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A Deadly Education

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A Deadly Education by Naomi Novik
Format: Book, ebook, audiobook
Who is it For: Adults

“In Wisdom, Shelter.” The official motto of the Scholomance, a giant, foreboding school for young wizards and witches. In the Scholomance, failure means death—or at the very least, lots of pain—as the school constantly throws all manner of hungry beasts and spirits at its students. Having allies watching your backs – as even a tray of scrambled eggs can be deadly – is a must, but making friends is rather hard to do when a dark prophecy is looming over your head and everyone brands you as a creepy outcast. Lacking any such friends and specializing in city-flattening magic, Galadriel Higgins has had to fight and strategize for her spot in the school more than most; for if she let loose, even a little, there would be dire consequences. To make matters worse, the entire school seems to think she has taken up with Orion Lake, the shining hero of the junior class, because he inadvertently saved her on a few occasions. How is she supposed to become dark empress of the world, if she keeps having to be saved?

This book has been one of my favorites this year! If Hogwarts took a page from the Hunger Games, you would end up with the Scholomance. This book is dark and gritty and the hard-core, survival mindset of the students is totally different from the typical fantasy settings. I thought Novik had some compelling ideas about how both wizards and the mundane interact with magic. I am very excited to read the next book in the series.

Find A Deadly Education in the catalog.

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!

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.

The Ruins

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The Ruins by Scott Smith
Format: Book
Who it’s for: Adults

Two young couples decide to take a trip to Mexico.  The group enjoyed the beach, hotel, and making friends with fellow tourists when the brother of one of the couples goes missing.   The group ultimately decides to go searching for the missing brother.  Trekking through the Mexican jungle, the group stumbles upon a village which is only the beginning of the creeping horror; they endure throughout the story.  What started as an exciting day-trip gradually spirals into a terrifying nightmare when they find the remains of an ancient ruins site… and the disturbing presence that lurks there.

Find The Ruins in the catalog

The Woman on the Orient Express

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The Woman on the Orient Express by Lyndsay Jayne Ashford
Format: Book
Who’s It For: Adults

Agatha Christie didn’t want to be around for her husband’s wedding.  Make that her ex-husband’s second wedding.  So, under the alias of “Mary Miller,” Agatha boarded the Orient Express bound for Baghdad.  On the train, she shared a compartment with beautiful yet controlling Katharine Keeling.  Agatha also encountered archaeologist Max Mallowan.  Max mysteriously requested that Agatha not disclose his presence to Katharine.  Agatha befriended Nancy Nelson on board too.   Agatha, realizing that Nancy was pregnant and alone, hired Nancy to be her secretary during their time in Mesopotamia.  While grieving the end of her marriage, Agatha drew closer to Katharine and Nancy.  And she explored exotic Baghdad in the delightful company of Max. 

The Woman on the Orient Express is a wonderful escape-read.  While the protagonist Agatha is taking a break from her troubles in England, the reader travels through her eyes to a far-flung locale.  While the story is not a mystery per se, it is suspenseful.  Moreover, the author interwove fact with fiction.  Archie Christie did divorce his wife for another woman.  Agatha Christie truly mourned the end of her marriage.  Katharine Keeling was based on the historical person of Katharine Woolley, nurse and archaeologist.  In fact, Agatha Christie did travel on the Orient Express and tour the archaeological dig in Ur with Mr. and Mrs. Woolley.  Indeed, at the dig she met and later married archaeologist Max Mallowan.

If you’re as big of a fan of Agatha Christie’s mysteries as I am, this book is for you.

And you can find it in the catalog right here.

Fatale

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Fatale
Format: DVD
Who it’s for: Adults

This thriller will keep you on the edge of your seat from the beginning to the end! Do you know that a night of fun can become the worst mistake that you have ever made? A sports agent who suspects his wife is unfaithful is encouraged by his friend to have a one-night stand. This night of pleasure leads to dangerous consequences. He becomes a victim of betrayal, from the people that he adores the most. Not only does the lady that he had the wild night with turn out to be a detective, she has various issues of her own! If you enjoy provocative and suspenseful, psychological thrillers, you should watch this movie!

Find it in the Catalog