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The Third Angel
by Alice Hoffman
Published 2008 by Shaye Areheart Books
Hardcover, English. ISBN: 9780307393852
Find this book in our catalog.
Jacket Notes:
Veteran heartstring-puller Hoffman examines the lives of three women at different crossroads in their lives, tying their London-centered stories together in devastating retrospect--"Publishers Weekly."
REVIEW: Publisher's Weekly 12/17/2007
In this elegant and stunning novel, veteran heartstring-puller Hoffman (Here on Earth; Seventh Heaven) examines the lives of three women at different crossroads in their lives, tying their London-centered stories together in devastating retrospect. High powered New York attorney Maddy Heller arrives in 1999 London having had an affair with Paul, her sister Allie's fiancé,; she must now cope with the impending marriage, and with Paul's terminal illness-which echoes the girls' mother's cancer during their childhood. Hoffman then shifts to heady 1966 London and to Frieda Lewis, Paul's future mother, who falls for a doomed up-and-coming songwriter knowing he will break her heart. The narrative then shifts further back, to 1952 and to Maddy and Allie's future mother, Lucy Green. A bookish 12-year-old wise beyond her years, Lucy sails with her father and stepmother from New York to London for a wedding. There, she becomes an innocent catalyst to a devastating event involving a love triangle. Hoffman interweaves the three stories, gazing unerringly into forces that cause some people to self-destruct ("There was no such thing as too much for a girl who thought she was second best") and others to find inner strength to last a lifetime. (Apr.)
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Return of the Stardust Cowgirl
by Marsha Moyer
Published 2008 by Three Rivers Press (CA)
Paperback, English. ISBN: 9780307351555
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Jacket Notes:
Heartwarming, funny, and distinctly Southern, this fourth novel featuring the unforgettable Lucy Hatch explores the joys and sorrows of small-town life as well as the complexities and love of family.
REVIEW: Publisher's Weekly 12/03/2007
The fourth installment in Moyer's marvelous Lucy Hatch series (after Heartbreak Town) is as refreshing as an icy cold Coke on a hot afternoon in northeast Texas. The fortunes of cowgirl Lucy Hatch have been up and down since her husband, singer/songwriter Ash Farrell, lost his recording contract and hightailed it home to Mooney, Tex. (pop. 990), to reunite with Lucy and son Jude. Not that Lucy doesn't appreciate his renewed commitment (and his handyman abilities), but she knows he has plenty of problems, and his creative block isn't helping things, nor is the fact that Lucy's job at a flower shop is in peril. Also complicating matters is the whirlwind arrival of Lucy's pregnant stepdaughter, Denny Culpepper, a rising country star who caught her husband cheating on her. Lucy and Denny realize their lives are falling apart, and pulling together means accepting change and, sometimes, making hard decisions. Austinite Moyer captures smalltown Texas life with a sure touch, offering insights about how families survive. (Feb.)
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Silver: My Own Tale as Written by Me with a Goodly Amount of Murder
by Edward Chupack
Published 2008 by Thomas Dunne Books
Hardcover, English. ISBN: 9780312373658
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Jacket Notes:
These are the savage, heart-pounding memoirs of "Treasure Islands" Long John Silver--a pirate and a charming, unapologetic murderer in search of lost treasure.
REVIEW: Publisher's Weekly 12/03/2007
At the start of Chupack's swashbuckling debut, Long John Silver, yes, that Long John Silver, faces hanging back in England after a life of piracy on the seven seas. But before he swings, the aging, fever-ridden pirate is determined to tell his fabulous story, so settle back, me hearties, it's one hell of a tale. Silver has a dual motive: not only does he wish to torment his captor, who has taken him prisoner aboard his own ship, but he also hopes to secure his release by promising to reveal the whereabouts of his fabled treasure. Some of the old Treasure Island gang-Ben Gunn, Pew, Jim Hawkins-return, but this is no retelling of the original. Chupack is particularly good at pirate dialogue (Silver says of the killing of his mate, Smollet: "he made an excellent corpse on account that you puddened him to the plansheers, so when the wind blowed aft to lee, he bade a farewell to the world"). Murder, a map, ciphers and codes, and even a bit of romance figure in Silver's riveting narrative as well. (Feb.)
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Miss Julia Paints the Town
by Ann B. Ross
Published 2008 by Viking Books
Hardcover, English. ISBN: 9780670018642
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Jacket Notes:
Development threatens Abbotsville, but not for long when Miss Julia takes on the cause
When developers threaten to bulldoze the old courthouse to make way for condominiums, Miss Julia is dismayed. She enlists the help of Etta Mae Wiggins in a plot to scare off the money by exposing the town's many eccentric characters. Abbotsville has plenty of local color of the kind not usually listed in brochures for upscale condos: Tonya's sex change, Julia's stint as a biker chick, Brother Vern's evangelistic passion, and a mysterious apparition on a church wall. As if this isn't enough to keep Miss Julia busy, she soon also discovers that several of her friends' husbands have vanished-and her own husband seems to be as scarce as hen's teeth. Marriages, divorces, fraud charges, and reconciliations all play out against a backdrop of Miss Julia's struggle to save Abbotsville's historic courthouse, her marriage, and her sanity. "Miss Julia Paints the Town" is another rollicking good ride for fans of the winning series.
REVIEW: Publisher's Weekly 01/07/2008
Julia Springer Murdoch has survived widowhood, scandals and her share of delightfully harebrained adventures in eight previous Miss Julia outings; here she tackles a town's worth of problems. Smarmy New Jersey developer Arthur Kessler plans to tear down the old Abbotsville, N.C., courthouse and replace it with condos, but more pressing is the fact that three of Julia's friends' husbands have decamped or gone missing, including Richard Stroud, who may have absconded with a great deal of money. Everyone's turning to Julia for advice except for Richard's wife, Helen, who's getting too cozy for comfort as she cries on the shoulder of Miss Julia's good-natured second husband, Sam. Julia rallies her friends to convince Kessler that Abbotsville is too full of Southern eccentricities for him, but those eccentricities may be too real for the plan to work. The memorably droll Ross has a gift for elevating such everyday matters as marital strife and the hazards of middle age to high comedy, while painting her beautifully drawn characters with wit and sympathy. (Mar.)
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