Hard Cover Fiction
The Help
by Kathryn Stockett
An impressive debut novel set during the nascent civil rights movement in Jackson, Miss., where black women were trusted to raise white children but not to polish the household silver. Eugenia "Skeeter" Phelan is just home from college in 1962, and, anxious to become a writer. Enlisting the help of two black maids, Abilene and Minny, and eventually many others, Skeeter puts together a book based on their stories working for the white, country club ladies of Jackson. The stories range from tender and poignant to scathing and shocking, but the telling of them brings pride and hope to the black community, while giving Skeeter the courage to break down her personal boundaries and pursue her dreams. In pitch-perfect voices, Kathryn Stockett creates three extraordinary women whose determination to start a movement of their own forever changes a town, and the way women - mothers, daughters, caregivers, and friends - view themselves and one another. A deeply moving novel filled with poignancy, humor, and hope.
The Man From Beijing
by Henning Blake
In the Swedish hamlet of Hesjövallen, nineteen people have been massacred. The only clue is a red ribbon found at the scene. Among the dead are the Andrens, grandparents of Judge Birgitta Roslin, who discovers that another Andrens family has been killed in Nevada. Birgitta then discovers the nineteenth-century diary of an Andrén ancestor - a gang master on the American transcontinental railway - that describes brutal treatment of Chinese slave workers. The murder investigation leads to the highest echelons of power in present-day Beijing, and to Zimbabwe and Mozambique. But the narrative also takes us back 150 years into the depths of the slave trade between China and the United States.
The Postmistress
by Sarah Blake
Weaving together the stories of three very different women loosely tied to each other, first novelist Blake takes readers back and forth between small town America and war-torn Europe in 1940. With parallels to today, The Postmistress shows how war goes on around us, while ordinary lives continue.
Worst Case
by James Patterson
The son of one of New York's wealthiest families is snatched off the street and held hostage. His parents can't save him, because this kidnapper isn't demanding money. Instead, he quizzes his prisoner on the price others pay for his life of luxury. Detective Michael Bennett leads the investigation. As another student disappears, one powerful family after another uses their leverage and connections to turn the heat up on anyone who will listen to stop this killer. Their reach extends all the way to the FBI, who send their top Abduction Specialist, Agent Emily Parker, causing Bennett's life - and love life - to suddenly get even more complicated.
The Girl Who Played With Fire
by Stieg Larsson
The Girl Who Played With Fire is the second in a trilogy that began with The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, and once more features Mikael Blomkvist, crusading journalist and publisher of the magazine Millennium with an explosive story on his hands. But he has no idea just how explosive the story will be until, on the eve of publication, the two investigating reporters are murdered. And even more shocking for Blomkvist: the fingerprints found on the murder weapon belong to Lisbeth Salander - the troubled, wise-beyond-her-years genius hacker who came to his aid in The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, and who now becomes the focus and fierce heart of The Girl Who Played with Fire.
