~The Rocky River Public Library Reader's Advisory Newsletter~
Volume 20, Issue 2 March/April 2005
Click here for older issues of Between The Covers
Coming Soon
Mary
Balogh
Simply
Unforgettable
During
a terrible snowstorm, Frances Allard, a teacher at Miss Martin's School for
Girls, is both saved and seduced by a stranger. After the storm passes, both
have secrets they do not wish to share.
Nevada
Barr
Hard
Truth
Just
three days after her wedding to Sheriff Paul Davidson, Anna Pigeon moves from
Mississippi to Colorado to assume her new post as district ranger at Rocky
Mountain National Park, where three young girls have disappeared during a
religious retreat.
Elizabeth
Berg
The
Year of Pleasures
After
her husband dies, Betta moves to another town and begins to make new friends in
order to reinvent herself.
Jennifer
Chiaverini
The
Sugar Camp Quilt
In
this seventh installment in the “Elm Creek Quilt” series, clues to the
Underground Railroad are discovered in a quilt designed by Dorothy Granger’s
deceased uncle.
Mary
Higgins Clark
No
Place Like Home
As a
young child, Celia, now grown and renamed Liza Barclay, accidentally killed her
mother in a self-defense struggle. Now, Liza’s husband buys her childhood
home/murder scene for Liza as gift.
Joseph
Finder
Company
Man
Having
presided over massive layoffs in a company town, CEO Nick, once the most admired
man in Fenwick, Michigan, is now the most despised. When his family is
threatened by a nameless stalker, Nick is faced with a dead body and damning
circumstances.
Stephen
Frey
The
Chairman
When
the car that belongs to CEO Christian Gillette explodes, it is obvious that the
young man’s life is being threatened.
Julie
Garwood
Slow
Burn
After
many years away, a woman returns home to find herself implicated in a decades
old murder. And, as a stranger in her own hometown, she realizes that she does
not know whom she can trust and whom she should fear.
Eileen
Goudge
Otherwise
Engaged
As
best friends in small town Arizona, Erin and Jessica both dreamed of big city
living. Now, Erin runs an inn in their hometown, while Jessica leads an
exciting life in New York. But strangely, Jessica comes back to Arizona to
convince Erin to trade places with her for six months.
Alice
Hoffman
The
Ice Queen
A
small-town librarian’s life is changed forever when she is struck by lightning.
Carrie
Karasyov & Jill Kargman
Wolves
in Chic Clothing
Life
changes quickly for Julia, a salesgirl at Pelham’s jewelry store, when she is
asked to deliver a necklace to the store’s young heiress, Lell Pelham. Lell and
her friends make Julia over and pass her off as the heiress to a family
fortune—until they are done having their fun with her.
Sue
Monk Kidd
The
Mermaid Chair
Jessie
Sullivan journeys to Egret Island off the coast of South Carolina in order to
find herself and is drawn to the Benedictine monastery on the island that houses
both a mysterious chair and a monk, Brother Thomas, who is just months away
from taking his final vows.
William
Lasher
Falls
the Shadow
Philadelphia
attorney Victor Carl lands in trouble when he and his law partner step in to help
clear their client of a murder conviction.
Stephanie
Laurens
The
Truth About Love
Gerrard
Debbington has no interest in romance until he meets a damsel in distress whose
portrait he is to paint.
Ian
McEwan
Saturday
Set
within a single day in February 2003, this novel follows Henry Perowne, a
happily married and successful neurosurgeon, as he enjoys his seemingly
ordinary day off during which his safe world is unexpectedly shattered.
Sue
Miller
Lost
in the Forest
After
Daisy’s stepfather dies, her life spirals out of control.
Jacquelyn
Mitchard
The
Breakdown Lane
After
20 years of marriage, advice columnist Julianne’s husband leaves her and their
three children. When Julianne falls seriously ill, the children set out to find
their absent father and reclaim their family.
Robert
B. Parker
Cold
Service: A Spenser Novel
When
Spenser’s closest ally Hawk is left for dead by the Ukrainian mob, Spenser
becomes preoccupied with assisting in Hawk’s rehabilitation and exacting
revenge on his attackers.
Nicholas
Sparks
True
Believer
Believe
it! The latest Nicholas Sparks novel about love and mystery is sure to be a
bestseller.
Danielle
Steel
Impossible
Sasha
and Liam are total opposites who share a passion for art and an interest in one
another. Are they too different to spend their lives together, or is nothing
impossible when it comes to love?
Stuart
Woods
Two-Dollar
Bill
Manhattan
cop-turned-lawyer, Stone Barrington finds himself caught between a beautiful
prosecutor and a love from his past. But when a dead body is found in his
townhouse, Stone must take his mind off of love and track down the real killer
before he himself is blamed.
Rebecca
Wells
Ya-Yas
in Bloom
This
new and long awaited Ya-Ya installation takes readers back to the 1930s, when
the divine sisters in the sisterhood met!
READING ROOM
READING ROOM READING ROOM
Romance
Another
Man’s Son
Katherine Stone
Sam, abandoned as a child by his father, returns home after
many years. He plans to uncover the secrets of his family and his father, but
falls in love with the woman his father had planned to marry. She just so
happens to be pregnant with his father's child.
Well-developed characters with realistic, complex
relationships. A heartwarming, sentimental story with a happy ending for all.
The reader may need a tissue or two by the last page. Recommend.
Mystery
Slip Cue: A Talk Radio Mystery
Joyce Krieg
Shauna J. Bogart hosts a popular radio talk show in
Sacramento, where she scoops a great story when Latino gang members hijack a
van carrying several female prisoners. When she learns one of the prisoners was
a famous ‘70s recording artist accused of murder, Shauna tries to contact her
on air and becomes involved in trying to prove the woman’s innocence.
Interesting facts about music and radio history.
Highly recommend.
Caught Stealing
Charlie Huston
Henry “Hank” Thompson’s life is defined by baseball
analogies. As a teen, Hank was caught stealing during a game, shattering his
ankle and ending any possibility of a professional career. Now living in New
York City, he runs afoul of the Russian mafia after innocently agreeing to
baby-sit his neighbor’s cat.
A fast-paced, stream-of-consciousness story of an
ordinary man who refuses to be anyone’s patsy. An interesting, quick read.
Skinny-dipping
Claire Matturo
Attorney Lily Rose Cleary finds that someone is trying
to kill her after she takes on a medical malpractice case.
An excellent first novel! Ranks right up there with
Hiaasen for Florida humor. Highly recommend.
Romance/Romantic Suspense
Heat Wave
Jill Marie Landis
While housesitting for a friend and recuperating from
an injury, P.I. Kat Vargas is hired by Ty Chandler to find the daughter he
fathered nineteen years earlier but never knew existed until now.
A warm and entertaining read filled with a little
romance, some suspense and humor. The author has the ability to draw the reader
into the characters’ lives. Highly recommend.
The Parisian Affair
Judith Gould
When struggling jewelry designer Allegra Sheridan
agrees to go to Paris to buy an Arab princess’s emerald ring for a client, she
never expects to become involved with an international conspiracy of terrorism
and murder.
Fast-paced, combining romance, mystery and suspense
together into a quick and entertaining read. Several explicit sex scenes.
Recommend.
Suspense/Thriller
Hot Target
Suzanne Brockmann
On leave, Navy SEAL Cosmo Richter takes a job as a
bodyguard for a movie producer receiving death threats over her latest—a WW II
film with a gay hero.
The romance of Cosmo and producer Jane Mercedes
Chadwick is the book’s focus, but the problems of Jules (a gay FBI agent) often
steal the show. If you read Brockmann’s previous books, you'll enjoy this one,
too.
Indelible
Karin Slaughter
A terrifying situation takes place at the Grant Co.
police station when two men wound Chief Jeffrey Tolliver and visiting students
are taken hostage.
Fourth in a series featuring Tollliver and Linton.
Very intense with graphic descriptions of death and murder. Some retrospective
action where you learn the history of their problems. Highly recommend.
Fiction
The Memory of Running
Ron McLarty
When a car accident results in the death of his
parents, 43-year-old Smithy Ide, an overweight, friendless, and mostly lifeless
drunk, sets out on what becomes a bicycle trip across the United States that
allows Smithy one last chance at finding himself, reconciling his past, and
finding love.
A compelling and atmospheric novel with true-to-life
emotions. Moving, heartbreaking, and at times, darkly funny. An impressive
debut. Highly recommend.
The News from Paraguay
Lily Tuck
In 1854, Francisco (Franco) Lopez, a Paraguayan prince
and the country’s future dictator, moves his beautiful, young Irish courtesan
Ella Lynch from Paris to Paraguay. There the two bring European grandeur to the
country and, ultimately, also bring catastrophic war when the power-hungry
Franco wages war against Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay.
Fascinating historical fiction with vivid imagery and
well-drawn characters. The 2004 National Book Award-winner. Highly recommend.
Women’s Fiction
Three Wishes
Liane Moriarty
The beautiful Kettle triplets are turning thirty-four and
their birthday dinner at their favorite restaurant has turned into a huge
quarrel. The events leading up to the birthday row are explained in this
engaging story. A sassy grandmother and the triplets' divorced parents dating
each other are the icing on this delightful birthday confection.
Moriarty is a new author to watch. She managed to
balance her characters' rollicking good times with some truly serious moments.
The triplets are very lovable. They are sure to capture your heart.
Paradise Fields
Katie Fforde
Widowed Nel Innes shifts into high gear when she finds
out that the land her farmer's market uses is going to be parceled into lots
for expensive new homes. Worse yet, the children's hospice she volunteers for
could lose their right-of-way through the property. Nel must outfox Jake
Demerand, the extremely attractive lawyer for the opposition, but she
increasingly finds him irresistible.
Fforde's stories are full of good humor. Her secondary
characters add just the right touch of complication and charm. Highly
recommended for the reader looking for a lighthearted and cozy story.