THOUGHTS ON THIS 'n THAT

Just in time for Halloween. Boooooooooo  The brilliant Jo Nesbo comes forward with a new novel garanteed to scare the day lights out of you -  a chilling fresh spin on the classic horror novel, THE NIGHT HOUSE (Vintage). When the voices call, don't answer. In the wake of his parents’ tragic deaths in a house fire, fourteen-year-old Richard Elauved has been sent to live with his aunt and uncle in the remote, insular town of Ballantyne. Richard quickly earns a reputation as an outcast, and when a classmate named Tom goes missing, everyone suspects the new, angry boy is responsible for his disappearance.  No one believes him when he says the telephone booth out by the edge of the woods sucked Tom into the receiver like something out of a horror movie. No one, that is, except Karen, a beguiling fellow outsider who encourages Richard to pursue clues the police refuse to investigate.  He traces the number that Tom prank-called from the phone booth to an abandoned house in ...

  What if saving the world means not saving your child? Seven Children. Five Mothers. One idyllic commune. What could go wrong? Annabel Cooper wants to save the world.  Her story begins in 1964 with her journey to Freedom Summer in Mississippi, where the disappearance of her first love ignites a lifelong fight for justice.  Years later, she, her husband, and four other couples form a Boston political collective where they live together with their children in a rambling Boston house.  As the era's social upheaval intensifies, they move their children to a Vermont Eden, where they can remain safe from the world's threats; their parents continue their political work, taking turns traveling to Vermont to care for the children. But not all danger comes from the outside. Annabel's daughter, Ivy, yearns for normalcy, not the patchouli-soaked, natural-food-laden confines of Vermont. But mostly, she longs for Annabel's attention-until a cataclysmic event alters the course of ...

  Susan Mallery, the #1  New York Times  bestselling author of  The Boardwalk Bookshop,  returns with the joyful and utterly irresistible story of a mother who couldn't love her kids more but hopes that, just this once, they please  don't  come home for Christmas.   Julie Parker’s kids are her greatest gift. Still, she’s not exactly heartbroken when they ask to skip a big Christmas. Her son, Nick, is taking a belated honeymoon with his bride, Blair, while her daughter, Dana, will purge every reminder of the guy who dumped her. Again. Julie feels practically giddy for one-on-one holiday time with Heath, the (much) younger man she’s secretly dating. But her plans go from cozy to chaotic when Nick and Dana plead for Christmas at the family cabin in memory of their late father, Julie’s ex. She can’t refuse, even though she dreads their reactions to her new man when they realize she’s been hiding him for months. As the guest list grows in surprisi...

  A leader of the Jamaican Maroons crosses paths with an enigmatic sorceress in this spine-tingling tale of ancient enemies, based on real Jamaican history and legend Deep in the heart of Jamaica, the stories of insatiable bloodthirsty creatures and dark rituals brought over from the old country have been the stuff of legends for centuries. Queen Nanny, the leader of a community of Maroons, is well versed in military leadership and spiritual wisdom. But how do you beat an enemy that possesses the power over life and death? One such figure is the enigmatic White Witch, shrouded in mystery and superstition—some say she was once a wealthy woman who murdered her husbands while others believe she was a powerful sorceress who used dark magic. As the White Witch threatens the safety of Queen Nanny’s home, she must use every weapon at her disposal to protect her people. With action and mystery that brings to life a legendary urban myth, this thrilling novel provides a fresh perspective on ...

  Time to celebrate and run to bookstores. Robert Dugoni's new novel, BEYOND REASONABLE DOUBT (Thomas&Mercer) is in book stores. BEYOND REASONABLE DOUBT is book 2 in his new, "Keera Duggan series." Lawyer, Keera Duggan's strength and heart shine on every page. Justice has rarely been this exciting or riveting.  A master manipulator accused of murder. An attorney sworn to defend her. Keera Duggan returns in a riveting novel of suspense by  New York Times  bestselling author Robert Dugoni. When Jenna Bernstein, disgraced wunderkind CEO of a controversial biotech company, is accused of murdering her former partner and lover, she turns to Seattle attorney Keera Duggan to defend her. Keera is more than a master chess player who brings her intuitive moves into court—she’s Jenna’s childhood friend. But considering their history, Keera knows that where Jenna goes, trouble follows. Five years earlier, Keera’s father successfully defended Jenna when she was tried for the k...

  Gifted—or cursed—with the power to influence the weather, one woman must embrace her wild heart in the next electric romance from the author of  Witch of Wild Things. Teal Flores is desperate for two things—control over her gift of weather, and a date to her ex’s wedding. The first isn’t possible until she finds her long-lost mother, but the second has a very handsome last-ditch solution: Carter Velasquez. Carter needs Teal too. His chance at receiving an inheritance is dependent on him being married by age thirty (blame his traditional Cuban grandmother), so who better to pose as his wife than Teal? But fake marriage and cohabitation prove tricky when mutual attraction charges the atmosphere—quite literally for Teal, whose volatile emotions cause lightning strikes. Together, Teal and Carter embark on a quest to find her mother and the answers she’s searching for. But along the way, they’ll discover something even better: a love that can weather any storm. I'm a Mexican Amer...

  Saturday, March 22, 1930 In book two of Scott Finley's "Voyage of the Queen" series, QUEENofDIAMONDS (VictoriaInk), diamonds of every shape, size and color are showing up. We're aboard the Queen Victoria in the Atlantic Ocean on our way to England and a killer lurks. One of the diamond dealers sailing includes up and coming diamantaire, Harry Winston. There are several other dealers and when one is found dead, his mouthful of diamonds. Amateur sleuth, Maeve Chandler (who we met in book one) is on the hunt for a killer, who is not afraid of killing again.  What makes author Finley's book stand out is a compelling story set in the 1920s Gilded Age. The research is extensive - you'll feel as if you aboard. Anyone who enjoys murder mysteries will discover a new series to read in Scott Finley's, "Voyage of the Queen." Scott's fascination with the golden age of trans-Atlantic luxury liners began at an early age with reading Walter Lord's Tita...

  October 1929, the Atlantic Ocean Deaths on the British Luxury liner, Queen Victoria take place in debut author, Scott Finley's novel, SHADOW of the QUEEN (VictoriaInkPub). A killer is stalking the halls. He's gotten away with one murder and there may be more. M aeve Chandler under the tutelage of mystery writer, Agatha Christie must find out who the killer is before the Queen Victoria arrives in New York.  This is book one in author, Finley's "Voyages of the Queen" series. I may be a bit biased because I know Scott, in fact he was my boss at one time. But no one can argue against the fact that SHADOW of the QUEEN is a well researched, well-written and a compelling story.  A perfect way to "set sail away from the ills of the day" while enjoying a delicious pumpkin spice latte. Scott's fascination with the golden age of trans-Atlantic luxury liners began at an early age with reading Walter Lord's Titanic classic, "A Night to Remember." ...

  An unforgettable novel that captures the power of longing, loss, and love, The Time Keepers (UnionSquare&Co) transports us from 1979 suburban New York to war-torn Vietnam, revealing that sometimes the most unexpected friendships can save us. Two women from different worlds, Grace and Anh, are indelibly changed when a runaway boy is found on a street in their small Long Island town. Brought together by the love of this child displaced by war, the women find friendship and healing from their own painful pasts when their lives intersect with a mysterious wounded Vietnam vet. The vet, Jack, works at the Golden Hours, a watch store that mends timepieces—and might even mend damaged souls.  Richman interweaves the journeys of these wonderfully diverse characters who will grip, fill, and break your heart—only to bring them together with the care and precision of an expert watchmaker, one piece at a time. Inspired by the true story of a Vietnamese refugee who entrusted the dramat...

  Love comes home for the challah-days in this sparkling romance. Snow is falling, holiday lights are twinkling, and Abby Cohen is  pissed . For one thing, her most annoying customer, Seth, has been coming into her café every morning with his sunshiny attitude, determined to break down her carefully constructed emotional walls. And, as the only Jew on the tourism board of her Vermont town, Abby's been charged with planning their fledgling Hanukkah festival. Unfortunately, the local vendors don’t understand that the story of Hanukkah cannot be told with light-up plastic figures from the Nativity scene, even if the Three Wise Men wear yarmulkes. Desperate for support, Abby puts out a call for help online and discovers she was wrong about being the only Jew within a hundred miles. There's one Seth. As it turns out, Seth’s parents have been badgering him to bring a Nice Jewish Girlfriend home to New York City for Hanukkah, and if Abby can survive his incessant, irritatingly...

  East House is the oldest and least desirable dorm on campus, but it has a draw for lonely university freshman Aleeza Kassam: Jay Hoque, the hot and broody student who vanished from East House five months ago without a trace. It’s irresistible to an aspiring investigative journalist like Aleeza. But when she starts receiving texts from Jay, the mystery takes an unexpected turn. To put it mildly. His messages are coming not only from Aleeza’s own dorm room but from the  past ―only weeks before he disappeared. Sharing space, if not time, Aleeza and Jay are living the impossible, and they start working together to prevent his inevitable disappearance. Causing a temporal paradox that could blow up the universe is a risk they’re going to have to take. Aleeza digs through Jay’s suspicious friends, enemies, and exes, determined to find out what happened to him. Or what  will  happen to him. But it’s becoming more than a mystery. Aleeza is catching feelings for her charming...

  b A MOST ANTICIPATED BOOK • From one of the world’s most distinguished anthropologists, an important and timely work of cultural history that looks at the origins and much debated future of anthropology museums Ironically, announced this week, the United States is returning nearly 300 smuggled artifacts to India. Prime Minister Modi accepted the artifacts trafficking from India. The United States has returned nearly 600 cultural artifacts to India since 2016. In this deeply researched, immersive history, Adam Kuper tells the story of how foreign and prehistoric peoples and cultures were represented in Western museums of anthropology. Originally created as colonial enterprises, their halls were populated by displays of plundered art, artifacts, dioramas, bones, and relics. Kuper reveals the politics and struggles of trying to build these museums in Germany, France, and England in the mid-19th century, and the dramatic encounters between the very colorful and eccentric collectors, ...