Rob Ryan is a detective with a secret.  When he was a kid, he and his two best friends disappeared into the wood behind their houses, and Rob returned alone, shoes filled with blood and back deeply scratched.  He spent most of his life forgetting about this experience, but when a girl is found dead in the same wood decades later, Rob finds himself called in on the case and unable to do the right thing and pass it off to another detective.  Rob and his partner, Cassie, proceed to investigate the case from every angle, but the sheer number of suspects and their various lies and omissions threaten to tear the case, and Rob and Cassie’s friendship, apart.

In the Woods is billed as a murder mystery, but it spends less time on the case itself and more on the relationships between Rob and his coworkers and friends, especially his partner, Cassie.  Rob is a self-proclaimed liar and also the narrator of the story, so there is some tension between what Rob says happened and the reactions he gets from the other characters that helps keep the reader guessing about what will happen next.  He leaves little clues here and there that can point you to the right answer to the murder mystery, but even if you guess whodunnit the ending will probably still throw you for a loop.  This is not a book to take to the beach with you unless you want some serious sunburn – it is almost impossible to put down!

--Alison McCarty, Callahan Branch Library

Find In the Woods in the Nassau County Public Library System catalog.

What would you do if you knew that in six months, an asteroid would crash into Earth, killing much of the population and making life very difficult for those left behind?  Detective Hank Palace would do what he’s always wanted to do -- keep solving crimes.  When he comes across a dead man in a McDonald’s restroom, most of his coworkers are quick to call it a suicide in the face of certain death, but Palace is sure there must be more to it.  As he investigates this strange death, Palace finds himself involved in family drama, corporate espionage, and government conspiracies, all of which may prove completely useless once the scientists figure out where this asteroid is going to hit.

This novel is great largely because of its setting, with this giant asteroid making everyone crazier than usual in small-town New England.  Winters does a great job of writing this plausible reality where some people think that suicide is preferable to whatever could possibly come after the asteroid and others think that the asteroid is an excuse to do every stupid thing you wouldn't do if you knew you had to survive it and still others are convinced that the whole thing is a government conspiracy.  And I love our detective friend, who takes himself so absolutely seriously with the memorizing of the rulebook and the following of the procedure but also knows that he's taking himself too seriously even if he can't do anything about it.  If you enjoy a dark murder mystery with a bit of humor and some good twists and turns, you should check this book out.

--Alison McCarty, Callahan Branch Library

Find The Last Policeman in the Nassau County Public Library System catalog.

In a town called Stain’d-by-the-Sea which is no longer by the sea and only barely still a town, Lemony Snicket and his chaperone, S. Theodora Markson, are called in to investigate the theft of a statue.  This statue, in the shape of a creature called the Bombinating Beast, is part of a feud between two families, so S. Theodora Markson is pretty sure she knows exactly where to find it.  Snicket, on the other hand, does some investigating and finds out that not only is the statue not actually stolen, it’s part of a larger mystery plaguing the formerly seaside town.  Can Snicket solve all of the town’s mysteries and avoid the help of his bumbling chaperone? Maybe, if he can stop asking all the wrong questions…

If you’ve read any of Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events books, you’ll have a good idea of the kind of story you’re in for as Snicket recalls his youth and apprenticeship as a member of his unnamed organization.  If you haven’t, expect sarcasm, puns, and a lot of definitions of words that may or may not reflect their dictionary definitions.  I think Snicket’s books are great for kids because they do define a lot of difficult or obscure words and also regular words used in odd ways or sarcastically, and because they show kids doing a lot of good problem solving.  But if you want your kids to keep thinking that adults know everything, you may want to find a different series.

--Alison McCarty, Callahan Branch Library

Find Who Could That Be At This Hour? in the Nassau County Public Library System catalog.

World-famous model Lula Landry commits suicide one dark and snowy night in London, but her brother is convinced that she was murdered.  He enlists the help of Cormoran Strike, a down-on-his-luck private detective who reluctantly agrees to investigate what he considers to be a closed case.  As he interviews the many people who knew, loved, and hated Lula, though, he realizes that there’s even more to Lula’s death than anyone might suspect.            

My favorite part of reading a J.K. Rowling book is getting to know the characters, whom Rowling describes vividly and gives fantastic histories.  Cormoran is no exception, from his missing leg to his obsession with Doom Bar beer.  I also loved the way Rowling wrote this sprawling mystery that introduces so many plotlines that it can’t possibly come together at the end, but it just manages to with a surprising and tense conclusion.  Recommended for fans of literary mysteries.

--Alison McCarty, Callahan Branch Library

Find The Cuckoo's Calling in the Nassau County Public Library System catalog.

What if you could convince a person, any person, to do whatever you wanted if you just knew the right four words?  In the world of Lexicon, there is a school that teaches a select, persuasive student body to do just that, calling its graduates “poets” and naming them after famous writers.  But in this world there is also one word, a dangerous word, that can control anyone and everyone – and it’s gotten out.            

I loved this book for its basic concept (words are powerful!) and for its two storylines that trade off, with one main character in the thick of the action and danger, and the other character giving us the back story leading up to the current events.  Barry also plays some tricks with the timeline that keeps the reader guessing as to what’s really going on.  Highly recommended for all readers, but be aware of some violent scenes.

--Alison McCarty, Callahan Branch Library

Find Lexicon in the Nassau County Public Library System catalog.