What We're Reading: Brenda

Fragile by Lisa Unger

Fragile is a mystery set in a small town called The Hollows within commuting distance to New York City. It's a place where everybody knows one another and it's hard to keep secrets. Maggie, a psychologist, and her husband Jones, a detective with the local police force, have both grown up in the Hollows and lived there most of their lives. When Charlene, the girlfriend of their teenage son, goes missing it brings back memories of another girl who went missing years ago when Maggie and Jones were teens. Soon Jones is acting strangely, even going as far as to suspect his own son. The investigation into Charlene's disappearance ultimately leads to the uncovering of a long-buried town secret that threatens to destroy everything Maggie and Jones hold dear. This is a fast paced novel with a lot of twists which will keep you guessing almost to the end. The author does an excellent job of creating believable characters and relationships. I will definitely be checking out Lisa Unger's earlier works!

What We're Reading: Edward

Fitzgerald Ruse

by Mark De Castrique

Former military policeman, Sam Blackman, is still recovering from the loss of a leg in Iraq. In this second adventure, after Blackman's Coffin, Sam is setting up a detective agency. He and his partner, Nakayla, get their first case. An elderly woman wants them to recover a secret box. They find the box easily, but it is stolen out of their new office. The mystery deepens when they find out that the woman has been murdered. Did the box contain a lost manuscript by F. Scott Fitzgerald? Sam and Nakayla realize that they are being followed. Sam is involved in a shootout at the Grove Park Inn, Ashville's second most famous structure. With two dead bodies, Sam and Nakayla wonder if they are involved in more than one case. Was Sam's injury the result of the winds of war or an attempted murder by rogue security agents? Either way they lay a trap for the bad guys. But Sam and Nakayla seem to have fallen into a trap themselves! Great descriptions of Ashville , it's history and residents!

What We're Reading: Tracy

The Secret Circus, by Johanna Wright.

Most circus stories tend to be rambunctious reads, filled with all the noise and action of the real thing. The Secret Circus, by puppeteer and painter Johanna Wright, is quite astonishingly different. The simple story, of mice who know the way to a tiny hidden circus, is told in a quiet, gentle cadence accompanied by soft pen, ink, and watercolor illustrations.

"Somewhere, deep in the city of Paris,
there is a circus that is so small,
and so secret...
only the mice
know how to find it.
Only the mice know when to go there.
Only the mice know what to wear."

Take The Secret Circus home tonight, follow the mice, and enjoy this unusual outing, a perfect bedtime story.

What We're Watching: Jan

Everlasting Moments
Directed by Jan Troell. Starring Maria Heiskanen, Mikael Persbrandt, and Jesper Christensen.

This film, set in early twentieth century Sweden, depicts how art can enhance (and sometimes save) one's life. The subjects are a working class family that includes Maria, the wife and mother who is devoted to her family and to providing for them. Her husband, Sigge, loves his family but is a reckless womanizer who is brutish when he drinks. Consequences arise when Maria tries to pawn a camera that she has won to buy food. The photography shop owner shows her the wonder that can be captured on film and encourages Maria to pursue what he sees as her creative eye. It opens up a new world to her - looking for beauty in everyday things, self-confidence that she has never known and a sense of purpose as she uses her skills to help her family survive. The "miracle" of the camera leads to many changes in the life of Maria and that of her family. The film is based on real people and has many twists and turns and much emotion. It was filmed in the Swedish language and has English subtitles.

What We're Watching: Laurie

Mad Men created by Matthew Weiner.

Set in New York City in 1960, Mad Men tells the colorful story of the highly competitive art of advertising. The men and women of Madison Avenue are cunning and ruthless in the world of moving commodities where everything can be bought and sold. Don Draper is at the top of his game in dealing with the business of huge egos and high stakes, and always gets what he wants. Interesting storylines and great writing make the characters of this series seem larger than life.

What We're Reading : Edward

First Rule


by Robert Crais


The Elvis Cole series of novels by Crais are very popular. But his readers clamored for novels featuring Elvis's sidekick, Joe Pike. In this the second Joe Pike novel, Pike learns that one of his men, from their time as mercenaries, is dead along with his whole family. It appears to just be one of a series of murders of bad guys. Pike can not believe that one of his men was dirty. Pike investigates to clear the name of his compatriot. Also killed was the family baby sitter. Was she the real target for the murderers? Was her baby taken from the house? Was she connected to an European crime family? Pike tracks down the murderers, but he finds some of them already dead. Pike has to sort through all the lies that he hears to get to the truth. In a turnaround, he gets help from Elvis Cole. The ending is a big surprise and will make you clamor for the next Joe Pike novel!!!

What We're Reading: Cathy

Corduroy Mansions by Alexander McCall Smith

Meet Freddy de la Hay. He's an ex-sniffer dog for Heathrow Airport. He is also the newest resident at Corduroy Mansions in Pimlico, London. He joins a group of typical (odd?) Londoners who live in the flats . There is William, the wine merchant, who is trying to make his awful son Eddie move out. He's so desperate that he gets a dog (Freddy) and another roommate - a woman - to force the issue. The middle flat is occupied by 4 young women: Jenny who is secretary to the loathsome MP Oedipus Snark; Caroline, an art student; Dee, who works in a vitamin store; and Jo, who works at a wine bar. The bottom floor is occupied by the rather mysterious Mr. Wickramsinghe, an accountant. We bounce from one person to the next, following them through events both big (a near fatal accident) and small (a chewed up shoe). This book follows in the tradition of Mr. McCall Smith's 44 Scotland Street series.