Check this out at the library this week
The library will be closed on Wednesday, November 11 in observance of Veteran's Day, we will reopen Thursday, Nov. 12 at 9 a.m. If you missed the Friends of the Library Fall Book Sale, you can still come by the library to browse and buy books. Books are on display near the front of the circulation desk and in the basement of the library. Come by the library during regular business hours to buy books.
This week's reviews include fiction titles in audiobook format.
Appearing out of nowhere to horrify the quiet resort town of Sanibel Island, Florida, dozens of identical, ordinary-looking shoes float in on the tide and are washed up on the tropical beach, each one with a crudely severed human foot inside in “Crooked River” (AUCD F PRE D) by Douglas Preston & Lincoln Child. Called away from vacation elsewhere in the state, Agent Pendergast reluctantly agrees to visit the crime scene and, despite himself, is quickly drawn in by the incomprehensible puzzle. An early pathology report only adds to the mystery. With an ocean of possibilities confronting the investigation, no one is sure what happened, why, or from where the feet originated. And they desperately need to know: are the victims still alive? Pendergast finds himself facing the most complex and inexplicable challenge of his career: a tangled thread of evidence that spans seas and traverses continents, connected to one of the most baffling mysteries in modern medical science. Through shocking twists and turns, all trails lead back to a powerful adversary with a sadistic agenda and who in a cruel irony, ultimately sees in Pendergast the ideal subject for their malevolent research.
Irene Steele is still recovering from the shock of her life: her loving husband, father to their grown sons and successful businessman, was killed in a helicopter crash in “What Happens in Paradise” (AUCD F HIL E) by Elin Hilderbrand. But that wasn't Irene's only shattering news: he'd also been leading a double life on the island of St. John, where another woman loved him, too. Now Irene and her sons are on St. John, determined to learn the truth about the mysterious death and life of a man they thought they knew. Along the way, they're about to learn some surprising truths about their own lives, and their futures.
She calls herself Lady Justice, like an avenging superhero in “Vendetta in Death” (AUCD F ROB J) by J.D. Robb. Her disguises vary, a tall blonde or a curvaceous redhead, whatever it takes to lure the men she targets, men who have done women wrong. Once they are in her grasp, they are powerless. The first victim is wealthy businessman Nigel Mcenroy. By day he runs a successful headhunting firm, but when his wife is away he engages in another kind of hunt. His company's human resources department has already paid out settlements to a couple of his young victims, but they don't know that his crimes go far beyond workplace harassment. Lady Justice knows, and in one shocking night of brutality she makes him pay a much steeper price. Now Eve Dallas and her husband, Roarke, are combing through the evidence of Mcenroy's secret life. His compulsive need to record his misdeeds provides them with a wide range of suspects, but the true identity of Lady Justice remains elusive. And thanks to Mcenroy's multiple residences and extensive business travel, they must cast their net outside New York as well. It's a challenging case, made even more difficult by Mcenroy's widow, who reacts to the investigation with fury, denial, and threats. Meanwhile, Lady
Justice's criminal crusade is escalating rapidly, and if Eve can't stop this vigilante, there's no telling how much blood may be spilled.
Pediatrician Kent Abner received the package at his Greenwich Village town-house on a beautiful April morning in “Golden in Death” (AUCD F ROB J) by J.D. Robb. Inside was a cheap trinket, a golden egg that could be opened into two halves. When he pried it apart, it took only moments for the highly toxic airborne fumes to enter his body, and just a few more minutes to kill him. The return address on the package: a fictitious Midtown store called All That Glitters. After Eve Dallas calls the hazmat team to the scene, and undergoes testing to reassure both her and her husband that she hasn't been exposed, it's time to look into Dr. Abner's past and present relationships. Not every victim Eve encounters is an angel, but it seems that Abner came pretty close though he did ruffle some feathers over the years by taking stands for the weak and defenseless. While the lab tries to identify the deadly toxin, Eve does all she can to identify the sender. But when someone else dies in the same grisly manner, it becomes clear that she's dealing with either a madman or someone who has a hidden and elusive connection to both victims.
“Reading is an active, imaginative act; it takes work.” —Khaled Hosseini
Howard County Library is open from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday, for Grab & Go access to the library. Customers have 30 minutes to browse the shelves, checkout items, make copies and send a fax, an appointment is still required to use a computer.
Please visit our website at http://howard-county. ploud.net and our Facebook page at www.facebook. com/howardcolibrary for more information. You may reach us at (432) 264-2260 and our fax number is 432-264-2263.