This column was submitted by Evangeline Cessna, Warren County-Vicksburg Public Library Local History Librarian. This week’s selections include new fiction titles from the new fiction, large print, and RBdigital collections.

In The Seekers by Heather Graham, Kerri Wolf has joined the crew of The Seekers, a show that searches for paranormal phenomena, as they explore a supposedly haunted old inn on the road between Philadelphia and Harrisburg. The place is famous for its warm welcome-and infamous for being the site of an ax murder rampage in the 1920s. They’ve barely begun when a very real dead body is discovered in the basement. As a nonfiction author, Kerri is supposed to be the rational one, but she can’t explain a terrifying apparition that seems to be both a threat and a warning. Former detective Joe Dunhill knows what she’s going through-the strange gift of being able to see and talk to the dead is a struggle he shares. A new member of the FBI’s Krewe of Hunters, he’s on the team investigating the disturbing death. The town is steeped in old-fashioned superstition, and the deeper Joe and Kerri plunge into the dark secrets of the inn, the closer they get to a devastating truth. Will a bloody history be repeated? Or can the spirits of the past reach out to stop a killer?

The Dutch House by Ann Patchett takes place at the end of the Second World War. Cyril Conroy combines luck and a single canny investment to begin an enormous real estate empire, propelling his family from poverty to enormous wealth. His first order of business is to buy the Dutch House, a lavish estate in the suburbs outside of Philadelphia. Meant as a surprise for his wife, the house sets in motion the undoing of everyone he loves. Cyril’s son Danny and his older sister Maeve are exiled from the house where they grew up by their stepmother. The two wealthy siblings are thrown back into the poverty their parents had escaped from and find that all they must count on is one another.

Lethal Game is by Christine Feehan (RBdigital only). When Malichai Fortunes attacks a problem, he does so full force; a habit that earns the GhostWalker a painful injury and a forced vacation in San Diego, California. With nothing but physical therapy on the horizon, Malichai is starting to get restless ‘ until a striking blue-eyed blonde makes all his senses come alive. Amaryllis is kind and warm and sees beyond Malichai’s rough exterior, but he can tell there’s something she’s hiding. Her innate healing abilities indicate she might be a GhostWalker–albeit an untrained one. Malichai doesn’t think their paths crossing is anything more than coincidence, but he can sense that one wrong word could send Amaryllis running. When strange events at his temporary retreat put Malichai on high alert, he knows he won’t be able to deal with the threat and keep his woman safe in his weakened state. But calling in his brothers means telling Amaryllis what he really is and revealing that he knows the truth about her too. 

Blood of Elves by Anzej Sapkowski (RBdigital only). “Watch for the signs! What signs these shall be, I say unto you: first the earth will flow with the blood of aen Seidhe, the Blood of Elves.” For over a century, humans, dwarves, gnomes, and elves have lived together in relative peace. But times have changed, the uneasy peace is over, and now the races are fighting once again. The only good elf, it seems, is a dead elf. Geralt of Rivia, the cunning assassin known as The Witcher, has been waiting for the birth of a prophesied child. This child has the power to change the world – for good, or for evil. As the threat of war hangs over the land and the child is hunted for her extraordinary powers, it will become Geralt’s responsibility to protect them all–and the Witcher never accepts defeat. 

The Vanishing is the newest from Jayne Ann Krentz. Decades ago, in the small town of Fogg Lake, “The Incident” occurred: an explosion in the cave system that released unknown gases. The residents slept for two days. When they woke up, they discovered that things had changed–they had changed. Some started having visions. Others heard ominous voices. And then the scientists from a mysterious government agency arrived. Determined not to become research subjects of strange experiments, the residents of Fogg Lake blamed the “hallucinations” on food poisoning, and the story worked. But now it has become apparent that the eerie effects of The Incident are showing up in the descendants of Fogg Lake. Catalina Lark and Olivia LeClair, best friends and co-owners of an investigation firm in Seattle, use what they call their “other sight” to help solve cases. When Olivia suddenly vanishes one night, Cat frantically begins the search for her friend. No one takes the disappearance seriously except Slate Arganbright, an agent from a shadowy organization known only as The Foundation, who shows up at her firm with a cryptic warning. A ruthless killer is hunting the only witnesses to a murder that occurred in the Fogg Lake caves fourteen years ago–Catalina and Olivia. And someone intends to make both women vanish.

Penne Dreadful is a cozy read by Catherine Bruns (RBdigital only). Tomato sauce isn’t the only thing that runs red. Local chef Tessa Esposito is struggling to get back on her feet following her husband’s fatal accident. And when the police knock on Tessa’s door, things just get worse. They’ve discovered Dylan’s death wasn’t an accident after all, and they need Tessa to start filling in the blanks. Who would want her beloved husband dead, and why? With the investigation running cold, Tessa decides it’s time to save her sanity by reconnecting with her first love—cooking. Maybe the best way back into the kitchen is to infiltrate Dylan’s favorite local pizza parlor, which also happens to be the last place he was seen before he died. But the anchovies aren’t the only thing that stink inside the small family business, and with suspects around every corner, Tessa finds that her husband’s many secrets might land her in hot water.