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Espionage in Fear Itself

Posted by on April 3, 2013

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World War II was just about to begin and the tensions from Europe were reaching across the ocean as German spies and agitators made their way into the United States, but even with all the secrecy someone in the FBI noticed that something was amiss. The FBI responded by sending Jimmy Nessheim, a farm boy from Wisconsin and now a special agent for the FBI, to infiltrate…

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Stones from the River Book Review

Posted by on April 1, 2013

Stories are collected about many characters in this complex novel by Ursula Hegi. You’ll get to know an entire community whose story gets a little strange sometimes. Protagonist Trudi Montag, a Zwerg, a term for German dwarf woman, shares her secrets to survival through two wars living in Germany and describes her community in intimate [...]

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If you liked The Help, you’ll love Calling Me Home

Posted by on January 31, 2013

Calling Me Home follows a car trip from Arlington, Texas to Cincinnati, Ohio with an 89 year old white woman and her hairdresser, a black single mom in her 30s

This debut novel is an historical romance, a contemporary romance, and a compelling issues novel about civil rights and women’s rights all tied up in an emotional page turner that will keep you hooked until the last page and leave you wishing it hadn’t ended so soon. In the author acknowledgements at the end she reminds the reader of her book’s message about racism and prejudice: “It’s up to you to be the change.” Reading fiction lets us explore other people’s lives with empathy. Read this book and be the change.

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The Acclaimed Maisie Dobbs Series

Posted by on December 26, 2012

Maisie Dobbs

Maisie Dobbs was born in England before World War I when the roles between the landed gentry and the servants were strict and the lower classes were supposed to know their place. Maisie was a maid but her intelligence caught the attention of her employer Lady Rowan. Luckily for Maisie, Lady Rowan ignored convention and became Maisie’s sponsor guiding her to an education, but just as Maisie began college World War I started halting her education and changing both Maisie and England.

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The Rules of Civility brings New York to life

Posted by on December 12, 2012

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This debut novel from Amor Towles, a Manhattan investment banker, draws comparisons to The Great Gatsby and Breakfast at Tiffany’s. The story begins on New Year’s Eve 1937 when Katey Kontent and her friend Eve Ross meet the wealthy Tinker Grey at a low-rent bar in New York City.

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Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein

Posted by on September 3, 2012

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Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein “Verity” is a spy arrested by the Nazi Gestapo during World War II. The first part of Code Name Verity is her confession and details of her mission for the British army, written out on scraps of paper in between torture sessions designed to extract as many secrets from [...]

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Kansas Author Nancy Sprowell Geise

Posted by on September 1, 2012

The Eighth Sea by Nancy Sprowell Geise

Join Nancy Sprowell Geise in the Topeka Room (204) on Sunday, September 9, 2012 for a discussion of her novel, The Eighth Sea, a love story involving two unforgettable characters – Brenna and Nathan.  Their story is our story, its theme universal – finding the meaning of our lives, our way home. In 1769, on [...]

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From the Author of City of Silver Comes Another Historical Mystery

Posted by on August 29, 2012

Invisible Country

In 1868 Paraguay was in ruins from a disastrous war that killed up to ninety percent of the fighting-aged men, and started the breakdown of society. In response, the Padre of the village of Santa Caterina asked the women to become pregnant by any man regardless if they were married. However, even in the midst of the chaos, some things were still worthy of punishment like the murder of the hated Richard Yotté.

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Grave Mercy by Robin LaFevers

Posted by on May 22, 2012

Grave Mercy

The convent of Saint Mortain is a haven for young girls and women who are believed to be daughters of Death himself. They are trained to be skilled assassins who carry out the work of Death by killing people who are marqued as evil.

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