As an Amazon Associate we earn commissions from qualifying purchases.
THE SEDLEIGH HALL MURDER (Eric Ward Mystery Book 1) (affiliate link)
A SUSPICIOUS DEATH AND A LARGE INHERITANCE WITHOUT ANYONE TO RECEIVE IT.
Eric Ward thinks there is something odd about Arthur Egan’s life and death. But Ward is a former police inspector, and trained to be suspicious.
Egan left a large sum. But Ward makes no progress tracing the dead man’s offspring. A photograph of an unknown tombstone is his only clue.
He discovers Egan served a term for manslaughter, and that the evidence against him may have been planted. Why had he accepted his fate so meekly?
Despite warnings that he is wasting the firm’s time, Ward persists in his investigations.
AND HIS PERSISTENCE LEADS TO MURDER.
And by the time he realizes why, he finds his life and career are both at risk.
SHATTERED JUSTICE: Solomon vs. Lord, The Deep Blue Alibi, To Speak for the Dead, and Illegal (affiliate link)
#1 BESTSELLING AUTHOR PAUL LEVINE’S GREATEST LEGAL THRILLERS
SOLOMON vs. LORD introduced Steve Solomon and Victoria Lord, squabbling lawyers who could end up in court, in jail…or in bed. The novel was nominated for the James Thurber Humor Prize and the Macavity Mystery Award.
“One of the best legal thrillers of the 21st Century.” – Best Thrillers
THE DEEP BLUE ALIBI takes Solomon and Lord deep into a murder case in the Florida Keys and was nominated for the Edgar Allan Poe Award.
“Mix Grisham’s legal expertise with Hiaasen’s humor and Lee Child’s action, and you’ve got Levine’s sizzling ALIBI.” – Fresh Fiction
TO SPEAK FOR THE DEAD, a two-million copy bestseller, introduced Jake Lassiter, the linebacker-turned-lawyer in Miami’s murder trial of the century.
Dread and Butter (Apple Orchard Cozy Mystery Book 9) (affiliate link)
Fresh bread. Worth dying for.
Bread as a murder weapon…
…it’s the most atrocious thing Chelsea has ever heard. But in this case, Miss May’s delicious sour dough loaf is used for evil rather than good. So the murder weapon points back to our favorite amateur sleuth, which means Chelsea and Miss May need to solve this murder as fast as possible.
Chelsea has always been scared of too many carbs, but this is worse than she ever imagined, and she’s terrified that if she and Miss May don’t get to the bottom of this investigation soon, they could finally be imprisoned for a crime they didn’t commit.
Good detectives follow every clue.
Three Fiddles: A Novel (affiliate link)
When sisters Kate, Alice, and Emma fly in from different parts of the country to their grandfather’s funeral they are expecting to grieve, sure, but at least they get to see each other. What they aren’t expecting is to each have their lives – which they are perfectly content with, thank you very much – picked apart so easily by the seemingly innocent questions of relatives.
Mother of four boys, Kate has let her dreams go in favor of giving all of herself to her children. Stuck in a relationship going nowhere, Alice has ignored the fact that her boyfriend does not want the same life she does. And trying to be a responsible adult, Emma has settled for a depressing job in the misplaced hope that it will lead to a life of adventure.
They move – sometimes by choice, sometimes by necessity, sometimes by chance – toward becoming the women they lost along the way. But shaking up their lives means shaking up the foundational relationships they have with one another.
Ascendant (The Bloodcrier Duology Book 1) (affiliate link)
IN A WORLD WHERE THOUGHTS CAN’T BE HIDDEN, NO ONE IS SAFE.
Michael Cairne never asked to be born, especially not with a dangerous psychic ability that would manifest during puberty and turn him into a freak. Born in a military research facility, he would have grown up in a cage had his mother not sacrificed her life to smuggle him out. Now capable of dominating minds telepathically, he is also prone to “episodes” in which he becomes unstable, causing psychic harm to those around him.
The tyrant who designed his brain to be a weapon of mass destruction wants him back. Finding himself on the run from shady government agents, Michael doesn’t know who to trust. The military wants to dissect him; a rag-tag group of rebels wants to train him; a beautiful girl named Arielle wants to save him; and the other outcasts in his new home – a hidden mountain community in the post-nuclear ruins of Colorado – think he’s a killer who will never learn to control his dark side.
A Corpsman’s Legacy (affiliate link)
Adopted as a baby, Stephanie began a search for her biological parents without a clue as to where this journey would lead. Early on she discovered her birth father, Gary Norman Young, was killed in the Vietnam War before she was even born. Locating veterans from her father’s world revealed his duties as a Navy Corpsman assigned to the Marine Corps as a helicopter crewmember.
As the story unravels, the mystery of her father’s courage, bravery and finally his death, brings Stephanie in contact with thousands of Marines and their families, including those who died in the helicopter crash with her father. Her journey, itself, becomes a legacy that offers hope and healing to those touched by the tragedies of war while honoring the remarkable relationship that exists between the Marines and their Navy Corpsmen.
Dear Cyborgs: A Novel (affiliate link)
In a small Midwestern town, two Asian American boys bond over their outcast status and a mutual love of comic books. Meanwhile, in an alternative or perhaps future universe, a team of superheroes ponder modern society during their time off. Between black-ops missions and rescuing hostages, they swap stories of artistic malaise and muse on the seemingly inescapable grip of market economics.
Gleefully toying with the conventions of the novel, Dear Cyborgs weaves together the story of a friendship’s dissolution with a provocative and timely meditation on protest. Through a series of linked monologues, a lively cast of characters explores narratives of resistance—protest art, eco-terrorists, Occupy squatters, pyromaniacal militants—and the extent to which any of these can truly withstand and influence the cold demands of contemporary capitalism. All the while, a mysterious cybernetic book of clairvoyance beckons, and trusted allies start to disappear.
Moral Combat: Why the War on Violent Video Games Is Wrong (affiliate link)
In what sometimes seems like an increasingly violent world, it’s only natural to worry about the effects of all this pixelated gore. But is that concern misplaced? Authors and psychologists Patrick M. Markey and Christopher J. Ferguson say it is.
The media and politicians have been sounding the alarm for years, and with every fresh tragedy involving a young perpetrator comes another flurry of articles about the dangers of violent media. The problem is this: Their fear isn’t supported by the evidence. In fact, unlike the video game–trained murder machines depicted in the press, school shooters are actually less likely to be interested in violent games than their peers. In reality, most well-adjusted children and teenagers play violent video games, all without ever exhibiting violent behavior in real life. What’s more, spikes in sales of violent games actually correspond to decreased rates of violent crime.
Woolbuddies: 20 Irresistibly Simple Needle Felting Projects (affiliate link)
Wish Me Luck As You Wave Me Goodbye (The Redcliffe Sisters Book 1) (affiliate link)
In a period of irreversible change, the Redcliffe sisters face monumental love and loss that will stretch the bounds of sisterhood to their limits…
As the perils of World War II loom ever closer, Chiara is more interested in the joyful whirl of the season than matters of faith or ideology. But even her breezy innocence cannot survive the harsh lessons of heartbreak and war. Meanwhile older sister Isobel is forced to face her misguided Fascist political beliefs in Nazi Germany as the shocking realities of the regime hit home. And then there’s Felicity, the youngest and most introverted of the Redcliffe sisters, who is about to take her vows and enter the convent against her sisters’ wishes. But a chance meeting with an American soldier threatens the very foundations of her decision.
As each sister follows her own path, will their differences force them apart and take them beyond the realms of forgiveness?
Hamburger America: A State-By-State Guide to 200 Great Burger Joints (affiliate link)
The classic guide to America’s greatest hamburger eateries returns in a completely updated third edition–featuring 200 establishments where you can find the perfect regional burger and reclaim a precious slice of Americana.
America’s foremost hamburger expert George Motz has been back on the road to completely update and expand his classic book, spotlighting the nation’s best roadside stands, nostalgic diners, mom-n-pop shops, and college town favorites –capturing their rich histories and one-of-a-kind taste experiences. Whether you’re an armchair traveler, a serious connoisseur, or a curious adventurer, Hamburger America will inspire you to get on the road and get back to food that’s even more American than apple pie.
Happiness, as Such (affiliate link)
At the heart of Happiness, as Such is an absence—an abyss that pulls everyone to its brink—created by a family’s only son, Michele, who has fled from Italy to England to escape the dangers and threats of his radical political ties. This novel is part epistolary: his mother writes letters to him, nagging him; his sister Angelica writes, missing him; so does Mara, his former lover, telling him about the birth of her son who may be his own. Left to clean up Michele’s mess, his family and friends complain, commiserate, tease, and grieve, struggling valiantly with the small and large calamities of their interconnected lives.
Natalia Ginzburg’s most beloved book in Italy and one of her finest achievements, Happiness, as Such is an original, wise, raw, comic novel that cuts to the bone.
… See the rest of today ‘s Book Picks here on page 2Page 2