Braille Book Review

November-December 2004
Books for Adults--Fiction

Fiction

Wildwood BR 14740
by Drusilla Campbell
3 volumes
Hannah was not yet a teenager when she pushed a fifteen-year-old assailant over a cliff to his death at Bluegang Creek. Her friends Liz and Jeanne kept the secret. Now middle-aged, the women confront their past, testing the limits of family and friendship. Descriptions of sex and strong language. 2003.

Money for Nothing BR 14747
by Donald E. Westlake
2 volumes
After cashing mysterious $1,000 monthly checks for seven years, New York ad executive Josh Redmont discovers that he's a sleeper spy for the former Soviet Union. When ordered to assassinate an eastern European politician, Josh tries to find an escape from his predicament and to save his family. Some violence. 2003.

Miss Julia Hits the Road BR 14753
by Ann B. Ross
3 volumes
When elderly widow Julia Springer learns that her housekeeper Lillian and other tenants are being evicted by slum landlord Clarence Gibbs, she organizes a fund-raising motorcycle race to save the neighborhood. Sequel to Miss Julia Throws a Wedding (BR 14243). 2003.

A Hot and Sultry Night for Crime BR 14790
edited by Jeffery Deaver
3 volumes
Twenty original short mysteries feature passion, murder, and heat from members of Mystery Writers of America, including Loren D. Estleman and John Lutz. An award-winning suspense writer edits the collection and prefaces each selection with an author profile. Some violence. 2003.

The Life before Her Eyes BR 14791
by Laura Kasischke
2 volumes
When Diana is seventeen, a classmate confronts her and her girlfriend with a gun--and only Diana survives. At forty, she is still beautiful and has a husband and daughter of her own. But her repressed memories and survivor's guilt are beginning to haunt her. Some strong language. 2002.

Everybody's Somebody's Fool BR 14792
by Ed Gorman
2 volumes
A party in 1961 ends with discovery of the body of Sara Griffin, troubled daughter of a wealthy Black River Falls, Iowa, family. Attorney Sam McCain investigates when police suspect former client David Egan, Sara's onetime boyfriend. After David's mysterious death, Sam works to clear his name. Some violence and some strong language. 2002.

Death in Dublin BR 14793
by Bartholomew Gill
2 volumes
A dangerous gang of criminals called the New Druids steal the ancient Book of Kells from the library at Trinity College, Dublin, and kill a guard. Chief superintendent Peter McGarr suspects an inside job and continues to investigate even after he is pulled off the case. Violence and strong language. 2003.

The Fruit of Stone BR 14836
by Mark Spragg
3 volumes
Late-twentieth-century Wyoming. McEban has been in love with his best friend's wife all his life. Gretchen loved McEban first but married Bennett. Now two decades later she leaves them both for another man, and McEban and Bennett set out together to find her. Some violence and some strong language. 2002.

The Three Miss Margarets BR 14840
by Louise Shaffer
3 volumes
In Charles Valley, Georgia, three elderly ladies--Miss Peggy, Dr. Maggie, and Miss Li'l Bit--have kept a secret about a crime for decades. They are at risk of exposure when African American scientist, Vashti Johnson, coming home to die, and her biographer both arrive. Strong language and some violence. 2003.

A Northern Light BR 14850
by Jennifer Donnelly
3 volumes
Working at an Adirondacks resort in 1906, teenaged Mattie encounters pregnant, unmarried Grace Brown, who gives her a packet of letters. After Grace's drowning, the letters help Mattie decide whether to marry a farmboy or pursue her education. Some descriptions of sex and some strong language. For senior high and older readers. 2003.

Dead Girls Don't Write Letters BR 14873
by Gail Giles
1 volume
Sunny Reynolds is stunned when a letter comes from her sister Jazz, presumed dead in a fire, saying she is alive. Realizing she is an imposter despite her knowledge of family secrets, Sunny must uncover what this stranger really wants. Some strong language. For junior and senior high readers. 2003.

Finding Our Way: Stories BR 14918
by René Saldaña
1 volume
Short stories featuring Hispanic teens. In "The Good Samaritan," Rey's wealthy neighbor constantly breaks promises, and Rey has to decide whether to continue helping him. In "Finding Our Way," teenage boys deal with the death of one of their friends. For junior and senior high readers. 2003.

The Virgin Blue BR 14927
by Tracy Chevalier
3 volumes
American midwife Ella Turner moves to France with her husband and researches her French family origins. Tormented by strange dreams, she discovers a sixteenth-century ancestor, Isabelle Tournier, whose Huguenot beliefs led to tragedy and whose life seems somehow mysteriously linked to Ella's. Meanwhile, Ella has an affair providing complications. Some strong language. Bestseller 1997.

The Book against God BR 14948
by James Wood
2 volumes
Thomas Bunting, supposedly working on his doctorate in philosophy, is actually writing a secret book asserting his atheism. After his minister father dies in northern England and his concert pianist wife leaves him because of his chronic lying, Bunting is forced to reexamine his life. 2003.

Still Life with Crows BR 14950
by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child
4 volumes
FBI agent Pendergast, last seen in The Cabinet of Curiosities (BR 14270), is summoned to Medicine Creek, Kansas, a sleepy farm town plagued by a gruesome serial killer. Somehow the murders are connected to the community's outlaw past, and Pendergast has to discover how. Violence and some strong language. 2003.

After BR 14967
by Francine Prose
2 volumes
Following a nearby school shooting, a newly-hired grief and crisis counselor replaces the principal of a western Massachusetts high school and adopts increasingly harsh methods to control behavior. Tom Bishop and his friends become suspicious when rebellious students and teachers begin disappearing. For senior high readers. 2003.

The Two-Shoot Gun BR 14970
by Donald Hamilton
2 volumes
When Easterner Alexander Burdick arrives in Santa Clara, New Mexico Territory, to open a photography business, he carries a double-barreled, breech-loading shotgun in his wagon and soon finds himself involved in a local feud. Some strong language. 1960.

Suddenly You BR 14971
by Lisa Kleypas
2 volumes
London, 1836. To end her never-loved spinster status, novelist Amanda Briars hires a male prostitute for one night of fantasy on her thirtieth birthday. She is appalled to again encounter Jack-- aka John Devlin, a notorious publisher--at a dinner party. He then makes her an offer she can't refuse. Some explicit descriptions of sex. 2001.

Lynching at Broken Butte and Sunblade BR 14974
by Lewis B. Patten
3 volumes
Traveling to pick up a prisoner, U.S. Marshal August Cragg overnights at Broken Butte, where someone tries to kill him, and Cragg intends to find out who. In Sunblade, in the 1870s a greedy rancher, who has more enemies than friends, winds up dead. Some violence and some strong language. 1952.

The Trellis and the Seed: A Book of Encouragement for All Ages BR 14978
by Jan Karon
1 volume
Parable relates the tale of a very small seed that sits in a glass all winter, but when planted in the spring slowly becomes a lovely vine with beautiful flowers. Grade 1 braille. 2003.

I, Richard BR 14989
by Elizabeth George
2 volumes
Five short stories of mystery and suspense. In "The Surprise of His Life," a wealthy middle-aged man decides to murder his trophy wife. In the title piece, a schoolteacher hopes to clear King Richard III's name by stealing a medieval letter from his friend's estate. Some strong language. 2002.

Over on the Dry Side BR 14993
by Louis L'Amour
2 volumes
Owen Chantry arrives at his brother Clive's ranch to find him murdered and two squatters occupying his cabin. The unlikely trio--and a beautiful stranger--soon find themselves in a deadly feud with Clive's killers, the Mowatt gang, who return in search of Clive's rumored buried treasure. Precedes Borden Chantry (BR 13829). 1975.

A Palestine Affair BR 15072
by Jonathan Wilson
2 volumes
Jerusalem, 1924. English artist Bloomberg and his American wife, Joyce, a non-Jewish Zionist, arrive in British-ruled Palestine to begin a new life. After a murder in their garden Joyce has an affair with Robert Kirsch, the British policeman investigating the crime. Some explicit descriptions of sex, some violence, and some strong language. 2003.

Murder off Mike BR 15074
by Joyce Krieg
3 volumes
Outrageous Sacramento radio talk show host Shauna J. Bogart is devastated by the death of a colleague. The police rule it a suicide, but Shauna believes otherwise and launches her own on- air investigation--one that could lead to a gubernatorial candidate and the station's demise. 2003.

A Pair for the Queen BR 15079
by B. Comfort
2 volumes
Feisty seventy-seven-year-old portrait painter Tish McWhinny helps out her boyfriend's accident-prone godson, Bruce, by restoring an old dog painting in time for the Vermont village's upcoming dog show. Bruce later forges a famous signature, but before Tish can fully protest, Bruce is murdered--and the painting is stolen. 1998.

Tenth Grade BR 15081
by Joseph Weisberg
2 volumes
High school sophomore Jeremiah Reskin keeps a journal detailing his adventures in his New Jersey hometown and family life with his parents and two sisters. Jeremiah reminisces about the girls he falls for, his soccer team, and his jaunts with the guys. Strong language. For senior high readers. Alex Award. 2002.

The New Rules of High School BR 15094
by Blake Nelson
2 volumes
Seventeen-year-old Max has been the perfect high school student-- on the honor roll, debate-team captain, and school-paper editor-- but during his senior year he begins questioning his approach to life, and things start to change. Some descriptions of sex and some strong language. For senior high readers. 2003.

Shepherds Abiding: A Mitford Christmas Story BR 15108
by Jan Karon
2 volumes
This sequel to In This Mountain (BR 14211) centers on Reverend Kavanagh's restoration of an old créche. He transforms himself as he renews the decrepit set and as he interacts with the community: Hope at the bookstore, Andrew at the antiques shop, and the owners of the Main Street Grill. Bestseller 2003.

Warriors of Camlann BR 15112
by N.M. Browne
2 volumes
British teens Dan and Ursula from Warriors of Alavna (BR 15113) attempt to return through time to the present, but they land in the fifth century. Dan becomes a knight to Arturus Urbicus--who may be King Arthur--while Ursula continues her sorcery. Some violence. For junior and senior high readers. 2003.

Warriors of Alavna BR 15113
by N.M. Browne
2 volumes
While walking through a yellow mist, two teens are transported back to first-century Britain. Ursula and Dan are forced to join a Celtic tribe where Ursula discovers magical powers and Dan becomes a fierce warrior in the fight against the Romans. Followed by Warriors of Camlann (BR 15112). Some violence. For junior and senior high readers. 2000.

The Romantic BR 15149
by Barbara Gowdy
3 volumes
Abandoned at ten by her mother in the 1960s, Louise Kirk became infatuated with neighbor boy Abel. When Abel dies on her twenty- sixth birthday, Louise's fragmented memories reveal their tender childhood romance, years of separations and reunions, and the unfulfilled passion that haunts her. Some descriptions of sex and some strong language. 2003.

Nighttime Is My Time BR 15244
by Mary Higgins Clark
3 volumes
History professor and author Dr. Jean Sheridan attends her twentieth prep school reunion, especially to honor a friend who has been murdered. Once there she realizes that several other women from her graduating class have mysteriously died. Jean becomes the next target of the reunion's serial killer. 2004.


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