Monthly Archives: July 2014

by | July 31, 2014 · 3:18 pm

Sherry Richburg. Love, Lies and Betrayal. Denver, CO: Outskirts Press, 2009.

lovelies&betrayal In this novel, we follow our protagonist, known on the streets as India, from age twelve until her mid-20s. Early on in the tale India, at age fourteen, leaves home for the streets and a reckless lifestyle. India immerses herself in a world of drugs by dating one of the most well-known drug dealers in the area, having no qualms about using her womanly wiles to get what she wants. By doing so, India quickly becomes widely known and respected on the streets. But, she hides all of this from her family. India claims to be living with her best friend when she is actually living with a man fifteen years older than her.

Throughout the novel India is confronted with the challenges her lifestyle brings about and she must make some tough decisions. However, she continually displays her strength and determination to be her own woman and run things her way. Everything seems to be going great for India; she has dodged several violent episodes and many confrontations with the law, even while others of her team are brought down. Then one day someone tries to rob her crew and everything goes downhill from there. Was it someone they trusted? Will India be able to overcome this challenge as she has done all others? Will her well-built team support her or turn on her?

Love, Lies and Betrayal is based on a true story and provides an explicit look into India’s lifestyle.

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

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Filed under 2000-2009, 2009, Piedmont, Richberg, Sherry, Urban Fiction, Wake

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by | · 3:15 pm

Mark Feggeler. Damage. North Charleston, SC: CreateSpace, 2013.

Ray Waugh does not have a particularly exciting life.  He’s been a reporter for the Citizen-Gazette, Tramway County’s local newspaper.  In his job he has covered more than his share of petty crimes, commission hearings, and ribbon cuttings. The story of those ribbon cuttings is depressingly familiar: land that had been farmland or woods is converted into a high-end, restricted golf community that fails to live up to the developer or the residents’ expectations. Why do they keep building those things?

As Damage opens, Ray is at yet another ribbon cutting, taking photos and making sure that he gets everyone’s name.  Edgar Redmond, the Tramway County sheriff is there, along with two principal investors in the project, Coreen and Evan Wallace, and Redmond’s daughter, Mimi, who is a director at a nearby retirement center.  Little does Ray know that less than twenty-four hours later he and his cousin Billy will find Evan Wallace murderer and Mrs. Wallace near death–and evidence that a high school buddy was at the scene of the crime.  Is this a case of an angry, addicted man taking revenge over an employment rejection, or could it be that the county’s more upstanding citizens had a hand in these crimes? Ray wants to clear his old friend, but at what personal cost?

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

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Filed under 2010-2019, 2013, Feggeler, Mark, Mystery, Novels Set in Fictional Places, Piedmont

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by | July 26, 2014 · 7:49 am

Joyce and Jim Lavene. A Finder’s Fee. New York: Berkley Prime Crime, 2013.

findersBecause the Outer Banks are sparsely populated we tend to forget that they have been inhabited for a long time.  Native Americans, the ill-fated members of the Lost Colony,fishermen,  later settlers, pirates–they all lived, loved, worked, and died on these barrier islands.  In A Finder’s Fee, one of those early settlers, Maggie Madison, contacts Dae O’Donnell through an amber necklace that’s been  given to Dae.  In her own time (the 1600s), Maggie was thought to be a witch, but Maggie was just gifted, like Dae.  Maggie reaches through time to Dae, asking Dae to gather up her bones and bury them beside her great love, Thomas Graham.

Dae has other things on her mind–like running for re-election and managing her shop.  But the kinship she feels for Maggie sends her to the site of Maggie’s home to collect her bones–where she finds a buried race car and a much more recent body.  The car was once owned by Randal (“Mad Dog”) Wilson, Dae’s opponent in the Duck mayoral race.  The body is that of Lightning Joe Walsh, the man who took such pleasure in beating Mad Dog.  But Joe Walsh took pleasure anywhere he could, and as Dae looks into his murder she finds that many of her friends had ties–some sweet, some painful–to the dead man.  Dae turns to Kevin, the ex-FBI man who has won her heart and her grandfather, a lawman at the time Walsh disappeared, for help, but it is Maggie Madison who is there for Dae in her time of greatest peril.

This is the fifth novel in the Missing Pieces Mysteries series.

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

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Filed under 2010-2019, 2013, Coast, Dare, Lavene, Jim and Joyce, Mystery, Novels in Series

by | July 23, 2014 · 7:47 am

R. E. Bradshaw. Out on the Sound. 2nd ed. Oklahoma?: R. E. Bradshaw Books, 2012.

outonthesound“First, there was a touch, not much of a touch, just a simple brush of skin on skin.”

Thirty-seven year old Decky Bradshaw has spent most of her life in Currituck County and has had a pretty great life up to this point.  She has a job doing what she loves, which has paid well enough for her to live very comfortably, and she’s in great health. Except for her brief marriage to the father of her child, Decky’s life has been a smooth ride. This all changes with a single touch on the softball field. In the past, Decky has been a love ’em-and-leave ’em kind of gal. Not breaking any hearts, because a Southern lady knows better, but having relationships where both parties know it isn’t going to last long. But Decky knew when someone special came along, she would be ready to hold on tight. She just didn’t expect that someone special to be a woman.

Charlie Warren is the new math teacher in town. After a mutual friend formally introduces the two, Decky and Charlie become practically inseparable. Dating a woman is something completely new to Decky, but she’s sure she can handle it. The question is whether Decky’s mother, Lizzie, and the rest of the town can. And will Decky be able to handle what the bipolar Lizzie and a small Southern town dish out in reaction to Decky coming out? Will Charlie and Decky’s newly found relationship be able to survive the challenges to come?

Out on the Sound was originally published in 2010, without the use of a professional editor. It was the author’s first novel. This second edition is a reissue of the original work with input from an editor. The author made a “conscious effort” not to change the books. It remains a wonderful tale of two women finding each other.

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

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Filed under 2010-2019, 2012, Bradshaw, R. E., Coast, Currituck, Romance/Relationship

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by | July 17, 2014 · 3:41 pm

Ruth Moose. Doing It at the Dixie Dew. New York: Minotaur Books, 2014.

doing itBeth McKenzie was brought up by her grandmother, Mama Alice, in Littleboro, North Carolina.  Beth went off to college and rarely came back, but when Mama Alice has an accident and requires care, Beth gives up her so-so life up North and comes home.  Once there, Beth feels the tug of memories and traditions, so much so that when Mama Alice dies, Beth decides to remake the family home into a bed-and-breakfast.

Beth has bet all she has–and all she can borrow–on this new venture.  Imagine her horror when a guest dies on opening night.  Miss Lavinia Lovingood was well into her eighties, so Beth believes that her death was natural, if untimely.  But the police chief thinks otherwise–and he’s right.  Suddenly Beth’s new business is in jeopardy even as she and that handsome carpenter Scott Smith put the final touches on the sun-porch-turned-tearoom.

Scott is just one of the characters who readers can hope to see in future novels.  Local pharmacist Malinda Jones, Beth’s housekeeper, Ida Plum, and that antagonist police chief  all look to be characters who could appear in future books.  The fictional setting for the novel, Littleboro, bears a strong resemblance to Pittsboro, North Carolina, the small town that the author calls home.

Ruth Moose is an accomplished poet and short story writer.  This is her first novel.

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

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Filed under 2010-2019, 2014, Moose, Ruth, Mystery, Novels Set in Fictional Places, Piedmont

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by | July 15, 2014 · 12:03 pm

Laura S. & William L. B. Wharton. The Mermaid’s Tale. Mt. Airy, NC: Broad Creek Press, 2014.

themermaid'stale“No pessimist ever discovered the secret of the stars, or sailed to an uncharted land, or opened a new doorway for the human spirit” ~ Helen Keller

Jock Avery is back, along with his new friends Lynna and Chip Woodward. During their first summer together, the trio solved the mystery of Monsters Below Longleaf Lake in Moore County, North Carolina. Now there is a new mystery to discover. Seven-year old Chip, from his dock, has spotted a mermaid in the lake while Lynna and Jock are having a sailboat race. Lynna’s boat almost hit her! Although he suspects that they will never believe him, Chip still can’t help but to tell his friends what he’s seen. Jock quickly expresses his disbelief but is silenced by Lynna who defends her brother. This calls for an investigation!

The trio decide to search the lake using a grid pattern just like underwater archeologists. They draw out a grid in order to mark every spot they search and what they find there. The mermaid quest brings up some problems like their inability to dive but so deep. Soon, there is a discussion of deep sea divers and scuba tanks. Lynna and Jock have a contest to see who can hold their breath the longest underwater while Lynna and Chip’s mom times the two. Lynna wins! This leads Jock to want to join the swim team in order to improve his underwater breathing.

The search for the mermaid continues full force when Jock catches a glimpse of her at night–he no longer doubts Chip’s claim. However, will the grownups ever believe? Will the trio be able to find the mermaid in the lake? Jock turns to his favorite adventurer, Sam Justice, and his underwater adventures for inspiration on how to look for the mermaid. While the kids have a mission, the adults are planning an adventure of their own. The parents have been invited to a grand opening event and everyone is going. What surprise could be waiting for Jock, Chip, and Lynna at the event?

Co-authored by novelist Laura S. Wharton and her son William, The Mermaid’s Tale is the second book in the Mystery at the Lake House Series. This chapter book is intended for children aged 9-12; it includes lots of information on swimming, diving, fishing, and the importance of taking care of our water environments. Also included are instructions on how to build an underwater viewer, used by Chip in the book, and two interviews: one with the mermaid and one with William. This book encourages kids to believe in themselves and not be so quick to doubt others.  This is a book that kids will find enjoyable as well as informative.

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

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Filed under 2010-2019, 2014, Children & Young Adults, Moore, Mystery, Novels in Series, Piedmont, Wharton, Laura S., Wharton, William L. B.

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by | July 7, 2014 · 9:44 am

Donna Ball. Double Dog Dare. Mountain City, GA: Blue Merle Publishing, 2013.

In this eighth book in the Raine Stockton Dog Mystery series, Raine and her energetic golden retriever Cisco have left their home in Hansonville, North Carolina.  Raine’s boyfriend Miles and his daughter Melanie have convinced Raine to go on a luxurious vacation to the island of St. Bart’s.  Upon arriving, the group is confronted with the news of a “tragic diving accident” that is being investigated. But, why would they close down such a big area to investigate an accident? Is it just because the accident involved a celebrity or is there more going on? Our heroine may be taking time off from her kennel business but it doesn’t look like she’ll get a break from mysteries that need solving.

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

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Filed under 2010-2019, 2013, Ball, Donna, Novels in Series, Suspense/Thriller

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by | July 5, 2014 · 7:36 am

Jessica Beck. Sweet Suspects. United States: Jessica Beck, 2014.

Oh those high school years–our feelings were so strong, and we were so foolish!  Suzanne Hart is not too worried about her upcoming high school reunion.  Since she’s moved back to her hometown of April Springs, she sees many of her former classmates on a regular basis, and it’s old news to them that she’s divorced from her high school boyfriend, Max.  But some of her classmates have embarrassments from high school that are less well known–minor crimes, unwise photo sessions, unfortunate hookups, unrequited loves–mistakes that they hope will stay in the past.

The last thing that any of the revelers at the April Spring High School reunion wants is to be confronted with indiscretions from their teenage years, but Zane Dunbar loves to stir things up.  Zane, a bully in high school, appears to be drinking his way through the reunion, insulting and threatening anyone who crosses his path, including his wife.  When Zane is murdered the next day, there are plenty of suspects–including Suzanne’s good friend, Grace.  To clear Grace’s name, Suzanne drops everything to investigate Dunbar’s death. (She even takes a day off from her donut shop!)

This is the twelfth novel in the Donut Mysteries series. Like the earlier books in the series, it includes recipes for some tasty morning treats

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

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Filed under 2010-2019, 2014, Beck, Jessica, Mystery, Novels in Series, Novels Set in Fictional Places

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by | July 2, 2014 · 11:41 am

Denise Grover Swank. The Curse Keepers. Las Vegas: 47North, 2013.

cursekeepersEllie Lancaster has lived her whole life in the small town of Manteo on Roanoke Island, North Carolina and has mostly resigned herself to a lifetime of feeling out of place, of not knowing where she fits in this world. That is, until she meets Collin Dailey. When she was growing up, Ellie’s father regaled her with tales of the Lost Colony. That colony, on Roanoke Island, vanished over four centuries ago. During the colony’s short existence, two men sought to save it by driving the spirits of a dangerous enemy tribe away. According to Ellie’s father, only the descendants of these two men know the truth about what happened to the Lost Colony. Ellie is one of those descendants–she is a Curse Keeper.

Despite her father’s efforts to teach her what he knows, Ellie has dismissed the legend, and her family’s role in it, as just a yarn spun through the years. The warning that when the two Curse Keepers meet, a supernatural gate will be opened and those banished spirits will come seeking revenge–pure nonsense! Or so Ellie thinks until the day she meets Collin Dailey. That day Ellie is literally struck breathless with the realization that the legacy and the legend passed down by her father are completely true.

Confronted with the authenticity of the prophecy, Ellie and Collin must now team up to combat supernatural beings, while struggling with their mutual dislike for one another versus the irresistible pull brought on by their shared legacy.

The Curse Keepers is the first book in a new series of the same title.

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


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Filed under 2010-2019, 2013, Coast, Dare, Novels in Series, Science Fiction/Fantasy, Swank, Denise Grover

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by | July 1, 2014 · 8:36 am

Virginia Kantra. Carolina Man. New York: Berkley Sensation, 2014.

carolinamanLuke Fletcher is a Marine serving in Afghanistan when he receives a call from Kate Nolan, a small-town lawyer. The call is to inform Luke that an ex-girlfriend from high school, Dawn Simpson, has died. Dawn left behind a ten-year old daughter, Taylor. Luke has been named as Taylor’s father and also her guardian in case something happens to Dawn. Luke must return home to Dare Island on North Carolina’s Outer Banks to take on this new responsibility. In his quest to do what’s right, Luke finds himself falling for both his little girl and the intelligent but damaged Kate, who is a former military brat herself and doubts the ability of a Marine to make a good father.

Luke will have to discover that serving his loved ones can be just as gratifying and heroic as serving his country, and that it may take just as much skill. The only roadblock to this discovery is the Simpsons, Taylor’s maternal grandparents and their son Kevin. The Simpsons are fighting for custody of Taylor even though she has expressed her desire to stay with her father and his family. When the Simpsons make a step towards being amicable, the Fletchers will discover what’s behind Taylor’s vehement declaration that she will not go back to them.

Carolina Man is the third book in Kantra’s Dare Island series focused on family, community, and love. The first two novels told the tales of Luke’s older brother and sister. Will Luke be able to find the peace his siblings have gained? Will he have what it takes to be a hero on the home front?

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

 

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Filed under 2010-2019, 2014, Coast, Dare, Kantra, Virginia, Novels in Series, Romance/Relationship

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