What's New
Selected new additions to the collection
The Green Man by Kate Sedley
At the outset of Sedley's rewarding 17th mystery to feature Roger the Chapman (after 2007's The Three Kings of Cologne), Roger joins an English army set to invade Scotland in the summer of 1482. The duke of Albany, whose older brother, James III of England, plans to put him on the Scottish throne, enlists Roger as a member of his personal bodyguard. On the march north, uncanny events connected to the cult of the legendary Green Man make Roger wonder why Albany wanted him in this role. When the army reaches Edinburgh, Roger discovers he must clear one of Albany's friends of murder. Sedley provides vivid vignettes of domestic life in the late Middle Ages, covering the social spectrum from the mighty Plantagenets to the most deprived agrarian serfs and foot soldiers. The meticulous, well-paced plot builds to a real surprise at the end. (June) Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Find The Green Man in the catalog
Buy The Green Man from Amazon.com
Tell a friend about The Green Man by Kate Sedley
Leave a comment about The Green Man by Kate Sedley
The end of East by Jen Sookfong Lee
Lee's poignant debut saga covers three generations of a Chinese-Canadian family in Vancouver. Their story begins when Chan Seid Quan emigrates to Vancouver in 1913 at 17, but the novel opens 10 years after his death at the age of 94, when his granddaughter, Samantha, leaves graduate school and a lover in Montreal to return to Vancouver to take care of her mother. Samantha frozen with indecision about her future and resentful that she's burdened with responsibility she didn't choose passes her days contemplating her family's past. Polished, nonchronological set pieces offer glimpses of hardship, alienation and despair in Vancouver's Chinatown. Seid Quan returns to China at intervals separated by years, just often enough to marry, father three children and return to Canada after each visit a lonelier man. His youngest child, a son named Pon Man, relocates to Vancouver in 1951 at 15, and eventually marries and has five daughters, the youngest of whom is Samantha. Seid Quan's wife, Shew Lin, survives war and occupation while caring for her three children, and eventually arrives in Vancouver. She's tough, particularly on Pon Man's wife, Siu Sang, who suffers postpartum depression. The present ceaselessly mirrors the past in this enlightening look at Vancouver's slice of the Chinese diaspora. (May) Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Find The end of East in the catalog
Buy The end of East from Amazon.com
Tell a friend about The end of East by Jen Sookfong Lee
Leave a comment about The end of East by Jen Sookfong Lee
Harry, revised: a novel by Mark Sarvas
This debut novel from popular literary blogger Sarvas focuses on the midlife crisis of recently widowed Harry Rent. Harry maintained a complicated and uneasy relationship with his wife, Anna, who died during a cosmetic surgery procedure. On the day of her funeral, Harry meets Molly, a raven-haired diner waitress and grad student, and is smitten. To win Molly's heart, Harry devises a bizarre plan to transform himself from the sleazy, lying john that he'd become into an honorable and noble gentleman straight from the pages of a Dumas novel, through a series of far from selfless acts aimed toward Molly's old, crotchety co-worker, Lucille. Harry stalks Lucille to ascertain her financial needs and tries to rectify her pitiful situation all just to get a night of passion with Molly, who already has one deadbeat in her life. Harry is also being followed by the private investigator hired by his sister-in-law, Claire, who holds Harry responsible for sending the beautiful Anna to her early death, but he is too wrapped up in his own game to notice. The novel hinges on Harry's transformation, and though there may be legions of writers spurned by his blog just willing for Sarvas to fail, this is a self-assured, comic and satisfying story. (May) Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Find Harry, revised: a novel in the catalog
Buy Harry, revised: a novel from Amazon.com
Tell a friend about Harry, revised: a novel by Mark Sarvas
Leave a comment about Harry, revised: a novel by Mark Sarvas
Evening is the whole day by Preeta Samarasan
Set on the outskirts of Ipoh in Malaysia, Samarasan's impressive debut chronicles another bad year in the Big House on Kingfisher Lane. With the death of Paati, the grandmother, and the disgraceful departure of Chellam, the family's servant girl, the wealthy Rajasekharan family is in shambles. Skillfully jumping from one consciousness to another, Samarasan moves back in time to reveal the secrets that have led to the family's unraveling. Father Raju's dreams have been stifled by his unrealized political ambitions, and his home life is no consolation. Vasanthi, his wife, bristles at reminders of her lower-class roots and wouldn't mind seeing Uma, their oldest daughter, "destroyed by an endless string of disappointments." Uma all but disconnects herself from the family in anticipation of escaping to Columbia University, and her six-year-old sister, Aasha, whose desire to recapture Uma's love is a primary focus of the book, must settle for interactions with a ghost only she can see. There's little familial tenderness, and the few instances of compassion displayed (by Raju's visiting brother) are mistaken as perverse. Though the narrative is occasionally unwieldy or claustrophobic, the language bursts with energy, and Samarasan has a sure hand juggling so many distinct characters. (May) Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Find Evening is the whole day in the catalog
Buy Evening is the whole day from Amazon.com
Tell a friend about Evening is the whole day by Preeta Samarasan
Leave a comment about Evening is the whole day by Preeta Samarasan
The Lady Elizabeth: a novel by Alison Weir
Weir (Innocent Traitor) lends her considerable historical knowledge to the early years of England's famous queen in this absorbing second novel. The tale chronicles the life of Elizabeth I from her early childhood to her coronation, through the final years of her father, Henry VIII, and the brief reigns of her siblings, Edward VI and Queen Mary. Renowned for her "mercurial temperament" and "formidable intelligence," in Weir's account Elizabeth spends her childhood shuttling between royal estates and preparing for life as a "great lady" after she is stripped of her position as successor to the British throne following the execution of her mother, Anne Boleyn. As Elizabeth grows, her progressive views on women's roles, religion, and politics take shape-including her legendary vow never to marry, forged through observation of others' relationships as well as a painful first-hand brush with romance at age fourteen. Weir's Elizabeth is nuanced and enchanting, and the author lends a refreshing perspective to well-known characters and events in British history, such as the fates of her father's six wives and the brief reign of Lady Jane Grey, the subject of her first historical novel. History buffs will enjoy this entertaining look into the rarely explored early life of one of England's most fascinating characters. Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Find The Lady Elizabeth: a novel in the catalog
Buy The Lady Elizabeth: a novel from Amazon.com
Tell a friend about The Lady Elizabeth: a novel by Alison Weir
Leave a comment about The Lady Elizabeth: a novel by Alison Weir
Clubbed to death: a dead-end job mystery by Elaine Viets
In Viets's sprightly seventh Dead-End Job mystery (after 2007's Murder with Reservations), intrepid Helen Hawthorne, now a customer care clerk at the snobbish Superior Club in Golden Palms, Fla., is dismayed to run into her money-hungry ex, Rob, in the club parking lot. When Rob, who's now married to a wealthy club member known as the Black Widow because her last five husbands have died mysteriously, tells Helen he fears for his life, the unsympathetic Helen hits him. Fellow club employees witness their fight, and one of them, Brenda, almost succeeds in getting Helen fired. Later, the authorities view Helen as a prime suspect after Rob disappears, a possible murder victim. When someone beats Brenda and a philandering plastic surgeon to death with Brenda's seven iron, Helen has a lot more to worry about. The romantic ending will leave fans eager for the next installment in this superior cozy series. Author tour. (May) Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Find Clubbed to death: a dead-end job mystery in the catalog
Buy Clubbed to death: a dead-end job mystery from Amazon.com
Tell a friend about Clubbed to death: a dead-end job mystery by Elaine Viets
Leave a comment about Clubbed to death: a dead-end job mystery by Elaine Viets
