There are lots of new books by your favorite authors on the shelf this week. Come in, check them out, and don’t forget to sign up for "Chase the Chill" adult reading club. There will be prizes. "Emma’s Secret," by Barbara Taylor Bradford. Paula O'Neill, beloved granddaughter of Emma Harte and the guardian of her vast business empire, believes that everything Emma left to the family is secure. However, beneath the surface, sibling rivalry and discontent flare. Linnet and Tessa, her daughters, are as different as two women can be. Into this volatile mix walks Evan Hughes, a young American fashion designer who is looking for Emma Harte. But Emma has been dead for 30 years. Troubled by Evan's presence, Paula turns to her grandmother's recently discovered wartime diaries to find the truth, and Emma comes vividly back to life.The decades fall away. It is London in 1940: the Blitz. Emma, working hard under war-time conditions, is also holding her family together as bombs drop, sirens wail, and her sons go off to war. While she struggles with grief, her indomitable will and strength come to the fore. As the pages unfurl, Paula discovers the secret Emma took to the grave to protect others, a secret whose repercussions inevitably change lives and may shake a dynasty to its very foundations. "The Sight of the Stars," by Belva Plain. Dressed in a brand-new suit, with $150 in his pocket, Adam Arnring says good-bye to his family and boards a train for the fabled West. The year is 1907. Adam is 19-years-old, a young man with stars in his eyes who has always dreamed of a future in the great open spaces of America. He lands a job in a small department store in a booming Texas town. Here he meets a woman who excites him beyond all measure. The exquisite, untouchable Emma Rothirsch lives in a world whose doors are firmly closed to him. But Adam is a man willing to take great risks to get what he wants. One is Emma. The other is to build a lasting business enterprise that will live on through his children and grandchildren. But just when Adam’s dreams are within reach, fate intervenes. Tragedy strikes from the trenches of World War I, setting in motion a series of events that echo down through the years. The owner of a prospering department store and the head of a growing family, Adam succumbs to a moment of weakness that culminates in an unforgivable act of betrayal. And now, as another generation prepares to take its rightful place in the family’s legendary empire, the tenuous threads of the Arnrings‚ past begins to unravel. "Crown Jewel," by Fern Michaels. Ricky Lam had it all — a thriving film career, the adoration of countless fans, and a cocaine and alcohol problem that was about to destroy him. Luckily, he also had a business manager — his straight-arrow older brother Philip — who strong-armed him into an addiction clinic. Not even the passage of 15 years, Ricky's rehabilitation, and worldly success for both men can mend the rift that erupted between the brothers during those dark days. Now all that remains is a business relationship, although Ricky yearns for more. When tragedy strikes, erasing Ricky's dreams of winning Philip's forgiveness, Ricky resets his priorities. He turns his back on Hollywood, invites his two illegitimate sons into his life, hoping to become a real father to them, and dedicates himself to his brother's dream — the construction of a unique resort in South Carolina called the Crown Jewel. When Ricky steps into his brother's shoes he encounters unsettling surprises and contradictions, as well as an amazing woman, who leads him to the mystery at the center of his brother's life. As Ricky attempts to discover the brother he loved but never truly knew, he must settle a grave injustice committed decades ago, even if it means risking his fame, his fortune, and his life. The library will be closed Monday, Jan. 19, in observance of Martin Luther King Day.
