Tag Archives: Murder

The Bodies Left Behind

Title: The Bodies Left Behind

Author:  Jeffrey Deaver

Publisher: Simon & Schuster, November 2008

Summary: This is a real cat-and-mouse thriller with the usual Deaver twists and turns. It all starts with a 911 call that is mysteriously cut short. Deputy Brynn McKenzie is sent to investigate the call which originated from a vacation home in remote Wisconsin woods. On the way, Brynn is notified that the 911 caller has called back to cancel the call, explaining that the 911 speed dial on his phone was pushed accidentally. Hmmm… Of course Brynn does not turn around and go back home. Instead, she decides to keep going and check it out anyway. The fact that she is desperate to use their  bathroom was a bigger incentive than her need to follow things through.

Brynn discovers a murder scene when she finally gets to the house, and the murderers are still there. One thing leads to another and she soon finds herself on the run in the dense Wisconsin woods, accompanied by the murdered couples house guest. This is a fast paced, and highly suspenseful novel. Don’t bother trying to figure out what’s going to happen next since its seldom what you expect. Just go along for the ride.

Who will like this book?  Any fan of suspense.

Recommended by: Sue, Circulation Coordinator

Too Close to Home

Title: Too Close to Home

Author:  Linwood Barclay

Publisher: Bantam, September 2008

Summary:  Derek was looking forward to the coming week. He was finally going to have a place for he and his girlfriend Penny to be together without any interruptions. So what if the place was his friend Adam Langley’s house. So what if Adam and his parents didn’t know Derek was hiding in their basement waiting for them to leave on their week long vacation. He wasn’t hurting anyone – he just wanted to have a good time with Penny. Too bad that, 10 minutes into the trip, Adam’s mom decided she didn’t feel well enough to travel that day. Perhaps the next day she would feel better.

As Adam and his family return to their home and Derek scrambles around in the basement looking for a new hiding place, a visitor appears at the Langley’s front door. Derek hears voices, then gunshots, footsteps, and finally silence. Derek ventures upstairs after he hears the shooter leave and discovers Adam and his parents have been shot dead. Frightened and confused, Derek flees the house and runs down the drive to his house set far back from the road. And this is just the prologue!

This is an action-packed page turner that will make you thankful for your security alarm and the two large dogs sleeping at the end of your bed.

Who will like this book?  Anyone who likes a good thriller.

Recommended by: Sue, Circulation Coordinator

Serena

Title: Serena

Author: Ron Rash

Publisher: Ecco, October 2008

Summary: Have you ever read a book that is so good, you just don’t understand how the author isn’t more well-known? For me, that book was the astonishing One Foot in Eden by Ron Rash. This talented author’s words are so devastatingly beautiful that they make you stop and re-read the same sentence over and over again. His latest book, like his previous efforts, is set in Appalachia, this time in the Western North Carolina’s logging fields of the late 1920s. It is there we meet Pemberton, the owner of a lumber company racing to clean out the forest before he loses his land to a planned National Park, and his wife, Serena.

Pemberton is an ambitious man, and Serena is more than his equal. Her unrelenting drive allows no questioning, and certainly no opposition. The violence and danger of life in a lumber camp is mirrored by the treacherous actions of Serena, who may be the most memorable female villain since Lady Macbeth. This fabulous book opens a window into a forgotten past, and will resonate with historical fiction fans, as well as readers who enjoy a good thriller.

Who will like this book? Fans of regional fiction. People who enjoy thrillers that aren’t procedural or formulaic.

If you like this, try this: One Foot in Eden and The World Made Straight, both by Ron Rash.

Recommended by: Nicole, Teen Librarian

The Story of Edgar Sawtelle

Title: The Story of Edgar Sawtelle

Author: David Wroblewski

Summary: I could have lain in the hammock for hours on end with the new book by first-time author David Wroblewski.  What a storyteller! The story takes place in 1970′s Wisconsin at the Sawtelle farm, whose owners, Gar and Trudy breed a wonderfully smart, unique dog — the Sawtelle dog.  But a child is missing in their life and a son is finally born to them. Although Edgar is mute, even as a young boy it is obvious that he is a keen and intelligent observer of people and dogs, and he communicates with both by signing.

Gar’s brother, Claude, shows up at the farm one day (Edgar is now 14) and his father puts Claude to work on the farm. But the tension between the brothers is palpable.  It is clear that two brothers are very different and have unspoken grudges dating all the way back to their childhood. Unexpectedly, Gar, Edgar’s father, dies, apparently of an aneurysm, but Edgar suspects murder. And Claude continues to insinuate himself on the life of the farm and into the affections of Edgar’s mother.  The parallels to “Hamlet” occur throughout the book and culminate in a fantastic scene where Edgar’s dead father appears to him in a sheet of rain.

David Wroblewski has woven together a coming-of-age story, combining fiction and the supernatural to drive you to a pulse-pounding end.  Even though the book is about 550 pages, it is worth the investment.

Recommended by: Susan Z, Reference

HeartSick

Title: HeartSick

Author:  Chelsea Cain

Summary: Archie Sheridan was the lead detective tracking the Beauty Killer, a prolific and monstrous serial killer. When he himself is kidnapped by the murderer, Gretchen Lowell,  she tells him he will be her 200th victim. Gretchen keeps Archie longer than her other victims but eventually turns herself in and allows Archie to be rescued. This, however, doesn’t happen until after she has so cruelly tortured his body and mind, that he will never be the same person he was. Since her arrest Archie has visited Gretchen in prison every Sunday, hoping that she will give him information about her other victims. Archie’s obsession has led to his divorce and an addiction to pills.

Now Archie has been asked to come back to investigate another possible serial murderer. He asks to have a young journalist follow along with him on his investigation so she can report on the current case. He also hopes her reports will end the speculation about what happened to him while he was held captive, and if he really is irreparably damaged. Will Archie ever break away from the psychological hold that Gretchen has on him? Will he be able to catch this new killer that is stalking high school girls? You’ll just have to read HeartSick and find out.

Who will like this book?  This one is a little gruesome, but if you like thrillers this is a great book.

If you like this book, try this: The follow up to this book, Sweetheart, will be out in September 2008.

Recommended by: Sue, Circulation Coordinator

A Prisoner of Birth

Title: A Prisoner of Birth

Author: Jeffrey Archer

Summary: A modern day version of The Count of Monte Cristo, this enthralling story is full of interesting characters and suspenseful twists and turns, A young British auto mechanic, Danny Cartwright, is wrongly accused of killing his best friend, who is also the brother of his pregnant fiance. He is imprisoned, and he spends his time reinventing himself and creating an elaborate revenge plan.

This is not a literary masterpiece and some of the plot is far-fetched, but the story still makes for an exciting and engrossing read. Archer is a great storyteller, and this book was hard to put down.

Who will like this book?:Readers of this would also like Archer’s other books, and Harlan Coben

Recommended by: Laurie, Circulation Clerk

Adam

Title: Adam

Author: Ted Dekker

Summary:  FBI agent Daniel Clarke is obsessed with finding the serial killer known as Eve. Eve has killed at least 16 women and shows no sign of stopping. Daniel’s obsession has already cost him his marriage and now it has cost him his life. Or has it? After being shot by Eve, Daniel is clinically dead for 20 minutes. He is resuscitated but now the face of Eve is hidden somewhere in Daniel’s memory. When Eve kidnaps Daniel’s ex-wife Heather, Daniels knows his best chance of catching Eve before Heather is hurt is to die again so he can recover his memory. What he doesn’t realize is that Eve has a plan of his own for Daniel- to make Daniel his first “Adam”.

If I had to use one word to describe this novel I would say “intense”. On a scale of 1-10, 10 being the creepiest, I would give Adam an 8. If you like like horror and have a few sleepless nights to spare, you should definitely read this one.

Recommended by: Sue, Circulation Coordinator

A Northern Light

Title: A Northern Light

Author: Jennifer Donnelly

Summary: Unlike many girls in the Great North Woods at the turn of the century, Mattie Gokey is gifted: She is a writer so talented she has been offered a full scholarship to Barnard College. But how can she leave? Since her mamma died, it has been Mattie’s job to run the farmhouse and look after her sisters, neighbors and her gruff pa. To earn money for the family, Mattie goes to work at the Glenmore Hotel. One day she is handed a bundle of letters by a guest named Grace, who asks her to burn them. Hours later, Grace’s body is found in the lake, and the boyfriend who took her out rowing is nowhere to be found. As Mattie begins to read the letters and piece together the mystery, she also begins to answer the questions of her own life: Should she stay and marry her gorgeous neighbor Royal, who doesn’t understand her love of books and words, or take her chances in New York and chase her dream of becoming a writer?

The book is based on a real murder case that was the basis for the classic novel An American Tragedy and the film A Place in the Sun. But it is the fictional Mattie’s struggle to define herself in an era where girls had so few choices and little say in their futures that will linger long after the final page has been turned.

Who will like this book?: People who like fiction based on true stories. Fans of authentic characters with a lot of depth and honesty.

If you like this, try this: An American Tragedy by Theodore Dreiser. For another unforgettable, beautifully written historical novel featuring a book-loving heroine, try The Book Thief by Markus Zusak.

Recommended by: Nicole, Teen Librarian

Down River

Title: Down River

Author: John Hart

Summary: Five years ago, Adam Chase was acquitted of murder, even though his own stepmother testified against him. Most people in his hometown believed that he was guilty and that his father’s money paid for the verdict. Adam left home soon after the trial and has been living in New York ever since.

Now Adam has been asked by a childhood friend to come back to his hometown in North Carolina. Adam returns to find that the residents’ feelings toward him have not changed since he left. To make matters worse, many of them are angry with Adam’s father for interfering with a local land deal which could make them all rich. After Adam’s arrival,  violent attacks occur against the people closest to him. Seeds of doubt as to Adam’s innocence are again planted and he must find the true murderer before he/she kills again.

Recommended by: Sue, Circulation Coordinator

The Savage Garden

Title: The Savage Garden

Author: Mark Mills

Summary: The Savage Garden, written by Mark Mills, is the story of two murders, committed 400 years apart, and the attempt to solve the mystery of both crimes.

It’s 1958 and Adam Strickland, Cambridge undergraduate, has just been dumped by his girlfriend. When he is offered the opportunity to study a Tuscan Renaissance garden for his art history thesis, he accepts the offer. The garden was built in 1577 as a memorial to the villa owner’s wife Flora, who died at a very young age. During his research, Adam begins to see the garden’s statues and inscriptions as clues to Flora’s murder, not as a memorial to her death.

As Adam deciphers the clues in the garden, he begins to suspect that the more recent murder-that of the current villa owner’s son, may not be as clear cut as everyone thinks. Signora Docci’s son, Emilio, was shot and killed by Nazi officers on the third floor of the villa and the area has been sealed off ever since. Though everyone is excited about the revelation of Flora’s murder, Adam finds himself in danger when he begins to question the events surrounding Emilio’s death.

Recommended by: Sue, Circulation Coordinator