On the shelves — Sept. 6

The following books are available for checkout at:

Clovis-Carver Public Library

“Vaccine Nation: America’s Changing Relationship with Immunization,” by Elena Conis untangles the complicated paradox of childhood immunization, both a public health success story and a source of bitter controversy as Americans have questioned the safety and necessity of vaccines.

“How Many is Too Many? The Progressive Argument for Reducing Immigration into the United States,” by Philip Cafaro lays out a comprehensive plan for immigration reform that shifts enforcement efforts away from border control and toward the employers who knowingly hire illegal workers.

“Infinite Worlds: The People and Places of Space Exploration,” by Michael Soluri documents through more than 400 photographs the Atlantis shuttle mission to the Hubble Space Telescope, introducing us to the dedicated workforce that saved mankind’s most powerful tool for exploring the mysteries of the universe.

“The Assassin,” by Clive Cussler brings the past to life as private detective Isaac Bell strives to land a government contract to investigate John D. Rockefeller’s Standard Oil monopoly, but takes a deadly turn when a sniper begins murdering opponents of the company.

“The Lost Child,” by Caryl Phillips conjures a young Heathcliff, the antihero of Wuthering Heights, and his ragged existence before Mr. Earnshaw brought him home to his family in a sweeping story of orphans and outcasts haunted by the past and fighting to liberate themselves from it.

“Inside the O’Briens,” by Lisa Genova explores the resilience of the human spirit as Joe O’Brien is diagnosed with an incurable disease; and his children, must decide whether to take a blood test that will determine if they are gene-positive, or to live with the uncertainty of their own future.

Portales Public Library

“X,” by Sue Grafton

Private Investigator Kinsey Millhone is back again in the twenty-fourth mystery in Sue Grafton's bestselling series, and this time she is dealing with several cases at once. First, Kinsey is enlisted by rich woman Hallie Battencourt to find her son, Christian Satterfield, who Hallie claims has just been released from prison and has now gone missing. Then Kinsey's good friend Ruth Wolinsky asks her to go through a box of paperwork that belonged to her late husband, Pete, a private eye who Kinsey used to work with. While going through Pete's files, Kinsey finds a paper with a code and an envelope dated from 1961, and she begins to suspect that Pete was not who he appeared to be. Kinsey discovers that Christian is not actually missing and that Hallie has lied to her, leaving her entangled in an unfortunate domestic problem, while Kinsey's landlord Henry Pitts is having trouble with his new neighbors, an elderly couple named Joseph and Edna Shallenbarger, who seem both needy and strangely suspicious. While Kinsey tries to help Henry and races to solve both of her pressing cases, she also finds herself working to catch a serial killer who is apparently impossible to catch, leaving no evidence of who he or she is with each subsequent murder.

“The Taming of the Queen,” by Philippa Gregory

Kateryn Parr, a 30 year-old widow, is an independent woman with a new lover that she is keeping a secret ... until she comes to the attention of King Henry VIII. Although Kateryn has no desire to be the sixth wife of a man who has already buried four women and divorced one before her — and who is old enough to be her father — she has no choice but to marry him when he demands her hand. Kateryn knows that her new role as queen will be dangerous, as the last queen barely lasted more than a year before being killed. Luckily, Henry seems to love her, and Kateryn not only strengthens the royal family and becomes Regent of the kingdom, but also forms a literary circle within the nobility. Using her intelligence and strong-minded attitude, Kateryn becomes the first woman in history to have something published in English, and also becomes a leader of religious rights and change. But, her desire to help protect the Protestants from persecution brings her to the attention of her husband a second time; this time he is none too pleased. When both the traditional church leaders and those who envy her power accuse Kateryn of heresy — for which the punishment is death — she realizes that her time as queen is soon to end due to the bloody hands of King Henry, whose sixth wife will ultimately be his last.

“Wicked Charms,” by Janet Evanovich & Phoef Sutton

In the third book in Evanovich's Wicked series, cupcake baker and treasure hunter Lizzy Tucker and her partner Diesel are still on the lookout for the seven stones of power, each representing one of the seven deadly sins. They’ve already found the stones of gluttony and lust. The next stone they have been commissioned to find is the Stone of Avarice, which was hidden with a vast bounty of pirate treasure that was discovered and reburied nearly a hundred years before by the infamous bootlegger Peg Leg Dazzle. The only thing they know for sure is that the treasure is located somewhere in New England, and while Lizzy would rather stay at home, Diesel is thrilled at the prospect of using an actual treasure map and sailing on a real ship during their trip from Salem Harbor to Maine. Lizzy reluctantly goes along on the adventure. However, greed is one of the strongest of the deadly sins, and Lizzy and Diesel are not the only ones searching for the treasure or the Stone of Avarice. Some people have spent years looking for the Peg Leg's find, and some of them are willing to do whatever it takes to possess it, even if it means killing for it. And one of them, Lizzy fears, may be Diesel's cousin Wulf, who not only wants the Stone of Avarice, but also Lizzy herself.

— Summaries by library staff