Tired of the staid, old "classics" of your school days?  Always wanted to read Pride and Prejudice but were afraid it was too "girly?"  You're in luck.  Seth Grahame-Smith has updated Jane Austen's regency classic to include zombies.  While in the original, Elizabeth has a sharp tongue, in this version she also has a sharp blade...the better to cut off zombie heads!  No more namby pamby having to act like a lady for Elizabeth and her sisters.  They have studied under the Chinese masters to learn effective methods of zombie extermination.  Much of the book is exactly the classic navel word for word, but Grahame-Smith has zombies attack while people are traveling between locations (or at a ball) and even has someone gradually turning into a zombie during the story.  If you are a die-hard Austen fan or someone who believes that classics should be left alone, this is not for you, but if you are interested in a mash-up of different genres, you may find this amusing.  Hollywood is currently bidding for the movie rights.

Annotation by: St. Louis Public Library staff.

Seventeen-year-old Kendra "Kenny" Lugo's mother died from concer when she was a kid, and her father is doing time for selling and taking drugs.  Kenny lives with "Aunt Glo," a former (before Mom) and current lover of her father's, Aunt Glo's two sons and granddaughter, seven-year-old Daphne.

Kenny's problem is much larger than her living situation.  She is petrified of what will happen to her when she turns eighteen.  Will Aunt Glo kick her out?  Will she be able to finish high school?

Her other, much more serious, problem is her gender identity.  She knows she's a girl but dresses and acts like a boy.  She is much happier taking shop than home ecomonics.

When the man who lives in the other side of the duplex accidentally shoots and kills a young woman, Kenny obsesses about the woman's life and why she had to die.  The young woman, Clara, becomes a fixture in Kenny's life, even when she thinks she's past it.  And as Kenny obsesses about Clara, she obsesses about what will happen to her and if her life matters at all.

Annotation by: St. Louis Public Library staff.

A likeable, successful family man is drawn into a confrontation with a foe of incredible malice.

Annotation by: St. Louis Public Library staff.

Meet Joe Hunter.  He's a new kind of action hero, or maybe anti-hero, depending on your point of view.  Joe claims that "some people call me a vigilante.  I'd rather think of myself as a problem solver."

Joe is out to solve all the problems.  His half-brother John is missing and it's up to Joe to find him.  John is known to be a bit of a scalawag.  His vice is gambling.  Joe and John's estranged wife are sure that his gambling has gotten him into a lot of trouble.  Again. 

John has left for the States, and Joe leaves England, not to far behind him.  Joe has a friend named Rink in Florida from the old days Joe spent as a Special Forces counterterrorism agent.  Together, they follow John's clues cross-country (most notable through Little Rock) on their way to Marina Del Ray, California.

Also traveling cross-country is Tubal Cain, one of the most vicious serial killers in fiction.  Tubal like to collect things from his victimes--a finger, a thumb.  He's one sacry dude.

The book's chapters alternate between Joe, Rink, and Tubal.

Annotation by: St. Louis Public Library staff.

A town becomes frightened when a killer begins to leave roadside crosses beside local highways, as announcements of his intention to kill.

Annotation by: St. Louis Public Library staff.

This is a story of a generation of women who have all the opportunities in the world, but no idea about what to choose.

Annotation by: St. Louis Public Library staff.

Emily Hudson is an archeologist who travels the world in search of priceless artifacts. Her best friend and partner, Joel Levy, is always at her side--until her entire crew is massacred and Joel and Emily are held captive. Now, the CIA comes calling on a desperate mission to save them.

Woods returns with the newest addition to his "New York Times"-bestselling Stone Barrington series. Perennial favorite Woods certainly knows how to keep the pages turning--"Booklist."

Bestselling author Scottoline's writing is sharp, intelligent, funny, and hip. . . she gives fans of thrillers a good, twisty plot, lively characters, andan all-around fun read ("USA Today").

#1 New York Times bestselling""author David Baldacci follows the instant success of Divine Justice with another unstoppable thriller. Sean King and Michelle Maxwell, back from their harrowing and near-fatal adventure in the blockbuster #1 bestseller "Simple Genius," return in a mesmerizing new thriller. A daring kidnapping turns a children's birthday party at Camp David into a national security nightmare, but the hostage is not who anyone would expect. The First Lady enlists the services of King and Maxwell to bring the child back safely. Years ago, King saved her then-senator husband from an assassin's bullet; whether they shared anything else is their secret. With Michelle still recovering from her own demons the pair are pushed to the limit, with forces aligned on all sides against them, and the line between friend and foe impossible to define...or defend.

Successful adman Julian Donahue has lost his way.  After the untimely death of his two-year-old son, his marriage to Rachel unravels.  While not quiet experiencing a midlife crisis, Julian is decidedly in a funk.  Impotent and seeking solace, he spends his days plugged into his iPod, listening across musical genres.  His bitter father found solace in the recordings of Billie Holiday, and Julian is positive that somewhere he will find the same freeing voice.

On a bitterly cold night, he wanders into a basement bar.  At first, he isn't too impressed with Cait O'Dwyer's music, but he does buy a demo tape from the bartender.  When he listens to it, he finds his Billie, an Irish singer thirty years his junior.

Not quiet a love story, not quiet a stalker story, not quite a page-turner thriller, the story is a haunting mixture of all three.  Julian makes contact through a series of drawings and advice on a set of ten paper coasters.  Cait returns the cryptic messaging via new songs.

Phillips' pace is slow, with long meandering sentences that are sometimes difficult to follow, but are so beautifully crafted that they are worth the effort. 

Annotation by: St. Louis Public Library staff.

The latest work from America's undisputed queen of suspense takes Clark into uncharted new territory, as Emily, one of three friends inseparable since childhood, becomes a pawn in a plan to save one life at the expense of another.

Rick Bentz returns to L.A. after receiving an envelop with current pictures of a woman who looks very much like his ex-wife, the one who has been dead for twelve years.  This new installment in Jackson's New Orleans series has Bentz revisiting the bad old days of a cheating wife, an accidental killing, and too much alcohol.  His return to is not popular with his former co-workers in the LAPD, particularly when his search for answers leads to more deaths.

Annotation by: St. Louis Public Library staff.

The quilters discover a bundle of old letters that reopen the mystery of what happened to a former slave.

Annotation by: St. Louis Public Library staff.

Celebrating its twenty-fifth anniversary, this short novella is considered a classic coming-of-age story.  Told in short vignettes, the story revolves around a young Hispanic girl, Esperanza, and her desires to grow up quicker, live in a better house, be smarter, and have a better life than she is now living.  Of course, to Esperanza, any life would be better than having to live in the sad red house on Mango Street.

Teh story opens with Esperanza telling about all the places they have lived before.  In less than a quarter page, Cisneros tells the reader that the family is poor.  The next few vignettes do a masterful job with such few words in the areas from simple to complex:  character description, gender identity, self worth, and identification of self. Esperanza's story could take place in Anywhere, USA.

Annotation by: St. Louis Public Library staff.

Paul and Carol are living every parent's nightmare.  Their twelve-year-old son, Jamie, left to throw his paper route and vanished without a trace.  No clues, no witnesses, no ransom calls, nothing.  The case quickly goes cold.

From David Levien, acclaimed screenwriter of such hits as Ocean's Thirteen, Runaway Jury, and Rounders,comes a masterful novel.

After fourteen months of hell, Paul decides to hire a private investigator, Frank Behr.  Frank is a tad eccentric but the death of his son years earlier prompts him to try to help the family.  He knows, and he lets Paul and CArol know, that he may find nothing, that their son is more than likely dead.  Anything, according to the parents, is better than the hell of not knowing.  Frank begins at the beginning, looking for clues and/or evidence that the cops might have missed.

Frank starts out alone, but soon Paul joins him in the search for Jamie.  Levien gives all the characters a chance to show the readers their side of the story. It is well-executed and flows well.  The prose is taut and tight.

Annotation by: St. Louis Public Library staff.