February 2016 Book Selection

Join the North Providence Mystery  Book Club on Tuesday February 2, 2016 as we will be discussing Faceless Killers by Henning Mankell. This is the first book in the Kurt Wallander series based in Sweden, and the basis for the BBC program starring Kenneth Branagh.
The synopsis from the author's website is: "One frozen January morning at 5 am, Inspector Wallander responds to what he believes is a routine call out. When he reaches the isolated farmhouse he discovers a bloodbath. An old man has been tortured and beaten to  death, his wife lies barely alive beside his shattered body, both victims of a violence beyond reason. The woman supplies Wallander with his only clue: the perpetrators may have been foreign. When this is leaked to the press, it unleashes racial hatred." This is the first of 11 Wallander stories written by Mankell, who died this past October.

January 2016 Book Selection

Join the North Providence Mystery Book Club on Tuesday January 5, 2016. We will be discussing, Dog on it by Spencer Quinn. Spencer Quinn is a penname for Peter Abrahams. This is the first book in the Chet and Bernie series. Chet is private investigator Bernie’s dog, and the story is told from his perspective.

The book summary is: Meet Chet, the wise and lovable canine narrator of Dog on It, who works alongside Bernie, a down-on-his-luck private investigator. Chet might have flunked out of police school ("I'd been the best leaper in K-9 class, which had led to all the trouble in a way I couldn't remember exactly, although blood was involved"), but he's a detective through and through. In this, their first adventure, Chet and Bernie investigate the disappearance of Madison, a teenage girl who may or may not have been kidnapped, but who has definitely gotten mixed up with some very unsavory characters. Their search for clues takes them into the desert to biker bars and other exotic locals, with Chet's highly trained nose leading the way. Both Chet and Bernie bring their own special skills to the hunt, one that puts each of them in peril. But even as the bad guys try to turn the tables, this duo is nothing if not resourceful, and the result is an uncommonly satisfying adventure. With his doggy ways and his endearingly hardboiled voice, Chet is full of heart and occasionally prone to mischief. He is intensely loyal to Bernie, who, though distracted by issues that Chet has difficulty understanding -- like divorce, child custody, and other peculiar human concerns -- is enormously likable himself, in his flawed, all-too-human way.

            Have a happy holiday season, and join us in the New Year.

December 2015 Book Selection

Join the North Providence Mystery Book Club on Tuesday December 1, 2015. We will be discussing The Chocolate Chip Cookie Murder by Joanne Fluke. This is the first book in the Hannah Swensen series. The character of Hannah is a baker and runs a bakery in her small town. The author also includes recipes in the books.
From the author's website: "Hannah already has her hands full trying to dodge her mother's attempts to marry her off while running The Cookie Jar, Lake Eden's most popular bakery. But once Ron LaSalle, the beloved delivery man from the Cozy Cow Dairy, is found murdered behind her bakery with Hannah's famous Chocolate Chip Crunchies scattered around him, her life can't get any worse. Determined not to let her cookies get a bad reputation, she sets out to track down a killer. But if she doesn't watch her back, Hannah's sweet life may get burned to a crisp."
We will be meeting in the Second Floor Meeting room. Have a happy Thanksgiving.

November 2015 Book Selection

Join the North Providence Mystery Book Club on Tuesday November 3, 2015. We will be discussing Raven Black by Ann Cleeves. This is the first book in the Shetland series featuring Inspector Jimmy Perez. This series is also the basis for the British television series Shetland.
From the author's website: "Raven Black was the first winner of the prestigious Duncan Lawrie Dagger Award for the best crime novel of the year. The judges praised Raven Black for its "superb sense of place." They called it "a depiction of of an enclosed community with modern and entrenched values constantly competing, [and] a thrilling read." The synopsis is: "It is a cold January morning, and Shetland lies buried beneath a deep layer of snow. Trudging home, Fran Hunter's eye is drawn to a splash of color on the frozen ground, ravens circling above. It is the strangled body of her teenage neighbor, Catherine Ross. As Fran opens her mouth to scream, the ravens continue their deadly dance. The locals on the quiet island stubbornly focus their gaze on one man- loner and simpleton Magnus Tait. But when detective Jimmy Perez and his colleagues from the mainland insist on opening out the investigation, a veil of suspicion and fear is thrown over the entire community. For the first time in years, Catherine's neighbors nervously lock their doors, whilst a killer lives on in their midst."
We will be meeting in the second floor meeting room at 7:00 pm.

October 2015 Book Selection

Join the North Providence Mystery Book Club on Tuesday October 6, 2015 at 7:00 pm when we discuss What Angels Fear by C. S. Harris. This is the first book featuring Sebastian St. Cyr, a nobleman in the time of King George III of England.
The synopsis of of the book from the large print edition is: " The year is 1811. As old King George III sinks deeper into madness, and the threat of social unrest and revolution haunts the privileged classes, a beautiful young woman is found raped and savagely murdered on the altar steps of an ancient parish church. An ornate dueling pistol discovered in the blood-soaked folds of Rachel York's cloak and the damning testimony of a witness both point to one man: Sebastian St. Cyr, Viscount Devlin, a brilliant young nobleman shattered by his experiences in the Napoleonic Wars. Now a fugitive, Sebastian calls upon his experience as an agent during the war to embark on a desperate quest to catch a brutal killer and prove his own innocence."
We will be meeting in the library's second floor meeting room.

September 2015 Book Selection

Join the North Providence Mystery Book Club on Tuesday September 1, 2015 at 7:00 pm when we will be discussing, From Doon with death by Ruth Rendell. This is the first book that she wrote featuring Inspector Wexford, and the series now includes 24 titles. These books were also the inspiration for a British television series. Sadly, Ruth Rendell passed away in May of this year.
The summary from the paperback edition is: "There is nothing extraordinary about Margaret Parsons, a timid housewife in the quiet town of Kingsmarkham, a woman devoted to her garden, her kitchen, her husband. Except that Margaret Parsons is dead...Who would kill someone with nothing to hide? Inspector Wexford, the formidable chief of police, is baffled-- until he discovers Margaret's dark secret: a trove of rare books, each volume incribed by a passionate lover identified only as Doon... the case builds with relentless momentum to a shocking finale as clever as it is expected." Join us in the 2nd Floor Meeting room.

August 2015 Meeting

Due to unforeseen circumstances, the August meeting of the North Providence Mystery Book Club will be held on Tuesday, August 11, 2015 at 7 PM in the Trustee Meeting Room.