Perennial Favorites

It's funny how some books are being discussed in book clubs long after they have been printed.

My book club is reading, The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon. Our copy was out, because another book club was reading the book, but I got a copy through inter-library loan. This seemed like a remarkable coincidence for a book that was published in 2001.

Another favorite is The Hare with Amber Eyes by Edmund de Waal We have a beautiful copy that includes pictures of the netsuke that are such an important part of the story.

Do you have an all-time favorite book club read? Let us know.

The Wonderful World of Large Print Books

Have you tried a large-print book lately? Once a fusty afterthought, the volumes are slimmer and many best sellers release the large-print versions at the same time as the hardcover version.

For a small library, we have a thriving large-print collection. Check it out!

Our large-print book club recently read The Daughter of Time by Josephine Tey. This illustrates another trend in large-print publishing: reissuing old-favorites such as Tey and Agatha Christie in large print. The book club was divided on The Daughter of Time: some enjoyed the fresh look at Richard III and some felt it was just too complicated.

Next month we're reading Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford. We're offering bonus points for reading his newest book Songs of Willow Frost (simultaneously released in large print :)

Guest Review: Silencing Eve by Iris Johansen

Guest Review by Shirley Ayres:

1. Silencing Eve by Iris Johansen (2013)

Book 2, Hunting Eve, ends with Eve Duncan and her kidnapper, James Doane, being in the house when a massive explosion takes place. FBI agents confirm that two people were seen just as the house exploded. No one could have lived through it.

But there are doubts about the facts. A well-hidden escape route is discovered and Eve's lover, Joe Quinn, her adopted daughter, Jane MacGuire, and friends are almost positive that Eve and Doane survived and are hiding out. But where?

From the beginning, Doane has an evil plan and Eve Duncan is a big part, and the man who killed Doane's son, Kevin (the mass murderer of children) is another part. What is the connection between the two soon-to-be murdered persons? Johansen has prepared a surprise that will floor you.

Publicly pretending that Eve is dead gives Joe Quinn and the gang a head start in finding Doane and rescuing Eve from his clutches.

Will Joe find and rescue Eve before Doane finally kills her? Are you ready for an unhappy ending? The final book of the Eve Duncan trilogy is filled with twists and turns and surprises and even a good guy being killed. You won't be sorry when you read all three books, in order of course.

Thanks, Shirley!

Guest Review: The Eve Duncon Trilogy by Iris Johansen

Shirley Ayres on the first two books from Iris Johansen's Eve Duncan Trilogy:

1. Taking Eve (2013)

Eve Duncan, Forensic Sculptor, has been kidnapped from her Atlanta, Georgia, home by Jim Doane and held in an unknown location forced to do a reconstruction of the skull of a serial killer. Doane's son, Kevin. Her lover and longtime companion, Atlantic Police Department Detective Joe Quinn, Eve's and Joe's adopted daughter, Jane McGuire and others are drawn into the hunt for Eve. Positive she will be killed once the reconstruction is finished, Eve looks for ways to escape.

2. Hunting Eve (2013)

The second book of the trilogy has Eve Duncan realizing her goal. After planning her escape into the surrounding forest and wilderness of Colorado, she takes food, water, warm clothing, and Kevin's skull with her, but Doane is close behind her. When he catches up with Eve, she throws Kevin's skull over a cliff, hoping that Doane will go after it, giving her time to escape but that does not happen. She does escape again, but Doane is always close to her. 

Meanwhile, Joe Quinnn, Jane McGuire, the FBI, and lots of others try to find Eve's location so that they can rescue her. Will they find her? Who will get there first? The FBI? Quinn? And will Eve be alive when they find her? Stay tuned for the third and final book of the Johansen trilogy.

Thanks, Shirley!