Great reads at the Maricopa Public Library

Greetings fellow bibliophiles! I hope all of you and your families had a great holiday season. As we embark on another year, we can look forward to 12 months worth of great reads ahead as our favorite authors never stop writing.

Before I begin, I’d like to share an experience with my fellow readers that occurred during the past few weeks.

While cleaning my bookshelves, I came across a newspaper clipping that I had saved from my hometown newspaper “The Buffalo News.”

This article featured the top 100 novels from the last century as chosen by a jury of scholars and writers. As I perused the list, I came to the realization that I read only three of them and I enjoyed only two.

Now keep in mind, this list was the Cadillac of literatures’ greatest writers: Ernest Hemingway, D.H. Lawrence, James Baldwin, Henry James, E.M. Forster and William Faulkner, to name a few. All I can say is that I’m sorely lacking in the classics, and as a lover of great reads I should be ashamed of myself.

So as I ponder which of the classics to read next, let me share with you some of the new books at the Maricopa Public Library.

Fans of Arizona author Diana Gabaldon will enjoy her newest novel “The Scottish Prisoner” featuring Lord John Grey. When “Outlander” hero Jamie Fraser is finally released from prison, he seeks a quiet life. However, Lord John needs Jamie’s help in translating a secret message. They become unwilling allies and travel to Ireland to uncover hidden secrets.

Michael Connelly’s hero Harry Bosch is looking for work when not one but two cases require his immediate attention in “The Drop.”

Harry faces forced retirement in three years and he’s on a mission to get as many cases as he can during his remaining years with the LAPD. He must investigate the death of Councilman Irvin Irving’s son and there’s DNA evidence from an earlier case that matches a 29-year-old convicted rapist.

Mystery lovers will travel back in time to Victorian England in Charles Finch’s “A Burial at Sea.” Charles Lenox, now serving as a member of Parliament, is called into action by his government to investigate the murder of British spies at the newly opened Suez Canal. Relations between France and England are dicey and on the way to his destination, he must investigate the murder of the ship’s second lieutenant.

From Victorian England, readers can travel to the American Southwest where they’ll meet police chief Josie Gray in Tricia Field's “The Territory.”

Police Chief Gray has killed a member of the Mexican drug cartel and as she arrests another member of the vicious gang things get complicated. When one of her resident’s who just happens to be a strong defender of the Second Amendment is murdered and his cache of weapons is missing Gray must not only save herself but her town Artemis, Texas.

If you enjoyed “The Girl with a Dragon Tattoo” and the subsequent titles that followed you will want to read Jo Nesbo’s “The Leopard.” Set in Olso, Norway, Inspector Harry Hole returns from Hong Kong and investigates the murder of a female MP.

Closing out the newest in fiction is Patricia Cornwell’s “Red Mist.” Forensic scientist Kay Scarpetta is back in this new addition to the series. Scarpetta is in the midst of investigating the murder of her friend deputy chief Jack Fielding and uncovers a terrifying conspiracy and a possible threat of terrorism.

In non fiction, there’s a little bit of Hollywood and a little bit of history. Spencer Tracy starred in classics such as “Adam’s Rib,” “Father of the Bride” and “Inherit the Wind,” and also lived an interesting life. In “Spencer Tracy: A Biography,” by James Curtis, readers will learn a great deal more about the Hollywood star.

Diane Keaton, known for her roles in “The Godfather,” “Annie Hall” and “Something’s Got to Give,” talks about her life and the woman who would impact her life in many ways — her mother — in her memoir “Then Again.”