New Books You Might Have Missed - Fiction

Not every book is a bestseller - but not because they aren't great. Here's a few more of the lesser known yet compelling new additions to the library collection that have crossed my desk in the last few weeks.

Absent by Sherri Vanderveen: second novel from a rising Canadian author. From the book jacket: “What happens when a father disappears? How are the empty spaces of an absence filled? In 1979, Otto Sinclair flees in the wake of a tragic fire, leaving his family to sort through the ashes. Twenty-eight years later, he comes back to them...”A deeply moving family story.

Doghead by Morten Ramsland: translated from Danish, this book was a huge hit in its native Denmark where it won several major prizes and was a bestseller. The story of three generations of the same family, their childhood horrors and the men they grow up to be. The publisher said of it: “from a fiery and humorous Danish John Irving, a bighearted, epic story of mad dogs, naughty boys, strange relatives and family secrets.”

Fly Away Home by Vanessa Del Fabbro: fiction of faith and family. An American family living in South Africa begins to drift apart, and it's up to Monica Brunetti to make sure she keeps her family together. Part of the series that began with The Road to Home.

Nov 22, 1963 by Adam Braver: the story of the assassination of JFK has been told many times in fiction and nonfiction, but Braver brings new insight to this important American event. “With its collage-like structure and postmodern blend of fact and fiction, November 22, 1963 raises fascinating questions about how we perceive history and the ways in which personal and collective experience intersect.” —Alexis Nelson, The Oregonian

Pyres by Derek Nikitas: a dark first novel set in upstate New York. Lucia Moberg is a rebellious young teen, but her world is turned upside down when her father is gunned down in a shopping mall parking lot. Crime hits home - and community - in this well crafted novel.