Don't miss these book happenings - including new materials at our library, featured recommendations, and more! Click on any of these book covers to get your hold placed.

New Materials

Nothing More Dangerous by Allen Eskens -- Mystery After 15 years of growing up in the Ozark hills with his widowed mother, Boady Sanden is beyond ready to move on. Then Thomas Elgin moves in across the road, and Boady's life begins to twist and turn. Coming to know the Elgins -- a black family settling into a community where notions of "us" and "them" carry the weight of history -- forces Boady to rethink his understanding of the world he's taken for granted. Secrets hidden in plain sight begin to unfold. But the biggest secret of all is the disappearance of Lida Poe, the African-American woman who keeps the books at the local plastics factory. Word has it that Ms. Poe left town, along with $100,000 of company money. Although Boady has never met the missing woman, he discovers that the threads of her life are woven into the deepest fabric of his world. As the mystery of her fate plays out, Boady begins to see the stark lines of race and class that both bind and divide this small town -- and he will be forced to choose sides.

The Other Windsor Girl by Georgie Blalock -- Historical Fiction In dreary, post-war Britain, Princess Margaret captivates everyone with her cutting edge fashion sense and biting quips, but her outrageous lifestyle conflicts with her place as Queen Elizabeth’s younger sister. Can she be a dutiful princess while still dazzling the world on her own terms? Post-war Britain isn’t glamorous for The Honorable Vera Strathmore. A chance meeting with the Princess changes her life forever. Soon, Vera gains Margaret’s confidence and the privileged position of second lady-in-waiting to the Princess. As time and Princess Margaret’s scandalous behavior progress, both women will be forced to choose between status, duty, and love…

The Zookeepers' War by J.W. Mohnhaupt -- History Living in West Berlin in the 1960s often  felt  like living in a zoo, everyone packed together behind a wall, with the world always watching. Berlin’s two zoos quickly became symbols of the divided city’s two halves. Soon, state funds were being quietly diverted to give these new animals lavish welcomes worthy of visiting dignitaries. And eventually politicians on both side of the Wall became  convinced  that if  their  zoo were proved to be inferior, then that would mean their country’s whole ideology was too. This quirky piece of Cold War history is an epic tale of desperate rivalries, human follies, and an animal-mad city in which zookeeping became a way of continuing politics by other means.

The Book of Lost Saints by Daniel Jose Older -- Fiction/Ghost Story Marisol vanished during the Cuban Revolution, disappearing with hardly a trace. Now, shaped by atrocities long-forgotten, her tenacious spirit visits her nephew, Ramón, in modern-day New Jersey. Her hope: that her presence will prompt him to unearth their painful family history. Ramón launches a haphazard investigation into the story of his ancestor, unaware of the forces driving him on his search. Along the way, he falls in love, faces a run-in with a murderous gangster, and uncovers the lives of the lost saints who helped Marisol during her imprisonment. The Book of Lost Saints  by Daniel José Older is a haunting meditation on family, forgiveness, and the violent struggle to be free.

Featured Ditto

Check out one of MPL's featured dittos, where we let you know what else you might like to read based on a popular item. Click on the image to get to our catalog and start searching!

May We Suggest...

Kim Eggers, Library Associate in the Circulation Department, recommends reading The Grip of It by Jac Jemc. She liked this book because it was very scary, and she likes books where the houses take on a life of their own.

Deborah Shippy, Cataloging and Acquisitions Coordinator, recommends reading Lumberjanes by Noelle Stevenson. She liked this book (and the rest of the series) because it's an interesting story featuring strong female friendship and great illustrations.

Jennifer Christiansen, Circulation Services Coordinator, recommends reading Mix-Tape Pot-Luck by Joe Questlove. She liked this cookbook because it has scrumptious looking pictures and combines two of her loves: music and food.

Click on any of these book covers to get your holds placed!