August Reading: A Bounty of Riches

Some weeks it seems that there’s no books of note that comes out and other weeks are an embarrassment of riches. The upcoming week is one of those. Here are a few of the new titles we have that will go on sale August 7:

IN THE SHADOW OF THE BANYAN by Vaddey Ratner continues to haunt me after reading it several weeks ago. Raami, the narrator of the story, is seven years old when the Khmer Rouge takes over Cambodia. She is from a royal family and has lived a life of ease until the family is ordered from their comfortable home in Phnom Penh. What follows is sometimes difficult to read but the characters and how they meet the challenges are unforgettable.

Set in Berlin in 1943, CITY OF WOMEN by David R. Gillham tells the story of Sigrid who seems on the surface to be the perfect German wife, but is secretly dreaming of her lost Jewish lover. This will be a great book club book as it seeks to answer how ordinary people react to extraordinary circumstances. It is impossible to read without asking the question of oneself – what would I do?

SHUNNING SARAH by Julie Kramer takes advantage of the interest in Amish culture by placing her heroine, tv reporter Riley Spartz, in the middle of a murder in Amish country. While trying to convince her new boss whose interest is more in the bottom line than in covering news that the story is worthy of following, she becomes a target herself.  The newsroom culture (Julie is a television producer) is as interesting as the Amish elements.

BAD LITTLE FALLS is the third in Paul Doiron’s series about Maine game warden, Mike Bowditch. Doiron creates complex characters in difficult situations and the setting is fresh and interesting. Bowditch’s life is pretty much in the dumper as his girlfriend has left him after suffering a miscarriage and he has been transferred to one of the worst outposts for a game warden because of prior indiscretions. He knows he should be on his best behavior but circumstances conspire against him – he finds himself in the midst of a murder investigation (again), drawn to a woman he definitely should stay away from and harassed by locals. Doiron manages to take all the elements and create a satisfying ending leaving the reader anxious for the next installment in Bowditch’s life and career.

THE LIGHT BETWEEN THE OCEANS by M L Stedman is another book that puts ordinary people in extraordinary situations, lets them simmer then turns up the heat. Tom takes on the responsibility for lightkeeping on a remote island and never expects to find love or someone to share his life. Enter Isabel and after a whirlwind romance, she joins him on the island. The two of them want nothing more than to have a family to share their idyllic life but Isabel cannot carry a child to term. One day they hear a baby crying and find a boat washed up on shore with a dead man and a very alive baby girl. Against Tom’s better judgment, they keep the baby and fall in love with her. Life is good until they take their furlough on shore and find out the baby girl belongs to someone who is devastated at her loss. What to do, what to do.

These are only a few of the outstanding books we have in stock. Come see us and we’ll find something just right for you.