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Mystery

Every Heart a Doorway

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Every Heart a Doorway by Seanan McGuire
Format: Book
Who it’s for: Adults, Teens

There are a lot of stories about children unexpectedly finding doorways to other worlds, like Alice in Wonderland, or the Chronicles of Narnia. There are also a lot of stories, sad stories in the news occasionally, about children who disappear without a trace, never to be seen again. What if there was a correlation between these stories? What if children really were stumbling through magical doorways all the time? What if some never return from those worlds, and those that do come back with such fantastic tales, they can only be accepted as fiction?

For those who return from their magical lands, our world, the “real” world, is difficult to re-acclimate to, and for them there is a special school, Eleanor West’s Home for Wayward Children, where they can process what happened to them. This is where 17 year old Nancy Whitman finds herself upon returning from the Halls of the Dead. She longs to go back, where the Lord and Lady of the Dead rule over their underworld wisely and justly, while she serves them stilly and silently. She’s not alone in hoping to one day find another doorway leading back “home.” Though Nancy’s found kindred spirits at her new school, all is not well, and when a fellow student turns up dead, an incredible mystery begins to unfold.

I would recommend this to adult or teen readers interested in fantasy, horror, or mystery, but preferably all three, and if you like it, there are more books in the “Wayward Children” series. See Every Heart a Doorway in our catalog.

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.

The Boy

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The Boy by Tami Hoag
Format: Audiobook – read by Hillary Huber
Who’s It For:  Adults

This is a twisted, tangled and unthinkable story.  A seven-year old boy is found stabbed to death in his own bed.  As if that isn’t bad enough, the inexplicable situation is compounded when his 12-year old babysitter vanishes.  It seems there are suspects everywhere.  Did his own Mom kill him?  She said she was just down the hall from her little boy and tried to get to him to help, but couldn’t get there in time – why was she left alive?  Where is his babysitter?  Did the babysitter kill him?  Who is his Father?  Did he kill him?  What about the next door neighbor drug dealer?  Did he do it?

The husband and wife detective team of Nick Fourcade and Annie Broussard have their work cut out for them trying to decipher the truth and find the real killer in their small town of Bayou Breaux. Find it in the catalog

The Lamb Will Slaughter the Lion

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The Lamb Will Slaughter the Lion by Margaret Killjoy
Format: Book
Who it’s for: Adults

Danielle Cain’s best friend has suddenly, and without explanation, killed himself. She’s distraught, and she wants answers. She travels to her friend’s last known whereabouts: Freedom, Iowa, to discover a commune of individuals like herself: free spirits, artists, outcasts, punks… and spell casters?

It appears the residents of Freedom have summoned an otherworldly being, a red deer with three antlers, to protect their home, but now it’s turned upon them, with deadly consequences. Magic is real, people are in danger, and somewhere in all of this may lie the answers to Danielle’s questions about her friend’s suicide.

This book is filled with mystery, suspense, and interesting characters. I found it intriguing and difficult to put down, having never read anything like it before. I recommend it to adult or mature teen readers who are looking for something unique to read, and if you like it there is a sequel! Find this book in our catalog

The English Patient

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The English Patient by Michael Ondaatje
Format: Book
Who’s it for: Adults

Ondaatje’s novel is a poetic intersection of four stranger’s lives during their stay in an abandoned Italian villa at the end of World War II. There is Hana–the nurse, Caravaggio–the handless thief, Kip–the bomb defuser, and the English patient–the mysterious, bedridden man with severe burns covering the entirety of his body. With a slow and eloquent pace, the book gives each character the time to recount and process their lives and identities during the war. All the while, the mystery of the English patient unravels in the form of fragmented and feverish memories that conclude in a tragic tale of love and loss. What is revealed through their stories speaks to the complexity of identity, “otherness,” and the global consequences of war on cultural and geographical borders.

What I love about this book is how four perfect strangers come to realize that they, as people of the world, share “communal histories” and those cultural borders that suggest otherwise are meaningless in the face of loss. Their self identities, which were previously described in terms of nationalities, become blurred and then reactualized in the presence of the English patient–who is both literally and figuratively someone whose identity has been burned away from his very being. Ondaatje’s book is a deep reflection of the shared human experience and the tragedies of war.

Find it in our catalog.

The House of Special Purpose

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The House of Special Purpose by John Boyne
Format: Audiobook
Who it’s for:  Adults

The House of Special Purpose is an historical novel set in the early to mid-20th century.  Georgy Jachmenev is an old man reminiscing on his former life when he was a youth in Russia.  He lives with his wife Zoya in England.  Georgy’s father, a tenant farmer, is inexplicably abusive to him.  As a teen, Georgy is witness to an event that takes place which precipitates his move to Saint Petersburg, the palace of the czar.  Czar Nicholas II and his wife, Empress Alexandra, have four daughters and a son.  Georgy is brought to the palace to live with the royal family as a companion to the son, young Alexei who was born with hemophilia.  He requires strict governance to prevent injury that could cause internal bleeding.  The story is set in the 1970’s but flashes back to the early 1900’s in Russia.  In the end, the true meaning of the house of special purpose is revealed.

The story is narrated by award-winning Stephan Rudnicki who does an excellent job speaking with a Russian accent.

Find it in our catalog