Book Reviews by Patty Crane
![](https://www.joplinpubliclibrary.org/wp-content/uploads/the-fields.jpg)
The Fields by Erin Young
Robyn Young writes historical fiction in her home country of…
![](https://www.joplinpubliclibrary.org/wp-content/uploads/Nerd-Nite.jpg)
How to Win Friends and Influence Fungi: Collected Quirks of Science, Tech, Engineering, and Math from Nerd Nite by Chris Balakrishnan and Matt Wasowski
If you are looking for a little science education in a fun, light…
![](https://www.joplinpubliclibrary.org/wp-content/uploads/NorthOfNowhere.jpg)
North of Nowhere by Allison Brennan
Kristen McIntyre Reed plays soccer for her high school team,…
![](https://www.joplinpubliclibrary.org/wp-content/uploads/Before.jpg)
Before She Finds Me by Heather Chavez
The day has finally arrived that Julia Bennet has been both dreading…
![](https://www.joplinpubliclibrary.org/wp-content/uploads/misbelief.jpg)
Misbelief: What Makes Rational People Believe Irrational Things by Dan Ariely
A few years ago Dan Ariely, Professor of Psychology and Behavioral…
![](https://www.joplinpubliclibrary.org/wp-content/uploads/irish-castle.jpg)
Murder at an Irish Castle by Ellie Brannigan / Lonely Hearts Book Club by Lucy Gilmore
I was set to introduce the first book in a new cozy mystery series…
![](https://www.joplinpubliclibrary.org/wp-content/uploads/in-her-boots.jpg)
In Her Boots by KJ Dell’Antonia
In Her Boots by KJ Dell’Antonia is a warm-hearted novel about…
![](https://www.joplinpubliclibrary.org/wp-content/uploads/lost-ticket.jpg)
The Lost Ticket by Freya Sampson
In 1962, at age twenty-two, Frank Weiss felt destined to follow…
![](https://www.joplinpubliclibrary.org/wp-content/uploads/woman.jpg)
The Woman Who Built a Bridge by C.K. Crigger; Shutter by Ramona Emerson
Deciding to try something new to me, I picked a couple of novels…
![](https://www.joplinpubliclibrary.org/wp-content/uploads/messy-lives.jpg)
The Messy Lives of Book People by Phaedra Patrick
When she has time around her three cleaning jobs and family,…
![](https://www.joplinpubliclibrary.org/wp-content/uploads/Puzzler.jpg)
The Puzzler: One Man’s Quest to Solve the Most Baffling Puzzles Ever, from Crosswords to Jigsaws to the Meaning of Life by J. A. Jacobs
In a Saturday New York Times crossword puzzle, the clue “A.J.…
![](https://www.joplinpubliclibrary.org/wp-content/uploads/Killing.jpg)
Six Mystery/Thrillers that Take You Places
My reading over the last few weeks has taken me to a lot of different…
![](https://www.joplinpubliclibrary.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/1464214212.01._SCLZZZZZZZ_SX500_.jpg)
The Day He Left by Frederick Weisel
Paul Behrens had found his calling teaching literature to middle…
![](https://www.joplinpubliclibrary.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/71sZUdZsDVS._AC_UY327_QL65_.jpg)
Pump: A Natural History of the Heart by Bill Schutt
Everyone has a heart. Some are described as cold or big, some…
![](https://www.joplinpubliclibrary.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/71eGXXADJXL._AC_UY327_QL65_.jpg)
Courting Misfortune by Regina Jennings
America’s first detective agency, the Pinkerton Detective Agency,…
![](https://www.joplinpubliclibrary.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/Random.jpg)
Random Road by Thomas Kies
Geneva Chase is a really good reporter. She writes well, has…
![](https://www.joplinpubliclibrary.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/Our-team.jpg)
Our Team: the Epic Story of Four Men and the World Series that Changed Baseball by Luke Epplin
When thinking of historic moments or teams in Major League Baseball,…
![](https://www.joplinpubliclibrary.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/we-came.jpg)
We Came, We Saw, We Left: a Family Gap Year by Charles Wheelan
Charlie Wheelan is standing on a train platform in Medellin,…
![](https://www.joplinpubliclibrary.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Helen.jpg)
Before She Was Helen by Caroline B. Cooney
Caroline B. Cooney is known for her young adult novels but she…
![](https://www.joplinpubliclibrary.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/91bE2SWLfaL._AC_UY327_QL65_.jpg)
Cozy Reads for January
Hidden Treasures by Jane Cleland
The Crystal Cave Trilogy…
![](https://www.joplinpubliclibrary.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/secret.jpg)
The Secret, Book & Scone Society by Ellery Adams
I enjoy mysteries with well-developed characters and if it is…
![](https://www.joplinpubliclibrary.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/Vanishing.jpg)
Vanishing in the Haight by Max Tomlinson
The Summer of Love occurred in the Haight-Ashbury area of San…
![](https://www.joplinpubliclibrary.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/Census.jpg)
The Sum of the People: How the Census has Shaped Nations, from the Ancient World to the Modern Age by Andrew Whitby
Even before the events that have changed our lives over the last…
![](https://www.joplinpubliclibrary.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/51AFHIretaL._SX329_BO1204203200_.jpg)
The Big Finish by Brooke Fossey
Eighty-eight-year old Duffy Sinclair is a little bit of a crank,…
![](https://www.joplinpubliclibrary.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/51oxJ3dj-KL._SX321_BO1204203200_.jpg)
The Moon: A History for the Future by Oliver Morton
On March 9th I was headed east around 9:00pm and saw a spectacular…
![](https://www.joplinpubliclibrary.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/deep-state.jpg)
Deep State by Chris Hauty and Lost Hills by Lee Goldberg
March is Women’s History Month and I’d like to be able to…
![](https://www.joplinpubliclibrary.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/Elderly-Lady.jpg)
An Elderly Lady Is Up to No Good by Helen Tursten Review by Patty Crane
Helen Tursten is a Swedish mystery writer with two very successful…
![](https://www.joplinpubliclibrary.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/things.jpg)
Men of Valor by Irene Hannon; Things You Save in a Fire by Katherine Center; Something Read, Something Dead by Eva Gates; Bloody Genius by John Sandford
My book choices lately include a police procedural, Christian…
![](https://www.joplinpubliclibrary.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/consultant.jpg)
The Consultant by Tj O’Connor
Tj O’Connor is a former government anti-terrorism agent. He…
![](https://www.joplinpubliclibrary.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/Blackstock.jpg)
Breaker’s Reef by Terri Blackstock
In our reviews the library staff often mention the variety of…
![](https://www.joplinpubliclibrary.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/415xVB5IsWL._SX317_BO1204203200_.jpg)
Bluff by Jane Stanton Hitchcock
If you’ve ever taken a writing course you’ve heard ‘write…
![](https://www.joplinpubliclibrary.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/Justice.jpg)
Thyme of Death by Susan Wittig Albert; Blood Oath by Linda Fairstein; Justice in Plain Sight by Dan Bernstein
Although not by conscious choice, most of my reading lately has…
![](https://www.joplinpubliclibrary.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/51OQ3-U3kTL._SX329_BO1204203200_.jpg)
The Burglar by Thomas Perry
Thomas Perry’s latest novel, The Burglar, has many of the elements…
![](https://www.joplinpubliclibrary.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/51MAd8QKCWL._SX369_BO1204203200_.jpg)
Thanks a Thousand: a Gratitude Journey by A. J. Jacobs
The latest book by A. J. Jacobs, Thanks a Thousand:…
![](https://www.joplinpubliclibrary.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/index.jpg)
Gone to Dust by Matt Goldman, Sweet Tea and Sympathy by Molly Harper, Deadly Proof by Rachel Dylan
Lately I've been reading random things that catch my eye. Some…
![](https://www.joplinpubliclibrary.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/51I7LCRhT6L._SX329_BO1204203200_-331x400.jpg)
The Perfect Stranger by Megan Miranda
I recently finished the Stella Crown mysteries by Judy Clemens.…
![](https://www.joplinpubliclibrary.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/only-child.jpg)
Only Child by Rhiannon Navin
First graders huddled in a closet listening to the pop, pop,…
![](https://www.joplinpubliclibrary.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/its-all-relative.jpg)
It’s All Relative: Adventures Up and Down the World’s Family Tree by A. J. Jacobs
A. J. Jacobs has amused and informed us by living for a year…
![](https://www.joplinpubliclibrary.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/manhattan-beach.jpg)
Manhattan Beach by Jennifer Egan
Jennifer Egan began the research for her latest book years ago.…