Hard Cash Valley by Brian Panowich ~ a Review

by Susan Roberts

"Arnie was barely aware of the question. All he knew was that everything he'd done was in vain.  The whole year.  All the practice.  The escape route to the airport. Mailing himself a gun.  It was all for nothing.  Iit always was. This was never going to end up any other way than this.  Just like everything else he'd done in his whole miserable life.  He should've known better." (p17)

The Summer House by Lauren K. Denton ~ a Review

by Susan Roberts

 "Letting herself sink would be so easy, just like falling asleep.  She could cover herself in grief like a blanket and never get up again.  But all day something had been prodding her, way at the back of her mind, like a dream she'd mostly forgotten.  Whatever it was, it was the thing that kept her from sinking.  From letting go."  (loc 106)

How will the pandemic be reflected in literature?

by Donna Huber

Library archives and history centers across the country have been asking for people to submit their pandemic stories - photos, essays, diary entries, even grocery lists - in an effort to record this historic moment in time. In a recent news report with an archivist at the Atlanta History Center, I learned that there isn't much in the record about the day to day lives of those who lived through the 1917-1919 Influenza epidemic. The person being interviewed said that it was probably due to people not wanting to remember or be reminded of that horrific time in their lives. I have been wondering how the pandemic will affect plotlines of contemporary novels.

Rock-a-bye Bones by Carolyn Haines ~ a Review

by Donna Huber

I'm always on the lookout for another great cozy mystery series. I haven't read other books in this series, but I decided to give it a try as I like series that can be read in any order.

Carolina Breeze by Denise Hunter ~ a Review

by Susan Roberts

Before she even opened her eyes Mia Emerson knew it was going to be the worst day of her life. But just like all other days, Saturday, May 30, would only last twenty-four hours. She could do this. (chapter 1)

The Reflecting Pool by Otho Eskin ~ a Review

by Donna Huber

I don't read a lot of crime fiction because they usually veer towards police procedurals and less suspense/thriller. The Reflecting Pool was one of the rare crime novels that kept closer to a suspense novel and I really enjoyed it.

The Girl and the Witch's Garden by Erin Bowman ~ a Review

by MK French

Piper Peavey didn't want to spend her summer at the Mallory Estate. It's cold, the garden is dead, random children are around, and the owner is purported to be a witch. The owner is Piper's grandmother, and Piper has to go to the estate when her father is too ill from cancer. Piper will have to try to unlock the secrets of the estate to try to save her father.