When I heard that there was a new novel in the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants series, I was excited to reacquaint myself with the four friends that I've grown to love. I was not disappointed! The friendship that these girls share is beautifully written and often moved me to tears.

    Aaron Elkins does it again!  His Gideon Oliver books have long been favorites of mine, anticipated and collected.  The worst thing, his newest, has some of the same characteristics that make the others great, but it is completely independent and takes place in a new setting with a new character's job informing its pages.  The main character, Bryan Bennett, designs hostage negotiation programs for a world-class security risk company based in Seattle.

    Following on her NY Times' bestseller, Wicked plants, Stewart shows us more monsters and menaces of the natural world in Wicked bugs: the louse that conquered Napoleon's army & other diabolical insects.

    If you aren't completely anti-vampire, A discovery of witches might be one to take to the lake. Written by a history professor, it is rich in European history and settings. Harkness chooses to begin this book, the first in a trilogy, in Oxford at the Bodleian Library--pure joy for Tolkien or C.S. Lewis fans!

    Cat lovers, here's a mystery series for you!  If you love Lillian Jackson Braun, you just might like Shirley Rousseau Murphy.  Equally cozy, the Joe Grey series is enchanting in many of the same ways as the Braun's series. While Braun's settings vary, the main locale, Moose County, is "400 miles north of everywhere." Usually acknowledged as Bad Axe, Michigan, Braun lived there for years.