Heartbreak Hotel: An Alex Delaware Mystery

            Join Alex Delaware and Milo Sturgis in their latest murder mystery, the 32^nd in the series written by Jonathan Kellerman. Alex, who is a renowned child psychologist and a consultant to the Los Angeles police department, receives a phone call from an unlikely client. Her name is Thalia, she is nearly 100 years old, and she needs his services as a psychologist. They meet at her home, a luxury suite in a once-grand hotel, where Thalia poses a few tantalizing questions to Alex and promises to tell all the next day at their follow-up appointment. But when Alex returns he discovers that she has died. Alex is suspicious that Thalia’s death wasn’t natural; a coroner’s report reveals that she was murdered.

            

           Now Alex’s best friend, Lieutenant Milo Sturgis of the LAPD is on the scene. They work together to determine why someone would want to murder Thalia, discovering that her life experiences weren’t what they expected and included consorting with a criminal and money laundering. But Alex and Milo can verify that Thalia was basically a good person; they find who is behind her murder and bring them to justice.

New eBooks from the 3M Cloud Library

            Sign up to read eBooks from the 3M Cloud Library. Instructions on how to do so are available on our library’s webpage. Here are some titles we recently have purchased.

A Long Way Home is written by Saroo Brierley. This is a full-length account of the author’s inspirational effort to find his Indian birthplace after he was accidentally separated from his family at the age of five. After struggling on the streets of Calcutta he was adopted by an Australian family. When he became an adult he was able to locate his birth family by searching Google Earth.

Apprentice in Death, written by J.D. Robb, is the latest in the Brotherhood of Death series. Here, Lieutenant Eve Dallas investigates a sniper who is training a protégé.

Bone Box is written by Faye Kellerman. It features regulars Rina Lazarus and Peter Decker, who discover a series of decades-old murders committed by a serial killer who has been hiding in plain sight.

Cesar Millan’s Lessons from the Pack: Stories of the Dogs Who Changed My Life presents stories from the dog behavior expert about the dogs (celebrity and non-celebrity) who have most inspired him.

Chaos, written by Patricia Cornwell, is the latest installment of the series featuring Dr. Kay Scarpetta. Here the medical examiner works with partner Pete Marino and niece Lucy to find the killer of a young woman who was struck by lightning on a clear day.

Devil in Spring is written by well-known romance author Lisa Kleypas. Lady Pandora is accidentally entangled in a compromising position with a rake and is forced to marry him against her will.

Hillbilly Elegy: a Memoir of Family and Culture in Crisis, written by J. D. Vance, a former Marine and Yale Law School graduate. This is his story of growing up in a poor Rust Belt town and the family’s efforts to become middle class. It illustrates the struggles of America’s white working class today.

I See You by Clare Mackintosh is a thriller featuring Zoe, a young woman who after spotting her own picture in a classified ad referencing a mysterious website discovers that other women who have appeared in the ad have become the victims of increasingly violent crimes.

Missing, by James Patterson and Kathryn Fox, is the latest installment of the Private Investigations series.

In My Not So Perfect Life: a Novel, written by Sophie Kinsella, Katie Brenner retreats to her family’s farm to help them set up a vacation business and gets a chance to re-evaluate and reset her life.

Norse Mythology is written by Neil Gaiman and is a New York Times bestseller. It is a novel tracing the origins of the mythological nine worlds and featuring Norse gods Odin, Thor, and Loki.

Thank You for Being Late: an Optimist’s Guide to Thriving in the Age of Accelerations is written by Thomas Friedman. It explains to the reader how to survive the technological, environmental, and economic challenges of the twenty-first century.

These and many other eBooks are available now.

 

 

 

 

Home Design Updates

            Simply Styling: Fresh & Easy Ways to Personalize Your Home is written by Kirsten Grove of SimplyGrove, a popular interior design blog. Grove has created interiors for both residential and commercial properties worldwide. She also contributes to design magazines, and conducts a full design service including e-decorating. The book is a compilation of Grove’s ideas on styling the seven areas of today’s home -- living room, dining room, kitchen, bathroom, bedroom, entryway, and kid’s room – using what you have and what you find “on your journey”. Plenty of color photos accompany the text.

            The book The Shopkeeper’s Home: The World’s Best Independent Stores and their Stylish Homes is written by Caroline Rowland, the founder and editor of the online publication 91 Magazine. Do the owners of some of the world’s most beautiful retail stores have equally beautiful homes? This book shows color photos of the homes and shops of more than thirty shopkeepers; highlighting the owners’ excellent taste and unique design skills.

            She Sheds: A Room of Your Own is written by Erika Kotite, who has worked as a magazine editor and book developer in the arts, textile, and crafting sectors. Here she shows the reader what options are available for creating your own getaway from a shed; whether it is built from a kit, built from scratch, or repurposed from a previously used one. Color photos and descriptive text highlight a variety of styles that will tempt you to design your own.

Psychological Suspense

            This is the type of novel that keeps you up at night until you’ve finished reading it. Strange events, intrigue, danger, murder, and more – these books have them all.

            The Girl in the Red Coat is written by Kate Hamer. Beth, a single mother and her daughter Carmel are visiting a local outdoor festival when Carmel suddenly disappears. After an exhaustive search, Beth is told by the authorities that Carmel might be gone for good, but Beth refuses to give up. The novel is told by two narrators: Beth, as she continues her search, and Carmel, who has been abducted by a man claiming to be her grandfather.

            The Secret Life of Souls is written by Jack Ketchum and Lucky McKee. Delia Cross is a talented 11-year-old actress whose hard work has provided her dysfunctional family members with a life of luxury. A freak fire in a supposedly haunted dollhouse puts Delia at risk but Caity, her Australian cattle dog, comes to her rescue, saving her and giving her emotional support in the days afterward.

            Don’t You Cry is written by Mary Kubica. In it, two stories converge. Quinn, a young woman from Chicago is mystified when her roommate Esther disappears from their apartment, leaving only a letter behind. Then Alex, a 19-year-old coffee shop worker in a small Michigan town befriends an unusual young woman that he calls Pearl. Are they the same woman?

            June: a Novel is written by Miranda Beverly-Whittemore. Cassie Danvers, mourning the loss of her beloved grandmother June, is shocked to learn that she has inherited the entire estate of legendary matinee idol Jack Montgomery who has claimed her as his granddaughter. Jack’s daughters come to claim the fortune as their rightful due. An investigation reveals equal portions of murder, blackmail, and betrayal from the past.

            The Girls: a Novel is written by Emma Cline. Mesmerized by a band of girls in the park she perceives as enjoying a life of free and careless abandon, 1960s teen Evie Boyd becomes obsessed with gaining acceptance into their circle, only to find herself drawn into a cult and seduced by its charismatic leader.

            The Twilight Wife: a Novel is written by A.J. Banner. After a diving accident, Kyra Withrop suffers amnesia about the last two years, but as her memory returns she experiences intense fear as she remembers the truth about her marriage and about the island residents whom she had believed to be her friends.

Organization and Time Management

            Start now to streamline your life and accomplish more with the help of these current publications.

            Clearing Clutter: Physical, Mental, and Spiritual is written by Alexandra Chauran, a professional psychic intuitive who has been interviewed on National Public Radio. Her focus is not only on clearing physical clutter but on mental and spiritual clutter; she uses feng shui interior decorating, meditation exercises, and psychic guidance to accomplish this.

            The Smart Guide to Winning Back Your Time is written by Jeffrey P. Davidson, an authority on time management and work-life balance issues. Here he presents tips and techniques for better managing and restructuring daily life’s activities to gain back control of free time and time spent with loved ones.

            Driven to Distraction at Work: How to Focus and Be More Productive is written by Edward M. Hallowell, an authority on attention deficit disorder. He pinpoints why we often lose our focus at work, explaining the underlying psychological and emotional dynamics behind each example, and advises on how to train our attention.

            L’Art de la Simplicite = How to Live More with Less is written by Dominique Loreau, a French essayist who has written other books on living the simple life. She provides a step-by-step guide to decluttering one’s home, mind, and body, offering such suggestions as removing unwanted possessions, spending money on experiences, and rejecting negative relationships.

            Decluttering Your Home: Tips, Techniques & Trade Secrets is written by Geralin Thomas, an instructor to professional organizers who also appeared on the Arts & Entertainment network show Hoarders for six seasons. Get started on decluttering using her tips, techniques, and trade secrets.

            Mess: One Man’s Struggle to Clean up His House and His Act is written by Barry Yourgrau, also the author of the memoir Wearing Dad’s Head. He embarks on this project after his girlfriend issues an ultimatum. The book draws on his experiences as both a hoarder and an investigator to profile subjects ranging from professional decluttering services and anti-hoarding therapy to the medical causes of hoarding and the psychological ramifications of clutter on relationships.  

New Year"s Resolutions: Diet & Nutrition

            New Year, new resolutions! Or, you can begin your self-improvement program any time of year! Here are some recently published books to help you out.

            The Change Your Biology Diet: the Proven Program for Lifelong Weight Loss, written by Dr. Louis J. Aronne, is his life-changing program and diet plan to effectively overcome addictions to sugar, fat, and salt, and achieve permanent weight loss, through adjustments to one’s metabolism.

            The American Cancer Society New Healthy Eating Cookbook, 3^rd edition is written by Jeanne Besser, a former food columnist and author of several cookbooks. This is a compilation of recipes for healthy eating that also include substitution suggestions, kitchen tips, shopping ideas, and advice on portion sizes.

            The Big Five: Five Simple Things You Can Do to Live a Longer, Healthier Life, is written by Sanjiv Chopra, the former Faculty Dean of Continuing Education at Harvard Medical School. He expands upon these five things which include drinking coffee, exercising regularly, adding nuts to a diet, getting Vitamin C and practicing meditation.

            Eat Right for Your Type: the Individualized Diet Solution is written by Peter D’Adamo. This is a revision of his earlier works and includes cutting-edge research. There is more guidance on weight loss, information on the latest diet trends, examination of healthy microbiomes, and a ten-day jump-start diet.

            The Mindspan Diet: Reduce Alzheimer’s Risk, Minimize Memory Loss, and Keep Your Brain Young is written by Preston Estep, a Harvard University geneticist. The book is based on research done on long living populations with the lowest levels of dementia. The author recommends important dietary changes to protect cognitive functions; fifty recipes are included.

            The Love Diet: a Personalized, Proven Program that Changes the Way You Feel to Transform the Way You Look is written by Dr. Connie Guttersen and Dr. Mark Dedomenico of the 20/20 Lifestyles Clinic, a medically based weight loss clinic. They hypothesize that self-doubt, self-loathing, and low self-esteem are the reasons for destructive eating habits, and present their seven-stage diet program to promote permanent change through emotional reinforcement and healthy meals.

            Food Freedom Forever: Letting Go of Bad Habits, Guilt, and Anxiety around Food is written by Melissa Hartwig, a nutritionist. She shares advice on how to improve energy and health while letting go of negative food habits, outlining a three-part plan for long-term control and recovery from restriction breaks taken during the holidays, vacations, and times of stress.

Passings of 2016

Here is a listing of writers who passed away during 2016.

Richard Adams was a British novelist best known for Watership Down, a novel that developed from stories that Adams would tell his daughters when they were children. He wrote in the fantasy genre, for both adults and children; his novels often were told from the perspective of animals. Some of his other works include Shardik and The Plague Dogs.

Pat Conroy wrote novels about life in the southern United States. His fiction included Beach Music, The Great Santini, and The Prince of Tides. He also wrote the memoir My Losing Season, about how basketball influenced his life, and A Lowcountry Life: Reflections on a Writing Life, a collection of his letters, interviews, and magazine articles.

Umberto Eco was an Italian novelist, literary critic, and university professor. His most famous works were the novels The Name of the Rose, Foucault’s Pendulum, and The Island of the Day Before. He also wrote academic textbooks, children’s books, and essays.

Carrie Fisher, an actress whose most recognized film role was that of Princess Leia in the Star Wars series also was the author of several books, including Postcards from the Edge, Wishful Drinking, and most recently The Princess Diarist. She also worked as a “script doctor” in the film industry.

W.P. Kinsella was a Canadian novelist and short story writer whose most famous work was the novel Shoeless Joe, on which the film Field of Dreams was based. His other written works mainly dealt with two separate themes: baseball and life on the Canadian Indian reservations.

Harper Lee was an American novelist best known for the book To Kill a Mockingbird, a classic about attitudes about race and class held by members of society in the 1930s Deep South. It has been read by generations of American students. Lee never published another work until 2015 when a manuscript written earlier was discovered and published as Go Set a Watchman.

Gloria Naylor was an American writer born in New York City. She obtained a Master’s degree in African American literature at Yale University. Her first novel, The Women of Brewster Place, won a 1983 National Book Award. Naylor also worked as a professor of writing and African American literature at several universities.

Elie Wiesel was a Romanian-born American Jewish writer, coming to the United States as a Holocaust survivor. As well as writing 57 books, Wiesel was a professor, political activist and Nobel Laureate. His most famous book was Night, an account of his experiences as a prisoner of the Auschwitz and Buchenwald concentration camps.