Southeast Kansas Library System Newsletter for Summer 2023

Starting over in a small beach community on the east coast, Kathleen Deane discovers this picturesque town is not what it seems but just what she needs as she finds herself in an all-out war with her neighbors who are building a huge monstrosity next to her tiny cottage.

While investigating the disappearance of 22-year-old Oliva, Julia, the detective heading up the case, discovers, to save her own family, she must not find out what happened to Oliva and must frame somebody else for her murder. 150,000 first printing.

“This summer, meet your neighbors. The residents of the exclusive cul-de-sac on Alton Road are entangled in a web of secrets and scandal utterly unknown to the outside world, and even to each other. On the night of the annual Summer block party, there has been a murder. But, who did it and why takes readers back one year earlier, as rivalries and betrayals unfold–discovering that the real danger lies within their own block and nothing–and no one–is ever as it seems”

Two teens in 1960s California grapple with the unconventional path of their mother, who defies societal expectations as a talented female surfer, in the new novel from the New York Times best-selling author of The Children’s Blizzard.

“Four women come together to save the summer camp that changed their lives and rediscover themselves in the process”

When she literally crashes into Jack one Friday morning, Gemma Peters gets a funny feeling of déjà vu until he tells her the unbelievable truth: they’ve lived this day over and over 147 times and to break the loop, she must fall in love with him in 24 hours. Original.

Reuniting 30 years after a tragic accident ended their show Mister Magic, the five surviving cast members, who hold the secret of their close circle, the mystery of the beloved magical host and what really happened on that deadly last day, soon wonder if they’ve been lured into a trap.

When her lover is assassinated and her sibling is kidnapped by Imperial solders, Enitan, using her fledgling tea business as cover, moves undetected through the Vaalbaran capital where she will learn just how far she’ll go to exact vengeance, free her sibling and secure her homeland’s freedom.

When her husband Lewis, a few weeks after their wedding, receives a rare diagnosis—his physical body will gradually turn into a great white shark—Wren, struggling with his fate, finds his developing carnivorous nature activating long-repressed memories which forces her to make an impossible choice.

While collecting overdue drug money in a rundown Portland, Oregon apartment complex, Hutch Holtz discovers a severed hand in the client’s refrigerator and quickly realizes the body part induces uncontrollable madness and violence and sets catastrophic forces into motion.

In a down-and-out Pennsylvania town, Nathan, a volunteer fireman who finds a secret stash of money; Callie, a nurse who risks her career to grant her young patient a final wish; and Andy, a recovering heroin addict who doles out vigilante justice, must face their troubled pasts—and their crimes—to have a future.

Discovering a small band of rustlers are hiding stolen cows from other ranches among their herd, former lawman Ty Brannigan and his son Matt, while investigating, are drawn into the biggest heist in history and must race against time to stop it before innocent people die. Original.

Two siblings, one an AWOL marine working off the grid for Evel Knievel and the other a star reporter, deal with the culturally weird events of 1977, including the Summer of Sam and the death of Elvis. 150,000 first printing.

“William Wooler is a family man, on the surface. But he’s been having an affair, an affair that ended horribly this afternoon at a motel up the road. So when he returns to his house, devastated and angry, to find his difficult nine-year-old daughter, Avery, unexpectedly home from school, William loses his temper. Hours later, Avery’s family declares her missing. Who took Avery Wooler?”

“One brilliant June day when Mia Jacob can no longer see a way to survive, the power of words saves her. The Scarlet Letter was written almost two hundred years earlier, but it seems to tell the story of Mia’s mother, Ivy, and their life inside the Community–an oppressive cult in western Massachusetts where contact with the outside world is forbidden, and books are considered evil. But how could this be? How could Nathaniel Hawthorne have so perfectly captured the pain and loss that Mia carries inside her? Through a journey of heartbreak, love, and time, Mia must abandon the rules she was raised with at the Community. As she does, she realizes that reading can transport you to other worlds or bring them to you, and that readers and writers affect one another in mysterious ways. She learns that time is more fluid than she can imagine, and that love is stronger than any chains that bind you. As a girl Mia fell in love with a book. Now as a young woman she falls in love with a brilliant writer as she makesher way back in time. But what if Nathaniel Hawthorne never wrote The Scarlet Letter? And what if Mia Jacob never found it on the day she planned to die?”

A New York Times best-selling journalist shares an explosive new understanding of heat in this searing examination of the impact that rising temperatures will have on our lives and on our planet.

“ChatGPT For Dummies demystifies the artificial intelligence tool that can answer questions, write essays, and generate just about any kind of text it’s asked for. This powerful example of generative AI is widely predicted to upend education and business. In this book, you’ll learn how ChatGPT works and how you can operate it in a way that yields satisfactory results. You’ll also explore the ethics of using AI-generated content for various purposes”

“In 2021, women represented 54.3% of the US workforce but only held 35% of senior leadership positions. Of that percentage, only 2.7% of Asian women were seen in management roles. While there have been great leaps for women in the workplace in the last decade, women of color still fall behind. The Tao of Self-Confidence book sets a foundation to help Asian Women start being seen as leaders in work and life rather than by our stereotypes. In order to move forward with true confidence, we must learn the lessons our challenges have taught us and heal our trauma. With an honest and vulnerable approach, Yap Chan discusses and explores the specific challenges our community faces, historically and now in the midst of the pandemic, intergenerational and historical trauma, false stories we tell ourselves, and how we can rise above stereotypes. We’ll tap into our inner joy, celebrate our authentic self, and awaken the leader within.”

A global humanitarian born with spinal muscular atrophy—and the first-ever disabled African awarded a full scholarship at Oxford University—shows how he broke through every barrier put in front of him—a queer, black wheelchair user—challenging the bias at the highest echelons of power and prestige. Illustrations.

Drawing on interviews with marine geologists, marine biologists and oceanographers, a premiere chronicler of the aquatic world and New York Times best-selling author provides a fascinating history of deep-sea exploration and shows how urgent it is that we understand the ocean in a time of increasing threats from climate change. Illustrations.

“A brief examination of how new and advanced technologies can change the world of medicine for the better. Future care is virtual care: sensor-aided, digitally enabled, and powered by predictive analytics. Like most facets of modern life, human organs, too, are being digitally monitored. Sensors are well on their way to helping us proactively capture the information needed to predict and prevent disease. Paired with the medical world’s growing emphasis on wellness and prevention, the digital revolution will help us effectively monitor and address the chronic diseases that have been the Achilles’ heel of the health care system to date. This large-scale transition is not only going to reshape the patient-physician relationship but also dramatically changehow hospitals and the business of medicine operate”

“Drawing on decades of gardening experience, and illustrated with vibrant photography from her own home and garden, popular gardening lifestyle influencer Allison Vallin Kostovick offers sage advice on growing bountiful harvests of favorite vegetables, herbs, and flowers”