Library Corner November 9th
New Fiction
During the nights between Christmas and New Year's, the witches of New York - Adelaide Thom, Eleanor St. Clair and the youngest, Beatrice Dunn - gather before the fire to tell ghost stories and perform traditional Yuletide divinations. (Did you know that roasting chestnuts was once used to foretell one's fate?) As the witches roast chestnuts and melt lead to see their fate, a series of odd messengers land on their doorstep bearing invitations for a New Year's Eve masquerade hosted by a woman they've never met. Gossip, dreams, and portents follow, leading the witches to question the woman's motives. Is she as benevolent as she seems or is she laying a trap? And so, as Gilded-Age New York prepares to ring in the new year, the witches don their finery and head for the ball, on the hunt for answers that might well be the end of them. Ami McKay is back, bringing us a magical follow-up in the tradition of Victorian winter tales to her mesmerizing best seller, The Witches of New York in her new book called Half Spent Was The Night.
Margaret Bradley is the most senior associate at a prestigious law firm, and she is on track to make partner. It is the 1970s; her climb up the career ladder in this male-dominated profession has been difficult, but with hard work she has made herself one of the best in it. She is dedicated to her work and is happily married until one day her entire world is shattered by the sudden death of her son Andrew, a military pilot. Now, Margaret lives with a heavy, all-encompassing sense of loss and regret that is pushing her further and further away from the person she once knew herself to be, and from her husband, Jack, a successful geologist and a loving and loyal partner. Consumed by her sorrows Margaret is drawn back to the family summer home in Sweetbarry, a small town off the coast of the North Atlantic, where she spent much of her childhood. Her lifelong best friend, Aileen, is close by. When Aileen's adult son, Danny, is questioned by local police in connection with a violent crime that shocks the community, Margaret provides legal and moral support. And it is while doing so that an opportunity presents itself for her to confront her sorrow. She sees "a door opening. A way forward," and she boldly reaches out with an act of courage and humility that has profound consequences. Set against the backdrops of the rugged Atlantic coast, Toronto, and Paris, The Hour of the Fox is emotionally resonant, atmospheric, and unforgettable in its depiction of motherhood and loss by author Kurt Palka.
The Puppet. Borrow the bile. Win the race. Collect the cash. It should have been an easy job. Ran out of town with a broken leg and a lawsuit, my mother’s latest flame swoops in like a knight in gilded armor. Blackwood Keep is a place I don’t belong, and I’m not the only one who knows. To the boy across the hall, my savior’s only son, I’m a stray looking for a bone. He’s lord of the Manor. King of the academy. And number one on my list.The Peer. I have no intention of becoming a happy family with the social climber and her wild daughter. A bottle of Jameson and a cracked skull gets my problem shipped to reform school, but I didn’t bank on her returning. Four’s out to get even, and she almost had the perfect plan: expose the privileged kid moonlighting as a gangbanger. She’s smart, but she’ll have to be smarter. Sending her away won’t be good enough this time. I’m going to have to tame the little troublemaker. To the girl across the hall, the one without a name, I’m without my silver spoon. She’s lady of the trailer park. Queen of the swamps and my new favorite pastime. The Peer and The Puppet, by B.B. Reid is an excellent read that will continue to entertain right to the end.
The moment she opened her eyes, she knew everything had changed. The stale taste of alcohol; her uneasy stomach. She looked at her husband sleeping peacefully, and knew she would never tell anyone what happened last night. You will think you know what happened to Alicia that night. You will see a desperate wife, lying to her husband. You will watch a charming lover, trying to win her back. You will judge her, just like everyone else. You will assume you know what happens next. But everything you think you know about the past, the relationships, what drives Alicia and her husband to lie …is wrong. The Affair, by Sheryl Browne, will have you hooked from the very first page.
New Non Fiction
The Power Of Kindness, By Brian Goldman, is a book about why empathy is essential in everyday life. Brian’s curiosity about kindness has taken him on a voyage lasting close to two years. His aim was to meet the kindest and most empathic people on the planet, to hear and share their stories, and to learn what makes them extraordinarily kind. A few work in health care, but most toil in places like bars, fast food restaurants, and call centers. All have helped him to understand what it means to be kind.