New Adult Fiction April 2024
April showers bring May flowers – and new fiction!
Studies at the School by the Sea by Jenny Colgan
Beloved literature teacher Maggie Adair loves her life at the prestigious Downey House boarding school on the gloriously sunny, windy English coast. It was there that she found her footing as a teacher and fell in love with her colleague David—the two great anchors of her life. But these days Maggie’s feeling restless, lured by the promise of a different life back in her Scottish hometown. How can you follow your heart when it seems to be taking you in two directions at once?
Meanwhile, Maggie’s favorite students are abuzz at the thought of graduation and set to fly the nest to their next adventure. What will life hold for mercurial Fliss, glamorous Alice, and shy, hard-working Simone when they finally finish their studies at the school by the sea? Will Maggie stay to welcome the next class of girls, or will she too graduate to new adventures?
Sharpe’s Command by Bernard Cornwell
If any man can do the impossible it’s Richard Sharpe.
And the impossible is exactly what the formidable Captain Sharpe is asked to do when he’s sent on an undercover mission to a small village in the Spanish countryside, far behind enemy lines.
For the quiet, remote village, sitting high above the Almaraz bridge, is about to become the center of a battle for the future of Europe. Two French armies march towards the bridge, one from the North and one from the South. If they meet, the British are lost.
Only Sharpe’s small group of men—with their cunning and courage to rely on—stand in their way. But they’re rapidly outnumbered, enemies are hiding in plain sight, and as the French edge ever closer to the frontline, time is running out. . . .
The Reaper Follows by Heather Graham
Deep in the Florida Everglades, the body of a woman is discovered in pieces, presumably ravaged by an alligator. Upon closer inspection, it’s determined no animal could make such perfectly precise cuts. Only a blade could do that. Wielded by a human. Soon, dozens of oil drums emerge amid the river of grass. Each one packed to the brim with body parts.
FDLE special agent Amy Larson and her partner, FBI special agent Hunter Forrest, share a bad feeling that extends beyond the horrifying nature of the grim discovery. They’ve seen this kind of sadistic killing before, and when a small beige horse is discovered at the bottom of one of the barrels, they know exactly what it means. The fourth horseman of the apocalypse rides a pale horse—and his name is Death.
With so many bodies to identify, connecting one victim to the next is easier said than done. But finding a pattern in the chaos might be the only way Amy and Hunter can zero in on the killer, testing their skills as agents—and their relationship—like never before. And when the disturbing trail of clues signals these slayings are just the beginning, the agents will have to return to where it all started before it’s too late. The apocalypse is coming, and Hunter and Amy have only one chance to stop it, even if it means sacrificing each other.
Everyone is Watching by Heather Gudenkauf
Five contestants have been chosen to compete for ten million dollars on the game show One Lucky Winner. The catch? None of them knows what (or who) to expect, and it will be live streamed all over the world. Completely secluded in an estate in Northern California, with strict instructions not to leave the property and zero contact with the outside world, the competitors start to feel a little too isolated.
When long-kept secrets begin to rise to the surface, the contestants realize this is no longer just a reality show—someone is out for blood. And the game can’t end until the world knows who the contestants really are…
Sandcastle Inn by Irene Hannon
Vienna Price never intended to return for more than a passing visit to Oregon and all the bad memories she’d left behind. But when your career tanks, home is where you go to nurse your wounds and chart a new course. Only temporarily, of course–because as much as she loves her quirky mom, anything more than a short stay would drive them both crazy.
A trip to Oregon isn’t in Matt Quinn’s plans, either, until a perfectly timed appeal for help arrives from his sister. What better place to decompress after a shattering loss than a quiet, seaside town named Hope Harbor? But R&R isn’t on the agenda when he arrives to find his sister’s new enterprise on life support.
Vienna, however, may have just the skills needed to resuscitate the foundering B&B–if Matt can convince her to hang around long enough to mend an inn . . . and his heart.
The Wild Side by Fern Michaels
For Melanie Drake, school guidance counselor in a small Virginia town, the day’s challenges typically involve a playground scuffle or a student skipping school. It’s worlds away from her previous career as a vital part of the Office of Special Investigations. There, she devoted herself heart and soul to covert operations, the riskier the better.
Since leaving, Melanie has cherished her peaceful, calm existence, with her two beloved retired service dogs for company. Then a call comes from her former supervisor, Rich Patterson. He needs her back for a highly specialized assignment. An international group of billionaires is known to meet regularly for decadent dinners, and they always hire high-class escorts for the occasion. Only the most elegant, well-educated, and sophisticated women will do. Infiltrating those meetings could yield information vital to national security.
Melanie’s loyalty is indisputable. She’s willing to pose as an escort and glean every scrap of intel that she can. But these men aren’t just wealthy and powerful, they’re also exceptionally ruthless. One slip, and they won’t hesitate to eliminate Melanie, by any means necessary. . .
Matterhorn by Christopher Reich
Robbie Steinhardt lives a peaceful life. A fixture of his small alpine village, he tends cattle, minds his own business, and doesn’t dwell on his former life and the family and lover he left behind—back when he was Mac Dekker, CIA.
But when he learns his son Will died following in his footsteps, he needs answers. What mission took Will up into the alpine heights, and why is Ilya Ivashka on the same trail? Ilya—his close friend, his rival in love. Ilya, who framed Mac for treason and sent him into hiding.
Wiping away the years, Mac returns to the field to find the secrets Will hid and finds himself facing the Herculean task of stopping a terrorist plot that threatens thousands. But in a field of double agents, who can he trust?
Toxic Prey by John Sandford
Gaia is dying.
That, at least, is what Dr. Lionel Scott believes. A renowned expert in tropical and infectious diseases, Scott has witnessed the devastating impact of illness and turmoil at critical scale. Society as it exists is untenable, and the direct link to Earth’s death spiral; population levels are out of control and people have allowed disarray and disorder to run rampant. While most are concerned about deadly disease, Scott knows that it is truly humanity itself that will destroy Gaia. It’s only by removing the threat that the planet can continue to prosper, and luckily, Scott is just the right man for the job…
When Scott then disappears without a trace, Letty Davenport is tasked with tracking down any and all leads. Scott’s connections to sensitive research into virus and pathogen spread has multiple national and international organizations on high alert, and his shockingly high clearance levels at various institutions, including the Los Alamos National Laboratory, make him the last person they’d like to go missing. As the web around Scott becomes more tangled, Letty calls in her father, Lucas, help her lead a group of specialists to find Scott as soon as possible. But as Letty and Lucas begin to uncover startling and disturbing connections between Scott and Gaia conspiracists, their worst fears are confirmed, and it quickly becomes a race to find him before the virus he created becomes the perfect weapon.
The Truth About the Devlins
by Lisa Scottoline
TJ Devlin is the charming disappointment in the prominent Devlin family, all of whom are lawyers at their highly successful firm—except him. After a stint in prison and rehab for alcoholism, TJ can’t get hired anywhere except at the firm, in a make-work job with the title of investigator.
But one night, TJ’s world turns upside down after his older brother John confesses that he murdered one of their clients, an accountant he’d confronted with proof of embezzlement. It seems impossible coming from John, the firstborn son and Most Valuable Devlin.
TJ plunges into the investigation, seizing the chance to prove his worth and save his brother. But in no time, TJ and John find themselves entangled in a lethal web of deception and murder. TJ will fight to save his family, but what he learns might break them first.
The Beloved by J.R. Ward
Nalla, the blooded daughter of Zsadist, has led a sheltered life. Protected by her father and the Brotherhood, kept away from the deadly war with the Lessening Society, she is chafing against the walls of the very safety that has ensured her survival. One night, she gives in to her restlessness…and finds herself face-to-face with a male whose inner darkness rivals even that of her sire’s horrific origins.
Nate is a fighter with nothing to lose—and nothing to live for. Tortured in a human lab as a young, then cursed with immortality, he is all vengeance and no purpose because he cares for no one—not even himself. The Brotherhood knows this all too well and following Nate’s deliberate violation of the cardinal rule in the war, they declare him a dangerous liability that must be dealt with.
When Nalla and Nate find themselves fighting side by side, daggers aren’t the only things that fly. A sizzling attraction is ignited, though Nalla knows her sire will never accept him—and on his side, Nate has made a secret bargain to end his own immortality. As the enemy closes in, and Nalla realizes she must choose between her mate and her sire, what starts with such passion may well end with eternal sorrow and no chance of a reunion—even in the Fade.
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#FDL: Poetry Collections for Poetry Month
April is Poetry Month. Check out one of these newer collections of poetry at our library!
In an intimate and non-traditional (or “new-fashioned”) memoir, Kwame Alexander shares snapshots of a man learning how to love. He takes us through stories of his parents: from being awkward newlyweds in the sticky Chicago summer of 1967, to the sometimes-confusing ways they showed their love to each other, and for him. He explores his own relationships—his difficulties as a newly wedded, 22-year-old father, and the precariousness of his early marriage working in a jazz club with his second wife. Alexander attempts to deal with the unravelling of his marriage and the grief of his mother’s recent passing while sharing the solace he found in learning how to perfect her famous fried chicken dish. Alexander weaves together memories of his past to try and understand his greatest love: his daughters.
Sing a Black Girl’s Song: The Unpublished Work of Ntozake Shange By Ntozake Shange
Sing a Black Girl’s Song is a new posthumous collection of Shange’s unpublished poems, essays, and plays from throughout the life of the seminal Black feminist writer. In these pages we meet young Shange, learn the moments that inspired for colored girls who have considered suicide/when the rainbow is enuf…, travel with an eclectic family of musicians, sit on “The Couch” opposite Shange’s therapist, and discover plays written after for colored girls’ international success. Sing a Black Girl’s Song houses, in their original form, the literary rebel’s politically charged verses from the Black Arts Movement era alongside her signature tender rhythm and cadence that capture the minutia and nuance of Black life.
Chosen as the winner of the 2021 APR/Honickman First Book Prize by Guggenheim Fellow Ada Limón, Natasha Rao’s debut collection Latitude abounds with sensory delights, rich in colors, flavors, and sounds. These poems explore the complexities of family, cultural identity, and coming of age. By turns vulnerable and bold, Latitude indulges in desire: “In my next life let me be a tomato/lusting and unafraid,” Rao writes, “…knowing I’ll end up in an eager mouth.”
*Annotations from the publishers
Posted by Susie Rivera, Reference Specialist
#FDL is an update on all things Fondulac District Library and books.
Superstars of Women’s Basketball
Did you join the women’s sports bandwagon during March Madness? If you haven’t, no worries, there is still plenty of time! For all those aspiring women’s basketball fans, the library has you covered with some great books that will give you a crash course on all things women’s basketball just in time for the summer Olympics and WNBA season! (photo courtesy of ESPN)
Here are a few good reads that celebrate legendary and modern women’s basketball stars:
Suggested Ages: 8 and up
AT FDL!
Basketball Belles: How Two Teams and One Scrappy Player Put Women’s Hoops On the Map
by Sue Macy
Inaugural Ballers : the True Story of the First US Women’s Olympic Basketball Team
by Andrew Maraniss
Women Athletes Who Rule!
by Elizabeth McGarr McCue
ON HOOPLA!
G.O.A.T. Women’s Basketball Teams
by Matt Doeden
Legends of Women’s Basketball
by Emma Huddleston
Women in Basketball
by A. W. Buckey
by Jacob Roberts, Youth Services Specialist
FDL Reads: The Honey Bus
The Honey Bus: A Memoir of Loss, Courage and a Girl Saved by Bees by Meredith May
Reviewed By: Rebecca Cox, Business Manager
Genre: Non-Fiction
Suggested Age: Adults
What is This Book About? The Honey Bus is the story of Meredith May’s childhood and how after her parents divorce she found herself in California with her grandparents and forging a connection with her grandfather, who kept bees and made honey in the back of a converted old military bus in his yard. Meredith’s tough childhood is paralleled by the lessons she learns from helping her grandfather to keep bees and learning about the magic of the hive.
My Review: I am currently part of a beekeeping mentorship with Hilary Kearney (author of Queenspotting, the book I reviewed earlier this year) and this book popped up on the syllabus. I love hearing and reading about other people’s experiences with bees so I was quick to pick this book up but…very slow to finish it. This book is incredible and Meredith May’s gift for telling a story is just extraordinary, but the story itself is somewhat hard to digest at times. After her parents’ divorce, May’s mother takes her and her brother to live with her parents in California and then recedes into despair, re-emerging only to inflict pain on May in some horrifying ways. I would definitely add a trigger warning to this book for those who have dealt with emotional abuse because there is a fair share doled out, but May’s relationship with her grandfather and what he teaches her about bees is the biggest takeaway. Their bond and how he helped her to overcome an agonizing childhood is nothing short of beautiful.
Three Words that Describe this Book: Inspiring, Informative, Beautiful
Give this a try if you like… Loving Edie by Meredith May, Wild by Cheryl Strayed, The Mistress’s Daughter by A.M. Homes
Rating: 5/5
FDL Reads: Never Lie
Never Lie by Freida McFadden
Reviewed By: Susie Rivera, Adult Services Specialist
Genre: Fiction
Suggested age: Adults
What is this book about? Ethan and Tricia are looking to buy their first home. They get an opportunity to view a mansion, the former home of a psychiatrist who went missing several months before. A terrible blizzard traps them inside with no way of leaving soon. Dr. Hale’s possessions are still there, including hidden audio tapes from patient sessions. When Tricia finds them, she can’t stop from listening. Slowly but surely, the clues about Dr. Hale’s disappearance are revealed along with many other sinister secrets.
My review: This book is a faced-paced psychological thriller that is a bit reminiscent of classic gothic novels. There is a giant, old mansion where you know something evil has happened. Mysteries not only surround the disappearance of Dr. Hale, but something seems off about one of the main characters as well. There are many red herrings that seem very obvious, but the twists and the end are clever, though looking back some POVs don’t seem to totally add up. This is a quick, tightly wound novel that will keep you turning pages until the end!
Three words that describe this book: Suspenseful, fast-paced, psychological
Give this a try if you like: The Housemaid by Freida McFadden, The Guest List by Lucy Foley, The Co-Worker by Freida McFadden
Rating: 4/5
National Library Week!
Hey library lovers, it’s that time of year again—National Library Week! We need your help spreading some library love by sharing what you appreciate most about the services and resources that Fondulac Library provides.
Do you love getting lost in the stories of the library’s summer reading program, storytime, or book club? When you walk through the library’s doors, are you looking for a quiet nook to study, or a favorite librarian to help you with reference services? What’s your favorite thing to check out—books, movies, cake pans, seeds? Do you attend programs to enrich your mind, meet local authors, or find support from your community?
We want to know how YOU library!
Participating is easy:
Snap a pic or shoot a video showcasing your favorite thing about Fondulac Library!
Post to Instagram or on the I Love Libraries Facebook page with the hashtag #HowILibrary.
And don’t forget to tag #FondulacLibrary to let us know how much we’re are appreciated!
What’s in it for you?
In addition to the gratification of supporting libraries, there’s also a chance to win great prizes.
- Grand Prize (1 winner): A VISA gift card ($150.00 USD value) and choice of one ALA Graphics poster.
- Second Prize (3 winners): Choice of one ALA Graphics poster.
So, let’s see those book stacks, favorite reading spots, and all the adventures that the library take you on!
The promotion starts Sunday, April 7, at noon CT and ends Friday, April 12, at noon CT.
Join the #HowILibrary movement, and let’s make this the best National Library Week ever!
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