Good Reads & Views

Something is Rotten by J. M. Gregson
FIC Gregson

To the amusement of his colleagues, a protesting Constable Bert Hook finds himself dragooned into portraying Polonius in an amateur theater group’s version of Hamlet. But when the group’s director winds up with his throat slashed, Hook’s inside knowledge of the suspects—and the victim—are invaluable. For everyone in the company, including the two young troublemakers, the slick leading man, and the formidable ex who strongly resented being cast off, has a good motive for staging a permanent exit.

The Other Queen by Philippa Gregory
FIC Gregory

Gregory presents the story of Mary Queen of Scots during her exile in England. The banished queen fights to regain her Scottish kingdom with the promise of sanctuary from her cousin Queen Elizabeth I. Instead she finds herself under virtual house arrest on the estates of Elizabeth loyalists, George Talbot, the Earl of Shrewsbury and his wife, Bess of Hardwick. The three share their first person narratives: Mary trying to plot her way out of exile, George loyal to a fault, and Bess spy and estate manager trying not to lose everything. A dramatic novel of passion, politics and betrayal in the Elizabethan world.

The Other Boleyn Girl by Philippa Gregory
CD BOOK Gregory

Sisterly rivalry is the basis of this story of Anne Boleyn wonderfully narrated by Susan Lyons. Anne, her sister Mary and their brother George, a.k.a. “the three Boleyn’s”, are brought to the king's court at a young age and used as players in their uncle's plans to advance the family's fortunes. Mary, the sweet blonde sister, wins King Henry VIII's favor when she is 14 and already married to one of his courtiers. Their affair lasts several years and she gives Henry a daughter and a son. Anne, the dark scheming sister advances herself into Henry's graces, styling herself as his adviser and confidant. Soon she displaces Mary as his lover and plots to rid him of his wife, the Queen, Katherine of Aragon. Mary is the most sympathetic of the siblings, George, charming and an able plotter, brings disaster on his own head by falling in love with a male courtier, and Anne, most tormented of all, is ruthless in her drive to become queen and to give Henry a male heir. In the end Anne's famous, tragic end is offset by Mary's happier fate.

The Constant Princess by Philippa Gregory
FIC Gregory

This is the story of Katherine of Aragon, the daughter of King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella of Spain. Katherine believes it is her destiny to become the Queen of England one day. She marries Prince Arthur of England, but he dies shortly after they have married.Katherine must deny her love for Arthur in order to marry his brother, Henry, who is now heir to the throne. Come along with Katherine as she struggles to fulfill her dream, and to grant her mother’s wish and her husband’s dying hope that she becomes the Queen of England.

The Man With the Golden Torc by Simon R. Green
FIC Green

His name is Bond. Shaman Bond. Derring-do is his family business. Fighting rogue werewolves, boogey-men, and things that go bump in the night is his daily job. And he’s good at it. But now his family has declared him a rogue, for no apparent reason, and he has his armored, weaponed hands full as he runs for his life. Wildly inventive, with action, romance, and wisecracks.

Angel Light: An Old Fashioned Love Story by Andrew M. Greeley
FIC Greeley

According to Uncle Toby’s will, he has left his nephew Toby one million dollars on the condition that he wins the heart of his third cousin, Sara, and marries her within a month’s time. Sara lives in Ireland, so Toby reluctantly travels there with help from a guardian angel named Raphaella, who is a female and very modern in her ways. The trouble is Toby is not interested in the money or in getting married to anyone.

Dead Cat Bounce by Sarah Graves
FIC Graves

First in the Home Repair is Homicide series. Financial advisor Jacobia "Jake" Tiptree moves to Eastport, Maine to get away from her ex-husband and save her teenage son from the bad crowd he was hanging out with in Manhattan. While trying to repair her early 19th-century house, she must also clear her new best-friend and neighbor of murder after a dead man is discovered in her storage room. Great small-town characters.

R is for Ricochet by Sue Grafton
FIC Grafton

When PI, Kinsey Millhone, is hired to escort newly paroled Reba Lafferty home from the California Institute for Women, it seems simple enough. However Reba has no intention of following the straight and narrow, and Kinsey soon finds herself involved with a federal investigation into Reba's former boss, Alan Beckwith, for whom she had taken the fall that landed her in prison. Reba and Kinsey team up to get the goods on Beckwith, but not without surprise, danger, and serious consequences for them both.

Tilt-a-Whirl by Chris Grabenstein
FIC Grabenstein

This is an impressive mystery debut. Danny Boyle is a happy-go-lucky, part-time summer cop in the resort town of Sea Haven who took the job to impress girls. His main job is to drive John Ceepak, a former military policeman in Iraq who has a strict moral code. When a local real estate mogul is murdered, it is up to these unlikely partners to make sure that Sea Haven can stay 'open for fun in the sun'. 

The Stories of Mary Gordon by Mary Gordon
FIC Gordon

Once again Mary Gordon treats us to stories that demonstrate her depth and understanding of the human condition. “Healing”, one such story, relates a slice of life about a precocious little girl whose intellect and imagination intimidate the adults in her life. Another story, “City Life”, tells about the dark side of New York City. Gordon’s style is original. Her characters, sometimes dark, sometimes light, intrigue and fascinate the reader.