Virginia Books and Authors

For a lifelong Richmonder, a move to the West Coast can be a culture shock equal to the eruption of Mount St. Helens.

For FBI forensic geologist Raleigh Harmon, it can be as dangerous, too, as she finds in The Rivers Run Dry (324 pages, Thomas Nelson, $14.99), the second in Sibella Giorello's mystery series.

The first book, "The Stones Cry Out," was set in Richmond, where Raleigh cracked a case in spectacular fashion but fell afoul of her control-freak boss, who had her transferred to Seattle. Shortly after arriving in Washington state, Raleigh is faced with the disappearance of a young hiker, whose parents want their daughter found and will pull all their considerable political strings to make it happen.

Raleigh, of course, is no master in the art of office politics, and her investigation is laced with what her superiors and colleagues see as problems. The truth comes out -- but not before Raleigh finds herself the target of a cunning and particularly cruel criminal.

Giorello, a former reporter for The Richmond News Leader and the Richmond Times-Dispatch who now lives with her husband and their two sons in Washington state, pulls this all off with measured pacing, plausible characters, and arresting prose ("The [cloud] shapes shifted and bled and twisted with the fluidity of wild horses . . . " ). Add themes of faith and family, and "The Rivers Run Dry" is a fine beach read that transcends the genre to become thought-provoking fiction.

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The islands of North Carolina are favorite places to escape -- and not only from the Tar Heel State's neighbor to the north.

Ray McAllister, a former columnist for the Richmond Times-Dispatch and the current editor of Boomer Life magazine, has become a chronicler of the sites, first in "Topsail Island: Mayberry by the Sea" and "Wrightsville Beach: The Luminous Island," and now in Hatteras Island: Keeper of the Outer Banks (256 pages, John F. Blair, $13.95).

Graced by the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse, Hatteras falls near the southernmost point of the Outer Banks. Brimming with history, it's also a relaxed and relaxing place where beach-lovers can find peace. As such, McAllister, though writing of Hatteras' long history, instead calls this book "a conversation with an island."

It's a conversation to be savored, in a hammock at a beach house in July or under a blanket in an armchair in January.

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Alzheimer's disease and dementia have been called the long goodbye. Those who have suffered from it -- as well as their families and caregivers -- would also add "painful" to that description.

Rendering the loss in fiction can be tricky, but Katie Gates does the subject justice in The Somebody Who (332 pages, Channel Press, $17), her debut novel.

Gates, who grew up in Waynesboro and Staunton, has lived in Los Angeles for 19 years and had the opportunity to observe the disease and its effects on a family. "While the family itself did not inspire the novel, my generic observations did," she says. "I saw that one individual's dementia can change every family relationship. I also witnessed the acute emotional challenges that the survivor faces."

"The Somebody Who" is not, of course, a light read. But it's a story of empowerment and renewal that should be required reading for patients who are still able to digest it, for their families and for all of us who might face the debilitation of dementia at some point in our lives. -- Jay Strafford