Book of the Week #52

Three Squares: The Invention of the American Meal by Abigail Carroll (Basic Books, 2013)

"In Three Squares, food historian Abigail Carroll upends the popular understanding of our most cherished mealtime traditions, revealing that our eating habits have never been stable—far from it, in fact. The eating patterns and ideals we’ve inherited are relatively recent inventions, the products of complex social and economic forces, as well as the efforts of ambitious inventors, scientists and health gurus. Whether we’re pouring ourselves a bowl of cereal, grabbing a quick sandwich, or congregating for a family dinner, our mealtime habits are living artifacts of our collective history—and represent only the latest stage in the evolution of the American meal. Our early meals, Carroll explains, were rustic affairs, often eaten hastily, without utensils, and standing up.  Only in the nineteenth century, when the Industrial Revolution upset work schedules and drastically reduced the amount of time Americans could spend on the midday meal, did the shape of our modern “three squares” emerge: quick, simple, and cold breakfasts and lunches and larger, sit-down dinners.  Since evening was the only part of the day when families could come together, dinner became a ritual—as American as apple pie. But with the rise of processed foods, snacking has become faster, cheaper, and easier than ever, and many fear for the fate of the cherished family meal as a result.
The story of how the simple gruel of our forefathers gave way to snack fixes and fast food, Three Squares also explains how Americans’ eating habits may change in the years to come. Only by understanding the history of the American meal can we can help determine its future." --Publisher's blurb.

 Abigail Carroll was born in Exeter, NH.

Book of the Week #51

The Red Thread: A Novel in Three Incarnations by Roderick Townley (NY: Atheneum Books for Young Readers, 2007)

How do you avenge—or forgive—your own murder four hundred years after it happened?
Prompted by recurrent dreams, sixteen-year-old Dana Landgrave uncovers an ancient crime that has drawn the same souls together through three lifetimes.
There's nothing sinister about the girl's sunlit twenty-first-century American life in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. Yet, centuries ago, terrible things were done—by someone she knows! Could it be her easygoing, easy-to-look-at boyfriend, Chase? Or her younger brother, Ben, who has been confined to a wheelchair since a school bus accident? What about Gianna, her inscrutable enemy on the yearbook staff? Or her eccentric psychotherapist, Dr. Sprague?
As she summons courage to reenter the past, each incarnation propels Dana to new discoveries—and new suspicions—until the threads of all three lives converge in a devastating revelation. --Jacket copy

Book of the Week #50

Grandmother's Guest: The Blue Lady of Wilton by Robin Schoen and Gail Hoar (Peterborough, NH: Hobby Horse Publishing, 2013).

"Based on a true story, this magical book brings history to life with captivating text by Robin Schoen and lush illustrations by Gail Hoar. Readers will delight in the richly patterned details of New England life, from the household furniture to the red brick architecture to the familiar landscape with stone walls and burying ground.
In Grandmother’s Guest, a visit to her grandmother offers young Alex the comfort of curling up in a favorite wing chair; a lesson in reaching out to a misunderstood neighbor, the Blue Lady; and the remarkable discovery of a mended china creamer at auction. But for the Blue Lady to become a part of Alex and her grandmother’s world, one more thing is needed—an act of such innocent kindness that only a granddaughter would think of it." --Publisher's blurb.

Robin Schoen and Gail Hoar both live in Wilton, NH. They will be signing their book at Toadstool Bookshop. Milford on Sunday, December 15th and at Toadstool Bookshop, Peterborough on Saturday, December 21st.

Book of the Week #49

Not Without Peril: 150 Years of Misadventure on the Presidential Range of New Hampshire by Nicholas Howe (Boston: Appalachian Mountain Club Books, 2000).

"The Presidential Range of New Hampshire is like few places in the world. Located only 150 miles north of a major city, the range is home to beautiful alpine gardens, stunning vistas, and a carefully maintained network of hiking trails. But these same mountains can offer some of the world's worst weather. While the valleys below are bathed in warm sunshine, the exposed summits may be lashed by hurricane-force winds, blinding snows, and numbing cold. Into this potentially deadly environment come hikers, skiers, and climbers by the thousands, drawn by the beauty, accessibility, and history of the mountains. It is a recipe for challenge, adventure - and tragedy.
Not Without Peril offers extensive and intimate profiles of twenty-two climbers who found trouble on the Presidential Range from 1849 to 1994. Summer snowstorms, raging rivers, impenetrable fog banks, and a single misplaced step are all part of the dangers awaiting even the most careful hiker. Veteran journalist Nicholas Howe sifted through crumbling archives, interviewed dozens of participants, and hiked the mountains to retrace each fateful journey. The result is a compelling story of our changing relationship with the mountains we love and the risks they pose." --Jacket copy.

Book of the Week #48

Some Enchanted Murder: An Apple Mariani Mystery by Linda S. Reilly (Five Star Publishing, 2013)

This is New Hampshire resident Linda S. Reilly's first novel.

"In the small town of Hazleton, New Hampshire, a killer walks free . . .
Paralegal/title searcher Apple Mariani is accustomed to solving mysteries—mysteries such as missing heirs, lingering liens, and gaps in a chain of title. But when appraiser Lou Marshall is stabbed with an antique dagger at an estate sale, Apple finds herself plunged into the heart of a murder. For starters, she learns that the victim had entrusted her with a decades-old valentine only minutes before he was killed. Then things take a nasty turn when Apple’s Aunt Tressa—the victim’s new squeeze—is pegged as a prime suspect, and their elderly friend Lillian goes suddenly missing. Was Lillian kidnapped, or worse, because she witnessed the murder? And why had Lou been so anxious to get that faded old valentine, with its sugary poem, into Apple’s custody? Despite the local police chief’s annoying lack of concern, Apple is sure Lillian is in trouble when a cryptic call from Lillian’s cell phone awakens her late at night. Still haunted by childhood memories of her own mother vanishing, Apple knows she has to find her friend before it’s too late. From the shelves of a local antique shop to the culinary horrors of the grungiest diner in New Hampshire, Apple and Tressa collect a series of clues that lead them in maddening circles... all the way to a frustrating dead end. But time is running out, because a desperate killer, whose patience is wearing thin, still has a deadly agenda.."--Publisher's blurb

Book of the Week #47

Live Free or Sci Fi: Mindbending Tales of Speculative Fiction, edited by Rick Broussard. (Concord, NH: Plaidswede Publishing, 2013).

"New Hampshire is a serene state, famous for safe cities, predictable changes of season and independent, no-nonsense citizens. It's the kind of place where people actually get together on a cool summer evening around the town gazebo to hear a local brass band. But stroll out to the darkness on the edge of the park and you might hear a distant humming. And what's that shimmering light hovering over the tree line, changing shape and drawing closer? Twenty-three writers offer close encounters with the unknown, glimpses into a dimension of space, time and mind where anything is possible and nothing is quite what you expect." --Publisher's blurb

This latest volume (#3) in the New Hampshire Pulp Fiction series includes stories by (among others) Brendan DuBois, Elaine Isaak, James Patrick Kelly, Eric Pinder, and Joyce Wagner. There will be a launch event for the book at Gibson's Bookstore on Saturday, Novemeber 23, 2103 at 7pm.

Book of the Week #46

Outtastatahs by Gary Patton (Portsmouth, NH: Picataqua Press, 2013)

"When we first moved to New Hampshire, my wife and I were in for a surprise. Some states have little sense of their identities. That isn’t true of New Hampshire, which knows full well that it is a libertarian state and dares anyone to change it. Lord knows, we newcomers sometimes, even inadvertently, tried to budge it in a new direction, but we bumped into the attitude that Granite Staters don’t mind being different. As a matter of fact, they thoroughly enjoy it. The phrase “That’s not the New Hampshire Way” is heard here not infrequently. Newcomers to New Hampshire are known variously as “outtastatahs,” “people from away,” or “flatlanders.” As new-comers, we had a lot to learn about our newly-adopted home. If you move to the Granite State, you, not the state, will have to change. Granite doesn’t chip easily. This book reflects some of the lessons we learned." --Publisher's website

Gary Patton will be at Water Street Bookstore on Thursday, November 14, 2013 at 7pm to talk about this collection of newcomers' adventures. 

Book of the Week #45

Equilibrium by Lorrie Thomson (Kensington, 2013)

This first novel by New Hampshire resident Lorrie Thomson tells the story of the Klein family a year after the suicide of Jack Klein. Thompson will be talking about her road to publication at Wadleigh Memorial Library on Tuesday, 11/5/2013 at 7pm.

"The first time Laura Klein saved her husband’s life, she’d found his side of the bed cold at four a.m. Her throat clenched around the hard-edged understanding he’d gone off his medication again. She stumbled down the stairs in her nightgown, checked the yard, and raced down the street in her station wagon, her bare foot pressed to the accelerator. Half a mile away, she located his Corolla flipped on the side of Forest Road with Jack pinned beneath the dash, his leg broken in three places. After the Jaws of Life cut him from the wreckage, her atheist husband had smiled up at her and, with a wink and a grimace, declared himself born again.
The second time, Laura had followed a serpentine trail of spilled sleeping pills between the house and the tool shed and discovered Jack curled between the lawn mower and snow blower. She’d shaken him till a mild protest bubbled from his lips, and then, fingers twitching with relief, speed-dialed 911.
The third time Jack had tried to end his life, Laura had found his body."
-- Equilibrium

Book of the Week #44

What There Was Not to Tell: A Story of Love and War by Edie Clark (Dublin, NH: Benjamin Mason Books, 2013)

Edie Clark, best known for her Mary's Farm column in Yankee Magazine, has crafted a tale of love, war, and chain reactions from the letters her parents wrote during WWII.  

"Whenever Edie Clark asked her father about World War II, he would reply, 'There isn’t much to tell.' But there were bags and boxes full of letters. And the story she found, when she read these letters after her parents died, was as rich and strange and heartbreaking as a fairy tale.
Once upon a time there was a beautiful young woman and the two young men who loved her. Both of them wanted to marry her; both went off to war, one to Africa and the other to the Pacific. When she finally decided which man she would wed, she wrote to tell him of her decision but the letter came back stamped 'Deceased.'
After the war, she married the other, who knew he was not her first choice, but he wanted her still. They had two daughters, who grew up with three sets of grandparents – their mother’s parents, their father’s parents, and the parents of the young  man who had been killed.
They lived not happily ever after, but in a perpetual state of longing. 'My father longed for my mother and my mother longed for a man named Tom,' writes their daughter, whose own longing for answers led her on a quest. In her travels, she not only finds what happened to Tom, but she also comes to understand the devastating effect that war, any war, can have, not only on the families who suffer loss but on those who supposedly come home unscathed. She learns that no one returns from war unharmed. And that, after all, her parents had a love story all their own." -- Publisher's blurb

Clark will be appearing at local bookstores in the coming week to read from her book.

• At Gibson's on October 31, 2013
• At Bayswater on November 1, 2013

Book of the Week #43

Beating the Lunch Box Blues by J. M. Hirsch (NY: ATRIA/Rachael Ray Books, 2013).

If PB&J is beginning to bore you, this book is filled with ideas and tips for expanding your brown bag horizons. I loved that none of the lunches need to be microwaved at work and that there was a lot of variety. It also made me nostalgic for the wide mouth thermos I used as a kid to take soup to school for lunch. I may need to get myself another one. 

On Wednesday, October 23, 2013 J. M. Hirsch, who lives in New Hampshire and writes the blog Lunch Box Blues, will be at Gibson's at 7pm for cooking demo and a chat about lunch.

"Nobody wants a lunch cookbook. Especially not a lunch box cookbook. Because in the morning rush, not even the most obsessive compulsive among us is going to break out a recipe to bang out a brown bag special. Busy people need ideas. And lots of them. If they're healthy, fun, easy, and fall on the hipper end of the foodie spectrum, even better. And if they're fun enught for the kids, but delicious enough for adults? Bonus! That's what Beating the Lunch Box Blues is--an idea book to inspire anyone daunted byt he daily ordeal of packing lunch, whether for yourself or your kids." -- from the Introduction (p. x)

Book of the Week #42

At Home in the World: A Memoir by Joyce Maynard (NY: Piucador, 1998)

Writer Joyce Maynard grew up in Durham, NH and when her daughter was 18 she decided it was time to tell the story of her own life, including the time she spent living with J. D. Salinger.

"For all those years, I had never looked critically at Jerry Salinger. I had always believed I owed him my never-ending silence, loyalty, and protection. It came to me as a new thought that the girl he had invited into his life with that first letter he wrote deserved certain things, too.
All my life I had been trying to make sense of my experiences without understanding a crucial piece of my history. I couldn't have said, two years ago, what it was in how I had lived before meeting Jerry Salinger that made his power over me so vast and enduring. I couldn't have said how the events of that year I spent with Jerry shaped what I went on to do with my life. Now it was hitting me in the image of my daughter. All these years, I had been holding on to secrets that kept me from understanding or explaining myself. I knew it was time at last to explore my story." (from the Introduction, p. 7-8)

This book was reissued by Picador Press last month.

Book of the Week #41

Drizzled with Death, Book 1 of The Sugar Grove Mysteries series, by Jessie Crockett (Berkley Prime Crime, 2013).

"Meet Dani Greene—a fourth-generation maple syrup maker dealing with a first-class troublemaker…
The annual pre-Thanksgiving pancake-eating contest is a big event in Sugar Grove, New Hampshire. It’s sponsored by the Sap Bucket Brigade, aka the firefighters auxiliary, and the Greene family farm provides the syrup. But when obnoxious outsider Alanza Speedwell flops face first into a stack of flapjacks during the contest, Greener Pastures’ syrup falls under suspicion.
Dani knows the police—including her ex-boyfriend—are barking up the wrong tree, and she’s determined to pull her loved ones out of a very sticky situation. The odds may be stacked against her, but she’s got to tap the real killer before some poor sap in her own family ends up trading the sugar house for the Big House…" --Publisher's blurb

NH author Jessie Crockett will be at MainStreet BookEnds of Warner on Sunday, October 13, 2013 to celebrate the launch of this latest mystery. 

Book of the Week #40

Tell the Wolves I'm Home by Carol Rifka Brunt (NY: Dial Press, 2012).

"1987. There’s only one person who has ever truly understood fourteen-year-old June Elbus, and that’s her uncle, the renowned painter Finn Weiss. Shy at school and distant from her older sister, June can only be herself in Finn’s company; he is her godfather, confidant, and best friend. So when he dies, far too young, of a mysterious illness her mother can barely speak about, June’s world is turned upside down. But Finn’s death brings a surprise acquaintance into June’s life—someone who will help her to heal, and to question what she thinks she knows about Finn, her family, and even her own heart.
At Finn’s funeral, June notices a strange man lingering just beyond the crowd. A few days later, she receives a package in the mail. Inside is a beautiful teapot she recognizes from Finn’s apartment, and a note from Toby, the stranger, asking for an opportunity to meet. As the two begin to spend time together, June realizes she’s not the only one who misses Finn, and if she can bring herself to trust this unexpected friend, he just might be the one she needs the most.
An emotionally charged coming-of-age novel, Tell the Wolves I’m Home is a tender story of love lost and found, an unforgettable portrait of the way compassion can make us whole again." --Publisher's blurb.

This amazing novel, which has just been released in paperback, was one of the NH Dublin Award committee's three nominees for the 2014 Dublin Award. The largest and most international prize of its kind, the International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award, is presented to a novel of high literary merit written in, or translated into, English and published within a specified period of time. The New Hampshire State Library has been a nominating library since 1999.

Carol Rifka Brunt will be visiting New Hampshire later this week:

• River Run Bookstore on Friday, October 4, 2013 at 7pm
  (her first U.S. appearance ever!)
• Gibson's Bookstore (at the fabulous new location) on Monday, October 7, 2013 at 7pm

Book of the Week #39

A Work of Art for Kindred Spirits: Frank Lloyd Wright's Zimmerman House by Neil Levine, Hetty Startup, Kurt J. Sundstrom (Manchester, NH: Currier Museum of Art, 2004).

"The Isadore J. and Lucille Zimmerman House (1950) was designed by one of the world's greatest modern architects, Frank Lloyd Wright (1867-1959). Wright designed the house, the interiors, all the furniture, the gardens, and even the mailbox. In 1979 the building was added to the National Register of Historic Places. Dr. and Mrs. Zimmerman left the property to the Currier Museum of Art in 1988, making it the largest and most unusual object in the collection. In 1990 the house and grounds were opened so that visitors could enjoy glimpses of a private world from the 1950s and 1960s, including the Zimmermans' personal collection of modern art, pottery, and sculpture. In the estimation of many, the Zimmerman House is a total wok of art, and it is the only Wright home open to the public in New England. It is also one of only a few Wright buildings nationwide owned and operated by an art museum." (from the Preface, p. 9)

This book includes numerous pictures of the house at various points in its history and several essays about its signifigance.


The Guild of Volunteers at the Currier Museum of Art will have a book sale on October 5, 2013, from 10 to 5 and October 6 from 11 to 4. There will be all types of used books, with an emphasis on art. Proceeds benefit the Zimmerman House. Admission to the museum not needed. Currier Museum of Art, 150 Ash Street, Manchester, NH.


 

Book of the Week #38

The Iciest, Diciest, Scariest Sled Ride Ever! by Rebecca Rule, illustrated by Jennifer Thermes (Yarmouth, Me.: Islandport Press, 2012)

This is Rebecca Rule's tenth book and her first for children. it received a starred review from Kirkus:

"Rule lengthens out one sled run into an entire book, but its pace is not slow and clunky, nor does it drag. Instead, she marvels in the details along the way, building up the suspense. Comically, the children attempt to get themselves and the sled to the top of the hill, taking each other out like dominoes as they relentlessly and repeatedly slide down to form a pig pile at the bottom. When they finally manage it, Thermes beautifully conveys the awesomeness of the hill they have chosen to tackle; none of the kids will speak their fears aloud, though their faces say volumes. The trip down is accomplished in just a few spreads, a ride so fast that tears, fears, screams and laughter all get whipped, 'like a beautiful scarf trailing wildly behind.' The watercolors give a wonderful array of viewpoints, showing the path of the sled run as well as close-ups of the children: fresh-faced and having the time of their lives." --Kirkus Reviews, 10/1/2012

Awarded a Kirkus Star, given to books of remarkable merit
"Rule lengthens out one sled run into an entire book, but its pace is not slow and clunky, nor does it drag. Instead, she marvels in the details along the way, building up the suspense ... Thermes beautifully conveys the awesomeness of the hill they have chosen to tackle; none of the kids will speak their fears aloud, though their faces say volumes ... The watercolors give a wonderful array of viewpoints, showing the path of the sled run as well as close-ups of the children: fresh-faced and having the time of their lives."
Parents beware: Children are likely to scout out the highest hill to try to replicate this amazing run."
– Kirkus Reviews - See more at: http://www.islandportpress.com/sledride.html#authorqa

Awarded a Kirkus Star, given to books of remarkable merit
"Rule lengthens out one sled run into an entire book, but its pace is not slow and clunky, nor does it drag. Instead, she marvels in the details along the way, building up the suspense ... Thermes beautifully conveys the awesomeness of the hill they have chosen to tackle; none of the kids will speak their fears aloud, though their faces say volumes ... The watercolors give a wonderful array of viewpoints, showing the path of the sled run as well as close-ups of the children: fresh-faced and having the time of their lives."
Parents beware: Children are likely to scout out the highest hill to try to replicate this amazing run."
– Kirkus Reviews - See more at: http://www.islandportpress.com/sledride.html#authorqa

Awarded a Kirkus Star, given to books of remarkable merit
"Rule lengthens out one sled run into an entire book, but its pace is not slow and clunky, nor does it drag. Instead, she marvels in the details along the way, building up the suspense ... Thermes beautifully conveys the awesomeness of the hill they have chosen to tackle; none of the kids will speak their fears aloud, though their faces say volumes ... The watercolors give a wonderful array of viewpoints, showing the path of the sled run as well as close-ups of the children: fresh-faced and having the time of their lives."
Parents beware: Children are likely to scout out the highest hill to try to replicate this amazing run."
– Kirkus Reviews - See more at: http://www.islandportpress.com/sledride.html#authorqa

The Center for the Book at the NH State Library featured this book on the “Discover Great Places Through Reading” map which will be distributed in the Pavillion of the States at the 2013 National Book Festival this Saturday.

Book of the Week #37

Inspired Innovations: A Celebration of Shaker Ingenuity by M. Stephen Miller (Hanover, NH: University Press of New England, 2010).

This beautifully illustrated volume began as an exhibition catalog to accompany a 2012 exhibit at the New Britain Museum of American Art. The contributions of numerous scholars exploring the innovations of the Shakers in more depth than they had been previously made this volume much more than an exhibit catalog.

Among the communities discussed in the book is the Canterbury Shaker Village.  which on Saturday, September 14, 2013 will host the Canterbury Artisan Festival where you can learn more about the creativity of the Shakers.

"Since the late eighteenth century, Shakers have exerted an influence on our nation wholly disproportionate to the size of their communities. Their approach has helped shape everything from craftsmanship and ingenuity to concepts of communal living and work ethic. And while much of our modern-day fascination with the United Society of Shakers centers upon their unique attention to craftsmanship, the innovative spirit they brought to simple, Godly living is indeed the most timeless aspect of their legacy.
From their earliest days, the Shakers have depended on innovations of every sort to secure their place in a world that was, initially, hostile to their so-called “peculiar” beliefs: community, celibacy, and primitive Christianity. These innovations included improvements, adaptations, refinements, and inventions. Inspired Innovations is the first book devoted to this widely acknowledged but long neglected aspect of Shakerism.
A group of thirteen distinguished Shaker scholars, led by M. Stephen Miller, presents in this lavishly illustrated volume their research on the many “zones” of innovation that are considered here. Historians Scott T. Swank, Glendyne R. Wergland, and Stephen J. Paterwic “set the table” for a feast of words and images." --Publisher's blurb

Book of the Week #36

New Hampshire Town Names, And Whence They Came by Elmer Munson Hunt (Peterborough, NH: Noone House, 1970).

Some of the towns in New Hampshire have names that seem pretty straightforward: Manchester is named for the city in England and Washington is named after our first President, but why did they get those names? Some towns are obviously named for people (Westmoreland, Raymond, Hancock) but who were those people? And what about places like Candia: why would a NH town have the same name as a Greek capital?

During his tenure as the director of the New Hampshire Historical Society Elmer Munson Hunt, with the help of NHSL reference librarian Stella Scheckter, researched these questions. His findings were a column on NH Town Names that he wrote for the Manchester Union Leader for many years. Those columns formed the beginning of this fascinating collection of stories about how each town in our state got its name, and in many cases what it was called before.

Book of the Week #35

Elisha Barber by E. C. Ambrose (DAW, dist. by Penguin Group, 2013).

New Hampshire author E. C. Ambrose has just published the first book in what is planned as a series called Dark Apostle. I haven't read it yet, but I have been hearing about it from all sorts of people including a piece about it on Mary Robinette Kowal's blog and an interview with the author on All Things Considered.

Library Journal selected Elisha Barber as the July 2013 SF/Fantasy debut of the month: "Ambrose’s fantasy debut depicts a 14th-century England in which magic and fledgling science exist side by side. Elisha’s struggle to bring relief to those in need is complicated by his own need for redemption and his innate fear of what he cannot understand. This beautifully told, painfully elegant story should appeal to fans of L.E. Modesitt’s realistic fantasies as well as of the period fantasy of Guy Gavriel Kay."

Book of the Week #34

Tracing Stars by Erin E. Moulton (NY: Philomel Books, 2012)

 

Beginning on the last day of the 5th grade in a New England fishing village, this is the second novel of New Hampshire author Erin E. Moulton. 

 

"Indie Lee Chickory is the fish freak of Plumtown.  She's an expert at making fish faces and has a pet, The Lobster Monty Cola, who lives in a salt-water pool outside her bedroom window. But while she likes fish very much, not everyone else does, which makes finding friends a little difficult. Sure there’s her older sister, Bebe, but she has other friends—and also has a starring role in the upcoming town musical, which has made her pretty popular. So when Indie accidentally brings Monty to school, to disastrous results, Bebe almost dies of embarrassment and Indie is left without anyone.  No friends, no sister, and no lobster.

One night, Indie wishes on her favorite star.  She wants to find the lobster Monty Cola and to be a better Chickory so that Bebe will like her again. But finding Monty and being a better Chickory is an all day and all night job. During the day, Indie works at the theater, showing Bebe and her friends how much she can fit in with their crew. And at night, she searches for her lost lobster by building a fishing boat up in a tree with Owen Stone, who works in the props shop. Everything seems to be going well—until Bebe and her gang make it clear that being friends with Owen is a ticket straight to loserville.

Can Indie keep her friendship with Owen a secret? And will doing so make her a better Chickory—or a worse one?" --Publisher's blurb

Book of the Week #33

The Boss of Hampton Beach: A Dan Marlowe Novel by Jed Power (Peabody, MA: Dark Jetty Publishing, 2012)

"Cocaine. It’s already cost Dan Marlowe his family and his business, The High Tide Restaurant & Saloon.  Dan’s doing his best to stay away from the stuff.  Now a bartender at the Tide, Dan’s life is slowly stabilizing.  That is until a boat with two dead bodies on board is found wrecked on the jetty at Hampton Beach.  The hunt for its missing cargo, 200 pounds of cocaine, is on.  Dan is forced into the search and realizes that the drug that stole everything short of his life might be the one thing that can get it all back.

And Dan’s not the only one seeking the fortune in white powder.  Others, on both sides of the law, are after it too, including a Boston mob boss and his right-hand man; a New Hampshire seacoast drug dealer/informer, his smokin’ hot girlfriend, and his dim-witted muscle; a crooked D.E.A. agent and his junkie sidekick; two New Hampshire State police detectives; and an Irish handyman with a secret.  It’s a violent, backstabbing race to the end of the rainbow.  May the best man win." --Publisher's blurb

This was the first Dan Marlowe novel by NH seacoast resident Jed Power. The series continues with Hampton Beach Homicide.