Each year during the Bremer family vacation, my niece Savanna and I embark on a fantasy adventure in the kayaks. Last year we were Lewis and Clark and we paddled around on Lake Geneva until we discovered the source of the Mississippi River and the state of South Dakota. The 2005 adventure was a little more daring. We were Glenda and Savanna Armstrong, little-known twin sisters of Neil Armstrong (space explorer) and cousins to Lance Armstrong (bicycle racer). It so happens that the Armstrong sisters were out exploring space when, suddenly and without warning, their spaceship crashed into a giant ocean on the moon. Fortunately, the kayaks were not destroyed in the crash. Unfortunately, they were doomed to live in the kayaks forever because underneath the surface of ocean were fierce space aliens (the weeds) that ate human beings. The Armstrong girls paddled by several large landmasses, but they were inaccessible because of the giant elder space aliens (the trees) along the shoreline. On occasion the Armstrong space explorers observed what appeared to be human beings walking upon the landmass. As it turns out, they were indeed human beings at one time, but the giant elder space aliens had sucked their brains out. Now they were the "living dead" doomed to wander aimlessly on the landmass forever. As Glenda and Savanna Armstrong paddled about on the ocean of the moon, they came upon a collection of unusually attractive space aliens (the lily pads). The girls were happy to learn that this was an alien population striving to better themselves ... so they didn’t have to be afraid. Continuing on their journey of survival, the Armstrongs paddled up to their crashed spacecraft (the water trampoline) that was floating in the ocean. They boarded the wreckage in search of components that could be used to build a rocket that could fly them safely home to earth. In a near-fatal accident, Glenda Armstrong sprained her thumb trying to board the unstable craft. Savanna Armstrong, however, was more agile than her uncoordinated twin sister and escaped unscathed from the mission. Suddenly a "living dead" appeared on the shore of the landmass and announced that it was suppertime. Reluctantly, the Armstrong girls returned to the Bremer girls and they beached the kayaks on shore. The water trampoline returned, the trees didn’t suck anyone’s brains out, and the lily pads weren’t striving to be anything but lily pads. But, as they ate supper that night with the other Bremers and played on the beach with fellow vacationers, they had serious concerns about the continued threat of the "living dead." Safely out of the clutches of the living dead, the Bremer girls are back in town; and I’m back at work cataloging fabulous new fiction. On the shelf this week is "Long Time Gone," by J.A. Jance. After more than 20 years of distinguished service with the Seattle Police Department, Jonas Beaumont is now working for the Washington Special Homicide Investigation Team. An eyewitness to a 50-year-old murder has just come forward, and Beau has been handpicked to lead the investigation. While undergoing hypnotherapy, a middle-aged nun unexpectedly recalls the grisly details of a cold-blooded killing she witnessed when she was five years old. Though fear has kept these memories repressed for half a century, they've now risen to the surface to cast a harsh light on a deadly plot that spans two generations. And Beau's caught in the glare, facing a ruthless band of co-conspirators willing to go to any lengths to keep their secrets hidden. Also new on the shelf is "Cinderella Hour," by Katherine Stone. Sixteen years ago, Snow Ashley Gable fled Chicago, running away from the kind of loss that comes with love, from a friendship that turned into betrayal. Now 31, Snow is bringing her successful late-night radio talk show, The Cinderella Hour, home to Chicago. For Snow, there are risks in returning — risks and fears: The father she never knew: The mother who acted out one dangerous fantasy after another: The high-school heiress who uncovered Snow's greatest secrets. And Luke Kilcannon, the troubled boy she loved