Notable new releases
compiled by Sally Brewster
The Quiet Librarian by Allen Eskens
Hana Babic is a quiet, middle-aged librarian in Minnesota who wants nothing more than to be left alone. But when a detective arrives with news that her best friend has been murdered, Hana knows something evil has come for her, a dark remnant of the past she and her friend had shared. Thirty years before, Hana was Nura Divjak, a teenager growing up in war-torn Bosnia, until Serbian soldiers arrived to slaughter her entire family before her eyes. The events of that day thrust Nura into the war and led her to join a band of militia fighters, where she became a fierce warrior and a legend — the deadly Night Mora, before fleeing to the United States with a bounty on her head. Now, someone is hunting Hana, and her friend has paid the price, leaving her 8-year-old grandson in Hana’s care. To protect the child without revealing her secret, Hana must again become the Night Mora — and hope she can find the killer before the past comes for them, too.
The Pardon: The Politics of Presidential Mercy by Jeffrey Toobin
In this deeply reported narrative, Jeffrey Toobin recreates the behind-the-scenes political melodrama during the tumultuous period leading up to and following Nixon’s resignation. The cast of characters includes Alexander Haig, Nixon’s last chief of staff who pushed for the pardon, and a young Justice Department lawyer named Antonin Scalia, who provided the legal justification. The Pardon also introduces a largely forgotten figure, Benton Becker, the Washington lawyer sent by Ford to negotiate the pardon with Nixon. Becker’s fresh reflections provide a startling and cinematic picture of the former president who proved a master manipulator even in exile.
We All Live Here by Jojo Moyes
Lila Kennedy has a lot on her plate: A broken marriage, two wayward daughters, a house that is falling apart, and an elderly stepfather who seems to have quietly moved in. Her career is in freefall and her love life is… complicated. So when her real dad — a man she has barely seen since he ran off to Hollywood 35 years ago — suddenly appears on her doorstep, it feels like the final straw. But it turns out even the family you thought you could never forgive might have something to teach you — about love, and what it actually means to be family.
On the Hippie Trail: Istanbul to Kathmandu and the Making of a Travel Writer by Rick Steves
In the 1970s, the ultimate trip for any backpacker was the storied “Hippie Trail” from Istanbul to Kathmandu. A 23-year-old Rick Steves made the trek, and like a travel writer in training, documented everything along the way: jumping off a moving train, making friends in Tehran, getting lost in Lahore, getting high for the first time in Herat, battling leeches in Pokhara and much more. The experience ignited his love of travel and forever broadened his perspective on the world.
Dream State by Eric Puchner
Cece has arrived early at her future in-laws’ lake house in Salish, Montana, to finish planning her wedding to Charlie, a young doctor with a brilliant life ahead of him. Charlie has asked Garrett, his best friend from college, to officiate the ceremony, though Cece can’t imagine anyone more ill-suited for the task — an airport baggage handler haunted by a tragedy from his and Charlie’s shared past. But as Cece spends time with Garrett, his gruff mask slips, and she grows increasingly uncertain about her future. And why does Garrett, after meeting Cece, begin to feel, well, human again? As a contagious stomach flu threatens to scuttle the wedding, and Charlie and Garrett’s friendship is put to the ultimate test, Cece must decide between the life she’s dreamed of and a life she’s never imagined. SP
Sally Brewster is the proprietor of Park Road Books, 4139 Park Rd.
