Books of the month for February

General Fiction: Anna North – The Life and Death of Sophie Stark

Who is the real Sophie Stark?

The Life and Death of Sophie Stark is the story of an enigmatic film director, told by the six people who loved her most. Brilliant, infuriating, all-seeing and unknowable, Sophie Stark makes films said to be 'more like life than life itself'. But her genius comes at a terrible cost: to her husband, to the brother she left behind, and to the actress she can't forget.

British Crime: Michelle Birkby – The House at Baker Street

When Sherlock Holmes turns down the case of persecuted Laura Shirley, Mrs Hudson, the landlady of Baker Street, and Mary Watson resolve to take on the investigation themselves. From the kitchen of 221b, the two women begin their inquiries and enlist the assistance of the Baker Street Irregulars and the infamous Irene Adler.

A trail of clues leads them to the darkest corners of Whitechapel, where the feared Ripper supposedly still stalks. They discover Laura Shirley is not the only woman at risk as it rapidly becomes apparent that the lives of many others are in danger too.

Tough Crime: David Levien – Signature Kill (Frank Behr #4)

A corpse discovered. A woman. Dismembered. Twisted. Grotesquely reassembled.

This is the work of a dangerous, psychopathic serial killer. Soemone who goes about his daily business unseen, slipping under the radar

And ex-cop Frank Behr has somehow got himself involved.

As Behr is drawn further and further in to the murky underworld, he finds that the line between good and evil is more blurry than he ever thought …

Science Fiction: Martin Leicht, Isla Neal – Mothership

Pregnancy is never easy—especially not when extraterrestrials are involved. Equal parts Juno and Aliens this first novel in the Ever-Expanding Universe trilogy is a hilarious, science-fiction romp that Kirkus Reviews calls “pure fun.”

Elvie Nara was doing just fine in the year 2074. She had a great best friend, a dad she adored, and a bright future working on the Ares Project on Mars. But then she had to get involved with sweet, gorgeous, dumb-as-a-brick Cole—and now she’s pregnant.

Getting shipped off to the Hanover School for Expecting Teen Mothers was not how Elvie imagined spending her junior year, but she can go with the flow. That is, until a team of hot commandos hijacks the ship—and one of them turns out to be Cole. She hasn’t seen him since she told him she’s pregnant, and now he’s bursting into her new home to tell her that her teachers are aliens and want to use her unborn baby to repopulate their species? Nice try, buddy. You could have just called.

So fine, finding a way off this ship is priority number one, but first Elvie has to figure out how Cole ended up as a commando, work together with her arch-nemesis, and figure out if she even wants to be a mother—assuming they get back to Earth in one piece.

Fantasy: Jacey Bedford – Winterwood

It’s 1800. Mad King George is on the British throne. Napoleon is knocking at the door. Unregistered magic users are pursued, to the death, by the Mysterium. Integral to many genteel households is an uncomplaining army of rowankind bondservants, so commonplace that no one recalls where they came from. it is in this world that cross-dressing, widowed, privateer captain (and unregistered witch) Rossalinde Tremayne inherits a magical winterwood box. With the box comes a half-brother she didn’t know she had, and a task she doesn’t want: open the box to right an ancient wrong and free the rowankind.

Paranormal/Urban Fantasy: Jennifer Estep – Cold Burn of Magic: Black Blade #1

There Be Monsters Here…

It's not as great as you'd think, living in a tourist town that's known as "the most magical place in America." Same boring high school, just twice as many monsters under the bridges and rival Families killing each other for power.

I try to keep out of it. I've got my mom's bloodiron sword and my slightly illegal home in the basement of the municipal library. And a couple of Talents I try to keep quiet, including very light fingers and a way with a lock pick.

But then some nasty characters bring their Family feud into my friend's pawn shop, and I have to make a call--get involved, or watch a cute guy die because I didn't. I guess I made the wrong choice, because now I'm stuck putting everything on the line for Devon Sinclair. My mom was murdered because of the Families, and it looks like I'm going to end up just like her…

Classic of the Month: Edgar Allan Poe – The Murders in the Rue Morgue and Other Tales

Horror, madness, violence and the dark forces hidden in humanity abound in this collection of Poe's brilliant tales, including – among others – the bloody, brutal and baffling murder of a mother and daughter in Paris in The Murders in the Rue Morgue, the creeping insanity of The Tell-Tale Heart, the Gothic nightmare of The Masque of the Red Death, and the terrible doom of The Fall of the House of Usher.

Teen reading: Lisa Williamson – The Art of Being Normal

Two boys. Two secrets. David Piper has always been an outsider. His parents think he's gay. The school bully thinks he's a freak. Only his two best friends know the real truth - David wants to be a girl. On the first day at his new school Leo Denton has one goal – to be invisible. Attracting the attention of the most beautiful girl in year 11 is definitely not part of that plan. When Leo stands up for David in a fight, an unlikely friendship forms. But things are about to get messy. Because at Eden Park School secrets have a funny habit of not staying secret for lon…