Category Archives: Mecklenburg

Mecklenburg

by | October 2, 2011 · 8:41 am

Kathy Reichs. Flash and Bones. New York, NY: Scribner, 2011.

This image courtesy of www.kathyreichs.com/bones.

Emily Deschanel portrays Dr. Temperance Brennan in the TV show Bones. She poses here with Kathy Reichs (right). Image courtesy of www.kathyreichs.com/bones.

What do NASCAR, missing teenagers, and an audacious tabby cat all have in common? None other than Dr. Temperance Brennan, the brilliant, savvy forensic anthropologist based in Charlotte, NC. In her latest case, Brennan is called out to the nearby Charlotte Motor Speedway to look at a barrel containing human remains. Soon she is caught in a tangled investigation involving the FBI, a dangerous white supremacist group, a local organic farmer, and sweaty, chain-smoking detective Erskine “Skinny” Slidell. But perhaps most dangerous of all, Brennan’s ex-husband, Pete, has asked her to intervene on his behalf with his new fiancée: blonde, bosomy Summer. Driven to hysterics over planning their wedding (and Pete’s disinterest in the ceremony), Summer clings to Brennan for emotional support, calling at all hours of the day and night. Harassed by both FBI agents and dangerous militants, drenched by unpredictable Piedmont storms, and romantically adrift, disgruntled Temperance doesn’t realize that she will soon be more thankful for the needy Summer than she thinks.

Kathy Reichs upholds her winning formula of science, mystery, and a strong female lead in this fourteenth installment of the series that inspired the hit TV show Bones. NASCAR fans will be delighted to watch Brennan’s education in racing , as well as the slew of characters she meets along the way. When she can take a break from the Speedway, Temperance touches base with her daughter Katy, old flame Andrew Ryan, and stalwart feline companion Birdie, although beau Charles Hunt doesn’t make an appearance. But Team Ryan and Team Hunt beware- there’s a new man on the scene providing Brennan with equal parts assistance and annoyance: tall, dark and handsome ex-detective (and ex-con) Cotton Galimore.

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

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Filed under 2010-2019, 2011, Mecklenburg, Mystery, Novels in Series, Piedmont, Reichs, Kathy, Suspense/Thriller

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by | August 30, 2011 · 9:17 am

Mark Phialas. Who Killed 20G? Williamsburg, VA: Cherokee McGhee, 2011.

Trent Jones is a has-been M.P. with a penchant for poker and scotch, and a passion for UNC basketball. The obsession with liquor and gambling means that he’s often drunk, broke, or some combination of the two, and that his best friend, Frank Williams, has to bail him out more often than not. Frank, a successful sports and entertainment agent, lives in New York City, a world away from the North Carolina haunts they used to frequent together. However, Frank keeps a vacation home at nearby Myrtle Beach, and after his latest slump, Trent wants a place to recuperate (or just more scotch, which Frank has in spades). Frank is angry about Trent’s downward spiral, but unable to deny his friend anything. However, rest and refreshment are last on the list for the wayward Tar Heels fan. One evening, out having a drink, Trent encounters Kenny “20G” Kincaid, the basketball head coach for the fictional Wellington University, located just north of Charlotte. Having recently lost $500 thanks to 20G’s losing streak, Trent decides to have a little word with Coach about his technique, a tactic that quickly turns into a fistfight. Trent wakes up the next morning hungover and sore with the intention of moving on. But he can’t; sometime during the night, someone murdered Coach 20G and Trent is suspect #1.

Things get worse when Trent receives a phone call from New York City: Frank Williams has also been murdered. These two homicides, unrelated at first glance, plunge Trent into a dangerous game of sleuthing and revenge that takes him to Arizona, New York City, North Carolina, New Hampshire, and even out to sea. To make matters even more unbearable for him, the action occurs during the NCAA play-offs, and Trent is convinced that this year the Tar Heels are going all the way. Can Jones find and eliminate his friend’s murderer, uncover what happened to 20G, and protect himself while still watching the Heels achieve victory? Find out in Phialas’ debut novel, which is hopefully the first of many. Trent Jones is a gruff, troubled, but highly likable and entertaining anti-hero; readers, especially fellow Tar Heels, will root for him from the start to the final buzzer.

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

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Filed under 2010-2019, 2011, Mecklenburg, Mountains, Novels Set in Fictional Places, Phialas, Mark, Piedmont, Suspense/Thriller

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by | August 8, 2011 · 3:32 pm

Elizabeth Towles. The Long Night Moon. Lady Lake, FL: Fireside Publications, 2009.

Darcie Edglon is a stereotypical teenage girl: she thinks mostly about boys, followed closely by shopping. But her whole world turns upside-down one terrible day in the spring of 1974 when her parents are killed in a car accident outside their hometown of Charlotte, North Carolina. Her big brother, nineteen-year-old Ian, is suddenly in charge of the family. Strangely, he orders her to pack her things and drives a mystified Darcie out to the family house in the mountains, a spacious retreat known as Qualla’s Folly. When they arrive, Ian reveals that he knows Darcie’s shocking secret, one she tried to keep from both him and their parents. He intends to follow through with their parents’ plan to confine her in the mountain house, safe from gossip that might ruin the prominent Edglon name. Darcie is furious, but at least there is a distraction in the form of the quiet Native American handyman, Wa’si. Darcie is certain that all she has to do is ply him with her myriad charms and Wa’si will be her plaything. But the tall, dark and handsome Cherokee has a tragic past, and his stoic politeness presents a unique problem to a girl used to having her own way. But a reluctant lover is not the only difficulty Darcie faces. Left alone at Qualla’s Folly when her brother returns to school, the pampered teen must transform herself into a strong, self-reliant woman if she is to survive her shameful secret, the multiple dangers of the mountains, and maybe even find true happiness.

This suspenseful, surprising tale is the perfect addition to a blanket and beach umbrella on a relaxing summer weekend by the ocean!

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

 

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Filed under 2000-2009, 2009, Macon, Mecklenburg, Mountains, Piedmont, Romance/Relationship, Towles, Elizabeth

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by | · 3:08 pm

Tamar Myers. The Den of Antiquity Mysteries.

All Abigail Timberlake wants is to run her antiques store, The Den of Antiquity, in peace. In charming Charlotte, North Carolina, this shouldn’t normally be a problem, but at Abby’s store murder is always on sale. First, her batty junk-collector aunt is strangled; next, a dead body turns up in an 18th-century wardrobe; then an old woman is murdered outside Abby’s shop for the deceptively valuable vase she was carrying. The list goes on and the bodies pile up, and Abby always seems to be caught in the crossfire, whether it’s dodging killers, dealing with her boorish ex-husband and his new trophy wife, or falling for handsome police detectives. It’s almost enough to make a girl want a change of scene, and in the eighth book, Nightmare in Shining Armor, Abby does move to Charleston, South Carolina for a time. Happily, she returns to the Old North State in the sixteenth and final book, The Glass is Always Greener. These cozy murder mysteries are perfect for lazy days at the beach or adding some spice to your lunch break!

Set in North Carolina:

1. Larceny and Old Lace
2. Gilt by Association
3. The Ming and I
4. So Faux, So Good
5. Baroque and Desperate
6. Estate of Mind
7. A Penny Urned
16. The Glass is Always Greener


The first book in the Den of Antiquities Series

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Try the first book in the series, Larceny and Old Lace, today! Check this title’s availability in the UNC-Chapel Hill Library Catalog.

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Filed under 1990-1999, 2000-2009, 2010-2019, Mecklenburg, Myers, Tamar, Mystery, Novels in Series, Piedmont, Series

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by | July 11, 2011 · 9:26 am

Tamar Myers. The Glass Is Always Greener. New York: Avon Books, 2011.

Abby Timberlake Washburn, proprietor of the Den of Antiquity in Charleston, South Carolina, is delighted when she is invited to a soiree in Charlotte, North Carolina. This is not just any party – Jerry Ovumkoph, the eccentric and elderly aunt of Abby’s friend Rob, is hosting her own going-away party. Rather than being a sorrowful event in which family members and dear friends share their happy memories of Jerry, she uses the occasion to express her disappointment in her family and to announce the minimal gifts she will leave them. She also makes the peculiar bequest of her enormous emerald ring to Abby, a complete stranger.

Therefore, when Aunt Jerry is found lifeless in the freezer, the people closest to her become the prime suspects. Unfortunately, it was Abby who made the discovery, and the fact that the prized ring was missing from the deceased’s finger does not help Abby convince people that she is no murderer. As theories begin to form with her at the center, Abby enlists the help of her mother, best friend, and former sister-in-law to get to the bottom of the situation. Along the way, she befriends Aunt Jerry’s family members, leading her to uncover upsetting Ovumkoph family secrets.

The Glass Is Always Greener is the sixteenth and final novel in Tamar Myers’ “Den of Antiquity Mystery” series. The series began with Gilt by Association in 1996, and the first eight novels were set in Charlotte before Abigail moved her shop to Charleston, South Carolina. It’s nice to see our intrepid heroine come full circle.

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

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Filed under 2010-2019, 2011, Mecklenburg, Myers, Tamar, Mystery, Novels in Series, Piedmont

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by | July 5, 2011 · 12:18 pm

Monica Ali. Untold Story. New York: Scriber, 2011.

A number of novels in this blog feature a woman on the run from a dangerous man or a difficult past.  North Carolina, with its rugged mountains, laid-back coastal communities, and quiet little towns, offers the promise of anonymity and friendly people.  In Untold Story the woman on the run is Princess Diana.

Author Monica Ali envisions a different story of the princess’s life.  That car accident in the Paris tunnel is a near-miss, but a few months later Di, with the help of her private secretary, fakes her own death in the waters off the coast of Brazil.  After months of soul searching and plastic surgery in Brazil, Di moves to the United States to begin her new life as Lydia Snaresbrook.  North Carolina will be her new home.  Her first stop is the fictitious town of Gravelton, but when she become restless there she moves to Charlotte.  In Charlotte she trains as a beautician, makes friends with some neighbors, and has her share of flings, but when a neighbor criticizes her frequent male visitors, Lydia takes offense.  She moves to the (fictitious) town of Kensington in an unnamed Midwestern state (Missouri or Illinois?) where most of the action in the novel takes place.  There the princess makes a life as Lydia until a paparazzi visits Kensington and recognizes her amazing blue eyes.

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

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Filed under 2010-2019, 2011, Ali, Monica, Mecklenburg, Piedmont

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by | June 3, 2011 · 8:49 am

Anna Jean Mayhew. The Dry Grass of August. New York: Kensington Books, 2011.

In 1954, everything changed for the Watts family. June, also known as Jubie, is thirteen years old and the second child of four. Jubie narrates the story of this period when her family went from being picture perfect – complete with a nice house in Charlotte, North Carolina, a booming business, and a hard-working and motherly maid – to broken and disgraced. Although she faces physical abuse from her father, feels disappointed about his criminal activities at work, and is disillusioned about her parents’ marriage, Jubie’s true awakening occurs on a family vacation. As they travel throughout the South, she becomes more aware of segregation and prejudiced attitudes towards African Americans. Because she is especially close to her maid, Mary, Jubie begins to feel conflicted about racial tensions and what she has always known as ‘normal’. While the family is in Georgia, Jubie, her older sister, and Mary are attacked walking home from a tent revival. Mary, offering herself to protect the sisters, is assaulted and murdered. As Jubie tries to come to terms with Mary’s violent death and the many ways in which her family is changing, she realizes the power of her own convictions.

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

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Filed under 2010-2019, 2011, Historical, Mayhew, Anna Jean, Mecklenburg, Piedmont

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by | April 29, 2011 · 3:35 pm

Marian Sims. The City on the Hill. Philadelphia: Lippincott, 1940.

Lawyer Steve Chandler seems to be the only honest man in the fictional North Carolina city of Medbury. Chandler takes on social injustice, a corrupt police force, organized crime, bigotry, and public apathy in the courtroom, at his church, in his social circles, and on the streets. For the most part, it’s a losing battle in a novel that paints an unflattering portrait of a southern city (thought to be Charlotte) in the early twentieth century.

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

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Filed under 1940, 1940-1949, Mecklenburg, Novels Set in Fictional Places, Piedmont, Sims, Marian

by | April 8, 2011 · 3:40 pm

D. L. Walker. Scaffold. Baltimore, MD: PublishAmerica, 2007.

Professional wrestling is almost a world of its own. With a set code of rules, wide variety of characters, outlandish gimmicks, and carefully planned pageantry, the form of entertainment is very popular among young and old alike. Because of the nature of the sport, however, its history is wrought with controversy.

Although personal injury lawyer Bill Watson does not necessarily buy into all of the pro wrestling hype, he is willing to take his son to an event at a local high school in Charlotte featuring some of his favorite players. When a stunt goes terribly wrong and two wrestlers fall from a scaffold, resulting in the death of one and paralysis of another, Bill becomes suspicious. How could something that is supposed to be scripted result in such tragedy? As Bill begins to investigate the case, he uncovers the sinister truth behind one federation’s manager.

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

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Filed under 2000-2009, 2007, Mecklenburg, Piedmont, Suspense/Thriller, Walker, D. L.

by | March 18, 2011 · 4:20 pm

Dixie Land. Exit Wounds. Kernersville, NC: Alabaster Book Publishing, 2008.

As this novel opens all Lisa York’s worries are minor. Yes, her husband is not a good listener, her mother-in-law is cold, and Lisa would like to loose a few pounds.  But her marriage is strong and their daughters are a joy to Lisa and her husband.  How quickly things change!  Lisa expected that when her daughters entered their teen years, there would be bumps in her relationship with them.  However she is unprepared for her older daughter Melissa’s lies and the girl’s insistence on continuing a relationship with a boy who is clearly young Mr. Wrong.

Lisa expects her husband, Steven, to help pull their daughter back onto the straight-and-narrow path, so her world falls apart when she finds out how far Steven is from his public image as the successful businessman and happy family man.  Steven’s death deepens Lisa’s troubles, in part because the police suspect she had a hand in his murder.  Lisa is able to find a way forward, with support from friends and a new love.

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

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Filed under 2000-2009, 2008, Land, Dixie, Mecklenburg, Piedmont

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