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Fiction |
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The Couple Next Door
by Shari Lapena
The Couple Next Door by Shari Lapena is a strange little book full of twists and turns. At its core a thriller about young parents who make a terrible decision with dire consequences, this story will leave readers guessing until the unnerving end. Anne Conti was a different person before giving birth to her first child. Now almost crippled by post-partum depression, she allows her husband Marco to persuade her to leave their infant daughter home alone while they go next door for a dinner party, taking along a baby monitor and agreeing to take turns checking on the child every couple of hours. But when they finally come home for the night, the baby is gone. What follows is the unraveling of a mystery, the unraveling of relationships, and the unraveling of Anne’s mind. Although the publisher description and title are a bit misleading—the story having little to do with the mysterious next door neighbors unless “the couple next door” actually refers to the protagonist and her husband—readers who enjoy thrillers will devour this book anyway, for its intriguing storyline and sudden, unexpected twists and turns.
—Jean Ward, MLIS, Manager, New Titles
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The Wedding Shop
by Rachel Hauck
Cora Scott owns a famous bridal boutique in Tennessee in the 1930s. She has dressed hundreds of brides for their special day, but never herself. She loves a man who works on the river and patiently waits for his infrequent visits. At the same time, her steadfast friend Birch is patiently waiting for her. Eighty years later, Haley has been honorably discharged from the Air Force and has come home to Tennessee to figure out what to do with the rest of her life. She learns that Cora’s old wedding shop has been slated for destruction, and remembering a promise to her deceased best friend, Hayley attempts to save it. Along the way, she finds a former friend that has been patiently waiting for her as well, even if neither of them realized it. Rachel Hauck weaves a beautiful story across time, and though The Wedding Shop is considered a stand-alone, her fans will be delighted to see references to characters from Hauck’s other works scattered in this novel. Recommended for public libraries.
—Rachel Rich, MLS, Collection Development Librarian
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The Gentleman
by Leo Forrest
If H. G. Wells collaborated with P. G. Wodehouse, the result might be something like this hilarious, madcap Victorian adventure novel. The narrator is Lionel Savage, a self-absorbed and rather dimwitted poet, who solves his money problems by marrying Vivien, a rich young woman. After the marriage, he finds that he loathes Vivien and is unable to write. When Vivien hosts a masquerade ball, Lionel hides out in his study, and a mysterious but shy and unassuming gentleman (who happens to be the Devil) joins him, and they have a pleasant conversation about literature and Lionel’s marital problems. After the ball, Vivien has disappeared. Lionel assumes that the Devil has taken her and decides that he does love her after all. He begins an effort to rescue her with the aid of his headstrong teenage sister; his bluff, adventuring brother-in-law; his genius, sarcastic butler; and a quirky inventor. A fun read for those who enjoy historical farce and steampunk, The Gentleman is a good choice for most public libraries.
—Shannan Rosa, MSLS, Collection Development Librarian
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The Other Einstein
by Marie Benedict
Not many physicists pass from academia into mainstream culture, but Albert Einstein did just that. However, this novel is the story of another intellectual luminary: Mileva Mariċ Einstein. The Other Einstein begins with Mileva’s first days at the Swiss Federal Polytechnic School; after gaining the special permission of the professor, she is allowed into the new class, sitting beside a strange, curly-headed student named Albert. Mileva forms a close bond with a group of like-minded female students in Zurich, and they revel in the life of the mind, music, and the city. The female group doesn’t last too long, though; Albert has taken an interest in the bright Mileva. Albert and Mileva begin a romance, which results in a pregnancy. Albert seeks a job in a patent office while Mileva walks away from the sciences she loves so much to be a wife and a mother. The couple collaborate on projects and papers, and it seems that they may have indeed found the perfect combination of domestic and what they call “bohemian” life. After promising not to, Albert repeatedly omits Mileva’s name from the work they do together. Indeed, Albert begins to pass some of his wife’s ideas off as his own. Mileva accepts that her role has become that of a housewife, but she reaches a breaking point when Albert’s fame helps him into the arms of other women. Given that popular history prefers a simple narrative, The Other Einstein is a welcome novel for thinking about Albert Einstein’s life, through the lens of Mileva. Her story is just as fascinating, if not more so, and deserves to be told.
—Ben Whisenant, New Titles Specialist I
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Hidden Figures: The American Dream and the Untold Story of the Black Women Mathematicians Who Helped Win the Space Race
hardcover and paperback
by Margot Lee Shetterly
In the early days of the space program, complex calculations were completed by a pool of “human computers,” research mathematicians who did the math by hand. Few people realize that those jobs were filled by women, including a small group of pioneering African American women who worked at Langley Memorial Aeronautical Laboratory. There were few opportunities available for these brilliant women, and their accomplishments have remained largely overlooked until now. Shetterly uses information gathered from archival documents, correspondence, and interviews to bring this little-known piece of history to life as a compelling narrative. Buzz is already building for the movie adaptation (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RK8xHq6dfAo) starring Taraji P. Henson, Octavia Spencer, and Janelle Monáe, which will be in theaters in January 2017. Highly recommended.
—Beth Reinker, MSLS, Collection Development Librarian
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The Girl in the Castle
by Santa Montefiore
Three women were born in the year 1900, each with the love of Ireland in their hearts. Kitty Deverill is Anglo-Irish, and her family was given the land of the O’Leary clan with much contention in the 1600s. Although locals see her as the enemy as they fight for independence from the British, she loves Ireland and its people and is sympathetic to their cause. Bridie Doyle, Kitty’s maid and best friend, represents the working class cause for Irish Independence. Her fondest memories are of her father and brothers planning a new Irish Republic, but secrets and regrets force Bridie to go to a new place and rebuild her life, all the while longing for Ireland. Celia Deverill is English, but her summers at Castle Deverill made her the happiest, something she will never forget. The Girl in the Castle is beautifully written and gives dimension to the complicated politics of the IRA, British imperialism, and World War I. Highly recommended for all public libraries.
—Rachel Rich, MLS, Collection Development Librarian
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