Matariki - Māori New Year Kia ora. Join us in a month of celebrating Matariki. There's a festival at Te Hāpua: Halswell Centre, a whānau fun day at Rehua Marae, Matariki storytimes, and more. Discover all the Matariki activities.
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"I wanted to give the poor mangled bodies of this world a voice. I wanted to make them live again. My writing was an act of justice." ~ from David Dyer's The midnight watch
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| The midnight watch: A novel of the Titanic and the Californian by David DyerWhile the Titanic was sinking, officers and crew aboard the nearby SS Californian watched as eight distress rockets sliced through the fog -- and ignored them. By morning, the Titanic was at the bottom of the sea and 1,500 people were dead, leaving the Californian's Second Officer Herbert Stone and Captain Stanley Lord scrambling to cover up evidence of their negligence. For more suspenseful historical novels featuring flawed characters who wrestle with difficult moral decisions during and after nautical disasters, check out Charlotte Rogan's The Lifeboat or Kate Alcott's The Dressmaker. |
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At the edge of the orchard
by Tracy Chevalier
Settling in the swamps of early 19th-century northwest Ohio, the Goodenough family works relentlessly to establish an apple orchard that reflects respective dreams before their youngest child heads to Gold Rush California to collect seeds for a naturalist. By the best-selling author of Girl With a Pearl Earring.
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River of ink
by Paul M. M. Cooper
Enjoying a luxurious 13th-century court life as the king's poet in Sri Lanka, Asanka finds his circumstances dramatically altered by a cruel and calculating usurper who commissions him to translate a holy Sanskrit epic that has revolutionary consequences.
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Girl waits with gun
by Amy Stewart
Three sisters take the law into their own hands in this fast-paced, darkly humorous caper set in 1914 New Jersey. When local factory owner Henry Kaufman's motorcar strikes their buggy, the Kopp siblings sue for damages and, when that fails, band together to make Kaufman pay. Pistol-packing Constance, pigeon fancier Norma, and whimsical Fleurette may seem like an oddball trio, but they get results. This witty, well-researched fiction debut of Amy Stewart, author of such nonfiction favorites as Wicked Plants and The Drunken Botanist, draws inspiration from real-life people and events (Constance would go on to become one of the first female sheriffs in the United States).
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| The north water: A novel by Ian McGuireIn 1859, the whaling vessel Volunteer sets sail for the Arctic under the command of the corrupt Captain Brownlee. Among the crew are Patrick Sumner, a former army surgeon with a laudanum habit and a trunk full of secrets, and Henry Drax, an alcoholic harpooner with a thirst for brutal violence. Predictably, the voyage is an ill-fated one that leaves readers wondering who (if anyone) will survive. If you like your historical fiction fast-paced, violent, and disturbing, you'll be well served by The North Water. |
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| The last painting of Sara De Vos: A novel by Dominic SmithParallel narratives unfold and eventually converge in this multi-layered novel, which explores the legacy of fictional 17th-century Dutch painter Sara de Vos. The artist's masterpiece, At the Edge of a Wood, is stolen from Manhattan attorney Marty de Groot's Upper East Side residence in 1957 and replaced with a skillfully executed forgery that remains a secret for decades -- until museum curator Ellie Shipley, who created the fake, is confronted by the two versions of the painting. Don't miss this richly detailed and complex meditation on art and identity by the author of Bright and Distant Shores. |
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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