Ocean City Free Public Library Book Blog

Taimi The War That Saved My Life by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley This Newbery Honor recipient takes place in England during World War II. I enjoyed getting to know Ada, a 10 yr. old Londoner who is born with a club foot, and celebrated with her as she overcame many obstacles throughout this novel. Although technically it is a children's book, I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys historical fiction or titles that captures the strength of the human spirit. I'm looking forward to reading the sequel, "The War I Finally Won" which will be released this fall.  The Plot To Kill Hitler: Dietrich Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Spy, Unlikely Hero  by Patricia McCormick This well-researched narrative describes not only the life of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, but also the German Resistance. McCormick also highlights important historical events occurring in Germany during this time period. I learned much about the German opposition to Hitler during this suspense...

      Elizabeth George's Inspector Lynley mystery series is probably one of my favourites in the style of English detective stories. It's the series that I keep returning to, when I slip into a reading rut and can't focus on reading something new, particularly to the first book in the series A Great Deliverance. While there are lots of decent mystery series circulating now, the first book in George's Lynley stories has a certain grim insistence about it that keeps drawing me back to it. And in her latest contribution to the series, George has written a story that in many aspects parallels her first--however, these parallels did not become immediately apparent until the climax of the story.       One of the things that I like best about Elizabeth George's writing is that she realises that a lot of times, the supporting characters can have better story potential than the main title character. She uses this to her advantage in almost all of the Lynley seri...

      Career of Evil is the latest book published by J.K. Rowling under the pseudonym Robert Galbraith, and continues to follow the story of private detective Cormoran Strike and his assistant, Robin Ellacott. This book is vastly different from the preceding two novels in the series, The Cuckoo's Calling  and The Silkworm , as the nature of the crimes and investigation is different.       In the first two books in this series, the crimes are highly sensationalised and highlighted by the media, pulling a heavy focus on the public side of crime investigation. In Career of Evil  the investigation is given much more of a personal element, as the killer is directly targeting Cormoran and Robin. In addition to this, we are given a much more in-depth backstory of Robin Ellacott and her relationship with her fiance, Matt.       For the most part, I enjoyed Career of Evil , because while both main characters are present and investigatin...

      The Girl in the Spider's Web  is the fourth book in the  Millennium  series originally created and written by Stieg Larsson. As Larsson himself passed away in 2004, the popular trilogy, chronicling the adventures of computer hacker Lisbeth Salander and investigative journalist  Mikael Blomkvist, was originally published posthumously. However, there is still a large time gap between the publication of The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest  in 2007, and the decision to continue the series under a different author. The announcement that there would be a fourth (and eventual fifth and sixth) book was not even announced until early 2015.       This time delay is only logical, as the process of continuing a series of this caliber is a daunting one. Getting the consent and permission from the Larsson's estate alone would have taken much legal negotiating. Even tougher still would be finding an author who could capture a...

      This one isn't new. In fact, next year it will be ten years old. However, it is new to me. One of my favourite types of mystery/thriller books to read is forensic medical thrillers penned by people who have previous or current careers in the field about which they base their books. Kathy Reichs Bones  series and Tess Gerritsen's Rizzoli & Isles series (both of which now have successful television series based upon them) are in this sub-genre of books. Another series in this sub-genre that I have recently discovered is the  Body Farm  series.       Dr. William M. Bass is the forensic anthropologist who founded the now well known "Body Farm" aka the University of Tennessee Anthropological Research Facility , part of the University of Tennessee Medical Center. Founded in 1981, the facility is a place for the study of decomposition of human remains. Cadavers donated to the research facility are placed in different settings throughout...

      I've heard many different descriptions of Paula Hawkins's The Girl on the Train  while debating whether to put myself on hold for it. "Kind of Like Gone Girl , only British" was the most prevalent one that came up. However, after reading it for myself, I would liken it more along the lines of Rear Window  meets Gaslight.       A large portion of this book is spent questioning the motives of the initial character, Rachel, i.e. "the girl on the train." While she is presented as the central protagonist, she definitely does not (initially) come across as a necessarily a good person. I found myself less drawn to the actual mystery story happening, and more to the intricate writing style and the in depth addressing of the prevalence of gaslighting used by domestic abusers to gain dominance in their relationships. The way Rachel slowly and painfully unlearns all of her coping mechanisms is heartbreaking. Paula Hawkins' very Faulkner-esque wr...