Beach, Beach, Beach - Summer Mystery/Thriller Reads

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Creepy things can happen on a beach. If you're into reading about detectives, mysteries, and solving crimes, then check out these summer reads:

The Gold Coast
by Nelson DeMille
Welcome to the fabled Gold Coast, that stretch on the North Shore of Long Island that once held the greatest concentration of wealth and power in America. Here two men are destined for an explosive collision: John Sutter, Wall Street lawyer, holding fast to a fading aristocratic legacy; and Frank Bellarosa, the Mafia don who seizes his piece of the staid and unprepared Gold Coast like a latter-day barbarian chief and draws Sutter and his regally beautiful wife, Susan, into his violent world. Told from Sutter's sardonic--and often hilarious--point of view, and laced with sexual passion and suspense, The Gold Coast is Nelson DeMille's captivating story of friendship and seduction, love and betrayal.
Check this book out from BPL

The Dark of Day
by Barbara Parker
New York Times bestselling author Barbara Parker introduces one of the most unforgettable female characters in suspense fiction: high-profile Miami defense attorney C.J. Dunn. C.J. is an expert at spinning her clients; image in the media-the perfect lawyer to deflect suspicion from Rick Slater, head of security for an influential U.S. congressman. A beautiful model has vanished from a party on Miami Beach, and Slater was the last person seen with her. C.J. has reasons to dislike the congressman, but if she takes this case he can arrange a host position for her on a major news outlet. For a woman who grew up dirt-poor, with a past she would rather forget, the celebrity life has its appeal. The story of Alana Martin's disappearance soon sets off a media frenzy. Reporters and paparazzi hound everyone connected to the case, and C.J. must work fast before they uncover her own secrets, too. When Rick Slater tells her that a friend of Alana's could be his alibi witness, C.J. realizes the girl is someone she knows: Kylie Willis, a seventeen-year-old runaway from the same north Florida town where C.J. was born. The problem is, Kylie won't talk. As C.J. digs into the case, she finds connections between Alana and a group of investors in a project on environmentally sensitive land. One of them is the elusive architect Milo Cahill, one of C.J's own VIP clients, who may be bribing the congressman. Another is C.J's lover, Miami Beach socialite Billy Medina. But when C.J. asks Billy for information, he brushes her off. She wonders if she's been foolish about Billy. Or is the problem just her growing attraction to her client Rick? Then Alana Martin is found-dead. Her body washes up on a beach late one night, and the coroner says it was murder. The police have evidence against Slater. C.J. is slammed between the media and the need to defend a client she doesn't trust. She must find Kylie Willis. The girl could save Rick Slater-but she might also reveal a devastating secret, one that could destroy C.J's career, and even, her life.
Check this book out from BPL

What's Happening Wednesday - Beach, Beach, Beach

Welcome to this week's 'What's Happening Wednesday'. Tell us what's happening in this photo and we'll post the best captions here on our blog on Friday.


Post your captions in the comments section and check back Friday to see our favourites.

Beach, Beach, Beach - Summer Classic Reads

Summer is a great time to catch up with classic stories. Here are two great classic titles to read on the beach:

The Mysterious Island
by Jules Verne
Based on the true story of Alexander Selkirk, who survived alone for almost five years on an uninhabited island off the coast of Chile, The Mysterious Island is considered by many to be Jules Verne’s masterpiece. Here is the enthralling tale of five men and a dog who land in a balloon on a faraway, fantastic island of bewildering goings-on and their struggle to survive as they uncover the island’s secret.
Check this book out from BPL.

The Old Man and the Sea
by Ernest Hemmingway
Santiago, a Cuban fisherman and a veteran of 84 years at sea, encounters a giant marlin. He manages to get his hooks into the fish, but the marlin drags the old man's rickety little boat out to sea for two days. But Santiago finally harpoons the beast, fastens it to the side of his boat and starts back for land. But now he has to contend with a new peril -- a school of sharks that follows him and attacks his boat with the marlin fastened to its side.
Check this book out from BPL.

Beach, Beach, Beach - Summer Adventure Reads

Looking for a great read this summer? Why not try one of these two great summer adventure books?


In the King's Name
by Alexander Kent
It is January 1819, and Captain Adam Bolitho, newly married, makes haste to ship out from Falmouth and leave his beautiful wife, Lowenna, once again. Bound for Freetown, on the old slave coast of Africa, H.M.S. Onward carries sealed orders in the strongbox below deck. But why all the secrecy and apparent urgency? And why Onward, so soon after the Mediterranean, and that bloody action with Nautilus?

Mission completed, yet Adam cannot and will not leave. On their way into port, the crew of the Onward spy the debris of an allied frigate, destroyed as if taken by surprise. There are bodies strewn among the shark-infested waters and no enemy in sight. A single word frozen on the lips of the dead. Mutiny. The men begin to question who is friend and who is foe.

All is not well aboard the Onward; envy and hunger for power consume some of the crew, but they must band together and risk their lives together, in the name of the King. A searing and gripping tale of trouble on the high seas, and of the weakness of the human spirit, In the King's Name heralds the return of our greatest living maritime writer and the legendary Adam Bolitho.
Check this book out from BPL.


Life of Pi
by Yann Martel
The son of a zookeeper, Pi Patel has an encyclopedic knowledge of animal behavior and a fervent love of stories. When Pi is sixteen, his family emigrates from India to North America aboard a Japanese cargo ship, along with their zoo animals bound for new homes. The ship sinks. Pi finds himself alone in a lifeboat, his only companions a hyena, an orangutan, a wounded zebra, and Richard Parker, a 450-pound Bengal tiger. Soon the tiger has dispatched all but Pi, whose fear, knowledge, and cunning allow him to coexist with Richard Parker for 227 days while lost at sea. When they finally reach the coast of Mexico, Richard Parker flees to the jungle, never to be seen again. The Japanese authorities who interrogate Pi refuse to believe his story and press him to tell them "the truth." After hours of coercion, Pi tells a second story, a story much less fantastical, much more conventional--but is it more true?
Check this book out from BPL.

Mad Lib Monday - Beach, Beach, Beach

It's Mad Lib Monday! In celebration of our Summer Reading Program 'Splash!' we'll be posting a new mad lib story each Monday morning this July and August. Print it out and fill in the blanks to make up your own wacky story!


The Beach
Hooray! Summer is finally here, and that means we can go to the beach! Today, my family is going to _______________ (city or town) Beach, and I can bring a friend with me. I decide to invite my best friend _______________ (female friend). I know _______________ (same female friend) will want to go with us. She thinks going to the beach is _______________! (adjective)

We start our beach day by watching the sunrise, and then eating breakfast at Uncle _______________’s (male) Pancake Hut. I always get ______________(food) flavored pancakes. After breakfast we _______________ (verb) the waves, go ______________ (ing verb)for seashells, and _______________ (verb) a sandcastle. Then we eat the lunch we packed for the beach. It's my favorite _______________ (food) sandwiches. The only time _______________ (same food) sandwiches are not so _______________ (adjective) is when you drop them in the sand.

By ____________ (time), everyone's had enough of the beach. But _______________(same city or town) Beach is fun at night, too! There is a really _______________ (adjective) boardwalk. It's always crowded with people. Would you believe we saw my teacher _______________ (your teacher) there, eating a huge banana split? There are a lot of cool shops on the boardwalk. You can get a little hermit _______________ (animal), but make sure your mom and dad say it's okay! My favorite store is the jewelry store. _______________ (same female friend) and I each buy a rope bracelet that will _______________ (verb) when it gets wet. Pretty ______________!(adjective) By 8:00, we're all ready to head home. I usually fall asleep on the ride home. I can't wait to go to _______________ (same city or town) Beach again.

Summer Reads 2011 - Beach, Beach, Beach

Whether you’re lounging by the pool, relaxing by a campfire, or curled up at home with a glass of lemonade, summertime is definitely the best time to dive into a book. Here at the library we see hundreds of books fly in and out the doors every week. This summer we’re giving you the chance to rediscover some great summer reads. And because our Summer Reading Program theme this year is ‘Spalsh!, each week will will present books on a different summertime/water fun theme.

This week we'll be showcasing beach themed novels. These books are great to read when you're down by the lake, or anywhere that life takes you this summer.

Sploosh - Summer Science Fiction/Fantasy Reads

Summer movies are always filled with super heroes, aliens, wizards, and monsters. Why not sit down with a story full of fantasy and wonder? If you like Science Fiction or Fantasy novels, give these water filled books a try:


Blind Lake
By Robert Charles Wilson
Published by Tom Doherty Associates

At Blind Lake, a large federal research installation in northern Minnesota, scientists are using a technology they barely understand to watch everyday life in a city of lobster like aliens upon a distant planet. They can't contact the aliens in any way or understand their language. All they can do is watch. Then, without warning, a military cordon is imposed on the Blind Lake site. All communication with the outside world is cut off. Food and other vital supplies are delivered by remote control. No one knows why. The scientists, nevertheless, go on with their research. Among them are Nerissa Iverson and the man she recently divorced, Raymond Scutter. They continue to work together despite the difficult conditions and the bitterness between them. Ray believes their efforts are doomed; that culture is arbitrary, and the aliens will forever be an enigma. Nerissa believes there is a commonality of sentient thought, and that our failure to understand is our own ignorance, not a fact of nature. The behavior of the alien she has been tracking seems to be developing an elusive narrative logic--and she comes to feel that the alien is somehow, impossibly, aware of the project's observers. But her time is running out. Ray is turning hostile, stalking her. The military cordon is tightening. Understanding had better come soon......

Check this book out from BPL.


The Silver Ship and the Sea
By Brenda Cooper
Published by Tor
The colony planet Fremont is joyous, riotous, and very wild. Its grasses can cut your arms and legs to ribbons, the rinds of its precious fruit can skewer your thumbs, and some of the predators are bigger than humans. Meteors fall from the sky and volcanoes erupt. Fremont is verdant, rich, beautiful, and dangerous. Fremont's single town, Artistos, perches on a cliff below rugged mountains. Below Artistos lie the Grass Plains, which lead down to the sea. And in the middle of the Grass Plains, a single silver spaceship lies quiet and motionless. The seasons do not dull it, nor do the winds scratch it-and the fearful citizens of Aristos won't go near it. Chelo Lee, her brother Joseph, and four other young children have been abandoned on the colony planet.Unfortunate events have left them orphaned in a human colony that abhors genetic engineering-and these six young people are genetically enhanced. With no one to turn to, Chelo and the others must nowlearn how to use their distinct skills to make this unwelcome planet home, or find a way off it. They have few tools-an old crazy woman who wonders the edges of town,spouting out cryptic messages; their appreciation and affection for each other; a good dose of curiosity; and that abandoned silver space ship that sits locked and alone in the middle of the vast grass plain.

Check this book out from BPL.

Sploosh - Summer Romance Reads

There's nothing more romantic than a summer evening walk on the beach with that someone special. Today's Summer Reads are all about love by the water. If you're a fan of romance or chick-lit books, then give these books a try:


Summer Sisters
By Judy Bloom
Published by Delacorte Press

When Victoria Leonard answers the phone in her Manhattan office, Caitlin's voice catches her by surprise. Vix hasn't talked to her oldest friend in months. Caitlin's news takes her breath away--and Vix is transported back in time, back to the moment she and Caitlin Somers first met, back to the casual betrayals and whispered confessions of their long, complicated friendship, back to the magical island where two friends became summer sisters. Caitlin dazzled Vix from the start, sweeping her into the heart of the unruly Somers family, into a world of privilege, adventure, and sexual daring. Vix's bond with her summer family forever reshapes her ties to her own, opening doors to opportunities she had never imagined--until the summer she falls passionately in love. Then, in one shattering moment on a moon swept Vineyard beach, everything changes, exposing a dark undercurrent in her extraordinary friendship with Caitlin that will haunt them through the years. As their story carries us from Santa Fe to Martha's Vineyard, from New York to Venice, we come to know the men and women who shape their lives. And as we follow the two women on the paths they each choose, we wait for the inevitable reckoning to be made in the fine spaces between friendship and betrayal, between love and freedom. Summer Sisters is a riveting exploration of the choices that define our lives, of friendship and love, of the families we are born into and those we struggle to create. For every woman who has ever had a friend too dangerous to forgive and too essential to forget, Summer Sisters will glue you to every page, reading and remembering.

Check this book out from BPL.

The Perfect Man
By Sheila O’Flanagan
Published by Headline Review

Two very different sisters, Mia (still in love with Alejo, the married father of her daughter) and Britt (the ice maiden, who has ironically written a romantic bestseller), join a luxury honeymoon cruise in the Caribbean where Britt is the guest lecturer. Also on board are recently widowed Leo, still reeling from the discovery of his wife's betrayal just before her death, and Steve, a ship's officer who's soon looking for more than a holiday romance with Mia. Can Steve replace Alejo and is there any chance that Britt and Leo can see that they really should get together? When the characters head for home - Mia to Spain, the others to Dublin - it seems that all romantic options are off, especially as Leo rashly got engaged to glamorous, man-eating Pippin while at sea. But love has a way of triumphing in Sheila O'Flanagan's novels, even if it takes till the very last page...

Check this book out from BPL.

Sploosh - Summer Non Fiction Reads

For many Canadians, summer means heading out to the lake, the woods, or to the beach for outdoor fun. While some people like to relax, others like to seek adventure during these warm months. Today's real life tales are about people having fun out in the wilderness:


Rowed Trip
By Colin and Julie Angus

Two bestselling authors combine their strengths in a travelogue, a search for roots, a romance -- and a seat-of-your-pants adventure. One sunny day in 2006, Julie and Colin Angus were talking about the future, as newly engaged couples do. More unusually, they were at the time travelling together from Moscow to Vancouver by human power -- boat, bike, and foot. That day, they were examining a road atlas and in particular the labyrinth of European inland waterways it revealed. Julie traced a route of interconnected canals, rivers, and coastlines that led from Colin's parents' homeland of Scotland past her mother's homeland, Germany, and on to her father's, Syria. She said, half-seriously: We could row (yes, row, as in propelling a tippy little boat on a pond) all the way from Scotland to Syria to visit our relatives. It was a reckless sort of joke to make, given the couple's addiction to adventure. The result is Rowed Trip , an odyssey by oar (and bike) from Caithness, Scotland, across the English Channel, through France, across the Rhine, the Main-Donau Canal to the Danube, the Black Sea, the Bosphorous Straits, and the Mediterranean. Julie and Colin each describe how the trip allowed them to test their relationship, to explore their roots, and to indulge to the max their shared taste for adventure.

Check out this book from BPL.


Swimming with Piranhas at Feeding Time
By Richard Conniff

Field journalist Richard Conniff examines the lives of two-, four-, six-, and eight-legged creatures from around the globe, providing adventure-packed accounts of his many ill advised forays into the animal kingdom. He pulls a 90-pound snapping turtle out of a Louisiana bayou, tracks leopards with !Kung San hunters in the Namibian desert, and travels through the Himalayas in pursuit of tigers and the mythical migur. All in a day "s work, he flings chicken carcasses into piranha-infested waters to clock how quickly they disappear before diving in himself, and then encounters a man stung by 120 different species of insects, ranking their pain the way Robert Parker ranks wine. Again and again, Conniff courts the most dangerous animals and lives to tell the tale. This collection offers a rare chance to accompany him on death defying treks and see life through the lens of a bona-fide field naturalist.

Check this book out today from BPL.

Sploosh - Summer Myster/Thriller Reads

It seems like mystery authors can't get enough of scaring us readers out of the water. A cool, refreshing swim can become a reckless heart stopping event when you stop to think about what's hiding in the depths. If you love mysteries or thrillers, try out these Summer Mystery/Thriller reads:

Swimming to Catalina
By Staurt Woods
Published by Harper Paperbacks

Sinking like a stone. Stone Barrington thought he'd heard the last of former girlfriend Arrington after she'd left him to marry Vance Calder, Hollywood's hottest star. The last thing Stone expected was a desperate call from Calder. Arrington has vanished, and her new fiance; wants Stone to come to LA and find her. In a town where the sharks drive Bentleys and no one can be trusted, Stone soon discovers he's drowning in a sea of empty clues that take him from Bel Air to Malibu to Rodeo Drive. Running out of time and leads, he needs to keep his head above water and find Arrington fast, or end up swimming with the fishes himself.

Check this book out from BPL.


The Swimming Pool
By Holly LeCraw
Published by Doubleday Canada

An illicit affair, an unsolved murder, an intense summer romance in Cape Cod--introducing Holly LeCraw's explosive and stunningly-written debut. Seven summers ago, on Cape Cod, Marcella Atkinson -- a married woman -- fell in love with Cecil McClatchey, married father of two. Fuelled by desire and mutual respect, a secret affair blossomed, but when Cecil's wife was murdered, their romance promptly ended. Cecil died soon after, and while his wife's murder has never been solved, he remains a suspect. Years later, Marcella returns to her beach house on the Cape, where she encounters Cecil's grown son, Jed, who remembers her quite vividly from his youth. As both of them struggle to cope with the grief and loss of the past, they fall into a torrid and complicated affair. But as their relationship deepens, it leads to emotional crises and revelations about the unsolved murder of Jed's mother. Brilliant and seductive, this is a debut novel about love in all its forms and about the ripple effects of actions both good and evil.

Check this book out from BPL.

What's Happening Wednesday - Sploosh!

Welcome to 'What's Happening Wednesday' Tell us what's happening in this photo and we'll post the best captions here on our blog on Friday.


Post your captions in the comments section and check back Friday to see our favourites.

Sploosh - Summer Classic Reads

Summer is the perfect time to finally read that classic book you've been meaning to read. Novels written centuries ago are still popular with readers, and for good reason. Today's suggested titles are two iconic American stories, and both evoke the haunting and powerful feelings of long forgotten summers:


The Great Gatsby
By F. Scott Fitzgerald

"He talked a lot about the past and I gathered that he wanted to recover something, some idea of himself perhaps, that had gone into loving Daisy. His life had been confused and disordered since then, but if he could once return to a certain starting place and go over it all slowly, he could find out what that thing was . . ." The Great Gatsby (1925), F. Scott Fitzgerald''s masterpiece, stands among the greatest of all American fiction. Jay Gatsby''s lavish lifestyle in a mansion on Long Island''s gold coast encapsulates the spirit, excitement, and violence of the era Fitzgerald named `the Jazz Age''. Impelled by his love for Daisy Buchanan, Gatsby seeks nothing less than to recapture the moment five years earlier when his best and brightest dreams - his `unutterable visions'' - seemed to be incarnated in her kiss. A moving portrayal of the power of romantic imagination, as well as the pathos and courage entailed in the pusuit of an unattainable dream, The Great Gatsby is a classic fiction of hope and disillusion. This edition is fully annotated with a fine Introduction incorporating new interpretation and detailing Fitzgerald''s struggle to write the novel, its critical reception and its significance for future generations.

Check this book out from BPL.




The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
By Mark Twain

Hilariously picaresque, epic in scope, alive with the poetry and vigor of the American people, Mark Twain''s story about a young boy and his journey down the Mississippi was the first great novel to speak in a truly American voice. Influencing subsequent generations of writers -- from Sherwood Anderson to Twain''s fellow Missourian, T.S. Eliot, from Ernest Hemingway and William Faulkner to J.D. Salinger -- Huckleberry Finn, like the river which flows through its pages, is one of the great sources which nourished and still nourishes the literature of America.

Check this book out from BPL.

Sploosh - Summer Adventure Reads

When is the best time to search for treasure or head out on a quest? Summertime, of course! Chart a course and head out onto the sea for excitement, danger, and these cool summer adventure reads:

Sea Hunter
By Paul Garrison
Published by Harper Torch

There is something swimming beneath the placid surface of Caribbean waters -- something sleek and frightening, an inexplicable perversion of the natural order. Virgin Islands charter captain David Hope has seen it, and his passenger, beautiful renegade filmmaker Sally Moffitt, has captured its image. Now they have something that one man will do anything to possess. William Tree, the commander of a towering high-tech research vessel and scion of one of America's wealthiest, most powerful families, lives his life in single-minded pursuit of a dark and brilliant vision that the world will soon recognize . . . and fear. But Hope and Moffitt cannot trust this amiable, eccentric, and dangerous man. And they intend to keep their secret hidden, even as a nightmare, unconditioned, rises up from the depths, setting them off on a breakneck hunt for answers to the greatest and most devastating mystery the seas have ever nurtured. A mystery that is now, ruthlessly and relentlessly, hunting them . . .

Check this book out from BPL.

Lost Empire
By Clive Cussler
Published by Putnam

While scuba diving in Tanzania, Sam and Remi Fargo discover a relic belonging to a long-lost Confederate ship. An anomaly about the relic sets them off chasing a mystery, and a rumored second artifact. But unknown to them, a much more powerful force is engaged in the same chase.

Check this book out from BPL.

Mad Lib Monday - Sploosh

It's Mad Lib Monday! In celebration of our Summer Reading Program 'Splash!' we'll be posting a new Mad Lib story each Monday morning this July and August. Print it out and fill in the blanks to make up your own wacky story!

SUMMER FUN
Every summer, people head to Lake ____________(your name) near ____________ (city or town) .There are so many things to do at the lake. Lots of people snorkel, hoping to catch a glimpse of the ____________ (adjective)____________ (animal plural) that live in the lake. On Saturdays, people have swimming relay races. Each team has ____________ (number) members. Swimmers carry ____________(plural noun) that are passed from one team member to the next. The winning team is awarded ____________(plural noun) and ____________ (plural noun). Lots of people come to watch the races. They cheer on teams by shouting,“____________!(exclamation)” After the races, people paddle their ____________ (plural noun) around the lake. Then everyone comes back to shore for a picnic of ____________(food singular) sandwiches and ____________ (food singular) sundaes. Someone usually plays the ____________ (singular noun) while people eat. People are sad when the summer ends. But everyone looks forward to the next summer at Lake ____________(your name).

Summer Reads 2011

Whether you’re lounging by the pool, relaxing by a campfire, or curled up at home with a glass of lemonade, summertime is definitely the best time to dive into a book. Here at the library we see hundreds of books fly in and out the doors every week. This summer we’re giving you the chance to rediscover some great summer reads. And because our Summer Reading Program theme this year is ‘Spalsh!, each week will will present books on a different summertime/water fun theme.

Keep checking back every day this July and August to learn more about these hot summer reads.

Canada Day

The Brooks Public Library will be closed today, Friday July 1, in honour of Canada Day. we will resume our regular hours on Saturday July 2.

But, even though the library doors are closed today, we've still got you covered with Canada Day activities. Think you know Canada? Try The Canadian Encyclopedia's Canucklehead Quiz. This quiz has questions on everything from Arts and Literature to History and Sports. It's a fun way to test your knowledge and you'll definatley pick up trivia to impress your friends and family with. You can also check out the Canadian Encyclopedia from the Shortgrass Online Database Resources page.