Fall Local Author Fair 2024

Summary: "I Could Have Been One" provides a look into the world Donald Wm. Jeffries was born into, raised, and grew up in through historical and political events of his life. We examine the world starting in the 1940s through our modern day and see how life was and what has changed. The history in which Jeffries has lived through has had a remarkable impact on his life and worldview, and we see this develop and change throughout the course of his journey.

Summary: "His fiance was the one woman he'd loved. Her children are all he has left. Reserved contractor Wade Sullivan never expected to fall in love with Starr Parnell or to love her three small kids as if they were his own. But that's exactly what happened. As their wedding draws near, however, tragedy strikes-and Wade must put aside his own grief in order to help Starr's children cope. As Wade focuses his efforts on caring for the children, he discovers that their tender, young lives give tremendous meaning to his own broken one. Then Starr's abusive ex-husband shows up to claim the offspring who barely remember him-and Wade prepares for the fight of his life. A powerful novel of loss and discovery, courage and grace, A Nest of Sparrows masterfully illustrates one man's struggle to know when to fight, when to let go, and when to simply wait.This novel was originally published in 2004 under the same title."

Summary: A banker is found murdered, the body stripped naked, spray painted black and buried in a shallow grave at the base of a Confederate monument. The incident shocks the Elmwood, Missouri, community and sparks Black Lives Matter protests. When a second man, connected to the statue, dies from mushroom poisoning, the clues point to landscape business owner Jake Wilder as the murderer. But the truth is buried amid secrecy and deceit in the Mississippi River city, and newspaper reporters Connor Tate and Rachel Short must unravel the mystery even as the prosecution works to convict Wilder

Summary: Floodwalls are meant to protect people. But what if they do just the opposite? What if they only make flooding worse for those not behind the wall? Professor Tanner Holloway thinks so. So does Harvey Winston, mayor of East Elmwood, Illinois, a small, blue-collar village across the Mississippi River from the floodwall-protected city of Elmwood in Southeast Missouri. For them, the only solution might be to blow up the massive concrete wall to relieve flooding across the river in Illinois. Meanwhile, the police are focused on solving the murder of a local bartender that Elmwood reporters Connor Tate and Rachel Short believe could be tied to stolen dynamite and a possible plot to blow up the wall. When the murder weapon is discovered in Elmwood Mayor Elroy James' office, he is arrested and charged with the murder of the bartender, who was his nephew. But did he do it? Ultimately, Connor and Rachel are faced with finding out who killed the bartender and saving the floodwall from a vengeful bomber.

Summary: "The vast majority of the law enforcement officers in this country perform their very difficult jobs with respect for their communities and in compliance with the law. Even so, there have been incidents in which this was not the case. Police brutality and misconduct has been under the microscope for the last several years, and Loretta Prater brings these issues to light through research reports and numerous examples of cases, including the personal case of her son"

Summary: The Night Owl is about a man who solves mysteries for renumeration and authors books at the same time. The story entails vengeance, crime, murder, and an incorporation team work to solve an ongoing mystery.

Summary: A recently, divorced woman is caught up in a murder mystery, after moving to a rural community to start a new life away from it all. She is accused of being in an affair with the deceased woman's widower, which ensues finding clues and suspects to help in clearing her name with the police. The woman finds love and romance in the process.