Jeff Guinn’s Waco: David Koresh, the Branch Davidians, and A Legacy of Rage

Any time Jeff Guinn releases a new book is a special occasion on this blog. I’m a big Guinn fan–thanks so much to Mary-Esther to introducing me to his books a few years ago. In the past, I’ve reviewed or profiled his books that span from Jim Jones to Bonnie and Clyde to the Pershing Expedition. I always know that a Guinn nonfiction book will be thought-provoking, well-written, and well-researched, and I think he particularly shines at historical true crime. He excels at examining the social and historical contexts that his subjects both shaped and were shaped by.

His latest book, about the Branch Davidians, their leader David Koresh, and the infamous standoff that unfolded at Waco thirty years ago this spring, particularly succeeds at this and is a fascinating read. Thanks so much to Julie for purchasing it for the library!

Book Buzz: Romances Galore, Dual-Timeline Historical Fiction, WWII Nurses, Serial Killers, Mining Mayhem, and Storytellers

Every month, we’re profiling new-ish releases that are getting critical and commercial buzz. For February, we’re looking at four different romances (right in time for Valentine’s Day!), historical fiction that spans from the Civil War to World War II, a true crime memoir from a cold case specialist, and audiobook novels about turn-of-the-twentieth-century labor strikes in Colorado and the intersection of secrets and stories.

Book Buzz: Problematic Siblings, Foodie Friends, Intergenerational Trauma, Talented Monsters, Courtroom Drama, and Derailed Safaris

Every month, we’re profiling new-ish releases that are getting critical and commercial buzz. For September, we’re looking at historical fiction about one of America’s most infamous families, a sweet tale of food-based friendship, a magical realism family saga, an atmospheric Victorian gothic fantasy, a well-researched chronicle of legal battles over agricultural pollution, and an audiobook thriller.

Molly May’s Witnesses for the Lamb (2021)

The arrival of new books at the library is always a matter of interest to me. Partially because I consider it research for this blog but also partially because I’m nosy and just want to see what’s new that I might like! A few weeks ago, Mary-Esther pulled this one aside and asked me if I’d heard about it or the crime in question. I hadn’t, but I was intrigued. Thanks to Mary-Esther for the excellent suggestion! This is a fascinating book about a bizarre crime that happened virtually next door to us forty years ago.

Book Buzz: Beach Reads, the Gritty, the Breezy, and the Literary

Every month, we’re profiling new-ish releases that are getting critical and commercial buzz. For July, we’re celebrating beach reads of all varieties. Even if you can’t make it to a beach to read them. We’re looking at a haunting true crime story, a suspenseful thriller, a clever romance, an intergenerational family mystery, a new cozy mystery, and some literary fiction set in Hawaii.

Book Buzz: Inspiring Historical Fiction, Magical Realism Westerns, Arkansas Gangsters, and More

Every month, we’re profiling new-ish releases that are getting critical and commercial buzz. For January, we’re looking at WWII fiction inspired by a true story; a magical realism Western that focuses on the Chinese experience in 1800s America; a look at the gangster past of Hot Springs, Arkansas; and a new feature–a monthly spotlight on new audiobooks.

Your Library Card, Your Ticket to the World: Brazil

Our library theme for 2020 is Your Library Card, Your Ticket to the World–because with the library, you truly can travel around the world without ever leaving the comfort of your own home. Every month in 2020, we’ll be landing at a new place on the globe. In October, we’re in Brazil.

Patrick Radden Keefe’s Say Nothing

One of the more notorious incidents in The Troubles, the conflict between Catholic nationalists and Protestant loyalists in Northern Ireland, is the disappearance of Jean McConville. The widowed mother of ten disappeared one night in December 1972 after she was forcibly removed from her home by the Irish Republican Army (IRA). Rumors circulated for decades about what had happened to McConville and why. Murder was hardly uncommon during The Troubles (especially if someone was suspected of being an informant) or frowned upon by the IRA, but disappearances were another matter.

Book Buzz: Pilgrim Brides, Medieval Amateur Detectives, and Mysterious Relics

Every month, we’re profiling new-ish releases that are getting critical and commercial buzz. For August, we’re looking at a family saga of romance and American history, medieval murder, and a new look at a very old historical debate, the Shroud of Turin.

Casey Cep’s Furious Hours (2019)

Harper Lee is famous for her beloved classic To Kill A Mockingbird-–just last year it won The Great American Read and was so universally popular that it always led the public’s voting for favorite book by a wide margin for the entire duration of the vote.

However, Lee is perhaps just as famous for the fact that To Kill A Mockingbird is her only book. Sure, publishers released her Go Set a Watchman a few years ago, but in truth, that was just the very early draft of To Kill A Mockingbird and not a new book.

That’s not to say that Lee never tried to write another book, however.

According to Casey Cep’s debut Furious Hours, Lee worked for years on a true crime manuscript about a bizarre case of murder and insurance fraud in 1960s/1970s Alabama. . . .