Miracle Creek by Angie Kim

Miracle Creek by Angie Kim is a well-written novel that is a mystery and much more. Two people die and several are injured due to a fire and explosion at the “Miracle Submarine,” a controversial treatment (extended exposure to high oxygen levels) for people with autism and other various medical issues. The author uses multiple narrators and aptly weaves the stories of the patients and their families with the history of the Korean immigrants (Pak Yoo, his wife, Young and daughter, Mary) who run the center. In addition, Kim introduces the courtroom setting where the mother (Elizabeth) of one of the children (Henry) is tried for intentionally setting the fire which killed her own son. 

There is certainly plenty of angst and guilt spread around: parents who experience a range of feelings towards their children, conflicts between spouses, questions of ethics for the lawyers, and actions by protesters who debate the medical efficacy of this treatment.  As the reader hurtles from one lie to another and flips back and forth between suspicion and empathy for possible perpetrators, Kim propels the story forward to its surprising conclusion. Miracle Creek was chosen as a LibraryReads selection for April and received starred reviews from Kirkus and Library Journal. An excellent choice for book groups.

Final Resting Place by Jonathan F. Putnam

FINAL RESTING PLACE by Jonathan F. Putnam is a historical mystery with Abraham Lincoln and Stephen Douglas as two of the main characters. In fact, they oppose each other in a murder trial based on actual events from “the highest profile trial of the year in Springfield” where Lincoln (a Whig) defended a Democrat accused of murdering a political rival and Douglas (a Democrat) acted as prosecutor. What makes this mystery especially appealing are the numerous references to the very contentious Illinois election held on August 6, 1838, almost exactly 180 years ago.  It was fascinating to read about the raucous political debates, anonymous and abusive letters to the editor, influential newspaper coverage, and religious revival. Lincoln’s real life friend Joshua Speed narrates this story and comments at one point, “Life in the frontier town had been oriented around three nearly universal public institutions: Politics, Commerce and Liquor.”

Although referring to a slightly later (1850s) period, a recent New York Times article by Jennifer Finney Boylan, “The New Know-Nothings,” draws some intriguing parallels to today’s political partisanship, especially changes in the Republican Party. Putnam, too, mentions this comparison in his historical note: “Those who think the current political moment is beset by unique coarseness and animosity would do well to study the American political environment of the nineteenth century, especially in the Western states such as Illinois.” If you enjoy historical mysteries based on solid research, definitely look for FINAL RESTING PLACE - it is filled with personal anecdotes, courtroom drama and political twists.

Putnam is a Harvard-trained lawyer and amateur Lincoln scholar who has written two other books in this series: These Honored Dead and Perish from the Earth.  Once you have enjoyed those, consider Girl in Disguise and the Seneca Falls Inheritance series, excellent historical mysteries set in the mid-1800s.  

Exploring Freedom ...

THE BILL OF RIGHTS by Linda R. Monk is a fabulous resource (as are Monk’s other works in our collection: The Words We Live By and Ordinary Americans).  This new version of THE BILL OF RIGHTS: A User’s Guide has a foreword by Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. In the initial section, Monk provides a brief history of the Bill of Rights, including its philosophical underpinnings. Each section then describes one of the first ten amendments to the United States Constitution, giving the actual text and an interpretation, plus examples of its application with case studies and excerpts from legal opinions. There also is a chapter devoted to the Fourteenth Amendment which addresses citizenship and equal protection of the laws. Finally, Monk comments briefly on rights in the future: should they be “positive” (a right to education, health care and/or employment) rather than “negative” (forbidding government intervention)? 

Images (photographs, political cartoons and other items) are dispersed throughout and a glossary, bibliography, endnotes and case index are helpfully included.  Students will really value the information in this easy to read text. 

SPEAK FREELY by Keith E. Whittington looks more specifically at the right to free speech on college campuses. Whittington, the William Nelson Cromwell Professor of Politics at Princeton University, presents a reasoned discussion in which he says, “The argument I want to develop here is that we should understand free speech as central to the mission of a modern university.”  He goes on to discuss the connections between the mission and free speech, to offer reasons for protecting free speech, to then apply those to some recent controversies, and to explore worries about "viewpoint diversity" on campuses. Whittington provides extensive footnotes and his introduction begins with an eyewitness account of a protest at the University of California, sounding as though it took place recently when in fact it was a 1903 reaction to an appearance by Carrie Nation. This text is filled with valuable examples and will certainly interest students curious about concepts such as trigger warnings and safe spaces, although it seems a bit dry for many others. Kirkus called SPEAK FREELY “a timely defense of intellectual debate and critical thinking.”