On the shelves - Oct. 14

The following are available for checkout at:

Clovis-Carver Public Library

“The Word is Murder” by Anthony Horowitz begins with one bright spring morning in London where Diana Cowper — the wealthy mother of a famous actor — enters a funeral parlor, there to plan her own service. Six hours later she is found dead, strangled in her own home. Disgraced police detective Daniel Hawthorne and his sidekick, author Anthony Horowitz, investigate the case whose many twists and turns prove irresistible.

“Heart of Eden” by Caroline Fyffe uniquely challenges the Brinkman sisters, raised by guardians in Philadelphia, who have suddenly inherited the Five Sisters Ranch in Eden, Colorado from their late estranged father. The catch? To claim it, they must live on the ranch for six months. But as the foreman is opening his heart to Belle, someone is bent on driving them out before they can secure their legacy.

“The Chilbury Ladies’ Choir” by Jennifer Ryan illuminates the true strength of the women in a small village of indomitable spirit after England becomes enmeshed in the early days of World War II. As the men are away fighting, the women of Chilbury village forge an uncommon bond. They defy the vicar's stuffy edicts to close the choir and instead “carry on singing,” resurrecting themselves as the Chilbury Ladies’ Choir.

“Oil: A Beginner's Guide” by Vaclav Smil studies the lifeblood of the modern world. Without oil there would be no planes, no plastic, no exotic produce and a global political landscape few would recognize. Humanity's dependence upon oil looks set to continue for decades to come, but what is it? Fully updated and packed with fascinating facts to fuel dinner party debate, Smil explains all matters related to the “black stuff”, from its discovery in the earth right through to the controversy that surrounds it today.

“Faith: A Journey for All” by former President Jimmy Carter shares the lessons of faith learned throughout his life, exploring its broader meaning, its far-reaching effect on our lives and its relationship to past, present and future events in America and around the world. The religious aspects of faith are also covered, describing how Carter's faith has guided and sustained him, as well as how it has challenged and driven him to seek a closer and better relationship with people and with God.

“Extreme Conservation” by Joel Berger journeys into some of the most forbidding landscapes on earth, taking an eye-opening, steely look at what it takes for animals to live at the edges of existence. With climate transformations affecting the entire ecosystem, food, water and other resources are being depleted for animals ill-equipped to adjust. But more than this, the author presents a revealing exploration of how climate change and people are affecting even the most far-flung niches of our planet.

Portales Public Library

“Fly Girls: How Five Daring Women Defied All Odds and Made Aviation History” by Keith O’Brien

No sport was more popular — or more perilous — than airplane racing was between World War I and World War II, with thousands of fans attending national events that spanned several days. Due to the extreme danger of the sport, male pilots were considered both heroes and daredevils, whereas female pilots who dared to participate were laughed at instead of respected because of their perceived audacity to join in on what was thought of as not only a deadly activity, but a manly one. In this nonfiction look at the national air races of the 1920s and 1930s, O’Brien delves into the true stories of five remarkable women who fought to fly alongside men: Florence Klingensmith, Ruth Elder, Ruth Nichols, Louise Thaden and Amelia Earhart. Although Earhart is inarguably the most famous female pilot in history, O’Brien weaves together the stories of all five women and gives each of their pasts ample space, discussing Klingensmith being a high school dropout from North Dakota, Elder a divorcee from Alabama, Nichols bucking the expectations of her prestigious family and Thaden as a mother of two who once sold coal in Wichita.

“A Map of Days” by Ransom Riggs

Now that Jacob Portman has helped to defeat the deadly forces that had threatened to annihilate the peculiar world, he is once again back home in Florida with his girlfriend Emma, Miss Peregrine and the rest of his peculiar friends, now freed from their time loop and inability to age-in tow from their adventures in Europe. While the others try their best to blend into the “normal” world and learn what it means to live day by day in the 21st century, Jacob makes a shocking discovery when he finds a bunker that had belonged to his grandfather Abe, the secret peculiar operative who passed his gift of seeing and controlling the invisible hollows onto Jacob. Clues and secrets about Abe’s life of hunting down hollows and executing classified missions for the peculiar world begin to surface as Jacob explores the bunker, and he learns that his peculiar traits aren't the only thing he inherited from his grandfather. At the same time, he and his friends struggle to learn the rules — or lack thereof — of American peculiardom, where ymbrynes are rare and the country is full of unknowns.

“A Willing Murder” by Jude Deveraux

When Sara Medlar's niece Kate is offered a job in what could end up being a great career in real estate in Lachlan, Florida, she immediately accepts; but having little money with which to afford her own place to live, she hopes that her aunt will be willing to let her live with her in her mansion. Sara is a famous romance author who has settled back in Lachlan, her hometown, for retirement and has been working on remodeling the mansion she always loved and wanted to live in as a child, but the house is far too big for her to stay in alone. The situation is perfect for both women, but when Kate arrives at her aunt’s, she finds that Sara has already let a room out, long-term, to a man named Jackson Wyatt. Jackson is charming and attractive, and Kate sees at once that Sara is enamored with him, which grates on Kate’s nerves to no end. When two skeletons are discovered in town, however, the three unlikely housemates must band together, despite Kate’s feelings toward Jackson, to unravel the mystery of the deaths — deaths that no one else in town seems to want to solve.

— Summaries by library staff