Shreve Memorial Library One Book One Parish title announced

Have you heard the news? Shreve Memorial Library asked, and patrons voted First Lie Wins by Ashley Elston as the 2024 One Book One Parish title winner! For the second year in a row, Shreve Memorial Library patrons have chosen a book by a local author as the One Book One Parish selection. Last year, we had the pleasure of reading Shreveport-native Destiny O. Birdsong’s Nobody’s Magic , and this year we will read local YA author, Ashley Elston’s adult thriller debut.

Each year, Shreve Memorial Library’s One Book One Parish campaign unites Caddo Parish readers by promoting one book throughout the month of October, encouraging a parish-wide book discussion of the selected title. Over the years, we have read everything from heart-wrenching coming of age stories to captivating memoirs, historical tropes and mystical fantasies. This year, I am so excited that the chosen book is in one of my favorite genres – the thriller!

First Lie Wins is the #1 New York Times bestselling adult thriller debut novel of local YA author, Ashley Elston. The novel tells the story of Evie Porter, a Southern girl with everything she could possibly want, but with a catch. Evie Porter does not exist. The riveting novel has been praised for its ingenious plot, explorations of love, identity, truth and deception, and page-turning suspense.

Copies of First Lie Wins are available for checkout at any Shreve Memorial Library branch. Be sure to pick up your copy today and start reading so that you can join in our parish-wide book discussion this October. One Book One Parish programming will take place throughout the month of October, so be on the lookout for more details coming soon. Until then, pick up a copy of First Lie Wins and dream, discover, do.

What’s New at the Library

All This and More: A Novel by Peng Shepherd (fiction)

One woman. Endless options. Every choice has consequences. Meek, play-it-safe Marsh has just turned forty-five, and her life is in shambles. Her career is stagnant, her marriage has imploded, and her teenage daughter grows more distant by the day. Marsh is convinced she’s missed her chance at everything – romance, professional fulfillment, and adventure – and is desperate for a do-over. She can’t believe her luck when she’s selected to be the star of the global sensation All This and More, a show that uses quantum technology to allow contestants the chance to revise their pasts and change their present lives. It’s Marsh’s only shot to seize her dreams, and she’s determined to get it right this time. But even as she rises to become a famous lawyer, gets back together with her high school sweetheart, and travels the world, she begins to worry that All This and More’s promises might be too good to be true. Because while the technology is amazing, something seems a bit off… Can Marsh really make her life everything she wants it to be? And is it worth it? Perfect for fans of Matt Haig’s The Midnight Library and Kate Atkinson’s Life After Life , bestselling author Peng Shepherd’s All This and More is an utterly original, startlingly poignant novel that puts the reader in the driver’s seat.

Flashback by Iris Johansen and Roy Johansen (fiction)

Kendra Michaels uses her heightened powers of deduction to draw out a serial killer who has not been seen or heard from in over fifteen years. Chloe and Sloane Morgan were only children when their mother was the second victim of the Bayside Strangler. Now, after spending fifteen years trying to discover his identity, the sisters have suddenly vanished. Were they getting too close to the truth? The police consider their interest in the crime to be just a coincidence and have little motivation to pursue the cold case. Armed with the box of photos, videos, police reports, and notes gathered by the sisters over the years – plus the extraordinary senses from being blind before recovering her sight via a revolutionary surgical procedure – Kendra follows the sisters’ trail of clues. Little does she realize that her search is about to unleash a long-dormant killer on San Diego. With help from government agent-for-hire Adam Lynch, Kendra must race to discover the identity of an infamous killer, not only to save the lives of the two sisters but also untold others.

Summers at the Saint by Mary Kay Andrews (fiction)

Welcome to the St. Cecelia, a landmark hotel on the coast of Georgia, where traditions run deep and scandals run even deeper… Everyone refers to the St. Cecelia as “the Saint.” If you grew up coming here, you were “a Saint.” If you came from the wrong side of the river, you were “an Ain’t.” Traci Eddings was one of those outsiders whose family wasn’t rich enough or connected enough to vacation here. But she could work here. One fateful summer she did, and married the boss’s son. Now, she’s the widowed owner of the hotel, determined to see it return to its glory days, even as staff shortages and financial troubles threaten to ruin it. Plus, her greedy and unscrupulous brother-in-law wants to make sure she fails. Enlisting a motley crew of recently hired summer help – including the daughter of her estranged best friend – Traci has one summer season to turn it around. But new information about a long-ago drowning at the hotel threatens to come to light, and the tragic death of one of their own brings Traci to the brink of despair. Traci Eddings has her back against the pink-painted wall of this beloved institution. And it will take all the wits and guts she has to see wrongs put to right, to see guilty parties put in their place, and maybe even to find a new romance along the way. Told with Mary Kay Andrew’s warmth, humor, knack for twists, and eye for delicious detail about human nature, Summers at the Saint is a beach read with depth and heart.

About Shreve Memorial Library

Shreve Memorial Library transforms Caddo Parish lives with resources, services and support to create a better world by focusing on developing young readers, sparking imaginations, encouraging curiosity, fostering connection, and providing comfortable places. Shreve Memorial Library’s 21-branch system is maintained by a parish-wide property tax millage to support the informational, educational and recreational needs of its constituents.  For more information, visit www.shreve-lib.org , and like, follow and subscribe on social media channels including Facebook, Instagram, X, TikTok, Pinterest and YouTube. Dream, discover, do – Shreve Memorial Library and you!

This article originally appeared on Monroe News-Star: Shreve Memorial Library One Book One Parish title announced