Books for Adults
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Dead in the Family
After enduring torture and the loss of loved ones during the brief but deadly Faery War, Sookie Stackhouse is hurt and she's angry. Just about the only bright spot in her life is the love she thinks she feels for vampire Eric Northman. But he's under scrutiny by the new Vampire King because of their relationship. And as the political implications of the Shifters coming out are beginning to be felt, Sookie's connection to the Shreveport pack draws her into the debate. Worst of all, though the door to Faery has been closed, there are still some Fae on the human side-and one of them is angry at Sookie. Very, very angry...
Changes
The twelfth Dresden Files novel (following Turncoat, 2009) finds the licensed PI and professional wizard Harry Dresden confronted with some shocking news: he has an eight-year-old daughter, and she’s been kidnapped by Red Court vampires. Harry is willing to risk everything to rescue her, even if it means turning his own life upside down. At more than 500 pages, this is one the longest books in the series, but it doesn’t move slowly; in fact, the entire novel takes place over only a few days as Harry races to rescue his daughter before she is sacrificed in a powerful black-magic rite. The taut and sometimes twisty plot is full of surprises and changes for Harry and his friends and family. Changes is a compelling installment in what continues to be an outstanding series. All the regulars (including cop Murphy; Harry’s half brother, vampire Thomas; Sanya the Knight; and Harry’s apprentice, Molly) are featured, as they, too, risk everything to save Harry’s daughter. After the cliff-hanger ending, readers will be clamoring for the next book. A can’t-miss entry in one of the best urban-fantasy series currently being published.
Angelology
Trussoni's complex and intricately plotted novel about an epic war between mortals and angels is, despite the heroic efforts of Susan Denaker, an unholy mess in the audio version. What readers relished--the labyrinthine plot, the accretion of suspense--becomes a morass of agonizingly slow description, invented mythologies, and a needlessly protracted setup. Sister Evangeline, a secretary at an upstate New York convent, receives a mysterious letter directing her to an artifact that is sought by a Nephilim--the offspring of a mortal and an angel--who is desperate to possess its power. Denaker proves her versatility in creating the diverse cast, but her melodic singsong cannot salvage the audiobook from tedium. Fans of The Da Vinci Code eager to give this one a listen should be directed to the hardcover.
Savannah from Savannah
I’m coming home to prove something.....to my city, my mother and myself.
It is a place known to most as Savannah, it is a place known to me as home. I wish I could tell you it was my love for this city that precipitated my return. But I did not return out of a mere longing for home. I returned because I have something to prove to home. I am Savannah.....from Savannah
The Kitchen House
When a white servant girl violates the order of plantation society, she unleashes a tragedy that exposes the worst and best in the people she has come to call her family. Orphaned while onboard ship from Ireland, seven-year-old Lavinia arrives on the steps of a tobacco plantation where she is to live and work with the slaves of the kitchen house. Under the care of Belle, the master's illegitimate daughter, Lavinia becomes deeply bonded to her adopted family, though she is set apart from them by her white skin. Eventually, Lavinia is accepted into the world of the big house, where the master is absent and the mistress battles opium addiction. Lavinia finds herself perilously straddling two very different worlds. When she is forced to make a choice, loyalties are brought into question, dangerous truths are laid bare, and lives are put at risk. The Kitchen House is a tragic story of page-turning suspense, exploring the meaning of family, where love and loyalty prevail.
BoneMan's Daughter
The BoneMan, a serial killer, who murders his victims by breaking their bones, but not their skin, re-emerges after a two-year hiatus and abducts 16-year-old Bethany Evans, the estranged daughter of military intelligence officer Ryan Evans. Having recently returned from Iraq, where he was captured and psychologically tortured by insurgents, Ryan is an emotional wreck. His mental state not only impedes his efforts to find Bethany, but also gives the authorities reason to suspect him of being the BoneMan himself. Robert Petkoff's narration matches the novel's tense pace step-by-step. He handles the diverse cast of characters with ease, and though his voice sounds too youthful for Ryan, it works perfectly for the BoneMan, who Petkoff infuses with chilling malevolence. A good—and gruesome—suspense-filled ride.
Abraham Lincoln - Vampire Hunter
Following the success of his bestselling Pride and Prejudice and Zombies with another mélange of history and horror, Grahame-Smith inserts a grandiose and gratuitous struggle with vampires into Abraham Lincoln's life. Lincoln learns at an early age that his mother was killed by a supernatural predator. This provokes his bloody but curiously undocumented lifelong vendetta against vampires and their slave-owning allies. The author's decision to reduce slavery to a mere contrivance of the vampires is unfortunate bordering on repellent, but at least it does distract the reader from the central question of why the president never saw fit to inform the public of the supernatural menace. Grahame-Smith stitches hand-to-hand vampire combat into Lincoln's documented life with competent prose that never quite manages to convince.
Savagery of the Mountain Man
Santa Clara, Colorado, is 24 hours by train from the land where Smoke Jensen found peace and prosperity on his Sugarloaf Ranch. But somehow, Smoke can't stay away from Santa Clara - and from an evil cattle baron hiding a murderous past. For Smoke, it starts at a high-class auction for a pureblood Hereford bull. Smoke wins the bidding - and earns the hatred of Pogue Quentin, Santa Clara's leading citizen and a man living on bloodshed and lies. Then Smoke's friend Pearlie drifts to Santa Clara. And when Pearlie runs afoul of Quentin, all hell will break loose. Now Smoke Jensen is heading to Santa Clara to face a man who already wants him dead - but Pogue Quentin never met anything like the fire of a mountain man...
The Help
What perfect timing for this optimistic, uplifting debut novel (and maiden publication of Amy Einhorn's new imprint) set during the nascent civil rights movement in Jackson, Miss., where black women were trusted to raise white children but not to polish the household silver. Eugenia Skeeter Phelan is just home from college in 1962, and, anxious to become a writer, is advised to hone her chops by writing about what disturbs you. The budding social activist begins to collect the stories of the black women on whom the country club sets relies and mistrusts enlisting the help of Aibileen, a maid who's raised 17 children, and Aibileen's best friend Minny, who's found herself unemployed more than a few times after mouthing off to her white employers. The book Skeeter puts together based on their stories is scathing and shocking, bringing pride and hope to the black community, while giving Skeeter the courage to break down her personal boundaries and pursue her dreams. Assured and layered, full of heart and history, this one has bestseller written all over it.
Storm Prey
It was an inside job, and it should have been easy. Rob the pharmacy at Minneapolis’ largest hospital: in, out, wait till things cool down, and then sell the drugs for a half million or so. But the old man had to be a hero. Who knew he’d be on blood thinners and die after he was kicked? A robbery turned murder means Lucas Davenport and his Bureau of Criminal Apprehension team are called in to assist the investigation. There’s another element to the case for Davenport: his wife, Weather, a surgeon at the hospital, may be able to identify one of the killers. The case starts to escalate. An attempt is made on Weather’s life. The bodies of two motorcycle gang members are found in a rural area. Davenport guesses the gang is imploding from the pressure and murdering its members. Weather, under 24-hour guard, is part of a surgical team working to separate conjoined twins in a procedure that’s captured the attention of the world’s media. Meanwhile, Davenport and his team keep finding bodies of likely robbers but can’t seem to isolate either the brains behind the theft or the hospital insider who pointed them at the pharmacy. The twenty-second Prey novel includes most of the elements readers expect: sharp plot, snappy dialogue, and believable action, but the background playfulness and gallows humor that usually fill in the gaps are in short supply. But hey, that’s nitpicking. On balance, this is another fine entry in a wildly popular series.