Fiction Reviews

Smith delivers yet another delightful installment to his Scotland Street series. This time out, he focuses mostly on the irrepressible Bertie Pollock, a precocious six-year-old whose mummy, Irene, forces him to play a saxophone, converse in Italian, do yoga and see Dr. Hugo Fairbairn, a psychotherapist who looks a lot like Bertie's baby brother, Ulysses. As Bertie struggles to accommodate his nutty mummy and new brother, another crisis explodes for artist Angus Lordie, whose beloved dog, Cyril, has been thrown in the pound for biting someone. Cyril is innocent, and Angus, with Bertie's assistance, sets out to rescue Cyril before he's put down. Subplots abound, and Smith details with dependable whimsical flair the romantic progress of Scotland Street familiars Matthew, Pat and Bruce. Series fans know what to expect, and they get it by the truckload. (Nov.)

Following close upon the release of The Shadow Year, Edgar-winner Ford's third collection leads readers down dark and subtle passageways onto some very strange turf. In the title story, people drown and end up in a submerged city whose inhabitants are scornful of anyone wanting to return to the surface; a man named Hatch is compelled to escape Drowned Town in order to uphold a promise to his son. Similar metaphors of submersion are applied to drastically different effect in “The Manticore Spell,” “The Dismantled Invention of Fate” and “In the House of Four Seasons.” In “Night Whiskey,” the book's strangest tale, two men must roust slumbering drunks from trees after an annual festival; in addition to sending celebrants literally up a tree, the special once-a-year bash also features visitations with dead relatives, and what begins as near-slapstick ends with disturbing revelations and a loss of innocence. Throughout these 16 stories, Ford covers much stylistic terrain, weaving between science fiction, realistic stories with fantastic elements and even some nearly straight-up (and successful) comedy. Readers of all stripes should be able to find something here to love. (Nov.)

In Kluge's (Eddie and the Cruisers) thoughtful new novel, Mark May, a young professor at an Ohio college, is surprised to be named the literary executor of a recently deceased colleague he barely knew. George Canaris was a literary sensation in the 1960s, but hadn't published anything in 30 years. At the time of his death, he was rumored to be working on his magnum opus, but there is doubt the manuscript exists. While inspecting the dead man's house, Mark finds the manuscript of Canaris's memoir, which provides insight into the man and his work, and even if Mark has doubts about its veracity, it pushes him to arrive at some important decisions about his own life. The novel is suffused with Kluge's obvious affection for books, and has some cleverly aphoristic things to say about the joys of teaching, the pitfalls of academic infighting and the tragedy of artistic expectations left unfulfilled. Although not as witty or biting as Kingsley Amis's academy fiction, this novel combines elements of Citizen Kane and Goodbye, Mr. Chips for a satisfying resolution. (Nov.)

Nineteen-year-old j-school student Shawn Hopkins learns some hard lessons after his “ride or die chick” rips him off in this raw cautionary tale from street-lit phenom Aaron. Shawn's happy with Venus Hamilton, who keeps one hand in his wallet and the other in his pants, until her best friend, Allison, gets dumped by her man on New Year's Eve. Shawn wants to keep his distance, but soon, Allison's living in their crib while Shawn brings in mo' money (for Venus to spend) from a real estate gig. He impresses his boss and soon is in on a massive deal, but before you can say “bling,” Venus takes off with all his money and possessions, leaving Shawn to discover the joys and hazards of being “single with benefits.” In true Aaron style, the plot flies, the narration is unflinching and there are some hilarious scenes. Aaron doesn't bring anything new to his game with this one, but he plays it like a pro. (Nov.)

Spanning from 1920 to 1997, Gonzalez's second novel follows five generations of a wealthy family in a small Galician town as their fortunes rise and fall with Spain's changing political climate. The six Encarna women, ruled by the harsh and beautiful María, run a successful hotel in Canteira, a picturesque town “long forgotten by the central powers of Spain.” As one of the town's wealthiest families whose men either die young or otherwise leave quickly, the Encarnas are the object of much gossip in the community. From jovial Cecilia to austere Carmen, kind Matilde, withdrawn Asunción and ambitious Gloria, the women change little as the country around them is engulfed in war and political upheaval, and the novel lacks a central narrative as the family bounces from one crisis to another. While Gonzalez's descriptions of Canteira's locals and the town's slow slide into modernity can be charming and whimsical, the novel's engaging beginning peters out as the minidramas that follow fail to break out of a repetitive cycle of poor choices in men and family squabbling. (Oct.)

Dajani's engrossing second novel (after Fashionably Late) chronicles the overlap in the lives of three dissimilar women working at a Miami magazine. Upon realizing that her husband is gay, pampered Ranya Hayek flees her situation and, after a chance meeting with smitten millionaire Georges Mallouk, finds herself working for the first time. Georges and his brother, Joe, own Suéltate, a successful magazine geared toward Latinas and helmed by the brash Rio, who works nonstop to make it a top publication. Rio has the occasional tryst with Joe and is wary of Ranya, who has both brothers mooning over her. Also disdainful of Ranya and Rio is Ranya's childhood schoolmate Zahra, who is intelligent but socially awkward. After having made a mistake that destroyed her beloved life in Boston, Zahra took a corporate position with her old friend Georges, whom she still holds a torch for. Dajani seamlessly flits from character to character, embodying each woman and pitting her observations against her misconceptions. Though the unfortunately pat happy ending seems lazy and unlikely, the novel works nicely. (Oct.)

Robinson's beautiful new novel, a companion piece to her Pulitzer Prize–winning Gilead, is an elegant variation on the parable of the prodigal son's return. The son is Jack Boughton, one of the eight children of Robert Boughton, the former Gilead, Iowa, pastor, who now, in 1957, is a widowed and dying man. Jack returns home shortly after his sister, 38-year-old Glory, moves in to nurse their father, and it is through Glory's eyes that we see Jack's drama unfold. When Glory last laid eyes on Jack, she was 16, and he was leaving Gilead with a reputation as a thief and a scoundrel, having just gotten an underage girl pregnant. By his account, he'd since lived as a vagrant, drunk and jailbird until he fell in with a woman named Della in St. Louis. By degrees, Jack and Glory bond while taking care of their father, but when Jack's letters to Della are returned unopened, Glory has to deal with Jack's relapse into bad habits and the effect it has on their father. In giving an ancient drama of grace and perdition such a strong domestic setup, Robinson stakes a fierce claim to a divine recognition behind the rituals of home. (Sept.)

Short's sprawling and mostly successful debut novel packs in 72 years of one family's troubles. In Depression-era Chicago, six-year-old Michael Halligan relishes the times his mother, Elizabeth, reads to him from the funny pages, full of heroes he imagines coming to his rescue. His hired thug father, Paddy, dreams of owning a gas station outside of the city even if, in the meantime, one of the people he has to “take care of” is his deadbeat father. Elizabeth, meanwhile, dreams of running away from her family with the leader of a cultish religious group. A pregnancy threatens to interfere with her plans, and she opts for an abortion that leads to her death and robs the novel of its most complex character. With Elizabeth out of the way, the narrative falls on an adult Michael, who, when not cataloguing in his journal his many nights spent with prostitutes, goes to some fairly outrageous lengths to collect every Big Little Book—a series of pulpy books starring characters from the funnies—he can find. Short doesn't bring much new to the family saga potluck, but a bevy of eccentric characters and some tense moments should keep readers in the fold. (Sept.)

A family's conflict becomes a battle for life and death in this gripping and original first novel based on family history from a descendant of a condemned Salem witch. After a bout of smallpox, 10-year-old Sarah Carrier resumes life with her mother on their family farm in Andover, Mass., dimly aware of a festering dispute between her mother, Martha, and her uncle about the plot of land where they live. The fight takes on a terrifying dimension when reports of supernatural activity in nearby Salem give way to mass hysteria, and Sarah's uncle is the first person to point the finger at Martha. Soon, neighbors struggling to eke out a living and a former indentured servant step forward to name Martha as the source of their woes. Sarah is forced to shoulder an even heavier burden as her mother and brothers are taken to prison to face a jury of young women who claim to have felt their bewitching presence. Sarah's front-row view of the trials and the mayhem that sweeps the close-knit community provides a fresh, bracing and unconventional take on a much-covered episode. (Sept.)

Brink's latest novel—essentially a collection of three novellas—is a vividly imagined if claustrophobic chronicle of the lives of three subtly connected men living in contemporary South Africa. The first story is the dreamlike tale of a white painter named David le Roux who one day returns to his studio and finds a black woman named Sarah and her two children waiting for him. He quickly surmises that the woman believes he is her husband and the father of the children, but he has never seen any of them before. The second story revolves around a white architect (and acquaintance of David) named Steve, who looks into the mirror one day and discovers he is black. The third story is that of Derek Hugo, a celebrated pianist infatuated with singer Nina Rousseau. Despite years of womanizing (including an affair with Steve's wife), Derek cannot bring himself to touch Nina, and the night he finally makes his move, their date is violently interrupted. An enervating awkwardness suffuses the pieces, though the conceit is a little too thin to carry a whole book. (Sept.)

In Yellin's 10 serenely crafted stories, the plight of the wandering Jew is manifested in various outsiders, adventurers or those who are simply restless and homesick. Each brief tale is named for one of Ten Lost Tribes of Israel, exiled in Assyria and scattered across the globe according to the Old Testament. The peripatetic narrator's first encounter with wanderlust is her world-traveling Uncle Edras, a swashbuckling version of her bookish father who claims his brother is a bum. While her father is content with his armchair search for the Lost Tribes' fate, the girl is smitten by travel. As she grows up and makes her way in the world, she meets memorable kindred spirits: Professor G., a polyglot whose longing for his lost language eventually renders him mute; an old lady who fled her family home to sail abroad 40 years ago, but never got farther than the port; or the narrator's sickly 12-year-old pupil, Jacky Mendoza, who does not feel he inhabits his own body. Each mournful, startling portrait proves that award-winning Yellin (Kafka in Brontëland and Other Stories) is a stylist to watch. (Sept.)

Jarrar's sparkling debut about an audacious Muslim girl growing up in Kuwait, Egypt and Texas is intimate, perceptive and very, very funny. Nidali Ammar is born in Boston to a Greek-Egyptian mother and a Palestinian father, and moves to Kuwait at a very young age, staying there until she's 13, when Iraq invades. A younger brother is born in Kuwait, rounding out a family of complex citizenships. During the occupation, the family flees to Alexandria in a wacky caravan, bribing soldiers along the way with whiskey and silk ties. But they don't stay long in Egypt, and after the war, Nidali's father finds work in Texas. At first, Nidali is disappointed to learn that feeling rootless doesn't make her an outsider in the States, and soon it turns out the precocious and endearing Arab chick isn't very different from other American girls, a reality that only her father may find difficult to accept. Jarrar explores familiar adolescent ground—stifling parental expectations, precarious friendships, sensuality and first love—but her exhilarating voice and flawless timing make this a standout. (Sept.)

Two professors accused of murder on a Christian college campus must find the killer in a whodunit that plays to the beat of a unique soundtrack. The main character and narrator, Preston Barclay, suffers with “musical hallucinations” that started when his wife died and “music passed from Faith's soul into mine.” Repeated references to specific music he's hearing from his “internal musicians” distracts in this second novel from a war veteran with a Ph.D. in English literature. Barclay's female colleague is Wiccan, hired as part of the university's new policy of inclusion. Her “blue gaze” burns Preston, but their budding friendship intrigues. Suspended by the administration and suspected by police of killing a fellow professor, evidence mounts against the pair, even as they conduct a risky investigation of their own. While the style is usually witty and sensitive, puns and dialogue are overexplained, and prose tends toward the pedagogical. However, the ending has an unpredictable and satisfying twist, and both characters' journey toward faith will resonate with Christian readers. (Sept.)

Channeling Tyler Perry's tragicomic sensibility (there is even a Madea figure), Jarrett delivers the goods in this light, entertaining follow-up to Sunday Brunch. Five women, all lawyers and longtime friends, live the good life—both materially and spiritually—in Houston. Capri is an NBA wife who isn't thrilled with the limelight; Lexi is a newlywed; Jewel is dealing with “baby mama drama”; Angel has just begun attending Joel Osteen's Lakewood Church; and Jermane struggles to help her husband deal with a professional and personal crisis. While tragic circumstances ensue, Jarrett keeps the humor coming and always emphasizes God's power to redeem even the worst situations. Jarrett definitely does not disappoint readers who enjoy escaping into a world of beautiful people who wear designer clothes, eat at fashionable restaurants and live in luxury homes. While this novel is arguably by, for and about black women, a much wider audience is sure to delight in getting to know this fun group of Christian characters. (Sept. 9)

A National Book Award finalist in 2004, Bynum returns with an intricate and absorbing collection of eight interconnected stories about Beatrice Hempel, a middle school English teacher. Ms. Hempel is the sort of teacher students adore, and despite feeling disenchanted with her job, she regards her students as intelligent, insightful and sometimes fascinating. Bynum seamlessly weaves stories of the teacher's childhood with the present—reminiscences about Beatrice's now deceased father and her relationship with her younger brother, Calvin—while simultaneously fleshing out the lives of Beatrice's impressionable students (they are in awe of the crassness of This Boy's Life). Though there isn't much in the way of plot, Bynum's sympathy for her protagonist runs deep, and even the slightest of events comes across as achingly real and, sometimes, even profound. Bynum writes with great acuity, and the emotional undercurrents in this sharp take on coming-of-age and growing up will move readers in unexpected ways. (Sept.)

Burney's offbeat story, which explores what it might mean to literally share in Christ's suffering, demonstrates an edginess that both attracts and repels. Burney's protagonist, Regina “Gina” Dolores Merritt, is a 24-year-old black, health-conscious, bipolar, once suicidal single mom with fibromyalgia and migraines and a history of mental illness. It's a lot to put on one character. When she appears to receive the stigmata on Ash Wednesday at her Vineyard Church in Ann Arbor, Mich. (perhaps based on real-life pastor Ken Wilson and his church), a circus of sorts ensues. Druggie Anthony Priest shows up to help, as does Priest's alienated mother, Veronica Morelli. Events catapult toward an unexpected conclusion. Burney pushes the boundaries for her faith fiction audience sexually, especially in references to Christ as lover. The multiple first-person perspectives work well, but stories about saints seem inserted rather than integral, and a few characters feel overdrawn. However, Burney's unusual voice, gritty themes, and ecumenical blending should help this uninhibited novel find a home, especially with emergent church readers. (Sept.)

In yet another gem of urban noir, bestseller Pelecanos (The Night Gardener) explores the possibility of making “the turnaround,” of starting over and building a new life, regardless of the past. One summer day in 1972, three teenage white boys—Alex Pappas and his friends Billy Cachoris and Pete Whitten—drive into a poor Washington, D.C., neighborhood, high on booze and weed, looking for trouble. They confront three young black men, Billy winds up dead and Alex badly beaten. In 2007, Alex runs the family coffee shop, as did his father, and grieves for his son, recently killed in Iraq. Then, one of the black survivors of “the incident” contacts Alex, opening a door that may finally put the trauma of the past to rest. At the same time, another survivor, the man who beat Alex, has gotten out of prison and has extortion on his mind. The result is a beautifully written and thought-provoking novel of crime, friendship, aging and redemption. (Aug.)

New York City news anchor Eliza Blake, now back at the morning TV show KEY to America, pays a price for her high media profile in this riveting novel of suspense from bestseller Clark (When Day Breaks). When kidnappers seize Eliza's seven-year-old daughter, Janie, and Eliza's Hispanic housekeeper on their way home from camp in New Jersey, Eliza's comfortable life turns into a living nightmare. The FBI, local law enforcement and Eliza's news team work around the clock to discover the identities and locations of the kidnappers. When a psychic arrives at Eliza's doorstep, claiming to know details of the kidnapping that weren't released to the press, Eliza is convinced that the psychic can help find Janie. Suspicious letters, ransom notes and mysterious clues heighten the suspense. A multitude of red herrings will keep the reader guessing to the shocking conclusion. (Aug.)

At the start of this scorching if somewhat formulaic thriller from bestseller Brown (Play Dirty), Charleston, S.C., TV reporter Britt Shelley wakes up in bed next to the dead body of police detective Jay Burgess. While Jay had been diagnosed with terminal cancer, the authorities suspect foul play. Jay's former best friend, ex-fireman Raley Gannon, suffered a similar shock five years earlier, waking up next to party girl Suzi Monroe's naked corpse after a party at Jay's home. Raley had been investigating a fire at a local police station that took seven lives, despite the heroic efforts of Jay and several other cops, one of whom is now South Carolina's attorney general. Cleared of Suzi's death, Raley eventually teams with Britt to look into a nasty arson coverup. Brown laces her dependable romantic fireworks with a solid action-filled plot, though readers should be prepared for a few stereotypes, including a limp-wristed gay, a macho skinhead and a power-mad female politician. (Aug.)

British author Fowler, best known for his Bryant and May impossible crimes series (White Corridor, etc.), scores another triumph with his eclectic 10th short story collection. Highlights include “The Lady Downstairs,” a Sherlockian pastiche told from the perspective of the great detective's long-suffering landlady, Mrs. Hudson, and the grim revenge story, “The Threads,” in which an arrogant British tourist to North Africa gets his comeuppance. The amusing parody “That's Undertainment!” brutally eviscerates modern popular culture. “Old Friends,” an effective modern ghost story, pays homage to such late British film greats as Terry-Thomas and Diana Dors. John Wyndham would've appreciated the concise but horrific “The Spider Kiss,” in which an outbreak of insane human behavior in Miami proves to have its origins in the animal kingdom. “Exclusion Zone” focuses on a father's estrangement from his daughter's anarchic rebellion. Fans of all genres will be impressed by the 22 well-written, often moving selections. (Aug.)

Bestseller Cook (Critical) stumbles in this formulaic thriller about the timely subject of medical tourism, the trend in which U.S. citizens seek to save costs on expensive surgery through treatment overseas. At the center of the drama is Jennifer Hernandez, a fourth-year medical student at UCLA, whose grandmother has died in a New Delhi hospital following hip replacement surgery. Suspicious about the circumstances, Hernandez immediately flies to India to investigate. There she not only discovers a number of similar deaths of U.S. citizens but also runs into the one-two punch of a desperate Indian medical industry struggling to block all publicity about the deaths and a huge American HMO that wants nothing more than the widest exposure of the apparent medical missteps in the Third World. Implausible plot twists, unconvincing villains, silly dialogue and a convenient, all-too-happy ending make this one of Cook's rare weak efforts. (Aug.)

In bestseller Kellerman's uneven 17th novel to feature LAPD Lt. Peter Decker and wife Rina Lazarus (after 2007's The Burnt House), Decker must solve a 15-year-old cold case—the murder of saintly Bennett Little, a high school history teacher whose bound body the police found, with three shots in the back of his head, in the trunk of Little's Mercedes. When unscrupulous music producer Primo Ekerling turns up dead in the trunk of his Mercedes, Genoa Greeves, a wealthy computer mogul with fond memories of Little as a teacher, offers the LAPD a seven-figure charitable donation to reopen the case. Early in the reinvestigation, Decker is brought up short when one of the original cops on the case “eats his gun” just before a scheduled appointment with the lieutenant. Finding a link between Little and Eckerling won't prove easy. Fans may enjoy the interplay among Decker, Rina and their children, but newcomers would be advised to start with an earlier entry in this popular crime series. (Aug.)

Set in Cray Ridge, Ky., in 1973, Kagen's winsome second novel (after Whistling in the Dark) offers laughter and bittersweet sighs. As a child, NQR (“Not Quite Right”) Gibby McGraw survived an auto accident that claimed her parents' lives, but left her somewhat mentally challenged. Now 20 and living with her beloved grampa, Gibby publishes Gibby's Gazette, distributed from local hot spots like Loretta's Candy World and Washateria. Gibby's latest scoop, complete with photos, is her discovery of the body of politician Buster Malloy, who aspired to become governor. Gibby launches a “meticulous investigation” complicated by nasty Sneaky Tim Ray Holloway stealing her briefcase. Other distractions include her best friend Clever's getting knocked up and disturbing times in Browntown, an African-American community. Though Gibby can get discombobulated, this wonderfully wise Nancy Drew strives mightily to become QR (“Quite Right”) in the head: she was already QR in the heart. Author tour. (Aug.)

In his epic novel, originally published in 1987, Zhang explores China's upheaval in the decades after the creation of the People's Republic in 1949. At the heart of the story are the three major families in the small town of Wali. The Sui family was among the wealthiest until political change left them with little more than grief and anger. The Zhao clan, on the other hand, rose to power during the revolution's violence, some of which the clan helped direct at the Suis. The Li clan, known for eccentricities, pushed the town toward industrialization. As the nonlinear narrative spirals backwards and forwards through time, the disturbing details of Wali's history are unearthed, including graphic descriptions of the cruel punishments meted out in the name of reform (and revenge). In Zhang's capable hands, Wali becomes a microcosm of the turmoil China underwent during the pivotal political and cultural moments of the 20th century. Written two years before the Tiananmen Square protests, this multilayered historical tale of remembrance, accountability and the role stories play in people's lives is a powerful one. (Aug.)

According to family legend, members of Katherine Millar's family “get the key of the door and the hammer of doom at the same time” when they come of age. Which is why Long opens her clever fourth novel with Kat expecting the worst on her 18th birthday. An outcast at school, Kat longs to break away from the suffocating English village of Bank Top. As she wraps up exams and considers her next step, however, a boy turns Kat's world upside-down—leaving her to question everything she's been told about her father, who fell to the family curse in a fatal accident, and her mother, who abandoned Kat shortly thereafter. Long brings to life a host of quirky characters, including Poll, Kat's nearly blind and caustic paternal grandmother who raised her, and Poll's constant companion, Dickie the Dogman, a scavenger who regularly brings gifts of fatty bacon or vacuum cleaner attachments. Long's prose is faithful to the regional dialect, and the story effortlessly encapsulates the end of adolescence and Kat's mixed emotions as she redefines her notion of family and strikes out on her own. (Aug.)

Conwell's 25th western (after Atascocita Gold) is a fast-paced hayburner loaded with gunplay, powder smoke and a wagonload of perforated corpses. Cleve Bollinger is a wanted man now living straight as Clint Bowles. He and his saddle pal, Speck Adams, head to New Mexico after learning that an old friend, Sam Cooper, who Clint thought was dead, is alive and in trouble. On arrival at the small pueblo town of El Jardin, Clint and Speck side with Cooper in a vicious land war with land baron John Rawlings, his small army of hired guns and his paid-for sheriff and judge. Once the baddies realize Cooper has help and Clint's true identity is discovered, the lead starts to fly, and Clint's six-guns don't have time to cool off. The bad guys soak up most of the lead in this oater, and Conwell cleverly helps Clint ride off into the sunset in a satisfying, concluding plot twist. This may be pure western formula, but it sure is fun. (Aug.)

Davis's strained second novel takes place on the fictional island of Santa Margarita y Los Monjes, a magical place where anything is possible. The narrative consists of loosely knit episodes detailing the adventures of some of the island's more colorful inhabitants. In one, a corpse becomes animated at an inopportune moment during the funeral service, and the sons of the deceased, known as the Boys, visit the cursed House of Low Women and subsequently lose their genitals. The Boys' cousin, a clerk and the book's narrator, becomes a dog walker in his spare time; he is nearly killed by security forces when his pack of dogs almost collides with the President-for-Life's motorcade. When asked to infiltrate the Happy Valley retirement complex by the suspicious President-for-Life, the narrator uncovers a death cult. In the final episode, the narrator becomes the campaign manager for the Boys, who, supported by foreign interests, are running against the President-for-Life. Despite the author's bountiful imagination, this short novel reads like a long in-joke that the reader isn't in on. (Aug.)

Betrayals, secret societies, the quest for an ancient artifact of great religious significance—all the familiar elements of countless Dan Brown imitations are on display with limited dramatic effect in Bronleewe's second thriller to feature New York City rare book dealer August Adams (after 2007's Illuminated). Out of the blue, August's estranged father sends August the legendary 12th-century Gospels of Henry the Lion, instantly placing the bookseller and those near and dear to him in the sights of a shadowy and vicious group known as the Black Vehm. Expository passages about lost treasure, secrets buried in the Antarctic ice and the Nazis' search for the Holy Lance alternate with scenes of shoot-outs, stabbings and bludgeonings. Readers may struggle to empathize with the cartoonish characters, like August's terrified young son, who, with agents of the Black Vehm in hot pursuit, worries he'll die before learning what his grandfather meant by the expression “spring chicken.” (Aug.)

Goebel's third novel (his first was The Anomalies), a tepid satire of contemporary politics in “Middle America,” hinges on Blue Gene Mapother, the heir to a vast fortune who prefers hocking his old toys at a flea market. After a mutual four-year estrangement, his family reaches out to Blue Gene, hoping to give his older brother John's congressional bid credibility among “working men.” Initially reluctant, Blue Gene is swayed by John's conservative beliefs and moves back home to begin campaigning full-time. It isn't until he meets Jackie Stepchild, a substitute teacher and revolutionary rocker, that he begins questioning John's motives. A serendipitous meeting with his former nanny leads Blue Gene to uncover a dark family secret and he quits the campaign. Spurred on by Jackie's leftist outlook—as well as his growing attraction to her—Blue Gene cashes in on his inheritance and opens up “Commonwealth,” a communal enterprise providing free services to the town's middle-class citizens. An abundance of homosexual slurs and profanity detracts from Goebel's crisp storytelling, and the uninspired spoof of red states feels stale. (July)

Set in Manhattan in 1916, Karp's well-crafted second homage to ragtime (after 2006's The Ragtime Kid) charts Scott Joplin's race against time and the effects of a ravaging illness to secure his musical legacy. Joplin has written a musical play that he wants Irving Berlin to publish and produce. In the past, Joplin has accused Berlin of plagiarizing his music, but Martin Niederhoffer, a piano student of Joplin's and an employee of Berlin's firm, persuades Joplin to try Berlin again. When Niederhoffer and Joplin are seen fleeing the scene of a murder, they're forced into hiding while Scott's friend Nell Stanley, a musician, and her music publisher father try to find the real killer. Going undercover at Berlin's publishing company, Stanley proves to be a formidable detective, though her investigation uncovers some painful truths about both Joplin and her father. Karp's meticulous research helps create a vivid picture of the time and locale. Memorable, authentic characters are another plus. (Oct.)

In 10 novels over 10 years (1989–1998), Charlie Resnick, the jazz-loving police detective, made Nottingham's turf familiar to readers who never came within 1,000 miles of it. Now, after a supporting role in Ash & Bone (2005), an older Charlie on the cusp of retirement makes a welcome and brilliant return. A pair of murder investigations form a knotty tangle, reflecting nasty changes in Nottingham: the first a gang dispute resulting in a fatal shooting, the second the murder of an East European prostitute imported for the sex trade. The latter case collides with a separate inquiry mounted by the SOCA (Serious and Organized Crime Agency). As always, Harvey handles the police procedural aspects with easy competence. But the characterization shines brightest as the thoroughly decent, competent Charlie navigates the treacherous waters of his profession that threaten to swamp his personal life. (Sept.)

Fans of quality historicals will welcome Izner's debut, the first of a series to feature an engaging and fallible amateur sleuth. In 1889, Parisian bookseller Victor Legris finds himself in the midst of a baffling series of deaths connected with the newly opened Eiffel Tower. The victims all apparently died from bee stings, but Legris suspects foul play. His inquiry coincides with another role outside his usual occupation, as a contributor to Le Passe-partout, a new sensationalist newspaper. Almost as soon as the bookman seizes on a promising suspect, that person turns up dead as well, leaving him with a dwindling pool, which, to his chagrin, includes Le Passe-partout's attractive illustrator, an enigmatic Russian woman with whom he's become besotted. The taut pacing and vivid period detail will have readers eagerly turning the pages. (Sept.)

A stitch above most craft cozies, O'Donohue's sweet debut introduces Nell Fitzgerald, a Manhattan publishing professional whose broken engagement leads her to the Hudson River town of Archer's Rest, where her grandmother, Eleanor Cassidy, runs Someday Quilts. After her grandmother takes a nasty fall, Nell decides to help Eleanor recuperate and expand the store with the assistance of Marc Reed, a handsome handyman. The unexpected arrival of Ryan, Nell's ex-fiancé, during a tender moment with Marc causes a major fight. Things get worse after Marc turns up at Someday Quilts “scissored” to death. Local police chief Jesse Dewalt, an attractive widower, has a roster of suspects, including Ryan. Ryan offers to reconcile, but first Nell must clear Ryan's name by helping Jesse solve Marc's murder. O'Donohue sensitively depicts Nell's romantic quandary of Ryan vs. Jesse within a solid smalltown whodunit. (Sept.)

When the body of 15-year-old Angela Cashell is found straddling the border between the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland in McGilloway's assured debut, Garda inspector Benedict Devlin takes charge of the case because he recognizes the victim as a resident of his part of Ireland. The only clues are a gold ring Angela was wearing but no one in her family can identify and an old photograph Devlin discovers amid the flowers left by mourners. Though Devlin and his team first suspect teenage Whitey McKelvey, a member of an itinerant group known as “travellers,” another body soon turns up along with the same photograph, and Devlin realizes that the case runs much deeper. McGilloway skillfully weaves Irish politics—from the shadow of the IRA in the North to the tensions between the travellers and locals in the South—into his multilayered story. A keen observer, Devlin has just enough flaws to make him an empathetic hero. (Sept.)

Hilda Johansson Cavanaugh finds herself caught between the world of her past as a housemaid and her new role as a wealthy wife in Agatha-winner Dams's delightful sixth mystery set in early 20th-century South Bend, Ind. (after 2005's Crimson Snow). When Hilda's only friend's husband is accused of stealing, arson and murder, Hilda determines to prove him innocent. Meanwhile, as part of her efforts to belong to society, Hilda joins a group of well-to-do members of the community in creating a Christmas party for street boys, some of whom she hires to help in her investigation. The mystery, which evolves naturally and slowly, tends to get lost amid the subtle and sometimes not so subtle social commentary on such matters as the friction between Hilda's Swedish Lutheran family and her husband's Irish Catholic relatives. Still, series fans will be well satisfied. (Sept.)

At the start of Bruns's talky second mystery to feature best friends Skip Moore and James Lessor (after 2007's Stuff to Die For), the pair decide to make a buck by serving food to the attendees of a tent revival at Oleta River Park near Miami, Fla., led by charismatic Rev. Preston Cashdollar. Once on the job, Skip and James realize certain people associated with Cashdollar have met untimely ends. Particularly disturbing are two unsolved murders—that of Cabrina Washington, an African-American teen rumored to have had an affair with the married minister, and that of Fred Long, a conservative U.S. senator from North Dakota who angered Cashdollar. After Barry Romans, a right-wing talk-show host critical of Cashdollar, is shot, Skip and James turn amateur sleuths. Likable protagonists compensate in part for the thin, improbable plot. (Sept.)

In Gaus's excellent sixth Ohio Amish mystery (after 2006's A Prayer for the Night), Enos Erb, an Amish farmer, makes an unusual request of Michael Branden, burned-out history professor and amateur sleuth, given that the Amish practice nonviolence and have no use for the justice system of the outside “English” world. Erb wants the professor's help finding his brother's murderer. People's unwillingness to confront evil hampers Branden's investigation, which gets interrupted by the apparent suicide of a coed, campus unrest and the kidnapping of an Amish child. Between helping Pastor Cal Troyer cope with a personal crisis and keeping Sheriff Bruce Robertson from blundering impulsively, Brandon realizes that a clever, murderous sociopath is exploiting the preconceptions of Amish and English. While Gaus may not be an elegant stylist, a convincing plot and credible, sympathetic characters make another winner in this fine regional series. (Aug.)

Paraplegic computer whiz Sally McLaughlin, the girlfriend of Berkeley, Calif., tarot reader Warren Ritter, is shocked to discover, in Skibbins's memorable fourth Tarot Card mystery (after 2007's The Star), that her old friend Thérèse, a professional dominatrix, is accused of murdering a client during a session gone bad. Sally persuades Warren to put his amateur detecting skills to use and find the real killer. The dominatrix's girlfriend helps train Warren in the proper s&m etiquette in order to infiltrate the subculture, where he masquerades as “Master Ritter.” Sally's feisty teenage roommate also pitches in, and together the sleuths soon realize that the mission is more dangerous than just rough sex. Even in its less believable moments, of which there are a few, the plot rolls smoothly along. The inside view of the s&m subculture lends extra interest. (Aug.)

Cozy buffs who've yet to encounter Daheim's popular Pacific Northwest series will find this entertaining 24th installment (after 2007's Scots on the Rocks) an easy entry point. Judith McMonigle Flynn, who operates a bed-and-breakfast in the Seattle neighborhood of Heraldsgate Hill, has recently remarried her ex-husband, Joe Flynn. Her complicated personal life becomes even more so after the arrival of Joe's ex-wife, Vivian, with her trophy husband in tow. Vivian soon sends ripples through Heraldsgate Hill when she announces plans to build a huge condominium in the community. When the body of an unidentified man is found hanging from a tree behind Vivian's house, Judith reluctantly resumes her familiar role as amateur sleuth. Longtime fans will smile at cousin Renie's exasperation with the prevaricating Judith (“These lengthy preludes to your adventures drive me nuts”). Endearingly eccentric characters are a plus. (Aug.)

Sedia's evocative third novel, a steampunk fable about the price of industrial development, follows Mattie, an emancipated automaton, as her home city is rent by conflict between alchemists and the mechanics whose clanking, steaming inventions are changing society. Though created by a leader of the mechanics, Mattie chose to join the alchemists, but her creator still holds the key that winds her up. When a terrorist bombing and an assassination touch off all-out war between the two factions, she discovers the ugly secrets and exploitation that keep the city supplied with food and coal. Sedia's exquisitely bleak vision deliberately skewers familiar ideas from know-it-all computers to talking statues desperate for souls, leaving readers to reach their own conclusions about the proper balance of tradition and progress and what it means to be alive. (Aug.)

Grand Masters Pohl (Gateway) and the late Clarke (1917–2008, best known for 2001) collaborated on a can't-put-down adventure that focuses on their mutual strengths: high adventure, fun characters and hard science. Sometime in the near future, teenage Sri Lankan math prodigy Ranjit Subramanian manages to reconstruct and then publish Fermat's claimed proof of his famous last theorem. As Ranjit celebrates fame and fortune, the all-powerful aliens called Grand Galactics see the flash from early nuclear explosions and decide that humanity will have to be wiped out. When Earth's superpowers deploy a new, nonlethal way of handling renegade nations and humanity begins working on global peace and large-scale engineering projects, Ranjit and his family try to broker a truce with the destructive alien force, modeling human optimism through rationality and science. Long passages of math tricks and intrusive narration mar an otherwise enjoyable tale of the struggle between reason and fear. (Aug.)

Glass (Shanji) provides only a tenuous science fiction background for this otherwise excellent novel of intergenerational and interplanetary conflict. Eduardo Cabral, the artistically talented son of Armando Cabral, Nova Brazilia oligarch, has forsaken his gifts in order to pursue the military career that he hopes will win him Armando's approval. He does not suspect that his supposed father despises him as a bastard and has betrayed him into an ambush that costs the lives of all but two members of his elite special operations team. Torn between avenging his companions through assassination and pursuing art on distant planets, reluctant to confront Armando but begged by a friend to help the disenfranchised poor of Nova Brazilia, Eduardo is a compelling protagonist whose conflicts and determined sense of honor will keep readers engaged in his story from start to finish. (Aug.)

Scott (Outrageous Fortune) sets his absurdist sophomore effort in near future New Seattle, where ex-cop Huckleberry Lindbergh has just returned after eight years away. Huck and his old friend Gabe are soon drawn to Nena, a woman who reminds Gabe sharply of his long-lost love, Abigail. Huck and Nena are chased, caught and chased again through the weird life of New Seattle, which is overseen by the Health and Safety Department under Mayor Dan Cicero's “zero-tolerance policy on danger.” Amid constant lectures on implausible hazards, they struggle to uncover the mayor's machinations and help a cluster of talking refrigerators hide their conspiracy from the cops. Accelerating mad action and vivid, cleverly written glimpses of bystanders contrast sharply with the weak female characters: despite their all-seeing and revealing eyes, the two women rarely shift beyond plot objects, and the talking fridges have more personality. (Aug.)

In this disturbing, often grotesque and ultimately mesmerizing collection, Piccirilli (The Cold Spot) reprints 17 stories and 45 poems. Although the star-studded introductions are a nice bonus, Piccirilli's stories are the selling point, and all are standouts. “An Average Insanity, a Common Agony” is an emotionally devastating tale of a man trying to do the right thing for the sake of an innocent creature. “Alchemy” tells the story of five emotionally stunted people whose discovery of a dead body lets them visit their own dark places (“They weren't frightened [by the sight of the corpse]. None of us were. It broke up the monotony”). “With an Ear for My Father's Weeping” manages to be both touching and hysterical. Piccirilli's unique mix of gore, violence and a literate style bordering on the lyrical help make this collection one that horror fans will relish. (Aug.)

The gory final Legend of Asahiel novel (after 2006's The Obsidian Key) brings this grim fantasy epic to conclusion with plenty of violence and magical mayhem. The dreaded Illysp pressure the forces of good in Pentania with their Illychar, monsters created from the bodies and memories of the dead. Krynwall, capital of Alson, reels from the death of Torin, last bearer of the Crimson Sword, and a power struggle erupts among the city's leaders. Matters worsen when Torin's body is inhabited by the Illychar called Itz lar Thrakkon, “the Boundless One.” Only half-elven Annleia, daughter of the last Vandari elf, can battle Thrakkon and petition the ancient Dragon God Ravar to learn how to destroy the Illysp once and for all. The final chapter of this dense trilogy is not for new readers, but those familiar with previous events will be satisfied with its sneering villains, bloody battles and decisive climax. (Aug.)

RITA winner Sinclair's sequel to 2005's Gabriel's Ghost mixes space opera with romance, carrying forward the story of tough ex-Fleet Capt. Chasidah “Chaz” Bergren and her renegade pirate/smuggler lover, Gabriel Ross “Sully” Sullivan. The interstellar Empire is toppling and its enemies are illegally breeding merciless jukors, or war creatures. When Chaz's brother, Thad, is arrested, she fears he'll be forced to reveal Sully's secret: Sully is a superpowered psychic like the ancient and feared Stolorth. Chaz's ex-husband, Fleet Adm. Philip Guthrie, and a high-ranking, powerful and seductive Stolorth join Chaz and Sully's colorful crew as they plan a desperate raid to free Thad and destroy the jukor labs. The pace might be slow for SF fans, with long interpersonal conversations and erotic encounters outweighing the few bits of action and political intrigue, but the smashing climax will please everyone. (Aug.)

Prolific bestseller Jackson (Deep Freeze) introduces an intriguing pair of female detectives in this intense series opener. Deep in the winter wilderness of Montana, a serial killer sets up car accidents for women driving down secluded roads, rescues and seduces them and then ties them to trees and leaves them to die. As the bodies pile up, Det. Selena Alvarez and Det. Regan Pescoli search desperately for clues. Recent divorcée Jillian Rivers, in Montana searching for her vanished first husband, looks likely to become the next corpse when her tires are shot out and mountain man Zane MacGregor rescues her. When MacGregor vanishes from the cabin where Rivers is recovering from her injuries, she starts to wonder what his real motives are. Alvarez, Pescoli and Rivers separately edge closer to identifying the killer, but Jackson keeps them and the reader in suspense all the way to the cliffhanger ending. (Aug.)

Gleason's weak fourth Gardella Vampire novel (after 2008's The Bleeding Dusk) focuses on romance to the detriment of action. After being bitten by master vampire Beauregard, vampire hunter Victoria Gardella Grantworth faces an uncertain fate. As the vampire blood in her system fights against her natural goodness, she becomes more selfish and cruel. Soon local law enforcement is blaming her for mysterious daytime vampire attacks. She's also torn (as before) between two men: Sebastian, Beauregard's descendant, who has now embraced his role as a vampire-hunting Venator, and former Venator Max, who gave up his powers to break the hold of vampire queen Lilith. The passionate love triangle can't quite carry the story, which lacks a strong plot and has no real sense of danger or tension. Readers more interested in Victoria's vampire hunting skills than in her romances will miss the excitement of earlier books. (Aug.)

Thompson (The Salt Maiden) packs this well-paced thriller full of twists and the local color of a small Texas town. Photographer Rachel Copeland has been formally acquitted of the murder of Kyle Underwood, a young man who stalked her, but she remains disgraced in her adopted Philadelphia community, where many still believe she seduced and killed him. Rumors and harassment follow Rachel as she flees to her hometown of Marfa, Texas, where she butts heads with her stepmother, Patsy, and other locals. One of the few people willing to support Rachel is Zeke Pike, a woodcarver with a secret of his own, and they soon wrestle with romantic feelings for each other as mysterious stalkers threaten and try to separate them. Thompson's supporting characters and their tensions are believable, especially Patsy with her multilayered jealousy and unhappiness. The red herrings are exquisitely placed, and the climax will surprise even the most jaded of suspense readers. (Aug.)

Nakajo (Hana-Kimi) creates another soft sports manga, this time about figure skating. Maya Kurinoki takes up skating at her local rink and is scouted by an ice-skating coach. When the rink owner plans to shut it down, Maya agrees to pair with professional figure skater Shun Kano in a contest to keep the rink open. Rated all ages, Sugar Princess is true 'tween reading. Young readers will appreciate 14-year-old Maya (who looks and acts more like a naïve 10 or 12 year old) and her altruistic determination. The story itself is cute, peppered with gorgeous young men, and Nakajo does her figure-skating research. But fans of the sport may find that the illustration focuses too lightly on the skating and too heavily on the character dramatization. One of the strengths of all-star sports manga like Slam Dunk or of dance manga like Swan are the action sequences. Nakajo tries, but so far, her series shows little of the balletic movement that lovers of figure skating adore. The pacing may pick up in the next volumes, the skating as well, but given Nakajo's record with Hana-Kimi and her concentration on boy-girl dynamics, this manga may develop as a sugar-sweet story of romance off the ice. (Aug.)

This hilarious graphic novel shows a futuristic society where robots were created to do the dirty work, only they were built by the lowest bidder, creating a race of metallic slackers—the shmobots. Rusty, Eyeballs, 69.5 and their human friend Miles sit around, drink beer, attempt to have a band and get cut-rate lap dances. Meanwhile, a shmobot serial killer is on the loose. The art (like the cars) has a '70s feel of hotel sleaze and cop drama. In one scene, the three mechanical characters remove their sexual “organs,” and we find that 69.5's has to be screwed on. Later, their robot dog, Clinky, tries to hump a jukebox. The humor is prurient, the subject matter is adult, but what makes it nifty is the whacked-out camaraderie of the four sentient, male beings. A killer's on the loose, but they're more concerned with TV. “Corroded bee-otch!!” Rusty yells at a robot prostitute who spurns them. It's total I-don't-care culture, and Miles, as the one who is supposed to grow up, can't. Meanwhile, Rusty, in his halfhearted attempts to keep the group together, does mature (a bit). Sometimes the parodies edge on stereotypes about minorities, but the plot whips along and delivers some dastardly fun. (Aug.)

Completing the story that began with the award-winning Ordinary Victories (2005), this album from French-Belgian Larcenet shows depressive, panic-prone photographer Marco continuing to search for reasons to stay alive. The overall style resembles that of Herge's Tin-Tin: realistic setting (though sketched rather roughly) through which cartoony characters move. Larcenet's characters, however, resemble the Peanuts cast—if readers can imagine a shaggier, big-nosed Charley Brown trying to cope with his father's suicide, his girlfriend's need to have a baby and his sense of political irrelevance. Marco tries to do right by his family responsibilities while discovering how his photos honorably testify to the value of his subjects so that his profession has significance. The story doesn't tie things up neatly by giving one pat solution to the question of why we should go on living. Instead, it accomplishes something that comics can do especially well by juxtaposing bits of life, panels that celebrate happiness next to ones drenched in anger, necessary solitude balanced by companionship. By uniting those conflicting images together within himself, Marco discovers the strength to go on. This is a subtle, powerful work, using the tools of comic art beautifully. (July)

Miller, the man who kicked off the grim and gritty era of superhero comics with the 1986 Batman tale The Dark Knight Returns, returns to write the iconic character once again in a series that takes the tropes of superhero excess and explodes them into satire. Miller casts Batman as an obsessive lunatic who enlists traumatized children into his war on crime, calls himself “the goddamn Batman” and is prone to cackling maniacally. Sex and violence are constant preoccupations, but even during sex scenes, Miller can hardly keep a straight face. After a shared rampage against corrupt cops that includes the interjection, “Eat glass, lawman!” Batman and heroine Black Canary celebrate with an intimate encounter on a burning pier during a lightning storm. Although the bombastic, repetitive narration and decompressed storytelling (two and a half issues pass before Batman and Robin leave the Batmobile) often borders on hilarious, Miller aims for more obvious jokes later in the series. It's an over the top in-joke for the superhero crowd, though its irreverence may not have the most zealous and “serious” superhero fans laughing. (June)

And it's actually pretty bravissimo.

The captivating first novel by Italian politician Veltroni (a former member of parliament, mayor of Rome and candidate for prime minister) starts slowly but hardens into a touching, absorbing story about a man who reclaims his past. Giovanni Astengo keeps his life at arm's length: the father of a 12-year-old girl with Down syndrome, Stella, and a forlorn, world-weary 20-year-old, Lorenzo, Giovanni is also still searching for his own lost father, who vanished during a period of political terrorism in 1977. Revisiting the country house his parents used to frequent, Giovanni discovers there that he can call his 13-year-old self (on the eve of his father's disappearance, no less) by dialing his old phone number. Over the phone, Giovanni tries to change the future by having his younger self look for clues about his father's disappearance. There are fascinating intellectual tenets coursing through Veltroni's work, and the bond that forms between the two Giovannis is beautifully realized, as is the clarity that the older Giovanni finally achieves. (Aug.)