India

A study in scarlet women by Sherry Thomas

"USA Today bestselling author Sherry Thomas turns the story of the renowned Sherlock Holmes upside down... With her inquisitive mind, Charlotte Holmes has never felt comfortable with the demureness expected of the fairer sex in upper class society. But she never thought that she would become a social pariah, an outcast fending for herself on the mean streets of London. When the city is struck by a trio of unexpected deaths and suspicion falls on her sister and her father, Charlotte is desperate to find the true culprits and clear the family name. She'll have help from friends new and old--a kind-hearted widow, a police inspector, and a man who has long loved her. But in the end, it will be up to Charlotte, under the assumed name Sherlock Holmes, to challenge society's expectations and match wits against an unseen mastermind"--.

The third squad by V Sanjay Kumar

The Third Squad is an arresting, ripped-from-the-headlines noir novel that deftly explores how in recent decades, to ostensibly combat the rising tide of criminality in Mumbai's underworld, the Indian Police Service has carried out many hundreds of extrajudicial assassinations of suspected criminals. Karan, a sharpshooter dispensed with dishing out this peculiar blend of vigilante justice, has a difficult choice to make: should he continue to follow orders from his superiors, regardless of their moral standing, or should he take matters into his own hands and do what he believes to be right?

Blood and bone by V. M Giambanco

"After two years in the Seattle Police Department, homicide detective Alice Madison has finally found a measure of peace she has never known before--a sense of belonging. When a local burglary escalates into a gruesome murder, Madison takes charge of the investigation, only to discover that this is no ordinary killing. She finds herself tracking a serial assassin who has haunted the city for years--and whose brutality is the stuff of legend among the super-max prisons of the Pacific Northwest. As she delves deeper into the case, Madison learns that the widow of one of the victims is being stalked--is the killer poised to strike again? As pressures mount, Madison will stop at nothing to save the next innocent victim. even if it means playing a killer's endgame by presenting herself as the bait"--.

"Continuing in a festive annual tradition, #1 New York Times bestselling author Debbie Macomber returns with a new original holiday novel full of romance and cheer--and the magical prospect of finding love in even the most guarded hearts. Friendly and bubbly, Julia Padden likes nearly everyone, but her standoffish neighbor, Cain Maddox, presents a particular challenge. No matter how hard she's tried to be nice, Cain rudely rebuffs her at every turn, preferring to keep to himself. But when Julia catches Cain stealing her newspaper from the lobby of their apartment building, that's the last straw. She's going to break through Cain's Scrooge-like exterior the only way she knows how: by killing him with kindness. To track her progress, Julia starts a blog called The Twelve Days of Christmas. Her first attempts to humanize Cain are far from successful. Julia brings him homemade Christmas treats and the disagreeable grinch won't even accept them. Meanwhile, Julie's blog becomes an online sensation, as an astonishing number of people start following her adventures. Julia continues to find ways to express kindness and, little by little, chips away at Cain's gruff façade to reveal the caring man underneath. Unbelievably, Julia feels herself falling for Cain--and she suspects that he may be falling for her as well. But as the popularity of her blog continues to grow, Julia must decide if telling Cain the truth about having chronicled their relationship to the rest of the world is worth risking their chance at love"--.

For generations the Millers have lived in Miller's Valley. Mimi Miller tells about her life with intimacy and honesty. As Mimi eavesdrops on her parents and quietly observes the people around her, she discovers more and more about the toxicity of family secrets, the dangers of gossip, the flaws of marriage, the inequalities of friendship and the risks of passion, loyalty, and love. Home, as Mimi begins to realize, can be "a place where it's just as easy to feel lost as it is to feel content."
 
Miller's Valley is a masterly study of family, memory, loss, and, ultimately, discovery, of finding true identity and a new vision of home. As Mimi says, "No one ever leaves the town where they grew up, even if they go." Miller's Valley reminds us that the place where you grew up can disappear, and the people in it too, but all will live on in your heart forever.

Sometimes the greatest dream starts with the smallest element. A single cell, joining with another. And then dividing. And just like that, the world changes. Annie Harlow knows how lucky she is. The producer of a popular television cooking show, she loves her handsome husband and the beautiful Los Angeles home they share. And now, she’s pregnant with their first child. But in an instant, her life is shattered. And when Annie awakes from a yearlong coma, she discovers that time isn’t the only thing she’s lost.

Grieving and wounded, Annie retreats to her old family home in Switchback, Vermont, a maple farm generations old. There, surrounded by her free-spirited brother, their divorced mother, and four young nieces and nephews, Annie slowly emerges into a world she left behind years ago: the town where she grew up, the people she knew before, the high-school boyfriend turned judge. And with the discovery of a cookbook her grandmother wrote in the distant past, Annie unearths an age-old mystery that might prove the salvation of the family farm.

Family Tree is the story of one woman’s triumph over betrayal, and how she eventually comes to terms with her past. It is the story of joys unrealized and opportunities regained. Complex, clear-eyed and big-hearted, funny, sad, and wise, it is a novel to cherish and to remember. 

New Books in Hindi for 2014

Prema galī ati sān̐karī by Śyāma Jāṅgiṛa

Lauṭatī ṭrena by Ushā Jaina 'Śīrīṃ'

Ādhā kamarā by Candrakiraṇa Saunareksā

Mukti-yuddha kī gaṅgā-meghanā by Mahendra Nātha Dube

Rūma ôna da rūfa: [baisṭasailara The room on the roof kā anuvāda] by Raskina Bônḍa ; [anuvāda, R̥shi Māthura]

Merī priya kahāniyām̐ by Amarakānta

Dāmpatya manovijñāna: dāmpatya manovijñāna para ādhārita ālekha by lekhikā, Ushā Jaina 'Śīrīṃ'

Nadī: [upanyāsa] by Ushā Priyamvadā

Seppuku by Vinoda Bhāradvāja

If You Like Amy Tan...

If you like strong female characters with a sense of adventure such as the women featured in Amy Tan's stories, may we suggest...

Beautiful ruins: a novel by Jess Walter

The inheritance of loss by Kiran Desai

Beside a burning sea by John Shors

Daughter's keeper by Ayelet Waldman

The round house by Louise Erdrich

The madonnas of Leningrad: a novel by Debra Dean

Adult Contemporary Book Discussion December 16

Please join the Adult Contemporary Book Discussion Group on Monday, December 16 at 7:00 PM in the Purple Room to discuss:

A walk across the sun: a novel by Corban Addison — Teen-age sisters Ahalya and Sita are left orphaned after a tsunami destroys their coastal town. Destitute and alone, they plan to seek refuge in a convent miles away. A driver agrees to take them, but instead he sells the girls to human traffickers. On the other side of the world, Washington lawyer Thomas Clarke takes a sabbatical to escape his own heartache. He volunteers at an international anti-trafficking group in India where he meets Ahalya and Sita and makes it his personal mission to save them.

What We're Reading July 2012

What We're Reading: August, 2011

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