Books for Mystery Readers

These are my suggestions if you want to
share the love of books for your mystery readers.

 

Keep Quiet
By: Lisa Scottoline                  keep quiet
Cost: $16.78

 

Goodreads:  New York Times bestselling and Edgar Award winning author Lisa Scottoline is loved by millions of readers for her suspenseful novels about family and justice. Scottoline delivers once again with Keep Quiet, an emotionally gripping and complex story about one man’s split-second decision to protect his son – and the devastating consequences that follow.Jake Buckman’s relationship with his sixteen-year-old son Ryan is not an easy one, so at the urging of his loving wife, Pam, Jake goes alone to pick up Ryan at their suburban movie theater.  On the way home, Ryan asks to drive on a deserted road, and Jake sees it as a chance to make a connection. However, what starts as a father-son bonding opportunity instantly turns into a nightmare. Tragedy strikes, and with Ryan’s entire future hanging in the balance, Jake is forced to make a split-second decision that plunges them both into a world of guilt and lies. Without ever meaning to, Jake and Ryan find themselves living under the crushing weight of their secret, which threatens to tear their family to shreds and ruin them all. Powerful and dramatic, Keep Quiet will have readers and book clubs debating what it means to be a parent and how far you can, and should, go to protect those you love.

Ope’s Opinion:  This one took my breath away and kept me reading into the night.

 

Love You More
By: Lisa Gardner                love you more
Cost: $ 7.99

 

 

Goodreads:  WHO DO YOU LOVE?

One question, a split-second decision, and Brian Darby lies dead on the kitchen floor. His wife, state police trooper Tessa Leoni, claims to have shot him in self-defense, and bears the bruises to back up her tale. For veteran detective D. D. Warren it should be an open-and-shut case. But where is their six-year-old daughter?

AND HOW FAR WOULD YOU GO . . . 

As the homicide investigation ratchets into a frantic statewide search for a missing child, D. D. Warren must partner with former lover Bobby Dodge to break through the blue wall of police brotherhood, seeking to understand the inner workings of a trooper’s mind while also unearthing family secrets. Would a trained police officer truly shoot her own husband? And would a mother harm her own child?

. . . TO SAVE HER?

For Tessa Leoni, the worst has not yet happened. She is walking a tightrope, with nowhere to turn, no one to trust, as the clock ticks down to a terrifying deadline. She has one goal in sight, and she will use every ounce of her training, every trick at her disposal, to do what must be done. No sacrifice is too great, no action unthinkable. A mother knows who she loves. And all others will be made to pay.

Love you more . . 

Ope’s Opinion:  If you love unexpected twists – this one if for you!

 

After I’m Gone
By: Laura Lippman             after
Cost: $ 11.96

 

 

Goodreads:  The acclaimed New York Times bestselling author of The Most Dangerous ThingI’d Know You Anywhere, and What the Dead Knowreturns with an addictive story that explores how one man’s disappearance echoes through the lives of the five women he left behind—his wife, his daughters, and his mistress

Dead is dead. Missing is gone.

When Felix Brewer meets nineteen-year-old Bernadette “Bambi” Gottschalk at a Valentine’s Day dance in 1959, he charms her with wild promises, some of which he actually keeps. Thanks to his lucrative—if not all legal—businesses, she and their three little girls live in luxury. But on the Fourth of July in 1976, Bambi’s comfortable world implodes when Felix, facing prison, vanishes.

Though Bambi has no idea where her husband—or his money—might be, she suspects one woman does: his devoted young mistress, Julie. When Julie disappears ten years to the day after Felix went on the lam, everyone assumes she’s left to join her old lover—until her remains are discovered in a secluded park.

Now, twenty-six years later, Roberto “Sandy” Sanchez, a retired Baltimore detective working cold cases for some extra cash, is investigating her murder. What he discovers is a tangled web of bitterness, jealousy, resentment, greed, and longing stretching over five decades. And at its center is the man who, though long gone, has never been forgotten by the five women who loved him: the enigmatic Felix Brewer.

Felix Brewer left five women behind. Now there are four. Does at least one of them know the truth?

Ope’s Opinion: This one is full of family secrets.  

 

 Hope this helps your shopping!
Happy Holidays!

Books for Young Adult Readers

These are my suggestions if you want to
share the love of books for your young adult readers.

 

All I Need                                 Colasanti_AllINeed_PreSales.indd
By: Susane Colasanti
Cost: $9.99

 

 

Goodreads:  The last night of summer is only the beginning.

Skye wants to meet the boy who will change her life forever. Seth feels their instant connection the second he sees her. When Seth starts talking to Skye at the last beach party of the summer, it’s obvious to both of them that this is something real. But when Seth leaves for college before they exchange contact info, Skye wonders if he felt the same way she did—and if she will ever see him again. Even if they find their way back to each other, can they make a long-distance relationship work despite trust issues, ex drama, and some serious background differences?

Ope’s Opinion:  I thought this book had a great story for young adult readers.  

 

Anna and the French Kiss                         anna
By: Stephanie Perkins
Cost: $9.99

 

 

Goodreads:  Can Anna find love in the City of Light?
Anna is happy in Atlanta. She has a loyal best friend and a crush on her coworker at the movie theater, who is just starting to return her affection. So she’s less than thrilled when her father decides to send her to a boarding school in Paris for her senior year. But despite not speaking a word of French, Anna meets some cool new people, including the handsome Étienne St. Clair, who quickly becomes her best friend. Unfortunately, he’s taken —and Anna might be, too. Will a year of romantic near misses end with the French kiss she’s waiting for?

Ope’s Opinion:  This is the first book in a series of three books. The language and other content in this book is appropriate for young adult readers.

 

Breathe, Annie, Breathe         breathe
By: Miranda Kenneally
Cost: $13.21

 

Goodreads:  Annie hates running. No matter how far she jogs, she can’t escape the guilt that if she hadn’t broken up with Kyle, he might still be alive. So to honor his memory, she starts preparing for the marathon he intended to race.

But the training is even more grueling than Annie could have imagined. Despite her coaching, she’s at war with her body, her mind—and her heart. With every mile that athletic Jeremiah cheers her on, she grows more conflicted. She wants to run into his arms…and sprint in the opposite direction. For Annie, opening up to love again may be even more of a challenge than crossing the finish line.

Ope’s Opinion:  Annie in this book is a good example for young adult readers.

Since You’ve Been Gone
By: Morgan Matson          since
Cost: $ 14.09

 

Goodreads: The Pre-Sloane Emily didn’t go to parties, she barely talked to guys, she didn’t do anything crazy. Enter Sloane, social tornado and the best kind of best friend—the one who yanks you out of your shell.

But right before what should have been an epic summer, Sloane just… disappears. No note. No calls. No texts. No Sloane. There’s just a random to-do list. On it, thirteen Sloane-selected-definitely-bizarre-tasks that Emily would never try… unless they could lead back to her best friend.

Apple Picking at Night? Okay, easy enough.

Dance until Dawn? Sure. Why not?

Kiss a Stranger? Wait… what?

Getting through Sloane’s list would mean a lot of firsts. But Emily has this whole unexpected summer ahead of her, and the help of Frank Porter (totally unexpected) to check things off. Who knows what she’ll find?

Go Skinny Dipping? Um….

Ope’s Opinioin:  This author is amazing.  I like all she has written.

 

 Hope this helps your shopping!
Happy Holidays!

Books for Middle Grade Students

These are my suggestions if you want to
share the love of books for some middle grade students.

 

 

Nancy Clancy                          nancy clancy
By: Jane O’Connor
Cost: $8.99

 

 

Goodreads:  Join Nancy Clancy in New York Times bestselling team Jane O’Connor and Robin Preiss Glasser’s fourth Nancy Clancy chapter book about the past, present, and future! Nancy and her best friend, Bree, must go back in time to solve their latest mystery. While Nancy’s class learns about time capsules in school, another relic from the past pops up in the present. Nancy buys an old desk at a tag sale and soon finds out that someone left behind a key. In the perfect follow-up to Nancy Clancy, Super Sleuth;Nancy Clancy, Secret Admirer; and Nancy Clancy Sees the Future, Nancy and Bree set out to unlock the secret of the silver key in the hopes of finding some treasure along the way. But unlocking the mystery soon proves to be more difficult than they had thought, and when the answer isn’t what they had expected, Nancy and Bree learn there are some things that remain timeless forever.

Fans of Fancy Nancy will love joining Nancy Clancy in the latest edition to the chapter book series. The central theme of all the Nancy Clancy books shines through, showing the power of positive thinking and the will to never give up.

Ope’s Opinion: This series is great fun to have a student read themselves or to share the reading the time together.

 

Annika Riz, Math Whiz                      annika
By: Claudia MIlls
Cost: $13.21

 

 

Goodreads:  Annika Riz loves math more than anything. She’s trying to teach her dog, Prime, to count. She’s determined to beat fellow math whiz Simon Ellis in a Sudoku contest at the public library. She even sleeps under number-patterned sheets. But Annika’s best friends Kelsey and Izzy think math is boring. All they care about is the upcoming school carnival: their principal is going to be dunked in a dunking tank and their class is going to have a booth selling home-baked cookies. But then disaster foils the friends’ cookie-baking plans. Can math save the day?

Ope’s Opinion: This is  one of several books Claudia Mills wrote that a middle grade girl would really enjoy reading.  She writes strong female characters that are a good example for your student to follow.

 

 

My Life in Pink and Green       pink
By: Lisa Greenwald
Cost: $7.95

 

 

Goodreads:  Twelve-year-old Lucy Desberg is a natural problem solver. After the local homecoming queen shows up at her family’s struggling drugstore with a beauty disaster that Lucy helps to fix, Lucy has a long line of makeover customers for every school dance and bat mitzvah. But all the makeup tips in the world won’t help save the pharmacy. If only she could find a way to make the pharmacy the center of town again—a place where people want to spend time, like in the old days. Lucy dreams up a solution that could resuscitate the family business and help the environment, too. But will Lucy’s family stop fighting long enough to listen to a seventh-grader?

This book is a funny and sweet debut featuring an unforgettable narrator who knows what she wants, whether it’s great makeup, a killer business plan, or a better world.

Ope’s Opinion: Lisa Greenwald has three books in this series so far.  She has a good sense of humor – an enjoyable read.

 

Hope this helps your shopping!
Happy Holidays!