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In celebration of our recent snowfall, I'd like to recommend the novel Snow Falling on Cedars by David Guterson. Taking place on a small island off the coast of Washington state, the story follows the 1954 trial of Kabuo Miyamoto who stands accused of murdering well-known fisherman Carl Heine. In the years after World War II, pervasive racism permeates the Japanese American's trial from the witnesses to the jury members and the press. However, a local journalist drawn to the trial due to his romantic past with the defendant's wife, has uncovered knowledge that -- if he chooses to expose it -- will seal Kabuo's fate.

The author provides a strong sense of place for the backdrop for an immersive, emotional story centered around love, morals, and justice. This book is a great pick for readers who like historical fiction, especially the 1930's to 1950's era. 

Starring Brad Pitt and a cavalcade of supporting players including Joey King and Brian Tyree Henry, Bullet Train should be a fun thrill ride to who cares where. A group of trained assassins are thrown together on a fast train through Tokyo with the same goal: securing a silver briefcase. Hijinks, jokes, and choreographed fights ensue with a couple fun cameos thrown in too. Bullet Train isn't going to win any awards, but if you want mindless and easy - Bullet Train is for you.

At the start of the novel, Hannah Jones finds out that the man who murdered her college roommate has died in prison. The book switches chapters from "Before" the murder (ten years ago) and "After" the murder, as we trace the steps of Hannah's first days as a freshman at Oxford, to her present-day life in Edinburgh with her husband Will, as they prepare for the birth of their first child. As the novel unfolds, everything is not as it seems, including the people Hannah counted on as her closest friends. A fairly gripping whodunit, The It Girl by Ruth Ware, is a fun read that doesn't require any heavy lifting on the reader's part.

Daisy Edgar-Jones portrays the main character Kya, in the movie adaptation of Where the Crawdads Sing, she really brings the character to life straight off the pages of the book. The movie gets slow in a few places, but the visual aesthetics of the movie make up for it. All in all, the movie was very well done and kept pretty close to the book.

I enjoyed watching The Last Vermeer (Rated R) which is about stolen artwork by the Nazis during WWII. The courtroom drama at the finale of the movie was good as was the final scene. It left me wondering, Hmmmm. Good movies sometimes do that, you know? So whether you like a good drama or a WWII movie or just a good movie, I think you will also enjoy this one.

I was intrigued by this book from the start. The concept of having two people who just met during the early stages of the pandemic is something that can be applied to everyone. The twists and turns of this book are rather eye opening into how other people's lives were affected by covid. There were highs and lows of this book, but was an overall a good read. 

Alice is a filmmaker who has been obsessed with the story of the sudden disappearance of the residents of her grandma's home village, Silvertjärn, a remote mining village in Sweden. Gathering a group to help her accomplish her dream of creating a documentary on the lost village they venture out into the remote area, deep into the forest. There they find the abandoned village lost to time. As they explore the village to unravel the mystery of what happened all those years ago and plan out their film; the group begins to notice that they are not alone. The story is told through a few perspectives that helps bring the past into the present. The audiobook narrator, Angela Dawe, gave a wonderful performance of bringing the characters to life and helped set the unsettling atmosphere. I could not stop listening until I found out the secrets that the village held. The Lost Village by Camilla Sten is a suspenseful and eerie read that is told from the perspective of Alice and a resident of the lost village.

Available as both an ebook and eaudiobook on eMediaLibrary (Libby).

If you enjoyed the first movie written by John Krasinski, "A Quiet Place" then you will enjoy the sequel, "A Quiet Place Part II". The story begins with small time life, in a small country town, when the aliens/monsters invade earth. The story quickly fast forwards to the end of the last movie when, Lee Abbott (played by John Krasinski) dies and his wife, Evelyn (played by Emily Blunt) pushes on with the family to continue to fight for survival, in silence, searching for a new civilization. She must rely upon her children, Marcus and Regan (who is hearing impaired and wears a Cochlear implant). Regan is convinced that the new radio signal is a sign to search for civilization elsewhere. Regan follows her intuition and leaves her family to help them find a safe place to live. What they find are more frightful alien/monsters and terrible people along the way.  

 Jaws (Rated PG) is a classic movie that has you questioning what is in the ocean at all times. The amazing camera shots and music drive this movie to be one of the most notorious movies of all time.

Available for checkout on DVD.

Nick Heller is a Special Forces veteran and private detective. He doesn't get along with his brother Roger. When Roger's wife gets attacked and Roger disappears, Roger's 14-year-old stepson asks Nick to help. Nick learns some shocking secrets about Roger and there is, of course, a secret Blackwater-style conspiracy.  There are twists and turns in this mystery thriller that will keep you reading. Some of the action is a little incredible, but this is fiction after all. Vanished by Joseph Finder is the first book in the Nick Heller series and the audio version won the Earphone Award. 

The Conjuring (Rated R) tells the story of Ed and Lorraine Warrens investigation into the paranormal activity happening at the Perron's, recently moved into, farmhouse. Throughout their investigation they find out that there are spirits that are causing the family harm and learn that there is something terrible that haunts them. 

The Conjuring, available for checkout on DVD, is also available to watch on Netflix, you can check out a Roku with Netflix.

I highly recommend this high adrenalin movie, "The Desperate Hour". The entire movie has Amy Carr (Naomi Watts) in it as the mother that has just got her kids off to school and goes for a long jog in the woods. She has her cell phone with her and makes many plans and takes many calls along her long run. During her run she comes to realize that the town has been thrown into chaos - as she finds out there has been a school shooting at the high school. She is miles away and wants to know if her son is okay or even at school. He's not answering his phone and she can't get in touch with him or get to him. This movie was heart-pounding and kept me on the edge of my seat. Very good suspense thriller. Every mother's nightmare these days.

I love a good thriller with lots of edge of your seat suspense. This movie "Till Death" does not disappoint. Emma (Meagan Fox) is having trouble in her marriage to her husband, Mark (Eoin Macken). They are celebrating their 10th Anniversary and Mark has a few surprises for his wife. Mark whisks a blindfolded Emma away, to their lake house, in the winter, to celebrate a very romantic evening he has planned. Everything changes the next morning as Mark continues to keep surprising his wife. I highly recommend this thriller. It was so good. Lots of twists and turns.

Israeli master spy Gabriel Alon is called on to find and stop the mysterious ISIS terrorist Saladin in this suspense thriller. Following a deadly ISIS attack in Paris, Alon recruits Natalie Mizrahi, a Jewish female doctor, to infiltrate ISIS, then locate and identify Saladin. Posing as Leila Hadawi, a Palestinian doctor with a vengeful rage against Israel, Natalie becomes the black widow.

The Black Widow (2016) by Daniel Silva is the sixteenth book in the Gabriel Alon series, but it was my first. You don't need to read any of the previous Alon books to be absorbed by this one.

George Guidell narrates the audiobook in just under 14 hours, but the very intense action and surprising twists make it seem much quicker. I listen to a lot of audiobooks, and award-winning George Guidell is one of my favorite readers.

Visit eMediaLibrary to read the book or listen to the audiobook today.

Greta is a great pick if you're looking for something creepy and suspenseful. Frances, a girl who is mourning the loss of her mother, finds a handbag on the subway and returns it to its owner, a French piano teacher whom she befriends and believes is simply a lonely widow. However, Frances soon notices Greta's obsessive behavior, and takes the necessary steps to distance herself from the friendship. Greta, not happy about Frances ignoring her, becomes more erratic and takes matters into her own hands, determined not to lose Frances's attention. This film will have you completely engrossed until the last scene and is perfect for those who like realistic horror.