Fans of Patricia Cornwell’s books will not be disappointed with this nineteenth installment of the “Kay Scarpetta” series. Scarpetta visits the Georgia Prison for Women to visit an inmate. Something feels off about the visit right from the beginning, but she pushes forward with the plan, hoping to gain some insight into her former deputy chief’s death several months before. This visit sets off a chain of events that reveal links to several seemingly unrelated deaths, as well as a plot to frame Scarpetta as a murderer. The usual cast of characters is back as Scarpetta works to discover the source of the deaths and clear her name. Sit back and invest some time in the characters of this popular medical thriller series.

Reviewed by Christine B., South County Regional

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What do you do when you’re seventeen, banished from your best friends for the summer, and stuck in a tiny flat full of books on fungi with your mother? If you’re Catherine, you start a blog on the eccentricities of Londoners. Full of accurate observations of English foibles, where being a stone’s throw from Regent’s Park means a lucky shot-putter’s throw, the narrator takes us on a light summertime adventure through the London where she’s landed for the summer. This is a great and fun beach read for anyone who’s ever desired to have her own Prince William, British accent included, please!

Reviewed by Lindsey A., University City Regional

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Imagine being a young woman in the male-oriented world of Wall Street! Alex Garrett is twenty four years old and has snagged a coveted analyst position at a top brokerage firm. Smart and motivated, she is determined to make her mark in her prestigious workplace and fulfill a lifetime career goal. Alex does what it takes to keep her job but against the advice of her boss, Alex begins an interoffice romance with an attractive coworker, Will. Written in a fun, first person voice, relish Alex’s adventures in her personal and professional life. If you would enjoy a sassy, feminine, insider account of life as it was on Wall Street, you’re certain to like this novel.

Reviewed by Linda O., University City Regional

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We know the Battle of Bunker Hill was actually fought on Breed’s Hill (and that’s where the Bunker Hill Monument is). However, as Paul Lockhart points out, a lot of what we know is actually folklore passed down as fact. Both armies were inexperienced: the British units had not seen active service since 1763 and were full of new recruits, and the Colonials were something closer to an armed mob organized by home town and with a rank structure of sorts. No, the British did not deliberately march straight up the hill to meet a wall of fire from the waiting Colonials, not at first. As for who said “Don’t fire,” etc. well, it wasn’t General Putnam.

Reviewed by John C., Main Library

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Once again we are in the summer of 1863 and two armies meet at a crossroads in Pennsylvania at a place neither wanted to be. As the three day battle unfolds, we follow the fates of two regiments both numbered 26th from North Carolina and Wisconsin. Both will be used up by the third day. The usual big characters are there fighting the enemy and quarreling with each other. Maj. Gen. Meade gets a fairer treatment here than in Michael Shaara`s `Killer Angels.` Peters acknowledges the place Shaara`s work holds in this genre but reminds us that the battle is large enough to provide many novelists material for their work. This reviewer, a former redleg, was happy to see General Henry Hunt and his artillery men get their due.

Reviewed by John C., Main Library

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While humor about bodily functions is only marginally amusing, award-winning comedian, blogger, and geek girl social commentator, Sara Benincasa, uses self-effacing style and wit to describe quirky episodes in her memoir, “Agorafabulous.” From Boston College to Asheville, and back to NYC via Texas, Sara throws search lights into the darkest corners of her psychological escapades, and heals herself by poking fun at all of them—along with modern pharmaceuticals— for our entertainment. Whether she’s using Le Creuset bowls to avoid the bathroom or diplomatically managing dramatic faux-gurus or a 9th grader on Viagra, she describes her freak-outs with amazing clarity. This first memoir is carnival sideshow midway from a talent to watch.

Reviewed by Lydia T., Main Library

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In this Maryland based drama, KoKo is scandalous with a capital “S.” She is always out for herself and doesn’t mind stepping on, or over, others to get whatever, and whomever, she wants. She feels she is god’s gift to the world and that no other woman is worthy of her status. Starting a secret affair with her best friend’s son Rayshawn is no biggie for this diva. He has no problem sleeping with her daughter or the accountant at the magazine where both he and KoKo work. When info starts seeping through the cracks, you will be left in utter disbelief of the secrets that are revealed! So if you like jaw dropping, devious drama then this book is definitely for you.

Reviewed by Candy H., Beatties Ford Road Branch

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One simply cannot imagine the purely alien nature of the Others. Though they can destroy entire planets and solar systems on nothing more than a whim with less than a snap of whatever they possess instead of fingers; they are reduced to creating eerie (think zombies) avatars whenever they wish to communicate with earthlings. What they wish to communicate, however, is one simple commandment: earthlings may not travel space. Earthlings, however, are stubborn and determined to find a way to the stars. The Others respond by turning the electricity off, plunging Earth into a sudden dark age to end this excellent but disturbing trilogy.

Reviewed by Jim B., Main Library

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Acclaimed mystery writer P.D. James shares her affection and admiration for Jane Austen in this novel set in the post `Pride & Prejudice` world of Darcy and Elizabeth, Jane and Bingley, and Lydia and George Wickham. An important new character is introduced: Henry Alveston, an attorney and an engaging suitor for Georgiana Darcy. Yet life at Pemberly is informed by class: its restraints and responsibilities. When Wickham is accused of murder all are threatened and Darcy cannot abandon his brother-in-law in the past. Austen devotees will applaud the effort, and find especially enjoyable the small, subtle asides that bring other Austen heroines into this mystery novel of manners.

Reviewed by Rita L., Independence Regional

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Anastasia Steele (Ana) is graduating from college, moving to Seattle with her best friend, and starting her very first relationship. The suitor is a handsome man of means and wants to give her the world, only he`s not that romantic at all. She is completely taken off guard by his affections and is confused as to whether to continue a completely physical relationship with a man who embraces a different world than she has ever known. While she wrestles with that dilemma, she has to contend with her male best friend who is in love with her, while she only wants to be friends. Ana becomes wrapped up in a world of sexual experimentation that threatens her innocence and her sanity.

Reviewed by Angel T., Beatties Ford Road Branch

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Reader's comments about this book

This book was unexpected to say the least. I was skeptical at first, but it`s a must read.
-Jessica, Charlotte, NC

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