The Book of Polly: A Novel by Kathy Hepinstall

The Book of Polly: A Novel by Kathy Hepinstall. Pamela Dorman Books/Viking, 2017. Adult fiction.


Polly is the mother of ten-year-old Willow Havens. The duo live in a small Texas town. Polly was in her 50's when she had Willow and the girl is obsessed with the idea that her mother will die. Willow knows nothing about why Polly left her Louisiana home and she resolves to find out the answers that she longs to know. The book is funny, sad, and right on target with its wry humor. Both Willow and Polly are characters you will remember for a long time.

Lockdown: A Novel of Suspense by Laurie R. King

Lockdown: A Novel of Suspense by Laurie R. King. Bantam Books, 2017. Adult fiction.


Guadalupe Middle School is the setting for Career Day speakers. With a fairly new principal, her rather mysterious husband, a caring custodian with ties to an uncertain past, an astute female cop, and the various students, life is never dull. But, someone is planning to disrupt Career Day with violence. King, ever the keen observer and careful plotter, introduces readers to each character and gives clues to heighten anticipation and dread. Can disaster be averted?

Below Stairs by Margaret Powell

Below Stairs by Margaret Powell. The Classic Kitchen Maid's Memoir That Inspired Upstairs, Downstairs and Downton Abbey. St. Martin's Press, 1968.


The title really tells everything that readers need to know about this witty memoir. Written with humor, the tale of young Margaret who goes to work in an English "big house" tells the real story of life in the servants' world. Although it is not a new book, the details and conversational tone will enchant those who miss Downton Abbey.

A Talent for Murder by Andrew Wilson

A Talent for Murder by Andrew Wilson. Atria, an imprint of Simon & Schuster, 2017. Adult mystery.


     In 1926, British novelist Agatha Christie disappeared for two weeks. She surfaced in Harrogate at a luxury hotel where she was registered under the name of her husband's lover. She and her husband later divorced.
     Using these real details as a starting point, Andrew Wilson has added a fictional detective and a young journalist with a talent for putting clues together. When a doctor tries to get Mrs. Christie to murder his wife, the tables are turned and Agatha is sucked into a daring and complicated scenario. Wilson does a good job of connecting the dots and alternates the different points of view so that the first person makes the person talking seem quite real. The plot is plausible. After all these years, no one really knows what happened to Agatha Christie during those mysterious two weeks.

Amina's Voice by Hena Khan

  Amina's Voice by Hena Khan. 2017, Salaam Reads (an imprint of Simon & Schuster4 Children's Publishing Division). Children's fiction.


  Amina and Soojin have been friends a long time. Now they are in middle school and Emily seems to want to be right between them. Amina's uncle has come to visit with her family and her  parents worry that he may think Amina's family has become too Americanized. Amina and her older brother, Mustafa, want to honor their Pakistani heritage, but also like growing up in America.  When tragedy strikes their community, it seems like the two different cultures cannot be reconciled. Will Amina find a way to keep old friends, make new friends, speak up for what she believes in, and even to use her singing talents?  


   Khan has featured a Muslim heroine in Amina and worked in details such as attempts to learn Arabic, follow the teachings of the Imam, and controversy over the Quran competition with the usual traumas and fun of being a student in Greendale Middle School. Her diverse background and strong family make Amina stronger than she ever thinks she can be.

Killters of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murgers and the Birth of the FBI by David Grann

 Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and The Birth of the FBI by David Grann. Doubleday, 2017. Adult nonfiction.


There is oil in Oklahoma and in the 1920's, much of it was owned by Osage Indians. The "headrights" were passed through families, but shady people thought that the Osage were too childlike and couldn't manage their own money. So, guardians were appointed for many of the tribal people. When Mollie Burkhart's mother and two sisters are killed, it seems that Mollie may be the next target and that someone is trying to get the oil rights that belong to her family. It seems that others are also being targeted and vast amounts of money are at stake.


With over twenty-four deaths, the newly established FBI took over the investigations. The amount of corruption, cover-ups, and deliberately trying to throw them off the trail of the killers is amazing. Former Texas Ranger Tom White is put in charge and a trial that rivaled the Scopes Trial of the same era takes place. White becomes one of the heroes of the book.


David Grann has completed years of research in order to show that the killers were many more than first thought and involved more people very close to Mollie Burkhart's family than many would have believed. The last few chapters of his interviews with Native Americans whose families were destroyed by the killings show the determination and commitment that he gave to the topic. The novel is well written and he does a good job of keeping all the names and events in a comprehensible chronological timeline. The black-and-white photographs of key people and places enhance the narrative. This is a much needed look at a long ago time in history and a people whose rights were taken away and who were surrounded by secrets, murderous acquaintances, and corrupt officials.

Bluebird, Bluebird by Attica Locke

  Bluebird, Bluebird: A Novel by Attica Locke. 2017, Mulholland Books (Little, Brown, and Company). Adult fiction.


  While Attica Locke doesn't live in Texas anymore, her heart must still be there! This novel about African American Texas Ranger Darren Mathews shows that she knows her setting and characters inside and out. Darren lives in Houston and has a wife, but when the deaths of a black man from Chicago and a white woman from the small town of Lark in East Texas call him back to his roots, he gets into a hornet's nest of racial unrest and old loyalties. The dead lawyer's wife comes south to try to find out what happened. The small local eating establishment is owned by Geneva whose own husband was killed a long time ago. It's across the highway from the house of a man who seems to have run local businesses and politics for generations. Darren's own weakness for liquor has put his own job in question and he is out to prove to himself that he can be the man he has always thought he could be. Combine all these elements and readers will find the crimes, tensions, and intrigues irresistibly in the hands of a veteran writer.