Tales of a Book Addict

This week I received my Book of the Month selection:

Vermont, 1950. There’s a place for the girls whom no one wants – the troublemakers, the illegitimate, the too smart for their own good. It’s called Idlewild Hall. And in the small town where it’s located, there are rumors that the boarding school is haunted. Four roommates bond over their whispered fears, their budding friendship blossoming – until one of them mysteriously disappears.

Vermont, 2014. As much as she’s tried, journalist Fiona Sheridan cannot stop revisiting the events surrounding her elder sister’s death. Twenty years ago, her body was found dumped in the overgrown fields near the ruins of Idlewild Hall. And though her sister’s boyfriend was tried and convicted of murder, Fiona can’t shake the suspicion that something was never right about the case.

When Fiona discovers that Idlewild Hall is being restored by an anonymous benefactor, she decides to write a story about it. But a shocking discovery during the renovations will link the loss of her sister to secrets that were meant to stay hidden in the past – and a voice that won’t be silenced…

And I got two in from Paperbackswap:

After a routine delivery, Sarah visits her patient in a rooming house – and discovers that another boarder, a young girl, has been killed. At the request of Sergeant Frank Malloy, she searches the girl’s room. She discovers that the victim is from one of the most prominent families in New York – and the sister of an old friend. The powerful family, fearful of scandal, refuses to permit an investigation. But with Malloy’s help, Sarah begins a dangerous quest to bring the killer to justice – before death claims another victim…

Thinking she has been summoned by German immigrant Agnes Otto to usher a new life into the world, Sarah Brandt is greeted by the news of an untimely death instead. It seems that Agnes’s beautiful younger sister, Gerda, had fallen into the life of a “Charity Girl.” Caught up in the false glamour of the city’s nightlife, she would trade her company – and her favors – not for money, but for lavish gifts and an evening’s entertainment. And now she was dead, victim, no doubt, of one of her “gentlemen friends.”

No one cares much about the fate of girls like Gerda; but Sarah does. And she vows to find her killer. To do so, she turns to Sergeant Frank Malloy. As the two pursue an investigation that leads from the bright lights of Coney Island to the stately homes of Fifth Avenue, they find that their shared passion for justice may cost them dearly…

This post encompasses the last two weeks. We’ve been lucky to have two weekends in a row of grandparents keeping the kiddos for us! The first weekend we went up to St. Louis for a car show and of course we had to stop by V-Stock, a cool store that sells used books/DVDs/video games and the like. The second weekend we had tickets to a concert in Evansville and of course any trip to Evansville must include a trip to my absolute favorite used book store – Book Broker 😀 So here are my goodies:

From V-Stock:

By the time psychologist Dr. Alex Delaware reaches the school, the damage is done: A sniper has opened fire on a crowded playground, though he’s gunned down before any children are hurt.

While the TV news crews feast on the scene and Alex begins his therapy sessions with the traumatized children, he can’t escape the image of a slight teenager clutching an oversize rifle. What is the identity behind the name and face: a would-be assassin, or just another victim beneath an indifferent California sky? Intrigued by a request from the sniper’s father to conduct a “psychological autopsy” of his child, Alex begins to uncover a strange patters – in fact, a trail of blood. In the dead sniper’s past was a dark and vicious plot. And in Alex Delaware’s future is the stuff of grown-up nightmares: the face of real human evil.

Madeline Dare has at last escaped rust-belt Syracuse, New York, for the lush Berkshire Mountains in Massachusetts. After her husband’s job offer falls through, Maddie signs on as a teacher at the Santangelo Academy, a boarding school for disturbed teenagers.

Behind the academy’s ornate gates, she discovers a disorienting world in which students and teachers alike must submit to the founder’s bizarre therapeutic regimen. But when Maddie questions his methods, she’s appalled to find her fellow teachers more likely to turn on one another than stand up for themselves, much less protect the students in their care. A chilling event confirms Maddie’s worst suspicions, leading her to suspect an even darker secret, one that lies at the academy’s very heart. Cut off from the outside world, Maddie must join forces with a small band of the school’s most violently rebellious students – kids who, despite their troubled grip on reality, may well prove to be her only chance of survival.

From Book Broker: [I may have gone a little crazy at Book Broker 😀 To be fair, I did take 10 books in for trade ….. as if that really matters all that much when you walk out the door with 14 new-to-you books only to realize that you’ve actually already read one book back in 2011 and have another one already on your shelf at home … oops?]

In a drab room in a hospital for the criminally insane, Dr. Paul Lucas can tell whether a patient is lying or lost, salvageable, evil, or insane. Paul interviews criminals and killers all the time. But he has never had an interview like this one …

Craig Cavanaugh is accused of stalking a female Harvard instructor. With his good looks, intelligence, and money, Craig has no doubt that he can outsmart his doctor, that love will excuse his actions, and money will set him free. And Paul is about to discover how right – and how dangerous – Craig really is.

Suddenly, Paul’s personal life is imploding. His beautiful wife is tied to a sordid murder. And his grip on his profession and even his sanity is slipping. What began with a typical, carefully controlled session in the interview room has turned into this: Paul faces a master manipulator – with no rules, no walls, and only one way out…

It’s been ten years since Sasha Keeton left her West Virginia hometown … since she escaped the twisted serial killer known as the Groom. Returning to help run her family inn means being whole again, except for one missing piece. The piece that falls into place when Sasha’s threatened – and FBI agent Cole Landis vows to protect her the way he couldn’t a decade ago.

First one woman disappears, the another, and all the while, disturbing calling cards are left for the sole survivor of the Groom’s reign of terror. Cole’s never forgiven himself for not being there when Sasha was taken, but he intends to make up for it now … because under the quirky sexiness Cole first fell for is a steely strength that only makes him love Sasha more.

But someone is watching. Waiting. And Sasha’s first mistake could be her last.

In a quiet English seaside town, antiquarian bookseller Robin Jessop has acquired an odd medieval volume. What appears to be a book isn’t a book at all but a cleverly disguised safe, in which she finds a single rolled parchment written in code.

For encryption expert David Mallory, the text is impenetrable until an invaluable clue opens the door to a mystery and a conspiracy stretching back seven centuries, when the most powerful man in Europe declared war on the most powerful clan, the Knights Templar.

Now Jessop and Mallory find themselves on a global hunt for an unsurpassed treasure and this much closer to the keys to secrets that could change history, topple an empire, and bury them both alive. Because they’re not only the hunters. They’re also the hunted.

Four days later, Louise Rick still has no answers. An unidentified woman’s body has been discovered in a local forest. The large scar on her face should have made the identification easy, but strangely nobody has reported her missing.

Louise, new commander of the Missing Persons Department, takes a chance by releasing a photo of the victim to the media. Her gamble pays off when an older woman recognizes the woman as Lisemette, a child she once cared for in the state mental institution. But Louise soon discovers something more disturbing: Lisemette had a twin and both girls were issued death certificates more than thirty years ago.

The investigation takes Louise back to her childhood home … where she uncovers more crimes that were committed – and hidden – in the forest.

For thirty-five years the identity of the dismembered woman found under the Las Piernas pier has remained a mystery. What secret did she take to her grave? Southern California reporter Irene Kelly has uncovered a maze of forensic records and confidential files that suggest a motive far more sinister than anyone imagined. The discovery has brought her close to Detective Frank Harriman, and closer still to exposing a killer who will resort to anything to keep his secrets buried – and Irene silenced forever.

When the student is ready, the teacher appears. The only problem is, in this online classroom, the students are would-be serial killers eager to learn the tricks of the trade from a master, the enigmatic Cain42.

FBI consultant Esme Stuart is struggling to staunch the doubt and fear eating away at her marriage. Now a seedy true-crime writer is dredging up the deadly confrontation that nearly destroyed her. But the link between Esme’s old enemy and this new predator is the key to the Bureau’s manhunt.

Esme knows her involvement in the case could cost her everything. Her marriage. Her daughter. Her life. But when Cain openly challenges his “students” to embark on a killing spree, she has no choice but to act. Before Cain strikes another victim down…

It’s a beautiful house – a perfect place to live. To dream. To start a life together. It’s the perfect place for so many things, he thinks as he puts on the gloves and reaches for her, enjoying her screams. But today, it’s a perfect place to die.

Steerforth, Connecticut, was once an idyllic, sleepy New England town. But now, the leafy streets and picture-perfect houses have turned shadowy and meaning, every small detail suddenly becoming suspect: lost toys placed carefully on back porches, lights blazing in a house that should be empty, closet doors standing slightly ajar, mysterious flowers wrapped in black tissue paper. And the bodies…

A serial killer has come to Connecticut. He is watching, honing his skills, waiting, for the perfect time to make them pay for what they’ve done. And when he’s through, home will never be sweet again…

When Emily Pollifax answered the phone that Sunday morning she quickly forgot about her Garden Club tea in the afternoon. The last time she had heard the voice on the other end of the line it had sent her off on a journey that plunged her into a wild tangle of secret agents and high adventure – an exciting change from her quiet life in the New jersey suburbs. Now the man from the CIA was asking if she could leave immediately on a mission that would take her half-way across the world. What else could Mrs. Pollifax say but yes?

Adam Chase is passionate and misunderstood, a fighter. When narrowly acquitted of a murder charge, he disappears for five long years: not a clue, not a trace. Now, he’s back and nobody knows why – not his family or the cops, not the women he left behind. But Adam has his reasons.

When more bodies surface, Adam must unravel a web of deceit and violence so dense it staggers the imagination. Old secrets rise, lives collapse, and more than one person crosses the brink as author Hart probes the timeless, destructive power of deception and revenge.

Johnny Merrimon was twelve when his twin sister disappeared. A year later, his mother is devastated, his father gone, and life will never be the same. But Johnny has a map, a bike, and a plan. He’s going to find his sister, even if he has to track every dangerous man in the country. Meanwhile, detective Clyde Hunt has also been searching for Johnny’s sister, and he knows to what dark places a case like this can lead. But even Hunt can’t imagine how far Johnny will go to learn the truth – or what he will find when he gets there.

Chief resident Steve Mitchell is the quintessential surgeon: ambitious, intelligent, confident. Charged with molding a group of medical trainees into doctors, and in line for a coveted job, Steve has a bright future. But when a hospital patient mysteriously dies, it becomes clear that it’s a case of foul play. And the killer is set on playing a deadly game with Steve.

Someone is holding information that could ruin Steve’s career – and his marriage – and is willing to kill to achieve his means. Now, alone and under a cloud of suspicion, Steve must discover a way to outsmart his opponent and save the killer’s next victim before the cycle repeats itself, again and again…

Tension between America and Russia is high as the UN convenes in New York City. Snow blankets the avenues of Manhattan’s exclusive Upper West Side. The storm is the perfect cover for a fashionable, highly trained team of lethal assassins as they prowl the streets. Their first hit is target practice. Their next hit could turn the Cold War red-hot once again – because they’re aiming for the president of the United States.

Pulled away from his family and pressed into service, Detective Michael Bennett must trace the source of a threat that could rip America apart – and ignite a war the likes of which the world has never seen. With allegiances constantly in doubt and no one above suspicion, only Bennett can save the president – and the country – before the assassins’ deadly kill shot hits its mark.