Tax season always makes me hostile. To make matters worse, the State of Minnesota published their tax-form book without an index. It’s disturbing. Librarians have built their reputation on finding the unfindable for their patrons. But we need an index; at the least, a table of contents. Are we supposed to page through the whole book to find the M1PR? Perhaps I'm overly-sensitive. Just know, that we are here to help you find a form and photocopy it. We charge 15¢ plus tax per page. Yes, that’s tax on tax-forms; doesn’t seem right to me either. We still have some Federal forms and instruction booklets and we can get almost any form you need off the Internet. Of course, you can find them yourself at www.taxes.state.mn.us for State forms and www.irs.gov for Federal forms. On to more cheerful subjects; new fiction. We have "The First 48" by Tim Green, the story of a father who'll do anything to find his missing daughter — including kidnap the U.S. Senator he believes abducted her. Tom Redmond is a former cop turned lawyer in upstate New York who couldn't be prouder of his daughter, Jane, an investigative journalist for the Washington Post. But just as she prepares to break a front-page story on one of the most powerful Senators in Congress, Jane mysteriously disappears. Suspecting foul play, Redmond drives to Washington. He knows that if an abducted victim is not found within the first 48 hours of a kidnapping, the odds of that person being found alive are very slim. And as time ticks by with no sign of Jane, Redmond is forced to confront the Senator — and take matters into his own hands. Also new on the shelf is "Shadow Account" by Stephen Frey. An investment banker in the maverick firm Phenix Capital, Conner Ashby is doing all right for himself. At 27, he’s practically the right-hand man of the company’s founder, a wealthy old pro looking to make a big comeback on The Street while grooming Conner for a place at the top. Between his career and his gorgeous girlfriend, it’s a good life, until a wayward E-mail crosses Conner’s computer, and plunges his near-perfect world into a terrifying downward spiral.ŒThe Œoperation‚ is way out of hand. If we don’t do something, it’s going to detonate. It’s a communication not meant for Conner’s eyes, between people he doesn’t know, about a company he’s never heard of, a company that’s engaged in corporate fraud on a massive scale. With no way to trace the E-mail, it’s impossible for Conner to act on the volatile discovery. But with millions of dollars at stake, high-powered careers in the balance, and hell to pay if the truth comes out, whoever clicked the Œsend‚ button by mistake isn’t about to take any chances. And for Conner, the evening that began in the arms of a beautiful woman ends in a harrowing race for his life.
