Tag Archives: Digital

True Crime Fan? Try One of These Popular Digital Downloads!

Are You a True Crime Fan? Now might be a great time to read or listen to a book while you’re staying home and staying safe. Here are a few suggestions that you can download from Overdrive with your Fairfield Public Library card.

Title details for The Trial of Lizzie Borden by Cara Robertson - Available

THE TRIAL OF LIZZIE BORDEN
By Cara Robertson

“Readers are given every bit of evidence available and will be hard-pressed to reach a verdict; it’s fun trying, though. Fans of crime novels will love it.”~Kirkus

For more information, please click here.

Title details for The Murder of the Century by Paul Collins - Available

THE MURDER OF THE CENTURY
By Paul Collins

“Collins, the literary detective often featured on NPR’s Weekend Edition, has constructed a gripping work of narrative nonfiction. He revisits 1897 New York, where the discovery in the East River of a male torso with arms was first dismissed as a medical-student prank. But other findings of body parts soon convinced experts that a grisly murder had been committed.” ~Booklist

For more information, please click here.

Title details for The Devil in the White City by Erik Larson - Available

THE DEVIL IN THE WHITE CITY
By Erik Larson

“Larson’s ambitious, engrossing tale of the Chicago World’s Fair of 1893 focuses primarily on two men: Daniel H. Burnham, the architect who was the driving force behind the fair, and Henry H. Holmes, a sadistic serial killer working under the cover of the busy fair.” ~Booklist
This title is definitely a staff favorite. Erik Larson is a master of narrative non-fiction. Try any of his other titles and you will not be disappointed! ~ Sue, Circulation

For more information, please click here.

Title details for The Black Hand by Stephan Talty - Available

THE BLACK HAND
By Stephan Talty

“Talty (Black Irish) spins a gripping tale in this true crime account of one man’s crusade to combat organized crime in early-20th-century New York City. His hero is Joseph Petrosino, one of the first Italian-Americans hired by the New York Police Department, who ultimately sacrificed his life in an effort to defeat the Black Hand, an Italian organized crime group that terrorized the city through its kidnappings of children, extortions, and murders.” ~Publisher’s Weekly

For more information, please click here.

Title details for I'll Be Gone in the Dark by Michelle McNamara - Available

I’LL BE GONE IN THE DARK
By Michelle McNamara

“The Golden State Killer is once again in the headlines after finally being caught. This book about the search for him is sure to catch—and keep—readers’ attention…An exemplary true-crime book, and with an HBO adaptation in the works, this book will be enjoyed by any reader with an interest in human nature, crime, puzzles, and investigative dramas.” ~Kirkus

For more information, please click here.

Title details for American Heiress by Jeffrey Toobin - Available

AMERICAN HEIRESS
By Jeffrey Toobin

Toobin, a New Yorker staff writer and CNN senior legal analyst, provides another definitive and nuanced look at a notorious crime case—this time, the 1974 abduction of heiress Patty Hearst in San Francisco by the Symbionese Liberation Army, and its sensational aftermath… His thorough research, careful parsing of all the evidence, and superior prose make the book read like a summertime thriller.” ~Publisher’s Weekly

For more information, please click here.

“What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us.”
~Ralph Waldo Emerson

Escape Into a Fantasy With a Digital Book

Escape into a Fantasy novel while you’re staying home and staying safe. Here are some of the most popular digital titles, both e-books and audio books, which you can download from Overdrive with your Fairfield Public Library card.

Title details for The City of Brass by S. A. Chakraborty - Available

THE CITY OF BRASS
By S. A. Chakraborty

“This lyrical historical fantasy debut brings to vivid life the ancient mythological traditions of an Islamic world unfamiliar to most American readers. Chakraborty’s grasp of Middle Eastern history, folklore, and culture inspires a swiftly moving plot, richly drawn characters, and a beautifully constructed world that will entrance fantasy aficionados.” ~Library Journal

For more information, please click here.

Title details for The Girl in Red by Christina Henry - Available

THE GIRL IN RED
By Christina Henry

“Henry’s sharp, unsettling rendition of “Little Red Riding Hood” explores whether a healthy sense of paranoia and extensive knowledge of horror fiction rules will increase Red’s chances of post-pandemic survival, especially given her increased vulnerability due to her gender and prosthetic leg…Henry (Lost Boy: The True Story of Captain Hook) satisfyingly upends the familiar tale of a clever girl, a dangerous wolf, and a brave savior, and folklore fans will enjoy this bloody near-future variation on a familiar theme.” ~Publisher’s Weekly

For more information, please click here.

Title details for Kill the Farm Boy by Kevin Hearne - Available

KILL THE FARM BOY
By Kevin Hearne & Delilah S. Dawson

Dawson and Hearne topple the tropes of the young man’s adventure quest and the fairy tale in this joyous, hilarious tale. While preparing to deal with his daily barnyard drudgery shoveling the dung of assorted animals, a farm boy named Worstley is anointed the Chosen One by a filthy, foul-mouthed, drunken pixie. Soon Worstley is off to find his destiny, accompanied by a smart-aleck talking goat named Gustave…This one is for readers who enjoy farcical fairy tales, rollicking good times, and plenty of groan-worthy puns and literary references.” ~Booklist

For more information, please click here.

Title details for Spinning Silver by Naomi Novik - Available

SPINNING SILVER
By Naomi Novik

“This gorgeous, complex, and magical novel, grounded in Germanic, Russian, and Jewish folklore but richly overlaid with a cohesive, creative story of its own, rises well above a mere modern re- imagining of classic tales… This is the kind of book that one might wish to inhabit forever.” ~Publisher’s Weekly

For more information, please click here.

Title details for A Hard Day's Knight by Simon R. Green - Available

A HARD DAY’S KNIGHT
By Simon R. Green

“This is Green’s most recent novel of the Nightside, a hidden part of London populated by creatures who never see the light of day. John Taylor is a Nightside PI who specializes in finding things. But something has just found him: Excalibur, the sword of King Arthur himself… With plenty of action packed in from London to Glastonbury, fun characters, and outrageous villains, A Hard Day’s Knight should definitely please fantasy action fans.” ~Booklist

For more information, please click here.

Title details for The Ghost Bride by Yangsze Choo - Available

THE GHOST BRIDE
By Yangsze Choo

Choo’s remarkably strong and arresting first novel explores the concept of Chinese spirit marriages in late-nineteenth-­century Malaya through the eyes of the highly relatable Li Lan, a poor but spunky young woman, who is approached by the wealthy family of a dead man to become his bride… With its gripping tangles of plot and engaging characters, this truly compelling read is sure to garner much well-deserved attention.” ~Booklist                                        Will appeal to historical fiction lovers, too! ~Sue, Circulation

For more information, please click here.

Title details for The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch - Available

THE LIES OF LOCKE LAMORA
By Scott Lynch

On a distant world, orphan Locke Lamora is sold into a crew of thieves and con artists. Soon his natural gifts make him an underworld celebrity, leader of the flamboyantly larcenous Gentleman Bandits. But there is someone who covets Locke’s talents, his success, his very life, forcing him to put everything on the line to protect himself… Fans of lavishly appointed fantasy will be in seventh heaven here, but it will be nearly as popular with readers of literary crime fiction. This is a true genre bender, at home on almost any kind of fiction shelf.” ~Booklist

For more information, please click here.

Title details for Outlander by Diana Gabaldon - Available

OUTLANDER
By Diana Gabaldon

“Time-travel stories that combine swashbuckling adventure, romance, and vivid historical details don’t get any better than Gabaldon’s now classic debut…With vividly drawn, relatable characters and a respectful, loving eye for the history of the Scottish Highlands, Gabaldon’s Outlander series launch is a lush, romantic epic.” ~ Library Journal

For more information, please click here.

Title details for Abraham Lincoln, Vampire Hunter by Seth Grahame-Smith - Available

ABRAHAM LINCOLN, VAMPIRE HUNTER
By Seth Grahame-Smith

“From the man who brought you Pride and Prejudice and Zombies: a tale of Lincoln, who discovered that his mother was chewed to death by the local vampire. Hence his secret agenda to rid the world of bloodsuckers. Undoubtedly, there will be protests, and, undoubtedly, this will be huge.” ~Library Journal

For more information, please click here.

Title details for The Bone Season by Samantha Shannon - Available

THE BONE SEASON
By Samantha Shannon

“We are the minority the world does not accept,” Paige Mahoney tells us, referring to the struggles of clairvoyants, from soothsayers and mediums to her own high standing as a dreamwalker…An energetic, multifaceted print and online campaign, including viral teaser trailers, will launch this exciting debut, the first in a thoughtful fantasy series by a brilliant young writer.” ~Kirkus

For more information, please click here.

Title details for Wards of Faerie by Terry Brooks - Available

WARDS OF FAERIE
By Terry Brooks

“Researching magic in the books and scrolls housed below the palace, young Elven Druid Aphenglow Elessedil discovers a diary that recounts a forbidden romance between an Elven girl and a Darkling boy and hints at the fate of the long-vanished Elfstones. As troubled times return to the Four Lands and a tyrannical human-centered Federation seeks to dominate the other Races, Aphenglow sets herself a dangerous task—to follow the clues left in the diary and uncover magic that might save her people and her world.” ~Library Journal

For more information, please click here.

Title details for The Firebird by Susanna Kearsley - Available

THE FIREBIRD
By Susanna Kearsley

“Nicola Marter’s Russian grandfather was tortured for his gift of psychometry, so she’s hidden her own talent for years, but she may have to risk sharing it to help another… Kearsley blends history, romance and a bit of the supernatural into a glittering, bewitching tale.” ~Kirkus

For more information, please click here.

“Hang on to your hat. Hang on to your hope. And wind the clock, for tomorrow is another day.” ~ E.B. White

Settle In With These Digital Thrillers

Looking for some thrillers to read or listen to while you’re staying home and staying safe? Here are a few suggestions that you can download from Overdrive with your Fairfield Public Library card.

Title details for Please See Us by Caitlin Mullen - Available

PLEASE SEE US
By Caitlin Mullen

“At last, a “woman in peril” thriller that doesn’t involve a handsome, psychopathic husband or a seemingly sympathetic but ultimately homicidal neighborhood kid. What Mullen’s debut gives readers is a wrenchingly detailed, utterly credible story of women whose peril comes from poverty, either a slow slide or a sudden slip.” ~Booklist

For more information, please click here.

Title details for Just Watch Me by Jeff Lindsay - Available

JUST WATCH ME
By Jeff Lindsay

“This terrific series launch from bestseller Lindsay (Darkly Dreaming Dexter) opens with master thief Riley Wolfe, an antihero Dexter fans will relish, using a helicopter to steal a 12-ton statue in broad daylight during its installation ceremony in Chicago.” ~Publisher’s Weekly

For more information, please click here.

Title details for Darling Rose Gold by Stephanie Wrobel - Available

DARLING ROSE GOLD
By Stephanie Wrobel

“Propulsive pacing, a claustrophobic setting, and vividly sketched characters who are equal parts victim and villain conspire to create an anxious, unsettling narrative. Psychological suspense fans will be well satisfied.” ~Publisher’s Weekly

For more information, please click here.

Title details for The Whisper Man by Alex North - Available

THE WHISPER MAN
By Alex North

“North’s first novel explores the life of a father raising his young son after the tragic death of his wife mixed with a town in turmoil owing to kidnappings in the area… The terrifying villain and characters who seem authentic only add to the horror. Lyrical writing also helps make the story truly haunting.” ~Library Journal

For more information, please click here.

Title details for The Sun Down Motel by Simone St. James - Available

THE SUN DOWN MOTEL
By Simone St. James

“In this engrossing supernatural thriller from St. James (The Broken Girls), 20-year-old Carly Kirk sets out from her Illinois hometown determined to find some answers 35 years after her aunt Viv Delaney vanished while working the night shift at a seedy upstate New York motel.” ~Publisher’s Weekly

For more information, please click here.

Title details for The Poacher's Son by Paul Doiron - Available

THE POACHER’S SON
By Paul Doiron

“Doiron’s debut crime novel is set on the coast and in the North Woods of Maine, the home of rookie game warden Mike Bowditch. As tensions rise across the state with the impending sale of huge tracts of paper-company forest land to an out-of-state developer, Mike receives a strange message from his father, left on the same night the paper company rep and a state trooper are shot and killed after a heated town meeting… One hopes this fine novel is the first in a series starring Warden Bowditch, who could quickly become the East Coast version of C. J. Box’s game-warden hero Joe Pickett, who patrols the range in Wyoming.” ~Booklist
*This is the first in a staff favorite series. Sure to please mystery, suspense and thriller lovers.

For more information, please click here.

Title details for Those People by Louise Candlish - Available

THOSE PEOPLE
By Louise Candlish

“This fiendishly twisty and suspenseful tale of secrets, lies, jealousy, and intrigue keeps readers guessing until the very end. Fans of Celeste Ng and Leila Slimani will be pleased with this contemporary take on families and violence.” ~Booklist

For more information, please click here.

Title details for Deception Cove by Owen Laukkanen - Available

DECEPTION COVE
By Owen Laukkanen

“Deception Cove, Wash., “a rainy-day kind of place” that’s the atmospheric setting of this superior standalone from Thriller Award finalist Laukkanen…
a crackerjack plot enhances the moving portrayals of the leads’ inner lives. Laukkanen has never been better.” ~ Publisher’s Weekly

For more information, please click here.

“Hardships often prepare ordinary people for an extraordinary destiny.”
~C.S. Lewis

 

Interested in History? Try One of These Popular Digital Titles!

Interested in history? Now might be a great time to read or listen to a book while you’re staying home and staying safe. Here are a few suggestions that you can download from Overdrive with your Fairfield Public Library card.

Title details for Jefferson's Daughters by Catherine Kerrison - Available

JEFFERSON’S DAUGHTERS
By Catherine Kerrison

“Kerrison contrasts the privileged upbringing of Thomas Jefferson’s two acknowledged daughters with wife Martha—Martha Jefferson Randolph (the eldest and favored daughter), and Maria Jefferson Eppes—and the shadowy life of daughter Harriet Hemings, born to Sally Hemings, his mistress and slave.” ~Library Journal

For more information, please click here.

Title details for Madame Fourcade's Secret War by Lynne Olson - Available

MADAME FOURCADE’S SECRET WAR
By Lynne Olson

“This masterfully told true story reads like fiction and will appeal to readers who devour WWII thrillers à la Kristen Hannah’s The Nightingale.” ~Booklist

For more information, please click here.

Title details for The First Conspiracy by Brad Meltzer - Available

THE FIRST CONSPIRACY
By Brad Meltzer

“Best-selling novelist and television-host Meltzer (The Escape Artist, 2018) and documentarian Mensch bring the fast pace and sensibility of a thriller to the Hickey Plot, a failed 1776 scheme to kidnap and possibly murder George Washington. They vividly evoke the world of occupied New York City in which the scheme unfolded, describing the tensions within the overcrowded wartime community and the webs of relationships linking powerful backstage plotters with the greedy, desperate, or committed ordinary people designated to carry it out… Readers who like their histories full of twists, turns, and cliff-hangers will enjoy this romp through the Revolution.” ~Booklist

For more information, please click here.

Title details for The Radium Girls by Kate Moore - Available

THE RADIUM GIRLS
By Kate Moore

“Moore details the tragic stories of dozens of young women employed as dial painters during World War I. Often the daughters of immigrants, these women were lured to these prestigious and well-paying jobs unaware of the dangers of the radioactive paint present in their workplace—which caused their bodies and clothes to glow, even outside of work…A must-read for anyone interested in American and women’s history, as well as topics of law, health, and industrial safety.” ~Library Journal

For more information, please click here.

Title details for Valiant Ambition: George Washington, Benedict Arnold, and the Fate of the American Revolution by Nathaniel Philbrick - Available

VALIANT AMBITION: GEORGE WASHINGTON, BENEDICT ARNOLD, AND THE FATE OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION
By Nathaniel Philbrick

“Best-selling author Philbrick (Bunker Hill; The Mayflower) recounts details of Revolutionary War battles in the context of Gen. Benedict Arnold’s character traits as well as his relationships with George Washington and others that affected his successes and downfalls and ultimately led to his defection from the Continental to the British Army.” ~Library Journal

For more information, please click here.

For those interested in Connecticut history, try one of the following. There are more where these came from!

Title details for The Hartford Circus Fire by Michael Skidgell - Available

THE HARTFORD CIRCUS FIRE
By Michael Skidgell

For more information, please click here.

Title details for Connecticut Witch Trials by Cynthia Wolfe Boynton - Available

CONNECTICUT WITCH TRIALS
By Cynthia Wolfe Boynton

For more information, please click here.

Title details for Lighthouses and Lifesaving Along the Connecticut and Rhode Island Coast by James Claflin - Available

LIGHTHOUSES AND LIFESAVING ALONG THE CONNECTICUT AND RHODE ISLAND COAST
By James Claflin

For more information, please click here.

Title details for Connecticut Families of the Revolution by Mark Allen Baker - Available

CONNECTICUT FAMILIES OF THE REVOLUTION
By Mark Allen Baker

For more information, please click here.

“I am not afraid of storms, for I am learning how to sail my ship.”                                               ~Little Women by Louisa May Alcott

Cozy Mysteries-Digital Downloads

Looking for a cozy mystery to read or listen to while you’re staying home and staying safe? Here are a few suggestions that you can download from Overdrive with your Fairfield Public Library card.

Title details for Murder Cuts the Mustard by Jessica Ellicott - Available

MURDER CUTS THE MUSTARD
By Jessica Ellicott

“Witty prose, distinctive characters, and an enchanting setting all make for a winner.” ~ Publisher’s Weekly

For more information, please click here.

Title details for A Murder for the Books by Victoria Gilbert - Available

A MURDER FOR THE BOOKS
By Victoria Gilbert

“Gilbert’s series kickoff offers an intricate mystery, an interesting look at the past, and a clever and determined heroine.” ~Kirkus

For more information, please click here.

Title details for The Cracked Spine by Paige Shelton - Available

THE CRACKED SPINE
By Paige Shelton

“This spotlessly clean, fun-filled read takes plenty of twists and turns on the way to the satisfying ending.” ~ Publisher’s Weekly

For more information, please click here.

Title details for Murder in Morningside Heights by Victoria Thompson - Available

MURDER IN MORNINGSIDE HEIGHTS
By Victoria Thompson

“A fantastic historical with a wonderfully plucky amateur female sleuth.” ~Library Journal

For more information, please click here.

Title details for Grace Under Pressure by Julie Hyzy - Available

GRACE UNDER PRESSURE
By Julie Hyzy

“Launching the Manor of Murder series with plenty of thrills and laughs, Hyzy creates the well-researched and believable estate of Marshfield Manor, part mansion and part museum.” ~Publisher’s Weekly

For more information, please click here.

“Even the darkest night will end and the sun will rise.”
~Les Misérables by Victor Hugo