New Books 2/6/17

The Book That Changed America by Randall Fuller
Fuller traces the impact of Charles Darwin’s On the Origin of Species on a diverse group of writers, abolitionists and social reformers, including Henry David Thoreau and Bronson Alcott, against a backdrop of growing tensions and transcendental idealism in 1860 America.

Clownfish Blues by Tim Dorsey
Hitting the byways of the Sunshine State to shoot their own episodes of a favorite classic television show, proud Floridian Serge A. Storms and his perpetually toked sidekick, Coleman, find themselves confronting a large-scale underworld operation to rig the state lottery.

Dark at the Crossing by Elliot Ackerman
The author of Green on Blue presents a contemporary love story set on the Turkish border of Syria, where an Arab American with a conflicted past attempts to join the fight against Bashar al-Assad’s regime before the plight of his host family reshapes his loyalties.

Dust Bowl Girls by Lydia Reeder
Reeder traces the Depression-era efforts of a charismatic basketball coach from tiny Oklahoma Presbyterian College who recruited talented young women to join his hope-giving basketball team in exchange for a prospect-bolstering college education.

Fatal by John Lescroart
A fleeting crush becomes a dangerous obsession for a married woman who shares an intense encounter with a man she meets at a dinner party before a chilling act of violence marks the first of a series of horrifying events.

The Fifth Petal by Brunonia Barry
The best-selling author of The Lace Reader returns to otherworldly Salem as chief of police John Rafferty, now married to lace reader Towner Whitney, investigates a 25-year-old triple homicide involving three descendants of Salem Witch Trial victims.

The Girl Before by J. P. Delaney
Seizing a unique opportunity to rent a one-of-a-kind house, a damaged young woman falls in love with the enigmatic architect who designed the residence, unaware that she is following in the footsteps of a doomed former tenant.

Her Every Fear by Peter Swanson
A woman prone to panic attacks in the aftermath of a violent kidnapping relocates to a cousin’s home in Boston, where a neighbor’s murder embroils her in speculation about her cousin’s nature and the intentions of an appealing stranger.

Kill ‘em and Leave by James McBride
National Book Award winner James McBride goes in search of the “real” James Brown—and his surprising journey illuminates not only our understanding of the Godfather of Soul but the ways in which our cultural heritage has been shaped by Brown’s legacy.

No Man’s Land by Simon Tolkien
A tale inspired by the true experiences of the author’s grandfather, J. R. R. Tolkien, during World War I traces how an impoverished youth endures the loss of his mother and brutality in a Scarsdale mining community before falling in love, winning a scholarship to Oxford and seeing everything he longs for threatened by World War I.

Signal Flame by Andrew Krivak
In a small town in northeastern Pennsylvania, Hannah and her son Bo mourn the loss of the family patriarch, Hannah’s father Jozef, while receiving news that Hannah’s younger son Sam is missing in action in the Vietnam War.

Testimony by Robbie Robertson
A memoir by the influential rock artist traces his half-Jewish, half-Mohawk upbringing in Toronto, his early years with rockabilly legend Ronnie Hawkins, the rise of The Band, the stories behind his iconic songs, and The Band’s famous farewell concert, The Last Waltz.

The Trapped Girl by Robert Dugoni
When a woman’s body is discovered submerged in a crab pot in the chilly waters of Puget Sound, Detective Tracy Crosswhite finds herself with a tough case to untangle.

Weapons of Math Destruction by Cathy O’Neil
A former Wall Street quantitative analyst sounds an alarm on mathematical modeling, a pervasive new force in society that threatens to undermine democracy and widen inequality.