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Library’s regular book club also thriving

(Laredo, TX –)While most mystery novels deal with murder, the Laredo Public Library’s summer mystery book club, Scene of the Crime Book Club, has found new life with its members and will continue to exist in partnership with the Gateway City Book Lovers Club. “We had so many requests for a mystery book club, so we decided to host one for just the summer, when mystery novels are in hot demand,” said Pam Burrell, adult services coordinator for the Laredo Public Library.

“We had such an outstanding response that we are going to continue to host both book clubs.” In fact, the next mystery tome for the club is “Murder in the Marais” by Cara Black, about a recent murder that ties back to World War II crimes. “Private Investigator Aimée Leduc, a Parisian private investigator, has always sworn she would stick to tech investigation—no criminal cases for her. Especially since her father, the late police detective, was killed in the line of duty.

But when an old Jewish man approaches Aimée with a top-secret decoding job on behalf of a woman in his synagogue, Aimée unwittingly takes on more than she was expecting. When she goes to drop off her findings at her client’s house in the Marais, Paris’s historic Jewish quarter, she finds the old woman strangled to death, a swastika carved on her forehead. With the help of her partner, René, Aimée sets out to solve this horrendous crime, but finds herself in an increasingly dangerous web of ancient secrets and buried war crimes.

Her investigation exposes the connection between a war-time romance gone wrong and the modern-day murder. Literate prose, intricate plotting and multi-faced and unusual characters marks this excellent first mystery.” ®Reed Business Information, Inc. The Scene of the Crime Mystery Book Club will meet on Wednesday, November 9, 2011, from 6:00 – 7:30 p.m. at the Laredo Public Library, 1120 E. Calton Road, 1st floor conference room, to discuss this book.

The book is available for check-out at the Reference Desk at the Laredo Public Library. If you prefer books with a more inspirational message, then the Gateway City Book Lover’s Club is for you. This month, the club has selected “Stones into School” by Greg Mortenson. “Mortenson’s best-seller, Three Cups of Tea (2009), introduced his commitment to peace through education and became a book-club phenomenon. He now continues the story of how the Central Asia Institute (CAI) built schools in northern Afghanistan.

 Descriptions of the harsh geography and more than one near-death experience impress readers as new faces join Mortenson’s loyal “Dirty Dozen” as they carefully plot a course of school-building through the Badakshan province and Wakhan corridor. Mortenson also shares his friendships with U.S. military personnel, including Admiral Mike Mullen, and the warm reception his work has found among the officer corps.

The careful line CAI threads between former mujahideen commanders, ex-Taliban and village elders, and the American soldiers stationed in their midst is poetic in its political complexity and compassionate consideration. Using schools not bombs to promote peace is a goal that even the most hard-hearted can admire, but to blandly call this book inspiring would be dismissive of all the hard work that has gone into the mission in Afghanistan as well as the efforts to fund it.

 Mortenson writes of nothing less than saving the future, and his adventure is light years beyond most attempts. Mortenson did not reach the summit of K2, but oh, the heights he has achieved.” – Colleen Mondor The Gateway City Book Lovers Club will meet on Wednesday, November 16, 2011, from 6:00 – 7:30 p.m. at the Laredo Public Library 1120 E. Calton Road, 1st floor conference room, to discuss this book. The book is available for check-out at the Reference Desk at the Laredo Public Library.

 There are no membership rules or dues required to participate in either or both book clubs. Simply read the month’s selected tome, and come to the group discussion. That’s it. For more information about the books or the clubs, contact Pam Burrell at the 795-2400, X2268 or at pa*@la***********.org .