ELLINWOOD — “The Death of Santini” by Pat Conroy.  Pat Conroy explores the complicated relationship between him and his father in this heart wrenching account of personal and family struggles, and share how he and his father reached a rapprochement of sorts revealing how love can soften even the meanest of men.
“The Miner’s Lady” by Tracie Peterson. Chantel scoffs when her younger sister announces her love for Orlando Calarco. What could she be thinking? A deep hatred divides the two families. But when Chantel meets Dante, her hearts awakens and she too, longs for the rift between their families to heal.
“In Calamity’s Wake” by Natalee Caple. This novel features the Wild West heroine Calamity Jane and Miette, the daughter she abandoned. Miette’s beloved adoptive father makes a deathbed request that Miette and her famous estranged mother reunite. Along her adventure she meets a cast of characters worthy of western legend, and revealing stories of Calamity Jane.
“Mrs. Poe” by Lynn Cullen. This novel is inspired by literature’s most haunting love triangles, and the author delivers an incredible portrayal of Edgar Allan Poe, his mistress’s tantalizing confession, and his wife’s frightening obsession. When the wife and the mistress becomes friends the relationship becomes as dark and twisted as one of Poe’s tales.
“The Goldfinch” by Donna Tartt. Abandoned by his father, a motherless boy is taken in by a wealthy Park Avenue family. Bewildered by his new home, lifestyle, and school, the child clings to the one item that reminds him of his mother, a small mysterious painting that ultimately draws him into the criminal underworld.
“Hostage” by Kay Hooper. Luther Brinkman has been sent into the wilderness of the Appalachian Mountains to locate felon Cole Jacoby, a mentally unstable bank robber. After being wounded by the convict, Luther and special agent Callie Davis find their rescue mission turning into a deadly game of cat and mouse. Soon they discover that the bank robber is more of a monster than they had ever imagined.
“Storm Front” by John Sanford. Virgil Flowers gets a special message. He’s about to get a visitor who’s smuggled an ancient relic, an inscribed stone reveling startling details about the man known as King Solomon. And there are some very bad men that want to get their hands on the artifact.
Sharon Sturgis is the librarian at the Ellinwood School/Community Library.