfaithful Tal Evans, Eloise “Weezie,” an antiques “picker,” is left with the backyard carriage house of their historic town house which Tal now shares with his new fiancée, Caroline DeSantos. Weezie and Caroline are soon feuding and their escalating hostilities are great fodder for gossip-hungry Savannah. When Caroline DeSantos’ dead body literally falls at Weezie’s feet in a dark plantation house the night before an estate sale, guess who is arrested and charged with her murder? The tension increases as Weezie tries to find Caroline’s killer. Weezie’s slowly simmering relationship with Daniel, the hottest chef in town, provides even more suspense. You won’t have to go all the way to Savannah for the surprising finale.

Read-alikes:
Jennifer Crusie
Susan Isaacs

Grace O'Connor, West Islip Library

Envy by Sandra Brown
After reading Envy it is apparent why Sandra Brown is one of the world’s most popular and best-selling authors. Maris Matherly-Reed, editor of her family’s publishing house receives a gripping manuscript, the author of which is mysteriously identified only as P.M.E. with an address equally vague: St. Anne Island, Georgia. When Maris’s seemingly fairy-tale marriage begins to unravel she decides to seek out the mysterious author. The manuscript becomes a novel within the novel and leads the reader on a suspense filled, sexually-charged adventure. Despite the improbable plot--what editor after receiving a small portion of a manuscript would go flying off to meet an anonymous author--it is still a riveting and fun read.

Peggy McCarthy, Smithtown Library-Commack

French Quarter by Stella Cameron
This book is a contemporary romantic suspense novel set in New Orleans. It opens with Celina Payne, a former Miss Louisiana discovering the dead body of her friend and business associate, Errol Petrie. She and Errol run Dreams, a company that raises money to fund dying children’s dreams. Before she could call the authorities, Errol’s silent partner Jack Charbonnet arrives and immediately suspects that she is involved in his friend Errol’s death. It appears that Errol had a night of sexual excess has suffered a heart attack. Not wanting to embarrass their friend, Celina and Jack clean up the bathroom where he died. Unfortunately, when the police arrive they begin to suspect that he was murdered and realize that they have destroyed evidence. Celina and Jack find it necessary to join forces in order to keep Dreams alive and find Errol’s murderer. Celina is plagued by family problems and stalked by a local politician. The bitter and volatile Charbonnet is convinced that Celina is hiding something about his old friend’s murder and is pushing to discover the truth, even if it surfaces his mob ties. As Celina and Jack uncover the truth about Errol Petrie’s death, they find treachery and danger at every turn and draw closer to each other for survival.

Read-alikes:
Running Scared by Elizabeth Lowell
Tell Me Something Good by Lynn Emery
The Alibi by Sandra Brown

Joanne Genovese, The Smithtown Library

Fire Island Summer by Julie Ellis
Psychiatric social worker Anne Evans, grieving over the recent deaths of her parents, decides to spend the summer at her father’s Fire Island beach house. She meets handsome Mark Cameron, and the two quickly become deeply involved. Mark is keeping secret the fact that he’s recently been released from prison, after serving a six year term for a rape he did not commit. His bitterness is such that he has devised a shady scheme to earn a large amount of money, a plan that coincidentally involves Julie.

Though the story is predictable, the local setting has appeal. Ellis was a prolific writer. Many of her titles are available in large print, and read-alikes include such “romantic” writers as Belva Plain and Elizabeth Adler.

Suzanne McGuire, Commack Public Library

Heartbreaker by Julie Garwood
While waiting for test results from Kansas University Medical Center to see if he needs more chemotherapy, Father “Tommy” Madden offers to sit in the hot and stifling confessional for his aging host, Monsignor McKindry. Before long, a faceless man enters the other side. The transgressor admits to a previous killing, and now seeks absolution for the sin he is about to commit. Father Tommy’s confusion turns to fear as the man reveals he is planning to kill the priest’s sister, Laurant.

Returning to Holy Oaks, Iowa, Father Tommy immediately enlists the aid of his longtime friend and FBI agent Nick Buchanan. Nick and Laurant agree to pose as an engaged couple, hoping to elicit the killer’s jealousy and draw him out. What they don’t expect is for their mutual attraction to get in the way. While they try to stay focused on finding the killer, Nick and Laurant also find it increasingly difficult to resist each other.
Heartbreaker is more romance than suspense, and the ending is not a surprise. However, the love story smolders and the writing is fast-paced and satisfying for loyal fans of Garwood’s romances.

Readers looking for Julie Garwood Read-alikes:
Elizabeth Lowell
Catherine Coulter
Karen Robards.

Catherine Nashak, Deer Park Public Library

Still Waters by Tami Hoag
Set in a rural town in Minnesota, Still Waters begins when journalist Elizabeth Stewart discovers the body of a local businessman. When she becomes a suspect in his murder, she begins her journey to uncover the identity of a killer and to clear her own name. As passions flare up between Elizabeth and the local sheriff, a killer stalks closer to her doorstep. Hoag weaves a steamy, suspenseful read that will keep you guessing to the end.

Read-alikes:
Patricia Cornwell
Suzanne Brockmann
Lisa Gardner
Karen Robards
Elizabeth Powell.

Pamela Wells, Lindenhurst Public Library

Open Season by Linda Howard
Daisy Minor is a small town librarian in Alabama who decides that her entire life is boring. She still lives with her mother and her aunt and is the image of the mousy librarian. Daisy decides that a makeover is in order and with the help of a local antique dealer and decorator she revamps her wardrobe and goes blonde. She also starts going to local clubs in a neighboring county for dancing. At one of these clubs she attracts the attention of her town’s police chief (Jack Russo) but also manages to witness a killing. The killers then target Daisy and try to take her out of the picture. The rest of the story is how Jack (with Daisy’s help) brings the killers to some justice.

The book is fast paced and parts of it are very funny. It is somewhat predictable in the romance part, but interesting in the suspense part as the story involves smuggling illegal immigrants. The immigrants are presented as both victims and aggressors- a more balanced picture than expected.

Read-alikes:

Irish Johansen
Catherine Coulter
Elizabeth Lowell
Karen Robards
Elizabeth Reade, Mastic-Moriches-Shirley Community Library

Absolute Fear by Lisa Jackson
Eve Renner doesn't remember much of the murderous night when she found her friend in
in a pool of blood and was shot in the head herself. She suspects her former lover, Cole Dennis of the crime, but he escapes the charges due to Eve's amnesia. Three months later, returning home to New Orleans after recuperating at her sister-in-law's in Atlanta, Eve's father is murdered. Then, one by one, more people are murdered in the same ritualistic manner. The only connection to all involved is Our Lady of Virtues Hospital, the dilapidated, vacant asylum where her psychiatrist father worked while Eve was growing up. And the only one who can help Eve, is Cole Dennis. But, can he be trusted?

Absolute Fear brings back characters (Detectives Montoya & Bentz, Abby Chastain, Faith Chastain) from the previous novels, Shiver, Cold-Blooded, and Hot-Blooded.

Read-alikes:
Stella Cameron
Karen Robards
Kay Hooper
Elizabeth Peters
Heather Graham
Linda Howard
Tami Hoag
J. D. Robb
Victoria Holt

Lori Ludlow, Babylon Public Library

All Night Long by Jayne Ann Krentz
Freelance reporter Irene Stenson returns to her hometown at the request of Pamela Webb, a high school friend. They haven't seen each other since the night Irene came home from a night out with Pamela to discover her parents had been murdered in their home. Upon her arrival at Pamela's house, Irene finds her dead of an apparent overdose. Luke Danner, the owner of the lodge where Irene is staying, teams up with her to help uncover the mystery of the death and subsequent torching of Pamela's home. Luke and Irene become romantically involved as they come closer to discovering some unsettling truths about Pamela's father, a powerful U.S. Senator who is considering a run for president.

Read-alikes:
More Than Gold by Shirley Hailstock
Got Your Number by Stephanie Bond
The Wrong Hostage by Elizabeth Lowell

Kathleen Scheibel, Brookhaven Free Library

The Wrong Hostage by Elizabeth Lowell
Judge Grace Silva believed in laws and the criminal justice system until her world was changed by the kidnapping of her son Lane. Her world of absolutes, black and white, right and wrong suddenly became a world of grays and shadows. In order to save her child, she turned to an old boyfriend, Joe Faroe, who worked as a kidnap specialist for St. Kilda Consulting. This agency succeeds by working in the shadow world where government agencies can't go. Mexico, politics, illegal immigration, drug trafficking and money laundering all play important roles in this suspenseful story. Romance plays a secondary role to the action. All fans of political thrillers and the alpha male will enjoy this novel.

Karen Jaffe, Comsewogue Public Library

The Nosy Neighbor by Fern Michaels
The Nosy Neighbor will appeal to romance and suspense readers alike, as these qualities are woven together throughout this light and pleasant read. A page turner, The Nosy Neighbor could easily be devoured on a single rainy afternoon.

If you enjoy Fern Michaels’ writing style, you may enjoy other works by her that fall into the romantic suspense category—About Face, Charming Lily, Crown Jewel, and Future Scrolls.

Read-alikes:
Jane Graves’ Light My Fire
Mary Kay Andrews’ Savannah Breeze
Jayne Ann Krentz’ Ghost of A Chance
Nora Roberts’ Hot Ice

Deborah Formosa, Northport-East Northport Library

Devil May-Care by Elizabeth Peters

Published in 1977, Devil May-Care is set in Virginia horse country. It’s part ghost story, part romantic set-up, with a whole lot of trickery--and a mysterious old book bought in a second-hand bookstore that’s in the center of it all. The story begins with the protagonist Ellen bringing her fiancé home to meet her beloved Aunt Kate. The reader can tell clearly from the start that Ellen is not perfectly matched with Henry, the uptight status-hungry fiancé. Enter eccentric Aunt Kate, who has asked her niece to watch her big old historic house and many pets during her vacation. Aunt Kate, of course, has ulterior motives for Ellie’s love life. Once left to guard the mansion Kate experiences a series of ghostly encounters with what she believes to be the ancestors of the six old-money families of the area. The book maintains a steady pace and has some laugh-out-loud scenes which the reader can clearly visualize. Overall it’s an enjoyable, but predictable, read.

Read-alikes:
Sharyn McCrumb's Elizabeth MacPherson series
Catherine Lanigan
Carolyn Hart for contemporary settings and her alter-ego for historicals Jayne Ann Krentz ,Amanda Quick
Dashiell Hammett’s, The Thin Man.

Neely McCahey, Rogers Memorial Library

Silent in the Grave by Deanna Raybourn

In 1886, Lady Julia Grey’s husband, Edward, dies suddenly of the heart disease that has plagued his family including a similarly afflicted reclusive cousin, Simon, who resides with the couple in their large London townhouse. Just as Julia begins to cope with the contradictions of monied widowhood during her year of mourning, she is visited by taciturn private detective, Nicholas Brisbane, who reveals that Edward had hired him to find the source of some threatening letters. Analysis confirms Brisbane’s suspicions of murder – and he and Julia begin their testily collaborative search for the culprit. Disturbing truths about a husband she never truly knew and a world of deception, disease and sexual obsession are uncovered. Deft historical detailing, sparkling narration and the budding romance between Julia and the often surprising Brisbane balance otherwise dark themes. At the novel’s conclusion, the stage is set for more adventures of this savvy heroine and her dark mysterious hero.

Read-alikes:

Don’t Look Back by Amanda Quick
The Duchess Diaries by Barbara Smith
The Sherbrooke Twins by Catherine Coulter
Always Time to Die by Elizabeth Lowell.

Marie T. Horney, Cold Spring Harbor Library

The Reef by Nora Roberts
“Angelique’s Curse” is a richly jeweled amulet that went down with a Spanish ship. Legend has it that the woman who wore it was wrongly accused of murder and burned at the stake. Although it was found a few times throughout history, the owners always suffered some sort of tragedy.

The Lassiters are treasure hunters of ancient sea-wrecks. Matthew has a vendetta against Van Dyke, whom he believed killed his father. The Lassiters meet the Beaumonts – Ray, Marla and their daughter Tate who pursue their avocation of scuba diving and treasure hunting. The Lassiters have the professional skills, the Beaumonts have the resources, and they end up as partners. They find treasure, Matthew and Tate Beaumont fall in love, and of course bad luck strikes. A shark maims Buck, a father figure to Matthew, and Van Dyke ‘steals’ the treasures of the sea from the Beaumonts. Matthew and Tate fall out of love and everyone goes their separate ways. Eight years later they reunite in order to find “Angelique’s Curse,” with Matthew and Tate falling in and out of love with each other. Van Dyke is always present in his attempt to recover the amulet. (He is very, very rich).

This book is a well-written combination of romance, greed, murder, revenge, enduring friendship and personal courage in the face of tragedy. It is also a good depiction of the quest for the sea’s treasures and of what it must be like to explore the ocean depths.

Read-alikes:
Sandra Brown
Janet Dailey
Jayne Ann Krentz
Mary Jo Putney
Marie Alice Monroe
Iris Johansen
Cynthia Freeman
Tami Hoag

Rhea Pollock, Brentwood Public Library

Cold Truth by Mariah Stewart
In the cozy little town of Bower’s Inlet, New Jersey, Detective Cass McBride enjoys her relatively crime-free job. However, when the bodies of several women all fitting the same profile start turning up posed in the same position, Cass knows her job has just become a lot more difficult. As Cass tracks the killer, trying to catch him before he strikes again, shocking discoveries about her past and her connection to the killer come to light making this thriller an engrossing read. The book moves quickly from chapter to chapter alternating between the killer’s and Cass’ point of view making it not only easy to follow, but easy to read as well. Although categorized as romantic suspense, there wasn’t much romance that I could see. Cold Truth is not for someone who is used to reading or is looking for a romantic suspense novel because they would definitely be disappointed. It is recommended for those who enjoy reading thrillers and suspense novels especially since it’s the first one in a series that definitely has potential.

Read-alikes:
Catherine Coulter
Lisa Gardner
Lisa Jackson
J. D. Robb’s “In Death” series.

Azuree Agnello, West Babylon Public Library