Librarians at Baltimore County Public Library are always ready to share their favorite titles and talk about new books hitting the shelves to help you discover your next great read.
This month we are going back to school, featuring some new titles set in educational institutions.
For more on new books, join us for Books and Conversation on the fourth Wednesday of each month at 2 p.m. Find information on this and other book-related programs on our events page at bcpl.info/events-and-programs.
Doug Beatty’s Picks
“Mississippi Blue 42”
by Eli Cranor
College football means big money, and big money means devious ways to achieve it.
“Mississippi Blue 42” is a story of a quarterback who refuses to throw a game and the devastating aftermath of his decision. The plot centers around Special Agent Rae Johnson who heads to the University of Central Mississippi to determine if the rumors of under-the-table payments are true.
When a suspicious death occurs, Rae and her new partner, Frank Ranchino, need to unwind a case that may be barreling toward an unscrupulous congressman.
Cranor is great with character descriptions, and the quirky folks you meet in this novel are richly described and memorable. Great for the sports-minded and non-sports-minded alike, this crime novel is sure to keep the pages turning.
“Katabasis”
by R. F. Kuang
When Cambridge graduate student Alice Law accidentally kills her advisor, she thinks her career is over.
But Professor Grimes was a master magician, and Alice, a keen student of the craft, finds a spell that will allow her to descend into hell to retrieve him. Unfortunately, her biggest rival at the university discovers her plan and becomes her companion on a journey that will take them through the Eight Courts of Hell.
Kuang is well-versed in academic life and the book is steeped in the philosophies of major writers. She is incredible at world building and her descriptive passages will create clear pictures in the minds of readers of the stark, bleak atmosphere of the underworld.
Alice and Peter are both flawed but defined characters and find themselves on a journey of self-discovery as they descend through the Courts. “Katabasis” is a brilliant novel that will appeal to readers of fantasy but also for those looking for a great literary and character-driven novel.
Lori Hench’s Picks
“All the Other Mothers Hate Me”
by Sarah Harman
Florence Grimes is an American living in London. She’s a 31-year-old has-been pop star prone to sparkly band tees and partying who has trouble scraping together the rent money. She’s also a single mom to Dylan, age 10.
He is a serious, sweet boy whose concerns include animal welfare and recycling, and he prefers the company of grown-ups. None of this is in the recipe for popularity for mother or son at Dylan’s posh and proper private school, paid for by his father.
When schoolmate Alfie, whose unpleasant traits include bullying both turtles and Dylan, goes missing on a class field trip and Florence finds some incriminating evidence under her son’s bed, she must pull her dilettante self together to figure out what happened to Alfie to protect Dylan and prove his innocence.
Author Sarah Harman, also an American living in London, has written a fun, smart mystery perfect for poolside, vacation or summer lounging.
“Society of Lies”
by Lauren Ling Brown
Maya was looking forward to a fun weekend at her alma mater: Princeton. It’s both her 10th-year class reunion and her younger sister Naomi’s graduation. Instead, Naomi is found drowned in a local lake with ketamine in her system and the police want to call it an accident.
If Maya wants justice for Naomi, she’ll need to remove her rose-colored glasses and explore what’s she’s repressed for years: the dangers lurking in the ivy-covered halls in the guise of social clubs, secret societies and webs of corruption, influence and payoffs.
Is Naomi’s demise related to the disappearance of another female student who was Maya’s classmate — a crime about which Maya has been withholding evidence since her time on campus? Get ready for a fast-paced thriller told from each sister’s point of view, great for fans of dark academia and conspiracies.