Everyone Dies by Michael McGarrity (mystery)

While building a new house on their ranch and eagerly awaiting the birth of their first child, Police Chief Kevin Kerney and wife Sara decide to take a much needed vacation. However, the emergence of a revenge-killer from Kerney's past dashes their plans. The murder of a prominent local gay attorney is only the beginning of the killing spree. It becomes personal when the killer invades Kerney's property and brutally kills his horse. Each killing is preceded with a note reading "Everyone dies." Kerney soon realizes the killer is after him and everything he holds dear. How can he keep everyone safe, especially after Sara gives birth? He knows he must or suffer the fate of watching everyone die before he becomes the last victim. Ninth book in the Kevin Kerney series set in New Mexico.

Imitation in Death by J. D. Robb (paperback mystery)

In this Eve Dallas futuristic mystery, Eve knows she is dealing with a very sophisticated killer. The first victim is a city prostitute killed in the manner used by Jack the Ripper. He leaves Eve a taunting note signed "Jack." Each subsequent murder copies another famous killer from the past and is also followed by a note targeted for Eve. Using the note paper as her first clue, the investigation leads Eve to some very prominent suspects which stalls her investigation and damages her credibility. Realizing the killer intends her to be one of his victims, Eve and her partner Peabody have to bait a trap to stop the killings, much to the consternation of Eve's rich and powerful husband Roarke.

American Gods by Neil Gaiman (fiction)

The gods of European yore, who came to North America with their immigrant believers, are squaring off for a rumble with new indigenous deities, the modern gods of technology. They all walk around disguised as ordinary people, which causes no end of trouble for Shadow Moon. Recently released from prison, Shadow takes a job as emissary for Mr. Wednesday, avatar of the Norse god Grimnir. Their recruiting trip across the American heartland subjects Shadow to visits from his dead wife and brutal roughing up by the goons of Wednesday's adversary, Mr. World. Shadow must reevaluate his own deeply held beliefs in order to determine his crucial role in the final showdown. This book won both the 2002 Hugo Award for Best Novel and 2002 Bram Stoker Award for Best Horror Novel.

• All titles may be free-choice items, but you are encouraged to browse among the selections in the New Fiction area or from any of our display tables
• An audiobook version of a title may be substituted, but only a maximum of one (1) for the entire program

New York Times best-selling author Margaret Coel pens the acclaimed Wind River mystery series set in Wyoming's Arapaho Wind River Reservation. The series features protagonists Arapaho attorney Vicky Holden and Father John O'Malley, a Jesuit priest.

Coel is a fourth-generation Coloradan. The West — the mountains, plains, and vast spaces — are in her bones, she says. She moved out of Colorado on only two occasions — to attend college and to spend a few years in Alaska and says that, both times, she couldn't wait to get back. Writing has always been part of Coel's life. Her first professional job was as a reporter for the Colorado paper, the Westminster Journal. She later worked as a feature writer for the Boulder Daily Camera.

In addition to the Windy River series, Coel has also written five non-fiction titles, including Chief Left Hand (awarded Best Non-Fiction Book of the Year from the National Association of Press Women), a biography of the Plains Indian leader in the mid-ninetheenth century. She has also written several articles on the West that have appeared in the New York Times, the Christian Science Monitor, as well as other publications. She keeps up a hectic speaking schedule but takes time to visit the Wind River Reservation every year, "just to catch up with my Arapaho friends."

For more information on Coel and her works, check out her Web site at www.margaretcoel.com

This table includes an assortment of titles from the various fiction collections (general fiction, mystery, sci-fi) that Library Staff have read and enjoyed.

February is Library Lovers' Month -- a month-long celebration of school, public, and private libraries. This is a time for everyone, especially library support groups, to recognize the value of libraries and to work to ensure that the nation's libraries will continue to serve. And, since 2004 is a leap year, you'll have one extra day this month to appreciate your library!

March is National Ghostwriters Month -- It has been claimed that nearly 50% of all books are written by ghostwriters. This month honors those people who do the work but don't get the credit. One way to celebrate this month is to do something nice for someone and don't let them know you did it.

Over the past few years, the Readers' Advisory staff has created lists of our favorite books of the past year. Be sure to pick up this list -- it may give you a few gift ideas or some new reading selections for yourself.