Detective Inspector Hazel Micallef is a 61-year-old divorcée and is the interim detachment commander of several small Canadian towns. Interim, in Hazel’s opinion, because of the political agenda of the powers that be. Hence, when the rare murder occurs on her watch, Hazel decides to tackle it alone. A bloody good read ensues when Hazel realizes she may be on the trail of a cross-country serial killer! ~ Ranae

If you’re looking for an old-fashioned mystery with more character and plot than blood and gore, try this first book of Louise Penny’s Inspector Armand Gamache mysteries. Of course, there’s a murder—but only one—and it occurs on a lovely walking path in the charming Canadian village of Three Pines. I will be reading more in this series! ~ Ranae

Suspend your disbelief-accept a dog as narrator-and you'll be in for a lovely ride. With a charming mix of innocence and intelligence, Enzo, a most philosophical canine, recounts his life as loyal companion to professional race car driver Denny Swift. Enzo shares his hopes to reincarnate as a human; his frustrations with not having opposable thumbs; and his life lessons learned, such as 'No race has ever been won in the first corner . . . ' Stein took a risk by making Enzo the speaker, but it is just that risk, coupled with a good story, that makes this novel work. As Enzo says, "Sometimes we simply have to believe." ~ Ranae

Ava's Man by Rick Bragg, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Rick Bragg's honest and easy Southern prose flows effortlessly off the page and straight to the heart in this passionate tribute to the grandfather he never knew. Bragg wrote this memoir at the insistence of countless readers who loved his best-selling biography of his momma's life, All Over But the Shoutin', but who told him he had short-shrifted them by not telling the best and most compelling part of the story-the part about her momma and daddy's life, the part about Ava and Charlie Bundrum. The part about a dirt-poor Depression era roofer, carpenter, moonshiner, and riverman who outran revenuers, who fished the Coosa River in homemade boats, who could make babies laugh just by entering the room, and who "inspired backwoods legend and the kind of loyalty that still make old men dip their heads respectfully when they say his name." And the part about the woman who loved him so fiercely she whipped the only other woman who dared to even hang her stockings on Charlie's clothesline. Ava's Man, a moving and memorable achievement, is without reservation my favorite book of the year (2001). ~ Ranae

We all know the stories of Christ's birth, ministry, and crucifixion. But what of those missing years of his youth and young adulthood? In Lamb, Moore fills in the blanks with inventive, quirky aplomb. Really, the title says it all: irreverent, historically inaccurate, and absurdly entertaining.

Meet the Mulvaneys, a close, happy family whose nearly storybook life is profoundly altered by one tragic event-the prom night violation of the Mulvaney daughter, Marianne. From this deceptively simple plot emanates an engrossing, unforgettable family saga and a thought-provoking treatise on both the destructive and redemptive powers of love, loyalty, and family. One of those rare novels whose characters you remember by name and whose story haunts you well after the last page is turned, this has joined the ranks of my favorite books. ~ Ranae

In 1983 the author and her husband were brutally mauled by a grizzly bear while hiking in the Canadian Rockies. This remarkable memoir chronicles Van Tighem's ensuing 17-year struggle for physical and psychological recovery. Nearly as incredible as her survival from the attack and its ramifications-years of pain, surgery, and depression-is the honesty, integrity, and lack of self-pity with which she recounts her story. I especially recommend this frank and inspiring book to anyone who has suffered extreme trauma or endured long-term pain, or to anyone who has been close to someone who has. ~ Ranae

When his mother became critically ill, nice-guy Miles Roby dropped out of college and came home to Empire Falls. Twenty years later he?s still flipping burgers at the Empire Grill, his wife is leaving him for the pompous proprietor of the local health club, his free-loading father is off on yet another drunken excursion of indeterminate duration, and the town cop, who happens to be in the back pocket of the domineering town matriarch?who owns the Grill?seems bent on a confrontation. Miles is ripe for a mid-life crisis. And Russo, a master storyteller, keen observer of human nature, and expert on small-town life, lets it play out in his trademark serio-comic style. Engaging, entertaining, and replete with characters you will recognize, Empire Falls is deservedly a national bestseller, a New York Times Notable Book, winner of the Pulitzer Prize, and, now, ?Ranae?s Favorite Book of the Year.? You can?t go wrong with this one. ~ Ranae

This is the true, rags-to-riches story of Bob, a dog who changed his own life for the better. Once known by Corwin as "the psycho-dog next door," Bob stole onto Corwin's property and, eventually, deep into his heart. Originally written as an email eulogy, this lovely little book begs to be shared with anyone who understands what it means to love a dog. ~ Ranae