@ Your Library
The year continues to speed by and October is more than halfway over. I have gotten a lot of good reading done in the last month. I was really impressed with Silver River Shadow by Jane Thomas with assistance from Rochelle Lamm. The novel for children ages 8 – 12 is less than 200 pages and provides details about a mercury poisoning of a lake in Northern Ontario that is still impacting a native community. The story is told from the point of view of a girl who discovers several boxes of papers in her attic and sets out to discover what they are about.
I’m finishing up City Under One Roof by Iris Yamashita. This mystery novel takes place in a fictitious Alaskan town. A detective on leave is trapped in the town when the tunnel leading to the town is blocked by an avalanche. Can she figure out whose body parts were found and is it related to her loss?
Edison’s Ghosts by Katie Spalding is a fun and spooky look at ‘the untold weirdness of history’s greatest geniuses.’ The author says that the more you learn about the lives of those society views as geniuses the more you learn that the boundary between genius and idiot is very fine and that most of the world’s geniuses lack common sense.
Carissa Orlando has written a psychological horror novel in The September House. Margaret is determined to stay in her dream home even though it drips blood every September. She can outlast all the horror and solve the mystery of why or what is haunting it.
Look out for Haunting on the Hill by Elizabeth Hand for a ‘scary and beautifully written’ (per Neil Gaiman) return to the world Shirley Jackson created in The Haunting of Hill House. The author describes it as set in the same world, but not a sequel.
On a lighter note, we now have Minnesota author, M. E. Fulle’s new series of cozy garden mysteries “Filthy Dirty Garden Gloves.” The first two books in the series are Blood on the Bridal Wreath and From Hothouse to Heaven. Visit Buffalo View Village and get to know the garden club members who seem to have a knack for digging up dead bodies.
Daniel Mason has written a historical novel about a small cabin in the North Woods. Sweep through history as told by the lives of the inhabitants of this small humble cabin in New England (which I didn’t think were the north woods).
Finally, history buffs will enjoy borrowing Duluth Stories by David Ouse. Explore ‘people and events from the Zenith City’s past.’ Retired reference librarian, Mr. Ouse tells tales of accomplished Duluthians as well as visits by famous folks and describes two early (and lost) motion pictures set in the Zenith City. I learned why Duluth was named the Zenith City and how at one time it was expected to surpass Chicago in terms of both population and importance to great lakes shipping and commerce.