Monthly Archives: May 2011

by | May 26, 2011 · 11:56 am

Sarah Addison Allen. The Peach Keeper. New York, NY: Bantam Books, 2011.

The restoration of the old Jackson place should not have been anything out of the ordinary, but Walls of Water, North Carolina, is not a typical mountain town. Magic lingers in the air, the result of a dark visitor to the logging community in the 1930s.

Paxton Osgood has spent the past few months transforming the dilapidated, supposedly-haunted house into a new bed and breakfast, the gorgeous Blue Ridge Madam. To highlight the grand opening, Paxton has decided to hold a gala celebrating the 75th anniversary of the Women’s Society Club at the Madam. She has invited Willa Jackson to attend as a representative of her grandmother, a founding member of the club and former resident of the mansion. Although Willa and Paxton are the same age, they have never been friends. However, this event becomes an opportunity for them to get to know each other. The two realize that their grandmothers had been best friends, but their relationship was strained when the mysterious visitor came to Walls of Water. As the young women uncover what happened to their grandmothers, Willa and Paxton begin to understand the meaning of friendship and the value of taking chances.

Check this title’s availability in the UNC-Chapel Hill Library catalog.

Comments Off on Sarah Addison Allen. The Peach Keeper. New York, NY: Bantam Books, 2011.

Filed under 2010-2019, 2011, Allen, Sarah Addison, Mountains, Novels Set in Fictional Places, Romance/Relationship

Tagged as ,

by | · 11:53 am

Mark Schweizer. The Soprano Wore Falsettos. Hopkinsville, KY: St. James Music Press, 2006.

As this novel opens, Hayden Konig has resigned from his musical duties at St. Barnabas.  His feelings about this are mixed–he’s happy to be away from the pressure of the big Holy Week services, but he knows that the choir is dwindling in numbers and quality and that the replacement organist, Agnes Day, is not up to Hayden’s standards.  St. Barnabas has some interesting problems–the most exciting of which is what to do with the $16 million windfall that the church is about to receive.  Hayden’s significant other, Meg, is heading the committee that will propose how the church should use the money.  Meg asks Hayden to join the committee, seeing this as a way to lure Hayden back to fuller participation in the church.  Soon something else brings Hayden back–a body in the choir loft.  Someone bludgeoned Agnes Day to death with a hand bell after the Palm Sunday service. As Hayden investigates the murder, he finds that many people had reasons to dislike Agnes.

Check this title’s availability in the UNC-Chapel Hill Library catalog.

Comments Off on Mark Schweizer. The Soprano Wore Falsettos. Hopkinsville, KY: St. James Music Press, 2006.

Filed under 2000-2009, 2006, Mountains, Mystery, Novels in Series, Novels Set in Fictional Places, Schweizer, Mark, Watauga

by | May 19, 2011 · 5:07 pm

Valerie Nieman. Blood Clay. Winston-Salem, NC: Press 53, 2011.

Although North Carolina is known for its “Southern hospitality,” Tracey Gaines is not welcomed in (fictional) Saul County, North Carolina, when she moves from Ohio into the old Floyd farmhouse. Recently divorced, Tracey is determined to be independent. One afternoon, on her drive home from work at an alternative school, she witnesses a brutal and fatal dog attack on a child. Without a cellphone, Tracey makes the split-second decision to leave the girl and to call 911 from home. When describing the assault to the police back at the scene, she identifies the owner of two of the dogs.

The tragic event has a profound impact on the Saul community. The dogs’ owner denies that his pets could have been part of it, and he accuses Tracey of lying. Many people question her choice to leave the child during the attack. Tracey becomes the victim of threatening phone calls and vandalism. In the midst of the drama of the attack and her feelings of loneliness, cowardice, and anxiety, she befriends another teacher. With Dave, Tracey begins to believe again in love – and in herself.

Check this title’s availability in the UNC-Chapel Hill Library catalog.

Comments Off on Valerie Nieman. Blood Clay. Winston-Salem, NC: Press 53, 2011.

Filed under 2010-2019, 2011, Nieman, Valerie, Novels Set in Fictional Places

Tagged as ,

by | May 16, 2011 · 4:07 pm

Mark Schweizer. The Baritone Wore Chiffon. Hopkinsville, KY: St. James Music Press, 2004.

This second novel in the Liturgical Mysteries series has Hayden Konig hopping back and forth between his little mountain town of St. Germaine and the northern English city of York.  Hayden is called to England to assist the local police when a baritone from North Carolina, Kris Toth, is found murdered in the treasury vault of York Minster, the beautiful Gothic cathedral.  The local authorities are surprised to discover that Toth was a woman, not a man, and they fail to notice that one of the jewels in the treasury is missing.  Hayden is the one who notices that, and in short order he deduces that Toth and an accomplice planned to steal the diamond.  But the theft is one thing and Toth’s murder is something else.  In a surprising, but believable plot, the reader learns that the murder has its roots in a family’s history, and that the new interim rector at St. Barnabas is part of that history.

Check this title’s availability in the UNC-Chapel Hill Library catalog.

Comments Off on Mark Schweizer. The Baritone Wore Chiffon. Hopkinsville, KY: St. James Music Press, 2004.

Filed under 2000-2009, 2004, Mountains, Mystery, Novels in Series, Novels Set in Fictional Places, Schweizer, Mark, Watauga

Tagged as

by | · 4:00 pm

Mark Schweizer. The Alto Wore Tweed. Hopkinsville, KY: St. James Music Press, 2002.

In this novel, the first book in the Liturgical Mysteries series, we are introduced to Hayden Konig, the chief detective in (fictional) St. Germaine, North Carolina.  St. Germaine is a quiet little mountain town, one that hardly needs a full-time detective.  Which is good, because Hayden’s passions are elsewhere.  Hayden likes the ladies, he has long wanted to write a detective novel, and he is a knowledgeable and talented organist.  Week in and week out, Hayden probably spends more time at his church than at his office.  When the longtime rector at St. Barnabas retires, Hayden is none too pleased with his replacement, Loraine Ryan.  Mother Ryan favors hymns and a service style that Hayden barely tolerates.  But soon it turns out that the style of the Sunday morning service is the least of Hayden’s concerns.  On the same night that someone steals the church’s communion wine, the sexton is murdered, and Detective Konig finds that few of his his fellow church members will give him a straight story.

Check this title’s availability in the UNC-Chapel Hill Library catalog.

Comments Off on Mark Schweizer. The Alto Wore Tweed. Hopkinsville, KY: St. James Music Press, 2002.

Filed under 2000-2009, 2002, Mountains, Mystery, Novels in Series, Novels Set in Fictional Places, Schweizer, Mark, Watauga

Tagged as

by | May 13, 2011 · 4:49 pm

Ann B. Ross. Miss Julia Rocks the Cradle. New York: Viking, 2011.

Everyone in Miss Julia’s household has been preparing for the birth of Hazel Marie’s twins.  Hazel Marie has moved into the bedroom on the first floor, Etta Mae has agreed to help out when the babies are born, and copious amounts of baby supplies have been bought.  But Mother Nature has her plans too.  In one of the funniest scenes in this series of books, the twins are born in Miss Julia’s living room during a blizzard.  Miss Julia practically passes out from the shock, but Lillian takes charge, and the babies are delivered safely.

J.D., the babies’ father, and Miss Julia’s husband, Sam, miss the excitement, since they are both in Raleigh on business.  They return to a household in turmoil.  The babies are not nursing well, and no one is getting enough sleep. Just when the babies settle down, another problem arises.  A body has been found in a nearby toolshed.  Since the body was found on the property of Lloyd’s teacher, Miss Petty, Miss Julia can’t resist poking around.  She soon wishes she hadn’t.  The dead man is someone Miss Julia had financial dealings with–dealings that Sam did not know about–and this is the last straw for Sam. Suddenly, Miss Julia’s marriage appears to be on the rocks, and this shakes our heroine to her core.

Check this title’s availability in the UNC-Chapel Hill Library catalog.

Comments Off on Ann B. Ross. Miss Julia Rocks the Cradle. New York: Viking, 2011.

Filed under 2010-2019, 2011, Henderson, Humor, Mountains, Novels in Series, Novels Set in Fictional Places, Ross, Ann B.

Tagged as ,

by | · 4:43 pm

L. A. Parker. Against the Grain. Charleston, SC: L. A. Parker, 2010.

Sometimes the finer things in life do not come quickly. Some artisan cheeses and wines take years to perfect. Custom-made furniture requires acute attention and gentle care, and it cannot be produced overnight. The cultivation of love can also demand patience and time.

Lee Wynn knows this all too well. A skilled craftsman, his trade has taught him the importance of yielding to time. Recently divorced, his experience of marrying too quickly without being completely in love has also given him a new appreciation for waiting.

When Delaney Daughtry Rice, his life-long crush, walks back into his life with an order for a new bed, Lee knows that he should not be hasty. Sure, she is newly separated, incredibly successful and wealthy, and seems to be interested in him, but Lee is afraid of ruining any chance that he has with her. The two start slow, seeing each other privately. When Lee is ready to profess his love to Delaney to all of Racine, North Carolina, she balks. Although she knows she has developed real feelings for Lee, Delaney cannot get past their blue collar/white collar differences and calls off the affair. However, she soon realizes she was wrong to carelessly and quickly brush away Lee’s affection. In time, Lee and Delaney get back together and decide that their love was worth the wait.

Check this title’s availability in the UNC-Chapel Hill Library catalog.

Comments Off on L. A. Parker. Against the Grain. Charleston, SC: L. A. Parker, 2010.

Filed under 2010, 2010-2019, Novels Set in Fictional Places, Parker, L. A., Romance/Relationship

by | May 9, 2011 · 9:29 am

Deborah Wallis. Sweet Dreams and Flying Machines. New Bern, NC: McBryde Publishing, 2010.

What would you do if your husband died and no one will give you a straight answer about why it happened?

When Major Danny Weaver’s Harrier jet goes down during an air show at Cherry Point Marine Air Station everyone’s initial assumption is that it was a terrible accident.  Did a part break?  Was the maintenance check incomplete?  Was it pilot error?   Abby, Major Weaver’s widow, is relieved when the commanding officer tells her that a preliminary investigation has ruled out pilot error, but she is disturbed when he warns her to expect a prolonged investigation and some uncomfortable questions.  It seems that Danny’s unit is under investigation for an unspecified problem.

Abby had some hints that the unit had problems.  Not long after the unit returned from Iraq, Danny had words with another officer, and an enlisted man asked for Danny’s help with a personal problem that forced Danny to go up the chain of command.  Abby didn’t push Danny for details, but after his death she wished that she had.  Using the skills she learned as a reporter, Abby embarks on an investigation that exposes the dark side of several service members’ lives. She also puts herself and her young son in danger.

Check this title’s availability in the UNC-Chapel Hill Library catalog.

3 Comments

Filed under 2010, 2010-2019, Carteret, Coast, Craven, Mystery, Novels in Series, Wallis, Deborah

Tagged as ,

by | · 9:25 am

Sandra Z. Bruney. Angels Unaware. Columbia, MD: Draumr Publishing, 2010.

At Christmas Kat Knightly saw a reflection of herself and her husband, Jordan, in a mirror and thought to herself that they were a handsome couple in the prime of life.  By summer that all has changed.  A cancer diagnosis sends Kate down a path of surgeries and chemotherapy–treatment that leaves her bruised, scarred, and bald.  Jordan finds Kat’s illness an annoyance–her medical appointment take him away from his business, and Kat is not able to fix his meals and entertain his clients as she had done–and Jordan is not comfortable around illness. Instead of standing with Kat in her time of need, Jordan leaves to open a new office in a town a few hours away. The novel follows Kat as she makes a new life for herself–living on her own, finding a job, deepening her relationship with her son, and finding true support and comfort with new friends.

Check this title’s availability in the UNC-Chapel Hill Library catalog.

Comments Off on Sandra Z. Bruney. Angels Unaware. Columbia, MD: Draumr Publishing, 2010.

Filed under 2010, 2010-2019, Bruney, Sandra Z., Novels Set in Fictional Places, Piedmont

Tagged as

by | May 6, 2011 · 10:44 am

Patricia Hickman. The Pirate Queen.Colorado Springs, CO: Waterbrook Press, 2010.

Saphora Warren has had it.  Although her life looks good to outsiders–she has raised three children, she lives in a home that will soon be featured in Southern Living, and she is liked and admired in her community–Saphora’s sense of herself has been eroded by her husband’s selfishness and infidelities.  Deciding that she needs time to herself, Saphora packs a bag, planning to spend some time at her family’s beach house in Oriental, North Carolina.  But before Saphora can get out the door, her husband Bender comes home and announces that he has cancer.  Bender wants to spend his last days at the house in Oriental, and he wants his whole family to join him there.  Soon Sophora is playing nurse, hostess, mother, therapist, and match-maker to her extended family and to an assortment of people she meets in the town.  It’s almost too much, but Saphora finds her inner strength and closes out one life with grace even as a new life opens up for her.

Check this title’s availability in the UNC-Chapel Hill Library catalog.

Comments Off on Patricia Hickman. The Pirate Queen.Colorado Springs, CO: Waterbrook Press, 2010.

Filed under 2010, 2010-2019, Coast, Hickman, Patricia, Pamlico, Religious/Inspirational

Tagged as ,