All the Missing Girls by Megan Miranda

It's been ten years since Nicolette Farell left her rural hometown of Cooley Ridge, PA after her best friend Corinne disappeared. Leaving her sleepy hometown after Corinne's disappearance, Nic reinvented herself--she has a successful career, a high powered attorney finace, and a place of her own in Philadelphia. But now that Nic is forced to come back to tie up loose ends as her father moves into an assisted living facility, it's as if nothing has changed. With Nic back in town, old feelings and drama are stirred up...and it doesn't help that another young woman, Annaleise, Nic's childhood neighbor and alibi the night Corinne disappear, has now gone missing, too.

Told in reverse order from day 15 to 1, Nic starts to unravel the mystery behind the disappearance of Annaleise and with that the mystery of Corinne. Just like ten years ago, the investigation is once again focused on Nic, her brother Daniel, and Tyler, Nic's former boyfriend.

With twists, turns, and shocks you won't believe, All the Missing Girls has been compared to The Girl on the Train and The Luckiest Girl Alive. 

The Tin Horse by Janice Steinberg

After years of resistance to the thought of selling her home, where she raised her family, octogenarian Elaine Greenstein has finally decided to move into a retirement community. While packing years worth of possessions, Elaine unearths a clue to finding her twin sister, who disappeared from their predominantly Jewish neighborhood of Boyle Heights, California when she was only eighteen. After stumbling on the clue about her sister's disappearance, Elaine begins to retell her family's stories--everything from her mother's immigration to the United States to growing up as the "smart" twin instead of the "popular" one to her Zayde (Yiddish for grandfather) to reasons why her sister disappeared and the fallout from her sister's long ago disappearance.

Janice Steinberg's The Tin Horse is an excellent example of telling stories to remember. The author has done a wonderful job of intertwining Elaine's flashbacks as well as modern day Elaine's quest for her sister. With extreme detail to historical research and Jewish tradition, Steinberg has done a wonderful job of illustrating just how important family stories are to remembering those we love--a concept we should all aspire to.

The Returned by Jason Mott

This book is about the life of Harold and Lucille Hargrave whose world is turned upside down with a knock on the door.  Their son died 50 years ago and he has now returned from the dead.  At eight years of age Jacob is exactly how Lucille remembered him.  All over the world loved ones are returning from the dead.   What would you do if your loved one was back from the dead?

Lucille and Harold live in the small town of Arcadia and with so many people returning it is difficult to find room for all of them.  The Federal Bureau of the Returned starts to take over the situation and many of the townsfolk are not too happy.  One of the struggles that everyone is having is that they do not know why people are returning and if it should be considered a miracle or a warning of something to come.

This was a really good read and really made me think more about life and death.  The author’s note at the end of the novel really gives a food feel for why the author wrote this story.  This is a good read for anyone who is interested in the afterlife.  Or if you are curious as to what the world could become if all our loved ones returned.    

Want to read more about the returned? Jason Mott wrote some short stories as prequels to The Returned they  are in e-book form and can be found through the library.  They are, “The Choice,” “The First” and “The Sparrow.”   These short stories give more background information on some of those that were returned in his novel, The Returned.

Jason Mott’s Novel is being made into a television program called, The Resurrection.  It premiers on Sunday March 9 @ 9/8c on ABC.  Check out more about the show here: http://abc.go.com/shows/resurrection

Check out The Returned @ the library!

The Leftovers by Tom Perrotta

What would you do if one day a portion of the population including your friends, family, and neighbors suddenly disappeared?  This is the premise of The Leftovers.  The aftermath of the Sudden Departure is told through the stories of many different characters.  The uncertainty of the event (was it the Rapture or another inexpiable happening?) has changed everyone’s lives.  Some people continue on while others leave the family they have left and join cults such as the Barefoot People and the Guilty Remnant.  In contrast to Tom Perrotta’s other works this book is very subtle and does not have the satire that has become his trademark.  However, it’s a thought provoking book with loose ends that will have the reader drawing their own conclusions.  Checkout The Leftovers @ the library!

Instructions for a Heatwave by Maggie O’Farrell

In the summer of 1976, when London is suffering through a record-breaking heat wave and drought, Robert Riordan, a retired London banker, walks out of his home one morning to buy a newspaper. When he does not return, he creates a crisis requiring his three adult children to return to the family home.  Although his wife, Gretta, claims he was happy in his retirement, his emptied bank account reveals his vanishing to be premeditated and of his own volition. The family is not close and the children each have their own troubling secrets. Michael Francis, oldest child and only son, is failing in his personal and professional life. Monica, the responsible, perfect daughter, has similar problems. And Aoife, the difficult, late-in-life baby, who went through childhood with undiagnosed learning disabilities, is hiding the fact that she cannot read from family, friends and employers.  Monica and Aoife also have a secret between them that has destroyed their relationship. And, obviously, Robert has a secret reason for disappearing. But, in the course of searching for some clue of why their father left or where he might have gone, the children discover that their parents have keeping the biggest, most astounding secret of all. Using the small bit of information they are able to glean from their mother, their search takes them to the family home in Ireland.  Here they find answers to their questions and, perhaps, solutions to their problems. In INSTRUCTIONS FOR A HEATWAVE, author Maggie O’Farrell is able to make the reader understand this dysfunctional family (disappointed mother, distant father, angry children). We pull for them to come together and overlook each other’s weaknesses.  

Check out Instructions for a Heatwave @ the library!