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"I figure if a girl wants to be a legend, she should go ahead and be one." ~ Calamity Jane (1852-1903), American frontierswoman
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New and Recently Released!
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| Murder on the Champ de Mars: An Aimée Leduc Investigation Set in Paris by Cara BlackMystery. It's April 1999 in Paris, and new mother Aimée Leduc balances single parenthood with running her detective agency. After her baby's baptism (the father showed up with a new wife in tow), she agrees to aid a Romani boy who's carrying an old business card from Aimée's dead father with a handwritten note that promises help "Anytime. Anyplace." When the boy's sick mother disappears from the hospital, Aimée hunts for her and discovers the case is related to her own father's unsolved murder. Fans will find the same self-possessed, chic detective that they know and love once again roaming the streets of one of the world's most iconic cities in this delightful 15th entry. |
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| The Edge of Dreams: A Molly Murphy Mystery by Rhys BowenHistorical Mystery. An enigmatic killer is on the loose in 1905 New York -- and the only thing linking the murders are taunting notes written to Police Captain Daniel Sullivan, Molly Murphy's husband. Former detective Molly, who has just returned home from Paris after months away while her fire-destroyed house was repaired, is ready to celebrate her son's first birthday and furnish her home -- and help Daniel solve the murders, especially after she and her son appear to be targeted. This cleverly plotted 14th entry in a well-loved series is "one of Molly's best" (Kirkus Reviews) |
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| The Whites: A Novel by Richard Price writing as Harry BrandtPolice Procedural. Forty-two-year-old Sergeant Billy Graves marks time as head of the Manhattan's Night Watch, the motley group of detectives who deal with felonies between 1 a.m. and 8 a.m. Married with two kids, he was an NYPD officer on the rise until a bullet from his gun sailed through a criminal and into a kid. Billy and most of the Wild Geese, his fellow gung-ho cops from that time, had a "white," a criminal who managed to get away unpunished, but now the group's whites are turning up dead. Highly praised (The Washington Post calls it "a masterpiece"), this compelling, authentic novel is sure to be one of the most talked about mysteries of the year. |
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| Life or Death by Michael RobothamCrime Novel. After spending ten hellish years in a Texas prison for his part in an armed-truck robbery gone wrong (four people died, including two of four gang members), Audie Palmer escapes...the night before he's paroled. Why? And where is he? Everyone wants the answers to those questions, including the local cops, the FBI, and Audie's best friend in prison (who's offered a deal: find Audie and go free). They think maybe Audie has plans to meet up with the fourth gang member (who escaped) or to retrieve the never-recovered seven million dollars. But Audie didn't escape because he's crazy or for the money -- he escaped for entirely different reasons. Peppered with stunning plot twists and peopled with fascinating, unforgettable characters, Life or Death is a complex, suspenseful crime novel that also includes a love story. |
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| Lamentation: A Shardlake Novel by C.J. SansomHistorical Mystery. In the summer of 1546, heretics are hunted and burned at the stake in London, and an ill King Henry VIII remains hidden from public view. In his 6th richly detailed outing, intelligent, hunchbacked lawyer Matthew Shardlake is once again caught up in court and political intrigue; he has agreed to help the queen, Catherine Parr, by finding a stolen book she wrote, one that may be considered heretical. The stakes rise after a murder, and Shardlake must use all of his resources to save the queen and others from death. Cleverly plotted and consistently atmospheric, the Shardlake novels should interest mystery readers who enjoyed Hilary Mantel's Booker Prize-winning Wolf Hall. |
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Lately, there's been a lot of mega-bestselling crime novels featuring a "girl" in the title (we're looking at you, Gone Girl and The Girl on the Train), but those are by no means the only females out there.
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| Third Girl: A Hercule Poirot Mystery by Agatha ChristieClassic Mystery. London in the 1960s finds Hercule Poirot feeling bored; having just written a book, he has nothing new to occupy him. But when young Norma Restarick comes to visit the fastidious detective, he's intrigued by her story (despite her modern mini-skirt and unkempt appearance). It seems she's unable to remember if she committed murder or not, so Poirot and mystery writer Ariadne Oliver try to sort out the baffling case. Written near the end of Agatha Christie's career, this later effort still packs a punch (and it's great fun to see Poirot living in the 1960s!). |
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| Metro Girl by Janet EvanovichHumorous Mystery. Though she works in insurance, Alexandra "Barney" Barnaby's life is suddenly anything but safe: her wild younger brother, Bill, has gone missing in southern Florida, and she's left Baltimore to find him. In Miami, she discovers his apartment has been ransacked, learns he recently quit his job, and teams up with handsome NASCAR driver Sam Hooker...who believes Bill has stolen his boat. Sparks fly between Barney and Sam as they search for Bill and hear rumors of treasure and weapons of mass destruction. Those who enjoy lighthearted, over-the-top tales will enjoy this book the most; readers who want more of Barney can pick up the sequel, Motor Mouth, or one of the graphic novels featuring her, Troublemaker #1 or Troublemaker #2. |
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| Nature Girl by Carl HiaasenCrime Caper. Carl Hiaasen fans know what to expect -- criminally funny wackiness among a mélange of misfits. A sampling of the colorful characters in this story include: Honey Santana, an out-of-work single mother who's plotting to get back at an obnoxious telemarketer; Boyd Shreave, said rude telemarketer, who's having an affair with a co-worker; Sammy Tigertail, a part-Seminole Indian who doesn't know what to do with his life (but leading airboat tours isn't it; his first outing results in a dead body); and Louis Piejack, Honey's former boss who can't get her out of his mind...or keep his hands off of her. Mix all those folks together in the Dismal Key, and you've got a "hilarious Florida romp" (Publishers Weekly). |
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| The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg LarssonCrime Novel. With his life and career in tatters thanks to a devastating lawsuit, journalist Mikael Blomqvist is at loose ends. So when eccentric octogenarian Henrik Vanger hires him to search for his great-niece Harriet, who vanished 40 years ago from the family's secluded island home, Mikael accepts the assignment. Helping Mikael is 24-year-old private investigator Lisbeth Salander, a computer hacker who sports a curious tattoo of a dragon. As the pair pursues the mystery, they uncover family secrets better left buried. Originally published in Sweden, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is the first book in an international bestselling trilogy by the late Stieg Larsson, and may be what prompted the current "Girl" craze. (Incidentally, The Girl in the Spider’s Web by David Lagercrantz, an authorized continuation of the series, will be released this autumn.) |
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| California Girl by T. Jefferson ParkerMystery. Living in a small town in Orange County, California, in the 1950s, the four Becker brothers are neighbors to the troubled Vonn family. The Becker boys grow up to become a sheriff's deputy, a minister, a reporter, and a soldier (who's killed in Vietnam). The youngest Vonn, Janelle, grows from a spunky child into the town's beauty queen, but struggles to get away from her abusive family. When she gets involved with the drug and hippie scene of 1960s Laguna Beach and is brutally killed, the three surviving Becker brothers investigate her short, unhappy life in order to solve her murder. This compelling, atmospheric tale won a 2005 Edgar Allan Poe Award. |
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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If you are having trouble unsubscribing to this newsletter, please contact the Round Rock Public Library at
512-218-5400, 221 E. Main Street Round Rock, Texas 78664
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