ON THE SHELF: New Fiction audiobooks for the multitasker

Published 4:00 am Sunday, June 26, 2022

This column was submitted by Evangeline Cessna, Local History Librarian at the Warren County-Vicksburg Public Library.

This week I am highlighting some of our New Fiction titles available on audio.

Bestselling author Janet Evanovich launches a new series with her book “The Recovery Agent.” Gabriela Rose is the person to call if you have lost something — she’s calm, cool and collected in a pinch. She’s a recovery agent hired by individuals and companies to find lost treasure, stolen heirlooms, or missing assets of any kind. Her latest client isn’t some billionaire conned by a gold digger; it’s her own family. They have been threatened if they do not come up with a lot of money and fast. Gabriela is inspired by an old family legend that will lead her through the jungles of Peru in search of the Ring of Solomon and the lost treasure of Lima. There is one big problem at the outset of her journey — her ex-husband Rafer. Rafer is the one who has the map that could lead them to the treasure and he’s not about to let Gabriela get the goods without him. These two are polar opposites; Rafer is laid back, and Gabriela is driven. They are going to have to work together, though, because it will take their combined resources and willpower to beat the drug kingpin who is not afraid of dropping some bodies to find the fabled Ring.

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“Olive Bright, Pigeoneer” is the debut mystery novel from Stephanie Graves. Olive is a tenacious young pigeon fancier who lives in a charming British village during World War II. Though the war rages across Europe and London is plagued by German aircraft, the tiny village of Pipley in Hertfordshire chugs along as it always has. Olive feels adrift since her best friend, George, joined the RAF, but she manages to fill her days by helping her father’s veterinarian practice and tending to her beloved pigeons. In an effort to do her bit, Olive hopes that the National Pigeon Service will enlist her highly trained racing pigeons to deliver critical, coded messages for His Majesty’s Forces. When a couple of strangers come to the village, it is learned that they are tied to a covert British intelligence organization known as Baker Street. If Olive wants her pigeons to help, she will have to do so in complete secrecy. Amid this covert operation, a local busybody is found dead outside Olive’s pigeon loft. Olive must find out if the death is tied to her new assignment or if the woman finally succeeded in needling out a secret that got her killed.

The latest Robin Lockwood thriller by bestselling author Phillip Margolin is called “The Darkest Place.” Robin is gaining a reputation as a defense attorney in the Portland community. The Yale graduate and former MMA fighter is known for her skill and innovative and successful defense strategies. When a judge asks her to take on the pro bono case of a reprehensible defendant accused of even more heinous crimes, she does so with much trepidation. What she doesn’t know — what she can’t know — is how this one case will impact her own life and plans. As she tries to recover from the consequences, she heads home to her small hometown of Elk Grove and the open arms of her family. While she is recuperating, an interesting case piques her interest — Marjorie Loman, a surrogate, is accused of kidnapping the baby she carried for another couple and assaulting the couple in the process. There is no doubt that Marjorie perpetrated these actions, but that is not the same as committing a crime. It turns out that Marjorie has been living under a false identity and has a warrant for another, more serious crime. Robin may be looking at another case with unexpected, deadly consequences.

The latest from John Sandford is called “The Investigator.” Letty Davenport has seen more action and uncovered more secrets than many other law enforcement professionals; and all by the age of 24. She recently graduated from Stanford with a master’s degree in economics and is working a boring desk job for U.S. Senator Colles. Letty is ready to quit, but Colles offers her a carrot: in-the-trenches investigative work in conjunction with the Department of Homeland Security. Several oil companies in Texas have had crude stolen, but Colles wants to know if the money from its sale is going to fund a rather ugly militia group. He also wants to know what they are planning to do. Partnered with DHS investigator John Kaiser, Letty quickly realizes that they are tracking something bigger, and the clock is ticking.

Mike Lupica continues Robert B. Parker’s Sunny Randall series with the latest called “Revenge Tour.” PI Sunny Randall owes a favor to her landlord and former client, Melanie Joan Hall. Melanie is a famous novelist who is being threatened and blackmailed and Sunny, along with her best friend Spike, is determined to ensure her protection. When Sunny begins looking into the identity of Melanie’s stalker, she learns that much of the author’s past is fiction, and Sunny finds herself questioning her loyalty to her old friend. Sunny is also dealing with issues her ex-cop father is having with a shady lawyer determined to settle an old score. Fighting crime on two fronts isn’t easy, but with the help of her friends, and in order to help those she loves, Sunny will need to muster all her cunning.

Finally, uber-bestselling author James Patterson teams up with musical superstar Dolly Parton for his latest “Run, Rose, Run.” This thriller is about a young singer-songwriter whose star is on the rise, but who now finds herself on the run and determined to survive. She sings about the hard life she left and hopes that by losing her past, she will gain a glittering future. She has come to Nashville like so many before her to claim that destiny, but the darkness she has fled may just find her and destroy everything.