book talk for june 04 2024

Book Talk

Book Talk for June 4, 2024

Nuclear War a scenario
by Annie Jacobsen

"Every generation, a journalist has looked deep into the heart of the nuclear military establishment: the technologies, the safeguards, the plans, and the risks. These projects are vital to how we understand the world we really live in: where one nuclear missile begets one in return; where the choreography of the world's end requires massive decisions made on seconds-notice, with information that is only as good as the intelligence we have. Annie Jacobsen's Nuclear War: A Scenario explores this ticking clock scenario, based on dozens of new interviews with military and civilian experts who have built the weapons; created the response plans; and been responsible for those decisions should they need to have been made. Nuclear War: A Scenario is unlike any other book in its depth and urgency"-- Provided by publisher. Unrated. Commercial audiobook.
DB120290

The Vanished Man
by Jeffery Deaver

When a killer flees the scene of a homicide at a prestigious Manhattan music school and locks himself in a classroom, the police have him surrounded within minutes. A scream rings out, followed by a gunshot. The police break down the door. The room is empty. The ambitious Sachs, and the quadriplegic Rhyme, must work together to ferret out a master illusionist they've dubbed "the conjurer" and prevent a terrifying act of vengeance that could become the greatest vanishing act of all. Some descriptions of violence and some strong language. Sequel to "Stone monkey", followed by "The twelfth card". 2003. Marrakesh title.
BRG02218 DB56247

The Boy in the Photo
by Nicole Trope

"Six years ago. Megan waits at the school gates for her six-year-old son, Daniel. As the playground empties, panic bubbles inside her. Daniel is nowhere to be found. According to his teacher, Daniel’s father picked up his son. Except he and Megan are no longer together. After years of being controlled by her cruel husband, Megan finally found the courage to divorce him. Hands trembling, she dials his number, but the line is dead. Six years later. Megan is feeding her new baby daughter when she gets the call she has dreamt about for years. Daniel has walked into a police station in a remote town just a few miles away. Megan is overjoyed - her son is finally coming home. She has kept Daniel’s room, with his Cookie Monster poster on the wall and a stack of Legos under the bed, perfect to welcome him back. But when he returns, Daniel is quieter than she remembers... Desperate to find out what happened to her little boy and to help him heal, Megan tries everything - his favourite chocolate milkshake, a reunion with his best friend, a present for every birthday missed - but still, Daniel is distant. And as they struggle to connect, Megan begins to suspect that her son is hiding a secret. A secret that could destroy her family..." -- Provided by publisher. Strong language.
DB114634

Big bird has my wings

The Great Alone
by Kristen Hannah

Lenora Allbright is 13 when her father convinces her mother, Cora, to forgo their inauspicious existence in Seattle and move to Kaneq, Alaska. It's 1974, and the former Vietnam POW sees a better future away from the noise and nightmares that plague him. Having been left a homestead by a buddy who died in the war, Ernt is secure in his beliefs, but never was a family less prepared for the reality of Alaska, the long, cold winters and isolation. Locals want to help out, especially classmate Matthew Walker, who likes everything about Leni. Yet the harsh conditions bring out the worst in Ernt, whose paranoia takes over their lives and exacerbates what Leni sees as the toxic relationship between her parents. 2018. Unrated. Marrakesh title.
BRG04233 DB90090

Look For me
by Lisa Gardner

The home of a family of five is now a crime scene: four of them savagely murdered, one--a sixteen-year-old girl--missing. Was she lucky to have escaped the carnage? Or does her absence speak of something more sinister? Sergeant Detective D. D. Warren is on the case--but so is survivor-turned-avenger Flora Dane. Seeking different types of justice, they must make sense of the clues left behind by a young woman who, whether as victim or suspect, is silently pleading: Look for me. Violence and strong language. Bestseller. Sequel to "Find her". 2018. Marrakesh title.
BRG04231 DB90294

Mrs. Pargeterer's pound of flesh
by Simon Brett

The widowed English Mrs. Pargeter generously takes her friend Kim Thurrock to a health spa to lose a few pounds in order to look good for Thicko Thurrock's release from prison. The owner of the spa, thrilled to see the widow of his late underworld colleague, secretly provides her with gourmet food rather than diet fare. But then Mrs. Pargeter spies a young girl's wasted corpse and begins to doubt that the spa is on the up and up.
DB40080

The summer Skies
by Jenny Colgan

"Morag MacIntyre is a Scottish lass from the remote islands that make up the northernmost reaches of the UK. She's also a third-generation pilot, the heir apparent to an island plane service she runs with her grandfather. The islands--over 500 dots of windswept land that reach almost to Norway--rely on their one hardworking prop plane to deliver mail, packages, tourists, medicine, and the occasional sheep. As the keeper of this vital lifeline, Morag is used to landing on pale golden beaches and tiny grass airstrips, whether during great storms or on bright endless summer nights. Up in the blue sky, Morag feels at one with the elements. Down on the ground is a different matter, though. Her grandfather is considering and Morag wonders if she truly wants to spend the rest of her life in the islands. Her boyfriend Hayden, from flight school, wants Morag to move to Dubai with him, where they'll fly A380s and say goodbye to Scotland's dark winters. Morag is on the verge of making a huge life change when an unusually bumpy landing during a storm finds her marooned on Inchborn island. Inchborn is gloriously off-grid, home only to an ancient ruined abbey, a bird-watching station, and a population of one: Gregor, a visiting ornithologist from Glasgow who might have just the right perspective to help Morag pilot her course"-- Back cover. Unrated. Commercial audiobook.
DB120467

Reasonable Fear
by Scott Pratt

"Three young women are found floating in a lake. The suspect is one of the richest and most powerful men in Tennessee. In the fourth installment of the bestselling Joe Dillard series, Dillard has become the district attorney in Northeast Tennessee. He becomes heavily involved in the investigation with Sheriff Leon Bates and soon realizes that he is up against an enemy that he has never before encountered -- someone so rich and so powerful that the course of justice could be altered by money and political influence. But when bodies start showing up in his driveway and his family is threatened with termination, Dillard must ask himself a previously unthinkable question. His life, and the lives of his family, depend on the answer." -- Provided by publisher. Violence and strong language.
DB112916

Only Say good Things Surviving Playboy and finding myself
by Crystal Hefner

"A raw and unflinching look at the objectification and misogyny of the Playboy mansion, a woman's stolen young adulthood and her journey to self-acceptance, and a rare look inside Hugh Hefner's final days. Crystal offers a vulnerable and clear-eyed look at how her experience with Hugh Hefner catalyzed her transformative journey from someone who prized external validation over all else to a person who finally recognizes her true worth. This candid memoir provides a fascinating look behind the scenes at a powerful cultural icon and brand, and an equally empowering perspective on hard-won lessons abo...