By Laurel Reisen
Rowan Public Library
The year 2010 was a great year for reading some fabulous crime and espionage novels.
John Grishamís newest work, ěThe Confession,î is an overwhelmingly anti-capital punishment novel, similar to his previous title, ěThe Chamber.î
Donte Drumm is wrongly convicted and sentenced to death by the state of Texas for the rape and murder of a cheerleader. The only thing that proves his guilt is his false confession brought about by hours of grueling interrogation and wrongdoing by the police.
The guilty man, Travis Boyette, feels certain that the police and the courts will realize their mistake but does not give the matter more thought as he is serving his own prison sentences for various other heinous crimes. Nine years later, Boyette is released and confesses his part in the crime to a Lutheran minister. What ensues is a nailbiting series of events illustrating the fallacies of court officers from judges to detectives.
Lisbeth Salander is a highly intelligent, social hermit who is adept at computer hacking and staying below the societal radar. She is also the main character in Stieg Larssonís Millennium trilogy: ěThe Girl with the Dragon Tattoo,î ěThe Girl who Played with Fireî and ěThe Girl who Kicked the Hornetís Nest.î
Lisbeth does freelancing work for Milton Securities and ends up becoming acquainted with Mikael Blomkvist, a radical journalist, currently being sued for libel.
Reg Keeland translates the titles from the original Swedish for an outstanding story of crime, government conspiracy and disturbing discord in Sweden.
Spy work and espionage are at the heart of ěThe Secret History of the Pink Carnationî by Lauren Willig. Eloise Kelly is a doctoral candidate at Harvard and plans to use firsthand sources to uncover the identities of certain British spies during the Napoleonic War.
As her research unfolds, she discovers more than just identities of spies. ěThe Secret History of the Pink Carnationî is the first in a series of books centered on British spies and Eloise Kellyís doctoral work.
Rowan Public Library has many other wonderful crime stories, ready to be read in 2011.
Computer classes: Classes are free. Sessions are approximately 90 minutes. Class size is limited and on a first-come, first-served basis. Dates and times at all locations are subject to change without notice.
Headquarters ó Monday, 7 p.m., Absolute Beginners; Jan. 24, 7 p.m., Fun With Flickr.
South ó Monday, 7 p.m., Introduction to PowerPoint; Jan. 20, 11 a.m., Introduction to Excel.
Book Bites Club: South only; Jan. 25, 6:30 p.m., ěThe Zookeeperís Wife,î by Diane Ackerman. Book discussion groups for adults and children are at South Rowan Regional Library and meet the last Tuesday of each month. The group is open to the public. There is a discussion of the book and light refreshments at each meeting. For more information please call 704-216-8229.
Teen program: Come dressed as your favorite character, screen select Anime titles and create Manga Shrinky Dink Key rings all while sampling some Japanese treats.
Headquarters, Jan. 18, 5:30-7 p.m.
East, Jan. 24, 5:30-7 p.m.
South, Jan. 25, 5:30-7 p.m.
Library closings:Jan. 17, all RPL locations closed for Martin Luther King Jr. Day.
Displays: Headquarters ó Looking Glass Collective, Moon Eye stone artifacts; South ó SRHS art class; East ó Rubber stamping by Glenda Trexler.
Literacy: Call the Rowan County Literacy Council at 704-216-8266 for more information on teaching or receiving literacy tutoring for English speakers or for those for whom English is a second language.