Zero Separation by Philip Donlay

From Booklist: "Donlay's third novel rivets the reader from the first page and doesn't let up until the shocking end. Donovan Nash witnesses the theft of an executive jet and immediately finds himself accused of helping the villains get away. Ruthless FBI agent Veronica Montero digs into Nash's past and discovers a secret that would destroy Nash and his family. Rather than blow the whistle, Montero decides to blackmail Nash as a way of getting his assistance in solving the case. What appears to be a simple theft conceals a terrorist threat that could kill millions, and the man behind the plot has ties to Nash's past. Fans of political thrillers and military fiction, especially those dealing with the aerospace industry, will devour this one. Without a doubt, Donlay's best to date."

Fun regional mystery series you may have missed: Dead Tease: A Loon Lake Mystery by Victoria Houston

From Library Journal: "The small population of Loon Lake, WI, wouldn't seem to lend itself to hit-man murders, but there you have it. Jen Williams has just left a clandestine tryst with the local hospital's executive, John McNeil, when she is knifed at her own mailbox. Sheriff Lewellyn "Lew" Ferris once again employs her deputized friend, retired dentist Paul Osborne, to help her figure out who the two-legged loon is, in this tale of jealousy and revenge. She has her hands full interviewing a full deck of suspects, including McNeil's jilted lover, his wife, and a crazed old widow. Perhaps there's a touch of Columbo about Lew's team, but don't underestimate this small-town squad. A delightful procedural that makes the most of the series' offbeat ensemble cast."

Salt Sugar Fat: How the Food Giants Hooked Us by Michael Moss

From Booklist: "The U.S. has the highest rate of obesity in the world, much of it due to the abundance of cheap, calorie-rich, processed food. Food companies manipulate our biological desires to scientifically engineer foods that induce cravings to overeat, using terms like mouth feel for fats and bliss point for sugars to tinker with formulations that will trigger the optimum food high. Coke even refers to their best customers as heavy users. Moss portrays how the industry discovered the allure of added sugar in the 1900s, and has been jacking up the levels ever since, without regard for consumer health, in everything from soda to breakfast cereals to instant pudding, in a race for market share. The food industry is not about to change, but this book is a wake-up call to the issues and tactics at play and to the fact that we are not helpless in facing them down."

The Book of Killowen by Erin Hart

From Publishers Weekly: "Hart combines powerful insights into human nature and pristine prose with history and archeology in her stellar fourth crime novel featuring Irish archeologist Cormac Maguire and American pathologist Nora Gavin. When the bog-preserved but dismembered and stabbed body of a ninth-century monk is found with the body of Benedict Kavanagh-the host of an intellectual TV chat show who's been missing for months-in the trunk of a car excavated from a Tipperary bog, Nora and Cormac investigate on the behalf of Ireland's National Museum. The pair, working in parallel with local detective Stella Cusack, look into landowner Vincent Claffey and the residents of the artists' colony at Killowen, a tight-knit community of individuals with hidden pasts and strong motivations to protect themselves. Hart teases the reader with hints without telegraphing the solutions to the mysteries a moment too soon. This exploration of the ways people keep secrets, innocuous and terrible, to create sanity out of difficult pasts, offers food for thought that persists beyond the immediate thrill of a well-told tale."

The Dinner by Herman Koch (eBook)

From Publishers Weekly: "This chilling novel starts out as a witty look at contemporary manners in the style of Yasmina Reza's God of Carnage before turning into a take-no-prisoners psychological thriller. The Lohman brothers, unemployed teacher Paul and politician Serge, a candidate for prime minister, meet at an expensive Amsterdam restaurant, along with their respective spouses, Claire and Babette, to discuss a situation involving their respective 15-year-old sons, Michel and Rick. At first, the two couples discuss such pleasantries as wine and the new Woody Allen film. But during this five-course dinner, from aperitif to digestif, secrets come out that threaten relations between the two families. To say much more would spoil the breathtaking twists and turns of the plot, which slowly strips away layers of civility to expose the primal depths of supposedly model citizens, not to mention one character's past history of mental illness and violence. With dark humor, Koch dramatizes the lengths to which people will go to preserve a comfortable way of life."

Lean In: Women, Work and the Will to Lead by Sheryl Sandberg

From Publishers Weekly: "Facebook COO Sandberg examines the dearth of women in major leadership positions, and what women can do to solve the problem, in this provocative tome. While acknowledging that women have made great strides in the business world, she posits that they still have a long way to go and lays out a plan for women to get there. "I have written this book to encourage women to dream big, forge a path through the obstacles, and achieve their full potential," she explains. The author's counsel-gleaned from her own experiences-includes suggestions for increasing self-confidence, particularly in the business world; understanding the role of mentors and how to identify them; building emotional relationships at work; not focusing on being liked; juggling marriage and children with a demanding job; and the importance of taking risks. "Hard work and results should be recognized by others, but when they aren't, advocating for oneself becomes necessary," Sandberg opines. A new generation of women will learn from Sandberg's experiences, and those of her own generation will be inspired by this thoughtful and practical book."

Six Years by Harlan Coben

From Library Journal: "Jake Fisher finds the love of his life, Natalie, and imagines their future together as husband and wife. Instead, she dumps him and a few days later then invites him to her wedding to a man she just met. Jake watches Natalie take her vows, and she tells him to leave her alone forever. For six years, he keeps that promise. But when he sees Natalie's husband's obituary, Jake decides to attend the funeral and comfort Natalie. He is stunned to discover that the man's widow is not Natalie and that the church where he watched her marry has no record of the ceremony. Verdict Coben is one of the best thriller writers in the business, and he delivers another amazing novel that will resonate with readers long after the final page is turned.The narrative is immersive, and the well-drawn characters and twisting plotting are stellar. With such a cool hook and a surprising and satisfying payoff, don't wait six years to read what might be Coben's best since Tell No One."

Book sale!

The semi-annual Friends of the Red Wing Public Library's used book sale will be this Saturday, March 23 from 9:00 am until 2pm. It's a wonderful opportunity to pick up great books at rock bottom prices, and all for a good cause. Come by and see! Or if you'd like to get a head start - and are a member of the FOL - come by Friday, March 22 from 2-5 for the members only presale!

Snow day! (again)

Today's T.O.O.L. meeting is canceled (we follow the school's lead - if school is canceled or let out early we cancel our children's events, including story hours, tween book club, T.O.O.L., etc). But the library is still open! (though please be careful if you drive here!)

Please come join us this Saturday, March 16, at 9:30am for the last of our special Winter Saturdays Family Story Times. Library staff will present a special themed story time including stories, songs, rhymes and a take home craft. This week's theme is Play Time! Older siblings welcome and no registration required.

New DVDs

Just arrived at the library (Rotten Tomatoes 85% and up edition...):

Looper (Rotten Tomatoes rating 93%)

Skyfall (Rotten Tomatoes rating 92%)







Arbitrage (Rotten Tomatoes rating 87%)







Touching the Void (Rotten Tomatoes rating 93%)

Author Larry Millett coming to Red Wing Public Library

Please join us at the library this Saturday, March 16, at 10am to see Larry Millett, author of the Sherlock Holmes in Minnesota mystery series as well as a number of books on Twin Cities architectural history. This is an great opportunity to hear from one of Minnesota's most famous authors! Sponsors are the Friends of the Red Wing Library and the Friends Book Club. Refreshments will be served.

Greatest Photographs of the American West by National Geographic

From the publisher: "Drawing from National Geographic's incredible trove of photographs -- some iconic, rarely or never-before-seen -- this dazzling quintessential American collection continues in the tradition of the bestselling Through the Lens and Image Collection. Official companion to a museum show running simultaneously at ten museums in the West, this book evokes the richness of our national identity and resonates with cultural import. National Geographic photographers have documented the American West for 120 years, telling stories of time and place, people and wildlife, crisis and change. This collection of images, unavailable anywhere else, is the very best from National Geographic's 10.5 million-image vault."

The Next Time You See Me by Holly Goodard Jones

From Library Journal: "Emily is a troubled 13-year-old, teased by the cutest boy in school and unable to rise above being the seventh-grade cipher. Her world is turned upside down when she stumbles across a body in the woods. Emily's teacher, Susanna, is worried about her problematic sister, Ronnie. Ronnie is a hard-drinking partier who loves a wild night out. But Susanna hasn't heard from Ronnie in weeks. Wyatt is an older man set in his ways who works at the local plant. All he has in his lonely life is his dog and his measly job. These characters and more all intersect in various ways under Jones's deft control, coalescing in a climactic ending. This first novel by award-winning Jones is going to be hot. In the vein of Gone Girl, last summer's runaway smash, Jones's tightly written Southern thriller will be one of spring's sizzling titles. Jones brilliantly weaves together story lines from unexpected angles. Her writing is fluid and she keeps a pace that will have readers lacing on their running shoes. And what a suspenseful, emotional, addictive run it is! Buy it now, read it now, share it now."

Snow day!

Baby story time is canceled for today (we follow the school's lead - if school is canceled so are our children's events, including story hours, tween book club, T.O.O.L., etc). But the library is still open! (though please be careful if you drive here!)

Party time!

Please join us this Saturday, March 2, between 10am and noon, as we have an open house to say goodbye to our children's librarian, Pat Martin, who is retiring after 22 years with the library (and then heading off to the Peace Corps!). We'll have free muffins, cookies and juice. Please stop by and say goodbye to Pat!