On the shelves - June 5

The books listed below are now available for checkout at the Clovis-Carver Public Library. The library is open to the public, but patrons can still visit the online catalog at cloviscarverpl.booksys.net/opac/ccpl or call 575-769-7840 to request a specific item for curbside pickup.

“The Element of Love” by Mary Connealy. With their sharp engineering minds, Laura Stiles and her two sisters have been able to deal with their mother’s unfortunate choice in husband until they discovered his plans to marry each of them off to his lecherous friends. Now they must run away. During their escape, Laura befriends a mission group heading to serve the poor in California. Despite the settlement being in miserable condition, the sisters are excited by the opportunity to put their skills to good use. Laura also sees potential in Caleb, the mission’s parson, to help with gaining her inheritance. But when secrets buried in Caleb’s past and in the land around them come to light, it’ll take all the smarts the sisters have to keep trouble at bay.

“The Book of Candlelight” by Ellery Adams. Nora Pennington figures all the wet weather this spring is at least good for business. The local inns are packed with stranded travelers, and among them Nora finds new customers for her store, Miracle Books. Nora rides her bike over to the flea market one sodden day and buys a bowl from Danny, a Cherokee potter. But the next day, after Miracle River overflows its banks, and Danny’s body is found floating within the churning waters, Nora decides it’s time for the Secret, Book, and Scone Society to spring into action. A crucial clue may lie within the stone walls of the Inn of Mist and Roses: a diary, over a century old and spattered with candle wax, that leads Nora and her friends through a maze of intrigue—and onto the trail of a murderer.

“Take Your Breath Away” by Linwood Barclay. One weekend, while Andrew Mason was on a fishing trip, his wife, Brie, vanished without a trace. Almost everyone assumed Andy had got away with murder, but the police could never build a strong case against him. For a while, Andy hit rock bottom—he drank too much to numb the pain, was abandoned by all his friends save one, nearly lost his business, and became a pariah in the place he once called home. Now, six years later, Andy has finally put his life back together. He sold the house he once shared with Brie and moved away. To tell the truth, he wasn’t sad to hear that the old place was razed and a new house built on the site. One day, a woman shows up at his old address, screaming, “Where’s my house? What’s happened to my house?” And then, just as suddenly as she appeared, the woman—who bears a striking resemblance to Brie—is gone. Could Brie really be alive after all these years? If so, where has she been? It soon becomes clear that Andy’s future and the lives of those closest to him depend on discovering what the heck is going on. The trick will be whether he can stay alive long enough to unearth the answers.

“The Sweet Magnolias Cookbook” by Sherryl Woods. From legendary margarita nights to indulgent Sunday brunches at Sullivan’s restaurant to heartening holiday meals, this charming collection brings to life more than 150 recipes inspired by the Sweet Magnolias.

“The Best Cast Iron Baking Book” by Roxanne Wyss and Kathy Moore. Many home cooks have learned from relatives and top chefs about the benefits of cooking in cast iron: it infuses food with more flavor, reaches higher temperatures and is naturally nonstick. But did you know cast iron is the key to the most delicious baking you will ever taste?

“The Agitators” by Dorothy Wickenden. “The Agitators” opens in the 1820s, when Tubman is enslaved, and Wright and Seward are young homemakers bound by law and tradition. Through richly detailed letters from the time and exhaustive research, Wickenden traces the second American revolution these women fought to bring about, the toll it took on their families, and its lasting effects on the country.

— Summaries provided by library staff