Ever wondered what the staff at the Ōamaru Library are reading? Well here's your chance!

Check out our list below for all the goodies the staff are reading and their reviews for this month.

Debbie's pick is The Marlow Murder Club by Robert Thorogood
(Adult Fiction Rental, THO)

To solve an impossible murder, you need an impossible hero - Judith is 77 years old and lives a blissfully happy life, on her own in a faded mansion and no man to tell her what to do or how much whisky to drink. One peaceful evening, while swimming in the Thames, Judith witnesses a brutal murder. When the local police don't believe her, Judith and her friends decide to investigate on their own.

- Hugely enjoyable, utterly delightful and fun with a wickedly audacious 77 year old sleuth called Judith who lives in an arts and crafts house in Marlow and sets cyptic crossword puzzles in her spare time.

Glenys' pick is Walk the Wire by David Baldacci
(Adult Fiction, BAL)

FBI agent Amos Decker and his colleague Alex Jamison are called to investigate the death of a young woman named Irene Cramer, whose body was expertly autopsied and then dumped in the open - which is only the beginning of the oddities surrounding the case. Set in the North Dakota town of London where oil fracking is reinvigorating the local economy, the Memory Man sets out to solve a murder. Of course, there is much more going on beneath the surface of this bleak environment.

- [Her first David Baldacci!...]Having started reading this on Friday evening, I did little else all weekend in order to find out "whodunnit" - an enjoyable way to spend a wet weekend.

Kerrie's pick is The Prison Healer by Lynette Noni
(Young Adult, NON)

As prison healer in Zalindov's most notorious prison, seventeen-year-old Kiva Meridan is charged with keeping the terminally ill prisoner - the Rebel Queen - alive long enough to undergo the Trial by Ordeal - a series of elemental challenges against the torments of air, fire, water and earth, assigned to only the most dangerous of criminals. With a prison rebellion brewing, a coded instruction from her family to keep the Queen alive, and the promise for freedom, Kiva risks her own life to volunteer in the Queen's place.

- A tale of survival that captivated me from beginning to end.

Linda's pick is The Jigsaw Man by Nadine Matheson
(Adult Fiction Rental, MAT)

Imitation is the sencerest form of flattery...but not for a egotistic and notorious serial killer like Peter Olivier - The Jigsaw Killer. Detective Angelica Henley knows how deadly Olivier is, as she was the one who helped catch him and lock him away two years prior. But with Olivier in solitary isolation at a high security prison, and body parts start to appear with Olivier's brandings on the flesh, Henley and her team must find out who the copy-cat killer is, and the reasoning behind their M.O before more victims wind up in pieces.

- If you are a fan of Hannibal Lecter or Kathy Reichs, you will not be disappointed! I could not put this one down.

Lisa's pick is Any Human Heart by William Boyd, read by Mike Grady
(Audio Book, BOY)

Every life is both ordinary and extraordinary, but Logan Mountstuart's - lived from the beginning to the end of the twentieth century - contains more than its fair share of both. A writer, a spy, and an art-dealer in '60s New York, Logan mixes with the movers and shakers of his time. But as a son, friend, lover and husband, he makes the same mistakes we all do in our search for happiness. This is the story of a life lived to the full - and a journey deep into a very human heart.

- I read this book a few years ago and then it turned up on our shelf here as an audio book so I listened to it on a couple of long-haul road trips. It can't be easy to write an entire life in one book, but Boyd has done it. Exquisitely.

Lynley's pick is The Official Downton Abbey Afternoon Tea Cookbook, by Downton Abbey, foreword by Gareth Neame, introductory text by Regula Ysewijn
(Adult Non-Fiction, Food & Drink, 641.53 YSE)

An elegant cookbook that captures the essence of teatime at Downton Abbey, with classic recipes for sweets and savories, etiquette notes, tea service knowhow, and lavish imagery to recreate this British tradition. Fans of the PBS series and anglophiles alike can stage every stylish element of this cultural staple of British society at home. Includes gorgeous food photographs, lifestyle stills from the television series and recent movies, and character quotes bring the characters of Downton Abbey to life.

- This is a wonderful book with lovely recipes and brilliant photographs of the characters sipping and nibbling their treats! And yes the author is listed as Downton Abbey!