July 29, 2022
New Fiction
Listen to Me by Tess Gerritsen – Boston homicide detective Jane Rizzoli and medical examiner Maura Isles are plagued by what seems to be a completely senseless murder. Sofia Suarez, a widow and nurse who was universally liked by her neighbours, lies bludgeoned to death in her own home. But anything can happen behind closed doors, and Sofia seems to have accumulated plenty of secrets in her last days, making convert calls to traceless burner phones. When Jane finally makes a connection between Sofia and the victim of a hit-and-run from months earlier, the case grows only blurrier. Meanwhile, Angela Rizzoli hasn’t had a decent night’s sleep in all the years since her daughter became a homicide detective. Maybe the apple hadn’t fallen too far from the tree: Nothing in Angela’s neighbourhood gets by her – not the gossip about a runaway teenager down the block, and definitely not the strange neighbours who have just moved in across the street. If only Jane would listen – instead of writing off Angela’s concerns as the result of an overactive imagination. With so much happening on the Suarez case Jane and Maura already struggle to see the forest for the trees, but will they lose sight of something sinister happening much closer to home.
The Best Is Yet To Come by Debbie Macomber – A new beginning in charming Oceanside, Washington, is exactly what Hope Godwin needs after the death of her twin brother. There are plenty of distractions, like her cozy cottage with the slightly nosy landlords next door and a brewing drama among her students at the local high school. Even having settled quickly into the community, Hope feels that something is still missing. That is, until her landlords convince her to volunteer at their animal shelter. There she meets Shadow, a rescue dog everyone has given up on. But true to her name, Hope believes he’s worth saving. Like Shadow, shelter volunteer Cade Lincoln Jr. is suffering from injuries most can’t see. A wounded ex-marine, Cade identifies with Shadow, assuming they are both beyond help. Hope senses that what they both need is someone to believe in them, and she has a lot of love to give. As she gains Shadow’s trust, Hope notices that Cade is beginning to open up as well. Finding the courage to be vulnerable again, Cade and Hope take steps toward a relationship, and Hope finally begins to feel at peace in her new home. But Hope’s happiness is put to the test when Cade’s past conflicts resurface and Hope becomes embroiled in the escalating situation at the high school. Love and compassion are supposed to heal all wounds, but are they enough to help Hope and Cade overcome the pain of their past and the obstacles in the way of a better future?
Reputation by Sarah Vaughan - As a politician, Emma has sacrificed a great deal for her career—including her marriage and her relationship with her daughter, Flora. A former teacher, the glare of the spotlight is unnerving for Emma, particularly when it leads to countless insults, threats, and trolling as she tries to work in the public eye. As a woman, she knows her reputation is worth its weight in gold but as a politician, she discovers it only takes one slip-up to destroy it completely. Fourteen-year-old Flora is learning the same hard lessons at school as she encounters heartless bullying. When another teenager takes her own life, Emma lobbies for a new law to protect women and girls from the effects of online abuse. Now, Emma and Flora find their personal lives uncomfortably intersected…but then the unthinkable happens. A man is found dead in Emma’s home. A man she had every reason to be afraid of and to want gone. Fighting to protect her reputation, and determined to protect her family at all costs, Emma is pushed to the limits as the worst happens and her life is torn apart.
The Soviet Sisters by Anika Scott – Sisters Vera and Marya were brought up as good Soviets: obedient despite the hardships of poverty and tragedy, committed to communist ideals, and loyal to Stalin. Several years after fighting on the eastern front, both women find themselves deep in the mire of conflicts shaping a new world order in 1947 Berlin. When Marya, an interpreter, gets entangled in Vera’s cryptic web of deceit and betrayal, she must make desperate choices to survive – and to protect those she loves. Nine years later, Marya is a prisoner in a Siberian work camp when Vera, a doyenne of the KGB, has cause to reopen her case file and investigate the facts behind her sister’s conviction in Berlin all those years ago. As Vera retraces the steps that brought them both to that pivotal moment in 1947, she unravels unexpected discoveries that call into question the very history the Soviets were working hard to cover up.