by Christopher de Vinck
Each town has its own secrets, and those secrets belong to each citizen in his or her own way. When it becomes known that Mr. Nicholas, the eccentric owner of the hardware store, is somehow involved with reindeer, toys, and children, the town becomes more and more suspicious that this man is more than just a clerk on Main Street. JB, a clever, open, ten-year-old boy with Down's syndrome, is able to figure out the secret from the first time Mr. Nicholas gives him a chocolate deer wrapped in gold foil. JB's father and mother, divorced and both cynical, follow the adventures of JB as he flies on the back of a reindeer, feeds Mister Rogers' fish, and defines what can be forgotten by those who are too busy to remember the magic of Christmas, cuckoo-clocks, and love.
by John Grisham
In The Whistler, Lacy Stoltz investigated a corrupt judge who was taking millions in bribes from a crime syndicate. She put the criminals away, but only after being attacked and nearly killed. Three years later, and approaching forty, she is tired of her work for the Florida Board on Judicial Conduct and ready for a change.
Then she meets a mysterious woman who is so frightened she uses a number of aliases. Jeri Crosby’s father was murdered twenty years earlier in a case that remains unsolved and that has grown stone cold. But Jeri has a suspect whom she has become obsessed with and has stalked for two decades. Along the way, she has discovered other victims.
Suspicions are easy enough, but proof seems impossible. The man is brilliant, patient, and always one step ahead of law enforcement. He is the most cunning of all serial killers. He knows forensics, police procedure, and most important: he knows the law.
He is a judge, in Florida—under Lacy’s jurisdiction.
He has a list, with the names of his victims and targets, all unsuspecting people unlucky enough to have crossed his path and wronged him in some way. How can Lacy pursue him, without becoming the next name on his list?
The Judge’s List is by any measure John Grisham’s most surprising, chilling novel yet. (Amazon.com)
by Michael C. Gabriele
Diners are where communities across the Garden State go to celebrate milestones, form lifetime bonds and take comfort in food. Daily life at the counter or in the booth inspires sentimental recollections that reflect the state's spirit and history. Late-night eats fueled Wildwood's wild rock-and-roll days. An entrepreneur traveled eight thousand miles from India and opened a diner in Shamong. From an impromptu midnight wedding in an Elizabeth lunch wagon to a Vietnam veteran sustained by a heartfelt note from a beloved Mount Holly waitress, these are true tales from the soul of New Jersey. Author Michael C. Gabriele documents colorful stories from the Diner Capital of the World.(Amazon.com)
by Richard Powers
The astrobiologist Theo Byrne searches for life throughout the cosmos while single-handedly raising his unusual nine-year-old, Robin, following the death of his wife. Robin is a warm, kind boy who spends hours painting elaborate pictures of endangered animals. He's also about to be expelled from third grade for smashing his friend in the face. As his son grows more troubled, Theo hopes to keep him off psychoactive drugs. He learns of an experimental neurofeedback treatment to bolster Robin's emotional control, one that involves training the boy on the recorded patterns of his mother's brain"--Provided by publisher.
by Nicholas Sparks
“1996 was the year that changed everything for Maggie Dawes. Sent away at sixteen to live with an aunt she barely knew in Ocracoke, a remote village on North Carolina's Outer Banks, she could think only of the friends and family she left behind . . . until she meets Bryce Trickett, one of the few teenagers on the island. Handsome, genuine, and newly admitted to West Point, Bryce gradually shows her how much there is to love about the wind-swept beach town-and introduces her to photography, a passion that will define the rest of her life. By 2019, Maggie is a renowned travel photographer. She splits her time between running a successful gallery in New York and photographing remote locations around the world. But this year she is unexpectedly grounded over Christmas, struggling to come to terms with a sobering medical diagnosis. Increasingly dependent on a young assistant, she finds herself becoming close to him. As they count down the last days of the season together, she begins to tell him the story of another Christmas, decades earlier-and the love that set her on a course she never could have imagined"--Provided by publisher