What do Robin Cook, Michael Crichton, Tess Gerritsen and Michael Palmer have in common?

All are medical doctors and best-selling authors of medical thrillers. Along with Patricia Cornwell, who learned all she needed to know working in the chief medical examiner’s office in Richmond, Va., these five authors have the corner on the genre generally known as the medical thriller.

All thrillers, however, have certain literary bells and whistles in common. Obviously, thrillers keep you on the edge of your seat. You can count on the story line getting more and more complicated because plot twists are a defining element of thrillers. Predictably, the reader thinks the story is going in one direction only to have it take an entirely unexpected turn.

You won’t be disappointed by the latest novels from medical doctor authors including Robin Cook, “Genesis”; Michael Crichton, “The Andromeda Evolution”; Tess Gerritsen, “The Shape of Night”; and Michael Palmer, “The First Family,” as well as the extremely popular and well-researched Patricia Cornwell, “Chaos.”

Speaking of medical thrillers, be sure to take a look at the amazing range of medical resources in the 600s in the nonfiction section of the library. Beginning with the “Harvard Medical School Family Health Guide,” the section encompasses a range of works by contemporary medical authorities such as Dr. Deepak Chopra’s “Ageless Body, Timeless Mind,” Dr. Mehmet Oz’s “Food Can Fix It,” The Mayo Clinic’s “Going Gluten Free” and Dr. Daniel G. Amen’s “Change Your Brain Change Your Life” as well as the Mayo Clinic’s “Guide to a Healthy Pregnancy.”

Information about virtually every aspect of medicine can be found in the library’s medical collection that numbers hundreds and hundreds of books. Some of those books are reference books, which ordinarily do not circulate. However, we are happy to give you free photocopies, up to 10 pages, of any reference book. When necessary, we will make special arrangements for you to borrow reference works.

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Mark your calendar for 1 p.m. Dec. 10 when we welcome the Catasauqua High School chorus, who will ring in the holiday season with a concert in our auditorium, followed by refreshments and good wishes from the library staff and trustees.

The library is extremely pleased to be hosting the Catasauqua High School chorus. Thank you, Principal Adam Schnug, for making this possible!

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In anticipation of the first holiday of the season, the trustees and staff of the Public Library of Catasauqua wish everyone a very happy Thanksgiving!

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NEW BOOKS

Fiction: “The Confession Club,” Elizabeth Berg; “Genesis,” Robin Cook; “The Deserter,” Nelson DeMille and Alex DeMille; “Spirit of the Season,” Fern Michaels; “Pursuit,” Joyce Carol Oates; “The Warning,” James Patterson and Robison Wells; “The Rise of Magicks: Chronicles of the One, Book 3,” Nora Roberts; “Into the Dark,” Karen Rose; “Spy,” Danielle Steel; “Olive, Again,” Elizabeth Strout

Nonfiction: “Finding Chika: A Little Girl, an Earthquake, and the Making of a Family,” Mitch Albom; “A Warning,” Anonymous; “Three Days at the Brink: FDR’s Daring Gamble to Win World War II,” Bret Baier; “Janis,” Holly George-Warren; “With All Due Respect: Defending America with Grit and Grace,” Nikki R. Haley; “Chase Darkness With Me: How One True-Crime Writer Started Solving Murders,” Billy Jensen; “Johnny Cash: The Redemption of an American Icon,” Greg Laurie with Marshall Terrill; “Joy of Cooking: 2019 Edition Fully Revised and Updated,” Irma S. Rombauer, et al.; “The American Story: Conversations with Master Historians,” David M. Rubenstein; “Triggered: How the Left Thrives on Hate and Wants to Silence Us,” Donald Trump Jr.

Juvenile: “Frozen 2: The Deluxe Junior Novelization (Disney Frozen 2),” David Blaze; “Little Legends: Exceptional Men in Black History,” Vashti Harrison; “Dog Man: Fetch-22,” Dav Pilkey

Young adult: “Women in Art: 50 Fearless Creatives Who Inspired the World,” Rachel Ignotofsky; “Ali Cross,” James Patterson

Children’s picture books: “Sisters First,” Jenna Bush Hager and Barbara Pierce Bush; “The Cool Bean,” Jory John and Pete Oswald; “Good Night Little Blue Truck,” Alice Schertle