On the shelves - Sept. 29

The following books are available for checkout:

Clovis-Carver Public Library

“The Girl Behind the Red Rope” by Ted and Rachelle Dekker: Ten years ago, Grace saw something that would forever change the course of history. When evil in its purest form is unleashed on the world, she and others from their religious community are already hidden deep in the hills of Tennessee, abiding by every rule that will keep them safe, pure--and alive. As long as they stay there, behind the red perimeter.

“The Jane Austen Diet: Austen's Secrets to Food, Health, and Incandescent Happiness” by Bryan Kozlowski: You may very well ask, what can Jane Austen teach us about health? Prepare to have your bonnet blown… from the food secrets of Pride and Prejudice to the fitness strategies of Sense and Sensibility, there's a modern health code hidden in the world's most popular romances.

“The Artful Match” by Jennifer Delamere: Cara Bernay has never fit in. After a near tragedy costs her a job, she befriends a carefree artist. With his help, she begins planning a new life and developing her own artistic talent. But soon, Cara finds herself at odds with the artist's brother--a handsome but arrogant earl forcing his brother back to a "respectable" life. Henry Burke feels the weight of growing financial burdens. His younger brother is the one person who can save their family. Despite misgivings about Cara's mysterious background, Henry sees she's a positive influence on his brother and on Henry's young ward, and he strikes a deal with her to return with them to their estate.

“Punch Needle” by Arounna Khounnoraj: This book presents a fresh take on a traditional craft in this ultimate introduction to the art of punch needling. As Khounnaraj gives this forgotten art a modern twist, she proves it to be one of the most straightforward crafts to pick up - all that's needed is your hands, a ball of yarn, some fabric, and a punch needle. Instructions on the basic stitches, and how to create floral and abstract designs are included, teaching how to master punch needling through a stylish collection of 20 homeware and accessory projects.

“Queen Anne's Lace” by Susan Witting Albert: While helping Ruby Wilcox clean up the loft above their shops, China comes upon a box of antique handcrafted lace and old photographs. Following the discovery, she hears a woman humming an old Scottish ballad and smells the delicate scent of lavender. Soon, strange happenings start to occur in Thyme and Seasons.

“Area 51: The Revealing Truth of UFOs, Secret Aircraft, Cover-Ups & Conspiracies” by Nick Redfern: There's no secret that, roughly 100 miles north northwest of Las Vegas, in the middle of a remote desert, sits an extension of the Edwards Air Force facility commonly known as Area 51. Its clandestine purpose and operations remain shrouded in secrecy, while conspiracy theories as to what goes on abound. Redfern peers behind the classified secrets to understand the nature, history, and scope of the most controversial base in the United States.

Portales Public Library

“Dark Tide Rising” by Anne Perry: When wealthy real estate developer Harry Exeter's wife Kate is kidnapped and held for ransom, Harry turns to William Monk and the Thames River Police to secretly accompany him to the location of the ransom exchange to ensure that no harm comes to either him or his wife. Monk and his men agree and go to the site, Jacob's Island, a slum fitting for a hiding place for criminals, but they are ambushed on arrival and Monk and five of his best men are attacked. Afterward, while Monk follows leads from Kate's cousin and a clerk from the bank where Exeter withdrew the ransom money, it becomes clear that one of his men must have tipped off the kidnappers, as no one else knew that they were going to Jacob's Island. As he investigates the very people that he works with day after day, he realizes that he doesn't know any of them as well as he thought he did, including John Hooper, his right-hand man and the one person Monk was sure he could trust.

“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 twenty-first 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.

“The Tattooist of Auschwitz” by Heather Morris: During World War II, Lale Sokolov, a Slovakian Jew, is arrested and transported to the concentration camps at Auschwitz-Birkenau. When it is discovered by the Nazis in charge that Lale is fluent in multiple different languages, he is delegated the unfortunate role of a tattooist, forced to permanently mark the other prisoners in the camps with the very numbers that would later become so infamously tied to the Holocaust in history. Imprisoned for more than two and a half years, Lale is ironically stuck in a position of privilege with his own safety intact, so long as he continues to work as a tattooist, and during his stay he witnesses countless acts of horrific brutality and barbarism, but also acts of compassion and courage among his fellow prisoners. At the risk of his own life, he exchanges money that once belonged to murdered Jews for food to keep the other prisoners in the camps alive, and when he meets a young woman named Gita waiting her turn to be tattooed, he falls in love with her and vows to survive the camps in order to one day marry her.

— Summaries provided by library staff