Web-Exclusive Reviews: Week of 9/10/2007

-- Publishers Weekly, 9/10/2007

NONFICTION

And Justice for Some: An Expose of the Lawyers and Judges Who Let Dangerous Criminals Go Free
Wendy Murphy, foreword by Bill O’Reilly. Sentinel, $25.95 (288p) ISBN 978-1595230362

In this clarion call for the victims’ rights movement, lawyer and media commentator Murphy argues that our society’s efforts to ensure that no innocent man is convicted are allowing legions of criminals to go free. The victim’s rights movement seeks to enact laws that give victims greater access to justice; though victims may file suits against criminals in subsequent civil trials (as did Ron Goldman’s family in their wrongful death suit against O.J. Simpson), criminal trials reduce victims’ role to State witness. As such, victims frequently find themselves on trial in the court of public opinion (as was Kobe Bryant’s accuser), paradoxically forced to defend themselves against the accusations of the accused. Though an excellently and righteously argued point, some of Murphy’s solutions seem counteractive at best, such as a plan for victims’ attorneys to go up against defense lawyers, a likely way to ramp up the circus-like atmosphere of high-profile trials, which Murphy is also against. Still, she offers some excellent premises by which the balance of justice can be restored to victims, often proving a logical and lucid advocate for her cause, despite a tone that never rises above the level of your average daytime talk show. (Sept.)

April 16th: Virginia Tech Remembers
Edited by Roland Lazenby with Kevin Cupp, Suzanne Higgs, Omar Maglalang, Laura Massey, Tricia  Sangalang, Courtney Thomas and Neal Turnage. Plume, $14 paper (336p) ISBN 978-0452289345

Collecting the voices of those students, faculty, staff and citizens who lived through a killer’s rampage at Virginia Tech earlier this year, this rich, painful and compassionate volume sheds light on the tragedy while honoring the living and dead both. Beginning with a minute-by-minute account of Seung-Hui Cho’s murderous progress across campus, followed by the media’s descent on the formerly quiet town of Blacksburg and closing with tributes to each of Cho’s 32 victims, the book is heart-rending and terrifying, often simultaneously. Eyewitness accounts reflect a complex swarm of emotions with which many Americans, having seen the drama play out on television, will identify: alumnus Ashley Hall says, “I saw Matt Lauer framed by my Duck Pond. Every new camera angle was filled with a wonderful memory that was now stained with blood.” As some try to make sense of the horror (“What atrocities could possibly have befallen [Cho] as he grew up on the mean streets of northern Virginia?”), others mine their souls for compassion and forgiveness—“Hearts of kindness invalidate evil,” says the mother of one victim—and it’s that spirit of resilience and humanity (embodied in the much-lauded “Hokie Pride”) that shines strongest. Unfortunately, the book bears the traces of a rush to publication; eyewitnesses aren’t always identified except by name, the campus layout is never detailed and the role of the two much-cited Virginia Tech media outlets, planetblackburg.com and the Collegiate Times, are never explained (though staff writers from both publications contributed). Still, this volume, rich with immediacy, depth and emotion, is an admirable memorial and a fine remembrance. Photo Insert. (Sept.)

The Art of Reading: Essays, Stories and Poems
Julio Ortega. Wings (IPG, dist.), $16 paper (122p) ISBN 978-0916727369

Lovingly rendered, this meandering meditation dabbles in commentary, prose, fiction and poetry to create a series of gentle, refined ruminations on the relationship between literature—in particular, Latin American literature—and its reader. Peruvian author and critic Ortega unveils the depth of his own relationship with literature at a luxurious amble, through his own original short works (mostly in translation), paraphrased conversations between colleagues Jeffrey Eugenides and Rick Moody, and analysis of Cervantes, Borges, Octavio Paz and others. What he lacks in focus, Ortega makes up in elegance and calm conviction. In one story, “The Bad Poetry Bookstore,” the narrator reminds himself, after perusing the shelves of the title shop, that “the heart of a reader is beyond good and evil as it curls at the center of clear, expressive language, like some contented animal… seduced in the moonlight by the sirens’ song that promises a long, wandering night of sapphires and daisies.” Such teasing insights into the elusive power of an evocative phrase—any evocative phrase—make up the large heart of this satisfying volume. (Sept.)

Cool It: The Skeptical Environmentalist’s Guide to Global Warming
Bjorn Lomborg. Knopf, $21.95 (256p) ISBN 978-0307266927

Lomborg, a political scientist and economist with a conservative approach to environmentalism, presents a work that’s likely to garner as much acclaim and disdain as his first book, 2001’s The Skeptical Environmentalist. This “Guide to Global Warming,” while thoroughly referenced and convincingly argued, ignores many climate studies and assumes that climate change will continue at a steady rate (not necessarily the case). From this vantage, Lomborg suggests workable solutions beyond “hysteria and headlong spending,” proposing a tax on CO₂ “at the economically correct level of about two dollars per ton, or maximally fourteen dollars per ton” and that “all nations [should] commit themselves to spending 0.05 percent of GDP in R&D of noncarbon-emitting energy technologies.” Gross simplification, however, leads to misleading generalizations and questionable arguments, such as Lomborg’s claim that a reduction in global cold weather-related deaths that outweighs the rising number of heat-related deaths means global warming is good for humanity. Though he argues passionately, Lomborg’s efforts seem more about pushing his opponents’ buttons than facing honestly the complexities of global climate change. (Sept.)

The Dangerous Book for Dogs
Joe Garden, Anita Serwacki, Janet Ginsburg, Chris Pauls and Scott Sherman, illustrations by Emily Flake.  Villard, $15.95 (192p) ISBN 978-0345503701

This gentle parody of the bestselling Dangerous Book for Boys—identical in look and tone to its source material—offers an often funny, surprisingly insightful take on dog behavior that’s sure to resonate with the Spot set. With the “assistance” of their human companions, canine authors Rex and Sparky relate practical and authoritative information on topics simple (baths, fleas, bones, poop, “things you can chase”) and complex: the rules of fetch (it’s not officially over until a player earns 17,572 points), tips on crotch sniffing (under the heading “How to Make Your Owner Look Like an Idiot”) and a critical guide to frequently ingested items (vomit and poop receive top marks; rocks and keys rank considerably lower). Among more than 50 short entries, the authors seem to have thought of everything, including escape tips for humiliating costumes, stirring true stories (“Great Dog Battles—Part Two: Pepper vs. A Patch of Light”) and even a report on Pavlov (written by his two dogs). Though it occasionally pushes the envelope of good taste (“mounting a bitch is never as simple as it seems”), this goofy, gleeful guide to the dog life will tickle anyone with a soft spot for canines. (Oct.)

How I Learned English: 55 Accomplished Latinos Recall Lessons in Language and Life
Edited by Tom Miller. National Geographic, $16.95 paper (268p) ISBN 978-1426200977

Veteran travel writer Miller (On the Border) has put together a substantial volume on language, knowledge and cultural assimilation, gathering essays and excerpts from more than 50 authors, poets, professional athletes and musicians, doctors and politicians who took up English as a second (or third, or fourth) language. As PBS correspondent Ray Suarez notes in the foreword, for many “the need to learn English was accompanied by wrenching personal circumstances: exile, illness, economic migration, family dissolution,” but it was also “a proffered ticket to… the modern and changing world.” In a piece from 1982’s Hunger of Memory, for example, Richard Rodriguez recalls distinctions he made as a child between a private and a public language—Spanish had always been his to use, but English, what he needed for school, felt more difficult to embrace. In a selection from her 2001 memoir American Chica, Washington Post books editor Marie Arana tells how she feigned ignorance of English on her first day at a new elementary school so she’d be funneled into the Spanish-speaking class. Other contributors such as Alvaro Vargas Llosa, Walter Mercado, Enrique Fernández and Daisy Zamora provide nuanced perspectives on the ongoing immigration debate, putting faces to the statistics and concrete meaning to broad points of policy and ideology. (Sept.)

Marooned: The Next Generation of Desert Island Discs
Edited by Phil Freeman, foreword by Greil Marcus. Da Capo, $16.95 paper (352p) ISBN 978-0306814853

Marcus’s 1979 cult classic Stranded gets an update in this anthology from editor and author Freeman (Running the Voodoo Down). Following Marcus’s lead, Freeman gives 20 of today’s young, high-profile music critics creative latitude to tackle a title in any genre they’d choose as their one and only. The result is a collection of essays extolling the virtues of Sonny Rollins’ A Night at the Village Vanguard, Dio’s Anthology, Dionne Warwick’s Legends and History of Our World Part 1: Breakbeat and Jungle Ultramix by DJ DB, among others. While some authors are guilty of over-indulgent rock critic cleverness–—Seattle Weekly scribe Dave Queen, for one, writing about Scorpions’ Virgin Killer—others offer intriguingly off-beat interpretations of the desert-island concept. Freelancer Lainia Dawes creates a narrative while clinging to Skunk Anansie’s Stoosh, heavy-metal historian Ian Christe builds a survival tale around Iron Maiden’s Killers and Village Voice music editor Rob Harvilla focuses almost exclusively on the first 60 seconds of “Just What I Needed” from The Cars’ self-titled debut. Summing up this fine collection of very personal opinions, All Music Guide writer Ned Raggett (picking My Bloody Valentine’s Loveless) reminds readers and artists that “[a]ll that matters about a song or a group or anything artistic is how you yourself react to it.” (Aug.)

Microtrends: The Small Forces Behind Tomorrow’s Big Changes
Mark J. Penn with E. Kinney Zalesne. Twelve, $25.99 (448p) ISBN 978-0446580960

From “Soccer Moms,” the legendary swing voters of the mid-1990s, to “Late-Breaking Gays” such as former Gov. Games McGreevey (out at age 47), Burson-Marsteller CEO (and campaign adviser to Sen. Hillary Clinton) Penn delves into the ever-splintering societal subsets with which Americans are increasingly identifying, and what they mean. For instance, because of “Extreme Commuters,” people who travel more than 90 minutes each way to work, carmakers must come up with ever more luxury seat features, and “fast food restaurants are coming out with whole meals that fit in cup holders.” In a chapter titled “Archery Moms?”, Penn reports on the “Niching of Sports”: much to the consternation of Major League Baseball, “we don’t like sports less, we just like little sports more.” The net result of all this “niching” is “greater individual satisfaction”; as Penn notes, “not one of the fastest-growing sports in America… depends substantially on teamwork.” Penn draws similar lessons in areas of business, culture, technology, diet, politics and education (among other areas), reporting on 70 groups (“Impressionable Elites,” “Caffeine Crazies,” “Neglected Dads,” “Unisexuals,” “America’s Home-Schooled”) while remaining energetic and entertaining throughout. Culture buffs, retailers and especially businesspeople for whom “small is the new big” will value this exercise in nano-sociology. (Sept.)

The Panic of 1907: Lessons Learned from the Market’s Perfect Storm
Robert F. Bruner and Sean D. Carr. Wiley, $29.95 (240p) ISBN 978-0470152638

Though business professors Bruner and Carr approach their subject, the spectacular financial crisis that gave America the FDIC and the Federal Reserve, with grave pedantry, they devote the majority of the book to the more colorful events and personalities of the crisis, which even academic prose cannot dull. The chronicle follows one speculator’s attempt to corner the copper market, which leads to panic, the failure of banks and trusts and the impending bankruptcy of New York City. In the midst of chaos, one man was able to halt the domino effect with calm, character and capital: J. Pierpont Morgan. The Panic, the authors note, hit America at a moment eerily similar to our own: coming off 50 years of postwar economic expansion with a Republican “moralist” in the White House, an increasingly interventionist government, the formation of enormous new corporate conglomerates and a muckraking news media fueling resentment. Further, in a didactic final chapter, “Financial Crises as a Perfect Storm,” the authors list the seven forces that, once converged, trigger alarm in investors, among them “buoyant growth,” “inadequate safety buffers,” “adverse leadership” and “undue fear, greed, and other aberrations”; that many (if not all) of these conditions are already met by today’s market gives this authoritative history a relevance and vitality that should make business types sit up and take notice. (Sept.)

Proust And The Squid: The Story and Science of the Reading Brain
Maryanne Wolf. HarperCollins, $25.95 (320p) ISBN 978-0060186395

Wolf, a professor of child development at Tufts University, integrates psychology and archaeology, linguistics and education, history and neuroscience in a truly path-breaking look at the development of the reading brain—a complicated phenomenon that Wolf seeks to chronicle from both the early history of humanity and the early stages of an individual’s development (“[u]nlike its component parts such as vision and speech… reading has no direct [genetic] program passing it on to future generations”). Along the way, Wolf introduces concepts like “word poverty,” the situation in which children, by age five, have heard 32 million less words than their counterparts (with chilling long-term effects), and makes time for amusing and affecting anecdotes, like the only child she knew to fake a reading disorder (attempting to get back into his beloved literacy training program). Though it could probably command a book of its own, the sizable third section of the book covers the complex topic of dyslexia, explaining clearly and expertly “what happens when the brain can’t learn to read.” One of those rare books that synthesizes cutting edge, interdisciplinary research with the inviting tone of a curious, erudite friend (think Malcolm Gladwell), Wolf’s first book for a general audience is an eye-opening winner, and deserves a wide readership. (Sept.)

Remarkable Leadership: Unleashing Your Leadership Potential One Skill at a Time
Kevin Eikenberry, foreword by Jack Canfield. Jossey-Bass, $27.95 (288p) ISBN 978-0787996192

Predicated on the notion that leaders are not born, but are made and remade and made over again, author and consultant Eikenberry provides a guide to honing leadership skills that’s succinct and sensible, demonstrating that leading is as much about listening, asking questions and empowering others as it is about charisma and vision. Thirteen chapters enumerate what remarkable leaders do—“learn continually,” “communicate powerfully,” “influence with impact,” “think and act innovatively,” etc.—and how they do it. In hopes of narrowing the gap between those who aspire to remarkability and those who’ve already achieved it, Eikenberry provides plenty of “Now Steps,” exercises for evaluating and improving one’s position that can be implemented in short order. Obvious but edifying techniques include storytelling practice, journaling and building a network of well-nurtured relationships. Eikenberry also offers online resources (“Bonus Bytes”) tied to specific points in the text, available on the book’s web site. A solid leadership primer, this book will instruct, if not exactly inspire, anyone looking to manage others more effectively. (Sept.)

Why Do Horses Sleep Standing Up?
Marty Becker, Audrey Pavia, Gina Spadafor and, Teresa Becker. HCI, $12.95 paper (226p) ISBN 978-0757306082

With a wealth of books to their credit, including Why Do Dogs Drink Out of the Toilet? and Cats for Dummies, these four authors combine their equine knowledge in a breezy and informative guide to horse behavior and trivia. In addition to answering the title question, readers will learn why all racehorses have a January 1 birthday, why horses spook so easily and why horses past their prime no longer go to glue factories (many now go to France or Japan, where they are considered a delicacy). The authors cover just about every conceivable horse-related question in this compilation, up to and including “What is it like to be hung like a horse?” (for those keeping track, llamas and cattle are better endowed), though anyone left with an unanswered query is encouraged to submit it for the quartet’s next entry in the series. (Oct.)

Willow In A Storm: A Memoir
James Peter Taylor and Kathleen Murphy-Taylor. Scarletta Press (PGW, dist.), $14.95 paper (320p) ISBN 978-0976520153

Early on, Taylor somberly informs his readers that “[m]ost men do not survive four decades of incarceration,” a foreboding revelation that sets the stage for this riveting life story. An unflinching examination of his crime—a bank robbery and homicide committed at age 30—and his resulting conviction, incarceration, spiritual growth and eventual emancipation 40 years later, this tale proves emotional, forthright and inspirational. Writing with the help of his wife, the halfway-house counselor he met after his release from prison at age 70, Taylor looks back without self-pity or regret, making the casual cruelty he endures and his straightforward survival strategies all the more chilling. Smart, determined and hopeful, Taylor makes use of his prison days learning the law and helping out his fellow inmates, “so [they] would not turn on me while I slept.” Also resonant are murky scenes of a painful adolescence spent with an emotionally abusive father, his only adult accomplices—beloved Uncle Louis and Grandma Taylor—having succumbed to early deaths. That Taylor eventually finds peace, going so far as to “thank God for confinement because it gave me time to change,” speaks to the enormous heart of this honest, affecting account. (Sept.)

LIFESTYLE

No Mind Left Behind: Understanding and Fostering Executive Control—The Eight Essential Brain Skills Every Child Needs to Thrive
Adam J. Cox. Perigee, $23.95 (272p) ISBN 978-0399533594

Clinical psychologist Cox’s new work is a helpful, if incomplete, guide for anyone who work with children and teenagers, based on what he terms “Factor Ex,” “shorthand for the eight pillars of executive control.” These eight “thinking skills” are inherently worthy qualities: initiation (the ability to get started on a task), flexibility, attention, organization, planning, working memory (aka short-term memory), self-awareness and emotional regulation (maintaining a sense of “proportion” in one’s feelings). Cox devotes a chapter to each skill, explaining clearly what it is, how adults can recognize their child’s ability in each and helpful strategies for eliciting improvement. Situation-specific examples are extremely effective, giving readers a concrete sense of each skill’s import, and what specifically one can say or do to help develop it. However, Cox’s expectations for his charges are extremely high, suggesting that his methods will produce children capable “in multiple environments—on the football field and practicing piano; in the SAT prep course and socializing at the prom”; such a broad spectrum of confidence is a lot to promise, and for many people—let alone children—nearly impossible to achieve. Though he makes occasional nods to the idea of childhood as something other than a prep-for-success regimen, Cox’s calls for “wiggle room” could be more insistent and involved; as it is, he leaves the kids little room for self-discovery and simple play. (Sept.)

Superb Maine Soups: Innovative Recipes from Simple to Sumptuous
Cynthia Finnemore Simonds. Down East, $18.95 paper (112p) ISBN 978-08902727384

Simonds’ logical follow-up to last year’s Fresh Maine Salads offers a hundred takes on one of the world’s most popular comfort foods. Naturally weighted towards chowders, stews and cream-based soups (this is Maine, after all), Simonds offers a number of fresh takes on old staples—standards like Gazpacho, split pea and clam chowder—that are generally tasteful and inventive. Potato leek soup gets added depth from the addition of crabmeat and chive blossoms, a generous helping of vodka in Tipsy Tomato Soup transforms tomato basil soup into a variation of the popular pasta sauce and a delicate Pear Bisque topped with goat cheese and pecans makes a wonderful first course. Simonds stretches credulity with her strawberry and blueberry “breakfast soups,” little more than smoothies served in bowls, and the addition of blueberry wine to the thick and creamy Five Mushroom Soup, but hits outnumber misses by far. Though many of her dishes—and even some ingredients—are regional, diners everywhere will find a handful of new favorites among these surprisingly creative and easy-to-make recipes. (Oct.)

Talk With Your Mouth Full: The Hearty Boys Cookbook
Dan Smith and Steve McDonagh. Stewart, Tabori & Chang, $27.50 (224p) ISBN 978-1584796404

Hosts of the Food Network show “Party Line with The Hearty Boys,” Smith and McDonagh artfully update the familiar in this collection of party-ready recipes. The duo offer traditional recipes such as Chicken Pot Pie and Crawfish Étouffée, but the majority of dishes are delightful updates: Deviled Eggs are garnished with lumpfish caviar, roasted potatoes get a burst of flavor from lemon and Old Bay seasoning and saffron gives an unexpected twist to risotto cakes. The veteran caterers also instruct hosts on the number of glasses to have on hand, the proper method for opening champagne, the best times for scheduling parties and how to chill wine in a hurry. A bountiful list of unusual cocktails range from oft-forgotten classics like the gin-based Pegu Club to an updated Cosmopolitan that employs peach vodka, rosemary syrup, white cranberry and lemon juice; their crown jewel, however, may be an easy but impressive Almond Punch, which features a frozen ring of almonds that floats in the punch bowl. Crowd-pleasing desserts include the ingenious, sophisticated and relatively simple White Chocolate Risotto with Orange Ganache, studded with tart red cherries and garnished with white chocolate shavings. Rounded out with an alcohol buying guide and sample menus—complete with timelines—would-be entertainers will treasure this one-stop party resource. (Oct.)

ILLUSTRATED

The Writer’s Brush: Paintings, Drawings, and Sculpture by Writers
Donald Friedman. Mid-List, $40 (480p) ISBN 978-0922811762

In this hefty volume, novelist Friedman takes a look at the artwork of more than 200 authors who found other avenues for expression in drawing, painting or sculpting. Aside from the familiar illustrations of Edward Gorey, Beatrix Potter and (to a lesser extent) Kurt Vonnegut, Friedman also unearths work from literary heavyweights past and present, including the Bronte sisters, Herman Hesse, Rudyard Kipling, Colleen McCullough, Vladamir Nabokov, John Updike and Jonathan Lethem. Each entry offers a short biography and passages from journals, letters or interviews illuminating the author’s reasons for picking up pen or paint; according to Elizabeth Bishop, for instance, writers make a “frequent complaint that painting is more fun than writing.” Examples of authors’ art, one or two from each subject, are handsomely reproduced in vivid color alongside the text. Friedman also covers a long list of writers whose artworks couldn’t be located or secured for publication, and essays by William H. Gass and Updike provide perspective. Sure to cover at least a few of any given lit fan’s favorites, Friedman’s volume provides hours of fascinating browsing, and makes a perfect coffee table book for the avid reader. (Sept.)

FICTION

The Adventures of the Pisco Kid
Michael Standaert. Arriviste (arrivistepress.com), $16.95 paper (196p) ISBN 978-0974627038

Standaert’s unconventional first novel follows Pisco, a disillusioned rodent exterminator and taxidermy enthusiast. The main thrust of Pisco’s life is spent killing bats and rats, attempting to coexist with a ragtag assembly of neighbors and lamenting the tragic death of his apartment building’s handyman Paul Putty. Pisco’s unhinged, naturally suspicious mother (who calls him by his given name, “Moses”) is a black Jamaican woman who adopted him; she and her much younger boyfriend, “Fly Boy,” add little to his life of joyless annoyances, the zaniness of which is mind-bogglingly excessive: Pisco is bitten by a bat and develops rabies-like symptoms, he’s fired then beaten down after vomiting on his boss’ shoes, he wrestles emotionally with being an adoptee, then finds his friend Father John dead after a night of drinking and winds up in jail accused of murder (and is then rescued by a great flood)—all while corresponding with a gal named Sarah Ellen Roberts who may or may not be his niece. The author of Skipping Towards Armageddon: The Politics and Propaganda of the Left Behind Novels and the LaHaye Empire (Soft Skull) and a blogger at the Huffington Post, Standaert targets the soulless options for 21st century living in this frenetic, bitterly funny paean to defeat. (Sept.)

Big Dogs & Flyboys
Sam Michel. Southern Methodist Univ., $22.50 (320p) ISBN 978-0870745140

Narrated from a hospital burn ward, Michel’s lackluster first novel (after story collection Under the Light) is the tale of Adam Oney, who grows up in the shadow of an overbearing Air Force fighter jock father. When the family moves to Nevada, a young Adam makes friends with Mike, the black son of a retired jet fighter mechanic. Both boys are obsessed with flying (they call themselves Orville and Wilbur), and later, in high school, Adam and Mike play for the basketball team until a racial incident fractures their friendship. In the end, Adam’s dream of flight becomes a reality, but an air accident sends him crashing back to earth. This novel will summon up memories of Pat Conroy’s The Great Santini, which mixed similar elements of a military upbringing, basketball and racial prejudice to greater dramatic effect. There is very little sense of time or place here, and despite the novel’s potential, Michel fails to hook the reader. (Oct.)

The Blackstone Commentaries
Rob Riggan. John F. Blair, $16.95 paper (280p) ISBN 978-0895873453

A former crime reporter and policeman, Riggan makes the New South circa 1972 seem positively noirish. Charlie Dugan, the larger-than-life sheriff of Blackstone County, North Carolina is running for re-election, with a powerful benefactor in local surgeon and county commissioner Dr. Martin “Doc” Pemberton. After local man Danny Carver identifies Doc as the driver of a car that forced him off a rain-slicked road, Charlie is in a quandary. He has worked to “create a more equitable justice” for the working poor like Danny Carver, but Doc’s recklessness, sense of entitlement and belief in his immunity from justice force Charlie to question his values. As Dugan struggles with his conscience and the case, he interacts with a compelling Faulknerian cast that includes his stalwart, former wild child wife Drusilla; Elmore Willis, a neophyte lawyer at war with the memory of his sainted father; and Winthrop Reedy, a mobile-home salesman trying desperately to carve out a middle-class dream. Intriguing characters, timeless themes, and powerful prose make Riggan’s second novel—following Free Fire Zone after more than 20 years—memorable. (Oct.)

Cupid’s Web
Carolyn Hughey. Avalon, $21.95 (272p) ISBN 978-0803498549

Chef-turned-author Hughey whips up an unappetizing batch of mediocre chick lit that reads like the novelization of a dippy cartoon. Twenty-five-year-old Cassie Pirelli trades in small-town New Jersey, her ex-fiancé, and her controlling, matchmaking mother for a job in marketing in New York City, where, accompanied by best friend Megan O’Malley, Cassie learns three men are vying for her affection: her colleague Jason Reed, her boss Barry Brixler and her mother’s set-up Sammy Scarliotti. When Cassie’s late hours at the office, a business trip gone wrong and romantic stress overwhelm, she takes a break and figures out which man is right for her. Unfortunately, the hokey dialogue (“yikes!”, “wahoo!”, and “gee” are in evidence) and nonsensical prose (“His lips devoured my mouth of excitement”) fail to do the middling story any favors. (Oct.)

First Person Plural
Andrew W.M. Beierle. Kensington, $15 (336p) ISBN 978-0758219701

Beierle weaves a fascinating if implausible story of conjoined twins trying to forge as normal an existence as possible. Porter and Owen Jamison try to maintain a moderate degree of independence, but it’s not an easy feat with one torso between them. In high school, Porter is a cheerleader-dating football player, while Owen prefers the quiet company of books. As they mature and experience sexual awakenings, Owen, who narrates, realizes he’s gay. Since “PorterandOwen” share the same plumbing, a new set of necessary negotiations ensue. But when Porter marries Faith Colquitt, a young woman from a conservative Southern background, her parents learn to accept Porter, but their homophobia creates even more pain for Owen—especially after he falls in love with Faith’s brother, Chase. Though narrator Owen does a lot of unnecessary, repetitive dwelling on his “otherness,” Beierle handles his material for the most part with a light touch. (Sept.)

Guns Along the Brazos
Owen G. Irons. Avalon, $21.95 (192p) ISBN 978-0803498600

Revenge, gunplay and fistfights are the staples of the formula western and Irons’s predictable, high body-count hayburner has plenty of all three. When young Ben Jury sees two men gun down his Pa at their Kentucky farm, he vows revenge and sets off in pursuit of the killers. Ben is enthusiastic and determined, but not very smart. He gets beaten up, robbed, tossed overboard off a steamboat and accused of murder. During his journey from Kentucky to Natchez and on to Texas, Ben is aided by a suspiciously helpful riverboat gambler, a generous Texas cattleman, a crusty saddle tramp and an equally naïve cowboy-wannabe. The men he’s following, however, have outlaw friends and a big job planned, and they know Ben is on their trail. And Ben isn’t too sure he really has the nerve to shoot his father’s murderers, but fans of the genre will know what to expect when it comes time for a showdown. Gunfights and fistfights dominate the action, with exciting and bloody scenes, and Irons adds enough suspense to make this tale of frontier mayhem and homicide entertaining. (Oct.)

The Honorable Marksley
Sherry Lynn Ferguson. Avalon, $21.95 (240p) ISBN 978-0803498563

Richard Marksley, the poetry-loving protagonist of Ferguson’s latest (after The Other Brother) finds his name soiled by his foolish cousin, Reginald the Viscount Langsford. It seems Reginald has compromised a young gentlewoman while posing as Richard and then departed for Ireland as a shotgun wedding was planned. Meanwhile, the lovely and brilliant Hallie Ashton—she who mistook Reginald for Richard—has a secret of her own that connects her to Richard, but she fears that, if revealed, it could ruin her prospects with her intended. Lively characters and spirited scenes offer plenty of light entertainment, though the ending feels tacked on. It’s not quite another Austen-revisited novel, but it’s close. (Oct.)

Life Over Easy
Margo Candela. Kensington, $14 paper (320p) ISBN 978-0758215727

Natalya thinks she’s got her whole life together, but when live-in boyfriend (and would-be fiancé, though he doesn’t know this) Rick tells her he needs more space, things fall apart. Rick sputters through his cliché-heavy reasons for moving out of Natalya’s apartment (he needs space, and it’s not her, it’s him), and Natalya deals with this development by making lists (among others, why she’s better off without Rick, the pros and cons of taking him back, goals for self-improvement and a matrix summarizing the men she encounters), a cutesy device that takes away more than it adds. She’s reluctant to tell her overbearing family why Rick isn’t with her and tries to heal herself with self-help books, a makeover and an overactive dating life. But there are several false notes: a pregnancy scare isn’t quite convincing, and the urgency behind her romantic adventures is so she can pick one guy to bring to her family’s Thanksgiving dinner. It’s pretty standard fare as far as chick lit goes. (Oct.)

The Queen’s Handmaiden
Jennifer Ashley. Berkley, $14 paper (320p) ISBN 978-0425217320

In this uneven first-person overview of Elizabeth Tudor’s rise to power, Ashley (who also writes Regency mysteries as Ashley Gardner) chooses the unlikely perspective of Eloise Rousell, Elizabeth’s faithful seamstress and confidante. Elizabeth and Eloise meet thanks to Elizabeth’s governess, Eloise’s “Aunt Kat,” and Eloise is soon a demure eyewitness to Elizabeth’s early problems with Lord Thomas Seymour, whom Catherine Parr marries after King Henry’s death. Seymour’s later executed for treason. After Elizabeth’s young brother King Edward dies, more conflicts arise, significantly so after Lady Jane Grey’s execution and Queen Mary’s coronation. It’s moderately intense, though Queen Elizabeth’s controversial affair with the scandalous Robert Dudley is quickly glossed over. Also, the sweet, sudden romance between Eloise and Elizabeth’s spy, James Colby, feels contrived, as does the couple’s role in persuading Elizabeth to forego marriage to Robert. Though Eloise is nice enough, her wide-eyed take makes for an underdeveloped portrait of the Virgin Queen and the treacherous Tudors. (Oct.)

Tell Borges If You See Him: Tales of Contemporary Somnambulism
Peter LaSalle. Univ. of Georgia, $24.95 (256p) ISBN 978-0820329987

LaSalle’s mixed third collection of short stories finds him ruminating on the flexibility of time and paying homage (with a wink) to Jorge Luis Borges among other iconic writers. LaSalle’s protagonists often occupy a hazy space that isn’t necessarily dictated by setting or linear time. In the opening “Where We Last Saw Time,” an older man recounts his Harvard days and attempts to rescue his college sweetheart from a premature death by retracing his movements on one night in 1968. “Nocturne” follows college professor Davey on his pilgrimage to Proust’s reconstructed bedroom in Paris in order to revive his relationship with his younger girlfriend. In the title story, a down on his luck businessman plunders Argentina’s cash reserves. There are a couple of small missteps; the admittedly “clunky” “The End of Narrative” awkwardly delves into meta-fiction when a man stumbles upon his lover’s blog, and the hurried “Preseason: The Texas Football Dead” never gives its characters a chance. In another story, a surrealistic war between chain bookstores escalates into military campaigns. LaSalle (Hockey Sur Glace) is at his best in the longer stories, and the frequent references to literary theory and dead writers may have readers reaching for long-neglected classics. (Oct.)

The Trouble with Paradise
Jill Shalvis. Berkley, $14 paper (304p) ISBN 978-0425217191

A South Pacific dreamboat cruise turns nightmarish for cute L.A. retail clerk Dorie Anderson, whose winning ticket to paradise proves less than providential in the latest romantic suspense entry from Shavis (Smart and Sexy, etc.). Dorie boards the Sun Song, a small luxury yacht, with three other winning passengers: Vegas dancer Brandy Bradelyne; free-lance artist Cadence Powers and Astros baseball star Andy Hutchinson. After falling on the plank when boarding, Dorie gets a splinter in her shapely posterior that Dr. Christian Montague, the ship’s “Grumpy Gorgeous Doctor,” guesses at, but Dorie, already Andy-smitten, won’t let him near it. Murder, storms and intrigue lead to rough seas indeed, but eventual sunshine is never in doubt. (Oct.)