October's Books

Disgraced detective Andrew Yancey is now a health inspector, shutting down restaurants for rats and roaches. Hollywood agent Lane Coolman represents Buck Nance, a reality tv star, in the “Duck Dynasty” mode. Only Buck is really an accordion player from suburban Milwaukee.

When Merry Mansfield rear-ends Coolman’s car on the road to the Florida Keys, it starts a chain reaction of kidnapping, a hate crime murder, and Mafia business deals. Yancey, who is trying to get his detective’s shield back, is battling his neighbor, a product liability lawyer, who wants to build a McMansion that will block Yancey’s view. Giant Gambian pouched rats have appeared in a local restaurant, and it falls to Yancey to capture the beasts.

All the elements of a Hiassen book—a beautiful woman outwitting the system, unscrupulous Florida businessmen, invasive species, and a character down on his luck—are here and add to the surreal mix that makes his books twisted and funny.

 

I am Brian Wilson by Brian Wilson
Razor Girl by Carl Hiaasen
When Krishna Calls by Susan Oleksiv
Butcher's Moon by Richard Stark

September's Books

It’s a new Hercule Poirot mystery by Sophie Hannah, who took on the little Belgian detective in “The Monogram Murders.”She continues to capture the essence of the classic Agatha Christie mysteries, combining the well-known characters with intricately plotted murders. Poirot and the local detective are invited to the country house of a successful children’s author. The author has written a new will, which disinherits her children and leaves everything to her secretary, who has a fatal kidney disease. Why leave a sizeable estate to someone who is not expected to live for more than a few months? It’s a classic Christie country manor murder mystery. Hannah echoes the voice of Christie perfectly, and this second book by Hannah is more tightly written than the first. A treat for Poirot fans.

 

The Lake House by Kate Morton
The Newsmakers by Lis Wiehl
Closed Casket by Sophie Hannah
The Girl with the Lower Back Tattoo by Amy Schumer

August's Books

I grew up in Milwaukee and worked in housing enforcement for some years, so this book, Evicted,  drew my interest. It is an ethnography of eight families—some living in a predominately black, poor neighborhood on Milwaukee’s north side, and the others in a trailer park on the edge of the city’s south side, an area that is historically white. Some of the people that are central to the book are Arleen, an African-American single mother of two boys; Scott, a nurse and heroin addict; Lamarr, who lost both his legs to frostbite; and Venetta, who participates in a holdup after her hours are cut at work. The only people who profit from the renters’ hardships are the landlords—Sherrena, a former teacher turned slumlord, and Tobin, the out of state trailer park owner. The author, a Harvard associate professor and winner of a MacArthur genius grant, advocates for a universal housing voucher program, so that tenants don’t have to spend most of their income on substandard housing.

 

Invisible Murder by Lene Kaaberbol
Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout
I Shot the Buddha by Colin Cotterill
Slayground by Richard Stark
Foundation by Isaac Asimov
Evicted: poverty and profit in the American city by Matthew Desmond
This Old Murder by Valerie Wolzien
December Dread by Jess Lourey

July's Books

Hillside Bed and Breakfast is full up with guests—Mr. and Mrs. Smith from New York City, are one couple—and Mr. Smith soon meets his maker. Judith McMonigle, owner of the bed and breakfast, and her cousin Renie, soon discover that none of the guests are who they seem. A light, amusing cozy mystery in a long running series.

Road to Nowhere by Jim Fusilli
Fish Tales: the Guppy Anthology by Ramona De Felice-Long (editor)
A Warrior's Heart by the students of the Pine Ridge Reservation
Legs Benedict by Mary Daheim
Secrets to the Grave by Tami Hoag
Cop Town by Karin Slaughter
Undone by Karin Slaughter
Taken at the Flood by Agatha Christie
The Alpine Legacy by Mary Daheim
Always Emily by Michaela MacColl
The Black Hour by Lori Rader-Day
She's Not There by Jennifer Boylan

June's Books

Parker is approached with the boldest plan yet—steal a payroll right off the air force base in upstate New York. The inside man is the air force payroll clerk, looking to score before his enlistment is up. Marty Fusco, a thief just out of prison, has his ex-wife and kid living with the clerk. What can go wrong? Everything.

 


A Regimental Murder by Ashley Gardner
The Perfect Husband by Lisa Gardner
Angora Alibi by Sally Goldenbaum
Bobby's Girl by J.S. Austin
The Rare Coin Score by Richard Stark
The Green Eagle Score by Richard Stark
Micro by Michael Crichton
The Sour Lemon Score by Richard Stark
The Black Ice Score by Richard Stark
Cardinal Rules by Barbara Delinsky
Jane Austen Cover to Cover by Margaret Sullivan
Every Move You Make by Bobby Hutchinson