Category Archives: 2007

2007

by | November 6, 2009 · 2:30 pm

Joe C. Ellis. Murder at Whalehead. Martins Ferry, OH: Upper Ohio Valley Books, 2007.

Outer Banks lore and description are nicely woven into this tale of murder. When two Ohio families come to the Outer Banks for a vacation, they find that they haven’t left all their troubles behind.  Byron Butler, father and minister, is still tormented by disturbing dreams, and young Dugan Walton struggles to be understood and accepted.  Dugan is thought to be “the boy who cried wolf” when he claims to have seen a young woman’s body in the weeds.  Byron’s daughter, Chrissy, is a happy young woman of eighteen, but when she starts seeing a street magician she meets on the trip, her father’s unease increases. Bryon comes to believe that God has brought him to Corolla to prevent a killer from murdering another young woman.

Check this title’s availability in the UNC-Chapel Hill Library catalog.

Comments Off on Joe C. Ellis. Murder at Whalehead. Martins Ferry, OH: Upper Ohio Valley Books, 2007.

Filed under 2000-2009, 2007, Coast, Currituck, Ellis, Joe C., Mystery

by | October 26, 2009 · 3:26 pm

Shirlita K. McFarland. Sunday Morning Secrets. Universal City, TX: Ladies of Caliber Publishing, 2007.

Alma Curtis is a bit of a busybody, but she is also a loyal member of King’s Chapel, an historic African-American church in Lovette, North Carolina.  Arriving early to make the final preparations for the church’s 100th anniversary service, she is shocked to hear her pastor, Jonathan Pierce, being threatened by Myron King, the great-grandson of the church’s founder. Winston Beckana is a relative newcomer to the church, but when the church secretary asks Winston, a retired computer expert, to look at the church’s financial records, he can see that something is wrong.  Pastor Pierce knows that something is wrong–his wife is addicted to cocaine and her addiction has put the pastor under King’s thumb. The Pierces know that the situation can’t go on, but when Winston Beckana is murdered, they realize that others in their community have been hurt by their weaknesses.

Check this title’s availability in the UNC-Chapel Hill Library catalog.

Comments Off on Shirlita K. McFarland. Sunday Morning Secrets. Universal City, TX: Ladies of Caliber Publishing, 2007.

Filed under 2000-2009, 2007, McFarland, Shirlita K., Novels Set in Fictional Places, Piedmont

Tagged as ,

by | September 14, 2009 · 9:09 am

Maddie James. The Curse: The Legend of Blackbeard’s Chalice. Edgewater, FL: Resplendence Publishing, LLC, 2007.

The Curse is the first book in Maddie James’ series The Legend of Blackbeard’s Chalice.  The story begins in 1718 with Jack Porter in the mist of a mission to retrieve his wife, recently stolen by the pirate Edward Teach (Blackbeard).  Jack successfully fights off Blackbeard and escapes with his wife, Hannah.  His happiness is short-lived; Hannah dies a few days later in Jack’s arms.

Fast forward 300 years to Claire Winslow enjoying a quite, secluded vacation on Ocracoke Island.  When Claire is visited by a mysterious, intoxicating man this vacation quickly turns into an adventure she never expected.  Claire finds herself inexplicably obsessed with her nightly visitor and begins to question whether he is real or fantasy.  Eventually she realizes that her phantom lover is really her husband from a lifetime past, Jack Porter. Thus Claire and Jack embark on a destiny-altering, time-traveling journey to find a chalice constructed of Blackbeard’s skull.  The chalice is their only way of ending the curse leveled by Blackbeard that threatens to keep them apart for eternity.

Check this title’s availability in the UNC-Chapel Hill Library catalog.

Comments Off on Maddie James. The Curse: The Legend of Blackbeard’s Chalice. Edgewater, FL: Resplendence Publishing, LLC, 2007.

Filed under 2000-2009, 2007, Coast, Historical, Hyde, James, Maddie, Mystery, Novels in Series, Romance/Relationship, Suspense/Thriller

Tagged as , , ,

by | September 4, 2009 · 10:40 am

Lauralee Bliss. Blue Ridge Brides. Uhrichsville, OH: Barbour Publishing, 2007.

This three-in-one collection tells the love stories of three women living in three very different times across the state.  Lauralee Bliss’ novella, Journey to Love, begins in London, where Beth Colman has just buried her father.   With nothing left for her in Britain, she sets out for America in 1650 with Judith, her sister, and Mark, Judith’s husband.  The trio is trying to solve the mystery of their ancestors who were some of the original settlers of the lost colony of Roanoke, but Beth is looking for more.  Guided by her strong faith, and the hardy John Harris who knows the country well, she just might find love during the journey.

In Lynn A. Coleman’s Corduroy Road to Love, Ida Mae McAuley is strong, single woman with a brilliant mind for business living in 1830s Charlotte.  She’s caught between the affection of two men, both of whom are hiding something.  Ida Mae must use her keen sense to figure out who she’ll trust with her heart.

Tamela Hancock Murray tells the story of a Drusie, a small town singer in the 1930s in her novella The Music of Home.  Drusie is happy and successful in Sunshine Holler – she’s engaged to the love of her life, Gladdie Gordon, and sings at Church on Sunday with her sister.  When Drusie is given the chance to risk it all and enter showbiz, will Drusie leave her mountain home and loved ones behind?

Check this title’s availability in the UNC-Chapel Hill Library catalog.

Comments Off on Lauralee Bliss. Blue Ridge Brides. Uhrichsville, OH: Barbour Publishing, 2007.

Filed under 2000-2009, 2007, Bliss, Lauralee, Coast, Coleman, Lynn A., Dare, Historical, Mecklenburg, Mountains, Murray, Tamela Hancock, Novels Set in Fictional Places, Piedmont, Religious/Inspirational, Romance/Relationship

by | September 3, 2009 · 4:02 pm

K. Allen Judge. The Road. Durham, NC: Laser Image Corporate Printing, 2007.

In this novel K. Allen Judge tackles the possible effects of road expansion on farming communities in North Carolina.  Judge tells of the changes that come to Chatham County as Highway 64 and Highway 15-501 are expanded from two to four lanes. The reader sees the expansions through the experiences of the fictional Beasley family, farmers in Chatham County. We learn about the family’s roots abroad and their life on the land through the centuries. As road construction continues, the Beasleys worry about more than just the loss of their land.  Some family members fear that their Quaker heritage will be lost to future generations. The author provides readers with a good sense of that heritage and its value.

Check this title’s availability in the UNC-Chapel Hill Library catalog.

Comments Off on K. Allen Judge. The Road. Durham, NC: Laser Image Corporate Printing, 2007.

Filed under 2000-2009, 2007, Chatham, Judge, K. Allen, Piedmont

Tagged as ,

by | August 31, 2009 · 5:10 pm

Lois Gladys Leppard. The Mandie Collection, Volume 1. Minneapolis, MN: Bethany House, 2007.

This volume contains the first five books in the Mandie series of children’s books set in the early 20th century. The main character, Amanda “Mandie” Shaw, lives in the Nantahala Mountains with her family, where she goes adventuring and solves mysteries. In the first few books, Mandie is helped by her best friend Joe Woodward.  She meets another helpful pal, Celia Hamilton, after she is sent to boarding school in Asheville. Mandie’s cat, Snowball, also makes frequent appearances in the books.  Recurring themes in the books are Mandie’s attempts to behave properly, her Christian faith, and her partial-Cherokee background.  Titles included in this volume include: Mandie and the Secret Tunnel, Mandie and the Cherokee Legend, Mandie and the Ghost Bandits, Mandie and the Forbidden Attic, and Mandie and the Trunk’s Secret.

Check this title’s availability in the UNC-Chapel Hill Library catalog.

10 Comments

Filed under 2000-2009, 2007, Buncombe, Children & Young Adults, Leppard, Lois Gladys, Macon, Mountains, Mystery, Novels in Series, Religious/Inspirational, Swain

Tagged as ,

by | August 26, 2009 · 2:21 pm

Kerry Madden. Louisana’s Song. New York: Viking, 2007.

In this sequel to Gentle’s Holler, Livy Two’s sister Louise is having a hard time going to school – she’s shy and would rather stay home and work on her art. Daddy is finally back at home after the accident, but the family’s financial problems are getting worse. The Weems children help out as they know how – Emmett still works for the carnival, Livy Two helps out with the bookmobile, Becksie waitresses at the nearby pancake house, and Louise begins to sell portraits. Through their endeavors to help the family, Livy Two and Louise begin to come into their own. The confidence Louise gains from selling her art helps her to stand up to the bullies at school in her own special way. Livy Two is also empowered by working and begins to send her songs to the music men in Nashville. However, when Daddy goes missing, will their confidence be shaken?

Check this title’s availability in the UNC-Chapel Hill Library catalog.

Comments Off on Kerry Madden. Louisana’s Song. New York: Viking, 2007.

Filed under 2000-2009, 2007, Children & Young Adults, Haywood, Madden, Kerry, Mountains, Novels in Series

Tagged as

by | August 18, 2009 · 9:22 am

Lionel Shriver. A Perfectly Good Family. New York: HarperCollins, 2007.

After the death of her parents, Corlis McCrea finds herself in the familiar (and inherent?) position of the middle child: having to choose a side. Her two siblings, self-serving older brother Mordecai and younger, diffident brother Truman, are at odds. The issue: what to do with their parents’ southern mansion, and everything in it, that is willed to all three.  The real problem: the brothers have different ideas on what to do with the house. Truman has spent all his life in the mansion and has no desire to let go of his memories. On the other hand, Mordecai sees the monetary potential in this inheritance and wants to sell. The only way either can win is to obtain Corlis’s allegiance so that two siblings can buy out the third.

Check this title’s availability in the UNC-Chapel Hill Library catalog.

Comments Off on Lionel Shriver. A Perfectly Good Family. New York: HarperCollins, 2007.

Filed under 2000-2009, 2007, Novels by Region, Piedmont, Shriver, Lionel, Wake

Tagged as

by | July 27, 2009 · 8:53 am

Joyce and Jim Lavene. The First Shall Be Last. New York: Avalon Books, 2007.

What an ending to the Sharyn Howard mystery series! Sheriff Howard confounds her colleagues and family by breaking off her long-time romantic relationship with county coroner Nick Thomopolis and taking up with sleazy state senator Jack Winter.  Sharyn had previously been suspicious of Winter, seeing him as a corrupt political operative and suspecting him of involvement in her father’s death.  Now she’s his arm candy!  People give Sharyn an earful on this, but her moves are part of a plan hatched by the FBI to bring Winter to justice.  As the plan moves forward, Sharyn and her deputies contend with snow-related emergencies, office romances, and break-ins and murders that may or may not be related to Senator Winter.

Check this title’s availability in the UNC-Chapel Hill Library catalog.

Comments Off on Joyce and Jim Lavene. The First Shall Be Last. New York: Avalon Books, 2007.

Filed under 2000-2009, 2007, Lavene, Jim and Joyce, Montgomery, Mystery, Novels in Series, Novels Set in Fictional Places, Piedmont

Tagged as

by | March 26, 2009 · 9:48 am

Alan Armstrong. Raleigh’s Page. New York: Random House Books for Young Readers, 2007.

Ever since he first learned about the New World, eleven-year-old Andrew has dreamed of going there himself and seeking his fortune. When his father decides to send him to London to become a page for Sir Walter Raleigh, Andrew is on his way to the adventure he craves. He faces homesickness, meanness from his fellow pages, and tests concocted by Sir Raleigh to prove his skills and loyalty. He also journeys to France and–finally!–the New World, where he becomes friends with an Algonquin boy named Sky.

Check this title’s availability in the UNC-Chapel Hill Library catalog.

Comments Off on Alan Armstrong. Raleigh’s Page. New York: Random House Books for Young Readers, 2007.

Filed under 2000-2009, 2007, Armstrong, Alan, Children & Young Adults, Coast, Historical

Tagged as