One of my favorite authors is Charles Martin. I discovered him two years ago when I read THE DEAD DON'T DANCE in manuscript and said --- this is an author who can write and make me feel. His latest book, WHEN CRICKETS CRY, is just out this week. I read it, again in manuscript, last summer. I've been looking forward to sharing it with you. Our Marketing Manager, Wiley Saichek, read an advance copy last fall and told me it was one of his favorite books of 2005. And now our reviewer, Cindy Crosby, loves it too. Trust that reading Charles Martin will take you to another place and leave you looking for his next book once you're done. People tell me this over and over again after I share his work with them.

One of the most interesting things about a book club is that the book can allow a group to look at a topic that they may hear a lot about, but yet know so little about. A fiction title that we are sharing this month does that --- DANIEL ISN'T TALKING by Marti Leimbach, which is the story of an autistic little boy and what his mom goes through in her determination to challenge him and make him normal. We all hear about autism and how many children are being diagnosed with this, but many have no idea how this can impact a family. This book can take readers there --- and through this help them understand it more.