Story Hour - By reservation only!Thursdays at 11, with Pat Fowler reading. Come for the reading and stay in Bellows Falls for a family lunch- Pat will be giving out a coupon good at Fat Franks, Vermont Pretzels & Cookies to all participants.

Friday June 19, 7pm

Jennifer Mc Mahon- Dismantled

An eclectic group of college friends, eager to push the limits, call themselves ‘The Compassionate Dismantlers’ because they believe to truly understand something—or someone—you have to literally take it apart, breaking it down to see the basic pieces. Henry, Tess, Spencer, Winnie and Suz spend the summer after graduation together in a remote Vermont cabin wreaking havoc on local businesses and plotting elaborate and sometimes dangerous pranks. When one project spirals horrifically out of control and culminates in Suz’s death, the group tries to cover it up and forget the tragic summer all together. Nearly a decade later, one of the members commits suicide unable to let go of what happened that fateful summer, setting off a chain of eerie events that brings that catastrophic summer rushing to the present. As she did in her gripping novels Promise Not to Tell and Island of the Lost Girls, New York Times bestselling author Jennifer McMahon shows why she is truly the master of bone-chilling suspense in her hardcover debut, DISMANTLED (HarperCollins Publishers; June 2009; $24.99; Hardcover).

Henry and Tess, two members of ‘The Compassionate Dismantlers’, are now married and living an hours drive from the woods where they spent that life-changing summer. Their nine-year old daughter, Emma, is eager to keep their shaky marriage in tact and with the help of her odd friend Mel and perpetual ‘imaginary’ companion Danner, she hatches a plan that unearths emotions and events that everyone wishes had long stayed firmly in the past. As the events get increasingly more terrifying, Henry and Tess fall further and further into their guilt and fear, eventually being forced to confront the ghosts of the past head-on. While they are eager to move beyond the misdeeds of their youth, it seems the past is not ready to let them forget. Is there someone who knows the secrets of ‘The Compassionate Dismantlers’? Is it possible that Suz didn’t really die that night? Or, worse still, has she somehow found her way back?

Jennifer McMahon masterfully builds suspense and combines the excitement of a thriller with the emotion of a family drama. With pitch perfect characters and a gripping plot, DISMANTLED is un-put-downable and sure to please all of McMahon’s fans.

Jennifer McMahon is the author of the New York Times bestseller Island of the Lost Girls and the breakout debut novel Promise Not To Tell. She grew up in suburban Connecticut, and graduated from Goddard College in 1991. Over the years, she has been a house painter, farm worker, paste-up artist, pizza delivery person, homeless shelter staff member, and has worked with the mentally ill. She lives in Vermont with her partner, Drea, and their daughter, Zella.

Vermont!

Vermont, long associated only with cheddar cheese and maple syrup, has languished in the shadow of Cajun country, Tex-Mex spiciness, and the conspicuous healthiness of California. A little investigation turns up the delicious fact that Vermont goes way beyond cheese and syrup, and has, in fact, been christened “the coolest food state in the union” by Saveur magazine. The publication of Dishing Up Vermont will turn the rest of the country on to what Vermonters already know: their state is a four-season mecca of fresh produce, farm-raised meats, and imaginative pairings of food and wines to rival their better-known counterparts.

Food writer Tracey Medeiros has compiled 145 recipes showcasing the best of the broad range of Vermont cooks and food producers dedicated to sustaining and enriching local culinary traditions. Included are contributions from B&B owners who take pride in their robust country breakfasts, and the farmers themselves who love sharing the recipes that make their products shine. Dishing Up Vermont also includes profiles of the people and places that make the state’s food scene so vibrant. Here are the classically trained chefs, home bakers, farmers, winemakers, comfort-food cooks, beekeepers, orchard and sugar-shack owners, craft brewers, winemakers, and all the other foodies who keep Vermont food folklore alive while developing new flavor contributions that respect the integrity of the raw ingredients. Molly Stevens, president of the Vermont Fresh Network, an association dedicated to promoting and publicizing Vermont chefs and restaurants that use Vermont-grown and -produced food, wrote the foreword.

Second only to eating those glorious foods are reading the recipes for local treats such as Hope’s Farm Corn and Cheese Chowder, Sweet and Sour Vermont Cheeseburger with Attitude, Roasted Cavendish Quail with Celery Root Puree, or Chocolate Porter Cake. Finding out the origins of each dish and the restaurant or farm that created those flavors is like putting the pieces of an appetizing puzzle together. The lush photography adds to the flavor of Dishing Up Vermont like local hot fudge sauce on some Ben & Jerry’s ice cream.

A portion of the proceeds of Dishing Up Vermont will be donated to the Vermont Fresh Network by the publisher.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Tracey Medeiros is a food writer whose articles and recipes have appeared in Bon Appetit, Cooking Light, Eating Well, and Hampton Roads magazines. When she relocated to Vermont several years ago, she immediately became interested in the exciting local food scene. Her interest in the Green Mountain state’s farmers and chefs led to the development of Dishing Up Vermont. She lives in Essex Junction, Vt.

Sustainable, Local, Delicious …

Vermont!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Dishing Up Vermont