Accidentally on Purpose is Book 3 in Jill Shalvis’ latest series Heartbreaker Bay. The series invites readers to get to know the tenants and employees of an active apartment complex in San Francisco. Elle Wheaten is the manager of the building and she enjoys bossing everyone around. Everyone listens exceptArcher Hunt, a security consultant who rents space for his business in the building. Their mutual friends have all witnessed the tension between the two but have no idea that they have a history. Archer claims to want nothing to do with Elle but when Elle starts to date other men, Archer begins to sabatoge her dates. Readers will enjoy the pair’s witty banter as well as the lengths they go to in order to avoid committing to one another.

Readers who enjoy romances with close circle of friends will love this series. This book can be read as a stand alone but VCPL does own the entire series.  

It’s a true crime novel with a twist. The author, James Renner, has inserted himself near the center of this missing persons mystery. Maura Murray disappeared in 2004 after wrecking her car in the middle of nowhere New Hampshire. Renner, an investigative journalist, can’t get this story off of his mind, and thus, obsessively tracks down every lead he can find. With the help of good connections, some online forums and “arm chair sleuths,” he’s able to piece together Murray’s past and form his own conclusions. Strangely, Murray’s family doesn’t appear to want to assist Renner with his investigation.

Intermixed with the Maura Murray story are bits and pieces about Renner’s family and current life, as well as snippets of his past that may or may not have led to him becoming an investigative journalist.

With short chapters and an interesting storyline, this book is a very quick read.

“Hot pockets!” If you sang that jingle in your head when you saw Jim Gaffigan’s name as the author of this book, then you should read this book.

Gaffigan covers many types of food in this book, from fruits & veggies (no one REALLY likes those) to fast food to fancy food to Hot Pockets, (obviously), all with a great sense of humor and a little self-degradation.

The best part of reading this book is when you find you agree with what Gaffigan describes. You may think to yourself, “Yes! Wendy’s IS the best fast food chain!” or “Exactly! Who waits two minutes for anything out of the microwave to cool?”

Food: A Love Story can be finished in a day or two, and you will probably find yourself reading sections of it aloud to whomever is near.

This book can also be found in print.

Sweetness swears, “But it’s not my fault. It’s not my fault. It’s not my fault.” But is it? What happens in childhood does not always stay in childhood, as Toni Morrison demonstrates in this novel.

Bride. Just Bride. It suits the woman who wears that name. She’s a regional manager at Sylvia, Inc., a cosmetics company that is quickly becoming hip. Bride is the inventor of one of the six new cosmetic lines for Sylvia, Inc., and the proud owner of a Jaguar, which she happens to mention repeatedly. She’s also a show stopper with her blue-black skin, all white clothing, and “wolverine eyes.” Others’ eyes are always drawn to her, and always have been, although the reasons are different now than when she was a child.

All grown up and in search of a small town called Whiskey, a freak accident on a winding country road provides Bride with time to think and reflect, once she moves past the self-pity and boredom. It is here that she learns her beauty is not the key to her confidence or success. A mysterious, young child named Rain helps with Bride’s healing process.

God Help the Child is a modern-day story, told mainly from Bride’s point of view, but the reader does get to enjoy insights from Sweetness, Rain, and Bride’s best friend, Brooklyn. These and other characters alternate being the narrator, providing brief glimpses into what they tell themselves to rationalize their own behavior. Book sections are separated by the name of the character acting as narrator, so it is important to take note of the section headings.

Perfect for the knitter who feels comfortable with basic stitches, but wants to explore more patterns that can be created. Stitches vary from beginner to expert, so there is something new for everyone in this book. Directions for each stitch are listed in both written and charted formats. Knit Stitch Dictionary does not include item patterns such as scarves or afghans, but by learning new types of stitches, a creative mind will design her own. The final few pages provide information on needle sizes, gauge, starting and ending a garment, and how to read a chart.

Looking for an easy new stitch to try first? This reviewer recommends the Garter Diagonals.

Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children is the debut novel by Ransom Riggs that tells the story of a fifteen-year-old boy named Jacob who had grown up listening to his grandfather’s extraordinary stories of his bizarre life in an orphanage in Wales and how he came to live in America. Soon after the story begins, Jacob’s family is struck with tragedy as Jacob finds his grandfather mysteriously murdered after hysterically telling Jacob over the phone that the monsters from his stories were coming.

 After his grandfather’s death, Jacob helps clean out his grandfather’s apartment and finds a letter from Miss Peregrine, the orphanage director, dated 1940. Jacob takes this letter to his new psychiatrist, Dr. Golan and they both convince Jacob’s dad to take Jacob to the small island in Wales to learn more about his grandfather’s past. They leave to spend three weeks in Wales on an island that is only accessible by ferry.

 Jacob’s father tells him not to wonder around the island on his own and asks him to find someone to accompany him but no local children will go near that ruins of the house that his grandfather used to occupy. Jacob finds an old house that was destroyed by bombs in wars past and searches it for hidden secrets. In the crumbling house, he finds several very old pictures of peculiar children doing very extraordinary things, such as lifting large boulders. He finds this unbelievable until he sees a girl, one from the pictures, spying on him. She quickly runs away into a bog, where he can find no traces of her except for a few footprints.

Jacob leaves the ruins to find his father, but instead he runs into the girl again and learns that he is had stepped into a time loop and is now in the year 1940. The girl, Emma, introduces him to all the other children who tell Jacob that he must be special like them and his grandfather if he is able to go through the time loops. He also learns that the monsters his grandfather had always told him about are real, and he can see them too.

The monsters that Jacob can now see have been wreaking havoc while Jacob is spending time with Emma and other kids from the 1940s orphanage. Eventually, the monsters murder a man in Jacob’s time and Jacob decides he must face the monsters to save anyone else, including the orphans who he has become very fond of, from being killed. With the help of Emma, they team up to save Miss Peregrine and her home for peculiar children.

Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children (film) will be released in theaters September 30, 2016.

Available in the following formats: print, audiobook, and e-book at the Vigo County Public Library.

Alzheimer’s at 38. It’s not what one would expect to happen, but Anna Forster is living that reality. But just because she’s been diagnosed, does not mean she has forgotten everything. Anna is determined to have, and end, things her way.

Eve, a newly single mother, shows up at Rosalind House, the assisted living facility, a few months after Anna. She intends to be the new cook, but she can’t help but become attached to Anna and the other residents. Told from alternating points of view, this story will capture the reader and perhaps provide a different perspective on person’s living with Alzheimer’s.

This title is available in print or ebook.

Henry Hayden is a cold and calculating psychopath.  He has always told lies mixed with bits of truth which he believes is the only way to lie.  Henry is masquerading as a world famous author and living the lifestyle of one.    He's never written a book in his life,  but his wife, Martha,  has written several.   It is their agreed secret that he take credit as the author of her books.  She only wants to write.   Stir in to the mix a pregnant mistress who wants marriage,  a person from Henry's past stalking him and  haboring revenge,  a sad mistake of murder, and Henry's life and lies begin to unravel.  Can he keep spinning lies and half truths or will it all come crumbling down?

 " It's not easy to keep a secret.  A lifetime keeping silent is agony. Looked at that way, a murder's punishment begins on the day of his crime."

 " His punishment had already begun, each day when he awoke, the memory would wake with him and be renewed. To keep a secret, you should never lose concentration; tell nobody and never forget.  That was how Martha had begun the first chapter of , Aggravating Circumstances. She must have meant him, who else could she have meant?"

" Martha had written  in pencil on the last page…hang on a little while longer. Can you guess how it ends? Kisses, Martha"

This is an excellent first novel by the German screenwriter, Arango.  The author takes a look at truth and lies as they relate to our identities, the truth as it relates to the past and our memory of it,  fame, and mortality.  The book is fast-paced, suspenseful, dark, and witty.  It  is one psychologically, wicked tale to add to your reading list.