Take Time Out to Tackle Some New Fiction This Fall!

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Football: A team of men who run around on a rectangular field in all kinds of weather, chasing whoever is carrying an oval ball from one end to the other in hopes of dancing at the end of the game.

There…that is my definition of football, and from that definition, you can probably guess that I haven’t the slightest interest in football, although for my husband’s sake, I’ve tried to understand and like the game. I know that there is an offense and a defense, and have heard that the best offense is a good defense, which is mighty confusing, unless that has nothing whatsoever to do with football.

So, to kick off this year’s football season, I’m going to tackle giving other non-football lovers some advice on how to intercept some good reading material that will get you through those 60 minute games that somehow, through the magic of “time-outs,” seem to last an entire afternoon with some great, new fiction from your local branch of the Jasper County Public Library. Read on!

World renowned art detective, Wendell Sharpe, and his granddaughter, Emma, work together as a team, solving crimes in the art world. Their latest case involves a serial art thief, who has eluded the pair of them for the past decade. The first heist was in Ireland, where an ancient Celtic cross was stolen. Every heist after that has been celebrated by the thief by sending, as a token of his affection, a replica of that first stolen cross to the Sharpes. When Emma Sharpe is summoned to the scene of a murder, she is taken aback by the fearlessness of the murderer when she realizes that the victim has been found clutching a small, cross, inscribed stone. Digging deeper into the murder, the danger escalates as Emma and her fiancé, FBI Agent Colin Donovan, work together, racing against time to outwit the ruthless murderer before he or she strikes again in “Harbor Island,” book number 4 in the Sharpe & Donovan series by Carla Neggers.

Following the brutal murder of teenager Dani Lancing, her parents were destroyed. Her father, Jim, completely fell apart, grieving the loss of his daughter so deeply that he could never recover. Her mother, Patty, put all of her time and energy into trying to solve the murder and bring Dani’s killer to justice. After twenty years, the killer has never been found and the case has gone cold. Dani’s childhood friend, Tom, has become a detective so that the pain inflicted on all who knew and loved Dani will never happen to anyone else. When he stumbles upon some evidence that may lead to finding out what happened to Dani once and for all, he brings Patty into it, and her obsession to bring Dani’s case to a close begins again, bringing the nightmare back into full focus for the family and revealing secrets better left uncovered in “The Last Winter of Dani Lancing” by P.D. Viner.

Widowed and all alone, Ruth lives in an isolated beach house. Too trusting by nature, Ruth realizes all too late that she has made a mistake after she answers the knock on her door, letting Frida, a virtual stranger claiming to be a government caregiver, into her house. Gripped by fear, Ruth begins to remember her own troubled past, a childhood in Fiji best forgotten and laid to rest. “The Night Guest” by Fiona McFarlane reaches deep into the heart of the reader, delving into questions of aging, love, and fear, all the while taking you on a suspenseful roller coaster ride until the shocking conclusion.

Bartender, Harper Flynn, faces the nightmare of her life when the crowded Los Angeles bar that she works in is under attack by gunmen. Before Sheriff Deputy Aiden Garrison can react, Harper’s boyfriend, Drew, has fallen victim to the mayhem, gunned down before their very eyes. When a Molotov cocktail sails through the bar, engulfing everything in flames, Harper is able to escape, and Aiden only narrowly, also falling victim and left with permanent injuries. A year later, Harper has quit her job and gone back to college. The case has been closed, but there is one lone gunman still at large who is targeting the survivors of that fateful night, Harper included. Enlisting the help of Aiden Garrison, Harper realizes that she may be facing this latest threat alone, as his injuries may be too severe to be much help in “Phantom Instinct” by Meg Gardiner.

So, here’s to all of the armchair quarterbacks, full-backs, tailbacks, wide receivers, and linebackers as they go for that 1st down, kicking off the season with field goals, punts, tackles, and interceptions that will lead to touchdowns at the end of 60 minute games that for those of us who don’t have an interest in football, seem to last forever, and here’s to those of us who would rather read during that afternoon of game-time! New fiction from JCPL to intercept during that 1st down, ending in a touchdown and leading to the dance of joy every time!