$28.00
ISBN: 9780525657323
Availability: Click Title for IN STORE Location
Published: Knopf - June 27th, 2023
There is something to be said about being the best of anything even when the achievement isn't a particularly admirable one. Nobody could steal art like Stephane Breitwieser and his beloved cohort-in-crime, Anne-Catherine Kleinklaus. Unlike other master thieves, however, the root of Breitwieser's criminal behavior was not grounded in greed. Great art was the oxygen that he needed to sustain his life. He stocked the attic room he shared with Anne-Catherine in his mother's house with priceless treasures the brazen pair had stolen from countless museums in Europe. As he did in his riveting The Stranger in the Woods, Mr. Finkel strives to usher the reader into the mind of his subject; to explore the obsession that drove him and to inevitably bestow grudging admiration for a man who so faithfully followed his twisted dreams. ~ Reviewed by Alden Graves
$32.99
ISBN: 9780063275034
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Published: William Morrow - March 14th, 2023
In 1916, Nagyrev was a small farming town in what is now the country of Hungary. Everybody knew everybody and most people were dirt poor. One of the village's most recognizable residents was a portly woman everyone called Auntie Suzy. There was nothing she wouldn't do to help out her friends and acquaintances. Over the years Auntie Suzy, who was hardly ever without her little vial of liquid, became relatively wealthy by local standards. A number of recent widows repaid her for the kindness she showed them and new mothers were relieved that they didn't have another mouth to feed after all. The future looked bright until a new doctor in Nagyrev began to take a closer look at the people Auntie Suzy had "helped." Ms. McCracken's unnerving, riveting story of Auntie Suzy's unapologetic embrace of pure evil would seem absurdly far-fetched if it was fiction. It is so bleakly horrifying, it just had to be true. ~ Reviewed by Alden Graves
$30.00
ISBN: 9781541758513
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Published: PublicAffairs - March 21st, 2023
A different kind of horror story, one that Stephen King might find difficult to imagine. The author takes her readers through a netherworld of torture, neglect, and murder as she describes the sordid histories of various orphanages around the world. Her focus is on St. Joseph's in Vermont, which was operated by the Catholic Diocese of Burlington and staffed largely by the Canadian based Sisters of Providence. Out of the cruelty and neglect that characterized their early lives, some survivors rose like the mythical Phoenix to turn the world's attention on the children who were lost and psychologically maimed by the hellish abuse they endured. This is a book that should be read by everyone, but especially by those who believe that such things just don't happen in countries where people like to think of themselves as civilized. ~ Reviewed by Alden Graves
$30.00
ISBN: 9780385534260
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Published: Doubleday - April 18th, 2023
An epic survival tale by the author of Killers of the Flower Moon. What begins as an adventurous quest to capture a Spanish galleon filled with silver and gold ends in disaster after the Wager, part of a fleet of British warships, sinks and the crew is left stranded on a desolate island off the coast of South America. Wracked by hunger and battered by an unforgiving climate, the men splinter into warring factions that jeopardize attempts to escape a grim fate. This spellbinding chronicle of endurance incorporates themes explored in classic maritime tales like Mutiny On the Bounty, while it subtly weaves in psychological elements reminiscent of Lord of the Flies. ~ Reviewed by Alden Graves
$27.00
ISBN: 9781635577235
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Published: Bloomsbury Publishing - February 1st, 2022
To me, this is true crime at its best: personal, poignant and compelling. The author delves deeply into the murder of her step-sister whom she never actually met but whose disappearance she lived with for most of her life. This exploration of the crime and its aftermath is deeply personal and illuminates how complex the relationship is between victim, survivors, law enforcement and even the perpetrator. It is also, unfortunately, a chilling reminder of the unfortunate truth that women are frequently subjected to violence and abuse, from those they know and from totally random strangers. ~ Reviewed by Tambra Johnson Reap
$28.95
ISBN: 9781616209094
Availability: IN WAREHOUSE - Usually Ships in 3-7 Business Days
Published: Algonquin Books - May 3rd, 2022
Although my final takeaway was frustration and anger with the ultimately inconclusive investigation, this beautifully written narrative kept me glued to the page throughout.
It is not only a rigorously researched account of the unsolved murders of two women on in the Shenandoah Park in 1996, and an unproved but substantially documented uncovering of the true culprit; but also an emotional and empathetic study of what happens when violence shatters the belief of the wilderness as a place of beauty and respite, the effects of which can ripple down decades. A must read for all women and lovers of the outdoors. ~ Reviewed by Tambra Johnson Reap
