Premeditated Murder by Ed Gaffney  (paperback fiction) For young public defense attorneys Zack Wilson and Terry Tallach, partners and best friends, their latest case appears open-and-shut -- their client has already confessed to a horrific multiple homicide.  Therefore, Zack and Terry have only one hope: to spare their client from the death penalty.  But even that’s a long shot…until the case takes a sudden, strange turn.  The two lawyers may have stumbled on a loophole.  Their client had a secret motive for his indefensible act, a motive that might even free him if Zack and Terry can pull off an ingenious defense.  But as the media descend on their quiet Massachusetts town, and as Zack and Terry fight to save their client’s life, a surprise witness turns the trial into something no one could have predicted.  Only he can put all the pieces of an astounding puzzle together and expose a conspiracy that is more shocking, far-reaching and treacherous than anyone could guess. This is the author’s debut novel.
	Black Dog by Stephen Booth  (mystery) The first book in Booth’s suspense series featuring Detective Constable Ben Cooper, an up-and-coming English policeman who fears he'll never be able to fill the shoes of his father, a police sergeant who died a hero's death on the job in Ben's own precinct.  Diane Fry, Ben's new partner, is an ambitious woman who's just been transferred to the Edendale force.  Fry is jealous of Ben's familiarity with the locals, who won't tell her anything but treat Ben like a beloved son. The two are teamed up to investigate the brutal murder of a 15-year-old girl whose parents, like Fry, are outsiders. Harry Dickinson, the old man who discovered the girl’s body, is an enigmatic, close-mouthed man who obviously knows more than he's telling, but even Ben can’t make the man tell the real story of what happened in the dark woods of England's brooding Peak District. The victim’s father is anxious to pin the crime on a local boy who may have had sexual designs on her and who's conveniently gone missing.  The search for the killer turns up the dark secrets of the Vernons as well as other suspects who keep Ben and Diane (and the reader) guessing until the last page of this well-written, carefully paced and deeply atmospheric novel.
	The Silver Spoon by Stacey Klemstein (science fiction) No one knows when the Observers originally arrived on Earth, but their arrival seems to be an answer to a prayer -- they offered to save our world from waging nuclear war on the condition they be allowed to study mankind.  The Observers got what they requested with no resistance.  Zara Mitchell, a small town diner owner, is trying to make ends meet, supporting herself and her younger brother after her parents’ death.  When the Observers first appeared on TV that fateful day, Zara's life became a nightmare.  She began sleepwalking with horrid nightmares.  She is convinced the Observers have nefarious designs on humanity, but has no proof and everyone in their small town believes she’s crazy.  Just when she thinks her life is beginning to get easier, a silver-eyed Observer enters her diner and her life changes once again.  Caelan is convinced Zara is the fulfillment of a prophecy and he will do anything to gain her compliance.  Everything in Zara’s life has been destroyed in some way by the Observers.  How can she trust a being whose existence caused her so much pain?  And why is another Observer trying to kill both of them?  This is the author’s debut novel.

Adult Summer Reading Program - CSI: Schaumburg Township
Continues through August 31
This summer, Schaumburg Township is the scene of the crime for our Adult Summer Reading Program, CSI: Schaumburg Township.  Each participant in the reading program must read eight (8) titles by the end of August.  Everyone is eligible to participate in the reading program and receive a gift for completing the reading requirements.  However, only STDL patrons are eligible for the grand prize drawing at the program’s end.  Sign-ups continue at the central library Readers’ Advisory Desk or at the branch libraries.  For more information, call our Readers' Advisory Desk at (847) 923-3189. 

DNA Resource Specialist Kara Stefanson
Friday, June 24       7:30 p.m.
Adult Classroom
Whether you’re a fan of mysteries or a fan of TV’s CSI or Forensic Files series, come and hear DNA Resource Specialist Kara Stefanson discuss the analysis of evidence from criminal investigations.  Please note:  this presentation may not be suitable for young patrons.

"Gotta Write" AuthorFest
Saturday, June 25      10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Rasmussen Rooms
Created by local author Denise Fleischer, in the first year of what we hope will be an annual event, authors from all over the Chicagoland and surrounding areas will lead panel discussions on writing and publishing.  As of this writing, proposed panel discussions include:  Serving Up Mysteries, Current Trends in Romance, How to be a Master Storyteller, Myths About Publishing and Creating Complex Characters, as well readings by individual authors.  After each panel, copies of the authors' works will be available for purchase and signing in the Adult Classroom.  Closer to the event, a more detailed list of discussion topics and panel participants will be available at the Readers' Advisory Desk and branch libraries.  For more information, please call Susan Gibberman at (847) 923-3339 or check out their web site at www.gottawritenetwork.com.  Please note that panel topics and participants are subject to change.

Crime Scene at the Library
Thursday, August 11     7-9 p.m.
Rasmussen South
Join law enforcement and technical professionals as they examine crime scene investigation in the real world.  Listen as they secure the scene, collect evidence and evaluate their findings.  Who would have thought a trip to the library could be so deadly?  Registration is required.

Jump-Start Your Effectiveness with “CPR”
Monday, September 19       7 p.m.
Adult Classroom

Do you practice strategies for success?  Are you making wrong moves without even knowing it?  Professional Strategies Coach Jerrilyn Willin leads this interactive program focusing on the critical tools for success:  communication, presence and responsibility.

Marketing Your Own Book
Tuesday, September 20     7 p.m.
Adult Classroom
Five percent of publishing a book is in the writing and the other 95% is marketing.  Author Caryn Lazar Amster will discuss her self-published book (The Pied Piper of South Shore) and marketing techniques. This entertaining, fact-filled presentation is for people in any stage of the book process. Seating is limited, so registration is recommended.

Poisoned Pens
Thursday, Sept 22      7:30 p.m.
Adult Classroom
Lucretia Borgia gave this method two thumbs up!  Fledging mystery writers can discover the means to poison your characters with a variety of methods.  Authors Luisa Buehler and Kelle Z. Riley will guide us through the deadly doppelgangers in the common garden and the "killer contents" in our own homes.  Seating is limited, so registration is recommended.
 

MAIN DISPLAYS

MINI DISPLAYS

STAFF PICKS TABLE
This table includes an assortment of titles read and enjoyed by library staff from the various fiction collections (general fiction, mystery, science fiction) within the department.

The following is a list of upcoming theatrical releases based on novels, now playing or coming soon to a movie theatre near you:

The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants by Ann Brahares
My Summer of Love by Helen Cross
War of the Worlds (based on the novel) by H. G. Wells
Dark Water (based on the graphic novel) by Koji Suzuki
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl
Everything is Illuminated by Jonathan Safran Foer
Asylum by Patrick McGrath
Oliver Twist (based on the novel) by Charles Dickens
Bee Season by Myla Goldberg

The Second Continental Congress argued at length over some spellings in the Declaration of Independence:  "independent" vs. "independant," for instance, and "inalienable" vs. "unalienable."  They also argued over whether principal nouns should be capitalized (as Benjamin Franklin wanted) or lowercase (as Thomas Jefferson wanted).  Jefferson was in favor of lowercasing "nature," "creator," and even "God."  And the Congress' choice for the nation's motto, E Pluribus Unum ("one from many"), came from a recipe for salad in an early poem by Virgil.

John Hancock's large signature on the Declaration made him immediately famous, but the phrase "Put your John Hancock here," as a request for a signature, didn't appear until 1903.

Many expressions now taken for granted in English first appeared in Shakespeare's works, including 'elbow room', 'love letter', 'marriage bed', 'puppy dog', 'skim milk', 'wild goose chase' and 'what the dickens.'

Charles Dickens was an insomniac.  He believed he had the best chance of getting some sleep if he positioned himself exactly in the middle of the bed which must at all times be pointed in a northerly direction.  He also insisted that he had to be facing north before he could write a single word.

Quote of the quarter (written by an anonymous English professor on a student's term paper):  "I am returning this otherwise good typing paper to you because someone has printed gibberish all over it and put your name at the top."