Skip to main content
Homepage of Spencer County Public Library
Today's Hours:

Spencer County Public Library

10:00am-7:00pm
(502) 477-8137

168 Taylorsville Rd.
Taylorsville, KY 40071
United States

View on Google Maps
Sun: Closed
Mon: 10:00am-6:00pm
Tue: 10:00am-7:00pm
Wed: 10:00am-6:00pm
Thu: 10:00am-7:00pm
Fri: 10:00am-4:00pm
Sat: 10:00am-3:00pm
My Account

Main navigation

  • Borrow
    • Catalog
    • eBooks, Videos, & Music
    • Recommendations
    • Get a Card
    • Digital Services Card
    • Library of Things
    • How Do I?
  • Download & Stream
    • eBooks & Audiobooks
    • TV & Movies
    • Music
  • Programs & Events
    • All Events
    • Babies
    • Preschool
    • Tweens
    • Teens
    • Adults
    • Videos
  • Discover & Learn
    • All Resources
    • Community Resources
    • Databases
    • Education
    • History & Genealogy
    • Job Search
    • Kentucky Room
    • Spencer County Local Government
  • Services
    • Kids
    • Teens
    • Adults
    • Meeting Rooms
    • All Services
  • About
    • About Us
    • Board of Trustees
    • Board Documents
    • Policies
    • Staff
    • Give Back
    • Frequently Asked Questions
  • OLIVE on the go
  • Adult Summer Programs Read
  • summer reading 2025
Previous
Next
Stream & Download quick link icon
Stream & Download quick link hover icon

Stream & Download

Library of Things quick link hover icon
Library of Things quick link hover icon

Library of Things

Online Resources quick link icon
Online Resources quick link hover icon

Online Resources

Get a Card quick link icon
Get a Card quick link hover icon

Get a Card

Image
Kids landing page link
Image
Kids landing page hover link
Kids

Image
Teen landing page link
Image
Teen landing page hover link
Teens

Image
Adults landing page link
Image
Adults landing page hover link
Adults

WiFi symbol
Services
room to reserve
Reserve a Meeting Room
Woman on laptop with headphones on
Digital Library
KYVL LOGO
Kentucky Virtual Library

New Arrivals

Not my will

The Chosen: Not My Will...

In Not My Will... Jerry Jenkins invites you into the tumultuous final days of Jesus' earthly ministry--what's become known as Holy Week. Beginning with His triumphant entry into Jerusalem astride a donkey's colt, the story covers a side of Jesus we haven't seen before: His righteous rage at the moneychangers in the temple.

The story delves deeply into the minds of the disciples and other close followers of Jesus, including the fear and scheming of both High Priest Caiaphas and Governor Pontius Pilate and his dream-tormented wife.

Judas's haunting betrayal looms while Jesus faces His darkest night of the soul in Gethsemane, where His surrender to His Father and then to the Romans comes at an unspeakable cost. In vivid detail and with emotional depth, this novel captures the heartbreak, hope, and humanity of the most pivotal week in the history of the world.

More than retelling the story, Not My Will... takes you deeper into the hearts and minds of the show's many intriguing characters like Mary Magdalene, Pontius Pilate and his wife Claudia, and Judas.

 

Image for "Beach Vibes"

Beach Vibes

From #1 New York Times bestselling author Susan Mallery comes an unforgettable beach read about love, secrets, betrayal and the family we're born into--and the one we choose for ourselves, perfect for fans of Emily Giffin and Mary Kay Andrews.


What would you do if you caught your brother cheating on your best friend? 

While Beth is proud of her Malibu beach shop, Surf Sandwiches, she's even prouder of her charismatic brother Rick, who rose from foster care through surgical residency. She makes subs, he saves lives. Life takes a turn for the happy after she finds out Rick is dating her new best friend, Jana. Then Jana's handsome brother adds even more sparkle to Beth's days...and nights.

But when she catches Rick with another woman--like, with-with--her visions of an idyllic family future disappear in one awful instant. Either she betrays her brother, or she keeps his secret and risks losing the man she loves and her best friend.


Love and loyalty collide with secrets and betrayal in this witty and emotional tale about the lengths we'll go to for family, from Susan Mallery, New York Times bestselling author of The Boardwalk Bookshop.
 



 

Image for "Coded Justice"

Coded Justice

A prescient new thriller in the #1 New York Times bestselling Avery Keene series, by nationally renowned author and leader Stacey Abrams, Coded Justice follows Avery down a dark rabbit hole into the breathtaking--and dangerously evolving--world of AI in the medical industry.

Former Supreme Court clerk Avery Keene is back . . . trying to put the past behind her at a prestigious high-end law firm in Washington, D.C. Head down and focused on a new life, Avery is now working as an internal investigator when a high-profile client seeks her out. Camasca Enterprises has a big problem and a short runway. The tech company has developed a new integrated AI system poised to revolutionize the medical industry. To prove its potential, Camasca's charismatic founder, retired Major Rafe Diaz, has picked a complicated target: delivering cutting-edge health care to his fellow veterans. The potential is staggering, but their prototype has been plagued by a series of disturbing anomalies--culminating in the mysterious death of a beloved Camasca engineer.

Avery and her colleagues, Jared, Ling, and Noah, are brought into the secretive company to investigate from the inside out. At the epicenter of a burgeoning, controversial industry, and with billions of dollars on the line, their task is simple: to determine whether Camasca's technical troubles and rising body count reveal something sinister at work. In Coded Justice, Stacey Abrams's storytelling prowess is on full display--a deft combination of riveting twists and vibrant characters set against the fascinating landscape of the capabilities of artificial intelligence . . . and the moral boundaries that govern it. Coded Justice is Abrams's most entertaining novel to date.

Image for "Wayward Girls"

Wayward Girls

"After decades of bestsellers, Wayward Girls might be Susan Wiggs' opus. A gut-wrenching story of survival, friendship, and justice. Masterful."--Robert Dugoni, New York Times bestselling author of The Extraordinary Life of Sam Hell

"The magnificent Susan Wiggs takes a leap into the history of women..a page-turner, replete with mystery and suspense."--Adriana Trigiani, New York Times bestselling author of The Good Left Undone

From New York Times bestselling author Susan Wiggs, a wrenching but life-affirming novel based on a true story of survival, friendship, and redemption. Set in the turbulent Vietnam era in the All-American city of Buffalo, New York, six girls are condemned to forced labor in the laundry of a Catholic reform school.

In 1968 we meet six teens confined at the Good Shepherd--a dark and secretive institution controlled by Sisters of Charity nuns--locked away merely for being gay, pregnant, or simply unruly.

Sister Bernadette--rescued from a dreadful childhood, she owed her loyalty to the Sisters of Charity even as her conscience weighed on her.

Wayward Girls is a haunting but thrilling tale of hope, solidarity, and the enduring strength of young women who find the courage to break free and find redemption...and justice.

"Compelling...This powerful and unforgettable novel is a poignant and enlightening look into a sad chapter of recent history."--Library Journal (starred review)

"Heart-wrenching...sweeping. This one lingers long after the last page."--Publishers Weekly

Image for "The Unraveling of Julia"

The Unraveling of Julia

From a #1 international bestselling author, a gothic, suspenseful tale in which a young widow inherits a Tuscan estate from a mysterious benefactor and finds herself thrust into the crosshairs of a dangerous conspiracy--a "compelling thriller with dashes of romance and excellent twists!" (Karin Slaughter, New York Times bestselling author).

Lately, Julia Pritzker is beginning to think she's cursed. She's lost her adoptive parents, then her husband is murdered. When she realizes that her horoscope essentially foretold his death, she begins to spiral. She fears her fate is written in the stars, not held in her own hands.

Then a letter arrives out of the blue, informing her that she has inherited a Tuscan villa and vineyard --but her benefactor is a total stranger named Emilia Rossi. Julia has no information about her biological family, so she wonders if Rossi could be a blood relative. Bewildered, she heads to Tuscany for answers.

There, Julia is horrified to discover that Rossi was a paranoid recluse, who believed herself to be a descendent of Duchess Caterina Sforza, a legendary Renaissance ruler. Stunned by her uncanny resemblance to Rossi, and even to Caterina, Julia is further unnerved when she unearths eerie parallels between them, including an obsession with astrology.

Before long, Julia suspects she's being followed, and strange things begin to happen. Not even a chance meeting with a handsome Florentine can ease her troubled mind. When events turn deadly, Julia's harrowing struggle becomes a search for her identity, a race to save her sanity, and ultimately, a question of her very survival.

Twisty, transportive, and haunting--this is suspense with a passport.





 

Image for "Carved in Blood"

Carved in Blood

From the Barry Award nominee and Ngaio Marsh Award winner of Better the Blood, a new thriller bringing danger ever closer to Hana Westerman

When Detective Inspector Jaye Hamilton stops at an Auckland liquor store for a bottle of champagne, it is supposed to be celebratory: his daughter Addison has just gotten engaged. Instead, he is suddenly gunned down at the register by a balaclava-clad assailant in what appears at first to be a random act. The getaway car is quickly recovered, containing the cell phone of a young Māori man, Toa Davis, who is immediately the object of an all-out police search.

Jaye's ex-wife, former Māori detective Hana Westerman, asks in on the investigation. Her instincts suggest that the vehicle was meant to be found, and that Jaye had been targeted. The gun used in the assault is distinctive, and she learns that a local gang leader, Erwin Rendall--who had threatened Hana in the past--owns such a weapon. After Davis turns up dead, the hunt for Rendall is on. When he slips through the dragnet and escapes the country, and in the wake of Jaye's death, Hana decides to rejoin the force, acknowledging that she now has unfinished business.

Skillfully plotted, inviting readers ever further into the appreciation of Māori culture, and with vibrant characters determined to overcome tragedy with resolve, Carved in Blood takes Michael Bennett's highly-praised series to new heights.

Image for "Upon a Starlit Tide"

Upon a Starlit Tide

Upon a Starlit Tide is a dark and enchanting historical fantasy combining elements of "The Little Mermaid" and "Cinderella" into a wholly original tale of love, power, and betrayal.

*The hardcover edition features beautiful custom endpapers.*

Saint-Malo, Brittany, 1758. To Lucinde Léon, the youngest daughter of a wealthy French shipowner, the high walls of Saint-Malo are more hindrance than haven. 

While her sisters are busy trying to secure advantageous marriages, Luce spends her days secretly being taught to sail by Samuel, her best friend—and an English smuggler. Only he understands how the waves call to her. Then one stormy morning, Luce rescues a drowning man from the sea. 

Immediately drawn in by the stranger’s charm, Luce is plunged into a world of glittering balls and faerie magic, seduction and brutality. Secrets that have long been lost in the shadowy depths of the ocean begin to rise to the surface, but as Luce wrestles with warring desires, she finds that her own power is growing brighter and brighter, shining like a sea-glass slipper.

Or the scales of a seamaid's tail.

"Magnificent. This is a must-read!”—Juliet Marillier, award-winning author of the Sevenwaters and Blackthorn & Grim series

Revenge of the Spellmans

Revenge of the Spellmans

From the award-winning author of The Passenger comes the third novel in the hilarious Spellman Files mystery series featuring Isabel “Izzy” Spellman and her highly functioning yet supremely dysfunctional family of private investigators.

Private investigator Isabel Spellman is back on the case and back on the couch—in courtordered therapy after getting a little too close to her previous subject, leaving Izzy on hiatus from Spellman Inc. But when her boss, Milo, simultaneously cuts her bartending hours and introduces her to a “friend” looking for a private eye, Izzy reluctantly finds herself with a new client. She assures herself that the case—a suspicious husband who wants his wife tailed—will be short and sweet, and will involve nothing more than the most boring of PI rituals: surveillance. But with each passing hour, Izzy finds herself with more questions than hard evidence.

Meanwhile, Spellmania continues. Izzy’s brother, David, the family’s most upright member, has adopted an uncharacteristically unkempt appearance and attitude toward work, life, and Izzy. And their wayward youngest sister, Rae, a historic academic underachiever, aces the PSATs and subsequently offends her study partner and object of obsession, Detective Henry Stone, to the point of excommunication. The only unsurprising behavior comes from her parents, whose visits to Milo’s bar amount to thinly veiled surveillance and artful attempts (read: blackmail) at getting Izzy to return to the Spellman Inc. fold.

As the case of the wayward wife continues to vex her, Izzy’s personal life—and mental health—seem to be disintegrating. Facing a housing crisis, she can’t sleep, she can’t remember where she parked her car, and, despite her shrinks’ (yes, plural) persistence, she can’t seem to break through in her appointments. She certainly can’t explain why she forgets dates with her lawyer’s grandson, or fails to interpret the come-ons issued in an Irish brogue by Milo’s new bartender. Nor can she explain exactly how she feels about Detective Henry Stone and his plans to move in with his new Assistant DA girlfriend.

Filled with the signature side-splitting Spellman antics, Revenge of the Spellmans is an ingenious, hilarious, and disarmingly tender installment in the Spellman series.

Image for "Infinite Archive"

Infinite Archive

Amateur sleuth Mallory Viridian has just about got her bearings aboard the space station she calls home, but now the physical embodiment of the Internet is on its way, and it's bringing murder with it.

Mallory Viridian has had a quiet few months. Even with the increased influx of humans visiting Station Eternity, she hasn’t seen so much as a bar brawl. Used to people dying left and right around her, the lack of murders to solve has left her unexpectedly . . . bored.

But humanity's favorite way to waste time is on its way to her sector of the galaxy. A giant, one-of-a-kind data ship called Metis is bringing the entire Internet from Earth—as well as a mystery fan convention. On top of that, Mallory's literary agent is aboard, and he tells Mallory that she's the keynote speaker.

It's almost a relief when a killer decides to strike at the convention. When Mallory finds her agent dead, she knows she has to work fast to find the murderer. With a strange new alien with unknown motives, a ship with impossible abilities, a lonely living, comprehensive Internet, and a deadly crime to solve, Mallory has her work cut out for her . . . .

Image for "In Her Boots"

In Her Boots

From the New York Times bestselling author of The Chicken Sisters comes a delightfully entertaining story about a ruse that goes awry and a chaotic homecoming that proves that confronting your past can sometimes set you free.

Sometimes you have to go big to go home.

Rhett Gallagher’s adventurous life is imploding. Just as she turns the big 4-0, her long-term relationship collapses and her gran’s death draws her back to the family farm. The only silver lining is that Rhett’s inspirational book, The Modern Pioneer Girl’s Guide to Life—written under a pseudonym—has become a wild success, so much so that when her big publicity moment comes, self-doubting Rhett panics and persuades her best friend, Jasmine, to step into the limelight in her stead.

But their prank turns into something more when the controlling mother Rhett hasn’t seen in two decades announces her intent to sell the farm Rhett loves and expected to make her own. To save her inheritance—and her identity—Rhett must concoct a scheme that will protect her home and finally prove to her mother, and to herself, that she can stand on her own two feet.

Image for "The Sinners All Bow"

The Sinners All Bow

INSTANT USA TODAY BESTSELLER!

One of Amazon’s Best History Books of January

Acclaimed journalist, podcaster, and true-crime historian Kate Winkler Dawson tells the true story of the scandalous murder investigation that became the inspiration for both Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter and the first true-crime book published in America.

On a cold winter day in 1832, Sarah Maria Cornell was found dead in a quiet farmyard in a small New England town. When her troubled past and a secret correspondence with charismatic Methodist minister Reverend Ephraim Avery was uncovered, more questions emerged. Was Sarah’s death a suicide...or something much darker? Determined to uncover the real story, Victorian writer Catharine Read Arnold Williams threw herself into the investigation as the trial was unfolding and wrote what many claim to be the first American true-crime narrative, Fall River. The murder divided the country and inspired Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter—but the reverend was not convicted, and questions linger to this day about what really led to Sarah Cornell’s death. Until now.

In The Sinners All Bow, acclaimed true-crime historian Kate Winkler Dawson travels back in time to nineteenth-century small-town America, emboldened to finish the work Williams started nearly two centuries before. Using modern investigative advancements—including “forensic knot analysis” and criminal profiling (which was invented fifty-five years later with Jack the Ripper)—Dawson fills in the gaps of Williams’s research to find the truth and bring justice to an unsettling mystery that speaks to our past as well as our present, anchored by three women who subverted the script they were given.

Image for "Valley of Forgetting"

Valley of Forgetting

"Valley of Forgetting reminds us that scientific progress is measured not only in breakthroughs but also through the sacrifices people make, the trust that is built. It is a tender story of the unshakable will to make meaning in the face of inexorable loss. . . . Smith elegantly captures what it means to love, to belong, to hold on to one another when so much is uncertain.” —Washington Post

The riveting account of a community from the remote mountains of Colombia whose rare and fatal genetic mutation is unlocking the secrets of Alzheimer’s disease

In the 1980s, a neurologist named Francisco Lopera traveled on horseback into the mountains seeking families with symptoms of dementia. For centuries, residents of certain villages near Medellín had suffered memory loss as they reached middle age, going on to die in their fifties. Lopera discovered that a unique genetic mutation was causing their rare hereditary form of early onset Alzheimer’s disease. Over the next forty years of working with the “paisa mutation” kindred, he went on to build a world-class research program in a region beset by violence and poverty.

In Valley of Forgetting, Jennie Erin Smith brings readers into the clinic, the laboratories, and the Medellín trial center where Lopera’s patients receive an experimental drug to see if Alzheimer’s can be averted. She chronicles the lives of people who care for sick parents, spouses, and siblings, all while struggling to keep their own dreams afloat. These Colombian families have donated hundreds of their loved ones’ brains to science and subjected themselves to invasive testing to help uncover how Alzheimer’s develops and whether it can be stopped. Findings from this unprecedented effort could hold the key to understanding and treating the disease, though it is unclear what, if anything, the families will receive in return.

Smith’s immersive storytelling brings this complex drama to life, inviting readers on a scientific journey that is as deeply moving as it is engrossing.

Image for "Park Avenue"

Park Avenue

The HIGHLY ANTICIPATED adult debut novel from #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLING author Renée Ahdieh

“Pulse-racing...Fans of The White Lotus and Crazy Rich Asians shouldn’t miss this.” —People 

“I can’t remember the last time I had so much fun reading a book!” —Nicola Yoon, #1 NYT BESTSELLING author

Jia Song has always been destined for greatness. As the daughter of Korean bodega owners, she promised herself that she would have every Fifth Avenue luxury when she grew up, and it is all finally within reach. She has just made junior partner at her prestigious Manhattan law firm, she can count on her two best friends to have her back, and she is about to score the ultraluxe gold-on-gold Birkin bag of her dreams. So when her boss asks her to sit in on the hush-hush family implosion of a high-level client, she accepts without hesitation—only to find out that it is one of the most famous Korean families in the world.

The Park family’s net worth is estimated at a billion dollars, and their megasuccessful Korean beauty brand has shaped the culture for the past two decades. But the patriarch is filing for divorce while his wife is dying, and their three children can’t stop snapping at one another. With both the family fortune and legacy under threat from the worst kind of scandal, it’s up to Jia to set things right—and she only has a month to do it. 

As Jia sorts through the lies and subterfuge, chasing the truth across the globe on private jets, she finds herself falling for this broken, badly-behaving family in ways she can’t quite explain. But it is also becoming clear that the Parks are hiding dark secrets. Can she find the truth in time to protect the Parks’ fortune and secure her success at the firm? And can she hold on to what’s most important, even if it means admitting that what she's always wanted isn’t what she actually needs?

View All

Lake Life

Image for "A Death in Door County"

A Death in Door County

A Wisconsin bookstore owner and cryptozoologist is asked to investigate a series of deaths that just might be proof of a fabled lake monster in this first installment of a new mystery series by USA Today bestselling author Annelise Ryan.

Morgan Carter, owner of the Odds and Ends bookstore in Door County, Wisconsin, has a hobby. When she’s not tending the store, she’s hunting cryptids—creatures whose existence is rumored, but never proven to be real. It’s a hobby that cost her parents their lives, but one she’ll never give up on. 

So when a number of bodies turn up on the shores of Lake Michigan with injuries that look like bites from a giant unknown animal, police chief Jon Flanders turns to Morgan for help. A skeptic at heart, Morgan can’t turn down the opportunity to find proof of an entity whose existence she can’t definitively rule out. She and her beloved rescue dog, Newt, journey to the Death's Door strait to hunt for a homicidal monster in the lake—but if they’re not careful, they just might be its next victims.

Image for "Good for You"

Good for You

A warm and witty love story about making the most of life's not-so-little curveballs by the #1 Amazon Charts bestselling author of Life and Other Near-Death Experiences.

Aly Jackson has waited her whole life to become editor in chief of All Good magazine. But six months into the job, she overhears her coworkers belittling her. Aly's clapback? A very public, career-jeopardizing meltdown. To undo the mess, she agrees to a monthlong unpaid leave.

Reluctant but determined to turn misfortune into opportunity, Aly retreats to the Lake Michigan beach house her brother, Luke, left to her when he died nearly a year earlier. Except when Aly arrives, she discovers Luke's slacker best friend, Wyatt, inherited the place, too.

Wyatt is unkempt, unmotivated, and totally uninterested in Aly's desire to sell. Yet as battle lines are drawn, Aly wonders whether she and this wild card have more than Luke in common. But is she willing to swap her lifelong dreams for a shot at healing her broken heart?

Image for "Haven"

Haven

"Beautifully detailed characters and a subtle slide into dread . . ." --Booklist, Starred Review

"Subtle, sly, beautifully structured . . ." --Michael Marshall Smith, British Fantasy Award-winning author of Only Forward, The Straw Men, and The Intruders

What if revenge ripples and echoes through time?

You can't choose your family or your destiny or your legacy. But once upon a time, a woman named Ava St. James had tried to build happiness upon the remains of her broken heart. For better or worse. Decades later, the Bakers are headed for a perfect family vacation. A full month at a house by the lake; the house passed down from a mysterious aunt no one ever talks about. Love and good intentions aside, what begins like a relaxing vacation turns into a nightmare as each of the Bakers' nerves slowly but steadily begin to wear away at the edges. Is it their fraught family dynamics or is something more sinister at work?

The house has welcomed them, but will it ever let them leave?

For readers who enjoy The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson, Silver Nitrate by Silvia Moreno-Garcia, This Thing Between Us by Gus Moreno, and Devil House by John Darnielle.

Image for "The House Across the Lake"

The House Across the Lake

THE INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

Named a most-anticipated summer book by USA Today, People, E! News, Cosmopolitan, PureWow, CNN.com, New York Post, CrimeReads, POPSUGAR, and more 

The bestselling author of Final Girls and Survive the Night is back with his “best plot twist yet.” (People, "Best Summer Books")

Be careful what you watch for . . .

Casey Fletcher, a recently widowed actress trying to escape a streak of bad press, has retreated to the peace and quiet of her family’s lake house in Vermont. Armed with a pair of binoculars and several bottles of bourbon, she passes the time watching Tom and Katherine Royce, the glamorous couple living in the house across the lake. They make for good viewing—a tech innovator, Tom is powerful; and a former model, Katherine is gorgeous.

One day on the lake, Casey saves Katherine from drowning, and the two strike up a budding friendship. But the more they get to know each other—and the longer Casey watches—it becomes clear that Katherine and Tom’s marriage isn’t as perfect as it appears. When Katherine suddenly vanishes, Casey immediately suspects Tom of foul play. What she doesn’t realize is that there’s more to the story than meets the eye—and that shocking secrets can lurk beneath the most placid of surfaces. 
 
Packed with sharp characters, psychological suspense, and gasp-worthy plot twists, Riley Sager’s The House Across the Lake is the ultimate escapist read . . . no lake house required.

Image for "Just for the Summer"

Just for the Summer

Instant #1 New York Times bestseller and a Good Morning America Book Club Pick!

This witty, slow-burn rom-com is the "ideal beach read." --Elle

Justin has a curse, and thanks to a Reddit thread, it's now all over the internet. Every woman he dates goes on to find their soul mate the second they break up. When a woman slides into his DMs with the same problem, they come up with a plan: They'll date each other and break up. Their curses will cancel each other's out, and they'll both go on to find the love of their lives. It's a bonkers idea... and it just might work.

Emma hadn't planned that her next assignment as a traveling nurse would be in Minnesota, but she and her best friend agree that dating Justin is too good of an opportunity to pass up, especially when they get to rent an adorable cottage on a private island on Lake Minnetonka.



It's supposed to be a quick fling, just for the summer. But when Emma's toxic mother shows up and Justin has to assume guardianship of his three siblings, they're suddenly navigating a lot more than they expected--including catching real feelings for each other. What if this time Fate has actually brought the perfect pair together?

Image for "Lake of the Ozarks"

Lake of the Ozarks

Beloved TV host Bill Geist pens a reflective memoir of his incredible summers spent in the heart of America in this New York Times bestseller. 
Before there was "tourism" and souvenir ashtrays became "kitsch," the Lake of the Ozarks was a Shangri-La for middle-class Midwestern families on vacation, complete with man-made beaches, Hillbilly Mini Golf, and feathered rubber tomahawks. 

It was there that author Bill Geist spent summers in the Sixties during his school and college years working at Arrowhead Lodge-a small resort owned by his bombastic uncle-in all areas of the operation, from cesspool attendant to bellhop.

What may have seemed just a summer job became, upon reflection, a transformative era where a cast of eccentric, small-town characters and experiences shaped (some might suggest "slightly twisted") Bill into the man he is today. He realized it was this time in his life that had a direct influence on his sensibilities, his humor, his writing, and ultimately a career searching the world for other such untamed creatures for the Chicago Tribune, the New York Times, and CBS News.

In Lake of the Ozarks, Emmy Award-winning CBS Sunday Morning Correspondent Bill Geist reflects on his coming of age in the American Heartland and traces his evolution as a man and a writer. He shares laugh-out-loud anecdotes and tongue-in-cheek observations guaranteed to evoke a strong sense of nostalgia for "the good ol' days." Written with Geistian wit and warmth, Lake of the Ozarks takes readers back to a bygone era, and demonstrates how you can find inspiration in the most unexpected places.

 

Image for "The Last Party"

The Last Party

"Wicked fun, devilishly clever, with echoes of Agatha Christie." --Patricia Cornwell, #1 New York Times bestselling author

At midnight, one of them is dead. By morning, all of them are suspects.

It's the party to end all parties....but not everyone is here to celebrate.

On New Year's Eve, Rhys Lloyd has a house full of guests. His vacation homes on Mirror Lake are a success, and he's generously invited the village to drink champagne with their wealthy new neighbors.

But by midnight, Rhys will be floating dead in the freezing waters of the lake.

On New Year's Day, Ffion Morgan has a village full of suspects. The tiny community is her home, so the suspects are her neighbors, friends and family--and Ffion has her own secrets to protect.

With a lie uncovered at every turn, soon the question isn't who wanted Rhys dead...but who finally killed him.

In a village with this many secrets, murder is just the beginning.

"Brilliant, so atmospheric....I fell in love with the courageous, complicated detective Ffion Morgan and I think readers will too." --Ruth Ware, New York Times bestselling author of The It Girl

Image for "Meet Me at the Lake"

Meet Me at the Lake

A random connection sends two strangers on a daylong adventure where they make a promise one keeps and the other breaks, with life-changing effects, in this breathtaking new novel from the New York Times bestselling author of Every Summer After.

Fern Brookbanks has wasted far too much of her adult life thinking about Will Baxter. She spent just twenty-four hours in her early twenties with the aggravatingly attractive, idealistic artist, a chance encounter that spiraled into a daylong adventure in the city. The timing was wrong, but their connection was undeniable: they shared every secret, every dream, and made a pact to meet one year later. Fern showed up. Will didn’t.

At thirty-two, Fern’s life doesn’t look at all how she once imagined it would. Instead of living in the city, Fern’s back home, running her mother’s lakeside resort—something she vowed never to do. The place is in disarray, her ex-boyfriend’s the manager, and Fern doesn’t know where to begin.

She needs a plan—a lifeline. To her surprise, it comes in the form of Will, who arrives nine years too late, with a suitcase in tow and an offer to help on his lips. Will may be the only person who understands what Fern’s going through. But how could she possibly trust this expensive-suit wearing mirage who seems nothing like the young man she met all those years ago. Will is hiding something, and Fern’s not sure she wants to know what it is. 

But ten years ago, Will Baxter rescued Fern. Can she do the same for him?

Image for "One Perfect Summer"

One Perfect Summer

"A great book to finish off your summer reading."--Debbie Macomber, #1 New York Times bestselling author

Some families we're born into

Some we find for ourselves

When Serenity Alston swabbed her cheek for a genetic test, she joked about uncovering some dark ancestral scandal. The last thing she expected was to discover two half sisters she didn't know existed. Suddenly, everything about her loving family is drawn into question. And meeting these newfound sisters might be the only way to get answers.

The women decide to dig into the mystery together at Serenity's family cabin in Lake Tahoe. With Reagan navigating romantic politics at work and Lorelei staring down the collapse of her marriage, all three women are converging at a crossroads in their lives. Before the summer is over, they'll have to confront the past and determine how to move forward when everything they previously thought to be true was a lie. But any future is easier to face with family by your side.

"This heartwarming story of sisters who bond as adults is sure to please...those who enjoy books by Susan Mallery and Debbie Macomber."--Library Journal

Don't miss New York Times bestselling author Brenda Novak's latest novel, The Seaside Library!

 



 

Image for "The Silver Witch"

The Silver Witch

A year after her husband's sudden death, ceramic artist Tilda Fordwells finally moves into the secluded Welsh cottage that was to be their new home. She hopes that the tranquil surroundings will help ease her grief, and lessen her disturbing visions of Mat's death. Instead, the lake in the valley below her cottage seems to spark something dormant in her – a sensitivity, and a power of some sort. Animals are drawn to her, electricity shorts out when she's near, and strangest of all, she sees a new vision; a boatful of ancient people approaching her across the water.

On this same lake in Celtic times lived Seren, a witch and shaman. She was respected but feared, kept separate from the community for her strange looks. When a vision came to her of the Prince amid a nest of vipers she warned of betrayal from one of his own. Prince Brynach both loved and revered her, but could not believe someone close to him wished him harm, even as the danger grew.

In her own time, Tilda's grief begins to fade beside her newfound powers and a fresh love. When she explores the lake's ancient magic and her own she discovers Seren, the woman in her vision of the boat. Their two lives strangely mirror each other's, suggesting a strong connection between the women. As Tilda comes under threat from a dark power, one reminiscent of Seren's prophecy, she must rely on Seren and ancient magic if death and disaster are not to shatter her life once more.

Image for "A Wedding in Lake Como"

A Wedding in Lake Como

A destination wedding in Italy’s Lake Como brings three best friends back together to face the secrets of the past in this romantic novel from New York Times bestselling author Jennifer Probst.

Best friends Ava, Madison, and Chelsea made a pact to reunite for each other’s weddings when their careers sent them in different directions. But after one of them makes a choice that tears the group apart, an upcoming wedding might be their last chance to heal old wounds.

Ava is about to marry the man she loves in a lavish ceremony on the shores of Lake Como, but she’s haunted by the mistakes she’s made.

Madison’s made a name for herself as an influencer in the fashion world but is threatened by a scandal impacting everything she holds dear.

And Chelsea has the perfect family she always craved, but her professional dreams have fallen by the wayside.

As they return to Italy’s gorgeous coast, the three women revisit their life-changing first trip to Lake Como during college. When Madison comes face-to-face with the college sweetheart who was at the heart of one of the most pivotal times of her life, can they forge a new way forward?

Image for "Dead Man's Wake"

Dead Man's Wake

Game Warden Mike Bowditch's engagement party is interrupted by the discovery of a gruesome double murder in Dead Man's Wake, a thriller from Edgar Award-nominated author Paul Doiron.

On the evening of their engagement party, Maine Game Warden Investigator Mike Bowditch and Stacey Stevens witness what seems to be a hit-and-run speedboat crash on a darkened lake. When they arrive at the scene, their spotlight reveals a gruesome sight: a severed arm floating just beneath the surface. As day breaks, the warden dive team recovers not one but two naked corpses: a dismembered man and the married woman with whom he was having an affair. Mike begins to suspect the swimmers' deaths were not a senseless accident but a coldly calculated murder.

Meanwhile, the hunt is on for the mysterious boater. Suspects abound on the lake, nicknamed "Golden Pond,” including the violent biker husband of the murdered woman who may have taken vengeance on his wife and her paramour; a strange woman who claims to have witnessed the crash, but then changes her story; a very aggressive realtor and his wife who were determined to catch trespassers; and the lake’s earnest young constable whose eagerness to help may hide darker motives. 

Alone among his fellow officers, Mike starts to sense the involvement of a trained marksman, smarter and more dangerous than any enemy he has ever faced before. As Mike and Stacey get closer to identifying the killer, their own lives are suddenly on the line as they confront a lethal killer who plans to silence them forever. The finale is a tour de force of drama and suspense.

Daughter of Mine

Daughter of Mine

AN INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

A USA TODAY BESTSELLER

Her father was the town detective. Her mother its most notorious criminal. Now the secrets of Mirror Lake are coming to the surface…and changing everything. "[A] stunning psychological thriller from one of the most insightful writers around” (CrimeReads), don’t miss the latest from Megan Miranda, the instant New York Times bestselling author of All the Missing Girls, The Last to Vanish, and The Only Survivors.

“Miranda…exposes revelation after twisty revelation…Small-town claustrophobia and intimacies alike propel this twist-filled psychological thriller” (Kirkus Reviews, starred review).

When Hazel Sharp, daughter of Mirror Lake’s longtime local detective, unexpectedly inherits her childhood home, she’s warily drawn back to the town—and people—she left behind almost a decade earlier. But Hazel’s not the only relic of the past to return: a drought has descended on the region, and as the water level in the lake drops, long-hidden secrets begin to emerge…including evidence that may help finally explain the mystery of her mother’s disappearance.

Riveting and suspenseful, Daughter of Mine is Megan Miranda’s best novel yet, filled with “delicious twists, dark secrets, and a deadly past” (Ashley Elston, New York Times bestselling author of First Lie Wins) that will keep you turning the pages late into the night.

Image for "The Cabin at the End of the World"

The Cabin at the End of the World

NATIONAL BESTSELLER!

BEST BOOK OF 2018 (Library Journal, NPR, Buzzfeed)

A tremendous book―thought-provoking and terrifying, with tension that winds up like a chain. The Cabin at the End of the World is Tremblay’s personal best. It’s that good.”  — Stephen King

“A clinic in suspense, a story that opens with high-wire tension and never lets up from there.”  — Michael Koryta

"I tore through it in record time. I just couldn’t wait to see where Tremblay was going to take me next.”  — Victor LaValle

The Bram Stoker Award-winning author of A Head Full of Ghosts adds an inventive twist to the home invasion horror story in a heart-palpitating novel of psychological suspense that recalls Stephen King’s Misery, Ruth Ware’s In a Dark, Dark Wood, and Jack Ketchum’s cult hit The Girl Next Door.

Seven-year-old Wen and her parents, Eric and Andrew, are vacationing at a remote cabin on a quiet New Hampshire lake. Their closest neighbors are more than two miles in either direction along a rutted dirt road.

One afternoon, as Wen catches grasshoppers in the front yard, a stranger unexpectedly appears in the driveway. Leonard is the largest man Wen has ever seen but he is young, friendly, and he wins her over almost instantly. Leonard and Wen talk and play until Leonard abruptly apologizes and tells Wen, "None of what’s going to happen is your fault". Three more strangers then arrive at the cabin carrying unidentifiable, menacing objects. As Wen sprints inside to warn her parents, Leonard calls out: "Your dads won’t want to let us in, Wen. But they have to. We need your help to save the world."

Thus begins an unbearably tense, gripping tale of paranoia, sacrifice, apocalypse, and survival that escalates to a shattering conclusion, one in which the fate of a loving family and quite possibly all of humanity are entwined. The Cabin at the End of the World is a masterpiece of terror and suspense from the fantastically fertile imagination of Paul Tremblay.

“Read Paul Tremblay's new novel, The Cabin at the End of the World, and you might not sleep for a week. Longer. It will shape your nightmares for months – that's pretty much guaranteed.” — NPR

 

Image for "Burn"

Burn

From the best-selling author of The Dog Stars and The Last Ranger, a novel about two men—friends since boyhood—who emerge from the woods of rural Maine to a dystopian country racked by bewildering violence

Every year, Jess and Storey have made an annual pilgrimage to the most remote corners of the country, where they camp, hunt, and hike, leaving much from their long friendship unspoken. Although the state of Maine has convulsed all summer with secession mania—a mania that has simultaneously spread across other states—Jess and Storey figure it’s a fight reserved for legislators or, worst-case scenario, folks in the capital.

But after weeks hunting off the grid, the men reach a small town and are shocked by what they find: a bridge blown apart, buildings burned to the ground, and bombed-out cars abandoned on the road. Trying to make sense of the sudden destruction all around them, they set their sights on finding their way home, dragging a wagon across bumpy dirt roads, scavenging from boats left in lakes, and dodging armed men—secessionists or U.S. military, they cannot tell—as they seek a path to safety. Then, a startling discovery drastically alters their path and the stakes of their escape.

Drenched in the beauty of the natural world and attuned to the specific cadences of male friendship, even here at the edge of doom, Burn is both a blistering warning about a divided country’s political strife and an ode to the salvation found in our chosen families.

View All

Upcoming Events

This event is in the "Adults" group
This event is in the "Babies (under 3)" group
Jul 17 2025 Thu

The Village

10:30am–11:30am
Adults, Babies (under 3)
This event is in the "Adults" group
This event is in the "Babies (under 3)" group
Jul 17 2025 Thu

The Village

10:30am–11:30am
Adults, Babies (under 3)
Library Branch: Spencer County Public Library
Room: Studio
Age Group: Adults, Babies (under 3)
Program Type: Fun and Games, Community Events
Event Details:

Music, colors. shapes and other fun activities for toddlers and their caretaker(s).

This event is in the "Adults" group
Jul 17 2025 Thu

Book Club

3:30pm–4:30pm
Adults
This event is in the "Adults" group
Jul 17 2025 Thu

Book Club

3:30pm–4:30pm
Adults
Library Branch: Spencer County Public Library
Room: Studio
Age Group: Adults
Program Type: Book Club
Event Details:

We will discuss

Letter from Home by Carolyn Hart

This event is in the "Adults" group
Jul 17 2025 Thu

Book Club

6:00pm–7:00pm
Adults
This event is in the "Adults" group
Jul 17 2025 Thu

Book Club

6:00pm–7:00pm
Adults
Library Branch: Spencer County Public Library
Room: Studio
Age Group: Adults
Program Type: Book Club
Event Details:
We will discuss
Letter From Home - Carolyn Hart
This event is in the "Adults" group
Jul 17 2025 Thu

Kentucky and the Civil War

6:00pm–7:00pm
Adults
This event is in the "Adults" group
Jul 17 2025 Thu

Kentucky and the Civil War

6:00pm–7:00pm
Adults
Library Branch: Spencer County Public Library
Room: Community Room
Age Group: Adults
Program Type: Community Events, Cultural, Educational and Workshop
Event Details:

Please join us for a discussion about Kentucky and the Civil War by James Bartek, Ph.D., Programs Manager, the Kentucky Military History Museum and the Kentucky Historical Society.

This event is in the "Adults" group
Jul 18 2025 Fri

Yoga

9:00am–10:00am
Adults
This event is in the "Adults" group
Jul 18 2025 Fri

Yoga

9:00am–10:00am
Adults
Library Branch: Spencer County Public Library
Room: Community Room
Age Group: Adults
Program Type: Health & Wellness

Yoga

We have mats; you bring the determination. Everyone is welcome!

This event is in the "Preschool (3-5)" group
Jul 18 2025 Fri

Preschool Story Time

10:30am–11:30am
Preschool (3-5)
This event is in the "Preschool (3-5)" group
Jul 18 2025 Fri

Preschool Story Time

10:30am–11:30am
Preschool (3-5)
Library Branch: Spencer County Public Library
Room: Community Room
Age Group: Preschool (3-5)
Program Type: Art & Crafts, Fun and Games, Story Time
Event Details:

For ages: 4-6 yrs old.

A more structured story time with plenty of opportunities to learn, play, and connect!

Siblings are welcomed!

This event is in the "Tweens (6-12)" group
Jul 19 2025 Sat

Book Bites

10:30am–11:30am
Tweens (6-12)
This event is in the "Tweens (6-12)" group
Jul 19 2025 Sat

Book Bites

10:30am–11:30am
Tweens (6-12)
Library Branch: Spencer County Public Library
Room: Studio
Age Group: Tweens (6-12)
Program Type: Art & Crafts, Fun and Games, Book Club
Event Details:

For ages 8-12yrs old

Pick up the book at the library and come discuss it with others while doing an activity. We are reading The Bad Beginning by Lemony Snickett. You do not need to finish the book to attend!

This event is in the "Adults" group
Jul 19 2025 Sat

Painting Rocks For Adults

10:30am–12:30pm
Adults
This event is in the "Adults" group
Jul 19 2025 Sat

Painting Rocks For Adults

10:30am–12:30pm
Adults
Library Branch: Spencer County Public Library
Room: Community Room
Age Group: Adults
Program Type: Art & Crafts, Community Events
Event Details:

Adults! Come paint a rock... paint a rainbow, paint a frog, relax and paint anything you would like.

This event is in the "Preschool (3-5)" group
Jul 22 2025 Tue

Toddler Story Time

10:30am–11:30am
Preschool (3-5)
This event is in the "Preschool (3-5)" group
Jul 22 2025 Tue

Toddler Story Time

10:30am–11:30am
Preschool (3-5)
Library Branch: Spencer County Public Library
Room: Community Room
Age Group: Preschool (3-5)
Program Type: Art & Crafts, Fun and Games, Story Time
Event Details:

For ages: 3-4yrs old.

Caregivers with their children are invited to read, learn, play, sing, and explore together.

Siblings are welcome!

This event is in the "Adults" group
This event is in the "Babies (under 3)" group
Jul 24 2025 Thu

The Village

10:30am–11:30am
Adults, Babies (under 3)
This event is in the "Adults" group
This event is in the "Babies (under 3)" group
Jul 24 2025 Thu

The Village

10:30am–11:30am
Adults, Babies (under 3)
Library Branch: Spencer County Public Library
Room: Studio
Age Group: Adults, Babies (under 3)
Program Type: Fun and Games, Community Events
Event Details:

Music, colors. shapes and other fun activities for toddlers and their caretaker(s).

  • View More

Contact

Spencer Public Library
168 Taylorsville Rd.
Taylorsville, KY 40071
(502) 477-8137
Contact Us

About

About the Library
Employment

Connect

   

Librista

Browse the Library Catalog with the
Librista Mobile App

Footer Logo
Back To Top

Our mission: To inspire life long learning, advance knowledge and strengthen our community.