Fiction Reviews: Week of 6/2/2008

In Harrison's funny, spirited latest, Cliff, a 60-year-old former Michigan high school teacher, bids adieu to his inherited family farm (lost in a shady real estate deal); his wife, Vivian, of 38 years (who has been cheating on him and orchestrated the deal) and dear departed dog Lola (the “truest woman in my life”); and sets off on a yearlong, countrywide jag. Armed with his childhood jigsaw puzzle mapping the 50 states, Cliff endearingly tosses out a puzzle piece every time he crosses state lines, reminisces and tries (with as much humor as he can muster) to make the best of his shattered existence. The miles between Minnesota and Montana play host to a melodramatically drawn-out love/hate “romantic triumph” with Marybelle, a married former student. She stalks Cliff well into a visit with his affluent gay son, Robert, flourishing in San Francisco. As more calamity ensues in Arizona, New Mexico and Montana, the possibility of reconciliation with Vivian looms. With a plot left deliberately thin, Harrison is consistently witty and engaging as he drives home his timeless theme: that change can be beneficial at any point in life. (Oct.)

Winner of France's Prix Femina and shortlisted for the Orange Prize, Huston's 12th novel captures four generations of a family and examines the decades-long fallout of a dark family secret. The novel proceeds in reverse chronological order from 2004 to 1944 and begins with six-year-old Sol, who is sheltered and coddled by his mother as he immerses himself in all the perversities the Internet can offer. After surgery to remove Sol's congenital birthmark turns out poorly, the extended family takes a trip to great-grandmother Erra's childhood home in Munich. A turbulent history underlies the visit, and after Sol witnesses a tussle between his great-grandmother and great-aunt, the novel skips backwards in time through the childhood of Sol's father, Randall; grandmother Sadie; and finally Erra. Huston's brilliance is in how she gradually lets the reader in on the secret and draws out the revelation so carefully that by the time the reader arrives at the heart of the matter in Munich 1944, the discovery hits with blunt force. Huston masterfully links the 20th century's misery to 21st-century discomfort in razor-sharp portraits of children as they lose their innocence. (Oct.)

In this overstuffed collection from Booker Prize–winner Enright (The Gathering), the gems are overshadowed by the sheer number of stories (there are 31). Enright's talent lies in her ability to tweak an ordinary situation and create something that is at once unique and universal: two wives coming to different conclusions about their husbands' infidelities in “Until the Girl Died” and “The Portable Virgin,” an examination of elevator and pregnancy etiquette in “Shaft” or the permutations of sexual desire in “Revenge.” Other standouts such as “Little Sister” and “Felix” resonate because of their tight focus. In the former, the narrator pieces together her dead sister's life and realizes “It was all just bits. I really wanted it to add up to something, but it didn't.” In “Felix,” Enright riffs on Lolita and creates an endearing and repulsive middle-aged woman narrator who has an affair with a neighborhood boy. But too often Enright's characters—more often than not female, first-person narrators—bleed into one another until their stories become jumbled in the reader's mind, as another unhappy wife or mother laments her situation. (Sept.)

The Atlanta chapter of the Red Hat Club—Georgia, Teeny, Diane, Linda and Pru—meets again, sharing tea and sympathy in Smith's wry sequel to The Red Hat Club Rides Again. A frantic Georgia takes center stage as she deals with the disturbing news that her 27-year-old daughter, Callie, is engaged to 60-year-old Wade “Wild Man” Bowman. Wade, a successful florist, is also a recovering alcoholic and a divorced father with adult children and a “warehouse” full of baggage. Georgia tries to halt the nuptials, but her interference leads to unfortunate repercussions. Pru, meanwhile, becomes an instant grandmother when one of her son's ex-flings turns up, gravely ill, with a sweet little girl; and Linda endures an annoying visit from her widowed cousin. Smith's fizzy exploration of enduring friendship and family signals more changes ahead for Georgia, her family and the red hat matrons. Fans of the series will enjoy and look forward to the next. (Sept.)

Pat Peoples, the endearing narrator of this touching and funny debut, is down on his luck. The former high school history teacher has just been released from a mental institution and placed in the care of his mother. Not one to be discouraged, Pat believes he has only been on the inside for a few months––rather than four years––and plans on reconciling with his estranged wife. Refusing to accept that their “apart time” is actually a permanent separation, Pat spends his days and nights feverishly trying to become the man she had always desired. Our hapless hero makes a “friend” in Tiffany, the mentally unstable, widowed sister-in-law of his best friend, Ronnie. Each day as Pat heads out for his 10-mile run, Tiffany silently trails him, refusing to be shaken off by the object of her affection. The odd pair try to navigate a timid friendship, but as Pat is unable to discern friend from foe and reality from deranged optimism, every day proves to be a cringe-worthy adventure. Pat is as sweet as a puppy, and his offbeat story has all the markings of a crowd-pleaser. (Sept.)

A gay Lutheran teen, Charles James Stewart II (aka “Smart-ass”) chronicles a very memorable senior year at South High in Crystal Lake, Ill. Named after his aspiring state's attorney dad (whom he calls “First”), Charlie uses journal entries to chart his feelings with typical teen angst: griping about his parents, describing his unrequited passion for straight friend Bink Binkmeyer and skewering school. His less private tirades soon land him in trouble with Mrs. Bailey, a New Agey English teacher, and with icky fellow student Kyle Weir, a homophobic anti-Semite. The most hilariously heated entries depict falling in love for the first time with Rob Hunt (whose mother, Kathy, is in quite serious condition with ALS). Throughout the diary, Charlie keeps revising his college application essay, and it's not easy for him to watch his parents' marital troubles during First's campaign—or just to be a gay 17. Ferguson's exuberant portrait successfully re-creates coming-of-age's dizzy heat. (Sept.)

In the latest epic from Wood (Daughter of the Sun), Tonina, a young Mayan-era woman born on tiny Pearl Island (off Cuba), is tall and light skinned, while her people are smaller of stature and dark. When her differences become too much for her fellows to bear, they send her away to the mainland to find her true people. Her quest leads her to the heart of the Mayan empire and to a barbarian ballplayer named Kaan, who desperately wants to be Mayan. When Kaan's wife dies and he goes on a quest to cleanse her soul, he's unwillingly thrown together with Tonina, and the two begin to attract fellow questers as they make their way through Mayapan. Meanwhile, Kaan is being pursued by Mayan prince Balam, who blames Kaan for everything that has gone wrong in his life. As Tonina and Kaan pick up more followers, a new culture begins to emerge. Wood crafts a complex and compelling pre-Columbian world. (Sept.)

English writer Clay's disjointed debut traces the story of Skunk Cunningham, an 11-year-old girl living with her father, brother and au pair. One day, Skunk watches as local thug Bob Oswald beats teenager Rick Buckley. Bob, whose five daughters go to school with Skunk, is one-dimensionally horrible and has no qualms about bullying kids or teachers as he protects his daughters. Skunk and crew, meanwhile, spend their days in school steering clear of the Oswald girls, who are as psycho as their father. Between bouts of violence, things in the British suburb are quiet, and Rick becomes a virtual prisoner in his home, only to later emerge as a “broken” and violent beast. The novel is nearly plotless and overflows with generalized nastiness, and the grim proceedings, while initially discomforting, don't do anything except pile on and become banal. (Sept.)

Erika Todd moves to New Orleans to pursue her career as a sculptor, staying with friends Ren and Maggie. Ren's brother Vittorio, an enigmatic, attractive musician (and vampire), shows up to stay with them, too; after a rocky start, Ericka and Vittorio cannot suppress their mutual attraction for one another. That draws the wrath of Vittorio's insane mother, Orabella, who has been hunting and killing her son's mortal lovers for decades, and sets the plot—son and lover with conflicted loyalties—in motion. Orabella is deliciously psychotic, but there's little beyond her in this familiar tale of Big Easy haunting. (Sept.)

A former New York Giants tight end and two-time Pro Bowler, Bavaro turns in a gritty, behind-the-scenes look at life in the NFL for his debut novel. Dominic Fucillo (tight end for the Giants, natch) is having a bad week. The commissioner is fining him $50,000 for attacking a referee, his estranged girlfriend won't talk to him and the team doctor tells him that he has a hole in his knee that will need career-ending surgery after the season. Worse, Dominic's hopes of capping his career with a Super Bowl ring are threatened when star Giants linebacker James Moze, a drug user who consorts with gamblers, is found severely beaten. As the gamblers and other parasites circle the team, the Giants make an improbable run for a championship, with Dominic fighting all the way. Bavaro's dark vision of the NFL won't shock most pro football fans, but they will find much to cheer in his colorful characters, insider revelations and lively storytelling. (Sept.)

In this uneven thriller from bestseller Lustbader (The Bourne Legacy), Alli Carson, the 19-year-old daughter of the U.S. president-elect, moderate Republican Edward Carson, is abducted a month before her father's inauguration to be programmed to do something truly terrible at the inauguration ceremony. ATF agent Jack McClure is chosen to lead the search for Alli, primarily because she was the boarding-school roommate of his now-deceased daughter, Emma. Jack faces many difficulties, chief among them his own severe dyslexia. The unnamed current president, who makes religion the basis for all his decisions, wants to use the search as an excuse for all-out war on his enemies, the First American Secular Revivalists and their secret partners, the E-Two terrorist group. Lustbader does a fine job depicting the search for Alli and reconstructing Jack's past, but the confusing political message will leave many readers wondering what the book was really about. (Aug.)

Known for his financial thrillers, Frey (The Takeover) mixes baseball and crime in his less than compelling 15th novel. Arthritic, 63-year-old Jack Barrett, who lives with his grown daughter in Sarasota, Fla., where he bags groceries at a convenience store, wonders how he got sacked from his job as a respected scout for the New York Yankees and robbed of his pension. While watching a local minor league baseball game, Jack sees a player who just might be his ticket back to “The Show”: Mikey Clemants, a gifted centerfielder who displays his talents intermittently and doesn't seek or earn the approval of the fans or his teammates. Add to the mix Johnny “Deuce” Bondano, a Queens hit man hired to murder the guy who killed a Mafioso's grandson. Readers will enjoy unraveling the mysterious backstories of Barrett and Clemants, but a plethora of subplots and minor characters slow the main action. (Aug.)

Revenge drives this superb stand-alone from Edgar-finalist Koryta (A Welcome Grave). Frank Temple II, a U.S. marshal, commits suicide after a tip leads to the exposure of his secret life as a hit man. Seven years later, Frank II's 24-year-old son, Frank Temple III, learns from an old Vietnam pal of his father's that the man who ratted out Frank II, Devin Matteson, is returning to Wisconsin from Florida. Temple heads to his father's cabin in remote Willow Flowage, Wis., to confront Matteson, who first recruited Frank II into the assassination game. Temple realizes that there's more at stake than his vendetta against Matteson, as he encounters a group of ruthless killers and joins forces with Nora Stafford, the owner of an auto repair shop. Koryta's dialogue is as sharp as the knives his characters wield, and his plot twists at the most unexpected moments. This thriller places Koryta solidly in the company of the genre's most powerful voices. Author tour. (Aug.)

Set among early 21st-century Russian Jewish immigrants in New York City, Reyn's debut beautifully adapts Anna Karenina's social melodrama for a decidedly different set of Russians. Anna, 30-something with a string of bad relationships behind her and a restless, literarily inclined soul, is wooed into marriage by the financial stability and social appropriateness of Alex K., an older businessman with roots in her Rego Park, Queens, community. As Anna chafes at her unromantic life, trouble hits in the form of David, the hipster-writer boyfriend of her sweet, naïve cousin, Katia. The furiously flying sparks between Anna and David provide cover as Katia is quietly pursued by Lev, a young Bukharan Jew who, like Anna, is a dreamer whose relationship with the émigré community is fraught. Reyn's Anna is perhaps even harder to sympathize with than Tolstoy's original, but Reyn's sparkling insight into the Russian and Bukharan Jewish communities, and the mesmerizing intensity of her prose, make this debut a worthy remake. Lev's and Anna's divergent trajectories and choices illuminate how perilous the balance between self and society remains. (Aug.)

At the start of Martin and Carranza's Da Vinci Code knockoff, members of a secret group known as the Corbel, who worship “the Dark One,” orchestrate Spanish architect Antonio Gaudí's apparently accidental death in 1926. Their purpose, carried out over centuries, is to destroy the Knights of the Moriah, who guard the greatest secret in Christianity. In 2006, 92-year-old Juan Givell, the last grand master of the Moriah, must pass his knowledge on to his attractive 26-year-old granddaughter, who will then, along with her mathematician boyfriend, take up Givell's mission to finish “the Great Work.” Far too often in a plot involving an ancient relic, the Templars, the Vatican, riddles, secret diaries, torture and many brutal murders, the action grinds to a halt as someone stops to deliver a lecture on a historical fact or theory. Ardent fans of Gaudí's work will best appreciate this erratic enterprise. (Aug.)

When Frank Foy, a high-living corporate accountant, goes to jail after his company's Enronesque fall, Pat, his landscape-designer wife, is pathologically unwilling to grasp the fraud's implications in this muddled novel from Carey (The Crossley Baby). Pat inexplicably decides to repay a random group of the fraud's victims, first through personal checks and then, even more bizarrely, through a planned investment in wind energy.Along the way, she reunites with her former lover, Lemuel Samuel, and her onetime best friend, Ginny Howley, both mystery writers who suffered in the company's collapse. The penniless Ginny joins Pat's odyssey, while Lemuel's son keeps the Foys' teenage daughter company. Though Lemuel and Ginny's sane presence and a mid-book switch to Ginny's wonderfully quirky, self-reflective viewpoint offer welcome relief, the narrative never gels as social satire, moral commentary, character study or intellectual puzzle. (Aug.)

Gutcheon concludes the Moss family saga that began with Leeway Cottage in a disappointing fashion. Laurus and Sydney Brant Moss have died, and it's up to their three children, Eleanor, Monica and Jimmy, to divide up the estate. Naturally, the process exposes old frictions and creates new ones while sparking reminiscences of their lives, notably concerning their difficult relationships with their prickly mother, who hid venom beneath a veneer of social graciousness. The narration is many-voiced; the siblings, their spouses and children, their friends and neighbors, and even the dead contribute to the storytelling. While the points-of-view of the living are maddeningly self-involved, the dead really seem to understand what's going on. The effect is both tragic and mildly amusing, but gradually, it becomes difficult to feel for the characters. Though the novel is beautifully written, the narrative becomes frustrating and claustrophobic repetitive as it wears on. (Aug.)

Walker's debut of love, loss, renewal, art and history is set in a sensually realized Venice and follows the physical and emotional wanderings of an unfulfilled wife. While on tour with her famous musician husband, Nel Everett abruptly leaves him after a fight. She ends up solo in Venice, and after a roundabout introduction involving a runaway dog Nel rescues, Nel falls in with Signora Lucrezia da Isola, a countess living in a centuries-old palazzo. The palazzo was once a convent, and the recent discovery of a fresco hidden beneath a plaster wall has brought to the palazzo a coterie of competitive art experts bent on determining who painted the fresco. Nel, meanwhile, is intrigued by a small painting in her room. A trunk discovered in the attic provides evidence that leads Nel and an art conservationist to differing conclusions about who is responsible for the artworks. As the mystery unravels, Nel begins to reassess her marriage and regain some independence. Walker's prose can come across like she's straining to write capital-L literature, but that likely won't scare off the book groups. (Aug.)

Actress Barbeau and bestseller Scott (The Alchemyst) give a novel twist to one of the hoariest clichés of vampire lore in this compulsively readable dark fantasy. Secret vampires in the film industry have concocted vampire myths and disseminated them through horror movies to mislead superstitious humans (e.g., real vampires can walk by day). One of the biggest bamboozlers is Ovsanna Moore, a seductive centuries-old vampire currently producing and acting in B-movies with titles like Vatican Vampyres. When humans and vampires in her studio entourage begin dying spectacularly gruesome deaths, Ovsanna knows that someone is specifically targeting her. Since it's just a matter of time before investigating detective Peter King uncovers Ovsanna's vampire pedigree, she must solve the mystery or “die” and resurface somewhere else. Alternate chapters from Peter and Ovsanna's limited points of view build narrative tension. Briskly paced and full of fang-in-cheek humor, this novel is one of the more entertaining recent works of supernatural noir. (Aug.)

In Wilhelm's sluggish 11th Barbara Holloway legal thriller (after A Wrongful Death), controversial academic David Etheridge returns to his hometown of Eugene, Ore., to lecture on his latest anti-everything book. But when his college nemesis, Sen. Robert McCrutchen, is shot dead, David is fingered for the hit—and for the 22-year-old unsolved murder of co-ed Jill Storey, David's assumed former lover and the assumed unrequited love interest of McCrutchen. Enter Barbara Holloway, whom David hires as counsel, just before an unknown assailant beats David within inches of his life. The story hinges on a meager twist—Jill may have been a lesbian—that's learned early in the investigation and, despite its implications, fails to catalyze deeper discoveries. The plot stalls, and Barbara spends most of the book rooting around in the dark for clues. A lengthy block of exposition delivers a tidy ending to one of the weaker entries in this popular series. (Aug.)

Best known today as a playwright, Chekhov (1860–1904) was also a prolific and accomplished writer of short fiction, as shown by this collection of 42 stories, most of which have previously been unavailable in English translation. As Sekirin notes in the preface, these stories appeared in a variety of periodicals “and until now have managed to escape the notice of contemporary editors and translators.” Though billed as featuring crime and suspense, the volume has a broad range, including morality tales and stories of both dark and puckish humor. In the amusingly macabre “A Night of Horror,” a man finds a coffin in his apartment. “Task,” about a college student and bad checks, has a thoroughly modern ring. “A Crime: A Double Murder Case” is classic noir. Not all the selections shine, but enough do that the collection should appeal to more than just Chekhov fanatics. (Aug.)

Now divorced, 35 and resolved to become a teacher after a series of entry-level design jobs, Bev Bloomrosen takes up temporary residence in her parents' Long Island home while they're in Florida. There, she immediately gets drawn into older sister Clare's marital woes and younger sister Joey's struggle to stay off drugs. Romantic complications soon arrive in the form of the neighbors' son, Kenny, a comedy writer whose tangled past involves both Bev and Joey. The sisters share an adventure while removing an industrial drum from beneath Kenny's parents' house—until they open it to discover the body of a pregnant woman, possibly killed years earlier by Kenny's father (who is now in Florida with advanced dementia). Meister (Secret Confessions of the Applewood PTA) develops this uneasy mix of soap-opera secrets and slapstick humor with twist after twist to the point of reader exhaustion. (Aug.)

Carbin's brisk, funny first novel records the changes in a shallow, self-centered beauty brought on by a bun in the oven and an unlikely connection with a stranger. After being callous with many hearts, Brit Rachel Covington gets her comeuppance when her interoffice romance with superfoxy Nick Maxwell comes to an abrupt end. While pining for him and experiencing bouts of nausea, moodiness and ravenous hunger, she spies her friend Sarah McCarthy's husband, Glenn, passionately kissing another woman. Rachel also happens upon a lost cellphone and develops a friendship with its owner, charismatic Hector, soon revealed to be Glenn's successful older brother. When Rachel confirms her pregnancy, her decision to only let Hector know strengthens their bond and puts them on the fast track to potential romance, but circumstances prevent the would-be lovebirds from getting together. These are contrived in a necessary chick lit way, but Carbin fashions a convincing transformation for her protagonist. Other genre tropes abound (including the charged climax and Hector's wealth), but Carbin's engaging main character and swaggering sense of humor save the day. (Aug.)

In Morrison's disjointed latest, former madam Honey Thomas has come into $50 million of her former pimp Valentino's money, courtesy of semicrooked cop Sapphire Blue—who is pursuing her own agenda. Honey's new boyfriend, Grant Hill, is the first man to treat her well, but when he finds out about her past from his wastrel half-brother Benito, he's soon calling Honey all sorts of names and sleeping with single mother, stripper and aspiring actress Red Velvet. As Honey starts a group to help women who have been abused by men recover from their problems and get on their feet, Red Velvet is soon on the client list. In the meantime, Sapphire is also in love with Grant, the only man who ever treated her decently, and conspires to take him from Honey and pin the theft of Valentino's money on her. The plot bobs and weaves with the three women's and Grant's travails. Each preaches her own brand of empowerment, while all cut each other down over a man who never seems as special as any of them believe him to be. (Aug.)

In this just-miss he-said/she-said from Candela (Life Over Easy), Evelyn Morgan Reed-Sinclair is a reluctant socialite returning to San Francisco a hundred pounds lighter after a year in Paris—and a hundred times more worldly after discovering her art teacher/lover was a married man. Accompanying her gay best friend, James, to his Web job one day, Evelyn is mistaken for a temp and decides to move from rich dilettante to working girl. Meanwhile, Alexander Velazquez, a wunderkind lawyer from a working-class Bay Area family, gets fired from his high-priced Manhattan firm (after suggesting that the cleaning staff unionize) and comes home to San Francisco as well, taking a high-powered but icky job for the money. Evelyn and Alex work in adjacent office buildings—and readers can guess the rest. Their story, told in a wry first-person by the two, alternately has some nice almost-encounters and internal ditherings, but they're overly drawn out. Overwritten secondaries tip the scales. (Aug.)

There's enough suburban-mom anxiety in Rosenberg's crackling fourth novel to fuel several ulcers: worrisome in-laws, spoiled-brat kids, a husband with a shrinking income, a newfound stepson and a gorgeous neighbor whose nastiness knows no bounds. The nonstop crises in Mindy's diary of domestic disaster would easily torpedo both credibility and patience if it weren't for this harangued housewife's edgy wit and chicken-soup-for-the-soul warmth. (“Buggin' out?” Mindy fumes at her stepson. “Oh, right. Because with three other kids, a job I hate, and a failing business, I was short of things that pissed me off.”) Though hostile next-door-neighbor Beth Diamond is the presumed Darth Vader in Mindy's life, it's clear the pair have more in common than they'd like to admit, and they eventually bond and help each other through domestic troubles. If you enjoy giddy diversions, this chronicle of a long and bumpy suburban ride can be surprisingly sweet and is well worth the trip. (Aug.)

Nevins's debut reads like the novelization of a film adaptation of a Philip K. Dick novel. It's 2048, and the U.S. government is run by the Conglomerates, a political party controlled by “the chairman,” whose regime has transformed the demographics of the country: “Coots,” or those over 80, have been relocated to retirement communities, while problematic youth, or “Dyscards,” live in city subways. Christine Salter is the director of genetic development at the New York Medical Center, where she helps people “create, or re-create” their children and themselves through genetic manipulation. When her best employee and potential love interest disappears after being suspected of subversive activities, Christine cozies up with the chairman in order to find out what has happened to him. Meanwhile, her grandparents are deported to “Cootsland,” and Christine's estranged sister becomes a Dyscard. As Christine uncovers a sinister plot, she abruptly reconsiders the moral implications of her work and puts her own life at risk to save those whom society has forsaken. Readers willing to pardon the oversimplification of good versus evil may enjoy the slick presentation and Hollywood-like setup. (Aug.)

San Francisco poet Windsor's punchy, edgy briefs find his characters often caught in Homeric and Old Testament entanglements. “The Last Israelite in the Sea” imagines a protagonist running after Moses after the Red Sea miraculously parts, feeling rapturous but also terrified, barefoot and unable to swim, that he won't make it to shore. “The Art of War” finds various Homeric characters in painfully human situations, such as Paris, steeped in pornography as a youth and unable to consummate his desire for Helen because her beauty only underscores his imperfections, or Achilles, accidentally shot by a farm boy in the chest rather than in the heel. Some selections have a poignant memoiristic feel, as in the elegiac “I'll Be You,” in which the friend of a dying gay man in San Francisco has to make choice that places him between his friend and his friend's caring Tulsa mother. Windsor's stories possess the startling, memorable quality of the brightest fiction. (Aug.)

“Shaker romance” might seem like an oxymoron, but Gabhart (Summer of Joy) pens an interesting if emotionally lukewarm historical tale that explores the fascinating world of a religious Shaker community. The predictable story line is less compelling than the details about the Shakers and their stringent religious beliefs, with celibacy key to the plot. Set amid the War of 1812, the point of view shifts between the two romantic leads. Twenty-year-old Sister Gabrielle Hope's spiritual visions enable her to see future events. Although she's committed to the Shaker community of Harmony Hill (based on Kentucky's real-life Pleasant Hill), a few words and a kiss from the widowed outsider Dr. Brice Scott cause her to question the life she and her mother have chosen. More uncertainty follows as the strict rules of the community separate mothers from their children. Disappointingly, the romance never tingles, and even the novel's darker scenes of suicide and military execution are emotionally flat. But fans of Beverly Lewis's Amish novels may find Gabhart's well-researched historical fiction to their liking. (Aug.)

In this Regency novel from Ferguson (The Honorable Marksley), Charles Cabot's quality landscape architect work nicely complements his noble lineage. A routine visit to the estate of Sir Eustace Lawrence quickly draws Charles into Lawrence family tensions: middle daughter Margaret has an obsessive stalker in the powerful, sadistic earl of Sutcliffe. Since Sutcliffe has already killed a young male friend of Meg's and gotten away with it, she has maintained an emotional distance from all men, fearing Sutcliffe will repeat his violence. But in spite of Meg's determined coolness, both she and Charles feel stirred by romance, and Charles, dressed in his aristocratic finery and flanked by his high-born cousins, baits Sutcliffe to show his hand. There's too much dialogue, but it's sprightly, and Ferguson's lively characters carry the day. (Aug.)

While Chief Insp. Porfiry Petrovich Rostnikov isn't as well developed a character as, say, Martin Cruz Smith's Arkady Renko, he's still one of the better contemporary examples of an honest policeman navigating the shoals of a corrupt society, as shown in the strong 15th Rostnikov novel from MWA Grand Master Kaminsky (after 2001's Murder on the Trans-Siberian Express). As maneuvering within the Moscow police force threatens the survival of Rostnikov's department, the Office of Special Investigations, his boss, Igor “the Yak” Yaklovev, orders him to look into the possible murder of Luc O'Neil, a Canadian geologist who died in a Siberian diamond mine rumored to be haunted by ghosts. O'Neil's death may be part of a series, which includes the torture-murders of two black South Africans found in a Moscow cemetery. The particularly high stakes make this one of Rostnikov's more exciting investigations. Hopefully, fans won't have to wait as long for his next outing. (Sept.)

Set in the summer of 1273, Royal's excellent fifth historical (after 2007's Justice for the Damned) finds Prioress Eleanor of Tyndal beset by various problems: the local villagers disapprove of the nightly consultations Eleanor's difficult new anchoress has been conducting; the wife of her friend Crowner Ralf has recently died in childbirth, leaving him with an infant daughter; and she continues to struggle with her attraction to Brother Thomas, a monk. Then Martin the Cooper, a brute disliked by many, dies in bed with a prostitute at a Tyndal inn, an apparent poisoning victim. More horrific murders by poison follow before Eleanor and Ralf discover the truth in the stunning conclusion. Against an authentic backdrop of medieval life and lore, Royal once again brings alive characters who are true to their period yet exhibit emotions and feelings that 21st-century readers will recognize as their own. (Aug.)

The lovable hero of Bell's light second Judge Jackson Crain mystery (after 2005's Death Splits a Hair) lives up to his reputation for sticking his nose into any crime committed in the small East Texas town of Post Oak. When hotshot realtor Tom Delgado is found with a neat bullet hole in his head at his desk, Jackson doubts the killer is Tom's wife, Dovie, who becomes a suspect after it's revealed that the realtor's will names Sister Mary Dobbs McDermott, a flashy Dallas evangelist, as his primary beneficiary. Adding spice (and angst) is the middle-aged Jackson's sudden fling with Roxanne Kruger, a visiting artist whose rancher mother is dying. As spring blossoms into summer, the heat's on to find the real killer, who may well strike again. While some readers may wish there was more meat on the bones of this country-fried cozy, Jackson's keen sense of humor and justice will leave them eager for further adventures. (Aug.)

Harvest time dumps a jeroboam of trouble on the doorstep of vintner Lucie Montgomery in Crosby's fizzy third mystery set in Virginia wine country (after 2007's The Chardonnay Charade). During an oenophilic supper at Mount Vernon, glamorous guest lecturer Valerie Beauvais hints there's something suspect about the prize bottle—a Bordeaux Thomas Jefferson supposedly bought for George Washington in 1790—to be auctioned at the upcoming charity fund-raiser Lucie will be hosting. But before the wine scholar can make it to Montgomery Estate Vineyard for a personal inspection, she's the victim of a fatal accident. Or is it murder? Turning detective, Lucie quickly finds plenty of bad blood—and deadly secrets—even among the horsey set she counts as friends. Despite a host of lesser players with no more dimension than a wine label and a confusing denouement, the action canters along briskly, infused with plenty of local color and wine lore. (Aug.)

The nature of truth, the minefield of emotions between fathers and sons, and the madness of vengeance converge in Shamus-winner Wright's intricate first stand-alone. Randall Wilkes, fired from his job as a top Chicago newspaper reporter, limps back to his hometown in rural Tennessee to write a biography of his childhood friend, former governor Sonny McMahan. Almost immediately, Sonny's elderly mother and her young caregiver are brutally murdered, and Sonny's reprobate father, reported dead, reappears. When a decades-old skeleton is recovered and identified as Randall's first love, he puts the biography aside and sets out to find the killers. The complex plot makes the most of tangled smalltown connections, moving fluidly from nostalgic remembrances, ruminations on friendship and filial devotion, to old-fashioned suspense and violence. Wright (Red Sky Lament) captures the rich, earthy essence of the South and wraps up his story with a sweet coda, all the more touching for being understated. (Aug.)

The volumes in Akashic's locale-based noir anthology series set outside North America (Dublin Noir, etc.) offer more variety than those set in different major U.S. cities, and this one is no exception. The editors' brief but insightful introduction makes clear that the sun and sea tourist image of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago is at odds with the country's “political climate of excess and corruption” and “an element of society afloat in drugs and guns.” While one entry, Robert Antoni's “How to Make Photocopies in the Trinidad & Tobago National Archives,” mostly comprising stream-of-consciousness letters to “mr. robot,” may be tough going for noir fans who prefer traditional storytelling, the other 17 stories are solid. The two standouts are Keith Jardim's mystical “The Jaguar” and Lawrence Scott's “Prophet,” in which a series of child disappearances in a small but corrupt community builds to an appropriately bleak ending. (Aug.)

In British author Bannister's absorbing eighth Brodie Farrell mystery (after 2007's Flawed), Farrell continues to juggle the two men in her life: Det. Supt. Jack Deacon of the Dimmock police, who's the father of her young son, and Daniel Hood, the lovelorn math teacher who helps run Looking for Something? Farrell's “finding” agency. The murder of Joe Loomis—pimp, drug dealer, racketeer—is almost cause for celebration until the victim's dying utterance results in Deacon's removal from the case. When the investigation uncovers a suspected terrorist plot with Dimmock as the unlikely target, the focus shifts to preventing panic by foiling the terrorists. Farrell also becomes embroiled in the hunt for Loomis's killer. Bannister's portrayal of the town's response to a possible attack shows how easily mistrust can mushroom into violence. Readers will relish Bannister's well-plotted solution and the revelation of unexpected depths and facets in her series characters. (Aug.)

When a diamond brooch stolen decades ago turns up for sale at an upscale London auction house, the brooch's owner, Dr. Erika Rosenthal, a retired academic who escaped Nazi Germany with her philosopher husband, David, during WWII, turns for help to her friend Insp. Gemma James in Crombie's lively 12th mystery to feature Gemma and Scotland Yard's Duncan Kincaid (after 2007's Water Like a Stone). The suspicious hit-and-run death of Kristin Cahill, a young clerk involved in the brooch's sale, is but the first in a series of fatalities to befall people connected to the auction. Crombie raises the suspense by alternating the contemporary story, which includes news of Gemma's mother's battle against cancer, with flashbacks to the investigation of David's unsolved murder in 1952 while he was working on an exposé about Nazi sympathizers. With its echoes of Elizabeth George and even Danielle Steel, this entry will appeal as much to newcomers as to series fans. 7-city author tour. (July)

Murder mars Milan Jacovich's 40th high school reunion in Roberts's routine 14th mystery to feature the Cleveland PI (after 2002's The Irish Sports Pages). When Dr. Phil Kohn, “the class snotnose,” is found shot to death in the parking garage of the hotel hosting the event after arguing with another classmate, playwright Tommy Wiggins, Wiggins naturally becomes the prime suspect. Wiggins's defense attorneys hire Milan to find either the real killer or uncover enough reasonable doubt to avoid their client's indictment. The plot follows a straight path, devoid of any surprises, as the detective interviews the many classmates who had one reason or another to murder Kohn. Some unfortunate similes (“our friendship ended like a cracked ping-pong ball falling off the edge of a table”) shouldn't discourage new readers from catching up on earlier entries in this solid series, recently reissued by Gray & Company. (July)

This fine selection of some of the best short fiction by one of the most respected dark fantasy writers in the world will be a must purchase for aficionados of the genre. Among the stories included are “The Man Who Painted the Dragon Griaule,” wherein an artist devotes his life to the illumination of a dormant, mile-long dragon; “Salvador,” where a Vietnam-like conflict rages in a future Central America; “Jack's Decline,” the sly and gruesome tale of an elderly Jack the Ripper confronting Nazi Germany; “Radiant Green Star,” set in a future Southeast Asia replete with circuses, revenge and the last living American POW; and “Only Partially Here,” a harrowing tale of strange happenings in the pit left by the fall of the World Trade Center. Shepard is fantasy literature's Joseph Conrad or perhaps its Saul Bellow, a writer who never tires of staring directly into the abyss. (Aug.)

Complicated politics and family scandals twist through this tale of courtly intrigue from prolific fantasist Duncan (Children of Chaos). Rape and murder are almost unheard of in Aureity, where the female nobility cross bloodlines for strength: men's physical, women's mental. Aging gladiator Mudar of Quoin, shamed by the death of Mandragora, the woman he served, hunts for her killer. As he learns that his own father, Piese, slew Mandragora after she recognized him as a rapist, he schemes to arrange a fight with his half-brother, Humate, in psychic arena games. Mudar must convince Humate of their father's guilt, bring Piese to justice and reclaim his name, rank and lands before Humate can marry Mudar's beloved Tendence. Though made fresh by matter-of-fact female supremacy and its midlife hero's view of youthful warrior culture, the culture's obsession with degrees of caste and the absence of commoners may leave readers wishing for a more revolutionary resolution. (Aug.)

Jane Austen, Charlotte Brontë and H.P. Lovecraft collide in Beckett's periodically entertaining debut. Young Ivy Lockwell, the unmarried daughter of a family stricken with poverty after her magician father went mad, travels from her home in Invarel, a mirror of Austen-era London, to become a governess at the country estate of Heathcrest, a Bronte-analogue complete with mysterious Rochester stand-in, Mr. Quent. As a woman, she is forbidden to perform magic and consoles herself with the study of magical history, discovering an ancient story still working its will on the world. Treading a fine line between homage and unoriginality, Invarel occasionally sparkles with descriptions of illusionist shows and quasi-fascist government activity, but Heathcrest is lifted part and parcel from Jane Eyre, and Beckett relies too much on references to that work to fuel emotional arcs and reader attachment. (Aug.)

Book publicist Salvatore skewers the publishing industry and recent trends in vampire fiction in this humorous debut. As if corralling supernatural-fiction authors and their overenthusiastic fans wasn't hard enough, publicist Gia Felice must keep secret that her authors are the real deal: vampires, werewolves and occasionally aliens. Her determination to remain mortal is challenged by Johnny, a vampire whose flirting is getting increasingly intense. While Gia and Johnny continue their macabre mating dance, she is enlisted by author Bella to track down Daniel, the vampire who changed her and who she suspects of murdering her husband. Salvatore demonstrates a thorough knowledge of New York City, the publishing world and the best ways to blend paranormal romance and chick lit. While Daniel never exudes any real menace, the relationship between Gia and Johnny is always enjoyable, making for a fun, fast-paced read. (Aug.)

The first collection of short stories from online magazine Orson Scott Card's InterGalactic Medicine Show (www.oscims.com), launched in 2005, features noteworthy SF and fantasy stories from a bumper crop of talented new authors. Four new Enderverse stories from Card will initially draw genre fans, but the stories from lesser-known writers are the compilation's real driving force. James Maxey's provocative “To Know All Things That Are in the Earth” takes a decidedly skeptical look at the Rapture; David Farland's “The Mooncalfe” puts an interesting—and unique—spin on oft-trod Arthurian legend; and Tom Barlow's brilliantly sardonic “Call Me Mr. Positive” explores isolation on a deep space mission gone tragically awry. If the quality of these stories is any indication, IGMS has as much promise as the newcomers it showcases. (Aug.)

Vietnam vet Steven Harris and Candice Proctor (of the Sebastian St. Cyr mysteries, written as C.S. Harris) write here as Graham and deliver rollicking good suspense. October “Tobie” Guinness is a navy vet of the Iraq War with remote viewing skills, meaning she can see into rooms from miles away. She can't hone in with complete exactness, though, and a viewing session unintentionally leads her to discover a conspiracy involving key defense industry and government personnel. They, in turn, quickly dispatch former special ops man Lance Palmer to “clean up” the situation. Jax Alexander is a CIA agent one mistake away from being fired, who goes down to New Orleans to investigate the death of Tobie's former professor and stumbles into the plot. Jax and Tobie run for their lives, trying to stay one step ahead of the conspirators, piece together the plot and eventually save the life of the vice president and avert an unjust war. Tobie, tormented by her gift, is terrifically capable and intelligent, while Jax is the consummate skeptic who still loves his country and believes in his job. The credible, fast-moving plot gives them ample opportunities to show off their skills. (Sept.)

School principal Jody Hawkes, known for being easygoing, decides to turn John Tyler High into a charter school without notifying any of her staff. At first, as Jody promises additional freedom and autonomy, most faculty embrace the changes—but it soon becomes clear that a evil bait and switch is underway. Students and faculty who embrace the charter get steadily darker and more sadistic; teachers and students who oppose the charter find strange things happening and people disappearing; and the school seems to have taken on a life of its own. The resolution is painfully simple, but overall Little crafts a tightly allegorical piece of horror. (Aug.)

Louisa Rodriguez was the only survivor of a brutal massacre that took her family and her village. Shot in the head and left to die, she regains consciousness and strength to bury the dead; filled with an all-consuming desire for retribution, she walks off into the Arizona wilderness, naked and alone. Horse trader Ring Crossman stumbles upon her and names her Blaze for the blazing strip of white that has appeared in her hair. As the two travel across the Southwest, they cross paths with Bane, a warrior with a hunger for vengeance equal to Blaze's. Soon, Blaze and Bane are on a journey of passion and destruction that may destroy them both. The narrative proceeds disjointedly, and the love triangle never quite materializes. But Blaze is full of strength and beauty, and her ability to grow after such horrific trauma is captivating. (Aug.)

In veteran author Medeiros's wickedly clever latest, set in 1805, Catriona Kincaid is a lovely Scotswoman exiled in England after her parents' deaths for “the Scottish Cause.“ When her uncle tries to marry her off to protect her from further persecution by the British, she talks roguish Sir Simon Wescott into a devil's deal: marry her and take half her copious dowry in exchange for guiding her to Scotland to find her brother, Connor. Simon accepts, under the stipulation that he can take her, too. Love soon strikes them, but his determined avoidance of heroics and her desire to lead her kinsmen against the English lead to serious complications. Wit, charm and bravery abound as the two try to find their way back to one another. (July)

Here's another early manga by the creator of Full Moon O Sagashite and Gentlemen's Alliance Cross. Fifteen-year-old Kyoko is the incognito princess of Earth, attending public school anonymously while her twin sister, Ui, has been asleep since birth. Kyoko sets off on a quest to gather the 12 god stones to save Ui's life, but as an added bonus Kyoko hopes Ui will take over her princess duties and stop those pesky riots going on outside the palace. The story has an extremely busy plot and equally layered, busy art; the detailed costume designs are a mishmash of time periods, lots of screen tone, and speed lines fill every frame. Fantasy elements are heaped on; in this future, humans mix their own DNA with animals and plants to form the Flower Tribe, the Dragon Tribe and even an evil Demon Tribe. Despite the older teen rating (perhaps due to a bloodied dragon corpse in one scene) the story has appeal for young girls; Kyoko is a magic girl with a talking time wand, a robot-cat sidekick and two cute teenage boy guardians who can transform into dragons. In her author's notes, Tanemura admits she was in a “slump” while writing this story, and the resulting work is uneven. (July)

This spooky Victorian thriller by the creator of Hellboy isn't particularly complex, but has a winsomeness that carries the story. Clients of prostitutes are turning up with gruesome lesions from which emerge tentacles, barnacles and fins. The victims are tended by Jenny Finn, a gentle-but-dour character resembling Emily Dickenson who may be a whore herself. Suddenly, a woman is found dead, and the seaside town turns out to find the murderer. Enter Joseph, besotted with Jenny, who promptly sets the mob on the wrong man. Meanwhile, the prime minister, an odd fellow who wears a diving suit helmet on land, is looking for Jenny; she may be the cause of the lesions plague, or else a strange, oceanic messiah. The black and white art is a mix of baroque and gritty; even oozing sores are drawn with a certain flourish. Oddly, the story ends up being a take on the notion that a pure heart can save the day, except that the pure heart belongs to a man, not a woman. (Jenny, a mystically vengeful rape victim, is far from innocent.) Mignola's fantasy should appeal to lovers of Victoriana, especially nautical-minded goths and steampunks. (June)

An underground Japanese comic from the 1970s, Red Colored Elegy tells the breakup story of two young animators. Hayashi uses animation techniques and an experimental style to beautifully lament Ichiro and Sachiko's failed relationship. Traced photographs, blank word balloons and nearly cubist sex scenes are effective in telling a surprisingly narrative story in a minimalist style. Ichiro was trained as a painter and began work in animation for the money, but now he wants to draw manga. Part-time animator Sachiko runs from her arranged marriage and moves in with Ichiro instead. The two lovers drink heavily and risk being ripped off by animation companies in the shadow of politically volatile student protest movements. Feminist ideals and talk of labor unions take a backseat to a personal and painful story of everyday life. Although a brief introduction explains the historical context, more information on such story elements as the avant-garde Garo magazine would have been welcome. Readers unfamiliar with Japan might not understand the cultural pressure Sachiko faces or expenses for a Buddhist funeral that Ichiro cannot afford to pay. Yet the book, presented left-to-right, is completely accessible for an experimental work, and the story is heartbreakingly universal. (May)

This contemporary continuation of a 1957 SF film demonstrates that sometimes it's better to leave well enough alone. 20 Million Miles to Earth is remembered fondly not for its wooden acting or pedestrian script but for Harryhausen's wonderful stop-motion animation of the Ymir, a savage reptile-man from Venus that keeps doubling in size until humans blast it off the top of the Coliseum in Rome. Unfortunately, the Ymir isn't an especially interesting character. It's just a dumb monster whose main personality trait is a very bad temper. To spin a new story out of Harryhausen's working sketches, the creators are forced to toss in chunks of Indiana Jones, Alien and a slew of bad monster movies in hopes that something will stick together to serve as the basis of a plot. It doesn't work, and the result is silly mush, sprinkled with mystical-ecological gibberish. Garcia's art is competent if a bit stiff while Campos's coloring is surprisingly pretty good. (May)