The Art Forger by B.A. Shapiro

The Art Forger by B.A. Shapiro

On March 18, 1990, thirteen renowned works of art were stolen from the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum. Claire Roth, a struggling artist who specializes in Degas, makes a living reproducing such works for an online retailer. She is approached by Aiden Markel, owner of the hip gallery Markel G, to forge a Degas masterpiece stolen from the Museum in the heist. However, when the painting is delivered to Claire's studio, she begins to suspect it's not the real Degas, either.

360 pages.

Time's Convert by Deborah Harkness

Time's Convert by Deborah Harkness

On the battlefields of the American Revolution, vampire Matthew de Clermont meets young surgeon Marcus MacNeil. Intrigued by the dying boy, Matthew offers Marcus a chance at immortality. A patriot through and through, Marcus finds his deeply held ideals of liberty and equality are at odds with the responsibilities and traditions that come with being a de Clermont. In present day Paris, Phoebe Taylor, the young woman Marcus has fallen for, is facing her own journey, having chosen to become a vampire for Marcus. Meanwhile, Matthew and Diana, whose story is told in the All Souls trilogy, struggle with raising Bright Born twins.

448 pages.

Mary and O'Neil: A Novel in Stories by Justin Cronin

Mary and O'Neil: A Novel in Stories by Justin Cronin

Justin Cronin's debut novel focuses on O'Neil Burke and Mary Olson, tracing their experiences through early adulthood and marriage. Told in short stories, the reader is given a glimpse into the lives of Mary and O'Neil both separately and as a couple, as well as the lives of O'Neil's parents before their untimely deaths and that of his sister, Kay, who is struggling with illness.

243 pages.

The Devil & Sherlock Holmes: Tales of Murder, Madness, and Obsession by David Grann

The Devil & Sherlock Holmes: Tales of Murder, Madness, and Obsession by David Grann

Journalist David Grann has compiled short pieces of investigative stories he has written over the years, and the end result is his book, The Devil & Sherlock Holmes: Tales of Murder, Madness, and Obsession. The title is misleading, however: only a few of the stories deal with murder or madness; most deal with some manifestation of obsession, and Sherlock Holmes rarely factors in. Despite this, the stories are well-written and most will be able to find a tale or two that interests them. One standout story includes "Mysterious Circumstances," about the suspicious death of Richard Lancelyn Green, one of the world's foremost Sherlock Holmes scholars not long after Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's personal papers were put up for auction. "The Chameleon" is another story of note, which details the life of Frederic Bourdin, a con artist whose specialty lies in impersonating teen boys. Two stories were especially tragic: "Trial by Fire," featuring the story of Cameron Todd Willingham, who was sentenced to death row for arson and homicide, only for investigators to later find evidence that may have exonerated him, and "Which Way Did He Run?," detailing the story of a NY firefighter who, after dealing with amnesia, was left wondering if his actions on September 11, 2001 were those of a hero or a coward.

404 pages.   

Did You Ever Have a Family: A Novel by Bill Clegg

Did You Ever Have a Family by Bill Clegg

June Reid is the sole survivor of an unbearable tragedy that grips the entire town of Wells, Connecticut. Shortly before her daughter’s wedding, a gas leak leads to an explosion at June’s house, leaving a bereft June and gossiping townspeople to make sense of it all. Directionless, June leaves Wells to drive across the country. Those she leaves behind whisper about what happened and if Luke, June’s thuggish boyfriend, was really responsible. With poetic language and through multiple perspectives, Clegg slowly reveals the narrative of a town touched by tragedy and the truth about those at its heart.

293 pages   

Creating Innovators: The Making of Young People Who Will Change the World, by Tony Wagner

How do we foster innovation, curiosity, and problem solving skills in our children?  In order to grow the U.S. economy, different approaches are needed to develop a generation of innovators.  To investigate how to develop these skills, Wagner identified and interviewed a variety of young people who exhibit the skills of innovators. He uses their stories to identify common themes in their backgrounds; specifically a penchant for play, which develops into pursuing a passion, and is applied with purpose. He then compares what helped these young people to develop into innovators with the typical family and academic background.  In particular, he describes how our current educational system drives the creativity out of students in favor of teaching to the test.  His interviews with the parents of these young people is particularly interesting, as the parents all realized that their children did best when they were allowed to unleash their curiosity, but they often did not do very well in school.  There are many thought-provoking concepts here, particularly for parents, educators, and librarians.  251 pages.

The Good House: A Novel by Tananarive Due

Angela Toussaint's late grandmother owned a wonderful old house on a hill in Sacajawea, Washington, which is so treasured that the locals call it the Good House. Family troubles lead Angela to move her husband and son there during the summer of 2001, hopeful that the house’s magic might save her failing marriage.  Unfortunately, an unexpected tragedy tears them apart instead.  Two years later, Angela has reinvented herself by becoming a talent agent in Los Angeles, and she is ready to move on, which entails selling the old house. When she returns to Sacajawea, Angela discovers there have been more senseless tragedies, and she speculates on their connection to the house and an entity her grandmother battled in 1929.  Assisted by Myles Fisher, her high school boyfriend, and clues from beyond the grave, Angela races to solve a deadly puzzle that has followed her family for generations and end the legacy of tragedy.  This is a page-turner by the talented Tananarive Due, who is quickly becoming one of my favorite authors.

496 pages

21 hours, 27 minutes