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New titles at Oracle Public Library offer a variety of reading enjoyment, including who-done-its by a park-ranger-turned author, a popular Scandinavian writer, and a local editor-turned- author.
Stop by often and check the “new arrival” shelves for adult fiction and non-fiction. Or look for teen and children’s titles plus new-release DVDs. Here’s a selection of new-book choices.
DESTROYER ANGEL by Nevada Barr.
Barr’s latest book finds park ranger Anna Pigeon on vacation in upstate Minnesota with two friends and their daughters. One friend is a paraplegic, the other a maker of cutting-edge camping gear designed to make camping and canoeing more accessible to disabled people. When Anna takes a solo evening canoe trip, a group of thugs takes her companions captive. With no way to call for help, Anna has limited time to rescue her friends before something disastrous happens.
The library has 23 other titles in the Anna Pigeon series. Library patrons looking for specific titles not on the shelves are always encouraged to ask the library volunteer to “order” the desired book for check-out through the library’s borrowing network.
JUSTICE FOR DALLAS by Mark Rusin and Priscilla Barton.
Dallas, a 5-year-old girl gunned down during a vendetta by the leader of a motorcycle gang, stays in the mind of young detective Marko Novak. Novak, whose skin hasn’t hardened enough to shrug off her death, vows to find her killer. His search takes him from northern California to Las Vegas, and finally to Lake Havasu.
In her first novel, Oracle resident, Priscilla Barton, has taken what was basically a police report and made it into a realistic story. Based on an incident that occurred when Mark Rusin was an ATF agent in northern California, the story has been fleshed out and given life by Barton, a long-time editor turned writer. Well-researched locations and background make the story ring true. Barton has toned down her naturally elegant style to suit the characters and situations and make Marko Novak a real and likable, if not always smart, person.
COCKROACHES by Jo Nesbo.
Cockroaches is the second in the long list of Inspector Harry Hole novels. When Norway’s ambassador to Thailand is found dead in a Bangkok brothel, Harry is sent from Oslo to help hush up the case. In typical Harry fashion, he wanders the streets of Bangkok trying to piece together the truth behind the ambassador’s death even though no one asked him to.
The library has 10 other titles by Nesbo available.
THE GOOD LORD BIRD by James McBride.
Winner of the 2013 National Book Award for fiction, this is the story of abolitionist John Brown and his famous raid on Harper’s Ferry.
It’s told through the eyes and voice of slave boy Henry Shakleford. Stolen in 1856 (or rescued, as Brown would say), renamed “Onion” by Brown, and forced into girl’s clothes, Onion remains with Brown through Brown’s capture and hanging after the raid. A satire and a comedy, depicting a slovenly, distracted, but determined savior (Brown) and his ragtag army, and slaves who don’t always want to be freed, the book addresses the issue of slavery while poking fun at it.
The library has two other novels by McBride and his memoir available.
John Hernandez lives in Oracle. He is retired and enjoys writing and traveling. He is active in the Oracle Historical Society. He covers numerous public events, researches historical features and writes business/artist profiles.
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