Posts

Library book: The Man Made of Smoke Alex North

Image
Publisher: Celadon Books Published: 5/13/2025 Pages: 307 Genre: Thriller/Horror Review: Library book Amazon Dan Garvie’s life has been haunted by the crime he witnessed as a child—narrowly escaping an encounter with a notorious serial killer. He has dedicated his life since to becoming a criminal profiler, eager to seek justice for innocent victims. So when his father passes away under suspicious circumstances, Dan revisits his small island community, determined to uncover the truth about his death. Is it possible that the monster he remembers from his childhood nightmares has returned after all these years? With his signature shock and suspense, Alex North brings us  The Man Made of Smoke . In turn emotional, introspective, and utterly terrifying, this is a story of fathers and sons, shadows and secrets, and the fight we all face to escape the trauma of the past.

Library book: Beartown #2 Us Against You Fredrik Backman , Neil Smith (Translator)

Image
Publisher: Atrai Books Published: 6/5/2018 Pages: 443 Genre: Sports Review: Library book Amazon After everything that the citizens of Beartown have gone through, they are struck yet another blow when they hear that their beloved local hockey team will soon be disbanded. What makes it worse is the obvious satisfaction that all the former Beartown players, who now play for a rival team in Hed, take in that fact. Amidst the mounting tension between the two rivals, a surprising newcomer is handpicked to be Beartown’s new hockey coach. Soon a new team starts to take shape around Amat, the fastest player you’ll ever see; Benji, the intense lone wolf; and Vidar, a born-to-be-bad troublemaker. But bringing this team together proves to be a challenge as old bonds are broken, new ones are formed, and the enmity with Hed grows more and more acute. As the big match approaches, the not-so-innocent pranks and incidents between the communities pile up and their mutual contempt grows deeper. By the t...

Library book: Beartown #3 The Winners Fredrik Backman , Neil Smith (Translator)

Image
Publisher: Atria Books Published: 9/27/2022 Pages: 684 Genre: Sports/ Hockey Review: library book Amazon Two years have passed since the events that no one wants to think about. Everyone has tried to move on, but there’s something about this place that prevents it. The residents continue to grapple with life’s big questions: What is a family? What is a community? And what, if anything, are we willing to sacrifice in order to protect them? As the locals of Beartown struggle to overcome the past, great change is on the horizon. Someone is coming home after a long time away. Someone will be laid to rest. Someone will fall in love, someone will try to fix their marriage, and someone will do anything to save their children. Someone will submit to hate, someone will fight, and someone will grab a gun and walk towards the ice rink. So what are the residents of Beartown willing to sacrifice for their home?

Library book: The Freedom Writers Diary (Movie Tie-in Edition): How a Teacher and 150 Teens Used Writing to Change Themselves and the World Around Them Erin Gruwell , The Freedom Writers , Zlata Filipović (Foreword)

Image
Publisher: Crown Published: 10/12/1999 Pages: 448 Genre: biographical Review: library book Amazon In 1994, an idealistic first-year teacher in Long Beach, California, named Erin Gruwell confronted a room of “unteachable, at-risk” students. She had intercepted a note with an ugly racial caricature and angrily declared that this was precisely the sort of thing that led to the Holocaust. She was met by uncomprehending looks—none of her students had heard of one of the defining moments of the twentieth century. So she rebooted her entire curriculum, using treasured books such as Anne Frank’s diary as her guide to combat intolerance and misunderstanding. Her students began recording their thoughts and feelings in their own diaries, eventually dubbing themselves the “Freedom Writers.”   Consisting of powerful entries from the students’ diaries and narrative text by Erin Gruwell,  The Freedom Writers Diary  is an unforgettable story of how hard work, courage, and determination ...

Library book: Danger in the Shadows 0.5 by Dee Henderson

Image
Publisher: Tyndale Fiction Published: 11/1/2025 Pages: 320 Genre: Contemporary Christian Romance v Review: library book Amazon Sara is terrified. She's doing the one thing she cannot afford to fall in love with former pro-football player Adam Black, a man everyone knows. Sara's been hidden away in the witness protection program, her safety dependent on staying invisible—and loving Adam could get her killed! Introducing the O'Malleys, an inspirational group of seven, all abandoned or orphaned as teens, who have made the choice to become a loyal and committed family. They have chosen their own surname, O'Malley, and have stood by each other through moments of joy and heartache. Their stories are told in CBA best-selling, inspirational romantic suspense novels that rock your heart and restore strength and hope to your spirit.

Library book: The Farmhouse by Chelsea Condradt

Image
Publisher: Poisoned Pen Press Published: 6/17/2025 Pages: 432 Genre: Suspense Thriller Review: Library book  Amazon Every woman who has lived on this farm has died. Emily just moved in. When Emily Hauk's mother dies, it's time for her and her husband, Josh, to finally leave San Francisco. A farm in rural Nebraska is everything they want for a fresh start: clear skies, low costs, and distance from the grief back home.  They should have asked why the farm was for sale.  Three years ago a teenage girl went missing from the farm. Soon afterward, the girl's mother mysteriously died. The deeper Emily digs the more stories she uncovers of women connected to her new home who've met their own dark ends. With each passing day Emily's sanctuary slips further away. The barn seems to move throughout her property as though chasing her. Her mother's favorite music drifts across the cornfield. She swears she saw blood in one of the farmhand's trucks. And the screams that w...

Library book: Stalked Through the Mist by Carla Cassidy

Image
Publisher: Harlequin Intrigue  Published: 4/1/2025 Pages: 203 Genre: Mystery/Romance Review: library book  Amazon The fog conceals a killer who’s hunting them both The disappearance of five people in Angel Marchant’s marshland town has left everyone terrified they’ll be next. And when a voodoo doll with a knife through its heart is left hanging on her front door, Angel turns to the only person she can trust. Ever since she rescued him from the swamp, injured New Orleans photographer Nathan Merrick has been falling hard for Angel. But now the beautiful fisherwoman is the target of a predator whose vendetta of violence will end only when Angel belongs to him forever… From Harlequin Seek thrills. Solve crimes. Justice served.