[Here are this month’s great recommendations from staff member Christopher Jennings Penders. Click on a title to place a hold. You can find previous Chris Picks through the “What to read” link at the bottom of this page or type “Chris Picks” into the search bar on our homepage.]

---

In celebration of the Mayflower, this month will have books with flowers associated with them, in either the author’s name or the title of the book.

Dandelion Wine
Ray Bradbury is a speculative writer I have admired for a long while. Dandelion Wine is set in the fictional town of Green Town, Illinois. The protagonist of the novel is a twelve-year-old somewhat based on Bradbury.

Flowers in the Attic
This is the book that started the V.C. Andrews craze in the late 1970s. The book is about a family of children hidden away in their grandmother’s attic.

Rose Connors
Rose Connors writes mysteries that take place in Sandwich on Cape Cod. The setting is well-drawn; it almost becomes a secondary character. Her books in order of publication follow:

Absolute certainty
Temporary sanity
Maximum security
False testimony

Killers of the Flower Moon
David Grann has quickly become one of my favorite nonfiction writers up there with Erik Larson. Killers recounts the origins of the FBI. In the wake of the murders of wealthy Osage people, the newly formed FBI investigates what happened. As with Erik Larson’s books, I found Killers hard to put down.

Rose Madder
As I have read more books by Stephen King, I have come to understand his popularity. If you have domestic violence triggers, here’s your warning. There’s also a Greek mythology trope woven through the book. This is another King book I surprisingly enjoyed.