Monthly Archives: March 2010

by | March 29, 2010 · 9:03 am

Ellen Elizabeth Hunter. Murder on the Cape Fear. Greensboro, NC: Magnolia Mysteries, 2007.

Since Ashley Wilkes works as an historic preservationist, it’s natural that stories from the past enter into Ashely’s present.  Ashley’s sister, Melanie, who is a high-end real estate agent, is more concerned with the present, although she knows the history of any house in the historic district that goes on the market.  Often their professional worlds collide and the sisters are forced to put their heads together to solve minor and not-so-minor crimes that occur in their beloved Wilmington.

This novel open with a bang.  The sister’s Aunt Ruby has recently married. Her new husband, retired history professor Benjamin (Binky) Higgins, is a respected researcher and writer on local history.  Binky has a new book out and the book signing at the Two Sister Bookery (an actual Wilmington bookstore) attracts a crowd. Only when the signing is over does Binky notice that his briefcase is missing.  Searching the store, Ashley finds the briefcase is a store room under the body of a man who has been stabbed.  That man is a wealthy Brit who was one of Melanie’s clients.  He had been looking to buy an historic house and Ashley hoped it would be the Captain Pettigrew house, a structure that Ashley and her partner Jon are restoring.

While the police investigate the murder, Binky has time to examine a journal that may be what the murderer was after.  Knowing that Binky has the journal, the murderer terrorizes Binky and Ruby.  Meanwhile Ashley and Melanie cope with a demanding client, suspicious police,  the structural–and other–surprises in the captain’s house, and Ashley’s soon-to-be-ex-husband, who wants one more chance.

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

Comments Off on Ellen Elizabeth Hunter. Murder on the Cape Fear. Greensboro, NC: Magnolia Mysteries, 2007.

Filed under 2000-2009, 2007, Coast, Hunter, Ellen Elizabeth, Mystery, New Hanover, Novels in Series

Tagged as ,

by | · 8:56 am

Mary Burton. Heart of the Storm. Toronto: Harlequin, 2005.

In this novel set just after the Civil War, Rachel Emmons is a woman of the run from an abusive husband .  Fleeing Washington, she boards a schooner heading down the coast.  When the captain and crew abandon the ship in a storm, Rachel is left unconscious, locked in a cabin.  She is rescued by a lighthouse keeper, Ben Mitchell.  Back at his cabin, Ben attempts to warm Rachel with the heat of his body.  A spark is lit, but it is one they both fight even as others in the isolated island community–Ben’s aunt, his cousin, shopkeepers–take to Rachel.  Could this isolated community be a place for her to start over? Can Ben keep Rachel safe when her husband comes looking for her?

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

Comments Off on Mary Burton. Heart of the Storm. Toronto: Harlequin, 2005.

Filed under 2000-2009, 2005, Burton, Mary, Coast, Romance/Relationship

Tagged as

by | March 27, 2010 · 2:18 pm

Ron and Janet Benrey. Glory Be! New York: Steeple Hill Books, 2007.

A $600,000 bequest has created factions in the Glory Community Church.  The bequest was given to support the church’s music program.  The traditionalists want the church to use the money for a new pipe organ while younger members of the congregation push for equipping an auxiliary sanctuary with instruments and a sound system for more contemporary style services.

Innkeeper Emma McCall is part of the church choir but she hasn’t paid much attention to the controversy.  That changes when a VW Beetle is deposited on her inn’s front porch one morning–along with a note criticizing her lack of support for the contemporary music service.  It seems that there have been a series of pranks around town, possibly related to the church controversy.  The police, including Rafe Neilson, the handsome deputy chief who comes to talk to Emma, think that the pranks don’t rise to the level of crimes.  That changes when Lily Kirk, retired librarian and head of the traditionalist faction, dies in a suspicious car accident. Was Lily’s death related to the church controversy or something in Lily’s past?  As Emma pokes her nose in the investigation, Officer Neilson notices more than just that cute nose.

This is the novel that kicks off the Benrey’s Glory, North Carolina series.

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

Comments Off on Ron and Janet Benrey. Glory Be! New York: Steeple Hill Books, 2007.

Filed under 2000-2009, 2007, Benrey, Janet and Ron, Coast, Mystery, Novels in Series, Novels Set in Fictional Places, Pasquotank

Tagged as

by | March 26, 2010 · 10:22 am

Tim Myers. At Wick’s End. New York: Berkley Prime Crime, 2003.

Harrison Black is working a dead-end job selling computers when he gets the phone call. His beloved great-aunt Belle has just passed away, and he needs to meet with her attorney immediately. Little does he know that this meeting will change his life. In her will Belle left Harrison her candle shop, At Wick’s End, with the wish that he will move to Micah’s Ridge and be fully involved in the day-to-day activities of the store. With no better option and a desire to stay true to his great-aunt, Harrison decides to move into her apartment at River’s Edge, the mixed-use property she also left him.

Harrison likes this new, warm community and he finds he has a talent for candle making. Everything would be just as Belle wished if Harrison didn’t have a sneaking suspicion that Belle’s death was not an accident. Her death is suspicious because it appears she fell from a ladder, but she was afraid of heights. Additionally, a strange series of break-ins and robberies occur at River’s Edge, and a diamond jeweler is murdered. Just when he starts to despair that he will never find the answer, Harrison discovers a large diamond hidden inside the last candle Belle ever made – her secret clue. Harrison, a devoted Agatha Christie fan, makes an identical candle and puts it on display with the hope that it will draw the murderer into At Wick’s End. When an unlikely but armed individual comes into the store after hours looking for the diamond, Harrison uses the only weapon available to protect himself and the store while finding his great-aunt’s killer – hot wax!

At Wick’s End is Tim Myer’s first novel in the “Candlemaking Mystery” series.

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

Comments Off on Tim Myers. At Wick’s End. New York: Berkley Prime Crime, 2003.

Filed under 2000-2009, 2003, Myers, Tim, Mystery, Novels in Series, Novels Set in Fictional Places

by | March 22, 2010 · 11:47 am

Ginny Aiken. Suspicion. New York: Steeple Hill Books, 2008.

Stephanie Scott is proud of what she’s accomplished.  Now in her late twenties, she has overcome her attention deficit disorder to earn a pharmacist degree from UNC.   Stephanie has set up a pharmacy in her hometown of Loganton, North Carolina, where she provides special services like Wednesday senior citizen day and where she employs a local teenager and a friend who’s hit a bad patch.

Stephanie hits a bad patch herself when she is mugged as she is closing her store one night.  The mugging is just the beginning–later her tires are slashed, her car forced off the road, and the pharmacy looted.  This last act sets off an investigation by the state pharmacy board, and Steph’s license is suspending pending the conclusion of the investigation.  Things look bleak, especially since the Loganton police are entertaining the theory that Stephanie has arranged the looting to cover her own misappropriation of drugs.  Thank goodness for Stephanie that the county sheriff, Hal Benson, knows her from school days.  He believes Stephanie and risks his re-election to help clear her name.  Hal’s dogged investigation (and growing love), plus her own faith, save Stephanie from despair and disgrace.

This is the second novel in the author’s Carolina Justice series.

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

Comments Off on Ginny Aiken. Suspicion. New York: Steeple Hill Books, 2008.

Filed under 2000-2009, 2008, Aiken, Ginny, Mountains, Novels in Series, Religious/Inspirational, Romance/Relationship

by | March 19, 2010 · 9:00 am

Melissa Hardy. Broken Road. Holstein, ON: Exile Editions, 2009.

Cherokee mythology includes the legend of the ulunsuti, the powerful transparent stone taken from the forehead of an enormous horned serpent, an uktena. Anyone in possession of the ulunsuti has vast power, enjoys great strength, and can find unknown, beautiful places; however, custody of the magical crystal can be both a blessing and a curse. Keepers of the stones are expected to pass them down to members of their families, keeping the whereabouts of the stones a secret.

In Broken Road Melissa Hardy follows the story of the individuals who possess the ulunsuti in Qualla, which is located in southwest North Carolina near the Great Smokey Mountains. Starting with Groundhog’s Mother, members of his family find the benefits and troubles associated with the ulunsuti. For example, his descendants who hold the stone find great business success when they use practices of the white traders. However, there is also much heartbreak within their families, and many of the men turn to alcohol.

One feature of possessing the ulunsuti is being able to see into the future, which means anticipating the violent relocation of the Cherokee people to Oklahoma in 1838. As the ulunsuti is passed down generations, relationships evolve with white individuals such as Miss Sawyer, a schoolteacher whose Christian beliefs are challenged when she decides to move to Qualla and is given the stone. Although the Cherokee are forced to leave their homes, their traditions remain in tact and they stay true to Eloheh, their word for land, history, culture, and religion.

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

Comments Off on Melissa Hardy. Broken Road. Holstein, ON: Exile Editions, 2009.

Filed under 2000-2009, 2009, Hardy, Melissa, Historical, Jackson, Mountains, Swain

Tagged as ,

by | · 8:59 am

Ginny Aiken. Danger in a Small Town. New York: Steeple Hill Books, 2008.

Both Tess Graver and Ethan Rogers are trying to leave their pasts behind when they settle in Loganton.  Ethan was a Drug Enforcement Agency officer in Chicago, and he has had his fill of lowlifes and their crimes.  Tess has returned to her hometown to escape the suspicions of her co-workers after she was accused and then cleared of theft at work.  Plus, her elderly uncle needs someone to live with him now that his wife has died. Tess is happy to be back in familiar surroundings and upbeat about the business that she plans to start.

Unfortunately, trouble finds Tess.  While on a run, she comes upon a woman dieing of a drug overdose; someone breaks into Uncle Gordon’s house; Tess receives menacing phone calls, and a van tries to mow her down.  The caller thinks that Tess has something of value–could it be connected to the dead woman and the meth traffic in town?  Ethan Rogers wants to know–for professional reasons and to protect Tess.

This is the first book in the author’s Carolina Justice series.

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

1 Comment

Filed under 2000-2009, 2008, Aiken, Ginny, Novels in Series, Novels Set in Fictional Places, Religious/Inspirational, Romance/Relationship, Suspense/Thriller

Tagged as

by | March 15, 2010 · 10:59 am

Ginny Aiken. The Carolina Justice Series.

Loganton, North Carolina seems like a quiet mountain town.  Folks here have known each other for generations, the downtown is still recognizable to people who return after twenty years away, and the police force consists of just three officers.  There are plenty of good people in the town, including the fire chief, the pharmacist, the county sheriff, and Granny Annie, who owns the local dinner.  All these people–and more–are touched by growing drug use in the town. The meth trade is a particular scourge, causing teenagers to steal from their employers, friends to betray friends, and the loss of the beloved downtown theater in a meth lab explosion.

In the books in this series, a woman is endangered when she comes in contact with the drug trade in the town.  Each woman is young (in her late twenties), a woman of accomplishment and faith, but also a person who is vulnerable to gossip and suspicion because of something in her past.  Faith, and the assistance of a good man, help the heroine to survive a difficult time and move into a better future.  Some characters from earlier books in the series appear in later books, and readers of the series come to feel that they know this little town and its inhabitants.

Comments Off on Ginny Aiken. The Carolina Justice Series.

Filed under 2000-2009, Aiken, Ginny, Mountains, Novels in Series, Religious/Inspirational, Romance/Relationship, Series

by | March 12, 2010 · 10:36 am

Luther Little. Manse Dwellers. Charlotte: Presbyterian Standard Pub. Co., 1927.

A simple, readable novel of the life of James West, a minister in a large Southern city, Tarrytown (possibly Charlotte).  The account covers Rev. West’s life, including his early years, but focuses chiefly on the challenges that he faces as the pastor of a large church–dissent among the deacons, finances that don’t match programming, demands of the denomination for more support, an assistant who strays from orthodoxy, and jealousy in the hearts of other clergy.  Incidents in the lives of his parishioners form subplots.

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

Comments Off on Luther Little. Manse Dwellers. Charlotte: Presbyterian Standard Pub. Co., 1927.

Filed under 1920-1929, 1927, Little, Luther, Mecklenburg, Piedmont, Religious/Inspirational

Tagged as

by | March 8, 2010 · 8:33 am

Alex Haley. Roots. Garden City, NY: Doubleday & Co., 1976.

This blockbuster novel, and the television mini-series made from it, are widely acknowledged as the sparks that ignited the genealogical craze in America in the 1970s.  It also started a national conversation on topics that had been off limits for most Americans–slavery and race.

Working from his own family’s history, Alex Haley tells the story of Kunta Kinte and his descendants.  Kunta Kinte’s early life in Africa, his capture and sale to slave traders, and the horrific sea voyage to America hold the reader’s attention for the first third of the book.  In America, Kunta is sold to a plantation owner in Virginia.  As the years go on, Kunta attempts escapes, but freedom will not be his.  Yet Africa remains alive in his mind, and he passes words and stories of his homeland on.

The scholar Michael Eric Dyson, writing in the introduction to the thirtieth anniversary edition of Roots says that the novel “helped convince the nation that the black story is the American story.”  It is also a North Carolina story.  Kunta’s daughter Kizzy is sold to a cockfighting ne’er-do-well in Caswell County.  That man rapes Kizzy, fathering her only child, “Chicken George” Lea. George works with the master’s birds and becomes so valuable to the master that George is allowed to bring his love, Matilda, onto the farm.  Their family grows, but the master’s bad bet at a cockfight breaks the family apart. George is sent to England and the rest of the family is sold to a more prosperous plantation in Alamance County.  There they remain until after the Civil War, when the family moves west into Tennessee.

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

Comments Off on Alex Haley. Roots. Garden City, NY: Doubleday & Co., 1976.

Filed under 1970-1979, 1976, Alamance, Caswell, Historical, Piedmont

Tagged as ,