Mysteries & Thrillers
 Bangkok 8
Burdett, John
M Burdett
Bangkok policeman Sonchai Jitplecheep investigates the murder of an African American Marine sergeant and the subsequent death of his partner, making his way through a world of illicit drugs and corruption to find a vicious killer.
 A Body to Die For
White, Kate
M White
Recuperating at the Cedar Inn Spa, magazine writer-turned-sleuth Bailey Weggins discovers a body in a massage room and investigates the victim's past before finding herself falling for Jeffrey Beck, a detective working on the case.
 The Da Vinci Code
Brown, Dan
M Brown
Harvard symbologist Robert Langdon and French cryptologist Sophie Neveu work to solve the murder of an elderly curator of the Louvre, a case which leads to clues hidden in the works of Da Vinci and a centuries-old secret society.
 The Kalahari Typing School for Men
McCall Smith, R. A.
M McCall
Now that the No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency is firmly established, founder Precious Ramotswe faces new challenges at home and at work--from problems with her adopted son to a sexist rival who is opening a detective agency across town.
 Naked Prey
Sandford, John
M Sandford
Lucas Davenport finds some changes--and some nasty surprises--in store, in the chilling new novel by the number one bestselling author. Filled with the rich characterization and exceptional drama that are his hallmarks, this is Sandford's most suspenseful novel yet.*
 Sinister Pig
Hillerman, Tony
M Hillerman
The bestselling author of "The Wailing Wind" brings back Chee and Leaphorn, who investigate a motiveless murder with hazy federal connections. This leads a frightened Washington power broker to fly west and initiates the hunt for a pig that is sinister indeed.*
Science Fiction
 The Dark Path
Hunt, Walter H
S Hunt
Former enemies, humans and the zor, must join forces to battle a new adversary responsible for the disappearance of entire fleets and the resulting madness of the few survivors who remain.
 Evolution
Baxter, Stephen
S Baxter
An epic science fiction adventure dramatizes some 165 million years of human evolution, from the prehistoric world to the quest for outer space.
 Oryx and Crake
Atwood, Margaret
F Atwood
A novel of the future explores a world that has been devastated by ecological and scientific disasters.
 The Risen Empire
Westerfeld, Scott
S Westerfeld
When the empire is challenged by a band of machine-augmented humans who seek to put their own gods in control by kidnapping the Immortal Child Empress, captain Laurent Zal of the Imperial Frigate Lynx is charged with her rescue.
 The White Dragon / In Fire Forged
Resnick, Laura
S Resnick
With a rebellion overwhelming their land, Tansen and his allies face difficult choices in their quest for freedom, which forces them to retain a constant vigilance and make painful sacrifices.
Literature & Fiction
 Ash Wednesday
Hawke, Ethan
F Hawke
Jimmy, AWOL from the Army, heads across America from Albany to New Orleans, Ohio, and Texas in a souped-up Chevy with his pregnant girlfriend, Christy, transforming themselves from passionate lovers into a young family along the way.
 The Book of Salt
Truong, Monique T. D
F Truong
Considering whether he will accompany his employers, Gertrude Stein and Alice B. Toklas, to America, a personal cook remembers his youth in French-colonized Vietnam and his days cooking for the doyennes of the Lost Generation.
 A Box of Matches: a Novel
Baker, Nicholson
F Baker
Predawn thoughts of a living room fire form the basis of this wonderfully intelligent, poignant novel, and the first in five years by the bestselling author of "Vox" and "Double Fold". *
 Cosmopolis
DeLillo, Don
F DeLillo
A brilliant billionaire asset manager, en route via white stretch limo to the local haircutter, finds his trip interrupted by a presidential motorcade, music idol's funeral, movie set, and violent political demonstration.
 The Cutting Room
Welsh, Louise
F Welsh
Auctioneer and antiques expert Rilke's discovery of a cache of violent erotica leads him on a compulsive search for the creators, and victims, of the pornography.
 The Devil Wears Prada
Weisberger, Lauren
F Weisberger
A small-town girl fresh out of an Ivy League college lands a job at a prestigious fashion magazine, but wonders if the glamorous perks are worth working for the editor from hell.
 The Dogs of Babel
Parkhurst, Carolyn
F Parkhurst
Discovering clues that indicate his beloved wife may not have died accidentally, Paul Iverson begins a perilous search for the truth while attempting to teach his dog, who witnessed the crime, to communicate.
 Drinking Coffee Elsewhere
Packer, ZZ
F Packer
Presents a collection of eight short stories that touch on the subject of race and race relations.
 Drop City
Boyle, T. Coraghessan
F Boyle
Boyle has proven himself to be a master storyteller who can do just about anything. But even his most ardent admirers may be caught off guard by his ninth novel, for Boyle has delivered something completely unexpected: a serious and richly rewarding character study that is his most accomplished and deeply satisfying work to date. *
 Gilligan's Wake
Carson, Tom
F Carson
An author, an institutionalized shadow man, twists the histories of his characters-Alger Hiss, Daisy Buchanan, Robert Oppenheimer, Jack Kennedy, and others-into a kaleidoscopic pastiche of twentieth-century America.
 Maneater: a Novel
Grazer, Gigi Levangie
F Grazer
Hollywood social climber Clarissa Alpert cuts a swath through Beverly Hills within a circle of equally desirable girlfriends and meets her match in hot new producer Aaron Mason, who she plans to marry even before their first date.
 The Master Butchers Singing Club
Erdrich, Louise
F Erdrich
A brilliant new book by one of America's most acclaimed novelists, in "The Master Butchers Singing Club" Erdrich creates a fictional world filled with memorable characters who grapple with the worst and best impulses of human nature. *
 The Other Woman
Dickey, Eric Jerome
F Dickey
In his newest novel, Dickey strides boldly over the mine field that is modern marriage. The story sparkles with humor, honesty, and powerful compassion as a contemporary couple faces challenges that test their faith. *
 Say When
Berg, Elizabeth
F Berg
Told from the point of view of a man who goes overnight from being a husband to his wife's roommate, this is an absorbing story of working through denial and pain toward personal responsibility and redemption. *
 Three Junes
Glass, Julia
F Glass
Reveals the interconnected lives, loves, and relationships of different generations of the McLeod family over the course of three crucial summers.
Non-Fiction
 Almost There: the Onward Journey of a Dublin Woman
O'Faolain, Nuala
B O'Faolain
O'Faolain begins her story from the moment her life began to change in all manner of ways--subtle, radical, predictable, and unforeseen. It is a provocative meditation on the "crucible of middle age." It is also a story of good fortune chasing out bad--of an accidental harvest of happiness. *
 The Apprentice: My Life in the Kitchen
Pepin, Jacques
B Pepin
In this frank and witty memoir, world-renowned chef Jacques Pepin tells how he rose from a frightened 13-year-old apprentice in an Old World kitchen to an Emmy Award-winning TV superstar. *
 Black Dahlia Avenger: a Genius for Murder
Hodel, Steve
364.1 Hodel
On January 15, 1947, the body of beautiful 22-year-old Elizabeth Short--dubbed the Black Dahlia because of her black clothing and the dahlia she wore--was discovered in a lot in downtown Los Angeles. More than 50 years after what has been called the most notorious unsolved murder of the 20th century, the case has finally been solved. *
 The Clinton Wars
Blumenthal, Sidney
973.939 Blumenthal
A senior advisor to Bill Clinton describes his relationship with the former president, noting his testimony at Clinton's impeachment trial and his admiration for the former president's work in Kosovo, against Congress, and toward economic improvement
 Down by the River: Drugs, Money, Murder, and Family
Bowden, Charles
363.45 Bowden
Offers an illuminating tour of the drug war, revealing the dark, troubling recesses of drug lords, high-level corruption, and ultra-violence that respects no borders.
 Jarhead: a Marine's Chronicle of the Gulf War and Other Battles
Swofford, Anthony
956.7044 Swofford
A memoir of the Gulf War by a front-line infantry marine recounts his struggles with the conflict on the front lines, his battles with fear and suicide, his brushes with death, and his identity as a soldier and an American.
 Krakatoa: the Day the World Exploded: August 27, 1883
Winchester, Simon
959.8 Winchester
Considers the global impact of the 1883 eruption of the Krakatoa volcano, documenting its cause of an immense tsunami that killed 40,000 people, its impact on the weather for several years, and its role in anti-Western Islamic fundamentalism.
 The Last Good Season: Brooklyn, the Dodgers, and Their Final Pennant Race Together
Shapiro, Michael
796.357 Shapiro
A chronicle of the Brooklyn Dodgers and their last great season retraces this legendary team's final pennant and their difficult, subsequent move to Los Angeles.
 Living History
Clinton, Hillary Rodham
B Clinton
The author chronicles her eight years as First Lady of the United States, looking back on her husband's two administrations, the challenges she faced during the period, the impeachment crisis, and her own political work.
 A Million Little Pieces
Frey, James
B Frey
A memoir of drug and alcohol abuse and the rehabilitation experience examines addiction and recovery through the eyes of a man who had taken his addictions to deadly extremes, describing the battle to confront the consequences of his life.
 Positively Fifth Street: Murderers, Cheetahs, and Binion's World Series of Poker
McManus, James
795.41 McManus
A chronicle of life in Las Vegas investigates the murder of poker player Ted Binion, revealing a secret world of kinky sex, black magic, and science lurking at the heart of gambling's World Series of Poker.
 Reading Lolita in Tehran: a Memoir in Books
Nafisi, Azar
B Nafisi
The author describes growing up in the Islamic Republic of Iran and the group of young women who came together at her home in secret every Thursday to read and discuss great books of Western literature.
 Reefer Madness: Sex, Drugs, and Cheap Labor in the American Black Market
Schlosser, Eric
330 Schlosser
Schlosser Reports on America's "shadow" economy of illegal drugs, pornography, and illegal migrant workers, arguing that these underground industries continue to grow with government intervention.
 A Round-Heeled Woman: My Late-life Adventures in Sex and Romance
Juska, Jane
B Juska
A sixtysomething schoolteacher describes how, tired of celibacy, she placed an ad in the personals section of "The New York Review of Books" and embarked on a series of sexual and romantic adventures with the men she met.
 A Short History of Nearly Everything
Bryson, Bill
500 Bryson
The author traces the Big Bang through the rise of civilization, documenting his work with a host of the world's most advanced scientists and mathematicians to explain why things are the way they are.
*Summaries are used with permission from Syndetic Solutions, Inc.
SG
Community Services Department
Tompkins County Public Library
July 2003
|
