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Staff Picks March 2026 Reviews and Recommendations from Our Adult and Teen Services Staff |
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Karen recommends: Blood Sugar by Sascha RothchildAlthough she did kill three people, an animal-loving Miami therapist with a successful practice is accused of murdering her husband, who she actually did not kill in a new novel from an Emmy-nominated screenwriter of GLOW and The Bold Type. " A compelling and entertaining psychological thriller" (Kirkus Reviews). |
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Mary recommends: I'll Give You the Sun by Jandy NelsonJude and her brother, Noah, are incredibly close twins. At thirteen, isolated Noah draws constantly and is falling in love with the charismatic boy next door, while daredevil Jude surfs and cliff-dives and wears red-red lipstick and does the talking for both of them. But three years later, Jude and Noah are barely speaking. "In an electric style evoking the highly visual imaginations of the young narrators, Nelson captures the fraught, antagonistic, yet deeply loving relationship Jude and Noah share" (Booklist). |
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Carley recommends: Where He Left Me by Nicole Baart Sadie Sheridan’s new husband, Felix, swore he’d never leave her—yet he vanishes on a work trip, leaving her stranded at his remote mountain home. Alone and afraid, Sadie sifts through what he left behind as strangers circle Hemlock House, turning it into both refuge and trap. As a fierce storm closes in and dark secrets surface, she must decide: is she fighting for herself—or for the man she thought she knew? "The foggy and menacing Pacific Northwest setting generates just as much tension as Baart's shrewdly coiled plot, and she paints each of her central characters with an exceptionally fine brush" (Publishers Weekly). |
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Roseanne recommends: What If I Never Get Over You by Paige ToonSix years after a brief but unforgettable romance in Lisbon, Ellie’s peaceful life as a gardener in Wales is upended when Ash reappears, forcing her to confront their past, the truth about their missed reunion, and the fiery connection they still share. "Toon's most recent second-chance romance is a winner, with intriguing frames, complex family conflict, and a modern look at British class conflict" (Booklist). |
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Mallory recommends: Part of Your World by Abby JimenezER doctor Alexis Montgomery's world is turned upside down by a ridiculously hot carpenter who's ten years younger, and as their short-term fling turns into a relationship, she must choose between her ultra-wealthy parents and true love. "Jimenez dexterously tackles class difference and shades her endearing side characters with as much care as her lovable leads. The result is an emotional roller coaster centered on love as a source of empowerment" (Publishers Weekly). |
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Abby recommends: My Husband's Wife by Alice Feeney Before her first exhibition, artist Eden Fox goes for a run—then returns to Spyglass in Hope Falls to find her key won’t fit, a woman identical to her at the door, and her husband claiming the stranger is his wife. One house. One husband. Two women. Six months earlier, Birdy, a reclusive Londoner facing a life-changing diagnosis, inherits Spyglass and uncovers a secret clinic that predicts death dates—including hers. As secrets unravel, she is driven to right old wrongs. "A crackling psychological thriller with complex mysteries around every turn" (Readers Digest). |
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Astrid recommends: The Buffalo Hunter Hunter by Stephen Graham JonesA chilling historical horror novel set in the American west in 1912 following a Lutheran priest who transcribes the life of a vampire who haunts the fields of the Blackfeet reservation looking for justice. A diary, written in 1912 by a Lutheran pastor is discovered within a wall. What it unveils is a slow massacre, a chain of events that go back to 217 Blackfeet dead in the snow. Told in transcribed interviews by a Blackfeet named Good Stab, who shares the narrative of his peculiar life over a series of confessional visits. "A weirdly satisfying and bloody reckoning with some of America's most shameful history" (Kirkus Reviews). |
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Meghan recommends: Listen for the Lie by Amy TinteraWhat would you do if you thought you murdered your best friend? And if everyone else thinks so too? What if the truth doesn't matter? As Lucy Chase's Texas hometown begins to tell versions of what happened and who Lucy is to a nationwide, true crime obsessed audience, at the bequest of her grandmother she returns to the place she vowed never to set foot in again to solve her friend's murder, even if she is the one that did it-- "Smart, edgy, and entertaining as heck" (Kirkus Reviews). |
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Kristin recommends: A City on Mars: Can We Settle Space, Should We Settle Space, and Have We Really Thought This Through? by Kelly WeinersmithThe authors of the best-selling popular science book Soonish discuss the future of space settlements, explore what would be needed to have space kids, build space farms and create nations, ultimately questioning whether or not it's actually a good idea. "Despite their conclusion that humanity isn't quite ready for life in space, the Weinersmiths' passion and enthusiasm shine through every page of this absorbing, lively exploration" (Bookllist). |
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