Author's Gala to Benefit Stanislaus County Library

Modesto -- The Stanislaus Library Foundation's second annual Author's Garden Gala, on Aug. 25, will feature a French-inspired dinner, a garden setting and mystery writer Cara Black to set the mood for an evening in Paris. Proceeds benefit all 13 libraries of Stanislaus County. Black, a resident of San Francisco, has written 12 books in the Aimée Leduc series, all set in Paris. Leduc is a smart, fashionable, resourceful American-Parisian private investigator who has inherited her father's investigation agency. Black's books, including the latest, "Murder at the Lanterne Rouge," are available from the Stanislaus County Library. The Author's Garden Gala will be at the home of Dr. Stephen and Ann Endsley. It will include a social hour, a dessert auction, and a dinner prepared by Greens Market. Tickets are $150. Call (209) 204-9360 or send a check and the names of those attending to the Stanislaus Library Foundation, P.O. Box 4862, Modesto 95352-4862. Reservations are requested by Aug. 14.