River Readers

Deese, the enforcer for a loan shark, is arrested after a visit to a delinquent account goes sideways. When he later escapes, it leads federal agents Bob and Rae to a gruesome discovery on Deese's Louisiana property. U.S. Marshal Lucas Davenport is called in to assist in tracking him and the burglary team he has joined to California and ultimately to Las Vegas. Bob suggests that the pursuit is too easy -- but is proven wrong. The team has to battle shootouts, heat, kidnapping, and technology in tracking down their prey.

Is time travel possible? In H.G. Wells' The Time Machine, when the traveler goes forward in time in his laboratory, why would he disappear from that single location? What happens if a man kills his grandfather? These and other questions are explored by many science- and physics-oriented books. Ryan Wasserman, a professor of philosophy at Western Washington University, found interest in his classes over time paradoxes, which he eventually expanded into a course.

Before George Washington was president, he was also the commander of the revolutionary army. Not as well known, is the conspiracy to kidnap or kill Washington at the beginning of the war. Why the plot failed is due to the introduction of counterintelligence -- along with many coincidence and a dose of dumb luck. The story is told, pieced together from writings, records, and letters, in an engaging radio serial style, with each chapter setting up the next portion of the story.

CIA agent Sam Capra receives a frantic call from his wife to leave the office, and escapes moments before there is an explosion killing everyone. He see his pregnant wife Lucy being taken from the scene -- and then becomes the focus of the investigation. Was Lucy kidnapped, or has she turned traitor? Sam is determined to find his wife and their baby, but in order to track her he must go rogue and rely on his history, CIA experience, his athletics skills in parkour and some unlikely allies in order to clear her name and find out who is responsible in the first of six titles.

How do you research the world of mazes and labyrinths? Eliot provides history, philosophies, stories, and personalities of this fascinating topic in a book that is not only informative but also a unique reading experience. As you hold the book upside down, right-side up and sideways in order to read it, the reader experiences the sensation of wandering through a maze. The illustrator Quibe primarily uses a unbroken single red thread that weaves its way throughout the entire book.

It all starts with a ring in a pawn shop -- a ladies West Point ring engraved with SRS. Jack Reacher knows, based on his experience and the year, it is not a thing given up lightly and decides to track the owner. The ex-MP's follows the ring across several states and a variety of unsavory characters as he discovers more about its owner's life. This title in author Lee Child's best-selling series relies less on non-stop action and more on procedure to answer questions, right some wrongs, and eventually leads to a showdown at the midnight line.

After being discredited on the Mike Douglas Show, The Amazing Telemachus Family no longer had dreams of touring fame, though their abilities were genuine -- well, almost. Frankie can move objects, Irene is a human lie detector, Buddy can sense the future and their mother Maureen can astral project. And then there is the patriarch Teddy, whose abilities are more along the lines of con man. After a tragic event, the family has not fared too well, unemployed, in debt, having trouble with relationships and engaged in odd home construction projects.

When Olivia Randall receives a phone call from an upset teenager about her father's arrest for murder, the criminal defense lawyer is put face-to-face with novelist Jack Harris and a story so preposterous it seems difficult to believe -- let alone defend. Olivia must confront the guilt of breaking her ex-fiance Jack's heart many years ago. She owes it to him to clear his name. But when she discovers inconsistencies and coincidences, she is forced to face some nagging doubts.

When it is suggested to those who are white that society is racist, the reaction is often some mixture of defensiveness and anger. The reason: white fragility. Racism, argues the author, is not only done by bad people; it is a condition when society is structured to accept a white perspective as the norm. She uses multiple examples and anecdotes to knock down assumptions and objections. This is a powerful book filled with challenging ideas.

In "Elevation," Stephen King presents the story of Scott Carey a man who discovers an odd condition as he grows lighter, despite not losing any weight. Scott seeks to do a little elevation of his own in helping his neighbors to be accepted in the community, and tries to use his condition to put a crazy scheme into action before it's too late. The second story, "Laurie," available on the audio version only, is about a widower who is presented a dog he doesn't want, but finds that he really needs.

This book, claims author Rick Reilly, is not political -- it is about sports and his love of golf, a game of honor. When he read the ludicrous claim that Donald Trump had won 18 club championships, it inspired this book. The president is an excellent golfer and an engaging partner (as Reilly knows first-hand), yet is widely known for cheating and wild claims because "everyone does it" and "it sounds better." Much of Trump's life -- his upbringing, his business dealings, his penchant for lawsuits, and his inability to lose or let go of a grudge -- is examined, using golf as a lens.

When the author visits the Los Angeles Public Library, she rekindles a passion for libraries from her childhood. Then she discovers the mystery of the library's fire in 1986 that burned for seven hours, destroyed more than 400,000 books and damaged thousands more, but many feel had never been solved. Susan Orlean investigates the fire itself, while considering book burnings throughout history, and the feel of actually burning a book herself.

The law firm of Rosato & DiNunzio is blindsided by a reverse discrimination suit brought by a past nemesis, Nick Machiavelli; then they are shocked that their one male associate's public comments bolster the case. The firm wants to fight back against the public relations beating they are taking, but the firm's defense attorney urges them a more "Zen" approach. Mary DiNunzio is fighting pregnancy complications and the firm is scrambling to keep clients in a story filled with revelations, twists, and both unlikely sources and South Philly connections bringing help ...and danger.

When the mayor of Wheatfield, Minnesota and his best friend cook up a plan to save their town in a way that won't hurt anyone, the town finds itself a pilgrimage site after an appearance of the Virgin Mary. Investigator Virgil Flowers is summoned to the town when people are shot and soon find two murders as well. He searches for a shooter that no one hears - along with a stolen shipment of Legos somewhere in the vicinity - he knows he will eventually find his suspect. But first, he needs to survive the bad pancakes and chicken pot pies.

Author Lee Child goes back into his character Jack Reacher's past to a time when he is sent to school. But of course, the assignment is not quite that simple. The government has brought together representatives of the military and intelligence communities because of an undercover source's report that an American is offering something for $100 million. What could be worth an offer of that size? Reacher and his best friend Sergeant Frances Neagley head to Germany as their best option, interviewing subjects and chasing leads.