In Two Reasons to Run by Colleen Coble, Police Chief Jane Hardy is still reeling from the scandal that rocked her small town department just as she took over for her retired father - the man who wrecked her life with one little lie. Now she’s finally been reunited with her fifteen year old son Will, who’s presumed dead, and his father, documentarian Reid Dixon. When a murder aboard the oil platform Zeus exposes an environmental terrorist’s plot to flood Mobile Bay with crude oil, Jane and Reid must put their feelings for each other behind them and work together to prevent the rig from being sabotaged. Then the terrorist puts her son Will’s life on the line. Protecting him could be the common ground they need… but then ghosts from the past threaten to ruin Jane and Reid for good.
In Three Missing Days by Colleen Coble, Chief of Police Jan Hardy plunges into the investigation of a house fire that claimed the life of a local woman as well as one of the firefighters. It’s clear that the woman was murdered. But why? The unraveling of Jane’s personal life only makes the answers in the case more difficult to find. Then Jane’s fifteen year old son is accused of a horrific crime, and she has to decide whether or not she can trust her ex, Reid, in the attempt to prove Will’s innocence - and whether she can trust Reid with her heart. Three days of Jane’s past are missing from her memory, and that’s not all that has been stolen from her. As she works to find the woman’s murderer and clear her son’s name, discovering what happened in those three days could change everything.
We can barely imagine our lives without technology. Tech gives us tools to connect with our friends, listen to our music, document our lives, share our opinions, and keep up with what’s going on in the world. Yet it also tempts us to procrastinate, avoid honest conversations, compare ourselves with others, and filter our reality. Sometimes it feels like our devices have a lot more control over us than we have over them. But it doesn’t have to be that way. In fact, we deserve so much more than what technology offers us. And when we’re wise about how we use our devices, we can get more - more joy, more connection, more out of life. Tech shouldn’t get in the way of a life worth living. Let’s get tech-wise in My Tech-Wise Life by Amy Crouch & Andy Crouch.
The lifeblood of the village of Ivy Hill is its coaching inn, The Bell. When the innkeeper dies suddenly, his gentle wife Jane Bell becomes the reluctant landlady. Jane has no idea how to manage a business, but with the town’s livelihood at stake and a large loan due, she must quickly find a way to save the inn. Despite their strained relationship, Jane turns to her resentful mother in law, Thora, for help. Formerly mistress of The Bell, Thora is struggling to overcome her losses and find purpose for the future. As she works with Jane, two men from her past vie for her attention, but Thora has promised herself never to marry again. Will one of them convince her to embrace a second chance at love? As pressure mounts from the bank, Jane employs new methods and puzzles over the intentions of several men who seem to have a vested interest in the place, including a mysterious newcomer with secret plans of his own. With the help of friends old and new, can Jane restore life to the inn, and to her empty heart as well? Find out in The Innkeeper of Ivy Hill by Julie Klassen.
A gentlewoman in reduced circumstances, Miss Rachel Ashford lives as a guest in Ivy Cottage. With her meager funds rapidly depleting, she is determined to earn her own livelihood… somehow. Her friend Jane Bell and the other village women encourage her to open a circulating library with the many books she’s inherited from her father. As villagers donate additional books and Rachel begins sorting through the volumes, she discovers mysteries hidden among them. A man who once broke her heart helps her search for clues but both find more than they bargained for. Rachel’s hostess, Mercy Grove, has given up thoughts of suitors and finds fulfillment in managing her girls school. So when several men take an interest in Ivy Cottage, she assumes pretty Miss Ashford is the cause. Exactly what - or whom - has captured each man’s attention? The truth may surprise them all in The Ladies of Ivy Cottage by Julie Klassen.
Cross Reference Library is located at 209 East 15th Street in Scottsbluff, NE,
and is open Monday through Friday from 9:00am-5:00pm.