Library Closing: Labor Day

The Library will be closed Monday, September 1st for Labor Day.

New Titles

Image for "A Spell to Wake the Dead"

A Spell to Wake the Dead

Two teen girls must uncover the dark, occult secrets lurking in their Cape Cod town to solve a series of murders—and save themselves from the same fate—in this twisty, witchy thriller.

“Steeped in uniquely New England coastal magic, A Spell to Wake the Dead kept me on the edge of my seat as the bodies and mysteries kept washing ashore. Lesperance weaves an enthralling, atmospheric thriller that pulls you in from the first page. Tense, twisty, and deliciously witchy, it was just about impossible to put down.” —Louangie Bou-Montes, author of Till the Last Beat of My Heart

When Mazzy and her best friend Nora sneak down to the beach one moonlit night to cast a spell, they don’t expect to find a dead body. But as the tide rolls in, it carries the remains of a woman who is missing her hands and teeth.

The girls know they should leave the investigation to the police, but they can’t shake the weird, supernatural connection they feel with the dead woman. Using spellwork and divination, they set out to find answers of their own. But after they uncover a rash of local disappearances stretching back years—and both girls start having occult visions and hearing ghostly, whispering voices—Mazzy worries that she and Nora are in danger.

Then, Nora finds a second body. And the whispering voice is telling her where to find more. With everything spiraling, Mazzy needs to figure out who to trust and how to sever this supernatural connection—or she and Nora might be the next bodies to wash up on the beach.

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Wichita Blues

In conversations on regional blues, the traditions of the Mississippi Delta, the Carolina Piedmont, Chicago, Houston, Memphis, New Orleans, and Los Angeles are frequently lauded. But until now, little attention has been paid to the Midwest, despite the presence and popularity of blues in these heartland communities. Wichita Blues: Music in the African American Community seeks to address this gap in music history by exploring the lively Wichita blues tradition. In interviews with nineteen African American Wichita blues performers, author Patrick Joseph O'Connor reveals the evolution of the blues from the 1930s to the 1960s and beyond.

Utilizing twenty-five years of fieldwork, Wichita Blues details the history of performance and camaraderie among the musicians of this often-neglected regional sound. The personal interviews offer unique insight into topics that shape Wichita's sound, including how migration from Oklahoma, Texas, and Arkansas brought varied artists to the area and the ways musical traditions cross racial divides and generations. The artists articulate the poetics of the blues and the diverse regional influences that can be detected in their music. In exploring the Wichita blues tradition, O'Connor traces African American history in Kansas, ranging from the Exoduster movement in the late nineteenth century and minstrel shows across the state to Black cowboys and growing urban African American communities in Topeka and Wichita.

Including a foreword by renowned music scholar David Evans, Wichita Blues allows seasoned blues musicians to tell their own stories and paints a picture of the vibrant Black music scene in the city.

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Smuggler's Cove

Book 1 in the brand-new Twin Lights series from the beloved author of The Sisterhood!

In a fresh, new series for fans of Nora Roberts, Danielle Steel, and Melida Leigh, #1 New York Times bestselling author Fern Michaels introduces siblings Madison and Lincoln Taylor, whose unexpected Jersey Shore inheritance changes their lives in ways they never could have imagined...

A Simultaneous Hardcover Edition—Also Available as Trade Paperback Original

Growing up, Madison Taylor and her younger brother Lincoln lived in privilege, but their sheltered existence abruptly ended when their father was arrested for fraud and the family assets were seized. Since then, Madison has carved out a new path, studying fashion and working her way up to editor in chief of La Femme magazine, while Lincoln teaches wealth management at a small college outside the city. Both have separated themselves from their family and their past—until an unexpected bequest arrives from their late uncle.

Madison and Lincoln are now the new co-owners of a marina at Smugglers Cove on the Navesink river. Instead of a fabulous, Hamptons-style property, Smugglers Cove offers little beyond a dilapidated dock, a few gas pumps, and a handful of clam boats. Madison’s plan to sell the property goes awry when a dead body is found floating under their dock and transforms their new inheritance into a crime scene.

Suddenly, Madison is swapping her city-girl wardrobe for cargo pants and flannel shirts, while she and Lincoln receive a crash course in small-town Jersey shore life, complete with quirky characters, pirate legends, and a mysterious treasure map. They’re discovering more about themselves and each other every day, but with a mystery to solve, and big decisions to make, these are lessons they’ll need to learn fast . . .

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Mean Moms

"A deliciously satisfying and suspenseful story about what happens when a clique of wealthy Manhattan private school moms start getting a taste of exactly what they deserve, instead of just what they can pay for. Meet Frost, Morgan, and Nell-a wealthy, gorgeous group of New York City moms, the queen bees of downtown Manhattan. Their children attend Atherton Seminary, the top private school in the city, and their social lives revolve around elaborate themed parties. On the first day of school, the arrival of a new mom and mysterious beauty from Miami named Sofia shakes up their world. When Sofia quickly integrates herself into their clique, inexplicably bad things start to happen to the women. Frost is the victim of a hit-and-run electric scooter incident. Nell's dream of launching a fashion line is thwarted when the clothing samples cause people to break out in a rash. Morgan's new sound bath spa is robbed at gunpoint by a moped-driving thief. Morgan declares it all a "negative event cluster," but the other women aren't so sure. Is someone at school out to get them? Another mom with a vendetta? Let's not forget to mention the handsome headmaster, Dr. Broker, who every mom has a crush on (and one of them might be sleeping with). Spanning the course of one eventful Fall in New York, ending with a Surrealist New Year's Eve Ball-and a possible death, Mean Moms is part satire of upper crust mom-ing and part mystery, interrogating the line between friendship and jealousy, and getting at the question of: What would happen if the woman standing next to you at school pick up was actually a sociopath?"--

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Marguerite by the Lake

From Mary Dixie Carter comes an atmospheric, tense novel about the death of a glamorous garden designer, a widower trying to keep his secrets buried, and the beautiful young gardener who finds herself entangled in their lives.

Marguerite Gray is a lifestyle icon known for her garden parties, high-end business ventures, and being the muse behind the famous Serge Kuhnert painting, Marguerite by the Lake. Her presence is overpowering, her taste, legendary. For the last few years, Phoenix has been the gardener on the famed Rosecliff grounds, home of the Gray family: Marguerite and her husband Geoffrey. Phoenix came from humble beginnings, and now she works hard to craft the landscape that underpins Marguerite’s brand.

When a storm threatens the launch party for Marguerite’s latest book, it’s Phoenix who spots the danger to the guests and rushes to Geoffrey’s side to save him from a falling tree. Geoffrey is grateful—perhaps too grateful. Marguerite is . . . jealous. Phoenix senses the danger of being drawn deeper into their lives but can’t resist the attention, becoming embroiled in an affair that could destroy her career.

But soon after the affair begins Marguerite falls to her death, from the same high point at Rosecliff where she posed for Marguerite by the Lake. Now Phoenix has another secret, one that haunts her even as Geoffrey invites her to move into the manor with him. A secret that Detective Hanna and Marguerite’s daughter—her spitting image—are circling closer and closer to. Phoenix tries to put it all behind her and find her rightful place at Rosecliff. But as every gardener knows, nothing stays buried forever.