Good reads

"Julia Vargas is a cop with a mission. When she's not chasing down bad guys, Julia dedicates her time to investigating the Hangman serial killer...the same unsolved case that her father, Jim Vargas, was working on when he supposedly shot and killed himself three decades before. While rumors continue to swirl around her father's death, Julia attempts to hunt down the truth. The case once again hits dangerously close, however, when a woman's bones are discovered in a historic downtown home, together with a photograph of Jim and Julia as a young girl. As horrifying as this discovery is, it may just be the break Julia has waited for. Working alongside Tobias Novak, a homicide detective with whom she shares a complicated and steamy history, she's forced to confront her own past even as the Hangman looms in the shadows. But as the mysterious killer circles closer, Julia can feel her own noose begin to tighten..."-- Page of cover.

A homeless mother and her teenage daughter live on the streets of a big city. Their lives are hard. They look for food in garbage dumpsters, bathe in donut shop washrooms, and hide from the police. The daughter is getting angry - she doesn't want this awful new life. She wants her other life back, the life with her friends and school. The mother keeps trying to do the right thing, but everything is going so wrong.

"Sara used to be a back-up singer in a band. She left her singing career to raise a family. She is content with being a stay-at-home mom. Then, one Saturday, Sara's world changes. Sara and her family go to an outdoor music festival. There, on stage, Sara sees Jim, the lead singer from her old band. He invites her to sing with him. Being on stage brings back forgotten feelings for Sara - and for Jim. And Sara's husband Rob sure doesn't like what he sees. Sara also sees something else: a coyote. Learn how Coyote, the trickster spirit, turns Sara's life upside down."--Back cover.

She thinks she understand stalkers. Until she becomes a target . . . Elly is an expert in stalking – an academic at Cambridge University and a popular media pundit. She knows the subject intimately: what motivates a stalker, how they behave, how to rehabilitate them. But now it’s personal. Someone is following her, making silent phone calls and sending her ominous notes. The message is always the same – me or you. Elly can’t trust anyone – not her family, her friends or her colleagues. She knows that her stalker must be someone close to her. And when they suddenly turn violent, she realizes she’s running out of time to find out who it is. Because it looks like only one of them will survive.

Tutorial, Cartooning, Graphic Diary: The creative-drawing companion to the acclaimed and bestselling What It Is Lynda Barry single-handedly created a literary genre all her own, the graphic memoir/how-to, otherwise known as the bestselling, the acclaimed, but most important, the adored and the inspirational What It Is. The R. R. Donnelley and Eisner Award–winning book posed, explored, and answered the question: “Do you wish you could write?” Now with Picture This, Barry asks: “Do you wish you could draw?” It features the return of Barry’s most beloved character, Marlys, and introduces a new one, the Near-sighted Monkey. Like What It Is, Picture This is an inspirational, take-home extension of Barry’s traveling, continually sold-out, and sought-after workshop, “Writing the Unthinkable.”

Annie runs a bed and breakfast. She has lived alone since her husband died five years ago. Now, she wishes for someone to love. One morning Brent, a guest, walks into her life. Her heart skips a beat. Handsome, charming, well dressed-will Brent turn out to be the man of her dreams?

Morgan and his extended family could see the light at the end of the tunnel, dim though it may be. There was the promise of power once again. The plant was being repaired and it looked as though it may actually run. While it meant lots of hard sweaty work, the reward was worth the investment. The farm was growing strong and community involvement was good. People were finally coming to terms with the fact that they needed to work together. So far, Mother Nature had been on their side. But that too was about to change. There was no shortage of problems. There were those in town with their own plans. And those plans did not include Sheriff Morgan Carter. For the most part, Morgan ignored the issue, thinking it would simply go away. But that was not to be. He would have to face it head on; and it just may cost him his life. As serious as the issues in town were, there were other, much larger problems brewing. These were beyond his control. They were beyond the control of the entire community, even if they were banded together. And Morgan would not be able to simply ignore them either. There were forces converging on Central Florida that would bring back the uncertainty that only recently appeared to be vanquished. Only this time, it would be far worse than a rogue band of Federal Agents. War was coming, and with it, death. It would test them all.