With new titles by Di Morrissey (“The Island”), Dean Koontz (“Young Hearth Belongs to Me”), Patricia Cornwell (“Scarpetta”), David Baldacci (“Divine Justine”), James Patterson (“Cross Country”),

Danielle Steele (“A Good Woman”), Jeffrey Deaver (“The Bodies Left Behind”) and Bryce Courtenay (“Fishing for Stars”), the only problem will be deciding which two books to reserve.

Two non-fiction books of note are “The Longest Trip Home”, a memoir by John Grogan, author of the very popular “Marley and Me”; and “ Cut” the story of an abused child which has been well reviewed in the media.

Books with a local connection are always of special interest and the library was pleased to accept as a donation a copy of “Infinity 48” by Karen Perrott, an author with relatives living in Grenfell.

A combination of thriller, science fiction and philosophy, it promises to be something a little different.

Currently the librarian is collecting statistics for the 2008 Annual Report.

Between January 1 and December 31, 21,018 items were loaned at a daily average of 85.09; 7,024 visits to the library were made, 1,106 items acquired, 328 items discarded and 77 new members registered.

All indicators show a decline on the 2007 results but it was a difficult year and improvement is expected in 2009.

THE BOOK REVIEW by Anne Gault

“Window on the Square” by Phyllis Whitney. Leicester : Ulverscroft, 1978 LP WHI

Although set in the United States and written by an American authoress, “Window on the Square” fits perfectly within the English domestic ‘whodunit’ genre. No sex, no violence, no questionable language, just a detective puzzle allied with a genteel romance. Published in 1962, it is a book which could easily be dismissed as dated now, but if you enjoy a light mystery in the English style it has much to offer including the obligatory final chapter in which almost every character is shown as potentially the killer and they the only one who – seemingly – couldn’t have ‘done it’.

The novel opens with the heroine, Megan Kincaid, employed to care for the troubled son of Brandon Reid because of her previous experience in caring for a disabled brother. Jeremy is held responsible for the shooting murder of his father and this has led to major behavioural difficulties as well as his isolation within the family. The main characters are a predictable group. As well as the autocratic Brandon Reid (who naturally has many good qualities under his austere manner) there is the invalid wife, the spoilt younger daughter, the resident companion to Mrs Reid whose attitudes are distorted by misplaced loyalty and the young tutor who flirts with Megan but loves the wife.

The plot develops on predictable lines. Megan falls in love with Brandon, and grows increasingly confident of Jeremy’s innocence as far as the death of his father is concerned. There are two murders to untangle, the death of Dwight Reid and near the end of the book of another major character. Megan actively seeks to solve the mystery of Dwight Reid’s death but is more of a bystander in the second matter – that is like a riddle laid out before the reader whereas with the former the interest lies more in watching Megan solve the crime.

Megan is a not unsympathetic character although somewhat clichéd. But it is the wrongly-accused boy, Jeremy, who creates the most suspense. One knows he will be proven innocent but wonders what the truth it. His varied reactions and behaviours are credible and he earns the sympathy of the reader.

The book is well-paced and competently written although more care was needed in the proof-reading – there are a number of ‘typos’ which jar on the reader.

This is no challenging read, nor candidate for a literary award. ‘Predictable’ is a word that comes to mind with regard to “Window on the Square”, but for all that the detective puzzle is challenging, the main character likable, and the situation of the accused child motivation to read on – he couldn’t have ‘done it’ but who, then did …..

Reviewed by Anne Gault, December 2008