Posts tagged with fiction

In this action-packed thriller, former Justice Department agent turned rare book dealer Cotton Malone searches for a cure for HIV and the lost tomb of Alexander the Great and seeks to outwit a power-mad Central Asian dictator along the way. As is usual in the series, this novel is full of exciting plot twists and turns.

This World War II mystery is the latest in a series featuring spy and cryptographer Maggie Hope. Maggie is imprisoned in a castle on a remote island off the coast of Scotland because she knows too much about the plans for the Allied invasion of Normandy and her bosses are afraid she'll reveal them if she's ever captured. Her fellow prisoners, also agents who know too much, are being killed off, one by one. Will Maggie be able to catch the killer before she becomes the next victim?

The Fire is the sequel to The Eight, one of my favorite books of all time (see my previous review). Both books tell the story of the quest for a legendary chess set that once belonged to Charlemagne, and which holds a secret of enormous power. The quest is played out as a chess game with the characters as pieces. The Fire takes place thirty years after The Eight, when the daughter of the heroine of The Eight finds out that the deadly game has begun again.

This fascinating adventure-fantasy tells the story of the quest for a legendary chess set once owned by Charlemagne, which contains the key to a dangerous and powerful secret. The quest is carried out by two brave, intelligent heroines in two different time periods: the French Revolution and the 1970s, and the novel is told in alternating chapters so it is structured like a spiral or figure 8. The Eight can be considered a predecessor of The Da Vinci Code, but in my opinion it is much better written. In fact, it is one of my favorite novels of all time.

Lewis Barnavelt, a ten-year-old orphan, comes to live with his Uncle Jonathan in a 19th century house in a town which is a fictionalized version of Marshall, Michigan. He finds that his uncle and his next-door neighbor, Mrs. Zimmermann, are wizards, and that the house has a clock buried in its walls, counting down the minutes until the end of the world. Will Lewis, his uncle, and their friend be able to stop the clock in time? This mystery/horror story is perfect for children and people of all ages.

Venetian policeman Guido Brunetti investigates a series of suspicious deaths at a nursing home run by an order of nuns. At first he can't find any evidence that the deaths were anything but natural, but when the former nun who first told him about her suspicions is severely injured in a hit and run accident, he knows that the patients must have been murdered. But how will he prove it?

Ancient Roman detective Gordianus the Finder investigates the murder of a politician on the Appian Way, supposedly at the hands of a rival. But everyone gives a different account of what happened, and Gordianus doesn't know what to believe. As he attempts to solve the murder, he faces physical danger, as well as a crisis in his family. This mystery is inspired by actual events, and features appearances by Julius Caesar, Marc Antony, Cicero, and other famous Romans.

Sixty-nine year old Arthur Pepper has been grieving the loss of his wife for nearly a year. He follows a very strict daily routine, cutting himself off from friends and family with his most prominent social interaction being with his fern, Frederica. Then one day, as he is cleaning out his wife's clothes to take to the charity shop, he stumbles across a gold charm bracelet which he's never seen before. Arthur starts tracking the origins of the charms and heads down a path to a place where he isn't sure he ever really knew his wife.

Midnight in the Piazza is a delightful art mystery written for children ages 8-12, even though anyone can enjoy it. Thirteen-year-old Beatrice Archer moves to Rome when her father gets a job there, and she falls in love with the turtle fountain in the piazza outside her apartment. Then one night she sees someone trying to steal the turtles from the fountain. Beatrice and a new friend, an Italian boy who speaks English, decide to investigate, and they discover a ring of international art thieves.

A group of down on their luck characters (a librarian, a teen, and a Wall Street high roller) provide unexpected support and friendship to each other during the summer of 2010 at a small town public library. This is the story in Summer Hours at the Robbers Library by Sue Halpern.