aired the week of June 26, 2017

The Book of Polly by Kathy Hepinstall is an irreverent southern story with strong female characters fighting that mother daughter relationship.  Polly is 55 when her daughter Willow is born and Willow is very concerned that her mother will up and die leaving her all alone.  If only Willow can find out about Polly's past, maybe that will help her forge a future.

aired the week of June 19, 2017

A Cold Day in Paradise by Steve Hamilton introduces Alex McKnight a former Detroit police officer who has moved to Paradise, Michigan to get away from a horrific past.  Unfortunately for Alex his past is about to track him down in the form of the man who almost killed him and did succeed in killing his partner.  It is up to Alex to figure out what is going on.

aired the week of June 12, 2017

The Thing About Love by Julie James is a romantic romp featuring FBI special agents Jessica Harlow and John Shepherd as they work together on a corruption case.  Never mind that they haven't gotten along since the academy, the sparks are flying.

aired the week of June 5, 2017

The Burning by Jane Casey is a British police procedural.  Detective Constable Maeve Kerrigan is working on tracking a killer the media has dubbed the burning man.  A new victim has just been discovered and  Maeve sees some differences between this and previous crime scenes.  She asks to investigate this case separately and so starts her race to find the killer before he can claim another victim.

aired the week of May 29, 2017

The Eighty-Dollar Champion by Elizabeth Letts tells the story of Snowman an unlikely champion with a huge heart.  Snowman and his owner Harry de Leyer a recent Dutch immigrant set their sights on winning the jumping division at the National Horse Show in Madison Square Garden. This is the story of an underdog who never gives up.

aired the week of May 22, 2017

Where it Hurts by Reed Farrel Coleman is a thriller that follows retired cop Gus Murphy.  Gus quit the force when his son died and now he is a driver for a hotel in New York.  When he is tracked down by a petty criminal who wants Gus to look into his son's death, Gus is unwittingly drawn into a web of deception that leads him right back to his old stomping grounds.

aired the week of May 15, 2017

Loving vs. Virginia by Patricia Hruby Powell is a documentary novel in free verse poetry that follows the landmark civil rights case of 1967.  Mildred Jeter and Richard Loving are in love but unable to marry because of the laws of the state of Virginia.  Mildred is black and Richard is white.  This book tells the story of their life as they work to overcome racial prejudice during that tumultuous time.

aired the week of May 8, 2017

84, Charing Cross Road by Helene Hanff is a slim biography that is a compilation of letters between New York City script writer Helene Hanff and London bookseller Frank Doel.  These letters were written between 1949 and 1969 and paint a vivid portrait of life at that time.

aired the week of May 1, 2017

The Second Life of Nick Mason by Steve Hamilton follows Nick 5 years into his federal prison sentence.  When Nick is offered a fresh start by another inmate, he jumps at the chance not realizing that he has just given himself another sentence.  Now he must carry a phone and do whatever he is told when that phone rings.  Another type of prison sentence.  Is this really a second life at all?

aired the week of April 24, 2017

The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien is a collection of 22 stories about Alpha Company and the things they carried before the Vietnam War, during the war and back home after the conflict's end.  A powerful collection loosely based on O'Brien's own time in Vietnam.

aired the week of April 17, 2017

Stolen Beauty by Laurie Lico Albanese tells the story behind the Woman In Gold painting by Austrian artist Gustav Klimt.  The story alternates between Adele Bloch-Bauer the Woman In Gold and her niece Maria Altman.  Adele comes of age during the turn of the century and Maria during the rise of the Nazi party in Austria.  Both women are bright and strong but suffer under the constraints of the age they are living in.

aired the week of April 10, 2017

Desolation Flats by Andrew Hunt is a historical mystery that follows policeman Art Overson after his former partner is accused of murdering an Englishman visiting for the races at the Bonneville Salt Flats.  The Englishman's brother whom Art has helped has gone missing after the altercation and Art is concerned no one is looking past the most likely suspect. 

aired the week of April 3, 2017

Kitchens of the Great Midwest by J. Ryan Stradal tells the story of Eva a young chef with a once-in-a-generation palate.  Each section tells a bit about her through the lens of someone who comes in contact with her and includes an ingredient essential in her wildly popular pop up dinner club.  Laugh out loud funny with very quirky characters. There is a lot of strong language so keep that in mind when you pick this title up.

aired the week of March 27, 2017

Nine Women, One Dress by Jane L. Rosen tells the story of this year's it dress a little black number designed by Morris Siegel a 90-year-old pattern maker.  Follow the dress as it passes through the hands of nine different individuals and how the dress impacts each of their lives.  A light fun chick-lit read.

aired the week of March 20, 2017

Pale Horse Coming by Stephen Hunter is set in the deep south in 1951.  Sam a small town Arkansas lawyer is hired to find a black man in Thebes, Mississippi.  When Sam goes missing his good friend and former marine Earl Swagger sets off after Sam and finds a whole heap of trouble.

aired the week of March 13, 2017

Willnot by James Sallis is a title full of noir set in the small town of Willnot.  Doctor Lamar Hale finds noir in his everyday life as he deals with his patients and the people in his community.  A slim title with many threads that finally tie up at the very end.

aired the week of March 6, 2017

A Week in Paris by Rachel Hore is set in 1961.  Fay is traveling to Paris to play with the London Philharmonic Orchestra.  While telling her mother about the trip, Fay learns that their family has ties to Paris.  Fay knew she grew up during the war, but thought it was in London.  Now is her chance to find out a little about her past.

aired the week of February 27, 2017

The Professionals by Owen Laukkanen introduces Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension agent Kirk Stevens and regional FBI agent Carla Windermere as they work together on a case tracking a group of kidnappers.  These kidnappers have been operating together for a while, but now they are in trouble garnering attention from law enforcement and the mob. 

1. The Professionals
2. Criminal Enterprise
3. Kill Fee
4. Stolen Ones
5. Watcher in the Wall
6. Forgotten Girls

aired the week of February 20, 2017

The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead follows Cora a slave from a Georgia plantation as she and another runaway make their way northward toward freedom. In this book Whitehead envisions the Underground Railroad is a real honest to goodness railroad.  Follow Cora and Caesar as they ride the rails across the hostile country.

aired the week of February 13, 2017

You Will Not Have My Hate by Antoine Leiris is a slim volume that chronicles how Leiris dealt with the death of his wife at the hands of terrorists during the Paris concert attack in November of 2015.  He had 17-month-old Melvil to think about and protect. How can he explain to their child that mamma is not coming home?  Beautiful and moving.

aired the week of February 6, 2017

A Star for Mrs. Blake by April Smith highlights a little known footnote in our country's history.  Cora Blake gets a letter inviting her to make the trip to France with other gold star mothers who have had sons buried on European soil during the First World War.  This is her chance to see Sammy's final resting place.