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Reviews

Library Lines

October 18, 2024

New Fiction

The Serial Killer Guide to San Francisco by Michelle Chouinard– The chill of a San Francisco summer can be deadly.  No one knows this better than Capri Sanzio, who makes her living giving serial killer tours of the city.  Capri has been interested in the topic since she was a kid, when she discovered she’s the granddaughter of serial killer William “Overkill Bill” Sanzio.  She’s always believed in his innocence, though she’s never fully explored all the details of the case.  But now an Overkill Bill copycat has struck in San Francisco.  And Capri’s former mother-in-law, Sylvia, just cut off Capri’s daughter’s tuition payments.  Needing cash, Capri wonders if this is the time to exonerate her grandfather.  The case is back in the news and the police will be looking to understand the past to catch a present-day killer.  Capri could finally uncover the truth about Overkill Bill – documenting the process with a podcast and a book – and earn some real money.  Before Capri can get very far, the cops discover the copycat’s latest victim: Sylvia.  Capri soon finds herself at the heart of the police’s investigation for an entirely different reason.  She and her daughter are prime suspects.

On the Hunt by Iris Johansen – Kira Drake ahs come to Paris with her highly trained Golden Retriever, Mack, to investigate the horrific bombing of a museum in the shadow of the Eiffel Tower.  What she doesn’t know is that one powerful man has special reason to find the person responsible.  Jack Harlan has all the money in the world, but it can’t bring his brother back.  His sibling was murdered during the theft of a scientific discovery that could have made the world a better place.  Now, after a four-year search, Harlan learns that the Paris bombing was the work of the same twisted man.  Kira and her dog are in demand by law enforcement agencies all over the world, but Harlan convinces her to continue the investigation for his own purposes, wherever it may lead on the globe.  So against her better judgement, Kira finds herself on the hunt and placing her trust in Harlan – for what she hopes is justice…when what he may be seeking is vengeance.

The Mighty Red by Louise Erdrich - In Argus, North Dakota, a collection of people revolve around a fraught wedding. Gary Geist, a terrified young man set to inherit two farms, is desperate to marry Kismet Poe, an impulsive, lapsed Goth who can't read her future but seems to resolve his. Hugo, a gentle red-haired, home-schooled giant, is also in love with Kismet. He’s determined to steal her and is eager to be a home wrecker.  Kismet's mother, Crystal, hauls sugar beets for Gary's family, and on her nightly runs, tunes into the darkness of late-night radio, sees visions of guardian angels, and worries for the future, her daughter’s and her own. Human time, deep time, Red River time, the half-life of herbicides and pesticides, and the elegance of time represented in fracking core samples from unimaginable depths, is set against the speed of climate change, the depletion of natural resources, and the sudden economic meltdown of 2008-2009. How much does a dress cost? A used car? A package of cinnamon rolls? Can you see the shape of your soul in the everchanging clouds? Your personal salvation in the giant expanse of sky? These are the questions the people of the Red River Valley of the North wrestle with every day.

All Fours by Miranda July - A semi-famous artist announces her plan to drive cross-country from LA to NY. Thirty minutes after leaving her husband and child at home, she spontaneously exits the freeway, beds down in a nondescript motel and immerses herself in a temporary reinvention that turns out to be the start of an entirely different journey.

Krista Law