For Your Shopping List Part 2

Pipestone County Star – 12-6-12

There are always more books than one can shake a stick at, especially during the holiday season.  Because so many authors release books right around Christmas, I’ve continued my article from two weeks ago with a few more that are bound to make readers happy.  Check these out at the library for some extra awesome holiday reading!!

Empire and Honor, W.E.B. Griffin

Part of the Honor Bound series.  It’s October 1945 and the Germans and Japanese have surrendered. For Cletus Frade and the OSS, it should be time to hang up their hats and move on, but… In the closing months of the war, the United States made a secret deal with the head of German intelligence’s Soviet section. In exchange for intelligence, including the identity of the Soviet spies in the American atomic bomb program, his people would be spirited to safety. If word got out, the US could lose some valuable secrets.  It’s up to Frade and his company to keep them safe, but we all know that’s not going to happen easily.  This one is a nail-biter.

Private London, James Patterson

Hannah Shapiro, a lovely American student, fled to London after a nightmare in Los Angeles that almost took her life.  She believed she’d leave it all behind, but she was wrong.  Now it’s up to Dan Carter, head of Private London, to save her all over again.  Dan’s ex-wife, Kirsty Webb, is a detective involved with a string of abductions and murders, leaving bodies of young women mutilated in strange ways and the cases are most likely linked together.  Private has a lot of resources, but possibly not enough time to get the job done and save Hannah.  A little holiday suspense!

Shadow Woman, Linda Howard

Almost a female Jason Bourne story, this one has twists and turns you won’t see coming and will keep you guessing until the end.  Lizette Henry wakes up one morning and no longer recognizes her own face in the mirror.  To top that off, years seem to be missing from her life and no one seems to be able to tell her why.  It doesn’t take long for a natural paranoia to seep in and Lizette begins to discover unusual talents, not the least of which is the ability to evade surveillance.  There ARE people watching her, you see, and this new man in her life, Xavier says he’s there to help.  Is he?  Or is he in league with the assassins that seem to want to take Lizette out of the picture…

Shiver, Karen Robards

Samantha Jones is a tow-truck driver.  She doesn’t really want to be, but being a Repo Girl pays the bills for herself and her young son, so crappy truck is the choice.  Her latest repossession brought her something more than she bargained for.  Trapped in the trunk is a man beaten bloody and tied up, obviously left for dead.  Out of the goodness of her heart, she unties him, only to be taken hostage along with her young son.  But the man seems like a protector rather than an abductor and, even though he’s forcing her to help him, she’s beginning to feel a strange attraction to Danny.  Suspenseful and romantic at the same time, a good read for a cold day!

Two Graves, Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child

The latest in the Agent Pendergast series beings some surprises.  For years, Pendergast has believed that his beloved wife Helen is dead.  In this installment, he finds her still alive but their joyful reunion is cut short abruptly when Helen is kidnapped from right under his nose.  Pendergast must embark on a crazy journey to save her, only to find that his rescue unleashes someone who has planned the entire thing.  Stopping this new threat will take him deep into the jungles of South America and reveal some secrets that were better not known.   I love this series and highly recommend it for the fast-paced storytelling and engrossing plots.

PAFL Update:  Pipestone Area Friends of the Library is looking for members – anyone who is a friend to Meinders Library is welcome to join!  The Friends group works hard to promote the library, raise money for projects, and organize their yearly book sale, in addition to the HUGE amount of support they provide throughout the year.  For more information, please contact the library!

Book Club Reminder:  Book Club meets the fourth Thursday of each month (except December) in the Meinders Library conference room.  The next meeting is January 24^th at 7:00 PM and the book is The Light Between Oceans by M.L. Stedman.  Everyone is welcome. 

If you have questions or have a book you’d like to reserve or renew, please don’t hesitate to give us a call at (507) 825-6714.  The hours for Meinders Library are Monday through Thursday from 10 AM – 8 PM, and Friday and Saturday from 10 AM – 5 PM.  Meinders Community Library is located at 1401 7^th Street SW, on the south side of the high school.