Hi everyone, here are our recommended titles for the week, consisting entirely of eBooks & downloadable audiobooks available through the Digital Catalog.
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Weekly Suggested Reading postings are published on Tuesdays.
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The Boys Club: A Novel by Erica Katz (Format: eBook)
Sweetbitter meets The Firm in this buzzy, page-turning debut novel—already optioned to Netflix—about sex and power in the halls of corporate America.
One of Buzzfeed’s Most Anticipated Books of 2020, Cosmopolitan’s Best Summer Reads of 2020, and the New York Post’s 30 Best Summer Books
Alex Vogel has always been a high achiever who lived her life by the book—star student and athlete in high school, prelaw whiz in college, Harvard Law School degree. Accepting a dream offer at the prestigious Manhattan law firm of Klasko & Fitch, she promises her sweet and supportive longtime boyfriend that the job won’t change her.
Yet Alex is seduced by the firm’s money and energy . . . and by her cocksure male colleagues, who quickly take notice of the new girl. She’s never felt so confident and powerful—even the innuendo-laced banter with clients feels fun. In the firm’s most profitable and competitive division, Mergers and Acquisitions, Alex works around the clock, racking up billable hours and entertaining clients late into the evening. While the job is punishing, it has its perks, like a weekend trip to Miami, a ride in a client’s private jet, and more expense-account meals than she can count.
But as her clients’ expectations and demands on her increase, and Alex finds herself magnetically drawn to a handsome coworker despite her loving relationship at home, she begins to question everything—including herself. She knows the corporate world isn’t black and white, and that to reach the top means playing by different rules. But who made those rules? And what if the system rigged so that women can’t win, anyway?
When something happens that reveals the dark reality of the firm, Alex comes to understand the ways women like her are told—explicitly and implicitly—how they need to behave to succeed in the workplace. Now, she can no longer stand by silently—even if doing what’s right means putting everything on the line to expose the shocking truth.
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Death by Chocolate Malted Milkshake by Sarah Graves (Format: eBook)
When murder interrupts a Maine island wedding, two local confectioners go sifting through suspects in this mystery by the author of Dead Cat Bounce.
With their waterfront bakeshop, The Chocolate Moose, Jacobia “Jake” Tiptree and her best friend Ellie offer sweets to the salty locals of Eastport, Maine. Now they’ve been asked to bake a wedding whoopie pie for Eastport’s favorite lovebirds, Sharon Sweetwater and Andy Devine. The custom-ordered confection is about to reel in some much-needed dough for Jake and Ellie. But the celebratory air, and sweet smell of success, are ruined by foul murder.
When Sharon’s bitter ex-boyfriend Toby is poisoned with an arsenic-laced milkshake, Andy is arrested and the wedding is cancelled, whoopie pie and all. Then Sharon makes a shocking confession—one that sounds like a fishy attempt to get Andy off the hook. Now both the bride and groom are behind bars. And with the fate of The Chocolate Moose at stake, it’s up to Jake and Ellie to clear their names and make sure justice is served.
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Final Cut: A Novel by S. J. Watson (Format: eBook)
A gripping new psychological thriller from S.J. Watson, the New York Times bestselling author of Before I Go to Sleep, in which a documentary filmmaker travels to a sleepy fishing village to shoot her new film and encounters a dark mystery surrounding the disappearance of a local girl.
They tried to hide the truth. But the camera never lies…
Blackwood Bay. An ordinary place, home to ordinary people.
It used to be a buzzing seaside destination. But now, ravaged by the effects of dwindling tourism and economic downturn, it’s a ghost town—and the perfect place for film-maker Alex to shoot her new documentary. But the community is deeply suspicious of her intentions. After all, nothing exciting ever happens in Blackwood Bay—or does it?
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Haunted House Murder by Leslie Meier, Lee Hollis & Barbara Ross (Format: eBook)
Tricks and treats keep the Halloween spirit alive in coastal Maine. But this year the haunted house theme is getting carried a little too far . . .
HAUNTED HOUSE MURDER by LESLIE MEIER
Newcomers to Tinker’s Cove, Ty and Heather Moon have moved into a dilapidated house reputed to be a haven for ghosts. Now strange noises and flickering lights erupt from the house at all hours and neighborly relations are on edge. And when a local boy goes missing near the house, it’s up to Lucy Stone to unravel the mystery of the eccentric couple and their increasingly frightful behavior.
DEATH BY HAUNTED HOUSE by LEE HOLLIS
For the past two years, the house next door to Hayley Powell has sat abandoned after the owner died under mysterious circumstances. The Salinger family has recently taken possession of the property, but the realtor behind the deal has vanished—after a very public and angry argument with Damien Salinger. If Bar Harbor’s newest neighbors are murderers, Hayley will haunt them until they confess.
HALLOWED OUT by BARBARA ROSS
With its history of hauntings and ghost sightings, Busman’s Harbor is the perfect setting for Halloween festivities. But when a reenactment of a Prohibition-era gangster’s murder ends with a literal bang and a dead actor from New Jersey, Julia Snowden must identify a killer before she ends up sleeping with the fishes.
PRAISE FOR HAUNTED HOUSE MURDER
“Haunted houses, a holiday staple, are an especially good fit for the authors’ folksy Down East setting. All three tales offer a dash of detection, but their strong suit is hometown charm.”
—Kirkus Reviews
“Enjoyable. . . . The well-drawn main characters, not the spooky goings-on, are the main attraction. Cozy fans are in for a Halloween treat.”
—Publishers Weekly
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The Midnight Bargain by C. L. Polk (Format: eBook)
From the beloved World Fantasy Award-winning author of Witchmark comes a sweeping, romantic new fantasy set in a world reminiscent of Regency England, where women’s magic is taken from them when they marry. A sorceress must balance her desire to become the first great female magician against her duty to her family.
Beatrice Clayborn is a sorceress who practices magic in secret, terrified of the day she will be locked into a marital collar that will cut off her powers to protect her unborn children. She dreams of becoming a full-fledged Magus and pursuing magic as her calling as men do, but her family has staked everything to equip her for Bargaining Season, when young men and women of means descend upon the city to negotiate the best marriages. The Clayborns are in severe debt, and only she can save them, by securing an advantageous match before their creditors come calling.
In a stroke of luck, Beatrice finds a grimoire that contains the key to becoming a Magus, but before she can purchase it, a rival sorceress swindles the book right out of her hands. Beatrice summons a spirit to help her get it back, but her new ally exacts a price: Beatrice’s first kiss . . . with her adversary’s brother, the handsome, compassionate, and fabulously wealthy Ianthe Lavan.
The more Beatrice is entangled with the Lavan siblings, the harder her decision becomes: If she casts the spell to become a Magus, she will devastate her family and lose the only man to ever see her for who she is; but if she marries—even for love—she will sacrifice her magic, her identity, and her dreams. But how can she choose just one, knowing she will forever regret the path not taken?
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October Fest: The Murder-By-Month Mystery by Jess Lourey (Format: eBook)
Beer and polka music reign supreme at Octoberfest, Battle Lake’s premier fall festival. To kick off the celebrations, the town hosts a public debate between the two congressional candidates: straight-laced Arnold Swydecker, and slippery incumbent, Sarah Glokkmann. As a reporter for the Battle Lake Recall, Mira James is roped into writing up the word war. But the festive mood sours when a well-known Glokkmann-bashing blogger is found dead . . . and the congresswoman herself meets a gruesome fate.
To keep the heat off her best friend’s fiancé—an ex-con reporter—Mira wades through the candidates’ dirty laundry, their unsavory secrets, and some murderous mudslinging to expose the killer.
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The Party Upstairs by Lee Cornell (Format: eBook)
An electrifying debut novel that unfolds in the course of a single day inside one genteel New York City apartment building, as tensions between the building’s super and his grown-up daughter spark a crisis that will, by day’s end, change everything.
Ruby has a strange relationship to privilege. She grew up the super’s daughter in the basement of an Upper West Side co-op that gets more gentrified with each passing year. Though not economically privileged herself, her close childhood friendship with Caroline, the daughter of affluent tenants, and the mere fact of living in such a wealthy neighborhood, close to her beloved Natural History Museum, brought her certain advantages, even expectations. Naturally Ruby followed her dreams and took out loans to attend a prestigious small liberal arts college and explore her interest in art. But now, out of school for a while, she is no closer to her dream job, or anything resembling it, and she’s been forced by circumstances to do the last thing she wanted to do: move back in with her parents, back into the basement. And Caroline is throwing one of her parties tonight, in her father’s glorious penthouse apartment, a party Ruby looks forward to and dreads in equal measure.
With a thriller’s narrative control, The Party Upstairs distills worlds of wisdom about families, great expectations, and the hidden violence of class into the gripping, darkly witty story of a single fateful day inside the Manhattan co-op Ruby calls home. Told from the alternating points of view of Ruby and her father, the novel builds from the spark of an early morning argument between them to the ultimate conflagration to which it leads by day’s end. By the time the ashes have cooled, the façade that masks the building’s power structure will have burned away, and no party will be left unscathed.
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This Just Speaks to Me: Words to Live By Every Day by Hoda Kotb (Format: eBook)
In this all-new collection of beloved quotes, This Just Speaks to Me, #1 New York Times bestselling author Hoda Kotb offers inspiration, wisdom, and hope 365 days a year.
When her first collection of quotes, I Really Needed This Today, was published in 2019, Hoda never imagined how deeply her favorite words, stories, and memories would resonate with readers. People across the country were connected not only by the book’s positive message, but through their generosity in sharing it with friends and family who needed a daily burst of inspiration. Hoda was truly touched by fans who shared “their quote” with her, the one that most moved them or someone they love.
Now, to follow that remarkable experience, Hoda is back, with 365 new quotes and stories to share with her beloved readers. In This Just Speaks to Me, she writes about the people and moments that have enriched her life, discussing everything from motherhood and friendship to love and loss. The book also celebrates the countless acts of kindness that unfolded during these uniquely challenging times. Told with the same warmth, humor, and generosity that infused I Really Needed This Today, This Just Speaks to Me promises to be the next great companion book, each day elevated by Hoda’s sparkle at a time when we may need it the most.
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A Time for Mercy written by John Grisham and read by Michael Beck (Format: Downloadable Audiobook)
Jake Brigance is back! The hero of A Time to Kill, one of the most popular novels of our time, returns in a courtroom drama that showcases #1 New York Times bestselling author John Grisham at the height of his storytelling powers.
Clanton, Mississippi. 1990. Jake Brigance finds himself embroiled in a deeply divisive trial when the court appoints him attorney for Drew Gamble, a timid sixteen-year-old boy accused of murdering a local deputy. Many in Clanton want a swift trial and the death penalty, but Brigance digs in and discovers that there is more to the story than meets the eye. Jake’s fierce commitment to saving Drew from the gas chamber puts his career, his financial security, and the safety of his family on the line.
In what may be the most personal and accomplished legal thriller of John Grisham’s storied career, we deepen our acquaintance with the iconic Southern town of Clanton and the vivid cast of characters that so many readers know and cherish. The result is a richly rewarding novel that is both timely and timeless, full of wit, drama, and—most of all—heart.
Bursting with all the courthouse scheming, small-town intrigue, and stunning plot twists that have become the hallmarks of the master of the legal thriller, A Time for Mercy is John Grisham’s most powerful courtroom drama yet.
There is a time to kill and a time for justice. Now comes A Time for Mercy.
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The Tower of Nero: The Trials of Apollo Series, Book 5 written by Rick Riordan and read by Robbie Daymond (Format: Downloadable Audiobook)
The fifth and final installment of the #1 New York Times bestselling Trials of Apollo series has Lester and Meg returning to where it all began: Camp Half-Blood.
At last, the breathtaking, action-packed finale of the #1 bestselling Trials of Apollo series is here! Will the Greek god Apollo, cast down to earth in the pathetic moral form of a teenager named Lester Papadopoulos, finally regain his place on Mount Olympus? Lester’s demigod friends at Camp Jupiter just helped him survive attacks from bloodthirsty ghouls, an evil Roman king and his army of the undead, and the lethal emperors Caligula and Commodus. Now the former god and his demigod master Meg must follow a prophecy uncovered by Ella the harpy. Lester’s final challenge will be at the Tower of Nero, back in New York. Will Meg have a last showdown with her father? Will this helpless form of Apollo have to face his arch nemesis, Python? Who will be on hand at Camp Half-Blood to assist? These questions and more will be answered in this book that all demigods are eagerly awaiting.
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Hoopla Reading Recommendation of the Week
Point of Danger by Irene Hannon (Format: eBook)
Radio talk show host Eve Reilly is used to backlash from her pot-stirring on-air commentary and interviews, but now it seems a disgruntled listener is resorting to more than angry words to express their displeasure. When a suspicious package arrives on her doorstep, Eve turns to law enforcement for help.
Police detective Brent Lange can’t find any evidence to link the string of unsettling incidents that follows, but he’s convinced they’re connected. As the harassment grows more menacing, it becomes clear someone wants Eve’s voice silenced-permanently.
But unless he can track down her foe, fast, the gutsy woman who is willing to take risks for what she believes-and who is swiftly winning his heart-may not survive.
Bestselling author and three-time RITA Award winner Irene Hannon is back with a heart-stopping new series that will have you turning pages well into the night.
Note: You must have a Southeast Steuben County Library Card to check out Hoopla eBooks.
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Have a great week!
Linda Reimer, SSCL
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Note: Book summaries are from the respective publishers unless otherwise specified.
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StarCat
The catalog of physical library materials, i.e. print books, audiobooks on CD, DVDs etc.
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For mobile devices simply download the Libby (eBooks & downloadable audiobooks) or the RB Digital app (on-demand magazines), from your app store to get started. And if you’re using a PC or Mac simply click on the following link: https://stls.overdrive.com/
If you have questions call the library at 607-936-3713 and one of our tech coaches will be happy to assist you.
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