On the Shelf

Header Right Social

FacebookInstagramYoutubeMeetupOn the Shelf Blog

Header Right Search

Recommended for Adults

Light of the Jedi

by Leave a Comment

Light of the Jedi by Charles Soule
Format: Book
Who it’s for: Adults

There’s a new Star Wars book series, set in the High Republic era, a golden age in which the Republic and Jedi reign supreme, and it all starts with Light of the Jedi.

“We are all the Republic” is the message of unity Chancellor Lina Soh wants to send to her constituency. She has a variety of “Great Works” planned to improve life for all, starting with the installation of the Starlight Beacon, a space station in the outer rim, which will improve communication and provide security for some of the more remote territories in the galaxy.

But just as the Starlight is coming online, tragedy strikes, when a disaster occurs in Hyperspace. Luckily several Jedi Knights, like the powerful Avar Kriss, are on hand, to help with the rescue efforts. But who is responsible? Who threatens to end this era of peace and magnanimity? The Nihil, a gang of chaotic marauders, led by the mysterious Marchion Ro.

This book kicks off the High Republic series with all the action, adventure, and emotion Star Wars fans expect from the franchise. There are also High Republic books for children, young adults, and graphic novel readers if you just can’t get enough.

Find Light of the Jedi in our catalog.

The Guest List

by Leave a Comment

The Guest List by Lucy Foley
Format: Book
Who’s it for: Adults

On a rocky remote island off the coast of Ireland, guest gather at the most talked about wedding of the year. A top magazine editor and a TV heartthrob are going to be married, and everyone wants to attend the high profile and glamourous wedding. As the guests arrive from the mainland so do the secrets and the scandals. The perfect couple may not be as perfect as they appear and one by one the guests begin to reveal their troubling pasts with the bride and groom to be.

On a stormy night, as the guests toast with champagne, the power goes out and the guests are left in the dark. In the distance, a scream can be heard and a body is discovered. Suddenly, every guest has become a suspect, and it’s up to the reader to fit the clues together to find out who the killer is and why?

Reminiscent of an Agatha Christie novel, The Guest List is a true Whodunnit. Clues are given, secrets disclosed and the reader begins guessing who the killer is and what was the motive. The Guest List is a gripping and fun read with interesting characters against a dramatic, almost sinister, island backdrop. The Guest List is an irresistible and binge worthy suspense, just waiting to be checked out!  Find The Guest List in the catalog.

The Silent Patient

by Leave a Comment

The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides
Format: Book
Whose it for: Adults

Alicia and Gabriel Berenson lives seem perfect. She is a famous painter and he a top photographer. They are wealthy, beautiful and very much in love, yet one evening, Alicia kills Gabriel and then becomes selectively mute. The case becomes an instant sensation with everyone following it in the tabloids and wondering why she killed her husband and if she will ever speak again. Alicia is tried and convicted of murder and sent to a secure mental facility where she eventually meets Theo Faber. Theo is a psychotherapist who takes Alicia as a patient and becomes obsessed with getting her to speak and finding answers to the crime. Theo has clues to Alicia’s thoughts through her art work and uses it to unlock the mystery of that fateful night.

The Silent Patient is a dark and gripping thriller that hooks the reader and doesn’t let go until the remarkable ending. Find The Silent Patient in the catalog.

Gods of Jade and Shadow

by Leave a Comment

Gods of Jade and Shadow by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
Format: Book
Who it’s for: Adults

Trapped in domestic drudgery in a small town in Yucatán, Mexico, Casiopeia Tun lives at the mercy of her wealthy and tyrannical grandfather, Cirilo. Despite her mother’s urging to keep her head down and do whatever their relatives might command, willful Casiopeia still has moments of quiet rebellion. These moments oftentimes attract the ire of her arrogant cousin, Martín, but Casiopeia is practical and does her best to not let him get under her skin. The unfairness of her life is not lost on her, though. She knows she was born under a rotten star, but in secret Casiopeia continues to dream of another life. A life of her own choosing.

In a small moment of defiance, Casiopeia goes through her grandfather’s things while the rest of the family is out. She expects to find hidden treasures in a wooden trunk, but instead she accidentally frees Mayan death God Hun-Kamé, Lord of Xibalba (the Mayan Underworld). Freeing him from his imprisonment binds Casiopeia and Hun-Kamé, their fates intertwined. Casiopeia agrees to help him take revenge on his twin brother and reclaim his throne. What other choice does she really have? This journey could give her a new life. It could also be her undoing. Either way, she will escape the life she’d been given.

Gods of Jade and Shadow promises Mayan Gods in 1920s Jazz Era Mexico, but also offers a magical fairytale inspired by Mexican folklore, a journey of self-discovery, slow burn romance, political and social commentary, and meditations on power, duality, freedom, and death.

Find Gods of Jade and Shadow in the catalog here!

The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma

by Leave a Comment

The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma by Bessel A. van der Kolk, M.D.
Format: Book
Who it’s for: Adults

Trauma has the power to change a person’s worldview and relationships, and even their brain. Yet, there are strategies that we can take to heal from trauma and use it to grow.

In the book The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma by psychiatrist Bessel A. van der Kolk, readers will gain knowledge on psychological trauma—including its symptoms, how it affects the mind, and how a person can recover from it. This book will be of particular interest to individuals who are passionate about health and well-being, especially those who are curious about post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and/or mental health in general. Drawing from the genres of scientific nonfiction and self-help, The Body Keeps the Score is a unique and thought-provoking read.

Find The Body Keeps the Score in the catalog.

The Last Thing He Told Me

by Leave a Comment

The Last Thing He Told Me by Laura Dave
Format: Book
Whose it for: Adults

Hold on to your hat…this is a quick binge reading book if ever there was one! The Last Thing He Told Me begins with Hannah Hall waiting for her husband, Owen, to return from work. As she’s making dinner she hears a knock at her door and a young girl from the school where Owen teaches hands her a note from Owen. The note says “PROTECT HER”. Hannah immediately knows that the ‘her’ she needs to protect is Owen’s teenage daughter Bailey, her step daughter.  Hannah and Bailey have always had a difficult relationship and Bailey barely acknowledges Hannah, but Hannah loves Bailey and loves Owen that she must figure this out and try to protect her family. Hannah doesn’t know where her husband is, if he will ever return or why Bailey needs protecting. As Hannah asks questions and traces Owen’s past, she begins to discover that Owen was not the man she thought she knew. She also begins to believe that she may never see her husband again, and the future they dreamed about may never happen. Hannah must build a new life for her and for Bailey and at all costs, protect Bailey as Owen asked.

The Last Thing He Told Me is a thrilling fast paced mystery about intricate lies, fake identities and complex family relationships. Beware, The Last Thing He Told Me grabs you from the first page and is hard to put down so, prepare to devour it in one or two sittings!

Find The Last Thing He Told Me in the catalog.