Now that we are headed into summer, you are probably jetting off to your internship in New York or to study abroad somewhere amazing. Your bags are packed. Shoes are off. You passed security and are (finally) sitting on a plane debating to pickup a germ-infested Sky Mall catalog — is worth it? It’s not. Instead, think ahead and grab one of these books to get you through the fun of air travel.
The Gangster
By Clive Cussler
The Gangster is one of the latest additions to the Isaac Bell series by Clive Cussler, a New York Times Best Selling Author. All of the books are set in the early 1900s and feature a young, private detective. This book is set in 1906 and involves an Italian crime group, The Black Hand, who might just be using their name to instill fear. But then murders start popping up, along with kidnapping, extortion and arson, who is committing these crimes? You’ll have to read on to find out. The book is an easy read and will keep you interested from beginning to end with its exciting chases.
The Midnight Assassin: Panic, Scandal, and the Hunt for America’s First Serial Killer
By Skip Hollandsworth
Have you seen Dazed and Confused? If so you know about the Moonlight Towers that dot Austin’s landscape. But do you know why they exist? Probably not. You see back in the late 1800s a serial killer ripped through our Texas town, killing women and not in a normal way. You see, he killed them like Jack the Ripper about five years before Jack the Ripper. In this non-fiction book Hollandsworth explains these horrific killings while giving insight into the question – did this killer really become Jack the Ripper? There is also a ton of history about Austin in the book so if you are looking for something fascinating, that is completely true check this one out.
A Year in Provence
By Peter Mayle
A Year in Provence is a hysterical account of Peter Mayle’s life after moving from London to Provence, a province in the south of France. As soon as the family arrives to its beautiful but rustic chateau, hilarious antics ensue. They begin their year in January and witness their first mistral, a freezing storm that comes down from the mountains. But the adventure doesn’t end there. From extremely slow French workers to the country’s cultural obsession with truffles, Mayle chronicles his new life in the Lubéron.
The Runaway Princess
By Hester Browne
The Runaway Princess is a tale that most little girls dream of. Amy Wilde goes to a party, meets a boy, falls in love and then finds out he is the prince of a small European nation. Perfect, no? While he was not set to inherit the throne, a member of the royal family dies, thus thrusting Wilde into a world of tiaras, ceremonies and royal feuds. Can Amy shed her dirty landscaper gloves for pearly white ones?
Comeback
By Dick Francis
Comeback is a novel written by the late British steeplechase jockey, Dick Francis. The novel is an easy read in which a British Foreign Service officer returns to his hometown and discovers numerous unexplainable deaths of horses at a local racetrack. As he gets closer to discovering the culprit, there are countless plot twists that keep you on the edge of your uncomfortable airplane seat.
Waltzing at the Piggly Wiggly
By Robert Dalby
Waltzing at the Piggly Wiggly tells the tale of Second Creek, Mississippi, and the town’s attempt to save their local Piggly Wiggly grocery store. This is the first book in the series that follows the lives of many of locals. An old dance teacher is hired to teach the waltz to patrons at the Piggly Wiggly in order to convince people to shop, hence the book’s title. As the instructor waltzes women past cereal boxes and through the freezer isles, people fall in and out of love and work toward one common goal: saving their beloved Piggly Wiggly.
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