Staff reviews - 2022

Crete Public Library

Launch the media gallery 1 player

Crete Public Library

Below are reviews of new books by Crete Public Library staff members. For more information, visit the library, or search the online library catalog.

Spring 2022

• "The Wife Upstairs," by Rachel Hawkins. A modern-day retelling of a classic gothic story with a not-so-subtle hint as to its origins. Jane is a poor dog-walker in a hoity-toity neighborhood. She falls for recently-widowed Eddie Rochester, who is – of course, handsome and wealthy. After becoming the new Mrs. Rochester, Jane becomes obsessed with the first wife – what was she like? And how did she die? A domestic thriller with plenty of twists and turns.
• "When Ghosts Come Home," by Wiley Cash. A suspense novel set in North Carolina featuring Winston Barnes, a straight-up sheriff who is up for reelection and running against him is a corrupt and well-connected challenger (who doesn’t love a great villain). The mystery shows up right from the start in the form of a plane that has crashed-landed at the local small airport (think Crete Municipal Airport). Except when Sherill Barnes arrives, there is no sign of a pilot or cargo. And there is a body of a local man near the plane – shot dead.
• "Violeta," by Isobel Allende. Violeta’s is bookmarked by pandemics. The Spanish flu arrived in South America when she was born in 1920 and 100 years later…you know – this one. This is the story of an amazing woman who had many lives, lovers, happiness, and sorrow. You will just float along with her life in this gentle read.
• "Still Life," by Sarah Winman. Have you ever read that book that took you away – so much so that you become thoroughly absorbed and can swear that you are living inside of the book? Still Life did this for me. It is so well written and the character development is so deep. The description on the jacket cover does not do it justice. It starts in 1944 in Florence where a British soldier meets a compatriot whose goal is to save the artwork taken during the war. It follows this soldier and that of his closest friends for the next 35 years as they end up living in Florence. Highly recommended.
• "Wish You Were Here," by Jody Picoult. Diana’s life was going extremely well – with a successful art auction career and almost engaged to her surgical resident boyfriend, Finn. Days before they were to leave for a vacation to the Galapagos Islands, the pandemic hits and Finn needs to stay behind at the hospital. He encourages Diana to still go and then she gets stuck on an island for the foreseeable future. While there, she learns more about herself and what she wants out of life. I have to say that what happens next was quite the twist I did not see coming. To say anything more would be giving the pleasure of this book away.
• "Doctors and Friends," Kimmery Martin. Three doctors – Hannah, Compton and Kira – have been good friends since medical school and every year they go on vacation together. They meet up in Spain just as a virus, called the Artiovirus was making its way from North Africa to Europe. The story is about what happens to these three doctors as they deal with this virus in their personal and professional lives. The author, Martin, is an emergency room physician. She wrote this pre-COVID and wanted to make clear in the author’s notes that she deliberately did not go back and add in what played out in our world since 2020.

Early Summer 2022

In the May newsletter (you can find this list on the library website), you will also find five years' worth of “Beachy Reads That Are Not Too Beachy”. They are easy-to-read, yet have more depth than the typical beach read.

• "Haymaker in Heaven," Edvard Hoem. Written in Norwegian, Haymaker in Heaven is a sprawling saga—drawn from Edvard Hoem’s family history. It starts in 1874 and life in rural Norway is harsh. Many decide that life would be better in America and move to South Dakota. It is not necessarily a feel-good book, but rather an accurate portrayal of the realities of life for the working class in both Norway and the American West. A reminder that the consequences of immigration touch those who stay as well as those who go.
• "The Unsinkable Greta James," Jennifer Smith. Greta James, indie songwriter and performer crashed and burned at a high-profile concert soon after her beloved mother passed away. Greta flees home but has an uneasy rapport with her father because he has never supported Greta’s career. Greta agrees to accompany her father and two other couples on an eight-day Alaskan cruise. This trip was set up by Greta’s mother before she suddenly passed away as an anniversary cruise. Amidst the beauty and grandeur of the Alaskan countryside, Smith has crafted a story about mothers and daughters, fathers and children, grief, happiness, and healing.
• "Black Cloud Rising," David Falade. In the fall of 1863, Union forces had taken control of the Virginia countryside and thousands of recently-freed slaves sought shelter behind Union lines. Many joined what was called the African Brigade. Men who only weeks earlier had been enslaved were now Union infantrymen setting out to fight their former owners. The African Brigade was led by General Edward Augustus Wild--a one-armed, impassioned abolitionist. The African Brigade was not only fighting Confederates but having to prove themselves as trusted soldiers in combat.
• "The Accomplice," Lisa Lutz. The Accomplice is a highly addictive, tension-filled read about two friends who happen to be suspects in two murder investigations. Luna Grey and Owen Mann have an unbreakable bond and have been best friends since their college days. Their friendship survives secrets, scandal, and a mysterious death back in their college days. Years later, they're still best friends when Luna finds Owen's wife brutally murdered. To fully understand what happened and why Luna has to dig up the one secret she's spent her whole life burying. 
• "Take My Hand," Dolen Perkins-Valdez. Montgomery, Alabama 1973. Fresh out of nursing school, Civil Townsend has big plans to make a difference, especially in her African American community. At the Montgomery Family Planning Clinic, she intends to help women make their own choices for their lives and bodies. She discovers that the contraceptive she is giving may cause more harm than good. And why are young black girls given this drug when they are only 11 years old? Inspired by true events that shook the nation, the immoral and shameful overreach of the U.S. government on the reproductive rights of mostly black and poor women and young girls through forced sterilization is the central focus of this novel told in dual timelines,1973 and 2016.