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Murder

In Cold Blood

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In Cold Blood by Truman Capote
Format: Digital Audio and CD
Who’s it for: Adults

In Cold Blood is a non-fiction novel detailing the four 1959 murders of the Clutter family in their home. The tragic event took place in Holcomb, Kansas in the early morning hours of November 15, 1959.

It took authorities six weeks find and arrest the felons.

Capote and his good friend and writer Harper Lee traveled to Holcomb to interview the town, residents and investigators of the case.

It took Capote six years of detailed, extensive research to write the book describing the lives of the murderers and the victim’s.

The murderers were two ex-convicts who had been recently paroled from the Kansas State Penitentiary. Richard Eugene “Dick” Hickock and Perry Edward Smith. They robbed and murdered Herb, his wife Bonnie, his son Keyon and daughter Nancy.

The novel chronicles the lives of the murderers, family and surrounding community members, providing an in depth look at what they were thinking and feeling.

Hickcock and Smith spent five years on death row and were finally executed by hanging on April 14, 1965. The jury only deliberated for 45 minutes before finding them both guilty.

Find In Cold Blood in the catalog.

One by One by Ruth Ware

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Title: One by One by Ruth Ware
Format: Book or eBook
Who’s It For: Adults

Liz wasn’t sure of what to make of a snow weekend retreat with ex-coworkers from “Snoop,” creators of an app to follow the music tastes of celebrities. Why would they include her? She wasn’t one of the bright and beautiful movers and shakers. Could it be because she was a shareholder? What did they want from her?

Erin and Danny were preparing the French Alps chalet for the scheduled Snoop guests. Erin cleaned while Danny cooked. Even though her brother and boyfriend were killed in an avalanche, Erin had to return to work at the chalet. She had to face her fears.

In spite of awkward clashes and an unexpected business proposition among the Snoop retreaters, Liz and Erin each manage with their own personal challenges. Yet when members of the party begin disappearing one by one after an avalanche, who could be responsible?

Sounds intriguing, right?  Read all about it here.

The Late Show

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The Late Show by Michael Connelly
Overdrive Audiobook
Narrated by Katherine Moennig
Who it’s for:  Adults

Fans of Michael Connelly’s Harry Bosch Mysteries, will love this book.  The Late Show is the first in Connelly’s new series called the Renee Ballard Novels.

After filing a sexual harassment complaint against her supervisor, LAPD Detective Renee Ballard has been reassigned to the night shift.  Protocol requires her to give her cases to the day shift each morning.  But two new cases, the death of a young woman in a nightclub and the brutal beating of a prostitute left for dead in parking lot, have her so intrigued she refuses to pass them on.

While secretly searching for justice for these two victims, against her partner’s wishes and department orders, Renee Ballard finds her courage, determination, and intuition tested.  Her career and her life are on the line.  As fear mounts and the cases become more intriguing, Harry Bosch, who never seems too far removed from the most notorious cases of the LAPD, steps in to assist.
Find it on Overdrive

Elementary

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Recommended Series

Series Title: Elementary by CBS Television Studios
First Book: Elementary Season One
Who it’s for: [Teens, Adults,]

“Sherlock Holmes (Jonny Lee Miller) is a recovering addict who meets Joan Watson (Lucy Lui) as his ‘sober companion’. Initially their relationship is strictly professional, and somewhat frosty, but they grow to understand and work with one another, eventually forming a friendship and partnership. Together they assist Captain Gregson and Detective Bell of the NYPD, where Holmes’ observational abilities and deductive talent unravel a series of complicated cases. Alongside his police work, Sherlock struggles with a past he left behind in London involving an ex-girlfriend Irene Adler, a ‘nemesis’ in Moriarty, and an absent father.”– IMDb

While I as waiting for the BBC’s Sherlock to release some more mini movies, I was told about this show. The concept intrigued me- recovering addict, NYC, and Dr. Watson as a woman. In addition, I liked the lead actors from their previous work.

Elementary did not disappoint. The episodes were the typical one-hour mystery murder show. Even though they were not buddy-buddy and there was absolutely no sexual tension between Sherlock and Watson, I really liked their comradery. They also had great comradery with the police Captain Greggson, played by veteran actor Aidan Quinn, and their assigned police liaison, Detective Marcus Bell.

I would recommend this to people who like episodic buddy-cop-mystery shows with real backstories and character arcs that run throughout the seasons.

Click to Request Season 1-6 on DVD!

P.S. Apparently, Season 7 started on May 23, 2019.  I cannot vouch for it. I thought Season 6 ended the series pretty well.

A Simple Favor

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A Simple Favor
Format: DVD
Who’s It For: Adults

A Simple Favor is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a while. Best friends, secrets, danger, a dead body and the ever-revolving question of who is duping whom. It is so full of intriguing twists and turns! It leaves you guessing all the way to the end! Anna Kendrick, Blake Lively and Henry Golding are terrific in this film.

Based on the book “A Simple Favour” by Darcey Bell

Request your copy now!

My Sister, the Serial Killer

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Recommended Book
My Sister, the Serial Killer by  Oyinkan Braithwaite
Publication/Release Date: November 20, 2018
Format: Book or ebook
Who it’s for: Adults

Below is the publisher’s blurb. I’d suggest only reading this much of it. It gives away too much of the story, IMHO. I picked this book based solely on the cover, title, and the author’s name.

Satire meets slasher in this short, darkly funny hand grenade of a novel about a Nigerian woman whose younger sister has a very inconvenient habit of killing her boyfriends.

“Femi makes three, you know. Three and they label you a serial killer.”

Korede is bitter. How could she not be? Her sister, Ayoola, is many things: the favorite child, the beautiful one, possibly sociopathic. And now Ayoola’s third boyfriend in a row is dead. Korede’s practicality is the sisters’ saving grace. She knows the best solutions for cleaning. -Publisher’s blurb

I read an Advanced Review Copy ebook from NetGalley. We call them ARC’s. If you subscribe to different services or get on publishers’ lists, you can receive ARC’s of books to review before they are released. It’s pretty cool. (NetGalley is a site where book reviewers and other professional readers can read books before they are published, in e-galley or digital galley form. Members register for free and can request review copies or be invited to review by the publisher).

I am not sure how to comment on this without giving anything away. Basically, I really like it even though I don’t like any of the characters in the book. Although I can’t really tell they are in Africa, I was glad it was a novel written by an African woman.  I was disappointed about that part. This story reads like any other story of a place I have never been in the USA; except for a few words (that I hope will have definitions in the finished publication), the traffic police, and a mention of a chief. As I read, I thought they must be in Nigeria because that is where the author lives but I never could recall the name of the city. Since it’s a great character driven story, not much detail about the city/country where they live.

Korede is the older sister who enables Ayoola, her younger spoiled sister (as does the entire world cuz she is just that pretty). Right off the bat, I am not that sympathetic to either of the sisters. Korede cuz she complains bitterly about Ayoola but says nothing and keeps enabling.  Ayoola cuz she is a killer and a spoiled brat. Yet I really liked this book. It was quite thrilling in some parts and the other parts were equally fascinating.  I did read parts out of order. The chapters titled Father intrigued me. I had a theory about his death and wanted to see if I was correct. I also read ahead because I wanted to know if Ayoola killed Korede’s crush. It’s a short read so I had already read a third of the book by the time I skipped around. It was a great, fun read. I hope she writes more and that they get published/released in the USA as well.

Find this thriller here