MCNAUGHTON BOOKS

NEW MCNAUGHTON RELEASES 10/21/2010
Non-Fiction
(641.5973 OLI) Oliver, J. JAMIE’S AMERICA.
Says Jamie Oliver: "I wanted to get to the heart of great American food ... I set off on what I knew would be a completely inspiring trip. I wasn't wrong ... From New York to New Orleans, the energy of Los Angeles to the big skies of Wyoming, I found what I was looking for: Some of the most diverse and delicious recipes I've ever come across!" Now, in Jamie's America, he shares his discoveries. This mouthwatering cookbook contains 120 new recipes, including My NYC Cheesecake (New York), Spicy Meat Gumbo (Louisiana), Traybaked Chicken (Wyoming), Rich Grits (Georgia), and Venison and Juniper Stew (Arizona). These are American recipes, to be sure, but each one has Jamie s imprint—his enthusiasm, his ability to extract enormous flavor from humble ingredients, and his respect for home cooks everywhere.
(745.508 GNO) Gnojewski, C. AMERICAN INDIAN CRAFTS KIDS CAN DO! (K-Gr 3)
Each project includes a materials list, directions, and color photographs of the steps and completed item. In some cases, the original cultural object is represented. For the most part, the finished project looks nothing like it, and, in some cases, the craft has no cultural significance. There is no attempt to use authentic materials. For example, American Indian Crafts states that Ojibwa dolls are made of pine boughs and then goes on to say, "We will make this one out of feathers." The result is a pipe-cleaner/feather concoction glued to a toilet paper roll.
Fiction
(F BRA) Bradford, B. PLAYING THE GAME.
Annette is married to her mentor and personal champion, the much older Marius Remmington. For twenty years, Marius has groomed her into the international art star that she has become, not to mention saving her from a dark and gritty past. She is his pride and joy, and as her best advisor, it’s with great care that he hand picks only the best journalist possible to do a profile on his beloved wife in a popular London Sunday newspaper. Jack Chalmers is a bit of a celebrity himself, becoming one of the top journalists of his time. Marius believes only he will be able to capture the true brilliance of his lovely wife. But Marius never intends to put his marriage in jeopardy. How could he have known that the connection between Jack and Annette would ignite so many secrets? And how could he know that Jack would uncover a scandal that could ultimately destroy them all?
(F CHI) Child, L. WORTH DYING FOR.
In Child's exciting 15th thriller featuring one-man army Jack Reacher , Reacher happens into a situation tailor-made for his blend of morality and against-the-odds heroics. While passing through an isolated Nebraska town, the ex-military cop persuades the alcoholic local doctor to treat Eleanor Duncan, who's married to the abusive Seth, for a "nosebleed." Reacher later breaking Seth's nose prompts members of the Duncan clan, who are involved in an illegal trafficking scheme, to seek revenge. Reacher, who easily disposes of two hit men sent to get him, winds up trying to solve a decades-old case concerning a missing eight-year-old girl. While Child convincingly depicts his hero's superhuman abilities, he throws in a few lucky breaks to enable the outnumbered Reacher to survive. Crisp, efficient prose and well-rounded characterizations (at least of the guys in the white hats) raise this beyond other attempts to translate the pulse-pounding feel of the Die Hard films into prose.
(F EVA) Evans, N. THE BRAVE.
Tommy Bedford was just eight years old when he learned that his "older sister" was actually his mother. That shock was soon supplanted by glee when his youthful, glamorous mom became the amour of the TV cowboy most idolized. One sudden thrust of tragedy ended that idyllic moment, sending mother and son into frantic escape. Fast forward forty years later: Tommy has become Tom, a writer and documentary filmmaker, divorced and estranged from his only son. When that soldier son is arrested and charged in a military court for committing an atrocity in Iraq, Bedford must finally confront not only his own son, but his own hidden past.
(F FLY) Flynn, V. AMERICAN ASSASSIN: A THRILLER.
This is Vince Flynn's eleventh Mitch Rapp thriller, but it's set at the very beginning of Rapp's death-defying career. It places him in the aftermath of the event that forever changed his life: the 1988 Lockerbie Pan Am Flight 103 bombing that killed 270 people, including the one woman he loved. Joining the CIA, Rapp is placed in an intense, fast track training program and then assigned to a clandestine group of covert ops assigned to permanently neutralize the terrorists. His fearless search for vengeance leads him into the very dens of the Middle East conspirators. An adrenaline-fueled, action-packed thriller about an accelerated apprenticeship.
(F GRO) Grossman, P. THE SLEEPWALKERS.
Set in Germany in the fall of 1932, Grossman's less than stunning debut features Berlin police detective Willi Krauss, who's become a minor celebrity, despite being Jewish, after cracking the notorious Child Eater case. As the Nazis plot to gain control of the country, Krauss looks into the death of a beautiful young woman found floating in the River Spree with her head shaved and her fibulas surgically removed from one leg and replanted in the other. Meanwhile, the Weimar republic's president, Gen. Paul von Hindenberg, orders the policeman to work on another case, the disappearance of a Bulgarian princess. Though the author does a decent job of conveying the atmosphere of fear as Hitler manipulates his way to power, clichéd plot elements, such as a hooker-with-a-heart-of-gold love interest for his hero, undercut his efforts at realism. Given the inherent lack of suspense (Krauss's detecting won't prevent the Nazis from succeeding), Grossman doesn't adequately compensate with complex characterizations.
(F JOH) Johansen, I. CHASING THE NIGHT.
A CIA agent’s two-year-old child was stolen in the night as a brutal act of vengeance. Now, eight years later, this torment is something Catherine Ling awakens to every day. Her friends, family, and colleagues tell her to let go, move on, accept that her son is never coming back. But she can’t. Catherine needs to find someone as driven and obsessed as she is to help her— and that person is Eve Duncan. She knows that Eve shares her nightmare, since closure is also something that eludes Eve after the disappearance of her daughter Bonnie. Now, Eve must take her talents as a forensic sculptor to another level, using age progression as a way to unite Catherine with her child. As Eve gets drawn deeper into Catherine’s horror, she must face looming demons of her own. Bonnie’s killer is still out there. And a new killer is taunting Eve and Catherine at every turn. Is Catherine’s son alive, or not? These two women endure the worst fear any mother can imagine in Iris Johansen’s latest thrill ride, a gut-wrenching journey into the darkest places of the soul.
(F KAR) Karon, J. IN THE COMPANY OF OTHERS.
In Karon's latest, Fr. Timothy Kavanagh, the moral center of the beloved Mitford series, hops the Atlantic for a long anticipated vacation in the Irish countryside. He and his wife settle in at Broughadoon, a B&B run by Liam and Anna Conor in County Sligo, and Father Tim is happy to be reacquainted with his ancestral homeland. He's particularly taken with Catharmore, a sprawling 19th-century estate that was Liam's childhood home. When their stay is extended because of an injury, the Kavanaghs pass the time reading up on Catharmore's history, helping out around the grounds, and getting to know the area's many colorful characters. Father Tim assumes the role of confidant and adviser to the Conors and their extended family, investigating a burglary, helping unburden Liam and Anna of long-held secrets, and aiding Liam's alcoholic mother to recover her lost faith. Karon's prose trundles along at a languid pace, but her heartfelt dialogue and rich characterizations keep the story engaging. Though it's not the ideal entry point to the expansive world of Father Tim, fans will relish this new chapter in his life.
(F MCC) McCall-Smith, A. THE CHARMING QUIRKS OF OTHERS.
While Smith’s seventh novel featuring Scottish philosopher and woman of means Isabel Dalhousie (after The Lost Art of Gratitude) doesn’t break new ground, the author’s many fans will be more than satisfied to follow the small events of Isabel’s life, in particular her struggle to come to terms with her own imperfections. Much to Isabel’s dismay, Prue, a cellist with a terminal illness who’s a professional colleague of her bassoonist fiancé, Jamie, has been making ever greater demands on the good-natured Jamie. An angry Isabel eventually accuses Jamie of sleeping with Prue. Meanwhile, Isabel agrees to dig into the background of three candidates for headmaster at an Edinburgh boys’ school after an anonymous letter claims that one of them has a skeleton in his closet. If chance more than a logical strategy leads Isabel to resolve this issue, her investigation leads her to valuable insights into human nature. As usual, crisp, often funny prose complements the author’s limitless reserve of good will and understanding of people in general.
(F SCH) Schlink, B. THE WEEKEND.
Old friends and lovers reunite for a weekend in a secluded country home after spending decades apart.
They excavate old memories and pass clandestine judgments on the wildly divergent paths they’ve taken since their youth. But this isn’t just any reunion, and their conversations about the old days aren’t your typical reminiscences: After twenty-four years, Jörg, a convicted murderer and terrorist, has been released from prison. The announcement of his pardon will send shock waves through the country, but before the announcement, his friends—some of whom were Baader-Meinhof sympathizers or those who clung to them—gather for his first weekend of freedom. They have been summoned by Jörg’s devoted sister, Christiane, whose concern for her brother’s safety is matched only by the unrelenting zeal of Marko,
a young man intent on having Jörg continue to fight for the cause.