The Silent Sister

The Silent Sister by Diane Chamberlain

Summary: In The Silent Sister, Riley MacPherson has spent her entire life believing that her older sister Lisa committed suicide as a teenager.  Now, over twenty years later, her father has passed away and she's in New Bern, North Carolina cleaning out his house when she finds evidence to the contrary.  Lisa is alive.  Alive and living under a new identity.  But why exactly was she on the run all those years ago, and what secrets are being kept now?  As Riley works to uncover the truth, her discoveries will put into question everything she thought she knew about her family.  Riley must decide what the past means for her present, and what she will do with her newfound reality, in this engrossing mystery from international bestselling author Diane Chamberlain.  Angie's Comments: I wouldn't call The Silent Sister a mystery because I was able to guess most of the secrets (and this might be one of only times I was able to do that!). Really, the book is more about family and emotions. How do you deal growing up with distant, sad parents? How do you handle knowing your parents kept secrets from you? I am amazed that Riley grew up so well adjusted (and I even amazed that Riley's brother doesn't have more issue). Although the end was too pat, I enjoyed reading this book, and it flowed smoothly. Request this item

The Art of the English Murder

The Art of the English Murder by Lucy Worsley

Summary: From Jack the Ripper and Sherlock Holmes to the cosy crimes of the Golden Age, renowned historian Lucy Worsley explores the evolution of the traditional English murder—and reveals why we are so fascinated by this sinister subject. Murder—a dark, shameful deed, the last resort of the desperate or a vile tool of the greedy. And a very strange, very English obsession. But where did this fixation develop? And what does it tell us about ourselves? In The Art of the English Murder, Lucy Worsley explores this phenomenon in forensic detail, revisiting notorious crimes like the Ratcliff Highway Murders, which caused a nationwide panic in the early nineteenth century, and the case of Frederick and Maria Manning, the suburban couple who were hanged after killing Maria’s lover and burying him under their kitchen floor. Our fascination with crimes like these became a form of national entertainment, inspiring novels and plays, prose and paintings, poetry and true-crime journalism. At a point during the birth of modern England, murder entered our national psyche, and it’s been a part of us ever since. The Art of the English Murder is a unique exploration of the art of crime—and a riveting investigation into the English criminal soul by one of our finest historians.  Angie's Comments: The Art of the English Murder is an exploration into the history of murder and murder stories from the 1800s through the 1930s. Worsley has an engaging writing style, and the book is intended for the public, not academics. I recommend this book for readers of true crime and fictional mysteries who are interested in the development of the genres. As it turns out, there have been readers of mysteries and true crime for centuries.  Request this item

The Rest is Silence

The Rest is Silence by James R. Benn

Summary: The fog of war surrounding D-Day and Operation Tiger provides cover for one of Billy Boyle's grisliest investigations. When an unidentified corpse washes ashore at Slapton Sands on England's southern coast, US Army Captain Billy Boyle and his partner, Lieutenant Piotr "Kaz" Kazimierz, are assigned to investigate. The Devonshire beach is the home to Operation Tiger, the top-secret rehearsal for the approaching D-Day invasion of Normandy, and the area is restricted; no one seems to know where the corpse could have come from. Luckily, Billy and Kaz have a comfortable place to lay their heads at the end of the day: Kaz's old school chum David lives close by and has agreed to host the two men during their investigation. Glad for a distraction from his duties, Billy settles into life at David's family's fancy manor, Ashcroft, and makes it his mission to get to know its intriguing cast of characters.Just when Billy and Kaz begin to wrap up their case, they find themselves with not one soggy corpse on their hands but hundreds following a terrible tragedy during the D-Day rehearsal. To complicate things, life at Ashcroft has been getting tense: secret agendas, buried histories, and family grudges abound. Then one of the men meets a sudden demise. Was it a heart attack? Or something more sinister? Angie's Comments: The Rest is Silence is my first Billy Boyle World War II mystery that I have read, and I plan on reading the others! I enjoyed the details included in the book about the war's effects on England, which were somber. Reading about the D-Day preparations was fascinating. Billy and his partner Kaz work well together. The mystery focuses more on David's family than the war. Gunner's Mate Yogi Berra demonstrates to Billy how to use the lifebelts, and Agatha Christie gives Billy ideas on the mystery he is trying to solve. I am inspired to do more research on the true events featured in the book. Request this item

The Organized Mind

The Organized Mind by Daniel J. Levitin

Summary: New York Times bestselling author and neuroscientist Daniel J. Levitin shifts his keen insights from your brain on music to your brain in a sea of details. The information age is drowning us with an unprecedented deluge of data. At the same time, we're expected to make more - and faster - decisions about our lives than ever before. No wonder, then, that the average American reports frequently losing car keys or reading glasses, missing appointments, and feeling worn out by the effort required just to keep up. But somehow some people become quite accomplished at managing information flow. In The Organized Mind, Daniel J. Levitin, PhD, uses the latest brain science to demonstrate how those people excel - and how readers can use their methods to regain a sense of mastery over the way they organize their homes, workplaces, and time. With lively, entertaining chapters on everything from the kitchen junk drawer to health care to executive office workflow, Levitin reveals how new research into the cognitive neuroscience of attention and memory can be applied to the challenges of our daily lives. This Is Your Brain on Music showed how to better play and appreciate music through an understanding of how the brain works. The Organized Mind shows how to navigate the churning flood of information in the twenty-first century with the same neuroscientific perspective. Angie's Comments: The Organized Mind is an interesting blend of science and tips on your brain and organizing. Levitin gives an overall view of your brain, memory, and how your brain handles (or doesn't handle) information.  There are some tips on how to use technology (anything from an index cards to labels to computers) to help you remember ideas, your to-do list, or where you left your keys. However, the focus is on the science. This is a good book if you are interested in why you forget certain things. Teachers and librarians will be interested in Chapter 8 "What to Teach Our Children", where Levitin makes the argument that we should focus on teaching children how to find and evaluate information. For those with an interest in medicine and health, Chapter 6 "Organizing Information for the Hardest Decisions" is informative. That chapter discusses probabilities and ways to evaluate medical information. Request this item

Whistling Past the Graveyard

 By Indiana Author Susan Crandall

Summary: Whistling past the graveyard. That’s what Daddy called it when you did something to keep your mind off your most worstest fear. . . . 

In the summer of 1963, nine-year-old Starla Claudelle runs away from her strict grandmother’s Mississippi home. Starla’s destination is Nashville, where her mother went to become a famous singer, abandoning Starla when she was three. Walking a lonely country road, Starla accepts a ride from Eula, a black woman traveling alone with a white baby. Now, on the road trip that will change her life forever, Starla sees for the first time life as it really is—as she reaches for a dream of how it could one day be.

Readers’ Comments: The story is told through the eyes of Starla, a 10 year old girl. Starla has lived sheltered from the realities of the south in the 1960’s. Her father works on an off shore oil rig and Starla is left in the care of her grandmother. Starla runs away with the romantic notion of finding her mother and living happily ever after with her. She finds trouble easily and her lack of knowledge about the rules of the time cause even more problems for her and those who try to help her. Over all a touching story of race tension, forgiveness and acceptance.

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Too Good to be True

Summary: Alligators in the sewers? A pet in the microwave? No, it didn't really happen to your friend's sister's neighbor: it's an urban legend. And no matter how savvy you think you are, you are sure to find at least one story you always believed to be true in this colossal collection. Professor Jan Harold Brunvand is the leading authority on urban legends, and Too Good to Be True--now updated and expanded--is his most complete anthology. Whether you want to become an expert debunker or just have plenty of laughs, this book will surprise and entertain you.

Angie's comments: This is an updated version of Jan Harold Brunvand's book that was first published in 1999. I have to admit that I fell for some of these urban legends in the past. Fortunately, in my 8th grade class, my English teacher spent several weeks on urban legends, culminating in each student writing their own twist on the classic tales. Even though we discussed many urban legends in that class, this book included urban legends that I hadn't heard of. Brunvand presents the urban legend and then discusses the history of the legend. I enjoyed hearing about the history of the urban legends. The book is divided into types of urban legends, so you can easily jump around to whatever interests you. Scary, funny, and all types of urban legends are included. 

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Halloween Movies for Children

Getting ready for Halloween? Here are some movies that you can watch with your children. There are many more at the library!

Scooby-Doo! and the Witch's Ghost

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Go Diego Go! Diego's Halloween!

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Bugs Bunny's Howl-oween Special

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Under Cover of the Night

Summary: It was planned to look like a suicide.
But even in the best-laid plans, evidence is left behind…

Jocelyn Branham Earnest was found dead on the floor of her living room in Forest, Virginia. By her side was a gun and a suicide note—typed, lacking a signature, and with one fingerprint on it. A fingerprint apparently belonging to Jocelyn’s estranged husband…

Wesley Earnest was a respected high school administrator, poised to restart his life in a new community. Parents entrusted their children to his care and believed he was above reproach. But the investigation into the life the couple once shared would reveal adultery, troubled finances, and shattered dreams—enough for one man with murder on his mind to travel hundreds of miles…

Angie's comments: If you are interested in true crime, Under Cover of the Night might be for you. The author, Diane Fanning, takes readers through the murder of Jocelyn Branham Earnest and the two trials of her estranged husband, Wesley Earnest. The strength of this book is the focus on the trials, which is the majority of the book. The details of the trials gave me a new appreciation for the legal side of crime. The objections and rebuttals of the lawyers and the judge's rulings were fascinating to me. However, the crime itself is not surprising, other than that the accused was a school administrator. It is another reminder that domestic life can turn deadly. 

Under Cover of the Night would be best suited for true crime readers who are interested in the legal side of trials. 

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What a Wallflower Wants

Summary: In the third novel in Maya Rodale's charming Wallflower series, London's Least Likely to Be Caught in a Compromising Position finds temptation in a devilishly handsome stranger . . .

Miss Prudence Merryweather Payton has a secret.

Everyone knows that she's the only graduate from her finishing school to remain unwed on her fourth season—but no one knows why. With her romantic illusions shattered after being compromised against her will, Prudence accepts a proposal even though her betrothed is not exactly a knight in shining armor. When he cowardly pushes her out of their stagecoach to divert a highwayman, she vows never to trust another man again.

John Roark, Viscount Castleton, is nobody's hero.

He's a blue-eyed charmer with a mysterious past and ambitious plans for his future—that do not include a wife. When he finds himself stranded at a country inn with a captivating young woman, a delicate dance of seduction ensues. He knows he should keep his distance. And he definitely shouldn't start falling in love with her.

When Prudence's dark past comes back to haunt her, John must protect her—even though he risks revealing his own secrets that could destroy his future.

Angie's comments: What a Wallflower Wants is more than the regular historical fiction as it handles a topic relevant to all ages. The main character, Prudence Merryweather Payton, was raped several years before the book begins. The book shows how she has handled the rape in her life and how she learns to trust again. The hero, John Roark, helps her along her journey, but she is the one who has the strength to change her life. The story captured my imagination and I loved seeing Prudence develop throughout the book. The author’s acknowledgment at the beginning of the book and the author’s note at the end of the book are a must read. In the author’s note, the author explains that she wants to see “relationships based on mutual trust, respect, and love”. She has certainly accomplished that with What a Wallflower Wants.

The Invisible Gorilla

Summary: Reading this book will make you less sure of yourself-and that's a good thing. In The Invisible Gorilla, we use a wide assortment of stories and counterintuitive scientific findings to reveal an important truth: Our minds don't work the way we think they do. We think we see ourselves and the world as they really are, but we're actually missing a whole lot. 

We combine the work of other researchers with our own findings on attention, perception, memory, and reasoning to reveal how faulty intuitions often get us into trouble. In the process, we explain:

• Why a company would spend billions to launch a product that its own analysts know will fail
• How a police officer could run right past a brutal assault without seeing it
• Why award-winning movies are full of editing mistakes
• What criminals have in common with chess masters
• Why measles and other childhood diseases are making a comeback
• Why money managers could learn a lot from weather forecasters

Again and again, we think we experience and understand the world as it is, but our thoughts are beset by everyday illusions. We write traffic laws and build criminal cases on the assumption that people will notice when something unusual happens right in front of them. We're sure we know where we were on 9/11, falsely believing that vivid memories are seared into our mind with perfect fidelity. And as a society, we spend billions on devices to train our brains because we're continually tempted by the lure of quick fixes and effortless self-improvement. 

The Invisible Gorilla reveals the numerous ways that our intuitions can deceive us, but it's more than a catalog of human failings. In the book, we also explain why people succumb to these everyday illusions and what we can do to inoculate ourselves against their effects. In short, we try to give you a sort of "x-ray vision" into your own minds, with the ultimate goal of helping you notice the invisible gorillas in your own life.

Angie's comments: This is a quick, easy, and entertaining read that will change how you view humans, especially yourself. Christopher Chabris and Daniel Simons use fascinating examples to show how our intuition can be wrong. There were many times I thought “I would do better” or “That can’t be right.” Fortunately, Chabris and Simons also include examples of how their intuitions failed them, making it easier to accept my own failures.

After reading this book, I realized that there are many things I don’t notice and things I think I know but really don’t know. I (and other humans) do not always notice what our eyes see; base decisions on the say-so of a highly confident person, even though confidence isn’t as important as the facts; and don’t remember the past accurately. Where was I and what  was I doing when I heard about 9/11? If you ask, I can tell you, but is it really right? Not likely. Remember the family gathering you last went to? If you talk with people who were there, it might appear that everyone was at a different gathering!

The Invisible Gorilla is best for readers interested in psychology or people who want to become more aware of their own human errors. The book is written for people who don’t have a background in psychology, so it doesn't use jargon and the authors explain their examples thoroughly.

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Bones Never Lie

Summary: Unexpectedly called in to the Charlotte PD’s Cold Case Unit, Dr. Temperance Brennan wonders why she’s been asked to meet with a homicide cop who’s a long way from his own jurisdiction. The shocking answer: Two child murders, separated by thousands of miles, have one thing in common—the killer. Years ago, Anique Pomerleau kidnapped and murdered a string of girls in Canada, then narrowly eluded capture. It was a devastating defeat for her pursuers, Brennan and police detective Andrew Ryan. Now, as if summoned from their nightmares, Pomerleau has resurfaced in the United States, linked to victims in Vermont and North Carolina. When another child is snatched, the reign of terror promises to continue—unless Brennan can rise to the challenge and make good on her second chance to stop a psychopath.
 
But Brennan will have to draw her bitter ex-partner out of exile, keep the local police and feds from one another’s throats, and face more than just her own demons as she stalks the deadliest of predators into the darkest depths of madness.

Angie's comments: Although I like mysteries, I had not yet read any of Kathy Reichs’ books. I am happy that my first was Bones Never Lie. The novel was engaging and the action moved quickly. While some parts of the story didn’t seem very realistic; for instance, I still can’t understand why Dr. Temperance Brennan is so involved in the cases when she isn’t a detective, and how a police force can justify spending so much money on travel. Fortunately, those parts were easy to justify or ignore and did not spoil my enjoyment of the book. The plot kept moving along at a nice pace, and I like that not all the questions were answered in the end. I will look for more Kathy Reichs’ books in the future. Fans of Kathy Reichs will enjoy this book!