This Month's Staff Picks
Calista
Run for Cover by Michael Ledwidge
Enter Michael Gannon, retired Navy Seal turned intelligence operative. When Michael hears that his friend’s brother is murdered in Grand Teton NP, he immediately heads to Utah to help. Early into the investigation, Gannon realizes that this might not be about a single murder. He joins forces with a female FBI agent Kit, and together they begin to unravel the mystery. As they get closer to the truth, dangers lurk around every corner. Gannon and Kit must watch each other’s backs unless they want to become the next victims. I really enjoyed this as it transported me into the beautiful Grand Tetons while I tried to work out who the killer could be.
Available on Libby (e-book and e-audio)
Eileen
Saints for all occasions by J. Courtney Sullivan
Young Irish immigrant sisters move to Boston in the 1950s. Fifty years later, they haven’t spoken in decades. One’s a widowed grandmother and the other a cloistered nun. Then a sudden death forces Nora and Theresa to confront the choices they made a lifetime ago.
J. Courtney Sullivan is great at the quiet generational family stories. Even side characters have depth and purpose. You can easily imagine these people living in the real world. I’d recommend this author to fans of Anne Tyler and Elizabeth Berg.
Available at the library and on Libby (e-book and e-audio)
Kelly
Curious Minds (Knight & Moon series) by Janet Evanovich with Phoef Sutton
Riley Moon and Emerson Knight couldn't be more opposite in personality, background and bank account balances. (He is crazy rich, and she is fresh out of college with bills instead of a bank balance.) Throw the two together in a dangerous game with a bunch of unsavory crooks and the nation's gold supply, and you have quite a recipe.
Evanovich and co-author Phoef Sutton have written another witty and entertaining mystery with some great bad guys that will keep those pages turning. Of course, Evanovich does well in the reluctant hero department once again with Riley Moon, who is doing her best to deal with Emerson's quirky personality and lack of social skills while "babysitting" the guy at the request of her new boss. (So much for her Harvard Business and Harvard Law degrees.) Oh well, at least the guy isn't hard to look at, and she'd do just about anything to climb the corporate ladder at Blane-Grunwald, even if the guy keeps exotic animals that do their business in the house! Staying alive is a bigger priority.
Available at the library and on Libby (e-book and e-audio)
Linda
Calendar Girls DVD (2003)
Starring Helen Mirren and Julie Walters
True-life events are the basis of this film, and the reality of what transpires makes the elements of comedy and conflict meaningful. Members of the local chapter of a very conventional women’s group seek a novel way to raise funds for a charity that is near and dear to their hearts. The women must overcome their individual inhibitions and resistance to a daring proposal. At the same time, they must have the approval of the Governing Board of the Women’s Institute, where politics are front and center.
One by one, the twelve women invested in the fund-raising scheme find the courage to carry their idea forward and succeed in gaining the approval of the once-reluctant president of their local chapter of the Women’s Institute.
The authenticity of the material is rewarding. Filming took place in and around the village of Kettlewell in North Yorkshire, England. The scenery is gorgeous!
Borrow this on inter-library loan
Rebecca
The Exiles by Christina Baker Kline
Over two centuries ago, the British Isles needed a prison for male convicts. They had already invaded the continent of Australia and taken over the native tribes of Aboriginal people. To create space in the northern motherlands, prisoners were sent to live in this new land. Soon after the government realized they would need women on this island if they were to create a "true English" colony.
This novel follows an English "literate" woman as she is wrongfully accused and convicted of a crime, and an Aboriginal princess as she is "collected" by the new Governor and his wife. Although these young women are completely different, their treatment is eerily similar. How will they fare among this higher class that looks down on them?
This was my first book from Kline. The subject material interested me as I do not recall ever learning about this in school. Kline's characters, although fictional, told the story of the Exiles' extraordinarily but with a heartbreak that any excellent novel makes you feel. Highly recommend this book for history lovers!
Available at the library and on Libby (e-book and e-audio)
Past Staff Picks
Staff Picks February 2023
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Staff Picks September 2022