Local Town

Born and raised in Hawai‘i by a father whose ancestors are indigenous to the land and a mother from the American South, Jessica Machado wrestles with what it means to be “local.” Feeling separate from the history and tenets of Hawaiian culture that have been buried under the continental imports of malls and MTV, Jessica often sees her homeland reflected back to her from the tourist perspective—as an uncomplicated paradise. Her existence, however, feels far from that ideal. Balancing her parents’ divorce, an ailing mother, and growing anxiety, Jessica rebels.

People are often surprised when they learn of the worldwide adventures of Michael J. Hawron Not just because of the extent of his travels or the remarkable experiences he’s had, but because he’s made a life with his family in the small town of New Boston, Texas. Putting down roots in a town thousands of miles away from the people you know can be as harrowing as immigrating to an entirely new country, but the right house, in the right town, with the right people can make all the difference in the world. ˃˃˃ After settling in New Boston during an unplanned detour, Hawron has learned ...

A rural working-class New England town elects as its mayor a New York hedge fund millionaire in this inspired novel for our times - fiction in the tradition of Jonathan Franzen and Jennifer Egan. Here are the dramas of 21st-century America - rising inequality, working class decline, a new authoritarianism - played out in the classic setting of some of our greatest novels: the small town. The Locals is that rare work of fiction capable of capturing a fraught American moment in real time.

In its youth, Portland, Oregon, was a bit like a rough-and-ready logging camp with a gritty, hard-punching deep-water port. Lusty lads dallied with hard-eyed beauties in dark alleys, and captains forked over “blood money” to buy men for their crews from shanghai operators. From the seedy waterfront to the notorious North End, Portland's sin sector offered vices packaged in pint glasses and perfumed corsets.

Murder in the dunes: A new mystery series where dark secrets lurk beneath the surface, with a dash of humor to keep things afloat. During the renovation of the boardwalk by a moor, workers discover a body. DNA analysis reveals a match to a missing persons case that Enna and her former boss unsuccessfully investigated in 2016. The Fleetstedt team takes on the case, forcing Enna to confront a part of her past she’d rather keep buried. Pavel, on the other hand, investigates as thoroughly as ever — but not as carefully as Enna would have liked. What neither of them suspects: The past casts ...

Have you ever wondered how certain businesses in your community became local institutions—those household names that carry with them a reputation for unmatched quality and service? Or how they launched to local celebrity status and get preferential treatment everywhere they go as a pillar of the community? And how nobody can compete, even though they charge the highest price in town?

Murder in the dunes: A new mystery series where dark secrets lurk beneath the surface, with a dash of humor to keep things afloat. A dead body lies in the shadow of the dyke near Fleetstedt. The man shared a sprawling villa overlooking the sea with six others, not far from where his body was found. Enna and Pavel quickly encounter hostility, suspicion and mutual accusations. Which of them is true? Who benefits from the co-owner's death? Pavel's obsession with detail is a real treat. But what he and Enna uncover, piece by piece, is something they never could have imagined in their worst ...

In The Other Side of the River, his eagerly awaited new book, Kotlowitz takes us to southern Michigan. Here, separated by the St. Joseph River, are two towns, St. Joseph and Benton Harbor. Geographically close, they are worlds apart, a living metaphor for America's racial divisions: St. Joseph is a prosperous lakeshore community and 95 percent white, while Benton Harbor is impoverished and 92 percent black. When the body of a black teenaged boy from Benton Harbor is found in the river, unhealed wounds and suspicions between the two towns' populations surface as well.

After travelling the whole world, can exploring a single map ever be enough? Adventurer Alastair Humphreys spends a year investigating the small map around his own home. Can this unassuming landscape, marked by the glow of city lights and the hum of busy roads, satisfy his wanderlust? Could a single map provide a lifetime of exploration?

Art critics can KILL a career but MURDERING the ARTIST??!! Deception and secrecy permeate the intricate tapestry of Tumblebrook’s past revealing hidden agendas and veiled vendettas. But when the town's revered coppersmith is discovered dead, whisperings of mystery eclipse the fall festival celebration. A perceptive innkeeper, Amelia Farnsworth trades guest registers for crime-solving when her cozy sanctuary becomes the epicenter of intrigue. Supported by her clever feline companion, Lady Grey, and the lively Clara, Amelia delves into the enigma surrounding the coppersmith’s death. ...

The spirit of an ancient witch haunts the woods outside Millsboro, Delaware. For two hundred years children have heard warnings about the old woman who would steal you away if you roamed her woods. What if the stories are true? What if she's still out there? Gifted child psychic Maggie Mumford is sure she is and is determined to stop her. But what would you do if you lost your child? It's a terrible question to even consider. Mollie Kehonk had to face a furture without her daughters in it. When the opportunity to snatch them back from the cold hand of death requires her to turn her back on ...

Over the past several years, Hardwick, Vermont, a typical hardscrabble farming community of three thousand residents, has jump-started its economy and redefined its self-image through a local, self-sustaining food system unlike anything else in America.

“A truly unique and chilling account of a mass killing as seen through the eyes of many.” –Sublime Book Review A mass shooting in a nursing home rocks a southern Indiana town. The ripple effects afflict emergency workers, the nursing home staff, town officials, and the friends and families of the victims—both immediately and for weeks and months thereafter. Chillingly, those murdered often appear as ghosts, plaguing their family members with dangerous and surprising urges. Will a copycat shooter emerge from among them to kill again?

Nuclear power once promised to be the solution to the world's energy crisis, but that all changed in the late twentieth century after multiple high-profile accidents and meltdowns. Power plant workers, finding themselves the subject of public opposition, became leery of reporters. But one plant in Zion, Illinois, allowed unrestricted access to one journalist: the Chicago Tribune's Casey Bukro. Bukro spent two years inside the Zion nuclear plant, interviewing employees, witnessing high-risk maintenance procedures, and watching the radiation exposure counter on his own dosimeter tick up and up.

February in Newfoundland is the longest month of the year. Another blizzard is threatening to tear a strip off downtown St. John’s, while inside The Hazel restaurant, a storm system of sex, betrayal, addiction and hurt is breaking overhead.

Throughout Teller County, history lovers can find abandoned towns and forgotten main streets that once bustled with life and commerce. Even before Teller was carved from surrounding counties, the scenic mountains and lucrative mines of the gold rush era brought thousands of settlers and attracted resort owners and tycoons eager to exploit the rich setting. Seemingly overnight, towns in the Cripple Creek District and other places popped up, flush with gold and people looking for opportunity. As the ore disappeared, the miners moved on in search of the next big lode.

When the New Deal Came to Town is a snapshot of a time and place: Whiteland, Indiana during the Great Depression, one of the most fraught eras in American history. Imagine yourself transported back in time to April of 1933 and deposited in a small American town, when a young boy named George Melloan moved with his family to this quiet hamlet during the middle of the worst economic period in American history.

Inheriting her aunt's historic beachfront hotel should have been Vanessa Lewis's chance at a fresh start. But returning to Isabel Island means facing two ghosts from her past—her aunt's legacy, and Wesley Anders, her childhood best friend who broke her heart fifteen years ago. Now a decorated Marine Captain, Wesley is temporarily stationed at the local base, and he's just as infuriatingly handsome as he was the summer everything she thought she knew about their friendship changed. Between his offer to help renovate the hotel and their undeniable chemistry, Vanessa finds herself falling ...

A genteel Border South town not far from the nation’s capital is shaken by a series of vicious slayings at historic sites. These include a Civil War cemetery for escaped slaves; a burial mound of Confederate soldiers; a church associated with George Washington; and a museum on the Antebellum Era. At the same time, violent break-ins take place at venerable banks and townhomes connected with the lives of Washington, Robert E. Lee, and civil rights figures.

Are you excited about planning your next trip? Do you want to try something new while traveling? Would you like some guidance from a local? If you answered yes to any of these questions, then this audiobook is just for you. Greater Than a Tourist: Cape Town, South Africa by Mia Masson offers the inside scoop on Cape Town.