Author: Kiernan, Stephen P., author. Published: 2020 Call Number: F KIERNAN Format: Books Summary: "Graduating from Harvard at the height of World War II, brilliant mathematician Charlie Fish is assigned to the Manhattan Project. Working with some of the age's greatest scientific minds, including J. Robert Oppenheimer, Enrico Fermi, and Leo Szilard, Charlie is assigned the task of designing and building the detonator of the atomic bomb. As he performs that work Charlie suffers a crisis of conscience, which his wife, Brenda--unaware of the true nature of Charlie's top-secret task--mistakes as self-doubt. She urges him to set aside his qualms and continue. Once the bombs strike Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the feelings of culpability devastate him and Brenda. At the war's end, Charlie receives a scholarship to pursue a PhD in physics at Stanford--an opportunity he and Brenda hope will allow them a fresh start. But the past proves inescapable. All any of his new colleagues can talk about is the bomb, and what greater atomic weapons might be on the horizon. Haunted by guilt, Charlie and Brenda leave Stanford and decide to dedicate the rest of their lives to making amends for the evil he helped to birth into the world. Based on the life of the actual mathematician Charles B. Fisk."--Provided by publisher.
Author: Burke, James Lee, 1936- author. Published: 2020 Call Number: F BURKE Format: Books Summary: "On his way to visit an inmate at a Texas prison who has promised him information, Detective Dave Robicheaux stops off at an amusement park to watch a teenaged Elvis-like rock-and-roller from his hometown of New Iberia named Johnny Shondell playing to a crowd of swooming young girls. One of them is another New Iberia teenager named Isolde Balangie. The Shondell and Balangie families are longtime rivals in the New Iberia criminal underworld. Yet Johnny and Isolde are in love. And like Romeo and Juliet, Johnny and Isolde are being kept apart by their families. In fact, Isolde tells Robicheaux, her parents have given her to the Shondell patriarch to be used as a sex slave. Seeking to uncover why, Robicheaux gets too close to both Isolde's mother and her father's mistress. As retribution, the elder Balangie orders a mysterious assassin to go after Robicheaux and his longtime partner, Clete Purcell. Yet this is unlike any hitman Robicheaux has ever faced: he has the ability induce hallucinations and might be a time-traveling reptilian."--
Author: Emezi, Akwaeke, author. Published: 2020 Call Number: F EMEZI Format: Books Summary: "A tender, potent, and compulsively readable novel of a Nigerian-Indian family and the deeply held secret that tests their traditions and bonds"-- What does it mean for a family to lose a child they never really knew? One afternoon, in a town in southeastern Nigeria, a mother opens her front door to discover her son's body, wrapped in colorful fabric, at her feet. What follows is the tumultuous, heart-wrenching story of one family's struggle to understand a child whose spirit is both gentle and mysterious. Raised by a distant father and an understanding but overprotective mother, Vivek suffers disorienting blackouts, moments of disconnection between self and surroundings. As adolescence gives way to adulthood, Vivek finds solace in friendships with the warm, boisterous daughters of the Nigerwives, foreign-born women married to Nigerian men. But Vivek's closest bond is with Osita, the worldly, high-spirited cousin whose teasing confidence masks a guarded private life. As their relationship deepens--and Osita struggles to understand Vivek's escalating crisis--the mystery gives way to a heart-stopping act of violence in a moment of exhilarating freedom. Propulsively readable, teeming with unforgettable characters, The Death of Vivek Oji is a novel of family and friendship that challenges expectations--a dramatic story of loss and transcendence that will move every reader.
Author: Paretsky, Sara, author. Published: 2020 Call Number: F PARETSKY Format: Regular print Summary: In "Miss Bianca," a young girl becomes involved in espionage when she befriends a mouse in a laboratory that is conducting dark experiments. Ten-year-old V.I. Warshawski appears in "Wildcat," embarking on her very first investigation to save her father. A hardboiled New York detective and elderly British aristocrat team up to reveal a murderer in Chicago during the World's Fair in "Murder at the Century of Progress." In the new title story, "Love & Other Crimes," V.I. treads the line between justice and vengeance when the wrongful firing of a family friend makes him a murder suspect. This collection of fourteen short stories-- eight of which feature detective V.I. Warshawski-- are a celebration of Paretsky's exceptional storytelling skill and a searing exploration of the dark conspiracies and desperate human acts hiding in plain sight. The stories range from V.I.'s very first investigation (at the age of ten) to a new story in which V.I. treads the line between justice and vengeance. The other stories involve a young girl involved in espionage when she befriends a mouse in a laboratory; a New York detective and a British aristocrat teaming up in Chicago during the World's Far; and many more. -- adapted from back cover
Author: Burnham, Gabriella, author. Published: 2020 Call Number: F BURNHAM Format: Books Summary: "With sharp, gorgeous prose, It Is Wood, It Is Stone takes place over the course of a year in São Paulo, Brazil, in which two women's lives intersect. Linda, an anxious and restless American, has moved with her husband, Dennis, for a year professorship. As Dennis submerges himself into his work, Linda finds herself unmoored and adrift, feeling increasingly disassociated from her own body. Linda's unwavering and skilled maid, Marta, has more claim to Linda's home than she can fathom. Marta, who is struggling to make sense of her country's complicated history and its racial tensions, is exasperated by Linda's instability. One day, Linda leaves home with a charismatic and beguiling artist, whom she joins on a fervent adventure that causes reverberations felt by everyone, and ultimately binds Marta and Linda in a profoundly human, and tender, way. An exquisite debut novel by young Brazilian American author Gabriella Burnham, It is Wood, It is Stone is about women whose romantic and subversive entanglements reflect on class and colorism, sexuality, and complex, divisive histories"--Provided by publisher.
Author: Janowitz, Brenda, author. Published: 2020 Call Number: JAN Format: Large print Summary: "Two years after Grace Kelly's royal wedding, her iconic dress is still all the rage in Paris-and one replica, and the secrets it carries, will inspire three generations of women to forge their own paths in life and in love. Paris, 1958: Rose, a seamstress at a fashionable atelier, has been entrusted with sewing a Grace Kelly-look-alike gown for a wealthy bride-to-be. But when, against better judgment, she finds herself falling in love with the bride's handsome brother, Rose must make an impossible choice, one that could put all she's worked for at risk: love, security and of course, the dress. Sixty years later, tech CEO Rachel, who goes by the childhood nickname "Rocky," has inherited the dress for her upcoming wedding in New York City. But there's just one problem: Rocky doesn't want to wear it. A family heirloom dating back to the 1950s, the dress just isn't her. Rocky knows this admission will break her mother Joan's heart. But what she doesn't know is why Joan insists on the dress-or the heartbreaking secret that changed her mother's life decades before, as she herself prepared to wear it. As the lives of these three women come together in surprising ways, the revelation of the dress's history collides with long-buried family heartaches. And in the lead-up to Rocky's wedding, they'll have to confront the past before they can embrace the beautiful possibilities of the future"--Provided by publisher.
Author: Carlson, Melody, author. Published: 2020 Call Number: LP F CARLSON Format: Large print Summary: "As autumn of 1916 descends upon the once-peaceful town of Sunset Cove, Anna McDowell has great hopes that the excitement of the summer will be over, now that a few of the key players in the rum-running ring have been arrested. But with a daring jailbreak getting the town in a dither again, she knows that the danger hasn't passed for anyone in her coastal hometown. With a mayoral election keeping tensions high and the authorities busy searching for those behind the jailbreak, Anna has plenty to keep the newspaper busy. But when her sixteen-year-old daughter begins making noises about leaving high school and abandoning dreams of college, Anna realizes that prohibition isn't the only thing she needs to be worrying about. How deep does the root of corruption run in their town? As she digs deeper, Anna is forced to put the concerns of her own heart on hold in an effort to save some of the people dearest to her"--Provided by publisher.
Author: Slaughter, Karin, 1971- author. Published: 2020 Call Number: F SLAUGHTE Format: Books Summary: Investigating a brutal murder that eerily resembles another from years earlier, Will Trent reopens the case of a possibly wrongly convicted prisoner before teaming up with medical examiner Sara Linton to hunt down the true killer.
Author: Birch, Anna (Romance fiction writer), author. Published: 2020 Call Number: Y BIRCH Format: Books Summary: "Rhodes and Iliana couldn't be more different, but that's not why they hate each other. Rhodes, a gifted artist, has always excelled at Alabama's Conservatory of the Arts (until she's hit with a secret bout of creator's block), while Iliana, a transfer student, tries to outshine everyone with her intense, competitive work ethic. Since only one of them can get the coveted Capstone scholarship, the competition between them is fierce. They both escape the pressure on a fanfic site where they are unknowingly collaborating on a web comic. And despite being worst enemies in real life, their anonymous online identities I-Kissed-Alice and Curious-in-Cheshire are starting to like each other... a lot. When the truth comes out, will they destroy each other's future?" --Amazon.
Author: Cass, Laurie, author. Published: 2020 Call Number: LP F CASS Format: Large print Summary: "A friendly feline and a feisty librarian merrily roll along ... until murder stops them in their tracks! It's the summer season in Chilson, Michigan, and the town is packed with tourists ready for a fabulous Fourth of July fireworks show. Minnie Hamilton and her rescue cat, Eddie, have spent a busy day on the bookmobile, delivering good cheer and great reads to even the library's most far-flung patrons. But Minnie is still up for the nighttime festivities, eager to show off her little town to her visiting niece, Katrina. But then, during the grand finale of the fireworks display, Katrina discovers a body. Minnie recognizes the victim as one of the bookmobile's most loyal patrons. And she knows she-and Eddie-will have to get to the bottom of this purr-fect crime"--Provided by publisher.
Author: Freeman, Dianne, 1958- author. Published: 2020 Call Number: F FREEMAN Format: Books Summary: "1899. Risings, George Hazleton's family estate in Hampshire, is a perfect choice for the wedding of Lily, sister of Frances, the widowed Countess of Harleigh. But the bucolic setting harbors a menace. Above and below stairs, mysterious accidents befall guests and staff alike. Before long, Frances suspects these 'accidents' are deliberate, and fears that the intended victim is Lily's fiancé, Leo. As Frances and George search for the culprit, more victims fall prey to the mayhem. And unless Frances can quickly flush out the culprit, the peal of wedding bells may give way to another funeral toll."--Publisher description.
Author: Beukes, Lauren, author. Published: 2020 Call Number: F BEUKES Format: Books Summary: "Three years after a plague has wiped out the male population, twelve-year-old Miles is one of the last boys alive, and his mother, Cole, will protect him at all costs. On the run after a horrific act of violence, and pursued by Cole's own ruthless sister, Billie - all Cole wants is to raise her kid somewhere he won't be preyed on as a reproductive resource or a sex object or a stand-in son. Someplace like home."--Publisher description.
Author: Lovesey, Peter, author. Published: 2020 Call Number: F LOVESEY Format: Books Summary: "Through a particularly tragic series of events, couch potato Maeve Kelly, an elementary school teacher whose mother always assured her "curvy" girls shouldn't waste their time trying to be fit, has been forced to sign up for the Other Half, Bath's springtime half-marathon. The training is brutal, but she must disprove her mother and collect pledges for her aunt's beloved charity. What Maeve doesn't know is just how brutal some of the other runners are. As race day draws closer, an undocumented Albanian man named Spiro makes a run for freedom on the other side of town, escaping the chain gang that has held him hostage and its murderous foreman, who is known to his charges as The Finisher. The Finisher has killed for disobedience before, and Spiro knows there's a target on his back as he tries to lose himself in the genteel medieval city of Bath. Meanwhile Detective Peter Diamond is tasked with crowd control on the raucous day of the race-and catches sight of a violent criminal he put away a decade ago, and who very much seems to be up to his old tricks now that he is paroled. Diamond's hackles are already up when he learns that one of the runners never crossed the finish line-disappeared without a trace. Was Diamond a spectator to the prelude to a murder?"--
Author: Stevens, Stuart, author. Published: 2020 Call Number: 324.2734 Format: Books Summary: "An indictment of the Republican Party from one of the most successful Republican political operatives of his generation"-- Stevens spent decades electing Republicans at every level, from presidents to senators to local officials. Here he offers a devastating portrait of a party that has lost its moral and political compass. Stevens shows how Trump is the natural outcome of five decades of hypocrisy and self-delusion, dating all the way back to the civil rights legislation of the early 1960s. Racism has always lurked in the modern GOP's DNA, as has the rank hypocrisy of the party's claims to embody "family values" and fiscal responsibility. Stephen helped to create the modern party that kneels before a morally bankrupt con man-- and now he wants nothing more than to see it held accountable. -- adapted from jacket
Author: Begala, Paul, author. Published: 2020 Call Number: 324.273 Format: Books Summary: ""You're fired!" Donald Trump became famous bellowing those words in a make-believe boardroom. In November, tens of millions of Americans want to yell it right back at him. Yet Trump has seemed to almost defy the laws of political physics. Paul Begala, one of America's greatest political talents, lays out the strategy that will defeat him and send him and his industrial-strength spray-on tan machine back to Mar-a-Lago."--Amazon.
Author: Tye, Larry, author. Published: 2020 Call Number: B MCCARTHY Format: Books Summary: "The definitive biography of the most dangerous demagogue in American history, based on first-ever access to his personal and professional papers, medical and military records, and recently-unsealed transcripts of his closed-door Congressional hearings."-- From 1950 to 1954 Joe McCarthy destroyed many careers and even entire lives, whipping the nation into a frenzy of paranoia, accusation, loyalty oaths, and terror. When the public finally turned on him, he came crashing down, dying of alcoholism in 1957. Tye shows that McCarthy was a tireless worker and a genuine war hero. But his ambitions knew few limits, and neither did his socializing, his drinking, nor his gambling. When he finally made it to the Senate he angered many with his lack of integrity. After he hit upon anti-communism as his agenda, McCarthy became the most influential and controversial man in America. His chaotic, meteoric rise-- and sudden fall from fame-- are charted through access to his personal and professional papers, medical and military records, and recently unsealed transcripts of his closed-door Congressional hearings. -- adapted from jacket
Author: Martin, Valerie, 1948- author. Published: 2020 Call Number: F MARTIN Format: Books Summary: "A story of family, war, art, and betrayal set around an ancient, ancestral home in the Tuscan countryside"-- When Jan, an American academic, rents an apartment in a Tuscan villa for the summer, she plans to spend her break writing a biography of Mussolini. Instead, she finds herself captivated by her hostess, the elegant, acerbic Beatrice. Beatrice's family ties to Villa Chiara and the land on which it stands extend back generations, although the family has fallen on hard times since WWII and the fate of the property is uncertain. But it is rich in stories, and Jan becomes intrigued by an account of Beatrice's uncle, who was mysteriously killed on the grounds at the conclusion of the war. Did he die at the hands of the invading Americans, or was he murdered by his countrymen for his political opinions?
Beatrice, a student of American literature, proves to be a beguiling storyteller and a sharp critic; she and Jan keep in touch after that summer, and a fierce friendship forms. As the years go on, Jan finds she can't help but write Beatrice's story, a decision that opens up questions of ownership and loyalty and leads to a major betrayal.--
Author: Martin, Kat, author. Published: 2020 Call Number: LP F MARTIN Format: Books Summary: When journalist Jessie Kegan's father is accused of espionage and treason, Jessie has no doubt he is innocent. Before Colonel Kegan can stand trial, he's found dead -- and Jessie suspects it was murder. She's determined to clear her father's name but going after the truth puts her in the cross-hairs of a killer who wants that truth to stay buried with her father. Protecting Jessie Kegan is a job bodyguard Brandon Garrett can't refuse. Jessie isn't just a client at Maximum Security -- she's the sister of his best friend Danny, killed in Afghanistan. Jessie and Bran will have to risk everything to expose her father's killer -- before his legacy dies with his daughter.
Author: Goldin, Megan, author. Published: 2020 Call Number: F GOLDIN Format: Regular print Summary: "In The Night Swim, a new thriller from Megan Goldin, author of the "gripping and unforgettable" (Harlen Coben) The Escape Room, a true crime podcast host covering a controversial trial finds herself drawn deep into a small town's dark past and a brutal crime that took place there years before. After the first season of her true crime podcast became an overnight sensation and set an innocent man free, Rachel Krall is now a household name-and the last hope for thousands of people seeking justice. But she's used to being recognized for her voice, not her face. Which makes it all the more unsettling when she finds a note on her car windshield, addressed to her, begging for help. The small town of Neapolis is being torn apart by a devastating rape trial. The town's golden boy, a swimmer destined for Olympic greatness, has been accused of raping a high school student, the beloved granddaughter of the police chief. Under pressure to make Season Three a success, Rachel throws herself into interviewing and investigating-but the mysterious letters keep showing up in unexpected places. Someone is following her, and she won't stop until Rachel finds out what happened to her sister twenty-five years ago. Officially, Jenny Stills tragically drowned, but the letters insists she was murdered-and when Rachel starts asking questions, nobody seems to want to answer. The past and present start to collide as Rachel uncovers startling connections between the two cases that will change the course of the trial and the lives of everyone involved. Electrifying and propulsive, The Night Swim asks: What is the price of a reputation? Can a small town ever right the wrongs of its past? And what really happened to Jenny?"--
Author: Mack, Katherine J., 1981- author. Published: 2020 Call Number: 523.19 Format: Books Summary: A rising star in astrophysics presents an accessible and eye-opening look at five ways the universe could end, and the lessons each scenario reveals about the most important concepts in cosmology.
