Rachel F.'s Picks
Rachel F. is a mom and an avid reader. When she's not trying to keep up with all the YA novels and graphic novels her daughters like read, her nose can be found in a psychological thriller...the more disturbing the better. She also loves to cook and can often be found in the Cooking section planning her next culinary adventure.
The Hummingbird, by Stephen Kiernan

With the empathy and compassion that we can expect from Kiernan, comes The Hummingbird. Deborah Birch is an experienced hospice nurse, her current patient an eccentric, rude, set-in-his-ways retired professor with a history that he refuses to share. She's up for the challenge. But her personal life is also in need of tender care. Her husband is home from his third deployment to Iraq. With each return he is a changed man, but this third return is the greatest change. He is not the man she married at all: tortured, closed off, resistant to her affection, flat out a different man. Deborah is willing to to stick by him, and help comes to her from a place she least expected: her hospice patient.
While Kiernan's The Curiosity certainly dealt with the ethical and moral issues that he is known for, this story is clearly one that Kiernan had close to his heart. The writing is compassion personified, the story is compelling and as hopeful as it is heartbreaking.
The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins

Email or call for price.
Rachel is far from being the most likeable person or reliable witness, so when she goes to the police after observing something out of the ordinary on her daily train ride, her whole life spirals out of control. Everything she knows to be true of herself--present AND past--changes. This is my kind of suspense novel.
--Rachel F.
The Nightengale, by Kristin Hannah

This book took me by surprise. Not my usual genre choice, I was immediately drawn into Vianne and Isabelle's story: two sisters whose survival in Nazi occupied France take different paths.What each sister chooses to do, how they respond to occupation, shows us what we might do in the most challenging of moments. A great read.
Broken Monsters, by Lauren Beukes

If I could have locked myself in a room and read this mystery from beginning to end, I would have. Gripping, edgy, totally wack and impossibly hard to put down.
A Paris Apartment by Michelle Gable

Inspired by the discovery of an abandoned Parisian apartment that had
been shut tight for 70 years, this is the story of April Vogt in the
present day and Marthe de Florian of the Belle Epoque. Alternating
between the two eras, Gable expertly weaves a tale of romance, complex
relationships and secrets both past and present that will keep you
reading into the wee hours. An excellent read by a new author to keep an
eye on!
Nom Nom Paleo: Food for Humans

Email or call for price.
A Paleo cookbook that is VERY worth the read even if you don't lead a paleo lifestyle. The recipes are straight forward and DELICIOUS! The photography is great (good enough to eat!) and Michelle's dialogue will make you feel like she's in the kitchen with you!
Do NOT miss the Sow Cooker Kalua Pig, page 234...four ingredients + 16 hours = melt in your mouth nirvana!
The Winter People by Jennifer McMahon

Email or call for price.
Jennifer McMahon's newest novel is creepy to its dark core.
When a loved one passes, we want nothing more than to bring them back.
What if you could? What about the repurcussions?
Set in the town of West Hall, VT, a town with old legends and superstitions, McMahon's The Winter People tells the story of Sarah Harrison Shea and her mysterious death in 1908, and of present day Ruthie, her mother Alice, and Katherine...and how the legend of Sarah's tragic story has connected them all. The Winter People will keep you reading well into the night, make your hair stand on end, make you check under the bed and, most important, keep the closet door shut tight.
The Silent Wife by A.S. A. Harrison

An intense his-and-her look at the unraveling of a marriage. Not a thriller--not even a mystery--we know from the start that Jodi is going to kill Todd, but the classic why, sinister how and fine details of the disintegrating relationship are revealed over the course of this clever novel. (FYI, this novel is often compared to Gone Girl, if you liked Gone Girl you will like The Silent Wife, but they are NOTHING alike).
Ties That Bind by David Isay

Email or call for price.
These stories from the first ten years of Storycorps will move you tears, laughter, anger and love. I dare you to read just one without experiencing some overwhelming wave of emotion. At truly wonderful collection of memoirs.