The Finder  by Colin Harrison
Recommended by Laurie, Fiction Readers Advisor 
When New Yorker Ray Grant’s ex-girlfriend, Jin Li Chen, goes into hiding 
after a horrifyingly close attempt on her life, Ray is recruited to find her, fast. 
Chinese, Brooklyn, and Wall Street thugs—all doing whatever it takes to 
make their fortunes—use and discard one another, while Ray, increasingly 
desperate, tries to figure out who’s doing what and, above all, to find Jin Li 
before the bad guys do.  A strong stomach for violence is required for this 
serious-minded thriller, but the story will stay with you.
Find this book in the new fiction collection of the Main Library 
and the fiction collection at the East and West branch

Friday Nights  by Joanna Trollope
Recommended by Laurie, Fiction Readers Advisor
If you like books by Maeve Binchy, it’s time for you to discover Joanna 
Trollope, a descendant of the great novelist, Anthony Trollope. Her latest, 
Friday Nights, takes a circle of women of disparate ages and backgrounds 
who have formed close friendships (a commonplace of women’s fiction) and 
plops a handsome, careless man into the midst of it to see what happens. A 
great book to sit out in the yard with on a summer evening!
Find this book in the new fiction collection of the Main Library

Them by Nathan McCall
Recommended by Laurie, Fiction Readers Advisor
In his first novel, the author of the bestselling 1995 memoir, Makes Me Wanna 
Holler, tells the story of a neighborhood, managing to touch on several hot 
spots in American race relations: income distribution, class, inequality under the 
law, and, most of all, property values. When well-off whites start buying homes 
in the historically black neighborhood of the Old Fourth Ward in Atlanta , 
Barlowe Reed watches in disbelief.  Changes to the neighborhood come fast 
and furious, after the arrival of his new neighbors, Sandy and Sean Gilmore, 
and others like "them."   Soon, Barlowe's own rented house that he hoped to 
buy is priced out of his reach.  Despite his and Sandy 's tentative talks over the 
(new) fence between their yards, no real understanding seems possible 
between the new arrivals and the old residents, each of whom sees the other 
side as "them." Try this book if you like complex characters and seeing issues 
from different perspectives. It's a good story, too!
Find this book in the  fiction collection of the East Branch and in 
the African American Fiction collection at  the Main Library

Free for all: Oddballs, geeks, and gangstas
in the public library by Don Borchert
Recommended by Lucia, Head of Adult
Services
Don Borchert, assistant librarian in the L.A. County system,
blows the cover on the real world of public librarianship. This
should be a “must read” for every candidate seeking a master’s  
in library science degree. Everyone who holds a job in the
public library field already knows exactly what the author
reveals, but will be delighted to know how universal the
experience is. From the page to the senior librarian, Borchert
gives the insiders’ view of handling school children left
behind ‘til closing time, the very phishy patron, drug dealers,
hip hop clashes with other minority cultures, summer reading
programs, donated materials and the amazing job the Friends do, volunteers, special encounters with animal programs,
romance, government politics, office politics, “regulars” and
the Renaissance patron, the life cycle of the civil servant, and
how to use vacation when there aren’t enough staffers to cover
the schedule. We need a second reserve copy just for the staff room!
Find this book in the new nonfiction  collection of the  Main
Library 

The ghost by Robert Harris
Recommended by Laurie, Fiction Readers Advisor
Closely paralleling real life, the fictional former British prime minister Adam Lang
in Harris' new novel fell out of favor in his home country for his stubborn 
support of the unnamed American president's "war on terror."  A moderately 
successful ghostwriter of autobiographies of former rock stars and other faded 
celebrities is handpicked to help Lang finish his memoirs after the first "ghost"
dies accidentally.  He is flown to the U.S. and ferried out to work with Lang in an
isolated Martha's Vineyard house in the off-season. He's offered big bucks to get 
the job done fast. Without a lot of hold-your-breath moments, the suspense
(as the unnamed ghost narrates the story) quietly builds, with its perfectly 
plausible explanation of recent political history the scariest part...especially for 
readers of the Democratic persuasion.
Find this book in the new fiction collection of the Main Library 
and the East and West branche

The double bind by Chris Bohjalian
Recommended by Laurie, Fiction Readers Advisor
Laurel Estabrook survived a vicious attack by two masked men while she
was on a bike ride, and, though still fragile, goes back to her Vermont
college the following year, graduating with a degree in social work.
She’s working at a local homeless shelter when a treasured collection of
photographs and undeveloped negatives left behind by one of the shelter’s
former occupants starts her on a trail to figure out the secret linking
the photographer, Bobbie Crocker, to the Buchanans, the family of
socialites involved in the long-ago scandal with the infamous Jay Gatsby
of West Egg, New York. This novel packs a wallop both with its powerful
story and its reminder that victims of homelessness, addiction, trauma,
and mental illness once led “normal” lives.
Find this book in the fiction  collections of the 
East and West branches and thMain  Librarye

Porch Talk:  Stories of decency, common sense and other 
endangered species.  by Phillip Gulley. 
Recommended by Keith, Assistant Director
Porch Talk is filled with common sense stories of family and friends in a small 
town .  Evening visits on the front porch were a sharp contrast to big screen 
television and surfing the Internet.  Gulley masterfully weaves his stories and 
reflections on life with his casual sense of humor.  Is there really a relationship 
between the declining number of hardware stores and the incidence of 
depression?  He is a Quaker minister so many of his stories have the flavor of a thinly disguised sermons but it seems more like listening to tales of Lake Wobegon than sitting in church.    
Find this book in the new nonfiction  collection of the 
Main  Library 

The Phoenix Chronicles  by Colleen Roberts
Recommended by Lucia, Head of Adult Services
Brockton author, Colleen Roberts, offers wisdom stories about love, 
race, work, and family in our city. Her stories plunge the reader into a 
vividly  realized world where the ordinary is both real and poignant. 
The stories illuminate ethical decisions that people make everyday, often 
unconsciously, often wrongly. Some face tough realities like pulling out of an 
abusive relationship, others, how not to let the past pull you down. These stories  
are so real, you’ll whistle with the shock of recognition. Colleen Roberts brings a 
lifetime of experience, observation, and solid values to the art of writing; her 
stories do not just entertain, they resonate with truth. Her characters speak a 
familiar language, they sound real and so are the problems they face. Madison 
Turner, a teacher who falls on her face, wins the reader’s compassion.  Toby
Maxwell discovers race is an intrinsic part of her identity. Lydia learns to have
hope again after years of domestic abuse. Ms. Roberts’s stories bring  
a refreshing, authentic vision to African American literature. May she continue
to put pen to paper.  
Find this book in the fiction  collection of the  Main  Library 

Exit Ghost  by Phillip Roth
Recommended by Lucia, Head of Adult Services
Roth’s character, Nathan Zuckerman, returns to Manhattan for
a “procedure” to correct a post-prostate operation. He leaves
his safe, isolated Berkshire home for the trauma and
tribulation of the Big Apple. In a series of coincidences he
encounters the mistress of his former mentor, engages an
exchange of domiciles with a young couple that also write,
and grapples with an ambitious young buck that wants to
“expose” the assumed secret of this overlooked and deceased
mentor. Feeling like a modern day Rip Van Winkle, Nathan
lodges his own campaign of words against careerists, the post
Roosevelt administrations, literary critics, homegrown
terrorists, and cell phones. For some this might read like,
“Kid, get off my lawn!” For others, like myself, you will be
calling up friends and family to read aloud whole passages.  
Find this book in the fiction  collection of the 
Main  Library 

 
The Post Birthday World  by Lionel Shriver
Recommended by Laurie, Fiction Readers Advisor.
Irina McGovern, like the author of this novel, is an American living in 
London. A children's book illustrator, Irina leads a quiet, somewhat stodgy 
life with Lawrence Trainer, another American expatriate, until, like a bolt 
from the blue, she is smitten with laconic snooker star Ramsey Acton, who 
is about as different from intellectual and serious Lawrence as possible.  On 
this one particular evening, Irina finds herself at a crossroads in life; should 
she stay the course with Lawrence or pursue this sudden, electric passion 
for another man? In alternating chapters, readers follow Irina down both 
paths, as she lies in the bed(s) she has made, wondering what if.  An intriguing look at male/female relationships, recommended especially to 
anyone who enjoys English slang and turns of phrase.
Find this book in the new-fiction  collection of the  Main  Library

Ricochet  by Sandra Brown
Recommended by Laurie, Fiction Readers Advisor.
Trying to bring down a notorious criminal Robert
Savich, Detective Sergeant Duncan Hatcher of the Savannah 
Police Department is stymied by aristocratic Judge Cato
Laird's declaration of a mistrial. While still fuming after a night in jail for 
causing a disturbance in court, Duncan meets and mouths off to Elise Laird, 
the judge's wife, as sexy and beautiful as the judge is rich. Duncan and his 
partner are dubious when they are called to the scene of an apparent 
burglary at the judge's mansion. An intruder has been shot dead with one 
shot by li'l old Elise who claims self-defense, but something about the story 
told by Elise and the judge doesn't ring true. Shortly afterwards, Elise reveals to Duncan privately, an even more unbelievable story about the shooting.
As hot and steamy as a Savannah summer, this page-turner 
is recommended for any thriller fan who likes a sexylove story
along with action-packed suspense.
Find this book in the fiction and large print  collections of the 
Main  Library and West Branch