Braille Book Review


Books for Adults--Fiction

Fiction

The Outpost BR 13775
by Mike Resnick
3 volumes
The Outpost, a tavern on planet Henry II, is the gathering place for heroes, villains, and adventurers from all over the galaxy to drink and swap tales. When the Outpost is invaded by aliens, this odd group of storytellers must join forces and fight back. Descriptions of sex, violence, and strong language. 2001.

Murder on the Trans-Siberian Express BR 13780
by Stuart M. Kaminsky
2 volumes
Russian police inspector Porfiry Rostnikov is sent on the Trans- Siberian Express to intercept a historical document from czarist times. He leaves behind in Moscow the investigation of the disappearance of a skinhead rock star and the case of a female serial killer. Some violence and some strong language. 2001.

Shadow on the Trail BR 13781
by Zane Grey
3 volumes
In Texas, young bank robber Wade Holden promises his dying mentor that he will go straight. But with the Rangers after him, he struggles to find sanctuary. Eventually, with the help of a young woman and her family, he turns his life around in Arizona. Some strong language. 1936.

On the Fringe BR 13831
edited by Donald R. Gallo
2 volumes
Eleven short stories dealing with high school students who are different and ostracized by most of the other kids. In "WWJD," even a religious girl can be pushed too far. In "Guns for Geeks," an abused boy gets revenge. Some violence and some strong language. For senior high readers. 2001.

When Kambia Elaine Flew in from Neptune BR 13836
by Lori Aurelia Williams
2 volumes
Shayla sets out to write about her African American neighborhood in Houston, but she winds up involved in people's problems. Her sister disappears, and her new friend Kambia, the daughter of a prostitute, is being abused. Some descriptions of sex, some violence, and some strong language. For senior high and older readers. 2000.

Five Quarters of the Orange BR 13842
by Joanne Harris
3 volumes
Elderly and widowed, Framboise Dartigen returns unrecognized to her childhood home in Les Laveuses, France. Memories of World War II occupation, collaboration, and resistance intermingle with family events as Framboise uses her mother's recipe album to create a menu for a cafe. Some descriptions of sex and some strong language. 2001.

Fury BR 13843
by G.M. Ford
3 volumes
Disgraced reporter Frank Corso is working for a Seattle tabloid when he investigates a witness recanting her testimony in a serial murder case. To stop the condemned man's execution, Frank and his new assistant, hard-boiled photographer Meg Dougherty, fight to get the police files reopened. Violence, strong language, and some explicit descriptions of sex. 2001.

Watchers of Time: An Inspector Ian Rutledge Mystery BR 13845
by Charles Todd
3 volumes
Scotland, 1919. In a small village, a Protestant sends for the local Catholic priest before dying. Someone murders the priest a few weeks later. Scotland Yard inspector Ian Rutledge, still wounded from Legacy of the Dead (BR 13317), travels to investigate and uncovers local secrets. Some strong language. 2001.

What I Think I Did: A Season of Survival in Two Acts BR 13847
by Larry Woiwode
2 volumes
In a reflective work of "autobiographical fiction," National Book Award finalist Woiwode tells of surviving the severest recorded winter in North Dakota's history in "Snow with Tints of Then" and recalls his years as an actor and writer in New York City in "Then with Tints of Snow." 2000.

The Millionaires BR 13873
by Brad Meltzer
4 volumes
Oliver and Charlie Caruso, discontented employees at a private bank for the extremely wealthy, steal unclaimed millions from a dormant account. Others with a similar criminal bent notice the theft and soon put them on the run. Some violence and some strong language. Bestseller 2002.

Basket Case BR 13876
by Carl Hiaasen
3 volumes
Florida news reporter Jack Tagger is demoted to writing obituaries. So he attempts to revive his career by proving that the death of a has-been rock star was not accidental. Jack's investigation uncovers multiple murders, kidnapping, and an assault with a frozen lizard. Strong language and some violence. Bestseller 2002.

Fall on Your Knees BR 13878
by Ann-Marie MacDonald
4 volumes
Materia at thirteen elopes with the eighteen-year-old piano tuner, James, and her Lebanese-Canadian family disowns her. James claims to be devoted to their first daughter, Kathleen, and they have three more girls as years pass. The four sisters don't mention family secrets of incest and rape until an illegitimate child appears. Bestseller 1996.

Heaven and Earth BR 13880
by Nora Roberts
3 volumes
Deputy Ripley Todd of Three Sisters Island is a witch in denial. Dr. MacAllister Booke investigates paranormal activities in the town. The two confront the past as they fall in love. Sequel to Dance upon the Air (BR 13427). Some explicit descriptions of sex, some violence, and some strong language. Bestseller 2001.

The Magic of Ordinary Days BR 13884
by Ann Howard Creel
2 volumes
During the Second World War, Olivia, a pregnant graduate student, is married off by her preacher father to a stranger--a sugar beet farmer from southeast Colorado--to avoid a scandal. Olivia befriends two Japanese American sisters from a nearby internment camp, and she gradually learns to appreciate the shy, gentle man she married. 2001.

The Rag and Bone Shop BR 13896
by Robert Cormier
1 volume
Twelve-year-old Jason is the last person to see his neighbor, seven-year-old Alicia, alive. The police put Jason in a room alone with an expert interrogator, who persuades the boy to confess. But Jason is not the killer. For senior high and older readers. 2001.

A Murder, a Mystery, and a Marriage BR 13908
by Mark Twain
1 volume
A previously unpublished story by Mark Twain, written in 1876. Set in small-town Missouri, the tale involves an arranged marriage, a mysterious stranger, and a convenient murder, and has a twist at the end. The foreword and afterword by Roy Blount Jr. explain the book's literary significance. 2001.

A Moment of Weakness BR 13941
by Karen Kingsbury
3 volumes
Christian lawyer Tanner Eastman offers to defend a born-again mother who is fighting for custody of her son. Jade Rudolph's adulterous husband doesn't want the boy raised by a "religious fanatic." Jade was Tanner's childhood sweetheart and onetime lover. 2000.

Storm Warning BR 13990
by Dinah McCall
2 volumes
1999. Twenty years ago, seven gifted girls attended a Manhattan private school. The building burned down one night during a storm, dispersing the students. Now, the former classmates are committing suicide one by one, after receiving a mysterious phone call. Strong language, some descriptions of sex, and some violence. 2001.

The People: No Different Flesh BR 13991
by Zenna Henderson
2 volumes (Reissue)
Six fantasy and science fiction stories about a group of benign creatures who look just like humans but have fallen from another planet. The settings are the canyons and mountains of the Far West, from pioneer to modern times. 1967.

The Gospel According to Larry BR 13993
by Janet Tashjian
1 volume
High school loner--and genius--Josh Swensen is the secret creator of a popular counterculture web site. Even Beth, the girl next door, doesn't know that he has a web-site alter ego. Things get out of hand, and before his identities are uncovered Josh becomes a celebrity with his own festival. For senior high readers. 2001.

Vertigo BR 13994
by W.G. Sebald
2 volumes
In four interlocking mixed-genre pieces, the author explores the boundaries of memory. The European travels, assorted afflictions, and melancholy preoccupations of Stendhal, Casanova, Kafka, and Sebald himself are represented in a spiral of recollection, inducing vertigo. 1999.

According to Queeney BR 13996
by Beryl Bainbridge
2 volumes
Eighteenth-century England. A fictional interpretation of Samuel Johnson's extended stay at the home of the Thrales. Recounts the mutual attraction between Johnson and Mrs. Thrale, mainly from the perspective of Queeney, Mrs. Thrale's daughter. 2001.

The Dark Room BR 13998
by Rachel Seiffert
2 volumes
Stories of three Germans affected by the Third Reich. Physically deformed Helmut, excluded from the Nazi army, becomes obsessed with photographing wartime Berlin's citizens. During the Allied occupation, Lore, a devoted sister, perceives her parents' participation in evil. And Micha, in 1997, probes his grandfather's role in the SS. Booker Prize finalist. 2001.

Mortal Prey BR 14064
by John Sandford
3 volumes
Minneapolis cop Lucas Davenport teams up with the FBI to track down his old enemy, hit woman Clara Rinker from Certain Prey (BR 14064). The plot involves an inept sniper, Mexican drug lords, the St. Louis mob, and the ever wily Rinker. Strong language and some violence. Bestseller 2002.

A Murder of Quality BR 14117
by John Le Carré
2 volumes
George Smiley investigates the murder of Stella Rode, a schoolmaster's wife, at the request of his old friend, editor Ailsa Brimley. Some strong language. 1962.

From the Heart of Covington BR 14151
by Joan Medlicott
3 volumes
In this sequel to Gardens of Covington (BR 13718) Grace, Hannah, and Amelia continue their saga of retirement life in North Carolina. Hannah's daughter Laura moves in to recuperate from an accident, Grace copes with her newly diagnosed diabetes, and Amelia pursues her photography hobby. 2002.

The Artist's Wife BR 14153
by Max Phillips
2 volumes
From beyond the grave, the talented, seductive, and witty Alma Mahler tells the story of her extraordinary life in early- twentieth-century Vienna. She recounts her marriages to composer Gustav Mahler, architect Walter Gropius, and novelist Franz Werfel, and recalls her relationships with the painters Gustav Klimt and Oskar Kokoschka. Some descriptions of sex. 2001.

What My Mother Doesn't Know BR 14156
by Sonya Sones
1 volume
Fourteen-year-old Sophie describes her life in prose poems. She discusses her search for Mr. Right, her unhappy parents, her school activities, and her friends, Grace and Rachel. Grade 1 braille. For senior high readers. 2001.

Almost BR 14158
by Elizabeth Benedict
2 volumes
Author Sophy Chase, recently separated from her husband, leaves New York City to return to their island home. Will has just died mysteriously, and Sophy is left to cope with her grown stepdaughters, an uncertain financial future, and her own lover's demands. Some descriptions of sex and some strong language. 2001.

Knocked Out by My Nunga-Nungas: Further, Further Confessions of Georgia Nicolson BR 14217
by Louise Rennison
1 volume
Georgia continues her journal entries following On the Bright Side, I'm Now the Girlfriend of a Sex God (BR 13560). Her parents drag her on a vacation to Scotland. Then back home she sees two boys at the same time. For senior high readers. Bestseller 2001.

From a Buick 8 BR 14266
by Stephen King
3 volumes
It looked like an ordinary eight-cylinder 1954 Buick Roadmaster abandoned at a Pennsylvania gas station. But within hours, an investigating policeman has inexplicably vanished. Hoping to keep things quiet, the troopers put the car under lock and key. But it has a malevolent life of its own. Strong language and some violence. Bestseller 2002.


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