Famous Last Words by Katie Alender, 312 pages (2016-2017 Truman Readers Award Nominee)

In Famous Last Words, Willa is an angst filled teenage girl who has just moved to Hollywood with her recently remarried mom and her new famous movie producer stepfather.  As if starting a new school and making new friends weren't hard enough, Willa harbors a dark secret.  She killed her father.  Willa wants nothing more than to get in touch with her father and tell him how sorry she is for the fight they had and how she didn't mean to hurt him.  Though her spiritual attempts to contact her father never seem to work, Willa gets these crazy headaches and starts having visions of terribly frightening things.  There's a dead body in her swimming pool, messages on walls, and other things only she can see or hear.  Meanwhile, there's a serial killer loose in Hollywood who is targeting young actresses and reenacting famous death scenes and Willa starts to realize her hallucinations might be tied to the murders and that someone or something might be trying to send her a message. 

Of course, it's not all ghosts and murders in this story.  Willa makes a few new friends.  Marnie, a Hollywood kid like Willa, Reed, her stepfather's handsome young assistant, and Wyatt, a serious guy who is obsessed with the Hollywood Killer.  When Willa realizes the magnitude of the trouble she's in she needs someone to help her, but who?

I can't say much more without spoiling it.  I will say I never would have picked this up had it not been an award nominee.  Mysteries are fine, but ghost stories are not my cup of tea.  Fortunately for me this was creepy, but not too scary.  The story itself moved quickly and I stayed up too late finishing it last night and then stayed up even later watching something silly to counteract the creepiness.

As Time Goes By by Mary Higgins Clark 278 pages

I love Mary Higgins Clark!  It could have something to do with the huge emerald ring she wears...or it could be that she writes solid, clean mysteries.  Stories that hold your interest without all the sex and violence drama.  They do not call her the Queen of Suspence for nothing.  This one is the newest in the Alvira and Willy series.  Television journalist Delaney Wright is covering the sensational trial of Betsy Grant, accused of murdering her husband who had been suffering from early onset Alzheimer's.  Betsy is a very sympathetic character who truly loved her husband  and took excellent care of him.  But did she do it? Or was it the step-son who is deep in debt and stands to inherit $15 million?
Meanwhile, Delaney asks her friends Alvira and Willy to help her find her birth mother.  What they uncover is a bit shocking!  Will everyone live happily ever after?

The Pieces We Keep by Kristina McMorris 439 pages

This is the second Kristina McMorris novel I have read and, honestly, it took me a while to get into this one, but it was worth it.  The author flips back and forth from the present to pre-WWII, even using different print fonts!  Audra is a young widow trying to raise her son, Jack.  Jack has night terrors and seems obsessed with WWII.  When finally asked by his therapist how he knows so much about WWII, Jack replies, " Because I was there."   On the flip side we have Vivian, daughter of an American diplomat living in London.  Vivian is having a secret affair with a German student, Isaak, but when war begins to break out, Vivian returns to the United States and Isaak must return to Germany and try to help his family escape the Nazi's.  What is the connection between these two stories?  Ah, you don't really expect me to tell you, do you?  That would spoil the read for you!  Just be sure you read the Author's Notes at the end.  Discussion questions are also included so this would be perfect for a Book Club.  Caution:  this was an Interlibrary Loan.  SJPL does not own this book.

Off the Grid: A Joe Pickett Novel by C. J. Box 371 pages

Wyoming Govenor Spencer Rulon is about to leave office, but before he does, he has one more assignment for his "Special Liaison to the Executve Branch" Game Warden Joe Pickett.  Surprisingly, he sends Joe off to Wyoming's Red Desert in search of his " off the grid" buddy Nate Romanowski. Nate has been approached by men claiming to be federal agents and promised forgiveness for past crimes .  All he has to do is make a connection to fellow falconer Ibby.  Sounds simple, right?  Not so much.  There is a rogue killer bear headed their way, suspicious, possibly terrorist activity, in the area and unbelievably, Joe's daughter Sheridan is mixed up in the mess. Will they all make it out alive? 

NYPD Red 4 by James Patterson 332 pages

I know I have sworn off James Patterson for a while but I am not sorry I read this book.  It was a quick read ( all of  Patterson's are) and it held my interest.  Red 4 is an elite group of detectives  called upon to handle cases involving New York's rich and          (in)famous.  This time, a hot young actress has been murdered on her way to a red carpet premiere and the $8 million emerald necklace she was wearing ripped from her body.  Detectives Zack and Kylie are former lovers, now partners, and are tasked with solving the murder/theft.  However, it could be he greatest obstacle to their success will be handling all the personal issues in their lives!  Hang on for a fast paced ride from page one!

The True American: Murder and Mercy in Texas by Anand Gridharadas, 319 pages

This is not the kind of book I typically read. If I read nonfiction it is normally either related to either World War II or is a memoir.  This book is about a Texas man, Mark Stroman, who killed two people he presumed to be Muslim shortly after 9/11and he wounded a third.

It is the story of how Mark Stroman got to the point in his life where he felt like he was being a patriot by hating and killing people that didn't look or sound like him.  It is also the story of the man he wounded, Rais Bhuiyan, an immigrant from Bangladesh who ends up trying to help Mark Stroman's kids break the cycle of poverty they've known their whole life.

The author, Anand Giridharadas, recently spoke at a conference I attended and I came away from that talk wondering if and hoping it is possible to create a more merciful America. 

The Guest Room by Chris Bohjalian, 336 pages

This is a heart wrenching novel about the consequences of human trafficking and the sex trade.  Richard is a happily married father of a 9-year old daughter.  He is also happily employed as an investment banker at a swanky bank.  He hosts a bachelor party at his house for his younger brother and things turn out not-so-happy after the two young "strippers" kill their handlers. It turns out the strippers were likely sex slaves.

At the time of the party, Alexandra has been in the United States about 3 weeks.  She was kidnapped from Armenia and forced into the sex trade in Russia when she was 15 years old and is now 19.

The story alternates from Richard's perspective and story to Alexandra's.  It follows the aftermath of the party with Alexandra on the run and Richard trying to put his life back together after the fall out from the very public sex party at his house.  It is a gripping thriller.

Killing Trail: A Timber Creek K-9 Mystery by Margaret Mizushima 311 pages

This was an amazing debut novel!  I read it in one day.  Mattie Cobb is a Deputy Sheriff in the small community of Timber Creek, Colorado.  Her partner is K-9 police dog Robo.  The body of a young girl is found partially buried in the woods, guarded by her wounded Bernese mountain dog.  This is the loose thread that unravels a story of drug trafficking, murder, domestic violence and animal abuse in this quite rural community.  The first in a series, I look forward to reading the next.  Mattie and Robo are a refreshing duo and Margaret Mizushima's writing, while captivating, is not the stuff of nightmares.  Read this book, but do not expect to put it aside easily!

The Fourteenth Goldfish by Jennifer L. Holm 208 pages

 Ellie is not fond of change. She misses how things were when she was in fifth grade, like her best friend who is more focused on joining the volleyball team. She even misses her goldfish that she thought was special when he survived a lot longer than anyone else’s. When her grandfather Melvin comes home with her mother one night, things are about to change in Ellie’s life.

Grandpa Melvin, a scientist, has been obsessed with immortality. When he is shipped a unique jellyfish, he just might have found an answer. He ends up turning himself into a thirteen-year-old, pimply boy, who comes to live with Ellie and her mom after he gets in trouble with the police. After spending time with her grandfather, Ellie’s interest in science increases as well as her knowledge of Melvin. 

This was read by Georgette Perna and is a preliminary nominee for the Mark Twain Award.

Agent Zigzag: A True Story of Nazi Espionage, Love, and Betrayal by Ben Macintyre, 364 pages

Ben Macintyre is a very readable non-fiction writer.  He writes about the British Secret Service and the brilliant way they dominated Hitler's Third Reich during World War II.

Eddie Chapman was a thief who had the bad luck of being in jail on Jersey Island when it was occupied by the Germans at the beginning of World War II.  He was savvy enough to convince the Germans he would make a great spy for them.  Instead, as soon as he was returned to England, he let the British Secret Services know what he was up to so he could instead spy for them.

He may have been an unapologetic thief, but he was also a great spy for the Allies.  Known as Eddie to his friends, code named Fritz by the Germans and Zigzag by the British Secret Service, he was a man who loved adrenaline and turned that into a daringly successful run as a spy.