Skull Duggery

Skull Duggery by Aaron Elkins
Gideon accompanies his wife, Julie, to the charming little Mexican village of Teotitlan del Valle in the state of Oaxaca, where Julie's expatriate relatives, the Gallaghers, operate a dude ranch resort. Up to his ears in forensic work at home, Gideon can use a break, and he looks forward to a week of leisure and touring. Teotitlan is an out-of-the-way weavers village, peaceful and virtually crime and drug-free. What could go wrong? Plenty.

On the Edge by Ilona Andrews
Rose Drayton lives on the Edge, between two worlds: on one side lies the Broken, a place where people shop at Wal-Mart and magic is nothing more than a fairytale; on the other is the Weird, a realm where blueblood aristocrats rule and the strength of your magic can change your destiny. Only Edgers like Rose can easily travel between the worlds--but they never truly belong in either.

The Prayers of Agnes Sparrow by Joyce Magnin
No longer able or willing to leave her home, this unusual woman has committed herself to a life of prayer--prayer that has resulted in numerous miracles, both large and garden variety, including a prize-winning pumpkin. The rural residents of this quirky Pennsylvania town are so enamored with Agnes they plan to erect a sign in her honor on the interstate. Agnes wants no part of it and sends her sister Griselda to fight city hall.

Under this Unbroken Sky by Shandi Mitchell
Spring 1938. After nearly two years in prison for the crime of stealing his own grain, Ukrainian immigrant Teodor Mykolayenko is a free man. While he was gone, his wife, Maria; their five children; and his sister, Anna, struggled to survive on the harsh northern Canadian prairie, but now Teodor--a man who has overcome drought, starvation, and Stalin's purges--is determined to make a better life for them. But the family's hopes and newfound happiness are short-lived. Anna's rogue husband, the arrogant and scheming Stefan, unexpectedly returns, stirring up rancor and discord that will end in violence and tragedy.

Dracula in Love

Dracula in Love by Karen Essex
London, 1890. Mina Murray, the rosy-cheeked, quintessentially pure Victorian heroine, becomes Count Dracula's object of desire. To preserve her chastity, five male "defenders" rush in to rescue her form the vampire's evil clutches. This is the version of the story we've been told. But now, from Mina's own pen, we discover that the story is vastly different when told from the female point of view.

The Vanishing of Katharina Linden by Helen Grant
It's isn't ten-year-old Pia's fault that her grandmother dies in a freak accident. But tell that to the citizens of Pia's little German hometown of Bad Munstereifel, or to the classmates who shun her. The only one who still wants to be her friend is Stink-Stefan, the most unpopular child in school. But then something else capture the community's attention: the vanishing of Katharina Linden. Katharina was last seen on a parade float, dressed as Snow White. Then, like a character in a Grimm's fairy tale, she disappears. But, this being real life, she doesn't return.

Love at Last Sight: 30 Days to Grow and Deepen Your Closest Relationships by Kerry & Chris Shook
Your closest relationships will naturally drift apart over time. And chances are, right now, one or more of your most important relationships is less than what you wish it could be. Now you can change everything and take steps to reconnect with the people who really matter -- and we don't mean by connecting on Facebook! This thirty-day program guides you step-by-step to deeper, more satisfying relationships by developing four forgotten but powerful relational arts.

What We Have: One Family's Inspiring Story About Love, Loss, and Survival by Amy Boesky
At thirty-two, Amy Boesky thought she had it all figured out: a wonderful new man in her life, a great job, and the (nearly) perfect home. For once, she was almost able to shake the terrible fear that had gripped her for as long as she could remember. All of the women in her family had died before the age of forty-five--from cancer--and she and her sisters had grown up in time's shadow. But Amy didn't want to dwell on her fear now; she wanted to spend time with her husband, plan for a new baby, live her life. And that's just what she did. In a way that only someone who is so acutely aware of passing time can, she chose to put her anxieties aside and relish life's simple pleasures.

Stieg Larsson Readalikes

Did you really like Stieg Larsson's books like The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo? Are you looking for other authors like him? Check out these suggested titles below! If you're a member of an OCLN library then just click on the link to place it on hold.

In the Woods by Tana French
As dusk approaches a small Dublin suburb in the summer of 1984, mothers begin to call their children home. But on this warm evening, three children do not return from the dark and silent woods. When the police arrive, they find only one of the children gripping a tree trunk in terror, wearing blood-filled sneakers, and unable to recall a single detail of the previous hours. Twenty years later, the found boy, Rob Ryan, is a detective on the Dublin Murder Squad and keeps his past a secret. But when a twelve-year-old girl is found murdered in the same woods, he and Detective Cassie Maddox—his partner and closest friend—find themselves investigating a case chillingly similar to the previous unsolved mystery. Now, with only snippets of long-buried memories to guide him, Ryan has the chance to uncover both the mystery of the case before him and that of his own shadowy past.

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
Set during World War II in Germany, Markus Zusak’s groundbreaking new novel is the story of Liesel Meminger, a foster girl living outside of Munich. Liesel scratches out a meager existence for herself by stealing when she encounters something she can’t resist–books. With the help of her accordion-playing foster father, she learns to read and shares her stolen books with her neighbors during bombing raids as well as with the Jewish man hidden in her basement before he is marched to Dachau.

The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon
Barcelona, 1945—A great world city lies shrouded in secrets after the war, and a boy mourning the loss of his mother finds solace in his love for an extraordinary book called The Shadow of the Wind, by an author named Julian Carax. When the boy searches for Carax’s other books, it begins to dawn on him, to his horror, that someone has been systematically destroying every copy of every book the man has ever written. Soon the boy realizes that The Shadow of the Wind is as dangerous to own as it is impossible to forget, for the mystery of its author’s identity holds the key to an epic story of murder, madness, and doomed love that someone will go to any lengths to keep secret.

The White Tiger by Aravind Adiga
Meet Balram Halwai, the 'White Tiger': servant, philosopher, entrepreneur and murderer. Balram, the White Tiger, was born in a backwater village on the River Ganges, the son of a rickshaw-puller. He works in a teashop, crushing coal and wiping tables, but nurses a dream of escape. When he learns that a rich village landlord needs a chauffeur, he takes his opportunity, and is soon on his way to Delhi behind the wheel of a Honda. Amid the cockroaches and call-centres, the 36,000,004 gods, the slums, the shopping malls, and the crippling traffic jams, Balram learns of a new morality at the heart of a new India. Driven by desire to better himself, he comes to see how the Tiger might escape his cage.

Want more readalikes on different authors? Send your requests/suggestions/comments to me at aboivin@ocln.org

Zoo Story

Zoo Story: Life in the Garden of Captives by Thomas French
Welcome to the savage and surprising world of Zoo Story, an unprecedented account of the secret life of a zoo. Based on six years of research, the book follows a handful of unforgettable characters at Tampa's Lowry Park Zoo: an alpha chimp with a weakness for blondes, a ferocious tiger who revels in Obsession perfume, and a brilliant but tyrannical CEO known as El Diablo Blanco.

The Price of Stones: Building a School for My Village by Twesigye Jackson Kaguri
Twesigye Jackson Kaguri defied many naysayers -- and his own nagging doubts -- as he and a small group of supporters followed a dream to build, stone by stone at times, a school for AIDS orphans in his village in Uganda.

Marcus of Umbria: What an Italian Dog Taught an American Girl about Love by Justine van der Leun
A jaded young New Yorker is brought back to life by what she finds in Italy: not the food, not the fashion, not a Ferrari or a Fabio -- but a small, spotted, bird-obsessed hunting dog named Marcus.

Sophie Kinsella readalikes

Do you just absolutely love Sophie Kinsella's works such as Remember Me? Are you looking for other authors like her? Check out these suggested titles below! If you're a member of an OCLN library then just click on the link to place it on hold.

Love the One You're With by Emily Giffin
Ellen and Andy’s first year of marriage doesn’t just seem perfect, it is perfect. There is no question how deep their devotion is, and how naturally they bring out the best in each other. But one fateful afternoon, Ellen runs into Leo for the first time in eight years. Leo, the one who brought out the worst in her. Leo, the one who left her heartbroken with no explanation. Leo, the one she could never quite forget. When his reappearance ignites long-dormant emotions, Ellen begins to question whether the life she’s living is the one she’s meant to live.

Chasing Harry Winston by Lauren Weisberger
Chasing Harry Winston finds three glamorous Manhattan gal pals making a pact to positively refashion their lives--before hitting the big three-oh. Emmy, Leigh, and Adriana--who've been best friends for a decade--have some very personal issues. Just as Emmy is poised to receive the engagement righ she's longed for, her boyfriend drops her for his flirtatious, young personal trainer. Leigh, an up-and-coming publishing house star, is in danger of having her career derailed by the literary world's grandest snob. And as for Brazilian bombshell Adriana, she must come to terms with the inevitability of her beauty's eventual fading. It's time for all three girls to seriously reassess their futures.

Cocktails for Three by Madeleine Wickheim
At the first of every month, when the office has reached its pinnacle of hysteria, Maggie, Roxanne, and Candice meet at London's swankiest bar for an evening of cocktails and gossip. Here, they chat about what's new at The Londoner, the glossy fashion magazine where they all work, and everything else that's going on in their lives. Or almost everything. Beneath the girl talk and the laughter, each of the three has a secret. And when a chance encounter at the cocktail bar sets in motion an extraordinary chain of events, each one will find their biggest secret revealed.

Want more readalikes on different authors? Send your requests/suggestions/comments to me at aboivin@ocln.org

Shoulder Bags and Shootings

Interested in any of these titles? Place them on hold with your library card if you're a member of any OCLN library!

Shoulder Bags and Shootings by Dorothy Howell
Fashionista and amateur sleuth Haley Randolph is in hot pursuit of the season's newest must-have handbag. But soon she's also in hot pursuit of a killer--when she discovers the corpse of none other than her designer purse party rival...

Just Let Me Lie Down: Necessary Terms for the Half-Insane Working Mom by Kristin van Ogtrop
Kristin van Ogtrop has a nice career, a dependable husband, and three healthy kids who occasionally make their beds. You could say she is average, but lucky. You could also say that she is half-insane--but just try to name one working mom who isn't. Like all of us, van Ogtrop needs a bit of guidance from time to time. Yet when she searched the bookshelves for something to help put a little order into her average/lucky/chaotic life, she came up short. And so she had an idea.

The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet by David Mitchell
The year is 1799, the place Dejima in Nagasaki Harbor, the "high-walled, fan-shaped artificial island" that is the Japanese Empire's single port and sole window onto the world, designed to keep the West at bay; the farthest outpost of the war-ravaged Dutch East Indies Company; and a de facto prison for the dozen foreigners permitted to live and work there. To this place of devious merchants, deceitful interpreters, costly courtesans, earthquakes, and typhoons comes Jacob de Zoet, a devout and resourceful young clerk who has five years in the East to earn a fortune of sufficient size to win the hand of his wealthy fiancee back in Holland.

New Playaways!

The library has new playaways! A playaway is an audiobook already downloaded onto a MP3 player that you can check out, plug your own earphones into and enjoy!

Newest to our collection are:

Apple Turnover Murder by Joanne Fluke
It's the beginning of summer in Lake Eden, Minnesota, and the orders are piling up at The Cookie Jar. When Hannah is commissioned to bake 1,100 cookies for a three-day fundraiser, her partner Lisa suggests setting up an apple turnover stand for the charity event. As if she didn't have enough on her plate already, Hannah also agrees to appear in the charity talent contest. But she gets upstaged when she discovers the MC dead--with one of her apple turnovers in his hand!

Broken Jewel by David L. Robbins
For three years, American Remy Tuck and the mostly civilian prisoners at Los Banos have endured brutal conditions. In the face of such hardship, Remy's 19-year-old son Talbot has fallen in love with Carmen, a Filipina forced into sexual slavery by the Japanese soldiers. Now--as the Japanese become increasingly desperate, and a strike force prepares to liberate the camp--Remy must do everything in his power to keep Tal and Carmen safe.