Fiction Reviews

Rakoff’s debut novel is a ponderous, meandering and nostalgic portrait of a postcollegiate group of Gen-Xers awkwardly navigating weddings, pregnancies, betrayals and funerals in pre- and post-9/11 New York City. At the center of the group is Sadie Peregrine, a rising book editor who is having trouble reconciling her personal and professional ambitions. Rounding out her circle is Lil, a depressed and flailing scholar; Emily, a starving actress; Tal, a successful actor; Beth, a would-be English prof; and Dave, an enigmatic musician and Beth’s ex-boyfriend. The writing is episodic and relies heavily on exposition, and many character interactions and plot developments occur off the page and are referred to only indirectly. At her best, Rakoff offers a carefully studied glimpse into her characters’ minds. Too often, though, the large cast and the hopscotch chronology come at the expense of narrative tension, of which there isn’t much. Thirty-somethings looking back wistfully on their 20s and their struggles with the vicissitudes of adulthood might get a bang out of this. (Apr.)

Full of lower Manhattan’s eccentricities, this captivating debut peeks in on the family of a late rock icon, Ree Hollander, in its West 10th Street townhouse. His widow, Sadie, met the rocker after ditching college for a less conventional education in swinging London. A doting mother, Sadie is a “dedicated drinker,” whose thirst for vodka has grown since her eldest, Gretchen—the only child old enough to know Ree before he overdosed at 39—checked into a Connecticut mental institution for self-mutilation. The adolescents, Ondine and Hamish, eschew public school for lessons from their bohemian neighbors. Also afloat in this quirky sea are London-based Brian, Ree’s best friend and bandmate who’s lusted after Sadie since Ree’s death 12 years ago, and Cap’n Meat, a genteel bum and Vietnam vet who guards the children from less savory street characters. When a near-fatal motorcycle accident sends Sadie back to London, this unlikely circle tightens around the Hollander kids. Blending a local’s familiarity with a first-timer’s awe, Keenan’s portrait of Manhattan is vividly drawn, an insightful illustration of how a string of city blocks can feel like home. (Apr.)

Two gladiators, a soothsayer and a prostitute seek freedom and revenge in Kane’s sword and sandal epic that starts strong but runs adrift after too many bloody battles. While Julius Caesar, Pompey and Crassus struggle for control of Rome, Romulus and Fabiola, the illegitimate children of a slave raped by a nobleman, run afoul of their master and are sold off; Romulus to gladiator school and Fabiola to the city’s fanciest brothel. Romulus is trained by Brennus, a fearsome gladiator whose family was slaughtered by the Roman army. Across the Forum, Fabiola, soon a favored courtesan of the social elite, vows to save her brother from certain death and to destroy the man who fathered her. After a fatal accident outside the brothel, Romulus and Brennus flee the city, joining up with Tarquinius, an Etruscan warrior who can glimpse the future. The trio enlists in Crassus’s army as they prepare to invade the Parthian Empire, a military action that quickly turns disastrous. Though the cliffhanger ending is oddly underwhelming (a sequel is in the works), readers into Roman intrigue and epic violence will consider Kane’s debut promising. (Mar.)

Burroway is best known for her textbook, Writing Fiction, but in this novel she demonstrates that even skillful writers can stumble. On September 11, 2001, Dana Cleveland sees a distant column of smoke through the window of the limousine carrying her to her husband’s funeral. She’ll later learn the smoke was from Flight 93, providing the first of many invocations of 9/11 that serve no purpose other than to undermine what would otherwise be a decent novel. Dana leaves Pennsylvania to revisit her roots, and while searching out her grandmother’s home in Georgia, she hooks up with childhood infatuation Cassius Huston, who is black, separated from his wife, has a daughter and belongs to a large family who would not approve of Dana, who is white. When the wife threatens Dana, she flees to Pelican Bay, Fla., where she quickly becomes entrenched in the mostly working-class community and grapples with problems that test her in ways she’s never anticipated. The complexities of Dana’s and Cassius’s relationship and of Pelican Bay are finely wrought, but Burroway’s exploration of socioeconomic angst is marred by the novel’s ghoulish references to 9/11. (Mar.)

Bright, precocious but socially awkward Lydia Pasternak reports on the aftermath of her older brother’s disappearance in Gershow’s accomplished debut. Danny was everything Lydia wasn’t: at ease with their parents, popular in school, physically imposing, beloved by the opposite sex. Danny went from being Lydia’s playmate in their youth to her tormentor in high school, so his disappearance leaves Lydia with some very mixed feelings, one of which is relief. As time goes on and the weekend search parties prove more and more fruitless, Lydia struggles with the fact that her geeky best friend, David, has feelings for her; she also obsesses over the private investigator hired by the family and allows herself to be sucked into the social world Danny once dominated. Lydia’s perspective gives this Lovely Bones–esque story line an unflinching quality as she details the emotional damage that reverberates even through her 10-year high school reunion. Gershow’s psychologically acute grasp of the mundane, ugly details that accompany tragedy, combined with an understanding of the tragicomedy of high school, make for a stark and merciless narrative, leavened by Lydia’s wry insights. (Feb.)

In this affecting road novel, an elderly married couple leave their Detroit home and take off in their camper for one last adventure together. Ella Robina has “more health problems than a third world country,” and her husband, John, is suffering from progressive dementia. Despite protests from their adult children and doctors, Ella and John hit the road and head west to Disneyland. By day, they stop off at cheese-ball tourist attractions, and at night they relive old memories by watching slide shows of their previous family vacations. Along the way, they receive unexpected aid from a rueful goth teenager, outmaneuver some roadside predators, get stopped by the police and consider running for it, and have sex. The ultimate decision Ella makes might seem life affirming to some and a callous betrayal to others, but it’s impossible to deny that Ella’s wise, feisty voice turns what could be a sappy melodrama into an authentic and funny love story. (Feb.)

A rural Minnesota town struggling through change before, during and after WWI forms the background for this emotional tale of star-crossed love, vengeance and regret. Liesel, the only girl in a family of men, lives an isolated life on a farm due to her secret identity as a hermaphrodite. Her loneliness is lessened by her friendship with Lester, her mentally challenged neighbor, but when Lester discovers Liesel’s secret, Liesel incites her brothers to exact a vicious revenge on him. As the novel skips back and forth through time in elliptical vignettes, Helget illustrates how tensions between the town’s German residents, including Liesel, and their more assimilated neighbors eventually boil over into anger and violence as sides are chosen and families are pulled apart. Helget establishes the setting beautifully, pulling the reader immediately into the social milieu of the small town, and even if her prose can veer into preciousness, the novel is, on balance, melancholy but enjoyable. (Feb.)

A classic money pit scenario offers insights into the fragility of home, family and neighborhood in Pushcart Prize–winner Laken’s thoughtful debut. Kate and her husband, Stuart, have been living a student lifestyle—complete with all-night parties and a rundown apartment—since leaving college seven years before. When Kate’s parents help them buy their own home, they don’t know that the handyman special was the site of a murder nearly 20 years earlier. Nor do they expect that the fixer-upper will be the wedge that drives them further apart. When Stuart walks away from their gutted home in the middle of Kate’s ambitious remodeling, Kate forms new relationships with two men who have ties to the murder and the house. At times, the metaphoric potential in Kate and Stuart’s cursed home overshadows the storytelling. For the most part, however, Laken avoids foundering in obvious symbolism, instead offering compelling reflections on broad issues such as neighborhood gentrification and the American dream as well as the personal struggles involved with marriage, family and the creation of a home. (Feb.)

Roby’s disappointing sixth entry in her Rev. Curtis Black series (after 2008’s Sin No More) focuses on Alicia Black Sullivan, his beautiful and spoiled 22-year-old daughter. Accustomed to getting anything she wants, Alicia shops like daddy still picks up the tab. This is a source of endless agitation for her new husband, young pastor Phillip Sullivan, a genuinely good man. Though he tries to set limits, Alicia stubbornly plows forward, and her self-centered ways result in deceit, infidelity and, finally, divorce. Unsurprisingly, Alicia learns nothing from her tragedy except that she should strive to marry a wealthier man. Roby’s message of Christian forgiveness, a common theme in her work, doesn’t succeed here: characters tolerate situations until they become untenable and then walk away. Alicia’s selfish behavior is alienating, and her unwillingness or inability to learn from her mistakes leaves readers wondering why they should care at all. (Feb.)

From Phillips (Motherkind; Shelter) comes a long-awaited and wonderful coming-of-age tale of grief and survival. The story straddles a parallel six-day period in July, one in 1959—during which 17-year-old Lark; her brother, Termite, who can’t talk; and their aunt and caretaker, Nonie, are struggling to balance hope and despair in smalltown West Virginia—and nine years earlier, when Termite’s father, Robert Leavitt, serves a tour in Korea. Lark, living with her aunt without knowing who her father is or why her mother gave her up, was nine years old when baby Termite landed on their doorstep. Nonie works long hours at a local restaurant to support the hodgepodge family, leaving Lark to take over mothering duties, but as Lark finishes secretarial school and realizes how limited the options are for her and Termite, forces of nature and odd individuals shed light on mysteries of the past and lend a hand in steering the next course of action. Through Robert and Nonie’s stories and by exposing the innermost thoughts of each character, Phillips creates a wrenching portrait of devotion while keeping the suspense at a palpitating level. (Jan.)

A heroine who can see dark energy flashes in a villain’s aura and a hero who can squelch villainous thoughts before they’re put into action go to paradise to find a murderer, but find love, sex and a nest of drug-enhanced evildoers instead in Krentz’s latest Arcane Society novel. Librarian Grace Renquist and ex-cop-turned-bartender Luther Malone, both members of the centuries-old Arcane Society, join forces when the psychic investigative agency Jones & Jones hires Grace, with Luther as her bodyguard, to find a killer in Hawaii. Luther quickly realizes Grace is not your normal paranormal, but their hot romance is put (briefly) on hold as they learn that Nightshade, drug-fueled supernatural baddies, are after the same murderer—as is the lethal psychic hunter La Sirène, an opera diva with a killer voice. The plot is fast, steamy and wildly entertaining even if it defies credulity. Krentz’s fans will enjoy this outing and appreciate the teaser that readers have not seen the last of this power couple. (Jan.)

Making a hit man turned medical intern a sympathetic figure would be a tall order for most authors, but first-time novelist Bazell makes it look easy in this breezy and darkly comic suspense novel. The Locanos, a mob family, take in 14-year-old Pietro Brwna (pronounced “Browna”) after a couple of thugs gun down the grandparents who raised him in their New Jersey home. Bent on revenge, Pietro pursues the killers and executes them a year later. Impressed by Pietro’s performance, David Locano recruits Pietro as a hit man. After more traumas, Pietro tries to make a break from his past by entering the witness protection program. Now known as Peter Brown, he eventually lands a position as a doctor at a decrepit Manhattan hospital, where by chance a former Mafia associate turns up as a patient and threatens to rat him out. The hero’s wry narrative voice, coupled with Bazell’s artful use of flashbacks to sustain tension and fill in Pietro’s past, are a winning combination. (Jan.)

Set in South Africa in 1952, Australian filmmaker Nunn’s stellar debut explores a divided society through the frame of a classic murder mystery. When Det. Sgt. Emmanuel Cooper, Nunn’s tortured sleuth, investigates white suspects in the fatal shooting of Afrikaner police captain Willem Pretorius, he immediately encounters resistance from the victim’s family. Before long, brutal investigators from the Security Branch offer a politically expedient solution. Cooper must fend off their threats as he pursues a link between the murder and an open Peeping Tom case that Pretorius had been probing. The detective finds no shortage of people who might have had a motive for killing the captain. Fans of Charles Todd’s Inspector Rutledge series (A Matter of Justice, etc.) will note some parallels, in particular Cooper’s being haunted by the spirit of his old sergeant-major. Smooth prose and a deft plot make this novel a welcome addition to crime fiction set in South Africa. (Jan.)

McCullough’s (The Thorn Birds) sequel to Pride and Prejudice vaults the characters of the original into a ridiculously bizarre world, spinning dizzily among plot lines until it finally crashes to a close. The novel begins 20 years after Austen’s classic ends, with Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy trapped in a passionless marriage, Jane a spineless baby machine, Lydia an alcoholic tramp, Kitty a cheerfully vapid widow and Mary a naïve feminist and social crusader. Shrewish Mrs. Bennet’s death frees Mary from her caretaker duties, and, inspired by the writings of a crusading journalist, Mary sets off to document the plight of England’s poor. Along the way, she is abused, robbed and imprisoned by the prophet of a cave-dwelling cult. Darcy is the book’s villain, and he busies himself with hushing up the Bennet clan’s improprieties in service of his political career. His dirty work is carried out by Ned Skinner, whose odd devotion to Darcy drives his exploits, the nastiest of which involves murder. McCullough lacks Austen’s gently reproving good humor, making the family’s adventures into a mannered spaghetti western with a tacked-on, albeit Austenesque, happy ending. (Jan.)

The gimmick to accompany the conclusion of the Princess Diaries is this delightful historical romance written by series heroine Princess Mia Thermopolis (“with help from” Cabot, who is donating all proceeds to Greenpeace). Finn Crais is the resourceful daughter of a miller living in Stephensgate, England, in 1291. When Finn’s older sister, Mellana, gets pregnant by a troubadour and has no money for a dowry, Finn agrees to carry out Mellana’s ridiculous plan to abduct a wealthy man and hold him ransom, settling on Earl Hugh Fitzstephen, fresh back from the crusades and loaded with gold and jewels. Finn doesn’t realize who it is she’s captured, and Fitzstephen, owing to a curiosity about Finn and wanting to see where the kidnapping will lead, plays along. As to be expected, passions become enflamed, and Finn discovers her sister’s plan may not be a simple as she originally thought. Though predictable, the novel is thoroughly enjoyable and funny. Cabot’s fans, and particularly those graduating from the Princess Diaries, will be pleased, especially as they may have read brief excerpts in Forever Princess, the series finale (Reviews, p. 55). (Jan.)

When ex-stationary engineer Giulio Chiavetta disappears from a Montreal psychiatric clinic, his doctor, Wilhelm Ryle, looks into Chiavetta’s psyche for clues in this offbeat novel from Mirolla (The Boarder). Fortunately, Chiavetta, who on admission accused himself of killing his wife and child (despite the absence of any evidence that wife and child ever existed), has left on his computer a document called Berlin: A Novel in Three Parts, the ostensible recollections of philosophy professor Antonio Serratura, who makes a trip to West Berlin to attend an academic conference. The novel-within-a-novel alternates between dense discussions of philosophical theory and accounts of Serratura’s odd exploits on the eve of a visit to the city by President Ronald Reagan. Dr. Ryle studies the various weird episodes in the novel’s text in an effort to relate them to what he knows of Chiavetta’s actual life. Fans of the bizarre films of David Lynch are the most likely to enjoy this curious book. (Jan.)

A peerless singer in the Peking Opera is ruined by her jealousy of her understudy in this vividly sketched tale of art and money by Chinese screenwriter (Shanghai Triad) and novelist Feiyu. In 1979, 20 years before the novel takes place, the actress Xiao Yanqiu debuted brilliantly and memorably as the lead in The Moon Opera, although she soon wrecked her career when she attacked her understudy’s teacher in a fit of rage at sharing the spotlight. Now 40, unhappily married and overweight, Xiao is offered the chance to reprise her role in a new production bankrolled by a factory owner and former fan. Xiao, who assumes the role to perfection, chooses as her understudy a gifted student, Chunlai, who postpones a TV career for the promise of the stage. The scene is set for a terrible showdown, naturally, complicated by the clash between art and money, as exemplified by the crass interests of the factory owner. The novel’s slimness, simple storytelling and overarching morality lend it a fable-like air, with Xiao filling the role of its tormented star. (Jan.)

Platas’s second wish fulfillment fantasy chica-lit novel (after Cinderella Lopez) follows the craziness that ensues as Cuban-American Rosie Caballero’s humdrum world undergoes an extreme makeover after she wins $600 million in the lottery. Rosie shares her megabucks with her grandmother and her lovable cousin Cheeto, and begins plotting how to best spend her riches, gradually transforming her dumpy self into a smart, curvy J-Lo celebrity sort, pursued by the tabloids—much like heartthrob actor Brad Merritt, who, in a magical twist of fate, becomes her boyfriend. But Rosie’s newfound status also attracts envious schemers, ex-boyfriends and the glaring media spotlight. Platas depicts Rosie and crew’s gilded ascension with a giddiness that’s pure escapist fun. (Jan.)

Gregory and Tintori follow their first thriller, The Book of Names (2007), with another average Da Vinci Code knockoff. In the near future, MSNBC reporter Dana Landau is murdered in Iraq after the chance purchase of the Eye of Dawn, an amulet believed to have supernatural powers. Fortunately, Landau managed to send off the talisman to her sister, a curator at a New York City museum devoted to the ancient Near East, before the bad guys who want to use it for evil tracked her down. The U.S. government also seeks the Eye of Dawn in hopes of harnessing its potential to solve the energy crisis. Muslim extremists scheming to destroy the Temple Mount in Jerusalem complicate a plot full of overly familiar action sequences and chase scenes. Still, the authors deserve credit for one original element—an underdeveloped attempt to link J.R.R. Tolkien’s saga of magical jewels, The Silmarillion, with the Old Testament. (Jan.)

Damion Templeton, Viscount Woodhurst, is a man in need of a wife in Louise’s (Secret Sister) charming if dry historical romance set in late 18th-century England. Believing his grandmother is dying and knowing that her fondest wish is to see him married, Templeton commissions Alix Adams, a young, penniless schoolteacher, to pose as his fiancée until his grandmother dies. Little does he know that his grandmother is healthy, and that Adams will steal his heart. But the road to love is not a smooth one and the pair must contend with schemers out to steal Templeton’s fortune and ruffians with dark secrets from Adams’s past. Though Templeton and Adams are sweet, there is no serious conflict between them to create the sparks that romance novels thrive on. The attraction between the hero and heroine is immediate and the only characters against the union are comically ineffectual caricatures. While readers will warm to Templeton and Adams, the lack of tension—and passion—will most likely send them elsewhere in search of spicier fare. (Jan.)

The sparkling latest in Swerling’s historical series (after City of Glory) about the Turner and Devrey families and the growth of New York City takes place in the decades leading up to the Civil War. While in China, merchant Samuel Devrey trades a cache of opium for the beautiful and young Mei-Hua, whom he secretly ensconces in New York and marries. Samuel also marries saintly heiress Carolina Randolph and tries to hold together the two households, though Carolina eventually cools to Samuel’s secretiveness and brutish behavior, and begins to return the ardor of Samuel’s cousin, Dr. Nicholas Turner. As Nicholas campaigns to improve conditions and fund research at Bellevue Hospital, he’s drawn into Samuel’s secret life, saving Mei Hua’s life after a botched abortion and later delivering her daughter. This highly entertaining novel suffers whenever the villainous Samuel is not on the scene, and though the last hundred pages drop off in intensity, there’s still much to commend in Swerling’s great eye for detail, convincing and conniving characters, and subplots that really flesh out 19th-century New York. (Dec.)

Eloquent prose and haunting characters lift Oppegaard’s astonishing debut, an SF thriller with some eerie similarities to M. Night Shyamalan’s film about mass suicide, The Happening. In the near future, 90% of the world’s population have killed themselves due to a plague called “the Despair.” The only people energized by the nightmare are the Collectors, who after each suicide appear like carrion birds to collect the corpse. Only one man resists the Collectors. When the wife of a 34-year-old Floridian named Norman takes a fatal overdose of sleeping pills, Norman loads his shotgun and waits patiently before blowing the head off a Collector who arrives to claim the body. Norman and his neighbor, Franklin “Pops” Conway, head for Seattle after learning a doctor there may have found a cure for the Despair. In Kansas, they’re joined by Zero, an 11-year-old girl whose bravery encourages Norman in his quest. While the story may be too bleak for many readers, the ending holds out some hope. (Dec.)

After summoning a lover through a ritual part witchcraft, part Santeria, at the start of Benedict’s spellbinding second novel (after Isabella Moon), three 13-year-old Lolitas—Roxanne, Del and Alice—believe that their new teacher at Cincinnati’s Our Lady of the Hills school, is the angel sent to deflower them. Roxanne successfully schemes to seduce Cuban-born Father Romero, who suffers terrible guilt as a result. When Alice and Del each falsely accuse Romero of acting inappropriately toward them, Romero is defrocked and loses his job. Seventeen years later, Romero returns to town with Varick, a demon disguised as a man, to punish the now adult schoolgirls. All become entangled in an unholy web of destruction that threatens innocent lives. While the underage sex may make some readers uncomfortable, this sad, erotically charged update of a classic horror theme offers a cautionary moral: pacts with the devil seldom result in happiness. (Dec.)

In this dark, gritty portrayal of Americans at war in Afghanistan, Yenne serves up buckets of blood, gore and tragedy in this not-for-the-squeamish novel about four National Guardsmen sent to fight. Justin is a lazy California surfer dude flunking out of college. Jimmy Ray is a black Georgia auto mechanic suppressing a lot of anger. Luis is a Colorado Hispanic chasing the American dream. And Cindy is an Iowa schoolteacher who never thought she’d be sent to war. Within days of arriving in Afghanistan, all four are involved in bloody, chaotic combat that will forever change their lives. Justin and Jimmy Ray’s friendship is forged by battle. Luis displays an uncanny talent for tracking the Taliban, and Cindy discovers courage she never knew she had. Three of them make it home, and Yenne offers no tenderness in their homecoming. Loaded with exciting and graphic battlefield action, Yenne’s portrayal of men and women in combat is authentic down to the smell of explosives and the stink of sweat and fear. (Dec.)

Eden’s latest brims with passion, obsession and demons as Det. Todd Brooks fights to keep Atlanta safe from a serial killer, an increasingly complex job as he discovers that his city is teeming with demons, vampires and an array of Others. It also doesn’t help that he’s smitten with beautiful prime suspect Cara Firon. All the evidence points to Cara’s guilt, but Todd is certain that she has been set up, even as his colleagues warn that he is being swayed by lust. Cara, meanwhile, turns out to be a powerful sex demon struggling with her own issues of right, wrong and love. A cast of creative secondary characters rounds out this romp that all but vibrates with sexual energy. (Dec.)

In this charming tale of female empowerment and midlife crisis, Vonda Thayer wakes up on her 50th birthday to realize that her husband, Jerome, is a womanizer, her children are spoiled rotten, and she is stuck caring for her embittered mother-in-law. Just as she decides to take steps to change her situation, her estranged father-in-law appears on her doorstep, her eldest daughter, Amelie, comes home pregnant, and a category five hurricane is set to hit the Florida panhandle. Vonda’s attempts to get out from under her life will delight readers. While the characters are all rascals and losers (except for Vonda), readers will recognize the irascibility and warm familial sensibility in equal measure and appreciate the Southern vernacular, which Buckley handles with wit and aplomb. At times laugh out loud funny, Buckley’s book manages to be both inspiring and realistic. The one weak point is the charming Jerome, whose cheating borders on obsessive and whose insensitivity to his wife rings false. (Dec.)

Country girl Ariana Forsythe is sent to a wealthy aunt in London to head off an unsuitable match in this faith-based Regency romance. After being modishly outfitted by said aunt, Ariana is thrust into the London season, with all its attendant social conventions: status distinctions, formal etiquette and gossip, gossip, gossip (the Regency antecedent of dishing). Ariana meets her match in the disdainful paragon of society, Phillip Mornay, who quickly becomes her ally after an unexpected turn of social events threatens her good name. This period romance lacks sufficient romantic tension between the principals. The plotting is also uneven, with some complications (the matter of Ariana’s correspondence with her family, for example) not driving the plot forward, instead frittering narrative energy. But the author’s command of period detail is impressive, evident in material details but also in dialogue. The theology is also period authentic. The novel even contains a glossary to help non-Regencyphiles get up to speed about the difference between ladies’ pelisses and spencers. Despite some technical problems, on the whole it’s a tasty confection. (Dec.)

Bestseller Patterson’s 14th Alex Cross thriller doesn’t follow up on the plot threads left dangling in 2007’s Double Cross concerning still-on-the-loose serial killer Kyle Craig. Instead, Cross, a Washington, D.C., police detective, takes on a very different quarry—a human monster known as the Tiger with ties to the African underworld. When the Tiger and his teenage thugs butcher writer Ellie Cox, her husband and children in their Georgetown home, Cross is devastated because Ellie had been his girlfriend in college. The Cox family massacre proves to be just the first in a series. Cross pursues the Tiger to Nigeria, where the profiler finds himself at the mercy of corrupt government officials who may be working with the Tiger. Spending less time than usual exploring his villain’s psychological backstory, Patterson delivers an atypical tale of James Bond–style revenge. Craig’s brief cameo toward the end suggests the series will resume its usual path in the next book. (Nov. 17)

After the sophistication and ingenuity of such recent Hitchcockian thrillers as The Husband and The Good Guy, bestseller Koontz stumbles in this pallid effort. Ryan Kelly, a 34-year-old Internet entrepreneur, has it all, including an attractive journalist girlfriend he wants to marry, Samantha Reach, and a house in a gated community in Newport Coast, Calif. Harsh reality intrudes when he learns he has a serious heart defect and must get a transplant. Fortunately, a compatible donor turns up in time, but then someone launches a reign of psychological terror that leaves Ryan suspicious of Samantha and his longtime servants. The ultimate plot payoff is unworthy of this gifted author, as are patches of ponderous prose (“With the moon still tethered to the eastern horizon but straining higher, with the giant pepper tree occluding most of the eternally receding stars, the time to talk of death had come”). Koontz fans can only hope for a return to form next time. (Nov. 25)

Adair’s conclusion to her paranormal romance trilogy that began with Night Fall and Night Secrets smoothly blends sensuality and espionage. As two covert T-FLAC (Terrorist Force Logistical Assault Command) agents—newbie Alexis “Lexi” Stone and seasoned veteran Alexander Stone (no relation)—travel the globe in search of those responsible for a series of bombings, the pair must contend with the attraction that threatens to destroy the professionalism of their relationship. Complicating the mission for Lexi are orders from her superiors to kill Alex if, as they suspect, Alex is a rogue operative. Meanwhile, Alex, who frequently teleports from one location to another, has to deal with deadly doppelgängers who have a tendency to disintegrate into “soot.” The confusing similarity of the protagonists’ names provides some comic relief from the thriller action and hot sex. (Nov. 25)

The festive fifth holiday mystery from the bestselling mother-daughter Clarks (after 2006’s Santa Cruise) focuses on a wish-fulfillment theme many Americans dream about—winning a fortune in the lottery. As Christmas approaches, the folks of Branscombe, N.H., are celebrating their first “Festival of Joy.” Visiting from New York City are novelist Nora Regan Reilly and her PI daughter, Regan Reilly, and their close friends Alvirah and Will Meehan, who won $40 million in the lottery a few years earlier. When four employees of Conklin’s Market win $160 million using numbers supplied by their associate Duncan Graham, they decide to share their winnings with Duncan. Duncan, alas, has vanished. The Reillys and Meehans soon get on a trail of intrigue involving an abduction, thieves, con men and a second winning lottery ticket. Though the plotting and the characterization can be as thin as early winter ice, this trifle still rates a cheerful ho ho ho. (Nov. 18)

In bestseller Beaton’s devilishly droll 24th mystery to feature police constable Hamish Macbeth (after 2008’s Death of a Gentle Lady), the Scottish Highlands’ most stubborn (and romantically challenged) bachelor returns to his home village of Lochdubh from a disappointing vacation to discover a witch stirring up trouble. To Macbeth’s annoyance, the sex-starved local men have fallen under the spell of Catriona Beldame, who turns out to be a runaway bride with a shady past. Macbeth longs to prove she’s selling illegal (and bogus) remedies for sexual dysfunction, and warns her to stop if she is. Macbeth gets a shock when someone murders Beldame and sets her house on fire—soon after Macbeth is overheard to say he’d like to kill her. Three more murders of other women quickly follow. Could a serial killer be loose in sleepy Lochdubh? As usual, Beaton’s crisp plotting and effervescent humor complement Macbeth’s deft crime solving. (Dec.)

At the start of the superb sixth Lew Fonesca hard-boiled whodunit (after 2006’s Always Say Goodbye) from MWA Grand Master Kaminsky, 17-year-old Greg Lagerman, a student at a school for the gifted, hires Fonesca, who’s been working as a process server in Sarasota, Fla., since losing his wife to a hit-and-run driver in Chicago, to exonerate a friend, 17-year-old Ronnie Graell. Graell stands accused of bludgeoning to death an eccentric wealthy politician whose most recent crusade was against a college financial-aid program. Given that the bloodstained suspect was found next to the corpse, Fonesca has his work cut out for him. The gumshoe’s initial probes soon place him in the crosshairs of an unknown assailant. Kaminsky provides enough twists and turns to keep most readers guessing, but the book’s power comes from the compelling portrayal of Fonseca, who still suffers emotionally from his wife’s death, but continues to strive to move forward. (Jan.)

Fredrickson delivers on the promise of A Safe Place for Dying (2006), a Shamus Award finalist, with this fine follow-up. When an attorney informs PI Vlodek “Dek” Elstrom that he’s been named executor of the estate of Louise Thomas of Rambling, Mich., curiosity and a $700 fee are enough to send Dek from his home in Rivertown, Ill., to desolate Rambling, even though he’s never heard of the deceased woman. Dek finds more mystery in Thomas’s shack—blood spatters, remnants of a frantic search and an old Underwood typewriter. Dek eventually figures out how he and Thomas connect, but in the process unearths mysteries involving an advice columnist, a bank robbery, arson and murder. Dek is an appealing combination of bloodhound and bulldog, albeit one still in the puppy stage. Fredrickson’s light touch, nicely drawn secondary characters and clever plotting make this a promising series with enough substance to make a meal, not just a snack. (Jan.)

Istanbul provides an intriguing backdrop for Somer’s highly entertaining and occasionally over-the-top tale, the first in a six-volume series to be made available in the U.S., in which a namelesstransvestite nightclub owner turns detective after the murder of one of the club’s drag queens, a crime linked to a blackmail scheme involving letters and photos received from a powerful and conservative businessman. While the club’s performers fear their secret lives being made public and are outcasts to their families, the protagonist, who by night dresses like “that boyish beauty” Audrey Hepburn, fears no one. When the blackmailers target the nightclub owner, she turns for help to contacts in the gay and transvestite community, plus a gossipy bouncer and an adoring cab driver who fancies himself “the Istanbul version of Brad Pitt.” Melding broad humor with a sensitive look at gay life in Turkey, Somer has fashioned a complex protagonist who’s likable, intelligent, arrogant and, above all, a survivor. (Jan.)

Ex-deputy Dixie Hemingway still mourns the loss of her young daughter and cop husband in a freak accident three years earlier, but takes solace in her pet-sitting job in Siesta Key, Fla., in Clement’s thoughtful and at times somber fourth animal-themed cozy (after 2008’s Even Cat Sitters Get the Blues). Eager for friendship, Dixie forms an immediate bond with an attractive new neighbor, Laura Halston, who has a cat named Leo. When someone stabs Laura to death in the shower, Dixie suspects Laura’s soon-to-be ex-husband, “a sadistic surgeon” skilled with a scalpel. As Dixie’s new sweetie, sexy homicide detective Lt. Jean-Pierre Guidry, investigates, surprising information comes to light that will challenge everything she knows about Laura. Some readers may find the subplot involving Maizie, a seizure assistance dog for a boy undergoing brain surgery, more compelling than the somewhat predictable murder story. (Jan.)

This contemporary police procedural from British veteran Ashford (Illegal Guilt) offers lackluster plotting and characterization. Kent County Det. Constable Andy Gregg finds himself in trouble when burglars strike shortly after Gregg’s routine security survey of Querry Brade, a 15th-century manor house, and before its owners can install the security system he recommended. The criminals make off with valuable jewelry, and soon Gregg somehow manages, on his modest salary, to buy his pregnant wife, Wendy, an expensive ring. When a police officer is killed during another theft, Gregg’s superiors consider him a potential accessory before the fact. By identifying the real culprit early on, Ashford undercuts the suspense. The climax, with Wendy playing a clichéd role when confronted with a knife-wielding assailant, doesn’t elevate the story line above the ordinary. (Dec.)

A decidedly dark departure from Priest’s Eden Moore saga (Four and Twenty Blackbirds, etc.), this stand-alone novel is equal parts horror, contemporary fantasy and apocalyptic thriller. During a summer vacation to her aunt’s coastal Florida home, innocent teen Nia sees her cousin Bernice commit a brutal murder and then get dragged into the ocean by a monstrous water witch. Nia becomes inadvertently entangled in a conflict between primordial creatures that endangers the very existence of humankind. Entombed in stone for countless years, Nia eventually emerges from her cocoon transformed, only to realize that an old god is close to awakening and destroying the world. Priest’s haunting lyricism and graceful narrative are complemented by the solemn, cynical thematic undercurrents with a tangible gravity and depth. This is arguably her most ambitious—and accomplished—work to date. (Dec.)

Several years after the events of 2007’s Opening Atlantis, Victor Radcliff, now middle-aged, is called upon to lead the Atlantis colonies’ fight for independence from England. Victor, aided by his ex-slave friend Blaise, agrees to train and lead the ragtag colonial army against experienced British soldiers under Generals Howe and Cornwallis. Between battles, Victor and his friends debate questions of politics and religion, particularly the troubling dilemma of slavery. Readers familiar with the American Revolution will find analogues to Benjamin Franklin and Benedict Arnold as well as real figures, such as Marquis de la Fayette and Thomas Paine, and elements of real battles of the American Revolution. Victor excels as a general, but makes one personal error that sharply ramps up his stake in the developing conflict and opens the door for a third book. (Dec.)

Former Weird Tales editor Scithers launches a planned series of cross-genre cat anthologies with a vow to avoid the clichéd talking feline. Although the few reprints—by Lovecraft, Leiber and Baudelaire—are classics, the original stories are the real reason to buy this volume. Standouts include K.D. Wentworth’s “Cat Call,” a charming cat’s-eye-view mystery, and Geoffrey Maloney’s “Not Another Black Cat Story,” featuring a novel deal with the Devil, as well as darker tales, like “The Eye of Ra” by Jim Hines, a story of murder and revenge set in ancient Egypt, and Mary Turzillo’s short but effective science fiction story, “Scout.” Despite a few sour notes (most disappointingly in Nancy Springer’s by-the-numbers mystery “American Curls”) and twee moments, Scithers commendably unearths solid new material in a theme that has been milked extensively for decades. (Dec.)

The rousing fifth installment of Butcher’s military fantasy cycle (after 2007’s Captain’s Fury) finds the land of Alera recovering from Lord Kalarus’s rebellion, an invasion by the wolven Canim and a bloody slave revolt. Now a new threat emerges: the all-devouring insectoid Vord, who have learned to control the elemental furies that once protected Alera. Young Tavi of Calderon, recently recognized as the heir to Alera’s throne, fights seasickness and interspecies hostilities escorting the Canim invaders back to their homeland, only to negotiate a fragile alliance with them against the Vord. No less powerful than his intense battle scenes, Butcher’s vivid characterizations, based on ancient Roman Republican ideals, range from duty-honor-country austerity in battle to brilliant peacemaking, noble self-sacrifice and Tavi’s coming-of-age as a wise Marcus Aurelian ruler. (Dec.)

Denver is lousy with monsters and mayhem in this urban fantasy series launch by epic fantasist Daniel Abraham (The Long Price Quartet series), his first venture under the Hanover pen name. Stereotypically plucky heroine Jayné Heller stumbles into a world of dangerous magic when she inherits a distant uncle’s fortune and his difficulties with a clan of malicious supernatural beings. Jayné likewise gains her uncle’s loose conglomerate of useful friends, all of whom have about one character trait apiece (the chef, the Frenchman, the ex-Jesuit), and she plots with them to destroy her uncle’s murderer, the sinister Randolph Coin. When trouble threatens, Jayné displays startling monster-fighting abilities, belatedly attributed to her uncle’s blessing. Abraham’s smooth prose and zippy action sequences sag under the weight of clichés. (Dec.)

Saintly pirates, loony pirates, pirate cooks and talking animal-buccaneers slash and swagger through the Caribbean, the Internet, the perpetually frozen Atlantic and the seas of distant planets in this collection of 18 original stories. The anthology begins strongly with Elizabeth Bear and Sarah Monette’s “Boojum,” a tale of one space pirate’s self-discovery, and concludes equally well with a gentleman rogue and his magical puppet in Garth Nix’s “Beyond the Sea Gate of the Scholar-Pirates of Sarsköe.” The levity of “Castor on Troubled Waters,” Rhys Hughes’s playful romp through time and space, and Howard Waldrop’s conflation of fictional pirates, “Avast, Abaft!,” are balanced by “68° 07' 15" N, 31° 36' 44" W,” Conrad Williams’s baffling little chunk of horror. These ingenious variations on a theme deserve to be savored slowly. (Dec.)

This follow-up to Powers of Detection (2006) breaks no new ground, but offers 12 stories with enough well-paced variety to keep readers happy. In Charlaine Harris’s notable Sookie Stackhouse tale, “Lucky,” one insurance agent’s good luck makes him a target. A “resurrected” Humphrey Bogart is murdered in Carole Nelson Douglas’s “Bogieman” while Santa Claus investigates the murder of an elf in John Straley’s “Weight of the World.” On the lighter side, a divorcée gets used to a menagerie of ghostly housemates in Sharon Shinn’s “The House of Seven Spirits” and a young woman confronts a cave dragon turned loan shark to solve her father’s disappearance in Laura Anne Gilman’s “Illumination.” Strong tales outnumber the weaker ones by a considerable margin and will satisfy fans of both genres. (Dec.)

The captivating sequel to 2006’s Surrender continues the tale of the MacKinnon clan, Scots forced to fight for the British in the 18th-century French and Indian Wars. The French score a major coup when they capture notorious ranger Morgan MacKinnon, best known for destroying an Abenaki village after learning that the tribe’s warriors were scalping women and children. Brigadier de Bourlamaque plans on handing MacKinnon over to the Abenaki, who promise to torture him mercilessly, unless he betrays his comrades. MacKinnon despairs, but Bourlamaque’s ward, Amalie Chauvenet, captures his heart and persuades him to spy for the French against the English. Clare’s detailed attention to the history of alliances forged and battles fought near Fort Ticonderoga adds authenticity, and the characters evolve and change with a realism that readers will love. (Dec.)

Bestseller Barton wraps up her long-running Protectors series (launched with 1995’s Defending His Own) with a nail biter about private security agent Lucie Evans, whose feud with Sawyer McNamara, CEO of the Dundee Private Investigation and Security Agency, finally explodes. Lucie leaves Dundee and starts working as billionaire Cara Bedell’s personal bodyguard, only to be kidnapped by hired South American killers who mistake her for Cara. Sawyer enlists the help of agent Geoff Monday and they quickly rescue Lucie. When the kidnappers follow Cara back to the U.S., Sawyer, Geoff and Lucie leave no stone unturned in their efforts to stop the thugs and find their employer. Barton tosses in several familiar names and other gifts to fans who have been cheering on Sawyer and Lucie for years; new readers will enjoy the fast pace and hot-tempered romance. (Dec.)

When former race car driver Trick Granger picks up a mysterious hitchhiker, he discovers a whole series of puzzles. “Nevada White” has escaped from a mental institution where her memory and real name were wiped out, and now a pair of undead “detectives” are trying to kill her. She’s plagued by uncontrollable psychic flashes and her pursuers’ accusation that she murdered her father. Intrigued by Nevada’s resemblance to a ghost haunting his Northern California home and dismissive of the danger, Trick hires her to clean up the inherited mansion. Mulvaney (Something Wicked) spins a diverting if predictable tale with some suspense, but she divulges too many secrets in scenes from the villain’s viewpoint. The paranormal elements add atmosphere, but won’t do much for readers who prefer them integral to the plot. (Dec.)

Beattie’s debut, a 1660s Caribbean pirate romance, is heavy on swashbuckling and light on character development. Five years before, a brigand called Dervish killed Samantha Fine’s family. She and her friend Joe escaped the massacre, but wound up enslaved by an evil plantation owner, so they stole his ship and turned pirate, with Sam cross-dressing as Capt. Sam Steele. Now she’s decided to break one-eyed pirate Luke Bradley out of jail and get his help finding Dervish When sparks fly between Luke and Sam, she fears he will break her heart—he’s a pirate, after all—and he believes she’s too good for him. This very traditional but fun romance features a feisty heroine, a tortured hero and a sassy parrot along with strong doses of betrayal, action and plenty of cunning. (Dec.)

Pham made his name in the art comics community with his minicomics and self-published work, but this first volume of a projected twice-annual series is a leap in both style and scope. Most of it is devoted to “221 Sycamore St.,” a set of linked vignettes about the dysfunctional residents of a shared house and the community that surrounds them, including a bitter old Catholic school teacher, a boy who wears a sheet over his entire upper body, some cokehead club kids and a pair of white supremacists with an attack dog. The tone and design of Sublife owe a lot to Chris Ware—a pair of one-page strips about lonely, bored astronauts could be Acme Novelty Library outtakes—and a lot of its dramatic tension similarly comes from Pham’s attempts to present miserable or loathsome characters sympathetically. The two-tone artwork, though, is a striking, distinctive combination of broad, minimalist cartooning (a closeup of an odor-sensitive deli employee’s face is drawn with six stylized lines and two dots), painstakingly detailed textures, bold open spaces and vivid abstractions. Pham’s also a superb storyteller who lets his drawings carry symbolic elements as well as psychological details—the book’s bravura opening sequence, about a stray cat trying to find safety, silently anticipates everything that follows. (Oct.)

The second collection of author-illustrator Lash’s Wolff & Byrd, Counselors of the Macabre comic book is for those who like their horror-comedy with a healthy portion of camp. This book is amusing and clever—but sometimes too clever. Some of the cultural references might fly right over the head of anyone under 30, and if too many stories are read in one sitting, preciousness overload sets in (bad puns abound.) But the niche that Lash’s work is aimed at will certainly appreciate Wolff & Byrd’s adventures. These level-headed and calm lawyers (who have their own problematic lives to contend with) play straight men to a parade of hapless monsters and other supernatural types as they are guided through their often pathetic legal complaints. The collected stories reinforce each other and further flesh out this off-kilter world where Dracula needs legal assistance to get rid of squatters, and a “swamp thing,” the Sodd of the title, is recruited by unscrupulous tree huggers as an unwitting spokesman. The art is a neat mashup of the styles of the romance and ghoul magazines the comics industry was pushing in the late 1960s, with an additional debt to the inking and shading of counterculture artist Spain Rodriguez. (Oct.)

Author Tamaki and artist Rolston offer a light but charming fantasy for awkward girls everywhere. Emiko, a half-Japanese, half-Caucasian Canadian, is a self-described geek facing a summer of babysitting and isolation. Things change when she stumbles upon an underground performing art scene inspired by Andy Warhol’s Factory. She eventually takes to the stage, dressed in her grandmother’s mod outfits from the ’60s, and achieves minor celebrity. Soon, though, Emiko must face the troubling complexities in the lives of her new friends and the consequences of her own questionable actions. The book offers many of the hallmarks of female coming-of-age tales, including a sensitive romantic interest, betrayal, concern about popularity and the difficult recognition that adult life is not as black and white as one may hope. Unique and modern touches, however, help set the book apart, such as the references to Warhol, ruminations on the nature of art and a lesbian subplot. Rolston’s playful, vibrant b&w illustrations bring the characters to life; in particular, Emiko’s sweet, expressive face conveys her wild swings of emotions as the story progresses. (Oct.)

Unlike some better known Web comic collections (such as Perry Bible Fellowship), this volume is unassuming: a small, square paperback. That’s in keeping with the content, humorous incidents among punk rock fans in Minneapolis. The book sort of just appeared—as the author correctly posted on his site, “no one knows who I am, no one’s ever heard of my comic”—and it’s likely to die the same way, having little that stands out. The book jumps ahead in the strip’s run to 2005 when the art became more consistent. It’s still simple and graphically uninteresting, mostly talking heads distinguishable by hair or lack of it. Like many subject-based Web comics, it stems from a single sub-culture and speaks best to those in it who will gain enjoyment through recognition if nothing else. That group not only includes punk music but Web comic creators, with a series of in-jokes about strip creation. Fans of the series will appreciate the permanent collection and the bonus material, including other strips Clem has drawn, resulting in even more self-references. Others can read the material for free online. (Oct.)

First rearing its shaggy head during the thick of the psychedelic era, Shelton’s classic series could be cited as the Big Bang of “stoner” humor as we now understand the genre, predating Cheech & Chong’s THC-based antics and stoner humor in general by a few years. Differing from much of the mean-spirited material found in the nascent underground genre by being legitimately funny, the Freak Brothers slacked their way from one misadventure to another, getting ripped off by dealers, avoiding work and staying as completely stoned as possible. Fat Freddy, Phineas and Freewheelin’ Franklin’s existence reads like a pothead sitcom, the characters’ world defined first in a series of short stories, and longer, even epic tales allow Shelton to run wild as the gags fly fast and furious. This massive 40th anniversary omnibus edition collects the entirety of the series, and as Shelton so famously observed, “Dope will get you through times of no money better than money will get you through times of no dope,” so in these financially uncertain times it’s a downright steal for its price. (Oct.)

Lauded for his sensitive memoir (My Own Country) about his time as a doctor in eastern Tennessee at the onset of the AIDS epidemic in the ’80s, Verghese turns his formidable talents to fiction, mining his own life and experiences in a magnificent, sweeping novel that moves from India to Ethiopia to an inner-city hospital in New York City over decades and generations. Sister Mary Joseph Praise, a devout young nun, leaves the south Indian state of Kerala in 1947 for a missionary post in Yemen. During the arduous sea voyage, she saves the life of an English doctor bound for Ethiopia, Thomas Stone, who becomes a key player in her destiny when they meet up again at Missing Hospital in Addis Ababa. Seven years later, Sister Praise dies birthing twin boys: Shiva and Marion, the latter narrating his own and his brother’s long, dramatic, biblical story set against the backdrop of political turmoil in Ethiopia, the life of the hospital compound in which they grow up and the love story of their adopted parents, both doctors at Missing. The boys become doctors as well and Verghese’s weaving of the practice of medicine into the narrative is fascinating even as the story bobs and weaves with the power and coincidences of the best 19th-century novel. (Feb.)