Staff Picks

Gillian Flynn

On the morning of his fifth wedding anniversary, Nick's wife Amy suddenly disappears. The police immediately suspect Nick. Amy's friends reveal that she was afraid of him, that she kept secrets from him. He swears it isn't true. A police examination of his computer shows strange searches. He says they aren't his. And then there are the persistent calls on his mobile phone. So what really did happen to Nick's beautiful wife?


Gwen Cooper

"Once in nine lives, something extraordinary happens..."(Amazon.com review) and in Gwen Cooper's incredible book "Homer's Odyssey" that something is Homer. During a visit to the vet with her other cat, Gwen stumbles across Homer, a blind kitten who has been abandoned. After being convinced to take the cat, Gwen soon realizes the challenges that she now faces in raising a blind cat. Homer quickly begins to depend on Gwen because he needs to maintain a high level of consistency in his life (like keeping the furniture in the same place), but Gwen soon finds out that she needs Homer just as much, and in one instance he attacks a man breaking into her house. "Homer's Odyssey" is a remarkable story about a blind cat whose journey through life exceeded all expectations. 





Stacey O'Brien

Finding an abandoned and injured baby barn owl, biologist Stacey O'Brien decides to raise the bird. Having some experience with owls, the author is nevertheless challenged by Wesley. But, with every challenge comes a reward and as Wesley grows, their relationship blossoms into something that resembles a mother/son bond. What is remarkable about "Wesley the Owl" is that is portrays how even unconventional relationships can be just as strong as any other relationship. It also gives us an insight into a nocturnal animal that we all know but hardly understand.

Staff Pick:

Nathaniel Philbrick

Mayflower is not just about the voyage across the Atlantic, but also about the start of New England. The book spans from the sailing of the Mayflower to King Philip's War and deals with the trials that the Pilgrims/Puritans and Native Americans faced in attempting to build a relationship. What makes this book stand out from the hundreds of similar tales is Philbrick's writing. What could come off as a very dry re-telling of the beginning of New England, instead is a vivid portrait of life in colonial New England and how each decision could literally be the difference in your survival. 






Myfanwy Collins

On March 29th, the Rowley Library was privileged enough to host local author Myfanwy Collins. Myfanwy read and answered questions about her wonderful new book "Echolocation". The novel, set in upstate New York centers around three women who must face their past in order to move forward. Geneva, or the one who stayed, is trying to cope with the aftermath of an accident that has left her with a disability, all the while still caring for the grandmother who adopted her. Cheri, who fled the small town as soon as possible has come back after many years to say goodbye to her dying grandmother. Finally, Renee, Cheri's mother who abandoned Cheri years before, has come back with a new baby and plans to reconnect with her first daughter. As their journey unwinds, the three women must face what has haunted them for so many years. Beautifully written and with characters that resonate, Echolocation is a book not to be missed.








Wendy Webb


  When a mysterious letter lands in Hallie James’s mailbox, her life is upended. Hallie was raised by her loving father, having been told her mother died in a fire decades earlier. But it turns out that her mother, Madlyn, was alive until very recently. Why would Hallie’s father have taken her away from Madlyn? What really happened to her family thirty years ago?

In search of answers, Hallie travels to the place where her mother lived, a remote island in the middle of the Great Lakes. The stiff islanders fix her first with icy stares and then unabashed amazement as they recognize why she looks so familiar, and Hallie quickly realizes her family’s dark secrets are enmeshed in the history of this strange place. But not everyone greets her with such a chilly reception—a coffee-shop owner and the family’s lawyer both warm to Hallie, and the possibility of romance blooms. And then there’s the grand Victorian house bequeathed to her—maybe it’s the eerie atmosphere or maybe it’s the prim, elderly maid who used to work for her mother, but Hallie just can’t shake the feeling that strange things are starting to happen . . .








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