Complete guide to puppy care : everything you need to know to have a happy, healthy, well-trained puppy

by Stacy Kennedy
This book will help prepare you for all of the joys and the responsibilities of bringing a new best friend into your home. This manual is indispensible to novice and experienced owners alike, with clear, easy-to-find information on the essential aspects of finding and raising a puppy.  A photo gallery of the top American Kennel Club (AKC)-registered breeds provides insight into today's most popular breeds. Learn where to purchase your puppy and how to feed, groom, socialize, housetrain, crate train, prevent common problem behaviors, travel, and have lots of fun with your puppy.

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The lifeboat : a novel

by Charlotte Rogan     (Get the Book)
A young woman's first-person story of survival against seemingly insurmountable odds reveals truths about human nature and, particularly, about herself. Married just four weeks earlier, Grace and Henry Winter cut short their visit to London in 1914 after Archduke Ferdinand is assassinated. Wealthy Henry is able to book their passage back to New York on the Empress Alexandra and then to wangle space on a lifeboat for Grace as the ship is sinking. Grace's survival is never in question in the opening pages, she's one of three women from her lifeboat being tried for murder but her story is no less harrowing for that, since she reveals more of herself throughout her ordeal. Early on, ship's crewman Mr. Hardie is a hero on the boat, providing invaluable if harsh leadership, whether deeming that some must be sacrificed for the sake of all or strictly doling out limited rations. But things change as conditions worsen. This is an accomplished first novel, noteworthy for its moral complexity and the sheer power of its story. --Booklist

The John Lennon letters

by John Lennon   (Get the Book)
A lifetime of letters, collected for the first time, from the legendary musician and songwriter. John Lennon was one of the greatest songwriters the world has ever known, creator of "Help!", "Come Together", "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds", "Strawberry Fields Forever", "Imagine", and dozens more. But it was in his correspondences that he let his personality and poetry flow unguarded. Now, gathered for the first time in book form, are his letters to family, friends, strangers, and lovers from every point in his life. Funny, informative, wise, poetic, and sometimes heartbreaking, his letters illuminate a never-before-seen intimate side of the private genius. This groundbreaking collection of almost 300 letters and postcards has been edited and annotated by Hunter Davies, whose authorized biography The Beatles (1968) was published to great acclaim. With unparalleled knowledge of Lennon and his contemporaries, Davies reads between the lines of the artist's words, contextualizing them in Lennon's life and using them to reveal the man himself. (Publisher)

The secret keeper : a novel

by Kate Morton     (Get the Book)
Australian Morton's (The Distant Hours, 2010) latest will appeal to fans of Daphne du Maurier, Susanna Kearsley, and Audrey Niffenegger with its immensely relatable characters, passion, mystery, and twist ending. Laurel Nicholson is a teenager when she witnesses a shocking crime: her gentle, kind mother, Dorothy, kills a man. It becomes a family secret that Laurel never divulges or tries to fathom until five decades later, when Dorothy is on her deathbed, and Laurel finds a photograph of her mother with an old friend, snapped back in 1941, when Dorothy was barely out of her teens. As Laurel begins to dig, her burning questions become, Who was Vivien Jenkins, and why was she once so important to Dorothy? With the narrative shifting between Laurel, Dorothy, Vivien, and Jimmy, a man who also profoundly affected Dorothy's life long ago, both reader and Laurel breathlessly hurtle into an astounding family secret that unfolds slowly and temptingly. Despite some loose threads and rather too leisurely pacing, this is likely to keep readers reading into the wee hours. --Booklist

Rise to greatness : Abraham Lincoln and America's most perilous year

by Dave Von Drehle    (Get the Book)
The year 1863 is often described as the decisive of the Civil War, given the Union victories at Gettysburg and Vicksburg. Von Drehle, editor at large at Time and author of the widely acclaimed Triangle (2003), the story of the infamous 1911 New York factory fire, asserts that 1862 was the transformative year that led directly to the ultimate Union triumph. It commenced with Union fortunes appearing bleak. Confederate forces threatened Washington, and Union general McClellan had a bad case of the slows, despite his command of a huge army. In the political realm, Lincoln was struggling to master the strong egos in his cabinet, and he seemed to lack the will or confidence to demand more aggressive action from McClellan. As the year advanced, von Drehle illustrates Lincoln's transformation into a great political and war leader, who learned to manage and effectively utilize the talents of his advisors and decisively assumed the role of commander in chief, dismissing McClellan and beginning the advancement of fighting officers, especially Grant. This is an excellently researched chronicle of the year that helped change the direction of the war. --Booklist

Christmas jars

by Jason F. Wright   (Get the Book)
Where had it come from? Whose money was it? Was I to spend it? Save it? Pass it on to someone more needy? Above all else, why was I chosen? Certainly there were others, countless others, more needy than me...   Her reporter's intuition insisted that a remarkable story was on the verge of the front page.  
Newspaper reporter Hope Jensen uncovers the remarkable secret behind the "Christmas Jars", glass jars filled with coins and bills anonymously left for people in need. But along the way, Hope discovers much more than the origin of the jars. When some unexpected news sets off a chain reaction of kindness, Hope's greatest Christmas Eve wish comes true. (Voted best Christmas book of all time on GoodReads)

In praise of messy lives : essays

by Katie Roiphe       (Get the Book)
In her latest essay collection, controversy-magnet Roiphe (Uncommon Arrangements, 2007) addresses a felicitous assortment of subjects, from travels in Asia to Jane Austen. The book's enticing title stems from her analysis of the enormous popularity of the television series Mad Men and its cigarette-smoke-laced, alcohol-fueled interpretation of the glamour of spectacularly messy, self-destructive behavior. What's most interesting is how Roiphe turns the camera, so to speak, on the socially correct, health-obsessed habits of today's new puritanism, and on her feminist writer mother, Anne Roiphe, whose memoir, Art and Madness (2011) records her experiences during the Mad Men era. Roiphe is equally bracing and hilarious in her dissection of the Fifty Shades of Grey craze. Roiphe writes with an archer's aim and a bullfighter's bravado. While it's true that the world she dissects is an elite one, it is also highly influential. And her cultural soundings do run deep, whether she's critiquing incest in literature; sex scenes in Roth, Mailer, and Updike versus Franzen, Chabon, and Wallace; or, from a more personal stance, entrenched attitudes toward divorce and single mothers. --Booklist

Flight behavior : a novel

by Barbara Kingsolver    (Get the Book)
Drawing on both her Appalachian roots and her background in biology, Kingsolver delivers a passionate novel on the effects of global warming. Dellarobia Turnbow got pregnant in high school; now, some 11 years into her unhappy marriage, she's ready for a big change, and she thinks she's found it with a randy young telephone lineman. But on her way to a rendezvous, she is waylaid by the sight of a forest ablaze with millions of butterflies. Their usual migratory route has been disrupted, and what looks to be a stunningly beautiful view is really an ominous sign, for the Appalachian winter could prove to be the demise of the species. The phenomenon draws the whole world to Dellarobia's doorstep scientists, the media, hordes of tourists and gives her new and galvanizing insight into her poverty-stricken life on the sheep farm of her disapproving in-laws. Kingsolver, as always a fluent and eloquent writer, skillfully sets the hook of her fascinating story before launching into activist mode with more than a few pointed speeches delivered by an eminent scientist (and Kingsolver stand-in). By that time, though, readers will be well and truly smitten with feisty, funny, red-haired Dellarobia and her determined quest to widen the confines of her world. HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: On the heels of the beloved author's best-selling The Lacuna (2009), which won the Orange Prize, her latest novel will receive a 500,000-copy first printing and be supported by an eight-city author tour. --Booklist

Railroads and the American people

by H. Roger Grant     (Get the Book)
Grant (history, Clemson Univ.) takes a topical approach in his social history of the Golden Age of American railroads, from 1830 to 1930. Chapters cover trains, stations, communities, and the railroad's legacies. Grant's use of numerous period quotes, some lengthy, enliven and contextualize his text, as do scores of richly captioned illustrations. He covers topics such as the controversy over operating trains on Sundays, railroad memorials, and the roles of railroads during wartime. The railroads were, he shows, integral to the birth, life, and even death of many towns. To confirm the enduring legacy of the railroads, he recounts the origins and growth of the rail hobbyist and railroad preservation movement. VERDICT Consisting of hundreds of -vignettes containing a wealth of detailed descriptions and remembrances, Grant's work is highly recommended to train buffs and others in love with early railroading. --Library Journal

A gift from Tiffany's

by Melissa Hill     (Get the Book)
A traffic accident in front of Tiffany's causes a holiday mixup of major proportions for two separate couples in New York from England and Ireland for the holidays when their little blue boxes are switched in the chaos and the wrong couple ends up "engaged." A lack of communication ensures that the chaos continues as the couples head home. While things are all sorted out in the end, it takes some major meddling on the part of a pragmatic, well-meaning friend. A smart, perceptive eight-year-old hooks readers from the start and keeps them engaged in this multilayered story that has a number of well-drawn characters (although not all are likable) and more than one unexpected twist. Verdict Nothing turns out quite as expected in this chick lit romp that has a whimsical charm and is rich with modern Irish ambiance. Hill (The Charm Bracelet) is a popular Irish author and lives in Dublin. --Library Journal

The everything couponing book : clip your way to incredible savings!

by Karen Wilmes     (Get the Book)
Want to save money on the items you buy every week? Want to learn how to find deals without spending hours looking for them? Want to leave a store with money in your pocket? Then it's time to start couponing! Saving the most cash isn't just about clipping those paper coupons from your weekly newspaper. Today, the couponing world is expanding, with endless options like rewards cards, online coupons, loyalty programs, and group deals. But what should you choose to make the most impact on your budget? That's where The Everything® Couponing Book comes in! This book--the most comprehensive of its kind--teaches you how to find incredible deals and stretch your purchasing power with a combination of coupons, rebates, rewards points, and in-store sales. And you'll learn how to create your own game plan, depending on how much time you have to devote to couponing. Inside, you'll find money-saving information on: How to read and interpret coupon fine print Organizing a couponing system and locating the best deals How to reduce the amount of time you spend looking for coupons and deals Saving big on entertainment, travel, and dining 100 budget-friendly recipes that maximize each grocery dollar With a focus on the rise of online and social media deals, The Everything® Couponing Book is the most comprehensive couponing resource available. You'll never pay retail again! (Summary)

Love Anthony : a novel

by Lisa Genova     (Get the Book)
After 14 years of marriage and three children, Beth Ellis discovers her husband is having an affair with a local waitress. Feeling heartbroken, rejected, and alone, Beth wants to recapture the independent, creative spirit she used to be and finds the inspiration to pick up pen and paper once again. What emerges is a startling new voice, one that will become a balm for her wounded soul. Newly separated Olivia Donatelli has just moved into her family's rental cottage. Struggling to understand the unraveling of her marriage, she is also desperate to make sense of her eight-year-old autistic son Anthony's short life and accidental death. A chance encounter between these two women develops into an unexpected and meaningful friendship, giving one writer the opportunity to find her voice and a grieving mother a chance to finally understand her son. In Love Anthony, readers will discover a unique portrayal of autism that is highly accessible and, at times, deeply profound. Writing with deep empathy and insight, Genova has created an engaging story that fearlessly asks the big questions. --Booklist

Secrets of great portrait photography : photographs of the famous and infamous

by Brian Smith     (Get the Book)
Smith is a Pulitzer Prize-winning photographer whose Art & Soul: Stars Unite to Celebrate and Support the Arts features his photographs of celebrities. Whether photographing holy men of Nepal, Richard Branson suited up for Virgin Galactic space flights, or nudists playing golf, he stresses that "nothing is more important to portrait photography than connecting with the person you're photographing...." The guide includes tips, a list of the lighting gear used in the book, assignments, and an interview with the author. (Summary)

Shadow Creek : a novel

by Joy Fielding    (Get the Book)
In this chilling tale of serial killers on the loose from bestseller Fielding (Now You See Her), Valerie Rowe and two Manhattan friends decide at the last minute to head up to the Lodge at Shadow Creek in the Adirondacks to celebrate her 40th birthday. Accompanying them are Val's 16-year-old daughter, Brianne, by her soon-to-be-divorced philanderer of a husband, Evan, and Evan's fiancee, Jennifer. Evan, whom Val still sort of loves, is unable to join them because of business in the city. Val's ill feelings toward Jennifer and her constant verbal sparring with rebellious Brianne add tension, especially after Brianne goes missing, and the odd assortment of campers move from the lodge to tents. The suspense rises as a pair of serial killers, who gleefully dispatched an elderly couple at their isolated Adirondacks cabin in the prologue, seek more victims. The intricate, twisty plot builds to an explosive climax. --Publishers Weekly

Dream more : celebrate the dreamer in you

by Dolly Parton     (Get the Book)
Part memoir, part self-help, Parton's book shares her life philosophies and the guiding principles behind her Dollywood Foundation, which provides free books to children through the Imagination Library program. Her drive and propensity for "dreaming big" took her from a life of poverty in a small Ten-nessee mountain town, where she practiced singing to the chickens, to the stage of the Grand Ole Opry and beyond. Parton's style is folksy and winsomely charming. Discussing how to handle the down times in life, she writes, "People always say, ‘But you always look so happy.' Well, that's Bo-tox! Nobody's happy all the time." Parton (Dolly: My Life and Other Unfinished Business) remembers struggling through classes in a one-room schoolhouse as a child, only to later return to her hometown as a successful performer and provide students with scholarships. Parton goes on to outline the prac-tices that made her a successful businesswoman, notably taking commitment seriously and choosing the right people to commit to, and share her earnest sense of faith. Fans will particularly enjoy "The Wit & Wisdom of the Dolly-Mama," which contains Dolly-isms like "I'm just the girl next door, provided you live next door to an amusement park," and "Home is where I hang my hair." --Publishers Weekly

The time keeper

by Mitch Albom    (Get the Book)
Albom displays his usual flair for plumbing the emotional depths of the human spirit in this cleverly constructed fable. After Dor, the first man to measure time, becomes so obsessed with the philosophical concept and the practical mathematics of his discovery that he loses sight of what is truly important in life, he is banished to a cave and condemned to listen to the mind-numbing din of the time-centric pleas and prayers of the masses throughout the centuries. Granted a chance to redeem himself by rescuing two floundering contemporary souls, he brings together Victor, a dying business mogul determined to unlock the secret of immortality, and Sarah, a lonely and depressed teenager on the brink of suicide. Morphing into wise Father Time, Dor grants Victor and Sarah equally bleak views of the futures they are forging. Elements of the supernatural abound as invaluable life lessons are learned in this heartrending morality play reminiscent of both A Christmas Carol and It's a Wonderful Life. High Demand Backstory: Albom has proved time and again that tried-and-true formulas sell. In his latest morality play, he strikes a familiar emotional chord that will resonate with a wide cross-section of readers and translate into bestselling gold. --Booklist

Triumphs of experience : the men of the Harvard Grant Study

by George E. Vaillant   (Get the Book)
Human social and emotional development does not peak at age 30 but continues throughout one's life. A person's upbringing does not set them on an inescapable path toward a happy or unhappy life. These are two of the major findings of the Harvard Grant Study, which has surveyed the physical and mental health of an original cohort of 237 Harvard undergraduate men beginning in the late 1930s. Using case studies as illustrations, former director Vaillant (Aging Well) reviews the results of research investigating mental health, longevity, alcoholism, resilience, and spirituality over time. Especially interesting are his observations on the changing issues, methods, and priorities throughout the project's history. The Grant Study remains the longest ongoing longitudinal study of human development continuing to track survivors (68 of the original group were still living as of March 2012) as they approach 100 years. VERDICT Vaillant reminisces on his 40 years of work with the Grant Study, summarizes what the study reveals about subjects in their tenth decade, and discussions how the implications may affect future research. Recommended for those interested in human development. --Publishers Weekly

Cold days : a novel of the Dresden files

by Jim Butcher     (Get the Book)
Harry Dresden, the Chicago PI and professional wizard, has been having a pretty weird time of it lately. In 2012's Ghost Story, Harry is trapped between life and death but on the trail of his own killer all the same; after discovering that killer's shocking identity, he decides to let himself pass into death. But Queen Mab has other ideas, and that's where the latest episode in the Dresden Files novels picks up the story. Mab, who has wanted Harry to be her hatchet man for a long time, has a job for him several jobs, actually, a sort of shopping list of evil deeds, beginning with murder. Harry, basically a good man, doesn't take killing lightly, especially when his intended victim happens to be immortal. Harry thinks there must be a reason why Mab wants this particular immortal killed at this particular time, and when he hits up some sources back in Chicago, he figures out she's probably setting him up but why? By this point, more than a dozen novels into the series, Butcher is pretty much assuming that if you're reading the latest Dresden novel, you're familiar with the ones that came before it. Readers coming to the novel without any previous experience might feel like they've tuned into an epic, multicharacter TV miniseries about halfway through, but fans of the Dresden Files, who have a lot invested in Harry, will be lining up to see whether he escapes his death as slickly as he did last time. Butcher remains the gold standard for urban fantasy. HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: The Dresden Files started slowly as a paperback original series but eventually built an audience and moved to hardcover. From there, it was a short jump to becoming the quintessential urban fantasy. --Booklist

American antislavery writings : colonial beginnings to emancipation

For the 150th anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation, here is a collection of writings that charts our nation's long, heroic confrontation with its most poisonous evil. It's an inspiring moral and political struggle whose evolution parallels the story of America itself. To advance their cause, the opponents of slavery employed every available literary form: fiction and poetry, essay and autobiography, sermons, pamphlets, speeches, hymns, plays, even children's literature. This is the first anthology to take the full measure of a body of writing that spans nearly two centuries and, exceptionally for its time, embraced writers black and white, male and female. Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Paine, Phillis Wheatley, and Olaudah Equiano offer original, even revolutionary, eighteenth century responses to slavery. With the nineteenth century, an already diverse movement becomes even more varied: the impassioned rhetoric of Frederick Douglass and William Lloyd Garrison joins the fiction of Harriet Beecher Stowe, Louisa May Alcott, and William Wells Brown; memoirs of former slaves stand alongside protest poems by John Greenleaf Whittier, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, and Lydia Sigourney; anonymous editorials complement speeches by statesmen such as Charles Sumner and Abraham Lincoln. Features helpful notes, a chronology of the antislavery movement, and a16-page color insert of illustrations. (Get the Book)

'Twas the night after Christmas

by Sabrina Jeffries     (Get the Book)
Pierce Waverly, the rakehell Earl of Devonmont, is annoyed when he arrives at his country estate to learn that his estranged mother is not at death's door, as he'd been led to believe by a letter from his mother's new companion. Pierce has no intention of staying, especially not for the holidays. But vicar's widow Camilla Stuart is determined to bring Pierce and his mother together-even if it means giving in to his initially outrageous demands of nightly "entertainments." A caring heroine determined to do the right thing and an emotionally wounded hero unable to forgive struggle to learn the truth in this complex story that juxtaposes the warmth of the holiday season with a dark undercurrent of closely guarded secrets, impossible choices, and deep regret. VERDICT Sharply witty, deliciously sexy, and infinitely endearing, this holiday gem strikes an emotional chord that will resonate with fans long after the book has been closed. Jeffries's first hardcover release, it serves as a bridge between her recent "Hellions of Halstead Hall" quintet and a new series that is slated to begin next spring.

The antidote : happiness for people who can't stand positive thinking

by Oliver Burkeman      (Get the Book)
This is a self-help book for cynics. Guardian feature writer Burkeman (Help!) makes the compelling observation that even with the mass production of books on attaining happiness, the collective mood has failed to rise. It has, if anything, fallen. Burkeman's aim is to endorse a "negative" path to happiness, a route in which happiness is no longer the final destination because serenity is not a fixed state, and trying so hard to be happy is part of what makes us so miserable. Burkeman balances the ideas of the deepest thinkers, thoughts on mortality, and his own foray into Buddhist meditation with tremendously funny anecdotes about the antics of motivational convention attendees and his humiliating attempts at stoicism on the London subway. The version of "happiness" that emerges has no clear set of steps, rather a calm (yet admirably comical) shift from the happy human being to the human who is, simply, being. None of this is new, but Burkeman's ability to present sentiments in fresh, delightfully sarcastic packaging will appeal to the happy, the unhappy, and those who have already found a peaceful middle ground. --Publishers Weekly

Shiver

by Karen Robards     (Get the Book)
Set in St. Louis, this spellbinding novel of romantic suspense from bestseller Robards (The Last Victim) stars Samantha "Sam" Jones, a 23-year-old single mother, who struggles to make ends meet by working nights repossessing cars while taking classes for EMT certification during the day. Her mundane life goes terribly askew after she finds an injured man in the trunk of a BMW she's repossessing. Before she can decide what to do, she's assaulted and thrown into the trunk with the man. In a fight for survival, Sam and her trunk mate, who turns out to be an undercover FBI agent, Danny Panterro, must seek a way to outwit their captors, members of a drug cartel. Sam's fiery determination to stay alive and keep her four-year-old son safe is the perfect match for Danny's tenacity as an undercover agent. Sensual love scenes help propel the novel toward its explosive conclusion. --Publishers Weekly

My ideal bookshelf

This is a charming and whimsical look at the favorite books of a wide selection from today's creative community. Editor La Force contacted and interviewed notables from the worlds of food (Alice Waters, Mark Bittman), music (Patti Smith), books (Junot Diaz, Mary Karr, Malcolm Gladwell), movies (Judd Apatow, Mira Nair), and fashion (Kate and Laura Mulleavy of Rodarte), among others, and each sent a list of their favorite books along with their thoughts on what their shelves revealed. For some, their reading is often focused on their work, but for others, like Rosanne Cash, "I was one of those kids who asked my mom to drop me at the library on Saturdays. That was where I spent my weekends." These intimate glimpses are accompanied by Mount's painted representations of each contributor's bookshelves. VERDICT This book will be a pleasure for anyone who loves books, reading, and memoirs as it is both a quick peek into the reading lives of others and a source of new reading ideas. --Library Journal.    (Get the Book)

The other woman

by Hank Fillippi Ryan   (Get the Book)
Boston TV reporter Jane Ryland's refusal to give up her source for a story accusing supermarket mogul Arthur Vick of making promises to call-girl Sellica Darden results in her station losing a million-dollar defamation suit, and Jane losing her job. With a little help from her pal, Detective Jake Brogan, Jane now labeled Wrong Guy Ryland lands a spot on a newspaper, working for a former competitor, sharing a desk, and getting the soft assignment of interviewing the wife of U.S. senatorial candidate Owen Lassiter. But the biggest local news, which is being covered by Jane's deskmate, involves the recent deaths of two young women whose bodies are found in the river; when the third such victim is Darden, Vick becomes a viable suspect in what seem to be a string of serial murders. With the Senate race heating up, Jane is looking for the other woman in Lassiter's life, while Jake is after the Bridge Killer. Ryan, an investigative reporter for Boston's NBC affiliate, knows her way around politics at high levels, and she uses that knowledge to fashion a revenge-fueled plot that twists and turns at breakneck speed. Political skulduggery and murder make a high-octane mix in this perfect thriller for an election season. --Booklist

Why have kids? : a new mom explores the truth about parenting and happiness

by Jessica Valenti     (Get the Book)
When her daughter was born at 28 weeks, leaving mother and child dangerously ill, Valenti felt enormous disappointment and a sense of failure. Not only had she missed a "good birth" resulting in a full-term healthy baby and happy family, her expectations surrounding the experience, the elation and bonding she had been societally conditioned to encounter, were unfulfilled. In this, her fourth book--a politicized, anti-What to Expect When You're Expecting--the high-profile, third-wave feminist takes an intense and scathing look at charged contemporary parenting issues, moving beyond "mommy wars" and breast-is-best militants to show just how much the current American ideal of parenting fails to match reality. With post-partum panic past, and her child thriving, Valenti probes accepted practices and questions the pervasive philosophy of modern mothering, with its many fallacies and assumptions including: alarming pre-conception and pregnancy advisories; whether women are naturally better parents; and if mothering is the hardest job in the world. Valenti pointedly reveals how trading a career for staying at home with the kids, the myth of the "perfect mother," and the death of the nuclear family damaged more women than society will acknowledge. Occasionally, a reader may be unsure whether Valenti is airing her own grievances or those of mommy-bloggers and the media; but that aside, this timely volume, which should generate much controversy, is a call for much-needed change and may unite a new generation of moms. --Publishers Weekly

The black box : a novel

by Michael Connelly    (Get the Book)
At his core, Harry Bosch is a cop with a mission to tip the scales of justice toward the side of murder victims and their survivors. The scales can never be righted, of course, even by solving the cases Bosch is assigned in the Open Unsolved Unit of the LAPD. That is especially true in the 20-year-old murder of Danish journalist Anneke Jesperson, who was killed during the L.A. riots of 1992. What was Jesperson, a white woman, doing in South Central L.A. in the aftermath of the riots? As usual, Bosch faces not only the seeming impossibility of reconstructing a crime that has been cold for two decades but also the roadblocks imposed by the bureaucrats at the top of the LAPD. But Bosch has never met a roadblock he wasn't compelled to either barge through or cannily avoid. Harry is such a compelling character largely due to his fundamentally antiestablishment personality, which leads to chaos as often as to triumph, but also because his unswerving work ethic reflects not simply duty but also respect for the task before him. Harry does it right, even or especially when his bosses want something else entirely. That's the case this time How would it look if a white cop made headlines by solving the riot-related murder of a white woman? Better to let it slide. In real life, we all let things slide, but in life according to Bosch, nothing slides. We like Harry, as we like many other fictional crime solvers, because he never stops, but we love him because he has the scars to prove that never sliding is no easy thing. HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: Connelly's twenty-fifth book appears in his twentieth year of publishing, an anniversary that his publisher has been celebrating throughout 2012 with various Year of Connelly promotions, all leading up to the publication of The Black Box. --Booklist