New Releases: February 20, 2021
Adult Fiction
Before She Disappeared - Lisa Gardner
Genres: Fiction, Mystery, Thriller
Frankie Elkin is an average middle-aged woman, a recovering alcoholic with more regrets than belongings. But she spends her life doing what no one else will--searching for missing people the world has stopped looking for. When the police have given up, when the public no longer remembers, when the media has never paid attention, Frankie starts looking.
A new case brings her to Mattapan, a Boston neighborhood with a rough reputation. She is searching for Angelique Badeau, a Haitian teenager who vanished from her high school months earlier. Resistance from the Boston PD and the victim's wary family tells Frankie she's on her own--and she soon learns she's asking questions someone doesn't want answered. But Frankie will stop at nothing to discover the truth, even if it means the next person to go missing could be her.
CLICK HERE TO RESERVE “Before She Disappeared” by Lisa Gardner
Faithless in Death (In Death #52) - J D Robb
Genres: Fiction, Mystery, Thriller
The scene in the West Village studio appears to be classic crime-of-passion: two wine glasses by the bed, music playing, and a young sculptor named Ariel Byrd with the back of her head bashed in. But when Dallas tracks down the wealthy Upper East Side woman who called 911, the details don't add up. Gwen Huffman is wealthy, elegant, comforted by her handsome fiancé as she sheds tears over the trauma of finding the body--but why did it take an hour to report it? And why is she lying about little things?
As Eve and her team look into Gwen, her past, and the people around her, they find that the lies are about more than murder. As with sculpture, they need to chip away at the layers of deception to find the shape within--and soon they're getting the FBI involved in a case that involves a sinister, fanatical group and a stunning criminal conspiracy.
The Four Winds - Kristin Hannah
Genres: Fiction, Historical
Texas, 1934. Millions are out of work and a drought has broken the Great Plains. Farmers are fighting to keep their land and their livelihoods as the crops are failing, the water is drying up, and dust threatens to bury them all. One of the darkest periods of the Great Depression, the Dust Bowl era, has arrived with a vengeance.
In this uncertain and dangerous time, Elsa Martinelli—like so many of her neighbors—must make an agonizing choice: fight for the land she loves or go west, to California, in search of a better life. The Four Winds is an indelible portrait of America and the American Dream, as seen through the eyes of one indomitable woman whose courage and sacrifice will come to define a generation.
The Guest List - Lucy Foley
Genres: Fiction, Mystery, Thriller
On a remote island off the coast of Ireland, guests gather to celebrate the wedding of Jules Keegan and Will Slater. Will is a rising television star, handsome and charming. Jules is a smart, ambitious magazine publisher. Though the sea is a little choppy and the cell service spotty, their wedding is everything you'd expect of a young power couple: designer dress, four-tiered cake, boutique whiskey, vintage champagne. Every detail has been curated to perfection. All that's left to orchestrate is the happiness.
But perfection is for plans, and people are all too human. It's not long after the cake is cut and the champagne popped that resentments and petty jealousies come out. Worse yet, the latest barometer reading shows the weather has shifted from FAIR to CHANGEABLE, and dark clouds are looming overhead.
Everyone on the island has a secret. Everyone has a motive. And someone won't leave this wedding alive...
The Push - Ashley Audrain
Genres: Fiction, Mystery, Thriller
Blythe Connor is determined that she will be the warm, comforting mother to her new baby Violet that she herself never had.
But in the thick of motherhood’s exhausting early days, Blythe becomes convinced that something is wrong with her daughter–she doesn’t behave like most children do.
Or is it all in Blythe’s head? Her husband, Fox, says she’s imagining things. The more Fox dismisses her fears, the more Blythe begins to question her own sanity, and the more we begin to question what Blythe is telling us about her life as well.
Then their son Sam is born–and with him, Blythe has the blissful connection she’d always imagined with her child. Even Violet seems to love her little brother. But when life as they know it is changed in an instant, the devastating fall-out forces Blythe to face the truth.
Unrestricted Access - James Rollins
Genres: Fiction, Anthology, Mystery, Thriller
In this breathtaking collection of short fiction, his first ever anthology, James Rollins brings together twelve thrilling stories that dig a little deeper into his creative stomping grounds and open vistas into new landscapes and characters.
At the center of Unrestricted Access is the never-before-published novella "Sun Dogs.” While trekking through the Sonora desert, a gunshot thrusts Tucker and Kane into an adventure that challenges their considerable skills. The discovery of secrets known only to the native tribes of Arizona threatens to unleash an ancient force that could irreparably alter the future. It also forces Tucker to make a terrible choice that will shatter his relationship with his soul-bonded companion Kane. As these partners learn, nothing remains buried forever and old debts must be paid, no matter the cost.
Other stories—each with an introduction by James Rollins—are just as compelling, offering broader insight into this acclaimed master’s fictional universes, including:
“The Pit”: a young dog is kidnapped and brutalized into becoming the bloody champion of a dog-fighting ring. But can this tortured monster find redemption and a path back to the boy who first raised him with love and compassion?
“Tagger”: A pair of teenage street artists must protect San Francisco from a demon who has been seeking revenge for centuries.
“The Devil’s Bones”: In this jungle adventure—the first joint story from Rollins and Steve Berry—Commander Gray Pierce and Cotton Malone must work together using their unique skills to survive a deadly threat.
The stories “The Midnight Watch,” “The Skeleton Key,” “Tracker,” and “Kowalski's in Love” shine light into some of Sigma Force’s secrets. Who were these characters before they were recruited by Sigma? What solo adventures did they experience? How do these short adventures tie into the larger Sigma universe? Rollins offers some clues.
And rounding out this collection are a pair of entertaining stories “Blood Brothers” and “City of Screams” that complement The Order of the Sanguines series.
CLICK HERE TO RESERVE “Unrestricted Access” by James Rollins
Adult Non-Fiction
Dear Life - Rachel Clarke
Genres: Autobiography, Health
Death was conspicuously absent during Rachel's medical training. Instead, her education focused entirely on learning to save lives, and was left wanting when it came to helping patients and their families face death. She came to specialize in palliative medicine because it is the one specialty in which the quality, not quantity of life truly matters.
In the same year she started to work in a hospice, Rachel was forced to face tragedy in her own life when her father was diagnosed with terminal cancer. He'd inspired her to become a doctor, and the stories he had told her as a child proved formative when it came to deciding what sort of medicine she would practice. But for all her professional exposure to dying, she remained a grieving daughter.
Dear Life follows how Rachel came to understand—as a child, as a doctor, as a human being—how best to help patients in the final stages of life, and what that might mean in practice.
Young Adult
Be More Chill: The Graphic Novel - Ned Vizzini
Genres: Young adult fiction, Graphic novel, Sci-fi
Jeremy Heere is your average high school dork. Day after day, he stares at beautiful Christine, the girl he can never have, and dryly notes the small humiliations that come his way. Until the day he learns about the "squip.”
A pill-sized supercomputer that you swallow, the squip is guaranteed to bring you whatever you most desire in life. By instructing him on everything from what to wear, to how to talk and walk, the squip transforms Jeremy from geek to the coolest guy in class. Soon he is friends with his former tormentors and has the attention of the hottest girls in school.
But Jeremy discovers that there is a dark side to handing over control of your life--and it can have disastrous consequences.
The Great Gatsby: A Graphic Novel Adaptation - K Woodman-Maynard
Genres: Young adult fiction, Graphic novel, Historical
From the green light across the bay to the billboard with spectacled eyes, F. Scott Fitzgerald’s 1925 American masterpiece roars to life in Katharine Woodman-Maynard’s exquisite graphic novel—among the first adaptations of the book in this genre. Painted in lush watercolors, the inventive interpretation emphasizes both the extravagance and mystery of the characters, as well as the fluidity of Nick Carraway’s unreliable narration. Excerpts from the original text wend through the illustrations, and imagery and metaphors are taken to literal, and often whimsical, extremes, such as when a beautiful partygoer blooms into an orchid and Daisy Buchanan pushes Gatsby across the sky on a cloud.
This faithful yet modern adaptation will appeal to fans with deep knowledge of the classic, while the graphic novel format makes it an ideal teaching tool to engage students. With its timeless critique of class, power, and obsession, The Great Gatsby Graphic Novel captures the energy of an era and the enduring resonance of one of the world’s most beloved books.
CLICK HERE TO RESERVE “The Great Gatsby: A Graphic Novel Adaption” by K Woodman-Maynard
How to be Ace - Rebecca Burgess
Genres: Young adult, Graphic novel, Memoir
Brave, witty and empowering, this graphic memoir follows Rebecca as she navigates her asexual identity and mental health in a world obsessed with sex. From school to work to relationships, this book offers an unparalleled insight into asexuality.
Scott Pilgrim’s Precious Little Life (Scott Pilgrim #1) - Bryan Lee O’Malley
Genres: Young adult fiction, Graphic novel, Comedy
Scott Pilgrim's life is totally sweet. He's 23 years old, he's in a rockband, he's "between jobs" and he's dating a cute high school girl. Nothing could possibly go wrong, unless a seriously mind-blowing, dangerously fashionable, rollerblading delivery girl named Ramona Flowers starts cruising through his dreams and sailing by him at parties. Will Scott's awesome life get turned upside-down? Will he have to face Ramona's seven evil ex-boyfriends in battle? The short answer is yes. The long answer is Scott Pilgrim, Volume 1: Scott Pilgrim's Precious Little Life.
CLICK HERE TO RESERVE “Scott Pilgrim’s Precious Little Life” by Bryan Lee O’Malley
Scott Pilgrim vs. The World (Scott Pilgrim #2) - Bryan Lee O’Malley
Genres: Young adult, Graphic novels, Comedy
Does Scott and Ramona's burgeoning relationship have a future? Isn't Scott still supposedly dating Knives Chau? Who is Ramona's second evil ex-boyfriend, and why is he in Toronto? Who are The Clash At Demonhead, and what kind of bizarre art-punky music do they play? Who's their hot girl keyboardist, and what is Scott's relation to her? Why is The Clash At Demonhead Knives Chau's new favourite band? Fights! Drama! Secrets revealed! The answers to all these questions and more!
CLICK HERE TO RESERVE “Scott Pilgrim vs. The World” by Bryan Lee O’Malley
Scott Pilgrim and the Infinite Sadness (Scott Pilgrim #3) - Bryan Lee O’Malley
Genres: Young adult fiction, Graphic novel, Comedy
Ramona's third evil ex-boyfriend, Todd Ingram, is currently dating the former love of Scott Pilgrim's life! Envy Adams broke Scott's heart a year and a half ago. Now she and her evil art-rock band are back, and they're getting Scott's band to open a show two days from now! That's just enough time for Scott to fight Todd, keep Ramona happy, fend off demented ex-girlfriends, and practice that new setlist. Right??
CLICK HERE TO RESERVE “Scott Pilgrim and the Infinite Sadness” by Bryan Lee O’Malley
Scott Pilgrim Gets it Together (Scott Pilgrim #4) - Bryan Lee O’Malley
Genres: Young adult fiction, Graphic novel, Comedy
A couple months have passed since the last time we caught up with our intrepid hero, but what can change in a few short months? Well, not much has... Scott’s still living with his roommate Wallace Wells. He’s still playing in a mediocre rock band named Sex Bob-omb. And most importantly, he’s still dating the lovely Ramona Flowers while working his way through the gaggle of superpowered, superstylish, superevil ex-boyfriends determined to take him down. But something is different. Don’t look now, but Scott Pilgrim may actually be getting it together. And it’s a good thing, too, because Scott is about to confront Ramona’s most intimidating ex yet!
CLICK HERE TO RESERVE “Scott Pilgrim Gets it Together” by Bryan Lee O’Malley
Scott Pilgrim vs. The Universe (Scott Pilgrim #5) - Bryan Lee O’Malley
Genres: Young adult fiction, Graphic novel, Comedy
Scott Pilgrim just turned 24, and things couldn't possibly be better! This means things are about to get infinitely worse! Suddenly, TWO of Ramona's evil ex-boyfriends are in town, and they're playing dirty. His band is in turmoil, and his own exes aren't making things any easier. And what's up with Ramona, anyway? She's been acting kinda weird ever since they moved in together! Scott's precious little life is coming back around to bite him in the butt, and it may not be pretty!
CLICK HERE TO RESERVE “Scott Pilgrim vs. The Universe” by Bryan Lee O’Malley
Scott Pilgrim’s Finest Hour (Scott Pilgrim #6) - Bryan Lee O’Malley
Genres: Young adult fiction, Graphic novel, Comedy
It's finally here! Six years and almost one-thousand pages have all led to this epic finale! With six of Ramona's seven evil exes dispatched, it should be time for Scott Pilgrim to face Gideon Graves, the biggest and baddest of her former beaus. But didn't Ramona take off at the end of Book 5? Shouldn't that let Scott off the hook? Maybe it should, maybe it shouldn't, but one thing is for certain—all of this has been building to SCOTT PILGRIM'S FINEST HOUR!
CLICK HERE TO RESERVE “Scott Pilgrim’s Finest Hour” by Bryan Lee O’Malley
The Silvered Serpents (Gilded Wolves #2) - Roshani Chokshi
Genres: Young adult fiction, Fantasy, Historical
Séverin and his team members might have successfully thwarted the Fallen House, but victory came at a terrible cost — one that still haunts all of them. Desperate to make amends, Séverin pursues a dangerous lead to find a long lost artifact rumored to grant its possessor the power of God.
Their hunt lures them far from Paris, and into the icy heart of Russia where crystalline ice animals stalk forgotten mansions, broken goddesses carry deadly secrets, and a string of unsolved murders makes the crew question whether an ancient myth is a myth after all.
As hidden secrets come to the light and the ghosts of the past catch up to them, the crew will discover new dimensions of themselves. But what they find out may lead them down paths they never imagined.
A tale of love and betrayal as the crew risks their lives for one last job.
CLICK HERE TO RESERVE “The Silvered Serpents” by Roshani Chokshi
Junior Fiction
The Dark Secret (Wings of Fire #4) - Tui T Sutherland
Genres: Junior fiction, Graphic novel, Fantasy
In the shadows, trouble is brewing...
The mysterious NightWings keep everything hidden, from their home and their queen to their allegiance in the war. Now they've kidnapped their own dragonet of destiny, and Starflight is finally meeting the rest of his tribe -- whether he wants to or not.
The NightWings have also kidnapped several innocent RainWings, now trapped in the dark, barren, miserable place that is the NightWing kingdom. Starflight wants to help the RainWings, but he's busy saving his own scales and trying to find a way back to his friends. The fate of two kingdoms rests in his talons, and with no one to save him, Starflight will have to find a way to be brave...before it's too late.
Savor - Neil Kleid
Genres: Junior fiction, Graphic novel
Warrior chef Savor Batonnet has returned home, to the island of Earth's Oven, after years away. When she learns that a crew of demonic pirate cooks has captured both the island and her family, Savor has to take on her very first quest as a newly minted hero! But are being called a hero and a handful of skills all the ingredients she needs to face five deadly restaurants, forge the world's most powerful knife, save both her parents and the woman she loves?
