February 2008: Adult Acquisitions

 The Accidental Countess
Contributor(s): Schroeder, Melissa
Caught in a compromising position with a stranger, Colleen is forced into a marriage to save her reputation. Sebastian never planned on becoming the next Earl of Penwyth or falling in love. Before he can declare his feelings, he must protect his wife from an enemy who wants them both dead. Samhain Publishing
Categories:  Fiction | Romance | Historical; Fiction | Romance | Suspense
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The Animal Dialogues: Uncommon Encounters in the Wild
Contributor(s): Childs, Craig
From one of the finest nature writers at work comes a lyrical, dramatic, illuminating tour of the hidden domain of wild animals. Each of the 40 brief narratives focuses on the authors own encounter and is replete with facts about the species behavior, habitat, breeding, and lifespan.
   Categories:  Nature | Animals; Science | Life Sciences | Zoology - General
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The Appeal
Contributor(s): Grisham, John (Author); Beck, Michael (Read by)
In his first legal thriller since 2005s "The Broker, New York Times" bestselling author Grisham returns to familiar ground. In most states in America, justice is for sale--and only the rich can afford it. Abridged. 5 CDs.
   Categories:  Fiction | Legal; Fiction | Thrillers
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The Appeal
Contributor(s): Grisham, John
In Grisham's first legal thriller since "The Broker," justice is for sale-and only the rich can afford it.
   Categories:  Fiction | Legal; Fiction | Thrillers
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Betrayal
Contributor(s): Lescroart, John
"New York Times" bestseller Lescroart returns with an ambitious, torn-from-today's headlines thriller featuring his trademark blend of real people and real suspense.
   Categories:  Fiction | Legal; Fiction | Suspense
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Beverly Hills Dead
Contributor(s): Woods, Stuart
"New York Times" bestselling author Woods returns with the sequel to "The Prince of Beverly Hills," in this page-turning novel of murder, political intrigue, and betrayal set in 1940s Hollywood--the era of the Red Scare, when almost anyone could be a suspect.
Categories:  Fiction | Mystery & Detective | General
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Blasphemy
Contributor(s): Preston, Douglas J
The world's biggest supercollider, the Torus, was built to reveal the secrets of the very moment of creation: the Big Bang itself.  Will the Torus divulge the mysteries of the creation of the universe?  Or is it an attempt to challenge God on the very throne of heaven?
   Categories:  Fiction | Thrillers
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Bleeding Kansas
Contributor(s): Paretsky, Sara
The "New York Times" bestselling author’s most remarkable novel yet--a story of two families, linked by their Midwestern pioneer pasts, and the dark family secrets that threaten to tear them apart.
   Categories:  Fiction | Suspense
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The Bloody Shirt: Terror After Appomattox
Contributor(s): Budiansky, Stephen
In his vivid, fast-paced narrative of the era now known as reconstruction, Budiansky illuminates the lives of five remarkable men, whose idealism in the face of overwhelming hatred would not be matched for nearly a century. 8-page b&w photo insert.
Categories:  History | United States | Reconstruction Period (1865-1877)
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The Crazy School
Contributor(s): Read, Cornelia
From the acclaimed author of "A Field of Darkness" comes another compelling novel featuring the acerbic and memorable voice of ex-debutante Madeline Dare.
   Categories:  Fiction | General
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The Duke and I
Contributor(s): Quinn, Julia
Simon Basset, the irresistible Duke of Hastings, pretends to be engaged to the lovely Daphne Bridgerton to get the town's marriage-minded society mothers off his back. Meanwhile, both are finding it hard to keep their emotional distance and resist their mutual desire.
(PBK)   Categories:  Fiction | Romance | Regency; Fiction | Romance | Historical
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Duma Key
Contributor(s): King, Stephen
The #1 bestselling author delivers a new novel about a man whose near-fatal accident gives him access to vast powers of creativity--and destruction.
   Categories:  Fiction | Occult
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Fatal Remedies
Contributor(s): Leon, Donna
Donna Leon's multitude of fans around the world has grown with each new Commissario Brunetti novel, and now mystery lovers in the United States can enjoy another compelling episode. In "Fatal Remedies," Brunetti's career is under threat when his professional and personal lives unexpectedly intersect. In the chill of the Venetian dawn, a sudden act of vandalism shatters the quiet of the deserted city, and Brunetti is shocked to find that the culprit waiting to be apprehended at the scene is a member of his own family. Meanwhile, he is also under pressure from his superiors to solve a daring robbery with connections to a suspicious accidental death. Could the two crimes be connected? And will Brunetti be able to prove his family’s innocence before its too late?
(Paperback, also on CD Audiobook)
   Categories:  Fiction | Mystery & Detective | Police Procedural; Fiction | Suspense
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Fodor's Guatemala
Contributor(s): Van Fleet, Jeffrey
Tourism is booming in Guatemala, one of the most charming regions of Latin America. This new guide provides comprehensive coverage of everything Guatemala has to offer, from hiking up volcanoes to visiting the pyramids of Tikal to shopping in some of the most colorful markets of the area.
   Categories:  Travel | Central America
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Governess: The Lives and Times of the Real Jane Eyres
Contributor(s): Brandon, Ruth
The rise and fall of the English governess, the domestic heroine who inspired Victorian literatures greatest authors including Jane Austen and the Bronte sisters, is explored in this work that crafts a rare portrait of real women whose lives were in stark contrast to the romantic tales of their fictional counterparts.
   Categories:  History | Europe | Great Britain - General; Social Science | Women's Studies | History
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How to Rig an Election: Confessions of a Republican Operative
Contributor(s): Raymond, Allen (Author); Spiegelman, Ian (With)
Throughout his work with the Republican Party, Raymond played a key role in helping GOP candidates dupe the public, libel their enemies, and generally twist the truth. This work confirms readers worst suspicions of the GOP with staggering detail and authority.
   Categories:  Biography & Autobiography | Political
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In Defense of Food: An Eater's Manifesto
Contributor(s): Pollan, Michael
From the author of the bestselling "The Omnivore's Dilemma" comes this bracing and eloquent manifesto that shows readers how they might start making g thoughtful food choices that will enrich their lives and enlarge their sense of what it means to be healthy.
   Categories:  Health & Fitness | Nutrition
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Korea Strait
Contributor(s): Poyer, David
A suspenseful and timely sea adventure by the most thoughtful of the military-thriller set and a master of authentic detail ("Kirkus Reviews").
   Categories:  Fiction | Espionage/Intrigue; Fiction | Sea Stories; Fiction | Thrillers
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Lonely Planet Italy
Contributor(s): Simonis, Damien
Lonely Planet's most successful European guide takes readers beyond the usual cities into the heart of the Italian countryside. This book features seven inspiring new itineraries with more focus on responsible travel, farm stays, local markets, and slow food restaurants.
   Categories:  Travel | Europe | Italy
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Lonely Planet Tuscany and Umbria
Contributor(s): Williams, Nicola
With more focus placed on character-filled, value-for-money places to stay and eat in one of Europe's most popular destinations, this guide to Tuscany and Umbria includes more coverage of off-the-beaten-track activities, along with a new 12-page section with maps and images.
   Categories:  Travel | Europe | Italy
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Morningstar Funds 500 (2008)
Contributor(s): Kinnel, Russel (Author); Berry, Scott (Author)Morningstar Inc (Author)
This annual publication provides readers with one-page research reports on 500 of the best and most notable funds. Each fund report includes a written analysis, telling how and why a fund has succeeded or failed, as well as details on the funds portfolio, performance, and manager.
   Categories:  Business & Economics | Investments & Securities | General
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Morningstar Guide to Mutual Funds: Five-Star Strategies for Success
Contributor(s): Benz, Christine
   Categories:  Business & Economics | Investments & Securities | Mutual Funds
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Mr. and Mrs. Prince: How an Extraordinary Eighteenth-Century Family Moved Out of Slavery and Into Legend
Contributor(s): Gerzina, Gretchen Holbrook (Author); Gerzina, Anthony (With)
Merging exhaustively researched history and grand storytelling, Gerzina reveals the true story of a remarkable couple whose lives contain the paradoxes of slavery in New England. Illustrated.
   Categories:  Biography & Autobiography | Cultural Heritage; Social Science | Ethnic Studies | African American Studies - History; History | United States | State & Local - New England; History | United States | 18th Century
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The New Writer's Handbook: A Practical Anthology of Best Advice for Your Craft & Career (2007)
Contributor(s): Martin, Philip (Editor); Jong, Erica (Preface by)
   Categories:  Language Arts & Disciplines | Composition & Creative Writing | General; Language Arts & Disciplines | Authorship; Reference | Writing Skills
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Race you to the Fountain of Youth: I'm Not Dead Yet (But Parts of Me Are Going Fast) Laughing Your Way Through Midlife
Contributor(s): Bolton, Martha (Author); Dickson, Brad (Author)
Two award-winning and acclaimed comedy writers share the male and female perspectives of growing older in this take-it-easy approach to life after 40. Bolton and Dickson remind readers of their vital place in today’s society, even in a culture that focuses on younger, better, faster.
   Categories:  Religion | Christian Life | Inspirational; Family & Relationships | Aging | General; Humor | General
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The Seduction of the Crimson Rose
Contributor(s): Willig, Lauren
Willig continues the exciting series with her fourth novel featuring Lord Vaughn, the delightfully devilish spy from "The Masque of the Black Tulip," and Mary Alsworthy, the raven-haired beauty whose sister accidentally steals her suitor in "The Deception of the Emerald Ring."
   Categories:  Fiction | Historical | General
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The Shooters
Contributor(s): Griffin, W E B
The #1 "New York Times" bestselling series returns with a story as up-to-date as the headlines. Griffin's novels featuring Delta Force officer Charley Castillo and his band of troubleshooters have won wide praise for their realism and action.
   Categories:  Fiction | War & Military
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Strange as This Weather Has Been
Contributor(s): Pancake, Ann
From Booklist
*Starred Review* With her beloved West Virginia hollows and valleys under constant onslaught by a savage coal-mining industry whose raping of the land threatens her home with devastating floods, Lace Ricker finds herself battling callous forces both without and within her own family. As thunderous blasts weaken their home's foundation and poisoned wastewater infiltrates their well, Lace and her daughter, Bant, secretly become more determined to find a way to stop the mines, while Lace's husband pragmatically refuses to fight the union bosses, and her sons tentatively, then calamitously, accept the challenges and adventure of life lived in the shadow of imminent danger. By tracing the devastating impact of coal mining through the eyes of Lace and her four children, Pancake's powerful debut novel evinces a poetic pathos and authentic respect for the land and the people who love it. To comprehend the egregious and tragic environmental damage mountaintop-removal coal mining has wrought on the once pristine vistas of Appalachia, one should read any one of many excellent exposés. To understand the human toll such destruction exacts, one must turn to fiction, for novels such as Pancake's reflect deeper, timeless truths. Haggas, Carol
   Categories:  Fiction | Literary
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A Week from Sunday
Contributor(s): Garlock, Dorothy
Adrianna Moore has just had a double shock: the death of her father and the discovery that he has left his entire estate to his lawyer. The lawyer, a repulsive social climber, tells her that to regain her inheritance, she must marry him A WEEK FROM SUNDAY. Adrianna takes off, driving desperately to a new life. Caught in a violent rainstorm, she collides with an oncoming truck. Quinn Baxter, the driver of the truck, demands repayment for his lost cargo. They reach a bargain: she will live in his home, tutor his bedridden younger brother and play piano in Quinn's tavern to pay off her debt. Drawn to the rugged Quinn, challenged by the interaction with the tavern patrons, she also must deal with an intractable foe--Quinn's housekeeper who is scheming to become his wife. And all the while, the spurned lawyer is following Adrianna's trail, determined to find her and force her to marry him.
   Categories:  Fiction | Romance | General
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Windswept
Contributor(s): Macela, Ann
Young historian Barrett Browning is summoned to an old plantation to inventory a library of family papers. Davis Jamison, the plantations owner, distrusts Barrett’s scholarly ambitions. The standoff between the two crumbles when Davis begins to realize that he is falling in love.
(PBK) Categories:  Fiction | Romance | Contemporary
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The Winter Rose
Contributor(s): Donnelly, Jennifer
It has been 12 years since a dark, murderous figure stalked the alleys and courts of Whitechapel. Reformers, moved by the plight of the poor, work to better their conditions. Among them is an idealistic young doctor named India Selwyn-Jones.
   Categories:  Fiction | Historical | General