'mystery'

I LOVE mysteries. I was practically raised on them. I started with Aunt Eater Solves a Mystery and Nate the Great then went from Encyclopedia Brown to Trixie Belden, Nancy Drew, and then straight to the loving embrace of Agatha Christie.

I do still love to have Miss Marple and Poirot as my detective companions, these days, I am often on the lookout for something a little different. So, in no particular order, here are a few unconventional mysteries I’ve enjoyed lately.

All Systems Red

The Murderbot Diaries #1
by Martha Wells

SCIENCE FICTION // All Systems Red is the first in a series of novellas by Martha Wells starring…..Murderbot, a self-named security android with a hacked governor unit. You might think that this would be a gory, violent redemption of robots story, but you’d be wrong. Murderbot just wants to be left alone to watch his shows, but the human scientists he’s been hired to protect keep getting almost killed, Murderbot knows they’ve been set up. Each Murderbot novella features Murderbot begrudgingly solving a mystery to save his human companions.

The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie

Flavia de Luce #1
by Alan Bradley

MYSTERY // Also in e-book // Alan Bradley’s mysteries feature the aspiring young chemist with a penchant for poisons, Flavia de Luce. Flavia lives in Buckshaw, a once grand mansion, with her father, two sisters, and a few servants. When she finds a dead body in the cucumber patch, rather than been frightened, Flavia perks up and begins investigating: “I wish I could say I was afraid, but I wasn’t. Quite the contrary. This was by far the most interesting thing that had ever happened to me in my entire life.”

Magic for Liars

by Sarah Gailey

SCIENCE FICTION // Imagine the Harry Potter mashed up with Sam Spade, and you’d come close to the feel of Magic For Liars. Ivy Gamble is happy with her life. She lives alone and works, mostly successfully, as a private investigator, but trouble comes calling in the form of her estranged sister: a magically gifted professor at a school for magical children. One of the faculty members of Osthorne Academy for Young Mages has been gruesomely murdered and Ivy, who has knowledge of the magical world AND solving mysteries, is the only one fit for the case.

Honorable Mentions

1. The Last Policeman by Ben H. Winters
   A police detective investigates a murder as the world is ending.
2. The Verifiers by Jane Pek
   FICTION // A client of a private investigation company that investigates if your dating app match is lying to you is murdered.
3. The Forest of Stolen Girls by June Hur
   E-audiobook only // A girl poses as a man to investigate the mysterious disappearance of young girls on the island of Jeju, set in 15th century Korea.
4. Powers by Brian Michael Bendis
   GRAPHIC NOVEL // A graphic novel series about cops investigating the murders of superheroes.

12/13/2021

New Movie Arrivals! Many new releases and recent film favorites have arrived at the library this past week. Check out the full list here!

Atlas of the Heart by Brené Brown

Mapping Meaningful Connection and the Language of Human Experience // Over the past two decades, Brown's extensive research into the experiences that make us who we are has shaped the cultural conversation and helped define what it means to be courageous with our lives. This book draws on this research, as well as Brown's singular skills as a researcher/storyteller, to lay out an invaluable, research-based framework that shows us that naming an experience doesn't give the experience more power, it gives us the power of understanding, meaning, and choice.

971.004 LP THISTLE
Campbell Book Club Feb '22 Selection

Space Jam: A New Legacy directed by Malcolm D. Lee

LeBron James and his son are trapped by a rogue AI in a Warner Bros.-themed digital universe where their only chance to free themselves is to form a basketball team out of Looney Tunes characters and compete against the AI's own team.

PG | Family Sports Comedy // Available in Blu-ray and DVD

A Rainy Day in New York written and directed by Woody Allen

When Ashleigh gets an assignment from the school paper to interview celebrated film director Roland Pollard in Manhattan, Gatsby seizes the opportunity to show Arizona-bred Ashleigh his favorite haunts in his home city. But when the city's weather turns quickly from sunshine to showers, the two part ways, experiencing chance meetings and comic misadventures.

PG-13 | Romantic Dramedy // Available in Blu-ray

Knives Out written and directed by Rian Johnson

When renowned crime novelist Harlan Thrombey is found dead at his estate just after his 85th birthday, the inquisitive and debonair Detective Benoit Blanc is mysteriously enlisted to investigate. From Harlan's dysfunctional family to his devoted staff, Blanc sifts through a web of red herrings and self-serving lies to uncover the truth behind Harlan's untimely death.

PG-13 | Dark Comedy Mystery // Available in Blu-ray and DVD

If you need help accessing any of these titles or using front door pickup, email or call us and we will be happy to assist you!

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10/4/2021

Stretch your creative muscles! Pick up a Japanese Cord Braiding kit starting Monday, October 11 then join us on Zoom Tuesday, October 19 @ 6pm to put it all together. More information

I Live a Life Like Yours by Jan Grue

A Memoir // Grue was diagnosed with spinal muscular atrophy at the age of three. Shifting between specific periods of his life-- his youth with his parents and sister in Norway; his years of study in Berkeley, St. Petersburg, and Amsterdam; and his current life as a professor, husband, and father. He intersperses these histories with elegant, astonishingly wise reflections on the world, social structures, disability, loss, relationships, and the body: In short, on what it means to be human.

362.4 GRUE

A Cowboy of Legend by Linda Broday

Lone Star Legends Series, Book 1 // Deacon Brannock is determined to make a name for himself as a rancher but, the saloon he won in a poker game is taking all his time and energy. He was prepared for life in the Wild West, but he hadn't counted on Grace Legend... Grace has always fought hard for what she believes in, that includes keeping alcohol out of her town. When the new owner of a saloon in town turns out to be a kind and considerate man, she can't help but wonder if they could have a future together... if they weren't on opposite sides of every issue.

Large Print BRODAY

And Then The Gray Heaven by RE Katz

Confronting the red tape of the hospital, the dissociation and cruelty of B's family, and the unimaginable void now at the center of their lives, Jules and new friend Theo embark on a road trip to bury two-thirds of B's ashes in the places they most belong. Along the way, Katz delves into their relationship and their life stories--Jules' rise from abandoned baby origins through the Florida foster care system, and B's artistic transformation, surrounded by kindred spirits who helped them realize it was possible to be regarded as a human and not as a body.

KATZ

Find Me by Anne Frasier

Convicted serial killer Benjamin Fisher has offered to lead San Bernardino detective Daniel Ellis to the isolated graves of his victims. One catch: He'll only do it if FBI profiler Reni Fisher, his estranged daughter, accompanies them. She still feels complicit in her father's crimes--Reni was the bait to lure unsuspecting women to their deaths. Ellis shares her obsession with the past and is convinced that his mother was one of Fisher's victims. As thirty years of bad memories flood back, it's only the beginning of a nightmare.

Mystery FRASIER

If you need help accessing any of these titles or using front door pickup, email or call us and we will be happy to assist you!

View Book Notes PDF archive