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Tag Archives: Massachusetts

The Hour of the Witch by Chris Bohjalian

17 Friday Sep 2021

Posted by Weston Public Library Staff in Fiction, Historical Fiction

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colonial period ca. 1600's, malicious accusation, marital violence, Massachusetts, New England, Puritans, suspense, thriller, Trials (Witchcraft)

Since I have a Salem witch relative, I was waiting anxiously for this book.  Not Salem this time  –  Mary Deerfield’s trial all takes place in Boston. This was a riveting read. I was on the edge of my seat, gripping drama but reader take note – ** absolutely, no-matter what, read all the way to the very last page.

“Hour of the Witch is historical fiction at its best… Insightful and empathetic… Thick with details as chowder is with clams… handled with great skill and delicacy. The book is a thriller in structure, and a real page-turner, the ending both unexpected and satisfying.”—Diana Gabaldon, The Washington Post

“Classic Chris Bohjalian—moments of deep dread, extraordinary plot twists, and characters you love to root for paired with characters you love to hate.”
—Writer’s Digest

“Throughout Bohjalian’s prolific career, he has rewarded readers with indelibly drawn female protagonists, and the formidable yet vulnerable Mary Deerfield is a worthy addition to the canon. Conjuring up specters of #MeToo recriminations and social media shaming, there are twenty-first-century parallels to Bohjalian’s atmospheric Puritan milieu, and his trademark extensive research pays off in this authentic portrait of courage in the face of society’s worst impulses. Bohjalian is a perennial favorite, and this Salem Witch Hunt drama has a special magnetism.”—Booklist, starred review

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Writers & Lovers by Lily King

27 Friday Mar 2020

Posted by Weston Public Library Staff in Fiction, romance

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authors, life changing events, Massachusetts, romance, triangles (interpersonal relationships), waitresses

A 31-year old woman lives in a tiny apartment and works a stressful waitressing job as she grieves the unexpected death of her mother. Along with her financial struggles and tumultuous romantic relationships, she also yearns to be an author. I loved the characters in this story, the beautiful writing, and the Massachusetts setting (most of it takes place in Cambridge).

“[I]ntimate and vulnerable… Lily King’s novel follows a deeply relatable protagonist navigating a whole menu of crises surrounded by a cast of genuine, vivid characters… the book occupies a small space, but packs it to the brim with humanity.” ―Entertainment Weekly

“[F]unny and romantic and hard to put down, full of well-observed details of restaurant culture and writer’s workshops. It’s hard to imagine a reader who wouldn’t root for Casey.”―Library Journal, starred review

“King leaves no barrier between readers and smart, genuine, cynical, and funny Casey. A closely observed tale of finding oneself, and one’s voice, while working through grief.”―Booklist (starred review)

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On Beauty by Zadie Smith

13 Wednesday Dec 2017

Posted by Weston Public Library Staff in Fiction

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college teachers, intergenerational relations, Massachusetts, racially mixed children

An English professor moves his family to a Boston suburb to teach at a university, where they are each drawn into relationships, friendships, and conflicts, particularly with another academic family. This book is funny, insightful, and poignant, loosely based on E.M. Forster’s novel Howards End.

“In this sharp, engaging satire, beauty’s only skin-deep, but funny cuts to the bone.” —Kirkus Reviews

“…[A] thoroughly original tale about families and generational change, about race and multiculturalism in millennial America, about love and identity and the ways they are affected by the passage of time. Ms. Smith possesses a captivating authorial voice—at once authoritative and nonchalant, and capacious enough to accommodate high moral seriousness, laid-back humor and virtually everything in between—and in these pages, she uses that voice to enormous effect, giving us that rare thing: a novel that is as affecting as it is entertaining, as provocative as it is humane.” —Michiko Kakutani, The New York Times

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Wrong Girl (Jane Ryland) by Hank Phillippi Ryan

01 Friday Sep 2017

Posted by Weston Public Library Staff in Fiction, murder, mystery

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adoption, corrupt practices, family secrets, foster home care, Massachusetts, missing children, murder investigation, suspense

Chosen by the Weston Library Mystery Group.  Now the AGATHA AWARD WINNER for Best Contemporary Mystery and the DAPHNE AWARD WINNER for Best Mystery/Suspense!

Investigating allegations against an adoption agency that is suspected of reuniting adopted children with the wrong birth parents, Jane Ryland finds her efforts suspiciously tied to Jake Brogan’s case involving a young woman’s brutal murder and the disappearance of a baby.

THE WRONG GIRL has all the right stuff! The pacing is furious, the characters are great fun, and the dialogue crackles.–Linwood Barclay

A riveting story that will hook you from page one! Unputdownable–Deborah Crombie

 

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The Dogs of Littlefield by Suzanne Berne

15 Monday May 2017

Posted by Weston Public Library Staff in Fiction, Humor, mystery

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dogs, Massachusetts, satire, suburban life, woman sociologist

9781501124747_p0_v2_s118x184

When Littlefield, Massachusetts, named one of the Twenty Best Places to Live in America, falls under the scrutiny of sociologist Dr. Clarice Watkins to study the elements of “good quality of life”, someone begins poisoning the town’s dogs. Are the poisonings in protest to an off-leash proposal for Baldwin Park—the subject of much town debate—or the sign of a far deeper disorder?

“Berne (Missing Lucile, 2010, etc.), who won the Orange Prize for her first novel, A Crime in the Neighborhood (1997), is a sure hand at the dinner parties, school concerts, teacup tempests, and true moments of suspense that make a suburban comedy of manners par excellence. It’s too bad about the dogs, but they died for a good cause.”—Kirkus (Starred Review)

“A look at suburban life that manages to be both scathing and sympathetic, Berne’s latest is a smart,amusing satire.”—Booklist

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Hammer Head: the Making of a Carpenter by Nina MacLaughlin

27 Wednesday May 2015

Posted by Weston Public Library Staff in Biography, Non-fiction

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Boston, career change, carpenters, Massachusetts, risk, women

9780393239133_p0_v1_s114x166

I thoroughly enjoyed this description of MacLaughlin’s journey from working behind a desk at the Boston Phoenix to discovering a new career as a carpenter’s assistant.  Her construction jobs take place in the Boston area and are full of local color and characters.  She has a beautiful way with words infusing quotes and stories from her college major in the Classics.  This is a special story, very well told.  

“A former journalist tells the story of how a longing to “engage with the tangible, to do work that resulted in something I could touch” led to an unexpectedly fulfilling career as a carpenter. As she neared 30, former Boston Phoenix editor MacLaughlin came to the painful realization that the job she once thought was “the coolest job in the world” no longer satisfied her…..The carpenter doing the search, also a woman, took a chance and hired MacLaughlin, despite her total lack of experience….A surprisingly thoughtful book about taking chances and finding joy in change.” – Kirkus Reviews

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The Hanging Judge by Michael Ponsor

10 Monday Nov 2014

Posted by Weston Public Library Staff in Fiction

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capital punishment, criminal justice, judges, Massachusetts, murder, sentences (criminal procedure), trials

9781480441941_p0_v5_s114x166

This extraordinary thriller written by Michael Ponsor, a senior judge in the U.S. District Court in Springfield, Massachusetts, offers an unprecedented inside view of a death penalty trial.  The novel is based on the experience of the author who presided over the first capital case in Massachusetts in more than fifty years.  Massachusetts readers will be rewarded with many references to the towns of Amherst, Holyoke, Northampton as well as Springfield.

The Honorable Michael A. Ponsor will speak at the Weston Public Library on Thursday, November 13 at 7 pm in the Community Room.

“There are plenty of surprises to keep readers turning pages. Ponsor gives readers a unique look into the workings of a courtroom. But more than that, he demonstrates a feel for how ordinary families are affected by the legal system. Ponsor’s debut would make a great movie.” —Kirkus Reviews, starred review

“A marvelous entertainment, a page-turning mystery full of romance and humor, which takes us inside the fraught and rather secretive world of a judge’s chambers. In the best way—that is, indirectly—Ponsor informs us about the facts that ought to inform debate on the death penalty. What impressed me most of all was the book’s authority; it has the heft of authenticity.” —Tracy Kidder, Pulitzer Prize–winning author of Mountains Beyond Mountains

 “A compelling tale, with a cast of vividly drawn characters and a plot that twists and turns—it entertains, as a good novel should, but even better, it also informs, as only the best ones do.” —Jonathan Harr, author of A Civil Action

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