Bookmarks

Here are some books that have crossed our desks recently.

HARDBACKS

"OF BEES AND MIST," by Erick Setiawan, Simon & Schuster, $25 (f)

Raised in a sepulchral house where ghosts dwell in mirrors, Meridia grows up lonely and miserable. When Meridia marries, she escapes to live with her husband's family, unaware that they harbor dark secrets of their own. There is a grave hidden in the garden, there are two sisters groomed from birth to despise each other, and the wickedest mother-in-law imaginable. As Meridia struggles to keep her life and marriage together, she discovers long-buried secrets about her own past as well as shocking truths about her new family that inexorably push her love, courage and sanity to the brink.

"AMERICA'S GIRL: The Incredible Story of How Swimmer Gertrude Ederle Changed the Nation," by Tim Dahlberg, with Mary Ederle Ward and Brenda Greene, St. Martin's Press, $25.99 (nf)

In 1926, Gertrude Ederle not only became the first woman to swim across the English Channel but broke the record set by men. The feat so thrilled America that it welcomed her home with a ticker tape parade that drew 2 million people. This portrait follows Ederle from her early days as a competitive swimmer, through her gold medal triumph at the 1924 Olympics to the first attempt the next year in swimming from France to England in frigid and turbulent waters, a feat that had been conquered by only five men up to that time.

More hardbacks recently released:

"The Merry Misogynist," by Colin Cotterill (f); "Cahokia: Ancient America's Great City on the Mississippi," by Timothy R. Pauketat (nf)

PAPERBACKS

"THROUGH THE FIRE," by Shawn Grady, Bethany House, $13.99 (f)

Aidan O'Neill came from a long line of firefighters and has a gift for "reading" fire. That gift makes him overconfident, and he is instrumental in getting a rookie hurt. Aidan is suspended. However, an arsonist is targeting Reno, and the department needs Aidan back. His gift has left him, though, making the job of finding the arsonist and fighting fires very difficult.

More paperbacks recently released: