March 11, 2022
March 11, 2022
New Fiction
A Game of Fear by Charles Todd – Spring 1921. Scotland Yard sends Inspector Ian Rutledge to the sea-battered village of Walmer on the coast of Essex, where among the salt flats and a military airfield lies Benton Abbey, a grand manor with a storied past. The lady of the house may prove to be Rutledge’s most bewildering witness yet. She claims she saw a violent murder – but there is no body, no blood. She also insists she recognized the killer: Captain Nelson. Only it could not have been Nelson because he died during the war. Everyone in the village believes that Lady Benton’s losses have turned her mind – she is, after all, a grieving widow and mother – but the woman Rutledge interviews is rational and self-possessed. And then there is Captain Nelson: What really happened to him in the war? The more Rutledge delves into this baffling case, the more suspicious tragedies he uncovers. The Abbey and the airfield hold their secrets tightly, until Rutledge arrives, and a new trail of death follows.
Think of Me by Frances Liardet – 1942, Alexandria, Egypt. Covered in dust, Yvette and James hold hands for the first time as bombs explode above them. As World War II rages on, they will find their way back to each other time and again, their love a beacon for their survival. After the war, they make a life together in England, where happiness takes root and blossoms – until a tragic event drives a wedge between them. The path back to one another is uncharted territory that both must be brave enough to face. 1974, England. Ten years after his wife’s death, James moves to the English village of Upton seeking change. There he discovers a scarf that lights the dark edges of his memory. Could it be Yvette’s? As James makes a new home for himself, he begins to unlock revelations about his part that just might return his lost faith to him – faith in humanity, in himself, and perhaps most important of all, his faith in love.
All the Queen’s Men by SJ Bennett – At Buckingham Palace, the autumn of 2016 presages uncertain times. The Queen must deal with the fallout from the Brexit referendum, a new female prime minister, and a tumultuous election in the United States – yet these prove to be the least of her worries when a staff member is found dead beside the palace swimming pool. Is it truly the result of a tragic accident, as the police think, or is something more sinister going on? A misappropriated painting and a series of disturbing anonymous letters that have begun circulating in the palace suggest to the Queen that dark forces are at work. Senior members of the Household assure her they have everything under control, but the Queen and her assistant private secretary, Rozie Oshodi, are unconvinced. After all, Elizabeth is the keenest sleuth among them. Sometimes, it takes a Queen’s eye to see connections where no one else can.
One Italian Summer by Rebecca Serle – When Katy’s mother dies, she is left reeling. Carol wasn’t just Katy’s mom but her best friend and first phone call. Even Katy’s husband can’t seem to get through to her – she is lost without an anchor. Her mother was her true north. To make matters worse, the mother-daughter trip of a lifetime looms: going to Positano, following the same route Carol did as a young woman. Katy has been waiting years for Carol to take her, and now suddenly she is faced with embarking on the adventure alone. But as soon as she steps foot on the beautiful Amalfi Coast, buoyed by the stunning cliff sides, delectable food, and charming hotel staff, Katy begins to feel her mother’s spirit. And then Carol appears for real – in the flesh, healthy and suntanned…and thirty years old. Katy doesn’t understand what is happening, or how. But over the course of her time in Italy, Katy gets to know Carol in this new form, and soon she must reconcile the mother who knew everything with the young woman who does not yet have a clue.