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Mystery

Old Bones

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Old Bones by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child
Format:  book
Who it’s For:  Adults

The handsome Historian, Clive Benton, contacts Nora Kelly, a successful archaeologist, to lead an excursion unlike any other. Clive begins his story containing the Donner Party. Benton explains he has found a diary that contains information on the “Lost Camp” and its location.

Fascinated by the Donner Party, Nora agrees and they travel into the Sierra Nevada in pursuit of the camp. They learn that the excavation of the lost camp, is just the beginning, and the fact behind those pioneers is not only far more complex than they could have believed, but it puts them both at risk from a very real threat in which the hunt for the lost party and its legendary treasure are simply means to a disturbing end.

Find Old Bones in the catalog!

The Total Eclipse of Nestor Lopez

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The Total Eclipse of Nestor Lopez, by Adrianna Cuevas
Format: Book
Who is it For: Kids

The Total Eclipse of Nestor Lopez is an honor for the 2021 Pura Belpré Award in the Children’s Author category. First established in 1996, the Belpré Award is presented to a Latino/Latina writer and illustrator whose work best portrays, affirms, and celebrates the Latino cultural experience in an outstanding work of literature for children and youth.

Nestor, a young boy who has moved to a new town, must not only navigate going to a new school and having a father deployed overseas, but he also struggles to keep his gift of talking to animals a secret. But as animals start disappearing in the woods around his house, Nestor finds himself trying to uncover the truth behind a mysterious creature and put a stop to it before it’s too late.

Adrianna Cuevas draws on Panamanian and Costa Rican myths to present to a thrilling adventure for young readers.

Find The Total Eclipse of Nestor Lopez in the catalog.

Rabbits

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Rabbits by Terry Miles
Format: Book
Who it’s for: Adults

There’s a game being played – an ancient and dangerous game – but the vast majority of us have no idea it exists. If you’ve ever noticed a strange coincidence – you check your clock twice in a day, and both times it’s 4:44 – or a discrepancy – you see a famous work of art in a museum, but were sure the house in the painting had 2 windows, not 3 – you probably experienced a brief moment of déjà vu, maybe the Mandela effect, then moved on with your life. People who obsess over these connections, and investigate these conspiracies, are playing the game, which is called Rabbits.

K is one of these people. In fact, K’s a bit of an expert on Rabbits, which is played in numbered iterations. K’s approached by mysterious billionaire Alan Scarpio, rumored winner of the sixth iteration. Scarpio tells K there’s a problem with the game, they need to fix it, and the world as we know it is at stake if they can’t. Within the next few days Scarpio is reported missing, and K is thrust deep into the latest iteration of the increasingly deadly game of Rabbits. Follow the clues to save the world with K in this unique and fast-paced thriller.

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Ararat

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Ararat by Christopher Golden
Format:  Book
Who it’s For:  Adults

After a huge avalanche forces Adam Holzer and Meryam Karga, a couple climbing Mount Ararat, to hunt for shelter in one of the mountain’s caves, they stumble upon what they believe to be Noah’s Ark. Thrilled by their finding, the couple visions of turning their luck into a best-selling biography. Inside the ark is a great coffin that rapidly becomes the primary interest of the crew. Speculating who might be inside, with theories stretching from Noah himself to other biblical figures–the crew, after a passing disagreement, makes the choice to break open the coffin. But instead of discovering Noah, a horrible, evil-looking, horned cadaver rests inside.

What could go wrong?

Quite a lot. Particularly when an invading strangeness runs its nails down everybody’s back; when the crew turns abnormally malicious, needy, or fearful. When the crew awakens screaming, mysteriously overwhelmed by long-buried childhood terrors. When people disappear.

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The Mysterious Benedict Society

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The Mysterious Benedict Society by Trenton Lee Stewart
Format: Book
Who it’s for: kids, everyone

The Mysterious Benedict Society follows four children – Reynie, Kate, Sticky, and Constance – as they join Mr. Benedict’s secret organization in an effort to defeat evil. After completing tests and solving puzzles, the four unlikely friends are brought together in an effort to solve the mysteries plaguing their little town. Why are people disappearing? What’s going on at the Learning Institute? Follow the adventures of these four unlikely friends as they work together to solve the mysteries.

This book was enjoyable from beginning to end! It was quick-paced with lots of little twists and turns and a strong found-family theme. While this is a children’s book, I’d recommend it for anyone of any age. If you like mysteries, I recommend giving this book a try!

The Mysterious Benedict Society is the first in the series, and has also been made into a TV show on Disney+.

Find The Mysterious Benedict Society in our catalog! 

The Darkwater Saga

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Recommended Series
Series Title: Darkwater Saga by Patrick W. Carr
First Book: The Shock of Night
Who it’s for: Teens & Adults

Brief Synopsis: A clean (no sex, gore, or swearing) medieval fantasy mystery with twists & turns, warring religions, gifted peoples, secret societies, battles between forces of good & evil, and complex characters that make one feel all the emotions set in one epic story told in 4 parts.

Review: The Darkwater Saga takes place in the fictional kingdom of Collum. Our hero is Willet Dura, a reeve, aka the King’s investigator. He fell in love with a Lady of the realm; so as a favor the King has made Willet a Lord; now they may marry. Willet is not a well-respected Lord or noble since he was not born to it and works a regular job. Willet is also looked down on and basically thought to be a little crazy because he survived a night in the Darkwater Woods. Everybody knows folks die or come out insane after a night in the Darkwater. 😬😨😱 Willet is even more suspect because he cannot remember his time in the Darkwater. Despite these difficulties, Lord Willet Dura is content as a typical working man.

Now the fantasy aspect comes in to play because in Collum there are people who are gifted. After Willet’s time in the Darkwater, he sometimes wakes up with blood on his clothes and no memory of how it got there. All Willet knows is that there is sure to have been a murder. A great thing for an investigator but is it a gift or a curse?

If one starts with book 1, The Shock of Night, many aspects of this world are not fully explained until almost the end of the book. I believe the author, Patrick W. Carr, wrote the free prequel, By Divine Right because some readers wanted more world building before they jumped right into the adventure. I learned about the prequel after reading book 1. The prequel is available on most major ebook platforms for free!😁👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾

In Collum, there are folks that are gifted. They are the upper class in society. Gifts of uncanny physical strength, music, mental ability, and other talents can be passed down in families. A relative typically inherits gifts but sometimes they go to an apprentice. The gifted can give it to them before they die. Most gifted train their successors so they know how to use their gift properly. Sometimes gifts can “go rogue” when the gifted person is unable to pass it on their appointed successor. That is what happens to our hero, Lord Willet Dura in The Shock of Night.  Willet wakes up with mystery blood on his clothes and knows he will be investigating a murder. For the first time, Willet finds the victim still alive. The stranger lives just long enough to pass his gift to Willet.  A gift that comes with additional responsibilities which Willet soon discovers he would rather not have. The dying man belonged to a group called the Vigil. The Vigil is a group of gifted individuals who seek to vanquish the evil in their world. They are like magical Navy Seals or very limited in power X-men.  Willet does not like this whatsoever but he has a mystery to solve. 🕵️‍♂️

Thus begins the epic adventure of Lord Willet Dura saving the kingdom of Collum from evil. There are many heartaches. At times, it seems like all hope is lost but good does triumph…eventually. Many battles against evil forces will ensue. Some characters will die or be seriously injured. All of them will have injuries to their soul. Miracles will happen. Revelations will be brought to light. Many (unlikely) lifelong friendships will be formed as Willet is joined/joins others to fight the evil that is trying to engulf the kingdom of Collum. They do win in the end. But every win was hard won with blood, sweat, and tears aplenty.😫😭

If you read Sharon Kay Penman’s 4 book series of medieval mysteries featuring Justin de Quincey as the investigator, you will like Lord Willet Dura and his investigative style. If you enjoyed the Lord of the Rings movies, you will enjoy the medieval adventure, magical happenings, and teamwork found in this series.  I read this series because I liked his Sword and the Staff series. While looking for something similar to Stephen R. Lawhead, I discovered Patrick W.Carr under the tag of Christian fantasy. A Christian publisher, Baker, publishes Carr’s books but neither of his series are what I think of as Christian fiction. Carr’s books are clean and have few things in them that might offend a Christian but are definitely not what I would classify as a Christian fantasy novel like say C.S. Lewis. I recommend the series to teens and adults that can handle violence, character deaths, and hard emotions. None of the books are standalones.  All the novels pickup right where one book ends. Luckily, the series is finished and no need to wait a year or more for the rest of the story.🎉😀

Patrick W. Carr’s Darkwater Saga is available on Hoopla!