It's a Mystery

  Martha’s Vineyard   London   Venice   California   Miami   Montreal. 

  Wonderful cities to visit.  And do we care about all the crime, the murders, thefts? No, because the wonderful detectives who work these streets make sure that even if the bad guy is not caught, justice prevails.  

These mystery series stand the test of time and remain popular;from Sherlock Holmes to the Kinsey Millhone series by Sue Grafton.  So take a look.  You will find these authors on the shelves of our mystery section.  I have listed the first title in some popular series:

Martha’s Vineyard: A Beautiful Place to Die by Philip R. Craig is the first in a series set on Martha’s Vineyard.  From surf casting for blues (recipes included) to new money vs old and bodies on the beach. Some later titles were co-written with William Tapply, author of another wonderful series set in Boston.

DCI Tennison, a character created by Lynda La Plante detects in London.  Prime Suspect is the first title, also the title of her popular BBC series. Another La Plante series, both to read and to watch features Detective Anna Travis. Above Suspicion is the first title in this series

Donna Leon has lived in Venice for over 25 years.  Her Detective Commissario Guido Brunetti isn't afraid to challenge the hierarchy of the city politics or the church. While investigating his first case : Death at La Fenice Commissario understands the importance of several espresso's during his day.

A is for Alibi. Sue Grafton started her alphabet series staring Kinsey Millhone in 1982. In 2013 W is for Wasted continues her adventures as an Insurance Invstigator.  

     Randy Wayne White’s Doc Ford lives and detects on Sanibel in Florida.  This detective/Marine Biologist even has a restaurant named after him, Doc Ford's. Sanibel Flats is the first in this series.

Deja Dead , featuring Dr. Temperance Brennan begins this series set in both Montreal and Charlotte. Brennan uses her degrees in forensic anthropology to bring justice to the crime victims and their families..

So come in and browse.  The shelves are full of mystery.

 

Scholarships for College

Scholarships, Grants & Prizes

Congratulations!  You are going to your dream college.  All your hard work in high school has paid off.  You can kick off your shoes and relax and just wait for August to come.  Yes? Well.... maybe there is one last step you should take.

From 1978 till 2014, the CPI index has increased 279%, medical care by 634%, and college tuition and fees by 1,225% as recorded by Bloomberg Business.  A freshman attending UIUC in 1985 would have paid $1,314 for tuition; while a freshman attending UIUC in 2014 paid $11,834.

Ultimate Scholarship Book

There are helpful resources out there.  Your high schools' College and Career Counseling Office has listings of local scholarships, and of course there is FAFSA that provides scholarships and loans to qualified applicants. The Library also has helpful resources such as the four titles listed here and others in our catalog.

Friends of Lake Forest Library offers up 

to four scholarships each year for qualified 

Lake Forest High School graduating seniors as well. 

Check out their website for more information.

Getting Financial Aid

Scholarship Handbook

Edgar Nominees for Youth

Intrigued by mysteries?  The Mystery Writers of America annually awards an Edgar to superior books, short stories, and screen plays which delve into the dark genres of mystery and crime .  The Edgar Award is named in honor of Edgar Allan Poe, America’s classic horror and suspense author who is also the creator of the C. Auguste Dupin, one of the earliest literary detectives.  We’ve highlighted a few nominees in the Youth and Teen categories.  Also, Lois Duncan, who pioneered the young adult suspense novel with her classic I Know What Did Last Summer, will be acknowledged as a Grand Master.

  YOUTH

   Absolutely Truly by Heather Vogel Frederick:  Truly Lovejoy is an Army brat smack in the middle of a large family.  When her father returns from Afghanistan minus one arm, the family returns to his home town of Pumpkin Falls, NH, a quintessential New England small town.  Twelve-year- old Truly isn’t sure how she will fit into yet another new school, especially as she has inherited the family height.  She just wants to blend in.  While working at the family bookshop, Truly uncovers a old letter tucked away in an unnoticed rare book.  Both the book (Charlottes’ Web) and the note set off a string of mysterious happenings.  Selling the book could help save the financially beleagued bookstore, but it is stolen.  The cryptic message in the note sends Truly off on a hunt for clues as to the writers of what seems to be a love story from the town’s past.  Along the way, she finds both answers and new friends.  Frederick has written an engaging mystery and a heartfelt story about starting over, fitting in and standing out.  Truly is aware that the town of Pumpkin Falls is an anachronism, but as she and her classmates try to figure out the meaning and authors of the letters (more than one is discovered), they learn to love  the townspeople around them, family and friends.  By the end of the story, the Lovejoy family seems to fit their name again.

  Space Case: a Moon Base Alpha Novel by Stuart Gibbs:  Living on the Moon as part of the first lunar colony is not as glamorous or exciting as it’s cracked up to be by NASA.  That’s the first thing our teenage astronaut pioneer Dash Gibson wants us to know.  The food is horrible, the landscape never changes, and well, the less said about using the bathrooms, the better (although Dash manages to convey quite a bit of vaguely disgusting information).  However, Dash’s name  is our first clue:  when one of the scientists dies, he turns detective ala Dashiell Hammett to prove it was NOT an accident.  Equal parts mystery, science fiction and middle school humor, this murder on the Moon provides entertainment for those who want a mystery out of this world.

  Nick and Tesla’s Super Cyborg Gadget Glove  by “Science Bob” Pflugfelder and Steve Hockensmith:  For the armchair detective who doesn’t want to just deduce the answer to the mystery, Nick and Tesla Holt offer gadgets and equipment complete with instructions to help catch the spy, thief, secret agent, you name it.  As we discover through the four books in this series,  Nick & Tesla’s scientist parents have been summoned away on a supposed government job, although the kids are sure the real nature of the job is a lot more world altering than soy bean propagation for 3^rd World countries.  Receiving warnings as to their parents’ status and their own safety, the budding Inspector Gadgets are sent to live with their absent minded, junk food addicted  professor Uncle Newt, whose cluttered house and basement lab provide them with materials.  Yes, by the end of each installment Nick & Tesla have uncovered thieves,spies, and other nefarious types.  but the main mystery of their parents’ whereabouts remains unsolved.    A mystery series for gadet lovers and inventors, not to mention pranksters. 

  Greenglass House by Kate Milford.  Receiving starred reviews across the board when published, Milford has created an atmospheric tale of smuggling, role playing  and characters wth mysterious motives and pasts.  Milo and his adoptive parents run a quaint inn in the fictional  harbor town of Nagspeake up on a hill  reached primarily by cable car.  When unexpected guests  turn up one snowy evening off-season (even smugglers have seasons) Milo is disconcerted and later intrigued.  As the travelers gradually reveal themselves through clues, we and Milo realize they are all connected to Greenglass House.  Starting with dustjacket cover of Greenglass House and the Skadwacke Harbors filled with detail and fog, we are pulled into investigating the past.  A cozy mystery with old fashioned adventure.

Other Youth Nominees:

      

TEEN

  The Doubt Factory by Paolo Bacigalupi.  A techno-thriller by the award-winning author of Ship Breaker. Alix is a golden girl: pretty, wealthy and on her way to an Ivy League.  Ho-hum is how she regards her life.  Her complacency is shattered by a stalker, Moses, and his subversive group, 2.0, teens whose families have been devasted by medical malpractice.  They reveal to Alix that her father’s PR company protects huge corporations and obfuscates the truth; in this case, pharmaceuticals.  Alix’s emergencing social conscience, combined with the excitement  of whistleblowing and her attraction to bad boy Moses entice her to join forces with 2.0 in bringing to light her father’s corporate coverups and misinformation, and the shadowy figures behind it all. 

  Prince of Venice Beach by Blake Nelson.  Cali is pretty happy with his life living in Venice Beach surfing, skateboarding and playing basketball.  He doesn’t consider himself a homeless vagabond, just someone who has escaped a horrible life in foster care and is living under the radar. His biggest fear is being found (although he’s not sure anyone is looking).  Always up for earning a few bucks, he finds a missing teen for a private investigator and, ironically, likes the job.  However, one assignment, or more precisely, one runaway, turns out to be way more than he bargained for.  Cali must decide who needs his help the most: the target, her family, or perhaps himself. 

Other Teen nominees: