Sunkist Book Chat Sunkist Branch Library March 2015 Don’t forget the upcoming events at the Muzeo: BRING YOUR LUNCH AND LEARN will host Rick Shintaku of the Anaheim Public Utilities – water department on April 8, talking about 'Value of the City-Owned Water Utility to Anaheim'. During this time of drought, he will provide valuable information on reducing your water bill and solutions to combat the water crisis. And on April 16, the 'OPEN BOOK SERIES' will present Peggy Hesketh, author of “Telling the Bees” beginning at 6 p.m. Coming Soon to the Muzeo Cougars and Grizzlies, Sharing Their Path Opening April 18 Most Southern California families are unaware that grizzly bears ever roamed what has now become bustling cities like Irvine and Corona. The extinction of the California grizzly bear (Ursus Californicus) in 1924 serves as a cautionary tale for those wanting to protect and preserve California’s fragile mountain lion (Puma concolor) species. This exhibition will educate and raise environmental awareness by juxtaposing the fate of the California grizzly bear with the future of the state’s mountain lion. Join us at our next meeting for cookies, coffee and conversation on Thursday, April 30 at 1:00 pm. Reviews The numbers in parenthesis, following the title, indicates the reader’s rating of the book. The ratings are (1) poor, (2) so-so, (3) good, (4) very good, (5) great. John Simon reported on 3 books. The Black Box (4) by Michael Connelly is a case that spans 20 years. Harry Bosch links the bullet from a recent crime to a file from 1992, the killing of a young female photographer during the L.A. riots. Harry originally investigated the murder, but it was then handed off to the Riot Crimes Task Force and never solved. Now Bosch's ballistics match indicates that her death was not random violence, but something more personal. Like an investigator combing through the wreckage after a plane crash, Bosch searches for the "black box," the one piece of evidence that will pull the case together. The Forgotten 500 (4) by Gregory Freeman was a story that was suppressed for more than half a century for political reasons and now the full account of this unforgettable story of loyalty, self-sacrifice, and bravery is being told for the first time. During a bombing campaign over Romanian oil fields, hundreds of American airmen were shot down over Nazi-occupied Yugoslavia. Local Serbian farmers and peasants risked their own lives to give refuge to the soldiers while they waited for rescue, and in 1944, Operation Halyard was born. The risks were incredible. The starving Americans in Yugoslavia had to construct a landing strip large enough for C-47 cargo planes, without tools, without alerting the Germans, and without endangering the villagers. And the cargo planes had to make it through enemy airspace and back without getting shot down themselves. Field of Prey (3) by John Sandford begins on the night of the fifth of July, in Red Wing, Minnesota when a boy smelled death in a cornfield off an abandoned farm. When the county deputy took a look, he found a body stuffed in a cistern. When more bodies were found, Lucas Davenport was called in. By this time, the body count was fifteen with the victims killed over just as many summers and as regular as clockwork. How could this happen in a town so small without anyone noticing? With the latest victim only two weeks dead, Davenport knows that the killer is still at work and most likely it is someone that the folks of Red Wing see every day. Sally Nuttelman reported on 1 book. Winter (4) by Len Deighton is the story of a family by that name, specifically the two brothers Peter and Paul, but actually it’s the story of Berlin from just before the first World War to just after WWII. It is a fascinating description of historical events, German politics and the power of the Nazis. Only one small criticism – the women, wives of the main characters, are given very little attention. They are barely mentioned until the final chapters. There are excellent descriptions of promising German leaders of that time and of the events that shaped them. Though this is a fiction book, everything is based on verifiable facts. Ruth Flanagan reported on 4 books. Betrayal (5) by Fern Michaels mixes love and vengeance in this romantic thriller. Alex and Kate Rocket enjoy a rock-solid marriage and a simple life, with wealthy Alex raising golden retrievers and Kate teaching cooking classes. In contrast, Alex's best friend, Don Winter, and his family struggle to maintain their expensive lifestyle and tolerate one another. Although Kate can't have children, she and Alex look upon Sara and Emily, daughters of the Winters as part of their own family. When 12-year-old Sara Winter falsely accuses Alex of molesting her, Kate watches helplessly as her innocent husband is convicted and sent to prison. But when Alex is murdered in prison, Kate's grief turns to anger, and she discovers an inner strength. She is resolved to clear her husband's name and ruin those who destroyed their life together. Kate's greatest challenge will be in avenging Alex without losing her chance at a new future and a new love in her life. Until Dark (3) by Mariah Stewart is about Kendra Smith, a compositor for the FBI who has a way with witnesses, helping them to remember crucial details about their attackers they might otherwise have forgotten. She believes her work helps to provide closure for the victims and their families–closure that has eluded her for the eleven years since her brother was kidnapped and his body never found. Determined to put her painful past behind her, Kendra throws herself into every case one hundred percent. Now she is called in to sketch the face of a man the press is calling the Soccer Mom Killer. It’s a difficult investigation made even harder by the presence of Special Agent Adam Stark, a man with whom she once had a brief affair. A Wanted Man (3) by Lee Childs is a Jack Reacher novel. Reacher is hitchhiking to Virginia and is picked up by three people in a car, hoping to make Chicago by morning. One man driving, other telling stories that don’t add up and a woman in the back, silent and worried. All Reacher wanted was a ride to Virginia but he soon discovers that he has hitched more than a ride. He has tied himself to a massive conspiracy, in which nothing is what it seems, and nobody is telling the truth. Angels Flight (5) by Michael Connelly is a Harry Bosch mystery that begins when an activist attorney is killed in a cute little L.A. trolley called Angels Flight, in downtown Los Angeles. Far from Bosch's Hollywood turf the case is so explosive and the dead man's enemies inside the L.A.P.D. are so numerous that it falls to Bosch to solve it. Harry's year-old Vegas marriage is unraveling and the hunt for a killer is leading Harry to another high-profile L.A. murder case, one where every cop had a motive. Ruth Hirsch reported on 3 books. Accused (3.5) by Lisa Scottline is a pleasant suspense novel with a few unusual twists. This is the story of the all-female law firm of Rosato & Associates consisting of Bennie Rosato, Mary DiNunzio, Judy Carrier, and Anne Murphy. Mary DiNunzio has just been promoted to partner and is about to take on her most unusual case to date, brought to the firm by a thirteen-year-old genius. Allegra Gardner's sister Fiona was murdered six years ago, and it seemed like an open- and-shut case: the accused, Lonnie Stall, was seen fleeing the scene; his blood was on Fiona and her blood was on him; most damningly, Lonnie Stall pleaded guilty. But Allegra believes Lonnie is innocent and has been wrongly imprisoned. Allegra's parents don't believe in reopening the case because they believe that it is too risky but the Rosato & Associates firm can never resist an underdog. The Family (5) by David Laskin is an extraordinary non-fiction book about a family’s history starting before World War I and ending in the present time. In writing this book, the author spent time with relatives listening to old stories and reading old letters. It is well researched even though some things cannot be completely documented, it is as factual as possible. This is a family history that could apply to many ethnic families that emigrated to the United States. A century and a half ago, a Torah scribe and his wife raised six children in a yeshiva town at the western fringe of the Russian empire. Bound by their customs and ancient faith, the pious couple expected their sons and daughter to carry family traditions into future generations, but the social and political crises of the time decreed otherwise. History took the scribe's family down three very different roads. One branch immigrated to America and founded the fabulously successful Maidenform Bra Company; another went to Palestine as pioneers and participated in the contentious birth of the state of Israel; the third branch remained in Europe and suffered the onslaught of the Nazi occupation. Mr. Churchill’s Secretary (3) by Susan Elia MacNeal has a somewhat deceiving title. This book is really a spy story. Winston Churchill has just been sworn in and war is raging across the Channel.