New Books

Fiction

Rett McPherson’s character Torie O’Shea is a historian, genealogists and sometime amateur detective. In the 10th novel, “Died in the Wool,” featuring Torie, she is looking into a house that recently went on the market that she would like to turn it into a museum. In doing so, Torie winds up trying to solve an eight-decade-old crime. This is an immensely likable series with a sturdy, engaging protagonist. Many cozy fans will have already discovered the O’Shea novels, but those who haven’t should remedy the oversight in a hurry.  — Review from Booklist, written by David Pitt.

The Library has just received “The Blood Ballad” and “In Sheep’s Clothing” and we have others to fill out the list.

Another well-crafted mystery is “Mausoleum” by Justin Scott (we also have “Stone Dust”). Realtor Ben Abbott is not a happy camper. Newcomer Brian Grose’s tall, ostentatious mausoleum destroyed the serenity and peacefulness of the 300-year old cemetery in Newbury, Conn. And while Brian expected to occupy the “McTomb,” no one expected him to show up dead in the mausoleum. Suffice it to say, suspects abound and it is up to Ben to find out “who done it.”  

Other mysteries just in are: “Knitting Bones” by Monica Ferris; “Rumpole Misbehaves” by John Mortimer, “Bones to Ashes” by Kathy Reichs and J.D. Robb’s “Creation in Death” featuring hardboiled Eve Dallas as a futuristic cop in New York.

John Grisham departed from his usual haunts in “Playing for Pizza.” While not a new book, we have just processed another copy. Third-string Cleveland Browns quarterback Rick Dockery becomes the greatest goat ever by throwing three interceptions in the closing minutes of the AFC championship game. Fleeing vengeful fans, he finds refuge in the grungiest corner of professional football, the Italian National Football League as quarterback of the inept but full-of-heart Parma Panthers. What ensues is a winsome football fable, replete with team bonding and character-building as the underdog Panthers challenge the powerhouse Bergamo Lions for a shot at the Italian Superbowl. It really is a cute book.

“Rhett Butler’s People.” Anne Bartholomew writes in a review from Amazon.com that Margaret Mitchell’s story of Scarlett O’Hara’s and Rhett Butler’s beguiling, twisted love for each other, set against the gruesome background of a nation torn apart by war, is by all accounts epic — so much so that it feels untouchable. Yet McCaig’s take on what many would consider a sacred cow of 20th-century American literature is a worthy suitor for Mitchell’s many ardent fans, for reasons that may not be altogether obvious. It would be easy to look at “Gone With the Wind” and “Rhett Butler’s People” side by side and catalog what is accurate and what isn’t and tally up the score. In doing so, however, the fan is apt to miss out on the best part of this whole book: Rhett Butler himself.

McCaig’s Rhett is thoroughly modern, both a product of his Charleston plantation and an emphatic rejection of it. He is filled with romance and ingenuity, grit and wit, and a toughness matched only by a sense of humility that evokes so gracefully the hardship and heartbreak of a society falling apart. It’s not hard to love Rhett in his weakness for Scarlett’s love, but it is entirely amazing to love him as he rescues Belle Watling, mentors her bright young son Tazewell, adores his sister Rosemary, dotes on dear Bonnie Blue and defends his best friend Tunis Bonneau to the very end.

To pluck a character from a beloved book and recalibrate the story’s point of view isn’t an easy thing to do. Ultimately, the new must ring true with the old, and this is where Rhett Butler’s People succeeds beyond measure. In the spirit of Mitchell’s masterpiece, McCaig never questions that love — of family, lover, land, or country — is the tie that binds these characters to life, for better or worse.

More Fiction: Carole Mathew’s “The Chocolate Lover’s Club;” “Quantico” by Greg Bear; “The Final Warning: Maximum Ride” by James Patterson; “A Long and Winding Road” by Win Blevins and “The Reserve” by Russell Banks.

Remember that far more books come than I can write about. Be sure and look at the New Book Binder located at the circulation desk.  

April is National Poetry Month and Johnny has prepared a display of various kinds of poetry.  Be sure and check that out.

Howard County Library hours are 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., Monday through Friday and 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. Saturday. The Internet/Video room is closed from noon until 2 p.m. Monday through Friday and it will close 1⁄2 hour before closing. The Library is located at 500 S. Main St. Our phone number is 264-2260.

Hollis McCright is director of the Howard County Library.