Hi everyone, here are our five suggested reads of the week!
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The Cyclist by Tim Sullivan
Reader’s Note: The second book in the DS George Cross Mysteries Series, after The Dentist.
DS George Cross has unique and unmatchable talents. He uses a combination of logic, determination and exacting precision to get answers where others have failed for families who have long given up hope. So when a ravaged body is found in a local demolition site, it’s up to Cross to piece together the truth from whatever fragments he can find.
From the faint tan lines and strange scars on the victim’s forearms, Cross meticulously unravels the young man’s life, delving into the world of amateur cycling, an illicit supply of performance enhancing drugs, jealousy, ambition and a family tearing itself apart.
Cross’s relentless pursuit of the truth and eccentric methods earn him few friends. But just as the police seem to be nearing a conclusion, he doubles back. Could it be the biggest mistake of his career?
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Damaged People: A Memoir of Fathers and Sons by Joe McGinniss Jr.
The son of a prominent writer contemplates difficult father-son relationships and the possibilities of healing. The author of political exposes (The Selling of a President 1968) as well as more sensationalistic works (the true-crime account Fatal Vision), McGinniss lived a “writer-as-rock-star” life, chasing stories, women, and fame. He was also cynical, depressive, an addict and alcoholic as well as an absent father allergic to anything that limited his freedom. His son, also named Joe McGinniss, builds the sober, intact household his father could not provide. But Jr., too, is a writer, and a keen observer of his own attachment-avoidant impulses. When his own son, Jayson, arrives, the younger McGinniss finds himself parenting in his father’s likeness: too stern, too angry, and more than a little scared of his own inadequacy. As the old man succumbs to late-life psychosis, his son must excavate his own trauma to halt the damage he has already started inflicting on teenage Jayson. The resulting memoir becomes an act of narrative therapy, as well as a raw and often poignant tribute to a difficult dad.
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First Do No Harm: A Lydia Chin/Bill Smith Mystery by S J Rozan
Reader’s Note: First Do No Harm is the sixteenth book in the Lydia Chin & Bill Smith Mystery Series. If you’d like to binge read the series from the beginning, check out book one: China Trade.
About First Do No Harm: In the newest in the Lydia Chin and Bill Smith mystery series from S. J. Rozan since The Mayors of New York (2023), Dr. Elliott Chen asks his sister, private investigator Lydia, to investigate when Sophia Scott, a nurse helping to negotiate with management to prevent a nurses’ strike, is murdered. Lydia and her partner Bill find themselves in a maze of basement rooms in which it becomes evident that the institution is riddled with “scams and grifts . . . lying and covering up” and that there were many motives for the murder. Nurse Scott was definitely not a model employee. It’s a mad tangle and plays out in a brutally hot New York City August when air conditioning comes and goes at an annoying rate, reflecting the confounding case. Amidst the pervasive fragrance of legendary Manhattan curbside hot dogs, the two foodies find sanctuary in a few of the city’s amazing eateries. Throughout 16 books in a series that started in 1994, Rozan’s characters have bonded and grown, and readers are treated to a seemingly effortless flow of banter and deduction. They are in a class by themselves. – Starred Booklist Review
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May Contain Murder by Orlando Murrin
Reader’s Note: The second book, after Knife Skills for Beginners, in the Chef Paul Delamare Mystery Series.
About May Contain Murder: For fans of Nita Prose, Benjamin Stevenson, and Jessa Maxwell, this delightfully witty and tightly-written new locked room culinary mystery from the MasterChef semi-finalist, cookbook writer, and bestselling author of Knife Skills for Beginners features a charming chef, delicious original recipes, and a killer cruise aboard a luxurious superyacht.
“If it weren’t for all the terrible things that have been happening, I’d consider myself the luckiest man alive . . .” While his flooded house undergoes repairs, chef-turned-writer Paul Delamare has been offered an accommodation upgrade—an all-expenses-paid trip aboard a private superyacht in the company of Xéra, one of his dearest friends. Paul will help Xéra work on her memoirs as Maldemer glides its sumptuous way to the Caribbean. The scenery is stunning, the luxury is unparalleled, and the food…well, at least the dishes that Paul is roped into preparing are delicious. The hired chef, meanwhile, seems completely out of her depth. She’s not the only one. Much as Paul adores Xéra, a Parisian socialite who he was introduced to by his late lover, Marcus, he has little in common with the other guests, a motley crew consisting of Xéra’s new husband and his grasping family. When Xéra’s priceless new necklace goes missing, Paul falls under suspicion. But there’s far worse in store, as one of the passengers is found dead in mysterious and grisly circumstances. The stormy weather matches the threatening mood onboard, and as Maldemer veers off course, every semblance of order goes with it. Above and below deck there are secrets and dangerous alliances. And as he untangles the truth, it becomes clear that Paul’s sharing close quarters with a killer eager to make this his final voyage . . .
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The Mysterious Death of Junetta Plum by Valerie Wilson Wesley
1926: Harriet Stone, a liberated, educated Black woman, and Lovey, the orphaned, biracial, 12-year-old she is bound to protect, are Harlem-bound, embarking on a new, hopefully less traumatic chapter in their lives. They have been invited to move from Connecticut by Harriet’s cousin, Junetta Plum, who runs a boarding house for independent-minded single women.
It’s a bold move, since Harriet has never met Junetta, but the fatalities of the Spanish flu and other tragedies have already forced her and Lovey to face their worst fears. Alone but for each other, they have little left to lose—or so it seems as they arrive at sophisticated Junetta’s impressive brownstone.
Her cousin has a sharp edge that makes Harriett slightly uncomfortable. Still, after retiring to her room for the night, she finally falls asleep—only to awaken to Junetta arguing with someone downstairs. In the morning, she makes a shocking discovery at the foot of the stairs.
What ensues will lead Harriet to question Junetta’s very identity—and to wonder if she and Lovey are in danger as well. It will also tie Harriet to five strangers. Among them, Harriet is sure someone knows something. What she doesn’t yet know is that one will play a crucial role in helping her investigate her cousin’s murder . . . that she will be tied to the others in ways she could never imagine . . . and that her life will take off in a startling new direction . . .
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Happy reading!
Linda Reimer, SSCL
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Note: Book summaries are from the respective publishers unless otherwise specified.
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Weekly Suggested Reading Five postings are usually published on Wednesdays, unless Monday is a holiday and then they are published later in the week.
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Information on the four library catalogs
The Digital Catalog aka Libby: https://stls.overdrive.com/
The Digital Catalog, is an online catalog containing eBooks, eAudiobooks, and digital magazines. You can use your library card and checkout content on a PC; you can also use the companion app, Libby, to access titles on your mobile devices; so you can enjoy eBooks and eAudiobooks on the go!
All card holders of all Southern Tier Library System member libraries can check out items from the Digital Catalog.
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Hoopla Catalog: https://www.hoopladigital.com/
The Hoopla Catalog features on demand checkouts of eBooks, eAudiobooks, comic books, albums, movies and TV shows. Patron check out limit is 10 items per month.
Hoopla is a Southeast Steuben County Library service available to all Southeast Steuben County Library card holders.
The Hoopla companion app, also called Hoopla is available for mobile devices, smart TVs & media streaming players.
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Kanopy Catalog: https://www.kanopy.com/en
The Kanopy Catalog features thousands of streaming videos available on demand.
The Kanopy Catalog is available for all Southern Tier Library System member library card holders, including all Southeast Steuben County Library card holders!
You can access the Kanopy Catalog through a web browser, or download the app to your phone, tablet or media streaming player (i.e. Roku, Google or Fire TV).
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StarCat: The catalog of physical/traditional library materials: https://starcat.stls.org
Card holders of all Southern Tier Library System member libraries can access StarCat to search for and request materials available at libraries through out the Southern Tier Library System.
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Have questions about how to access Internet based content (i.e. eBooks, eAudios)? Feel free to drop by the Reference Desk or call the library and we will assist you! The library’s telephone number is: 607-936-3713.
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Tech & Book Talk is a Southeast Steuben County Library blog.
Tech & Book Talk at SSCL 